Hasta La Gadget!

E3 is getting close, just two months away now. As such the next-gen Wii console rumors have heated to a boil. One of the most interesting bits of tattle originates from Kotaku. The gaming site’s sources claim (with impressive specificity) that the new 8-button controller features a screen pushing a whopping 6.2 inches, two analog sticks, and a camera. The new Wii console (sometimes called the Wii 2, Wii HD, or simply “Project Cafe”) is said to support the new controller in addition to Wii Remote-style controllers for backward compatibility with existing Wii games — at the moment, however, it’s not clear if that implies support for existing Wiimotes. But why the giant display? Here’s Kotaku‘s take:

The 6.2-inch screen will receive data wirelessly from the Nintendo console and presents an array of options, from putting the player’s inventory or map on the controller screen, to allowing players to combine it with the controller’s camera to snap photos that could be imported into a game or even turning it into some sort of glorified viewfinder (we’re unclear about whether the camera on the controller points at the player or can be outward-facing; we’ve heard both – maybe it swivels?).

In other words, you can think of the new contoller-plus-console combination as a modern Dreamcast system or “glorified mega-DS,” as Kotaku puts it, where the TV is the top screen and the handheld controller is the lower touchscreen. If true then we’ll likely hear the official first word at E3 which kicks off on June 7th.

Update: IGN has its own set of “sources” confirming many of these details. Could this be a Nintendo rumor that pans out, for once? We should know in just over a month.

Next generation Wii controller to feature 6.2-inch display, turn living room into giant DS? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo, and Sony have been rivals for years now. But for years, Nintendo has sat on top, leaving Sony scraping the barrel. Now it seems that Sony has finally turned the table on Nintendo. It is reported that the PlayStation Portable is selling more units than the new Nintendo 3DS. The difference is not huge, but big enough for Sony to milk it.

The Nintendo 3DS only sold 32,910, while the PSP brought in a whopping 35,478 units. Keep in mind that these figures are solely based on Japan’s sales alone. No wider study has been done regarding this.

Over this past year and a half Sony has made some huge gains in terms of sales. The PlayStation 2 is still a top seller, despite being over 10 years old, and it has even sold more units recently than the PS3. Neither Sony or Nintendo have released a statement regarding the number of sales.

Via TG Daily

Let’s face it — smartphones (namely, iOS and Android devices) are slowly chipping away at the portable gaming market. If you recall, Apple took a nice slice of the market-share pie — and as you’ll notice in the picture above, we’re seeing the same trend this time around. According to data from Flurry and NPD Group, iOS and Android are earning a sizable chunk of the revenue in the portable gaming software sphere, with the Nintendo DS’s dominant market share dropping from 70 percent in 2009 to just 57 percent in 2010 to accommodate the newcomers. We may be seeing the decrease in relative revenue because the PSP and DS are on the way out to make room for the NGP and 3DS — however, this chart speaks only of the current-gen portables. But hey, it’s easy for almost anyone to spend a single buck on a full-fledged game, right? Head past the break for some more videogame revenue stats, if you please.

Continue reading iOS and Android continue chipping away at mobile gaming market, consoles remain strong

iOS and Android continue chipping away at mobile gaming market, consoles remain strong originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 15th is still a month away, but the Nintendo Wii’s price won’t wait — both Best Buy and Toys ‘R’ Us already have the motion-controlled console on sale for $170 today. Mind you, this doesn’t look like a permanent price cut — note “Limited Time Offer!” above — but we wouldn’t be surprised if other retailers follow suit in very short order. With rumors swirling around deeper price cuts and perhaps, maybe, possibly even a new backwards-compatible HD machine, every Wii sold at $170 today could be a little extra gold in their pockets and less unwanted inventory to deal with.

Nintendo Wii on sale at Toys R Us, Best Buy for $169.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now we’re talking. After Nintendo slyly told us that the 3DS set a day-one US sales record for its handheld division, it has now been more forthright and actually disclosed some cold hard numbers. 400,000 3DS units were shifted in the month of March, says Nintendo of America chief Reggie Fils-Aime, which amounts to just one working week’s worth of sales when you consider the portable console launched on March 27th. That was still enough time for it to threaten the DS’ overall March tally of 460,000, however, and extrapolated over a full 30 days would total a whopping 2.4 million transactions. Of course, sales rarely sustain such a roaring pace after launch, but Reggie foresees good things for the 3DS with a marquee Legend of Zelda game, the launch of the E-Shop, and Netflix integration all coming over the summer. So the future’s bright, we just wish it didn’t have to be turquoise.

Nintendo 3DS clocks up 400,000 US sales in opening week, nearly matches month-long total for DS originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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