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Over Half of Homes Have an Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii - PS3 and 360 Play Time Up Significantly

Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET
Tags: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii (all tags)

By comparison, only 39% own an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad.

It seems like everyone has an iPhone these days, but the reality is that more homes boast a current-gen game system than Apple's incredibly popular phones. Current gen, of course, means a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or Wii.

The National Polling Data Group (NPD) says that you'll find one of these consoles in 56% of homes, which means that a majority of US homes have at least one gamer in them. That number doesn't count dedicated gaming PCs, which means the total should go even higher. No wonder those anti-game laws get shut down so quickly.

Over the last year, time spent gaming has also increased. On average, gamers have added 7% to their gaming time. That number is hugely significant for the two HD consoles, considering that Wii play time was down 22% over the last year.

Source: GameSpot

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Rumor: 'Epic Mickey 2' Coming with Co-Op Play on PS3, 360 and Wii in 2012

Wed Jan 04, 2012 at 11:30 AM ET
Tags: Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2, Move, Kinect, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Warren Spector, Rumors and Speculation (all tags)

The information comes from a page that's since been scrubbed clean, but this sounds legit as far as these things go.

When 'Epic Mickey' was first announced, there was quite a bit of excitement. On release it got reactions that ranged from faint praise to downright hate. The game has a Metacritic rating of 73, which is considered to be very poor in the 7-10 review system that the gaming industry seems to embrace. Still, it sold well, and that means a sequel is likely.

Rumor has it we'll be seeing that sequel later this year, but not exclusive to the Wii like the last game. According to information now pulled from Disney fan site Stitch Kingdom, 'Epic Mickey 2' will be coming out on the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Since the first game was fairly reliant on motion control, we're guessing that Kinect and Move compatibility will be in there, but there's no word on whether it will be motion control exclusive. It's reportedly going to feature cooperative play with one player controlling Mickey and the other taking Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

The little information available does not reveal whether or not game designer Warren Spector will be working on the second title in the series or not.

Source: GameSpot

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Rumor: 'Epic Mickey 2' Coming with Co-Op Play on PS3, 360 and Wii in 2012

Wed Jan 04, 2012 at 11:30 AM ET
Tags: Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2, Move, Kinect, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Warren Spector, Rumors and Speculation (all tags)

The information comes from a page that's since been scrubbed clean, but this sounds legit as far as these things go.

When 'Epic Mickey' was first announced, there was quite a bit of excitement. On release it got reactions that ranged from faint praise to downright hate. The game has a Metacritic rating of 73, which is considered to be very poor in the 7-10 review system that the gaming industry seems to embrace. Still, it sold well, and that means a sequel is likely.

Rumor has it we'll be seeing that sequel later this year, but not exclusive to the Wii like the last game. According to information now pulled from Disney fan site Stitch Kingdom, 'Epic Mickey 2' will be coming out on the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Since the first game was fairly reliant on motion control, we're guessing that Kinect and Move compatibility will be in there, but there's no word on whether it will be motion control exclusive. It's reportedly going to feature cooperative play with one player controlling Mickey and the other taking Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

The little information available does not reveal whether or not game designer Warren Spector will be working on the second title in the series or not.

Source: GameSpot

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3DS Beats the Wii in First Year Sales in U.S.

Wed Jan 04, 2012 at 09:30 AM ET
Tags: 3DS, Wii, Nintendo, Sales Figures (all tags)

It's not exactly a fair comparison, but the four million unit mark is still a pretty good place to be.

The Nintendo 3DS had a bit of a botched launch. It was priced far too high for its own good and was released at a kind of a strange time - spring releases are just weird. Despite all this, the system has been doing well.

The 3DS has hit a total of four million units sold in the United States. It's an impressive turnaround for the system, and it's a number that puts the 3DS ahead of the Wii in terms of first year sales. That's a lower number than Nintendo expected, but one that they're sure glad to get to.

The Wii comparison seems impressive, but it's important to recall just how unavailable the systems work back when they launched. Stores couldn't keep them on shelves, true, but that's because Nintendo didn't make nearly enough. The reason the Wii sold so little in the first year is that there were no more left to sell.

Source: 1UP

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3DS Beats the Wii in First Year Sales in U.S.

Wed Jan 04, 2012 at 09:30 AM ET
Tags: 3DS, Wii, Nintendo, Sales Figures (all tags)

It's not exactly a fair comparison, but the four million unit mark is still a pretty good place to be.

The Nintendo 3DS had a bit of a botched launch. It was priced far too high for its own good and was released at a kind of a strange time - spring releases are just weird. Despite all this, the system has been doing well.

The 3DS has hit a total of four million units sold in the United States. It's an impressive turnaround for the system, and it's a number that puts the 3DS ahead of the Wii in terms of first year sales. That's a lower number than Nintendo expected, but one that they're sure glad to get to.

