Second Story Gamer

For the past few months, people around the blogosphere have been talking about the PSP-3000, the rumored “next version” of the Playstation Portable.  And ever since this FCC filing popped up, people have been wondering how much better games will play and look on this new PSP-3000.  The answer: almost exactly the same as the PSP available right now.

First of all, let me say that this PSP-3000 thing is true.  If the FCC filing didn’t confirm it enough, I even contacted one of my sources who said this was true.  However, the PSP-3000 is not the successor to the PSP in the sense that it isn’t the PSP 2.  Why?  Well, for two reasons.  First of all, that’s what my source claims.  And secondly, Sony has told me that same thing  Indirectly, of course.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, former Sony president Chris Deering said that he expects the Playstation Portable to have sold 70 million units by 2011.  Currently, the number of PSP’s on sold is about 37 million.  So Deering not only expects the PSP to have sold 70 million units, but he obviously expects it to be selling through the year 2011.  And since this PSP-3000 is expected to be released within the next year or so, there’s no way it’s the PSP 2.

So what is this PSP-3000?  My source says that it is just the successor to the PSP-2000, which was a lighter, brighter version of the original PSP, so those two things are to be expected.  He also said that the new handheld may have a flash based storage drive in the PSP-3000, but that is unconfirmed, so don’t hold your breath on that one.

But, sadly, there’s no dual analog sticks on the PSP-3000 because apparently, that would drastically change the way PSP games are played (hint: expect it in the PSP 2) and Sony doesn’t want that big of a jump.

As always, though, take this with a grain of salt.  Even if it is a tiny, tiny grain.

Guess what?  It’s the 15th of the month again and you know what that means: NPD numbers!  Well let’s take a look, starting with the console sales.

Hardware:

1. Nintendo DS - 608,400
2. Wii - 555,000
3. PlayStation 3 - 224,900
4. PSP - 221,700
5. Xbox 360 - 204,800
6. PlayStation 2 - 155,500

Compare that to June’s scorecard and you get a surprising result.  Every console sold fewer units in July than they did in June, the biggest being the PS3 which saw a drop of 180,100 units, about 45% less than June.  That being said, it still sold a very respectable amount, beating the Xbox 360 by over 20,000 consoles.  However, both of them were still clobbered by the monthly juggernauts: the Wii and DS.  It’ll be interesting to see whether the 360 will bounce up in the August numbers due to the “price cut”.

Software:

1. NCAA Football 09 (Xbox 360) - 397,600
2. Wii Fit (Wii) - 369,600
3. Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS) - 309,700
4. Wii Play w/ remote (Wii) - 284,000
5. NCAA Football 09 (PS3) - 242,500
6. Soulcalibur IV (Xbox 360) - 218,900
7. Mario Kart w/ wheel (Wii) - 174,500
8. Rock Band Special Ed. Bundle (Wii) - 165,800
9. Soulcalibur IV (PS3) - 155,800
10. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (Xbox 360) - 147,600

So on top of slow hardware numbers, July gave us some fairly low, but not horrible software figures.  Edging out Wii Fit was the Xbox 360 version of NCAA Football 2009 and Wii Play continues to stay on the chart, moving up to position four.  Expect Soulcalibur IV to be on the August’s chart as well, because it was released on July 29.

Well there you have it folks, another month gone.  And this month is very out of the ordinary because instead of the unprecedented growths we’ve had the past few months, the gaming industry slowed down.  While that may have something to do with the fact that July was a four week month while June was a five week one, but it may be correlated to the slowing down economy.

Yep, I’m back, guys.  The training is now over, but what a week it was to miss.  Not only did I fail to report on E3 happenings, I also missed the June NPD numbers.  But now that that fiasco is over, the posts will be coming out as daily as possible.

On to the news.  Obviously, E3 was last week, and Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo had some big announcements to make.  I’ll just highlight the major points of each keynote.

Microsoft

• Gears of War 2 was given the official release of November 7, 2008.  In addition, an announcement was made of a new mode called “horde”, where you and four friends cooperatively battle out hordes and hordes of locust.  I like their name decision.

