Developages - Development and Technology Blog

The Nintendo Wii is two years old (in the US) today, and can look back at a wildly successful life so far as the format of choice for young and old. One of the biggest reasons for wiping the floor with the 360 and Ṕ in terms of sales is undoubtedly to do with the cootchy-coo family-friendly titles that rope in less hardcore gamers, but it has been criticised for not appealing to more of a core demographic. Most recently, Wii Music and Animal Crossing have hardly set the world alight and Nintendo acknowledges that it’s probably about time to crank things up a bit. US Sales and Marketing VP Cammie Dunaway recently spoke to MTV and said that “next year you’re going to see the tide turn a little bit, in terms of people realizing that the Wii can have something of interest for everybody. I feel there are titles that should make [the core] stand up and pay attention next year.” She goes on to cite The Conduit and Mad World as two examples of ‘pushing the edge of the graphical capabilities of the Wii’, even though this is an area that’s never really going to be able to compete. Still a few more games with parental advisory warnings wouldn’t hurt, Resident Evil 4 was excellent. - Paul Lester [TechRadar] Nintendo Wii consoles

Original post by nafiz

As part of a series of core titles that include the wildly popular Wii Sports, Wii Play and Wii Fit, Nintendo was expecting big things from Wii Music when it hit the shelves on October 20th. Sales figures so far do nothing to back up these ambitions as in the first 11 days just under 81,000 units were sold, according to raw NPD data. ‘Flop’ would be too harsh a term to use at this early stage, but when you consider that Wii Fit sold just under 688,000 units in a similar period earlier this year it must be causing concern in the Nintendo camp.Reasons for the low sales figures are that unlike the other key titles there’s no innovative new hardware supplied with the game. The rhythm gaming market is also well covered by best-sellers like Rock Band and Guitar Hero and perhaps consumers are deciding that there’s just nothing special enough about Wii Music to justify the expense. Nintendo isn’t panicking and uses the example of games like Brain Age, which started slowly but went on to sell 2.5million copies, as a more comparable model than its traditional best-sellers. - Paul Lester [Gamespot] Wii Wii Music consoles

Original post by nafiz

Can’t find a Wii Fit? You’re not alone this season as thousands of UK shoppers - despite scouring the Net - will be out of luck. Electronic Arts though may be able to help - if not for Christmas. The giant games publisher wants a piece of the fitness game pie and has announced EA Sports Active which aims to get gamers off their asses in true Wii Fit style. EA Sports Active will be aimed at ‘primarily’ at women and run on the Wii console. Instead of a balance board, you’ll get a pair of leg straps that hold the Wii’s Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, and a resistance band to support a number of upper body strength training exercises. EA says that it’s been endorsed by fitness experts, including Bob Greene [Oprah’s personal trainer] which I’m not sure is the best advert, but that’s just me. However, it looks like Sports Active will be more challenging than Wii Fit. This is what they say: …it features a “30 Day Challenge,” a fitness road map for players to reach their fitness goals with the guidance of a virtual trainer. The Challenge provides a new, 20-minute workout every time a player exercises, including clear instruction, feedback on technique and positive encouragement throughout the workout. Each circuit will feel different and increase in intensity as fitness levels improve to help you work up a sweat and work toward your fitness goals.” Sports Active is due out next March and, while some gaming pundits have claimed it’s too late to market, there isn’t exactly a glut of Wii fitness games out there now so, how can it be? A March delivery though [Booooo! EA] is not going to make the thousands not getting a Wii Fit for Christmas happy [or fit].-Martin Lynch wii fit games health sport

