New hardware boosts Oz game sales

New hardware releases helped the Australian games industry reach a sales high of AUD $925 million (EUR 562m) in 2006.

Total game sales were up 7 per cent in 2006, with hardware rising 18 per cent and accounting for AUS $329 million in sales (EUR 200m), according to data released by GfK Australia.

Software sales amounted to AUD $596 million, a rise of just one per cent, but actual software units sold dropped to 12.5 million, compared to 12.6 million in the previous year.

Between October and December 2006, the DS sold 151,922 units, while the PlayStation 2 managed 122,639 consoles sold. The PSP sold 55,850 units in the same period.


Industry expects to break AUD $1bn sales in 2007


Since the Nintendo Wii launched December 7, it has sold a total of 51,744 units, while the Xbox 360 has sold 45,036 units in the final three months of the year.

The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia believes that the industry will continue to grow this year.

"2007 will be a considerable year for hardware sales and the Australian interactive games industry will comfortably exceed the AUS $1 billion mark," offered Chris Hanlon, CEO of the IEAA.

Sega teams with Kuju for new PSP project

Puzzle game Crush due for summer release

Sega has teamed up with Kuju Brighton to develop new title Crush for the PSP.

The game is due for release this summer, and promises a gameplay mechanic whereby players are able to change the environment from 3D to 2D, in order to solve puzzles.



"Crush introduces a fascinating new gameplay perspective on the PSP that encourages players to stretch their imagination in a whole new way," said Scott Steinberg, VP of marketing for Sega of America.

"The spatial concept of the crushing mechanic is something truly unique that encourages users to think back and forth between 3D and 2D objects and environments to engage different parts of their brain, and see beyond what is literally in front them."

EA collects Pogo titles for DS release

Pogo Island to feature five casual gaming favourites

Electronic Arts is to repackage five of the most popular titles from casual gaming site Pogo.com for release on the Nintendo DS.

Word Whomp, Poppit, Phlinx, Tri-Peaks Solitaire and Squelchies will feature in the package, due for release this March.



"Million of people have been captivated by these simple, yet addictive casual games," said Kevin Chorney, producer for Pogo Island.

"We're so excited to finally bring the online experience to players on the go," he added.

EA bought Pogo.com in 2001, and the site currently enjoys an average of 2.6 million users per day.

No 20gig PS3 for Europe

Europeans who fancy getting their hands on the 20GB model of the PS3 will also be disappointed, since Sony has decided not to launch the cheaper version of the console in this market - not initially, at least.

The company says it'll continue to monitor demand for the 20GB version, of course, and claims that it's only going with the 60GB version as the sole offering because that's what retail has told them to do.



Whether that's entirely true or not (we've spoken to several retailers who seem bitterly disappointed at the decision to launch a single SKU and not offer a lower priced proposition), it's obvious where the decision has its basis.

Sony are no doubt mindful of the fiasco at the launch of the Xbox 360, when Microsoft chose to ship a large number of crippled Core systems as part of it day one allocation - leaving frustrated consumers who wanted the premium system stuck with buying a Core, and then battling over short stocks of the hard drive add-on.

Wii Lineup For First Quarter

Wii Lineup For First Quarter 2007 Expands Nintendo's Global Phenomenon

Fans Will Find Dozens of New and Classic Games Everyone Can Play

After watching everyone from gamers to grandmas fall under the spell of ground-breaking Wii™ games during the holidays, Nintendo fulfills its promise to continue the flow of fun for veteran and new gamers alike. Nintendo's first-quarter lineup is filled with new games that expand the breadth and depth of the Wii library and build on the kind of fun that has made Wii such a smash hit. The first three months of the year are filled with games for everyone, from sure-fire favorites like Wii Play™ to SSX ™Blur and The Godfather® Blackhand Edition from EA and a new Prince of Persia® Rival Swords game from Ubisoft. Fans can enjoy the classic Nintendo franchises such as The Legend of Zelda®: A Link to the Past® and the upcoming Mario Kart 64™ for the Wii Shop Channel. And on Jan. 27, the News Channel goes live with global coverage provided by the Associated Press.

"Our tremendous worldwide launch shows people, from experienced players to non-players, are hungry for the kinds of entertainment only Wii provides," says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "Wii hardware production continues full bore, and every week we're delivering more incredible content to further expand the experience."

Casual game players who recently discovered or rediscovered the thrills of video games through games like Wii Sports™ and WarioWare™: Smooth Moves will be glad to know Wii Play, a collection of nine new games in the Wii Sports style, will be available Feb. 14. Wii Play includes games like Billiards, Fishing and Shooting Range, a target-practice game in the style of Nintendo's classic Duck Hunt™. Wii Play comes packaged with a Wii Remote™ to highlight the fun multiplayer aspects of Wii, and to provide an incredible value.



Veteran gamers who spent countless hours playing through The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess will find new challenges by entering worlds populated by everyone from Tiger Woods to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, thanks to a deep list of new offerings from third-party publishers.

