The giant mudhole that Nintendo is stomping into its competition is just getting deeper this month: The NPD Group said Thursday that over 2 million Wii consoles were sold in the U.S. in November.

That's a gargantuan figure. It's well above and beyond what analysts predicted -- Wedbush Morgan Securities had sales pegged at 1.4 million. It's nearly three times what Nintendo sold in October. It's a record -- NPD says that it is the most consoles ever sold in the month of November since it started tracking monthly data in 2001.

And of course it's miles ahead of the competition, as evidenced by the rankings:

1. Wii -- 2,040,000
2. Nintendo DS -- 1,570,000
3. Xbox 360 -- 836,000
4. PSP -- 421,000
5. PlayStation 3 -- 378,000
6. PlayStation 2 -- 206,000

Continue reading "November Game Sales: Nintendo Sells 2 Million Wiis" »

Wow. I just don't know what to say about the latest trailer for Electronic Arts' The Sims 3.

The character models look suitably updated, and the range of emotion and detail in each Sim replicates the levels found in the game's two hyper-successful predecessors, but what a bizarre video.

Part of me wants to boggle endlessly over why a company like EA would issue a vignette centered on a virtual Bauhaus fan stealing candy from kids, but in the end I can't help but smile at the firm's novel take on marketing.

Who cares if this clip moves any copies of the game? It made me smile.

See Also:

• The Sims Movie Explained, 'Like Weird Science'
• EA Releases First Screens, Info For Sims 3
• The Sims Online Shutting Down
• Newsweek: Why Sims Movie Is Wrong

A recently published study conducted by the University of Illinois psychology department finds that time spent playing videogames actually improves the mental prowess of older people.

After submitting a group of older people (specifically, 40 60+ year olds) to almost 24 hours of Big Huge Games' real-time strategy title Rise of Nations, the group exhibited notable improvements in a number of cognitive tests.

"As a group, the gamers became significantly better -- and faster -- at switching between tasks as compared to the comparison group," the study reports.

"Their working memory, as reflected in the tests, was also significantly improved. Their reasoning ability was enhanced. To a lesser extent, their short-term memory of visual cues was better than that of their peers, as was their ability to identify rotated objects."

Image courtesy Microsoft

Strategic video game improves critical cognitive skills in older adults [Physorg.com, via Wonderland]

To those who follow the gaming industry it may seem like review scores are the crux of development, but Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez is after more than a 90 percent Metacritic rating.

"To be honest, when Assassin's Creed launched and got 82 percent, we were desperate, and we thought we were going to die," Martinez related during the recent UBS Annual Global Media Conference, before noting that the game went on to sell more than five million copies.

The moral of the story? "It's not ratings that mean everything, but we think quality and innovation are the key," Martinez added.

One could use his quote as a jumping off point for a discussion on the inherent dangers in the monetization of any art form, but to be succinct it's best to just simply applaud Martinez' new-found freedom from review anxiety. Hopefully more industry figures will come to the same conclusion.

Image courtesy Ubisoft

Ubisoft CFO Talks Prince Of Persia, Far Cry 2, Suggests Ratings Overrated [Gamasutra]

"One of the top reasons for college drop-outs in the U.S. is online gaming addiction," according to FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate.

In a December 5 speech to the Practicing Law Institute, Tate singled out Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft, and its 11 million players, as key evidence of her claim that widespread intent access has been a detriment to students, reports GamePolitics.

She continues: "A late 2006 survey that showed 59% of parents think the internet has been a totally positive influence in their children’s lives-- down from 67% in 2004."

Despite her claims, Tate failed to reference any specific study or define any solid correlation between World of Warcraft -- let alone MMOs in general -- and college dropout rates.

Image courtesy Blizzard Entertainment

FCC Commissioner Terms WoW a Leading Cause of College Dropouts [GamePolitics]

See Also:

• World of Warcraft Shines Light on Terror Tactics
• 'Conan,' 'Pirates,' 'Warhammer': Three New MMOs Challenge 'World ...
• Voice Chat Can Really Kill the Mood on WoW
• WOW: the Text Adventure

Microsoft has finally revealed a release date for the first round of downloadable content scheduled for Lionhead Studios' epic Fable II.

