Wii in US: Sells 725k units in February

National Purchase Diary estimates for February says what all other months have been saying, Wii is the king. As per estimates of Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan, more than 725,000 units of Wii were sold in the month of February in the US. As per the estimates Wii is (as always) leading the market with 700k+ sales, Xbox 360 is in a distant second place with 300k sales and PS3 follows with 200k sales in the last month.

EEDAR’s predicted figures for total gaming consoles sold last month are 1,925,000. EEDAR is also expecting that software sales for Nintendo Wii and DS will account for 49% of total sales. Exact figures will be revealed on this Thursday.

Wii Shop goes retro this week with BIT.TRIP BEAT and Summer Games II

The Wii Shop Channel has dug into the annals of video games and brought out two tiles which smell retro. One is an original work of 8-bit art while the other is a re-release of a 1980’s classic. This week the Wii Shop Channel is brining BIT.TRIP BEAT (Gaijin Games) on WiiWare and Summer Games II (Epyx, Commodore 64) on Virtual Console. The former title is available for download for 600 Wii points ($6) and the latter is going for 500 Wii Points ($5).

MGS goes ‘Touch’ on App Store this week

Apple’s iPhone is all set to get its own version of the cult-favorite Metal Gear Solid. Konami has confirmed that come 19th March, Metal Gear Solid Touch will be available for download on the App Store for an affordable 4.99 Euro. The game will mark the franchise’s debut on the iPhone and iPod Touch, and will be a 20-stages-affair. However, only 12 of these stages go live on Thursday in Europe. Rest of the eight levels would be available in the second quarter. Those who are eager enough to buy the initial offering would get the remaining eight stages for free, while others can always go in for a full version of the game later. Metal Gear Solid Touch is expected to follow the storyline of MGS4 on PS3. Konami has said that players will join forces with Old Snake as he travels across “the Middle East, South America, Eastern Europe, and Shadow Moses,” and that nearly all of the regular enemies will be featured on the iPhone iteration. And as previously known, the game is relatively simple and controls require flicking fingers across screen to move Snake, tapping to shoot, and pinching in to zoom in/out on targets. So follow Snake on to a new platform this Thursday and witness the biggest title, as yet, on Apple’s proud baby.

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Via: Gamezplay

The House of the Dead Overkill(s) F-word, sets Guinness record

As if all the gore wasn’t enough, The House of the Dead: Overkill has made doubly sure that no kid touches it…ever. Guinness World Records has claimed that The House of the Dead: OVERKILL is officially the most profane video game ever, using the F-word 189 times in all in its script. To get some perspective: the 189 instances of f*** amount to three percent of all words spoken in a game, just over one per minute of the gameplay. This ‘overkill’ means that Sega’s title has managed to create a brand new record category; previously the record category existed for movies, music and television. Jonathon Burroughs, script-writer of The House of the Dead: OVERKILL described the record as “dubious honor.” He added that Headstrong Games wanted to parody the “profane excess of grindhouse cinema” and the record confirms that the developers met the challenge with some ease. This achievement of the Wii-shooter will be shortlisted for inclusion in next year’s Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition, which would include all the interesting tidbits from the world of video gaming. Time to load the game and count the F***s for real! And yes, F*** those godd*** zombies!

Via: electronictheatre.co.uk

SEGA Mega Drive’s back, baby!

Why is it that I can’t stop rubbing my hands in gleeful anticipation? I’ll tell you why. Sega’s Mega Drive (also called Sega Genesis) is about to make a reentry in to the gaming scene; in a slim and chic design, if I may add. Vying for a release in April, the Blaze SEGA Mega Drive is set to revive interest in the 16-bit console games of yesteryears, at least temporarily so. This release of the Mega Drive will aim at the two-player home console (stuck-in-the-retro) niche with fifteen games built in to the machine. Anyone retaining the original Mega Drive cartridges would be able to use them on this console. The cartridge support is independent of region, so you may pop in any title from anywhere on this earth. Younger lot at the house can be kept away from serious gaming with two six button controllers included in the package. The built-in games include: Alex Kid, Bonanza Bros., Crack Down, Decap Attack, Fatal Labyrinth, Flicky, Gain Ground, and Sonic And Knuckles, among others. The Blaze SEGA Mega Drive is to be launched on April 24 at a price of £39.99 ($53 approx.). You can order it in advance here.

