The runaway success of the video game console market has been the Nintendo Wii, the game console that a few years ago almost nobody thought would amount to much but, thanks to an innovative controller and accessible games, has consistently outsold the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3…often by embarrassing margins. However, the citadel of Wii sales figures may not be unassailable: Japanese game magazine Enterbrain, which monitors retail sales of video games and game consoles in Japan, reports that the PlayStation 3 outsold the Nintendo Wii for the first time ever in Japan during March 2009. The reason? Two hot new titles for the PS3: Sega Sammy’s Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 and Capcom’s

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Nintendo took the wraps off its latest and greatest handheld gaming platform, the Nintendo DSi, back in October of 2008, but it wasn’t until April 5th that the system officially went on sale in North America (following launches in Japan and Europe). And while the DS platform’s main competition has long been viewed as the Sony PSP, some industry watchers are saying that Nintendo has moved on beyond the PSP…and now has its eyes on Apple’s iPod touch.
The Nintendo DSi matches the same basic form factor as previous DS systems: a flip-open design with two internal 3.25-inch 256 by 192-pixel screens and a stylus. The DSi sports two cameras—one

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Sometimes the old ways are the best. That, at least, seems to be the reasoning behind game maker Electronic Arts’ decision to switch back to the old serial copy code protection for the next version of The Sims, rather than use Digital Rights Management (DRM).

The company rain into a hailstorm of criticism last year when DRM limited users to just three installations of Spore. In a blog posting, The Sims division head, Ron Humble, said:

"The game will have disc-based copy protection – there is a serial code, just like The Sims 2."

"To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed."

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Sony’s venerable PlayStation 2 has been on the market even longer than Windows XP: Sony first introduced the console in late 2000 (in North America) and (despite some revisions that have slimmed down its case and lowered component costs) has remained largely unchanged in that time. And the PlayStation 2 business has been very good to Sony: the company has managed to sell over 50 million units in North America. Now Sony is looking to sell even more, announcing that it is dropping the base retail price for the PlayStation 2 from $129 to $99, putting it under that oh-so-important $1

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

A study in Nature Neuroscience has discovered that playing video games can improve the ability in adults to identify different shades of grey against a uniform background. Previously it was believed there was no way to fix this.

Contrast sensitivity, as it’s known, tends to deteriorate with age, and is important for situations such as night driving. Improving it usually requires glasses, contact lenses, or even surgery.

Researchers from the University of Rochester studied expert gamers and discovered that those playing action games had better contrast sensitivity than those playing other games, and this improvement lasted

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Media Molecule’s game for the PS3, the cutesy Little Big Planet, was the big winner at the Game Developers Choice Awards on Wednesday. It took home awards for best game design, debut, technology and innovation.

However, the game didn’t have the evening all to itself. Shooter Fallout 3 won two awards, for game of the year and best writing trophy.

Prince of Persia won for best visual art, God of War: Chains of Olympus took best handheld game, Dead Space grabbed best audio, and World of Goo won best downloadable game. Hideo Ko

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

We hear all about the big blockbuster games that sell millions of copies. But there’s a whole ecosystem of independent games, too, that receive very little publicity – except for the one night in the year when they step into the spotlight for the Independent Games Festival Awards.

How big is this world? Well, this year saw 226 games in competition for awards, with another 145 chasing the student prize. That’s a lot of games. According to the BBC, Steve Swink of Flashbang Studios told the audience:

"The world is catching on. Game journalists, industry and yes players are be

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

THQ has announce that Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor has gone gold and been released to manufacturing, opening another chapter in the publisher’s Company of Heroes World War II-based real-time strategy franchise. Built by in-house Warhammer and Dawn of War developer Relic Entertainment, Tales of Valor adds three new single-player campaigns, three new multiplayer modes, and a new “direct fire” feature that gives players a whole new level of control in battle—and THQ promises this installment offers the most intense

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

It’s official, the Wii is the most successful game console in history. With 50 million units sold, it’s the fastest-selling console in history, according to Nintendo boss Satou Iwata, who also revealed that the company has shipped 100 million of its DS consoles.

"Almost no one expected them to reach the current level of mainstream acceptance. It’s even beyond what we possibly hoped for," Mr Iwata told the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the BBC reported.

"The market has expanded as video games have been accepted by more con

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

A new gaming startup named Zeebo has has big plans for its eponymous gaming console…and it’s not to take on the Wii, Xbox 360, or PlayStation 3 head on. Instead, Zeebo is aiming its inexpensive console at emerging markets like Brazil, India, China, and Eastern Europe, betting that people in those countries want to blow things up, race cars, hack up zombies, and save the world from alien menaces just as much as gaming-saturated markets like the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe. And Zeebo’s console integrates phone technology from Qualcomm to download games and content over-the-air: no discs to buy, and users won’t even have to have a data service plan with local mobile operators.

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games