Post-Christmas blues as next-gen consoles suffer drop in sales

Next-generation consoles have suffered a slow week of sales in Japan, with the PlayStation 3 recording its worst figures since release.

The PS3 sold 25,531 units for the week ending January 14.

Nintendo Wii sales were estimated at 93,708 units, the second worst week since it sold just over 85,000 units immediately after launch.



The news wasn't impressive for Microsoft either, with the Xbox 360 managing just over 9,000 units sold in the same period.

Sony recently announced it has shipped over a million units of the PS3 to Japanese retailers.

Looking at sales data for software, Wii Sports is the number one title in the region, selling over 61,000 units. Resistance: Fall of Man is the highest ranking PS3 title in the charts at number 40, while there are no Xbox 360 games in the top fifty at all.

HMV is PS3 launch partner

Sony is due to announce full details of the European PS3 launch and price point next week - that the 60GB model will hit the shops on March 23, priced at £425.

HMV will be Sony's official launch partner, with a special midnight event set to take place at their Oxford Street store.

HMV are currently discussing a range of possible options. I can't say right now whether this will include an official launch event, as such, but it's certainly the case that more and more publishers and games companies are approaching HMV following the success of a number of major launches over the last few years."



Most recently, HMV hosted the launch event for World of Warcraft expansion pack The Burning Crusade, which took place on Monday night. According to Ellis, "The midnight launch attracted a staggering 1500 fans, making it by far the biggest event of its kind ever staged by our Oxford Circus store."

HMV was also Nintendo's official partner for the launch of the Wii in December, and was previously chosen by Sony as its partner for the PSP launch in September 2005.

WoW Burning Crusade First lvl 70

Video on the first lvl 70: Gawell (Mage, Millenium on Archimonde EuFr)



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Step into the 19th Century...

Discover the adventures of Sherlock Holmes in a game with a gripping atmosphere, for the first time ever delivered in a full 3D world of thoroughly intensive and wholly immersive real-time sleuthing.

Cities and places exude authenticity, creating environments you would expect to find at the end of the 19th Century. And yet, amidst the daily grind and bustling lives of society, there also exists terrifying places, and it is in these confines where you will have to control your fears, retain your focus, and ascertain the truth.



Get Closer to the Clues…

This new adventure of Sherlock Holmes rises to the challenge of being entirely in 3D, while the creators have retained the traditional adventure game 'point & click' mechanic, in which the game is played solely with the mouse. The use of full 3D allows for an immersive experience, with changing game rhythm and additional enigmas and puzzles using physics and lighting.

Sherlock Holmes - The Awakened offers rewarding gameplay, a true symbiosis of two technologies specific to adventure games: WARP (used in the first Myst and Amerzone) which allows first-person movement in pre-calculated decors; and 3D surroundings, which allows the character to be controlled in a truly immersive manner, as well as being able to appreciate the splendour of the surroundings, thus offering a large freedom of movement. The advantage of mixing these two game modes provides a greater diversity of scenario, interaction with more people and a high factor of realism. You will also be challenged by puzzles in 3D, linked to physics for example, in which the weight of objects can be used to trigger mechanisms, and others using dynamic lighting, where a torch might be used to illuminate, in real time, certain places in order to reveal clues or other secrets and passageways.

Neversoft to create new Guitar Hero titles

The development of future titles in the Guitar Hero franchise looks set be taken on by Neversoft, after a recent job listing appeared on the Tony Hawk developer's website.

Harmonix had developed previous titles in the acclaimed series, but has since been bought by MTV Networks for US $175 million in September last year.


Activision acquired original Guitar Hero publisher RedOctane, along with the licence, in May of last year, adding the music franchise to a highly-regarded portfolio of brands that includes Call of Duty, Tony Hawk and Spider-Man.

A spokesperson for Activision would not be drawn on the situation, offering: "Activision does not comment on matters of rumour or speculation."

Neversoft has been an Activision studio since 1999, and has worked on titles such as Tony Hawk's Project 8, Gun and Spider-Man.

Halo 3 beta boosts Crackdown pre-orders by 25 per cent

Retail has noted a surge of interest in free-roaming action game Crackdown, since the announcement that the game disc will include a beta key to the multiplayer testing of Bungie's highly-anticipated shooter Halo 3.