Via: geeky-gadgets

Rock Band gets the Funk Out!

Rock Band is all set to get the funk back with the release of the Get the Funk Out 01 track pack. This track pack for Rock Band features three of the greatest funk songs ever. “Earth, Wind & Fire”, “Average White Band” and “James Brown” are to funk what breathing is to life. This pack consists of one song from each, it’s got Earth, Wind & Fire’s Shining Star, The Average White Band’s Pick up the Pieces and James Brown’s Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine - Pt 1.

This track pack is named Get the Funk Out 01, so we can hope that more of these funky packs will be available for downloads in the near future. In addition to this pack five other songs are being made available for downloads on March 17th and March 19th for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, respectively. Each song will cost 160 Microsoft Points or $1.99 and Funk pack (if bought together) will cost 440 Microsoft Points or $5.49. Following is the list of the songs made available for download:

Nintendo Wii MotionPlus to kill lazyness

Nintendo Wii is supposed to be a gaming console to keep you fit, to get physical (no pun intended) with gaming and to play it the real way. But not everyone loves doing that as one can easily play games by just being a couch potato. This will probably change once Nintendo’s Wii MotionPlus is in market.

MotionPlus is new Wii-Mote accessory; it will be attached to the bottom of Wii-Mote. This new add-on will allow more accurate tracing of motion in 3-D space. This also means that with the add-on, Wii will be able to understand your movements more accurately and if you are just flicking your wrist while you resting then it won’t work anymore. Peter Moore, EA Sports executive, says that:

A million dollar suit for lost Xbox 360

Maiman, a 21 year old student at Yale University, has filed a lawsuit against the US Airways as his Xbox 360 was stolen on their flight. On Dec. 17, 2008 he took a flight from New Haven to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. With him he had his Xbox 360 which upon landing had mysteriously vanished, along with its components. He claims that his Xbox 360 was equipped with a “specialized” hard drive, which (including other components) costs $1,700.

Gears of War 2 gets new patches in March

So how far have you advanced in Gears of War 2? Far enough, you say. And did you try the second Gears of War 2 map pack? Yes. Well then Epic is set to bring more downloadable content with two massive patches in March. Coming on March 24 is a free patch (actually “Title Update 3”) that will bring in a new experience-based ranking system and associated achievements. Following closely on the heels – on March 31 – will be Snowblind (a premium map pack) bringing in three new maps – Grindyard, Under Hill, and Courtyard – and a remake of Fuel Depot from Gears 1. Read what executive producer Rod Fergusson said in an interview with GameSpot:

Puppets kick butt this April on PSN!

Ha! Those freaky lil’ dolls are up to their fist-pumping, butt-kicking action again. If you missed Rag Doll Kung Fu on PC then April 9 is the day that you must not forget. That day the puppets are set to make appearance on the PlayStation Network with Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastics. Former Lionhead man Mark Healy – who was the original creator of the title – has now joined the ranks at Media Molecule so the jump of the game from PC to PS3 is hardly surprising. Available as a download for PlayStation 3, the title features string puppets paying homage to the classic kung fu movies. This iteration of the puppets brings to the table a party-feel, with support for trophies and updated graphics. It does not, unfortunately, support online multiplayer. What’s good though is the use of SIXAXIS to its fullest, enabling players to execute some great combos. And for those who do remember, Sackboy – a customizable one at that – does feature in the trailer that’s been released. By the way, I’m pretty sure I’d heard something about the game being released last year.

Via: destructoid