Tag: Nintendo DS

Nintendo Posts Loss For the First Time in Seven Years

After years of printing money with its Nintendo DS and Wii consoles, Nintendo has reported a loss for the first time in seven years. The company reported its financial results for the period covering April 2010 to September 2010 and the numbers were not pretty. According to The Wall Street Journal:

The Japanese videogame company recorded a net loss of 2.01 billion yen ($25 million) in the fiscal first half, compared with a profit of 69.49 billion yen a year earlier.

Operating profit for the period fell 48% to 54.23 billion yen from 104.36 billion yen a year earlier.

Revenue fell 34% to 363.16 billion yen from 548.06 billion yen.

Ouchie.

After selling millions and millions of Wii systems, Nintendo’s home-console sales were bound to take a dive. The numbers reflect that the saturation point has been hit. The crazy high value of the yen was also a major factor; it’s hard to export products when your currency makes others look like Monopoly money.

Will the upcoming 3DS — which comes out at the end of Nintendo’s current six-month financial-period — and a healthy holiday season be enough to turn things around? Put on your videogame analyst hat and predict (please)!

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Nintendo President Cites Apple and Zynga as Competition

According to Nintendo of American president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo’s immediate threats are Apple, Zynga, the Internet, and newspapers. He recently told Forbes:

I compete with Zynga, I compete with surfing the net, I compete with the newspaper.

Regarding Apple, Fils-Aime said:

Do I think that in the near term they can hurt us more than Microsoft? Absolutely.

I know that most of you RPad.tv regulars aren’t down with Nintendo products, but let’s play a game anyway. What companies, products, and services are Nintendo’s stiffest competition?

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

This is probably 2010’s most important week in gaming since WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 — the early pick to win “best writing” awards from every publication and professional organization in the civilized world — comes out this week. You should all buy this game (I’ll even autograph your box!). You want to hear about the other games too? Why?!? Oh…I’ll humor you.

Fable III is a huge exclusive for the Xbox 360 and currently ranked #1 on Amazon’s sales charts. If music is your bag then you’ll want to pick up the new and exciting Rock Band 3. Jedis, ewoks, and gungans alike are anxiously awaiting Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. Activision hopes the kids will get back into skateboarding games with Tony Hawk Shred (not to be confused with Tony Hawk Shrek). The Sims 3 looks like it’ll be the best console version of the franchise yet. Finally, if you’re late to the game, here are two collected editions with DLC and all: Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition and Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition.

SO many great games coming out this week!!! Any of you planning to pick any of ’em up?!?

Red Mario 25th Anniversary Wii and DSi XL Coming November 7

Nintendo of America has announced that red versions of the Wii and DSi XL will be released in America to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. The bundles will be available on November 7, 2010. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Red Wii Bundle: This limited-edition Wii hardware comes in beautiful red to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. game. The bundle includes New Super Mario Bros. Wii and a new red Wii Remote Plus controller, in addition to all the other included items, like Wii Sports and a red Nunchuk controller. It will be available while supplies last at a suggested retail price of just $199.99.

Red Nintendo DSi XL Bundle: This special-edition Nintendo DSi XL bundle is also red in honor of the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. and features three iconic Super Mario Bros.-themed graphics. The bundle comes with Mario Kart DS, which looks gorgeous on the extra-large screen. That’s in addition to the pre-loaded software of Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock. It will be available while supplies last at a suggested retail price of just $179.99.

Damn…I want both of these…but I’m not sure which one I want more. How about you? Do you want either of these consoles? If you dig both, which one would you buy first?

This Week’s Videogame Releases

Kirby’s Epic Yarn — my favorite game of E3 2010 — is out! What? You need to hear about other games too? Oh fine. There’s actually a bunch of interesting titles coming out this week. Fallout New Vegas will be popular with enthusiast gamers (it’s actually #1 on the Amazon charts as of this writing). Fight fans will want to give EA Sports MMA a look. Want some fun with peripherals? Power Gig: Rise of the SixString features a real guitar as its controller. Time Crisis: Razing Storm gives PlayStation Move owners some visceral shooting fun. DJ Hero 2 is out for gamers that want to spin and fade.

Really though, you should all be buying Kirby’s Epic Yarn…but do let me know what games you’re planning to buy this week.