• The constantly rumored Mii-like Xbox 360 avatar system was finally confirmed.

• Also heavily rumored, the Xbox 360 Dashboard will be getting a total revamp.  This redesign will be adding a community channel where you can share photos with friends, invite people to a “live party”, or other things.

• The Xbox 360 will be getting exclusive rights with Netflix to their large library of on-demand programming.  Subscribers who already have Netflix will be able to use this service for free.

• And perhaps Microsoft’s biggest news: Final Fantasy XIII will be releasing on the Xbox 360 the same exact day as the PS3 version.  When that day is, nobody knows.

[via Joystiq]

Sony

• Third-person shooter Resistance: Retribution is coming to the PSP.  It is being made by Bend Studio.

• Andy Beaudoin from Zipper Interactive (known for SOCOM) announced MAG, short for Massive Action Game (insanely creative, eh?).  The game breaks up 256-player human battles into groups of 8, who fight each other to the death.

• The 80 GB PS3 will be dropping to $399 come September.  Sony CEO Jack Tretton stated that the console will have “the current functionality of the 40 GB PS3″.  So does that mean no backwards compatibility?

• Not shockingly, but still excitingly, Sony announced God of War 3 for the PS3.  Unfortunately, the game is due “after this holiday season” so don’t expect it till 2009.

[via Joystiq]

Nintendo

• Nintendo announced Wii MotionPlus, an accessory for the Wiimote that works with the sensor bar and accelerometer to “allow for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation”.  Whatever that means.

• Wii Sports Resort was announced for the Wii.  It will be bundled with the previously mention Wii MotionPlus and will include Frisbee, jetskiing, and sword-dueling.

• Animal Crossing: City Folk announced for the Wii.  No release date has been announced, but the graphics have been confirmed to look Gamecube-esque.

• GTA: Chinatown is coming to the DS.  Don’t crick your neck doing that double take.  Not much is known about this game except for the fact that it is getting a new engine, characters, and gameplay.

• Nintendo also announced the long rumored Wii Music.  This game uses the Wiimote and nunchuck, as well as the Balance Board for foot tapping, simulating a drum set.  Apparently, there will be 50 different instruments, but personally, I just don’t get this game yet.

[via Joystiq]

Allright, well those are the main points that were revealed earlier this week.  So who do you think had the best E3 presentation?

After much analyst speculation, NPD numbers have finally come out.  And yes, May continued the unprecedented growth that makes one wonder if the gaming industry is really recession proof. On to the numbers; we’ll start with the software figures:

1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360) - 871,300
2. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 787,400
3. Wii Fit (Wii) - 687,700
4. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) - 442,900
5. Wii Play (Wii) - 294,600
6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) - 171,100
7. Iron Man (PS2) - 130,600
8. Guitar Hero III (Wii) - 116,800
9. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (DS) - 107,000
10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (DS) - 102,000

So Grand Theft Auto IV kept its crown in spite of very strong competition from Mario Kart and Wii Fit.  But the interesting thing is the sales difference between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 version;  the Xbox 360 version outsold the PS3 nearly 2-to-1, which is almost in line with Microsoft’s Aaron Greenburg’s previously thought completely wrong predictions.  Other than that, the numbers are pretty much straightforward, as the Wii had a great month with titles Wii Play, Smash Bros, and Guitar Hero III also on the list.  Curiously, hyped up new titles Haze and Boom Blox were absent from the list.

Overall, software sales were almost in line with previous analyst predictions, bringing in $536.9 million, up 41% from last year.  On to the hardware numbers:

1. Wii - 675,100
2. Nintendo DS - 453,600
3. Playstation 3 - 208,700
4. Xbox 360 - 186,600
5. PSP - 182,300

Although the Wii didn’t sell as many units as last month, it still had a fantastic month.  And it turns out the analysts were wrong about their hardware numbers.  The PS3, expected to be 25,000 below the Xbox 360, actually beat it by 20,000.  But both consoles still didn’t meet the expectations driven by GTA IV, but we may see a bump this holiday season.