Beyond the current library of 34 new Wii titles, the schedule for upcoming Wii releases includes:

• Feb. 14 Wii Play with Wii Remote Nintendo


• March 27 Disney's Meet the Robinsons Buena Vista


• March Bust-A-Move Bash Majesco


• March Prince of Persia Rival Swords Ubisoft


• March TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Ubisoft


• March Bionicle Heroes Eidos


• March Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII Ubisoft


• Q1 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 EA


• Q1 SSX Blur EA


• Q1 The Godfather Blackhand Edition EA


• Q1 Medal of Honor Vanguard EA


• Q1 Sonic and the Secret Rings Sega

But new titles don't begin to describe the array of game action available on Wii. With yesterday's Virtual Console release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past from the NES®, the library of downloadable Wii titles grows to 42. Also, next week will see the addition of an all-time favorite, Mario Kart 64. Nintendo will continue to make weekly announcements to update Wii owners about upcoming releases.

New kind of puzzle game, The Incredible Machine,

Vivendi Games Mobile announces the forthcoming launch of a new kind of puzzle game, The Incredible Machine, in April 2007.

Inventors welcome: the weirder, the better!

Based on Sierra’s franchise with 5 games released between 1993 and 2001, Vivendi Games Mobile has developed the mobile version of this mythic game where ingenuity is the master key to success.



With 60 problems to solve and another 20 as bonuses, the game develops and will challenge your inventor -side for many hours.

As the user, you are the assistant of Professor TIM. You have to choose carefully from 34 objects to design and assemble your own contraptions which will undoubtedly have working pulleys, levers, belts, motors, balloons and more. Your ultimate goal? Generate a chain reaction which will make your contraptions work.

Each of your creations will be rated by Professor TIM. Get a good or excellent rating in order to unlock new mechanisms as bonuses (up to 20); new backgrounds for the game and new original music to be played while you are solving your next challenge.

In order to improve your skill or impress your friends; you can re-watch the workings of mechanisms you have invented.

Two game modes are offered to the user:

Classic:
Get the best results for your problem -solving skills in order to get to the next level and unlock new challenges, backgrounds and music.

Free:
Train or entertain your friends in the free mode. You can play as you wish with the mechanisms you have already unlocked in classic mode.

Final Fantasy XII Cosplay Contest

Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces an exclusive Cosplay competition to celebrate the launch of its forthcoming FINAL FANTASY XII.

If you think you have what it takes to be an official Square Enix Cosplayer, you are invited to enter the official FINAL FANTASY XII Cosplay competition. Three Grand Prize Winners will win a two night trip to London to showcase their FINAL FANTASY XII costumes on stage at the official launch event in central London, and will also receive a FINAL FANTASY goodie bag.



Be sure to start cutting and sewing immediately as entry to the competition closes on 11th February 2007, 11:59 p.m. If you think you have what it takes to be an official Square Enix Cosplayer, send an email with three photos of you in your FINAL FANTASY XII costume to the dedicated email address – found at Square-enix. Before entering please read the Official Contest Rules for entry details and eligibility requirements.

Any other Final Fantasy Cosplayers wanting to showcase their costumes from previous Final Fantasy adventures are welcome to join the celebrations at the launch event, but are not eligible to enter the above competition. A number of goodies and giveaways will be available at the launch – full event details will follow shortly.

FINAL FANTASY XII will be available from 23rd February 2007, exclusively on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.

WoW Level 70 in 2 days!

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Mortal Kombat Armageddon (Wii) with Ed Boon

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Publishers wary of creating Nintendo wii titles

Perception of poor third-party performance sees big names hold back

Big publishers have been wary of creating new titles for the Nintendo Wii due to the perception that first-party titles are better supported than third-party games, says Brian Dreyer, business development manager for Frontline Studios.

The trepidation of companies to support the console and its motion sensitive controller has left a gap in the market that independent studios have been wise to exploit, claims Dreyer.



"Nintendo hardware is traditionally seen as great for first-party titles, but not so much for third-party games," said Dreyer, speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz

"That fact really scares a lot of publishers and frankly we've seen a lot of publishers take that wait-and-see attitude with the Wii," commented Dreyer. "Rightly or wrongly, publishers are more frustrated with that than independent developers are."

While publishers such as Ubisoft and Sega have supported the Wii since launch, others, such as Capcom, are yet to get boxed product to market.

Frontline is currently working with Digital Amigos and Nibris on the Wii project Sadness. For the developer, the attraction of working on Nintendo hardware is the innovative elements of the console that provide a different approach to game development.

"It's the marketing warfare," said Dreyer. "Nintendo is the challenger, it's the underdog and it has to be coming to market with something that is completely different."

"Gamers are yawning at these supposedly great-looking games on other systems. With the Wii, we're back to the fundamentals, the nuts and bolts of any videogames experience, which simply means it has to be fun,"