Come December 22, Fable II fans will be able to download the Knothole Island DLC pack from the Xbox Live Marketplace for $10.

Presumably the previously announced, optional, free downloadable content patch designed to allow those who opt not to purchase the Knothole Island pack an opportunity to experience online co-operative play with those who do will be released at the same time.

Image courtesy Lionhead Studios

Fable II Knothole Island date clarified [Eurogamer]

See Also:

• Point/Counterpoint: Fable II, LittleBigPlanet, and Patches
• Review: Fable II Pub Games Steals Your Money
• Fable II Webshorts Give You Loot
• Fable II Soundtrack Out This Month
• First Fable II DLC Announced
• 'Big' Fable II News Delayed by NXE
• Fable II Designer Joins Splash Damage
• Lionhead Teases Big Fable II Announcement

The first game in Nintendo's "Play It On Wii Selection", Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, is available in Japan today. I have mine! This is what it is like.

This series of budget-priced titles consists of games that have been brought over from Nintendo's poor failed GameCube console. Since the Wii, as we all know, is two GameCubes duct-taped together, it's easy for Nintendo to recycle some of the great games that didn't get much love last generation. For those millions of Wii owners who didn't get to experience Pikmin or Metroid Prime, it's a no-brainer -- especially since those games will be upgraded with pointer controls.

But Donkey Kong Jungle Beat? I'm not sure. I liked it a lot when it was an innovative platform game played with a drum controller. Now that it's a more straightforward game -- you move Donkey Kong with the control stick, jump with the A button, and shake to attack -- it's less novel an experience. And no, even though Wii has GameCube ports, you can't just plug in your bongo controller.

Continue reading "Hands On: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Works on Wii, Sorta" »

Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Xbox Live's director of programming, posted some interesting statistics on his official blog this morning, detailing the success of the New Xbox Experience 3 weeks after launch.

Most notably, Xbox Live Arcade sales "almost tripled" in the week following the NXE launch. What's more, Uno, a game that was updated to utilize the new avatar functionality of the NXE, "saw a 650% increase in sales in just one day."

Hryb also notes improved sales of movies and television shows via the downloadable service. Specifically, movie downloads increased by 49 percent, while downloadable television shows saw a 30 percent increase.

Image courtesy Microsoft

A look at a few post-NXE Xbox LIVE stats [Major Nelson's Blog]

2008 was a transformational year for videogames -- not just for the business, but for the development of the games themselves.

On today's episode of Game|Life the Video, Wired.com contributor Nate Ralph and I run down the Top 10 Game-Changing Moments of the year: the news stories and trends that took center stage in 2008 and forever changed the way things are.

From the rise of microtransactions to the announcement of a Beatles-themed videogame, we think we've covered it all -- do you think we missed anything? Let us know.

As always, if you're having trouble viewing the embedded video above, this week's episode of Game|Life the Video is also available on Wired.com's YouTube channel and on iTunes.

See Also:

• Game|Life the Video 35: The Man Behind Rock Band
• Game|Life the Video 34: Reviewing the Nintendo DSi
• Game|Life the Video 33: Resistance vs. Gears
• Game|Life the Video 32: Romancing the SuperGrafx

Get ready to begin your second life on the PlayStation 3.

After seemingly endless delays, Sony finally launched its virtual world PlayStation Home on Thursday. Well, kind of: That's the first day of Home's "open beta," and many of the features Sony originally touted won't be available. But every PlayStation 3 owner will get the chance to try out the service.

Judging from what we've seen thus far, Home is certainly a convenient way to meet and chat with other PS3 owners. It's also clearly a potential moneymaker for cash-strapped Sony, in that most of its features -- like a Diesel storefront selling virtual clothing and a Red Bull-branded vacation island -- are themed around getting you to spend your dough.

Here's our tourist's guide to the places you can visit.

Continue reading "Touring PlayStation Home's Open House" »