Specialist chain GAME says that pre-orders for Crackdown have risen by 25 per cent since Microsoft unveiled the initiative.



"Halo 3 is one of the most highly anticipated Xbox 360 titles for 2007 and our customers are hungry to get hold of it," commented, MD of GAME Group's online business.

"Halo 3 beta is a great way for gamers to actually influence the making of the game and will ensure the production of a truly amazing game," he added.

Crackdown, from developer Realtime Worlds, is due for release February 23 in Europe. Copies of the game which include the Halo 3 beta key will be housed in specially marked packaging.

EA and Bizarre reveal new Live Arcade title

Boom Boom Rocket to be EA's first title on Xbox 360 download service

Electronic Arts has revealed its first title for the Xbox 360's Live Arcade service - a game developed by Project Gotham team Bizarre Creations and conceived by Pogo.com.

Boom Boom Rocket is a rhythm action title due for release in Spring this year, and marks EA's first entry into the growing on-demand download service for consoles.
Project Gotham from same developers


"As one of the worldwide leaders in game publishing, EA has long recognised the power of on-demand, online entertainment," said Chris Early, product unit manager for Xbox Live Arcade.

"We're honoured that EA has chosen Xbox Live Arcade as the platform for their first-ever downloadable game for console game players and are excited to make Boom Boom Rocket available to the millions of Xbox Live Arcade players around the world."

Developer Bizarre Creations has already enjoyed success in the download market with Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, a fan favourite and one of the first titles available on Xbox Live Arcade.

"Boom Boom Rocket is an addictive and original challenge for all types of gamer, and we're enjoying working with EA to create this unique Xbox Live Arcade experience," said Martyn Chudley, MD of Bizarre Creations.

"Our teams love both working and playing on Xbox Live Arcade, and we're looking forward to releasing another innovative title on this platform with Boom Boom Rocket."

PS3 to cost £425 in the UK

Senior retail sources have said that the 60GB PlayStation 3 will go on sale in the UK for £425, as previously stated by Sony UK.

Now several retail execs have confirmed that the £425 figure is correct, and said they are expecting an official announcement from Sony next week. It's thought that the 20GB PlayStation 3 will NOT be made available in the UK, at least during the initial launch period.



The announcement is also expected to confirm a March 23 launch date across Europe, as previously reported.

The UK price is equivalent to just under EUR 647, which is likely to elicit complaints about "rip-off Britain" as Sony has confirmed that the 60GB PS3 will cost EUR 599 in most other European territories. The price for Ireland, however, has been set at EUR 629.99, apparently due to a higher VAT rate.

One retail source said that the higher UK price has not been driven by Sony but by British retailers, who traditionally seek bigger profit margins than their Continental counterparts.

EA to launch Sims Stories

Electronic Arts Inc announced a new line of video games called "The Sims Stories" aimed at the laptop-toting youth market as it strives to deliver a bigger proportion of titles based on more lucrative company-owned material.

Players of "The Sims" control virtual people called Sims as they sleep, eat, cook, socialise, buy things and work.

"The Sims" is the No. 1 franchise at EA, the world's biggest video game publisher, which has sold more than 70 million games globally since 2000. It also has a broader audience than most games. Half of its players are female -- unlike most commercial video game audiences, who are mostly male.

"The Sims Life Stories" is the first in the new series and is due in the United States and Europe in the first week of February.


"The Sims Pet Stories" and "The Sims Castaway Stories" are scheduled to ship in mid-2007 and late 2008, respectively.

EA aims to use the new titles to expand the "Sims" audience to more casual players and is targeting multitasking MySpace teens and consumers in their early 20s with the new games.

"The Sims Life Stories" has a comic-romantic plot and offers a new story mode, which runs through 12 chapters of a set story line, while also supporting the franchise's traditional open style of play.

All of "The Sims Life Stories" games are designed to run on laptops and do not require upgraded graphics cards, as many PC games do. The games can also be played for hours or minutes in a window while other programs, such as instant messaging or e-mail, run simultaneously.

The games have a "Teen" rating and will retail for $40.

American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy said the franchise-expanding move comes at a time when "The Sims" was due for a refresh and fits in with EA's goal of creating more games with internally owned properties -- which have better margins than games based on licensed material such as films.

It also comes amid changes in the laptop market.

"The laptop market has opened up to a younger demographic in the last seven years," McNealy said.