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Posts Tagged ‘Game Of The Year’

Looking back at 2009 console sales and ahead to 2010 trends

The final tally for console sales in the US for December was telling, but how did Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo perform for the entire year? Let’s take a look at how each system did on a month-to-month basis to find out.

Data Source: NPD Group

It’s quite a picture, isn’t it? There were skirmishes every month, and you can certainly see the price drops: check out the PS3 September market share. In fact, Sony’s redesign and $300 price point, along with a little game called Uncharted 2 getting Game of the Year from a good selection of publications, allowed Sony to have quite the end of the year.

The Nintendo DS stayed well above everyone else for the majority of the year, while the Nintendo Wii actually dipped below the PS3 in September. Check out the Christmas sales though, and the “Nintendo is a fad and only kids buy it” argument fails. Yes, you may know someone who doesn’t play their Wii anymore, but keep in mind Microsoft or Sony would kill for the type of consumer behavior we’re seeing in the sales numbers. 

The 360 has been in a tight race with the PS3 all year, and Sony eked ahead in the end. Again, price sells consoles, and a system with a Blu-ray player and some very compelling exclusives for $300 is hard to turn down. Microsoft does great things for its third-party developers, but unfortunately the system may not be as sexy right now as its competitors. Will Natal change that this time next year? We can’t wait to find out.

Finally, let’s take a look at the final sales information for the year. That should show you just how powerful Nintendo’s hold on gaming has become. 

Data Source: NPD Group; data for US only

It doesn’t get any clearer than that. Microsoft and Sony will continue to fight for a distant second place in console sales in 2010, and Nintendo will continue to do what it does best this generation: make an insane amount of money. We’ve already seen Ubisoft all but admit it couldn’t make money on Nintendo hardware, so 2010 will be in interesting case study in what happens when one company changes the game so definitively. Will third-parties double-down on the 360 and PS3, or will they try again to make a dent in the lucrative Wii and DS market?

This year should prove to be a bumpy one for everyone involved.

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Samurai Puzzle Battle getting GotY edition

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, Developer, iPhone, App Store

I hadn’t even thought about it, but sure enough, we’re coming up on the end of the year, and there’ll be quite a few iPhone titles in the running for best mobile game of the year. This certainly isn’t the first year we’ve seen a nice crop of App Store picks coming out, but it’s the best so far. One of my favorites, Samurai Puzzle Battle, isn’t even waiting for the choices — they’ve announced that they’ll be releasing a Game of the Year edition very soon, with improved graphics and better online features.

The game itself is a Puzzle Quest-style mix of RPG and gem matching gameplay, with extra modes that allow you to play a full campaign, or just jump in and match some gems. It’s a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see what the new version looks like. The update will be a free upgrade for current owners, and we haven’t yet seen a price to buy outright (though it probably will be less than the original $4.99 price, probably closer to $1.99). I don’t know that I’d choose the game for Game of the Year quite yet, but it’s great to hear that a good game is getting better.

TUAWSamurai Puzzle Battle getting GotY edition originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox 360 802.11n adapter spotted in Gears of War 2 box, longs for the comfort of your living room

You know us, we’re the epitome of patience. Always waiting for things so patiently. But you know what we can’t wait another second for? An 802.11n adapter for our Xbox 360. The good news is that the thing looks positively imminent, after an FCC showing this week and now an appearance on a flyer inside a Gears of War 2 Game of the Year edition box in Italy. Can’t you just taste the 802.11n wafting over the Atlantic? The eternal optimists over at Joystiq also think that this flier might point to a co-existence of both types of WiFi adapter, and potentially a price cut for the overpriced original, but we suppose we’ll just have to wait and find out.

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming, Networking

Xbox 360 802.11n adapter spotted in Gears of War 2 box, longs for the comfort of your living room originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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