The Wii comparison seems impressive, but it's important to recall just how unavailable the systems work back when they launched. Stores couldn't keep them on shelves, true, but that's because Nintendo didn't make nearly enough. The reason the Wii sold so little in the first year is that there were no more left to sell.

Source: 1UP

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'Skyward Sword' Downloadable Fix is in the Works

Thu Dec 22, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET
Tags: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Wii (all tags)

The fix - not a patch, mind you - has already launched in Japan and is on the way to the U.S.

Say what you will about 'Skyrim' and 'Old Republic' being glitchy, at least the games are playable. There's a really unfortunate glitch in 'The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword' that make the game unwinnable if triggered.

Nintendo is aware of the issue and has released information on the events that trigger the glitch and how to avoid recreating it in your game. At the time, Nintendo had no plans to update the game that people already have with a patch. That's still the case, but at least they've offered something besides a warning.

Nintendo will soon - no firm date has been announced but it's already out in Japan - launch the Zelda Data Restoration Channel, which will allow you to fix 'Skyward Sword' saves that were damaged by the bug.

Source: G4TV

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Redbox Top Game Rentals of 2011 May Surprise

Thu Dec 15, 2011 at 09:30 AM ET
Tags: Redbox, Skyrim, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Shovelware (all tags)

'Modern Warfare 3' is at the top of the list, but titles like 'Dead Island' and 'Brink' follow closely.

Redbox has only recently started renting games, but the store based kiosks provide an interesting insight into the rental patterns of people that pick up games while they're picking up groceries. The company has released its top 10 for the year and some of the titles may come as a bit of a surprise.

The number one game is 'Modern Warfare 3' for the Xbox 360 and second is 'Just Dance 3' for the Wii. No big surprises there, but 'Dead Island' for the Xbox 360 comes in at number three and 'Brink' for Xbox 360 takes the number five spot.

Though 'Skyrim' is a runaway success at retailers, the 360 version comes in at eight on the list behind 'The Smurfs Dance Party.' It used to be number one until it took an arrow in the knee.

Source: Joystiq

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'The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword' has a Game Breaking Glitch - Nintendo Issues Warning

Wed Dec 07, 2011 at 10:30 AM ET
Tags: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendo, Wii (all tags)

There's no word of a patch, and it's probably best not to get your hopes up. Also - spoiler alert.

Alright, so spoiler warning here folks - we're going to talk about things that happen in 'Skyward Sword' because the glitch in the game can't be talked about otherwise. You've been warned!

The way Nintendo explains it, this glitch renders the game unable to be finished. The company has issued full details on how the glitch happens so that you don't end up doing it in your copy of the game, but there's no plan to fix the game via patch. The details of how to cause the glitch are below.

1. At the beginning of the quest, go to Lanayru Desert to retrieve the song of the Thunder Dragon.
2. In the Lanayru Mine, speak with Golo the Goron.
3. Complete the Thunder Dragon's event, and receive his song.
4. Before heading to the forest or volcano regions, speak with Golo in the mine again.
5. At this point, the forest and volcano events will no longer occur, making it impossible to continue.

Source: Digital Spy

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Netflix Launches the Just for Kids Section on the Wii

Wed Nov 23, 2011 at 01:30 PM ET
Tags: Wii, Netflix (all tags)

The new section is designed to help kids find the content they want while offering peace of mind to parents.

Trying to navigate Netflix on the Wii can be challenging for adults, so when kids - especially very young kids - get the remote in their hands things can get difficult.

The new "Just for Kids" section from Netflix gives kids a simple menu to navigate that uses icons and pictures instead of words. It's made for children 12 and under and the content reflects that. You'll see icons for 'Rocky and Bullwinkle,' 'Iron Man,' 'Phineas and Ferb' and more.

It's a nice combination of features, allowing kids to watch the shows that they want to watch without needing adult supervision. It's also a bit of a relief for adults who don't need to monitor the content their kids are watching quite as closely.

Netflix has not revealed if and when this feature will be coming to other Netflix enabled devices.

Source: Netflix

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New Wii Model Loses GameCube Software and Controller Support

Tue Nov 15, 2011 at 11:30 AM ET
Tags: Wii, GameCube (all tags)

Losing backwards compatibility is a bummer, but losing GameCube controller support is downright painful.

It's really easy to point to Sony as the primary offender when it comes to backwards compatibility since they took out PS2 support pretty quickly. They're not the only ones to take functionality out of newer models though - Nintendo is joining the fray.

A new Wii bundle will be hitting the UK and included in it is a redesigned Wii. The redesign is the same size as the normal Wii, but lacks a flap for GameCube controllers. That means no WaveBird, and worse it means that you're stuck using Wii controllers and Nunchucks for all your games.

"But how will I play my GameCube games without a GameCube controller" you ask. Well Nintendo solved that one by taking out backwards compatibility. No controllers, no games, no nothing. Well, plenty of nothing to be more grammatically accurate.

The new Wii is just hitting the UK for now, but we can surely expect it stateside soon enough.

Source: Joystiq

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