However, total hardware sales were $428.6 million up 34% from last year.

So software sales across all platforms were very, very good, but hardware sales were slightly lacking on the Xbox 360 and PS3, considering that GTA IV was supposed to drive hordes of consumers to stores to purchase consoles.  Maybe a price cut would fix that issue.  You hear me Microsoft?

Most people think that 2008 will go down in the history books as the year of the PS3’s resurgence.  Some people even think that the PSP will compete with the DS this year.  But in order for those things to happen, Sony has to provide plenty of great first-party titles this year.  And we’ve finally got the list of first-party Sony titles to release on the PS3 and PSP in the next year:

• Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (PSP)-June 3, 2008
• Secret Agent Clank (PSP)-June 17, 2008
• wipEout HD (PSN)-Summer 2008
• Elefunk (PSN)-Summer 2008
• PixelJunk Eden (PSN)-Summer 2008
• SIREN: Blood Curse (PSN)-Summer 2008
• SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation (PS3)-September 16, 2008
• LittleBigPlanet (PS3)-October 2008
• NBA 09 (PS3, PSP, PS2)-Fall 2008
• BUZZ! Quiz TV (PS3)-Fall 2008
• BUZZ! Master Quiz (PSP)-Fall 2008
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift (PS3)-Fall 2008
• Resistance 2 (PS3)-Fall 2008
• Killzone 2 (PS3)-February 2009

Keep in mind that this list is subject to change.  Sony can alter anything from the titles to the release dates.

So the PS3’s first party leaders this year are SOCOM, LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm 2, and Resistance 2.  Add Metal Gear Solid 4 into that mix (it’s a third-party exclusive) and you have five solid PS3 titles set to release this year.  And that is much, much better than last year.

Unfortunately for PSP users, there are no God of War-like hits coming for the rest of the year.  In fact, the two most exciting PSP titles on this list come out in early summer.  So that pretty much puts out any (crazy) hopes and dreams of competing with the DS this year.  Maybe next year folks.

[via Joystiq]

It’s that time of the month again: NPD time (also known as the brief period where the internet explodes from fanoboys declaring their console’s superiority through sales numbers from the previous month).  Let’s start out with the hardware numbers and then move to software.

Nintendo won once again by selling 721,000 Wiis and 698,000 DS’s.  The Wii is still unable to be found in stores and the DS continues its hot streak.  It will be interesting to see if the DS sells as many units this month with the recent news that there will be a new model released at E3.

Sony did very decent with their Playstation Portable selling 297,000 units and their PlayStation 3 selling 257,000.  But the Xbox 360 pushed ahead of the PS3 (barely) for the first time in 2 months selling 262,000 consoles.  So maybe there was some truth in that whole supply shortage story.  The PS3 and the 360 will probably swap the lead many more times this year (like COD4 and Halo 3 used to do).

Total hardware sales raked in $551.3 million, up 43% from last years’ $377.9 million.  Is this further evidence that video games are recession-proof?

Here is a full list of the hardware sales:

1. Nintendo Wii - 721,000
2. Nintendo DS - 698,000
3. PlayStation Portable - 297,000
4. Xbox 360 - 262,000
5. PlayStation 3 - 257,000
6. PlayStation 2 - 216,000

Software sales were also very good with Super Smash Bros. Brawl leading the pack with 2.7 million copies sold.  It was overall a shooter dominated lineup that had no major shockers.

Here’s a list of the top ten games sold:

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) - 2.7 million
2. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360) - 752.3K
3. Army of Two (Xbox 360) - 606.1K
4. Wii Play w/ remote (Wii) - 409.8K
5. God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) - 340.5K
6. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) - 301.6K
7. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - 264.1K
8. Major League Baseball 2K8 (Xbox 360) - 237.1K
9. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 237K
10. Army of Two (PS3) - 224.9K

So there were no huge surprises.  But it was a very, very good month for the video game industry.

[via Joystiq]