NPD Console Sales Figures Top 10 Games of September 2010

Here are NPD Group’s top 10 videogame sales figures for September 2010. As some of you know, NPD has scaled back the information it reveals for free. Game sales are no longer broken out by platform. Sadly, hardware numbers are no longer given either. Scientists have predicted that console flame wars will be reduced by 28.8 percent due to NPD Group’s decision. Anyway, here are the numbers:

  1. Halo: Reach (Microsoft, Xbox 360)
  2. Madden NFL 11 (Electronic Arts, 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP)
  3. Dead Rising 2 (Capcom, 360, PS3, PC)
  4. NHL 11 (Electronic Arts, 360, PS3)
  5. FIFA Soccer 11 (Electronic Arts, 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, NDS)
  6. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (Square Enix, PSP)
  7. Mafia II (Take-Two 360, PS3, PC)
  8. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Activision Blizzard, PS3, 360, NDS, Wii)
  9. Metroid: Other M (Nintendo, Wii)
  10. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Blizzard, 360, PS3, PC)

I was pleasantly surprised to see Dead Rising 2 so high on the list. I underestimated its popularity. RPadholic smartguy was surprised to see a PSP game crack the top 10, but that’s just a testament to Kingdom Hearts’ popularity. The new NPD format combined with declining Wii sales makes this list look funny; it’s kind of weird not seeing New Super Mario Bros. and Wii Fit Plus on the list.

Anything in September’s top 10 surprise you? Show everyone that you’re better than Michael Pachter and analyze this (please)!

Pokemon Trainers Can Catch a Rare Mew in October

From October 15th to 30th, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver players will be able to obtain a special Mew. This rare psychic Pokemon is incredibly powerful and its stats are evenly distributed. With proper EV training it can serve pretty much any role you can think of. Furthermore, its move pool is unrestricted, making it even more versatile and tougher to predict. Here are some details from the official press release:

The Mew character you will receive is a Level 5 and comes with one basic Normal-type attack, Pound, giving Pokémon Trainers the ability to raise and train Mew as they see fit. Making this distribution especially exclusive, Mew comes inside a Cherish Ball and has a Premier Ribbon, both indicating that you got it via a special event.

During the limited distribution period, players will need to receive Mew using the Mystery Gift option via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service and their existing wireless broadband Internet access, and will need to acquire the Pokédex in the game. Players must also have fewer than three Wonder Cards in their game.

I have at least a dozen Mews on my Pokemon Pearl cartridge and I don’t like using legendary Pokemon for battles…but I “gotta catch ’em all” so I’ll definitely be downloading a new Mew. I’m sure that there are millions of trainers anxiously awaiting the download period. Are you one of them?

Coffee Talk #227: Why Are You Down on Portable Gaming?

Over the last two years, I’ve learned about your gaming likes and dislikes. For various reasons, a lot of you — probably the majority of regular RPadholics — aren’t down with handheld gaming. This breaks my heart. Some of the best gaming experiences of my life were on handheld systems. From…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Bobby Cox hanging up the spikes, Courteney Cox dumping David Arquette, or the unimpressive Microsoft Windows Phone 7 presser, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Over the last two years, I’ve learned about your gaming likes and dislikes. For various reasons, a lot of you — probably the majority of regular RPadholics — aren’t down with handheld gaming. This breaks my heart. Some of the best gaming experiences of my life were on handheld systems. From Pokemon to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII to countless RPGs, I’ve had a blast playing games on portable systems.

Help me understand why you don’t dig handheld gaming as much as I do. In the immortal words of Jerry Maguire, “Help me, help you!” Why are you down on portable gaming?

This Week’s Videogame Releases

There so many great games coming out this week, ranging from major releases to several game-of-the-year editions to a follow-up to an incredibly innovative DS title. Leading the way is Medal of Honor (which one of you was kind enough to order through my Amazon links — thanks!). Bundled editions include Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition, Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition, and Uncharted 2: Game of the Year Edition. Just Dance 2 is going to be a wildly popular game for the Wii (it’s already #8 on Amazon’s videogame charts). DS fans have Super Scribblenauts and Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals to gobble up. As a La Parka mark, I’m really looking forward to Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes of the Ring.

*sigh* There are like four games I want to buy this week. How about you? What new games do you plan on picking up?

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light Review for Machinima

Here’s my Machinima.com review for Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. Despite its flaws, it’s easily in my personal “Top 5” for 2010. It’s a delightful old-school RPG with an awesome job system (I love job systems!). Here’s a quote:

Aside from the annoying auto-targeting, I really enjoyed The 4 Heroes of Light. It offers an enjoyable adventure that lasts about 35 hours. If you want to tackle the game’s four optional towers, get every job, and level up all your gear then you can easily hit 70 hours of gameplay. A great job system and addictive level-up features make Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light an excellent value that old-school RPG fans will enjoy.

If you have a moment, please head over to Machinima, check out my review, and leave some comments. Thanks muchly!

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