Nintendo dominates video game hardware sales in July

As always, when video game industry research firm The NPD Group puts out its monthly numbers, each of the big hardware companies--Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony--find their own unique positive spin, regardless what the numbers show.

But with the July numbers, which were released Thursday, there's little question that Nintendo gets the biggest bragging rights.

That's because, according to NPD, Nintendo's DS handheld gaming machine and its Wii console far outsold any competition from Sony or Microsoft.

NPD reported that the DS sold 608,400 units in July, while the Wii moved 555,000 machines. No other gaming device even made it to 300,000.

These days, however, it's no surprise when the Wii leaves its competitors in the dust. Microsoft and Sony both find ways to claim next-generation console supremacy, but more and more you hear them taking the position that the Wii is not in the same category of machine as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Which, in all honesty, is probably a fair thing to say. But since both Microsoft and Sony originally lumped the Wii in with their own machines, it's a little disingenuous when they do make the argument.
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Next Harry Potter film delayed

Hogwarts fans looking for something to do this holiday season will have to settle for the December release of J.K. Rowling's Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Warner Bros. announced Thursday that it is delaying the release date for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until next summer. The film had been expected to be released later this year.

"Our reasons for shifting 'Half-Blood Prince' to summer are twofold: We know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment," Warner Bros. President Alan Horn said in a statement. "Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers' strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films--changing the competitive landscape for 2009."

Warner Bros. pictures group president said the release change, to July 17, 2009, will not affect the production for any future Potter films. The studio plans to do the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as a two-part movie.

On the bright side, scientists are apparently closer to developing a real invisibility cloak.

Picture Credit: EW.com
Via CNET News

Sticker shock: PlayStation 3's unfair Blu-ray advantage

Sure, I and the rest of CNET's home-theater editors think the PlayStation 3 is the only Blu-ray player really worth buying today. But no matter how we feel, it's easy to spot why other machines have an uphill battle trying to unseat the PS3 from its Blu-ray throne: Sony's sticking it to the competition, literally.

Take a closer look at all those stickers on the front of all those Blu-ray discs in your local video shop and you'll see what I mean. There's the Blu-ray disc headline and then the fine print message: "For use only with Blu-ray disc players, Blu-ray disc computer drives and PLAYSTATION 3 game consoles." Glance quickly at the sticker and all you see is Blu-ray Disc and PlayStation 3.

I asked Sony PlayStation reps about it the other day and, while they didn't have any comment, they just smiled knowingly and said: "Yeah, we like that."

We're not sure how long the sticker deal is in effect but it seems that as long as it is, the PS3 is going to have a not-so-subliminal marketing edge over other Blu-ray players. How long do you think it will take for some other player to top the PS3 in terms of Blu-ray player sales? I think we're looking at a couple of years, even if the price for standalone players dips under US$200 or less. After all, the PS3 will come down in price, too.

Via CNET Crave

Extreme gamers padding video game industry's bottom line

The video game industry had better thank its lucky stars that hardcore gamers do what they do.

According to a report issued Monday morning by industry analyst firm, The NPD Group, the most active group of players, which it termed "extreme gamers", devote more than a full-time job's work week to their avocation. But they don't get insurance benefits for their efforts.

Rather, NPD's "Games Segmentation 2008" report explained that extreme gamers put in an average of 45 hours a week playing games, and, even better--for the video game industry's coffers--bought a whopping 24 titles in the last three months.

True, these committed gamers make up just 3 percent of the 174 million that NPD said play on PCs or Macs or dedicated video game machines. Still, that means 5.22 million people out there are putting in serious amounts of time gaming away. And if you stop and think about the dollars they're spending, if they're buying 24 games every three months, it's kind of breathtaking.

The NPD report identified seven different segments of gamers, including our extreme friends. The others include 9 percent who are "avid PC gamers", 17 percent who are console gamers, 14 percent who are online PC gamers, 15 percent who are offline PC gamers, 22 percent who are "young heavy gamers", and 20 percent who are "secondary" gamers.
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Unlikely star duels in EA's Celebrity Sports Showdown

If you've ever dreamed of watching a Mia Hamm/Sugar Ray Leonard beach volleyball smackdown (and who hasn't, really?), Electronic Arts' upcoming Celebrity Sports Showdown (PDF) could bring a new level of fulfillment to your life. The title lets you play as (a sometimes odd-looking version of) select celebrities battling their way through outdoor games including smash badminton, rapid-fire archery, wild-water canoeing, inner-tubing, and hurdle derby.

Fergie jousting with Keith Urban? Reggie Bush locked in an arena dodgeball deathmatch with Kristi Yamaguchi? Don't even get Perez Hilton started on the possibilities here.

The game, which will be the first Wii title to launch under the new EA Sports Freestyle brand, "explores the lighter side of sports and pulls inspiration from the entertainment spectacles that are so prevalent in pop culture today", said Dave McCarthy, the title's executive producer.
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