Original post by nafiz

You can tell people are getting ready to pig out in style this Christmas when the most searched-for product on the Internet by UK surfers is Nintendo’s Wii Fit. Hitwise said that during October, the Wii Fit led the Wii, the iPhone, Nokia N96, iPod and the PS3 as the priority Christmas items for UK online shoppers. Robin Goad, research director at Hitwise commented: “Wii Fit, Nintendo’s popular video game, is currently the most searched-for product by UK Internet shoppers in the run-up to Christmas. During October there were more UK Internet searches for Wii Fit than the Nintendo Wii, the most popular product last Christmas. After Wii Fit and the Wii console, the third most searched-for gadget is the Apple iPhone.” However, buying a console has dropped in importance this year compared to last as the focus now seems to have shifted to games. After our recent coverage of the Gears Of War 2 sales success and the frenzy yesterday to get World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King, games look set kick the recession into touch. “The popularity of Nintendo’s Wii Fit, which accounted for one in six searches for a video game during October, has helped online searches for video games overtake those for consoles in the run-up to Christmas. Judging by the search data, it looks as if the current generation of consoles - the Wii, Playstation 3 and X-Box 360 - have started to mature.” Looking in more detail at the most searched for games during October, it is multi-platform video games that are most popular; almost one in two video game searches are for titles published across more than one console. Three of the top five most searched for video games in the UK during October were multi-platform: Far Cry 2, Call of Duty: World at War (released this week) and Saints Row 2.” Sadly, it looks like hundreds of thousands of you may be out of luck as Woolworths, John Lewis, Argos and Play.com are all reporting that they’ve now sold out of Wii Fit. Don’t despair too much though because Electronic Arts (EA) is cooking up its own ’shed-the-festive-flab’ Wii Fit rival called Sports Active - more on that later this morning.-Martin Lynch [Hitwise] games wii fit console

Original post by nafiz

Despite a worsening economy, all three current-generation video game consoles had better U.S. sales in October than they did a year ago, according to the latest figures from The NPD Group.

And both Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii sold more units in October, a four-week reporting period, than in September, a five-week period. Wowwee!

Also the worst of the economic bad news had yet to hit in September.

Sony, however, saw month-over-month PlayStation 3 sales decline, while sales of its previous generation (and less expensive) PlayStation 2 remained strong. Also, the PS3 saw the strongest year-over-year sales increase in October.

Nintendo was again the market leader, even though Microsoft cut prices on its Xbox 360 line in September, making its low-end model the least-expensive console on the market. 

More at The Seattle Times.

(Can you blame them for that seemingly pro-MS plug …)

Tags: microsoft, nintendo, npd group, playstation 2, playstation 3, sony, video game console, wii, xbox 360

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Boy Genius has landed a BlackBerry Bold — RIM’s big, splashy push into the brave new world of HSDPA — in production hardware trim, and it looks like the rougher users out there might need a quick lesson in fragile handling if they want to get in on the action when it launches around the world in the next few weeks. The screen is said to be absolutely beautiful (as it should be at 480 x 320), and there’s a much improved browser to take advantage of that extra real estate; unfortunately, the whole package apparently scratches up with ridiculous ease, so it’s anybody’s guess just how long you′ll be able to actually see the screen before it’s awash in damage. Just remember: keys in one pocket, BlackBerry in the other. Interested parties would do themselves a favor by clicking through to the full review — the cat knows his BlackBerrys, and he’s really gone to town this time around.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones

If you’re a BlackBerry fan feeling the need for relief from the throngs of iPhone lovers, the cats at CrackBerry may have uncovered a solution to your problem. The RIM aficionados have gotten their hands on the first ever live pictures of the phone-maker’s touchscreen device — the Thunder — and it’s looking pretty darn sweet. Feast your eyes on the above photo (featuring the much-discussed “tactile″ keyboard), and hit the read link for another look.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

Research In Motion’s forthcoming BlackBerry Bold just got a little bit closer to reality. The device — which is said to be making its appearance on shelves around August — has shown up in the FCC’s files, getting the sensuous, loving treatment only the Federal Communications Commission can provide. Want to get deep inside the Bold’s situation? Hit the read link and begin your magical journey into SAR validation reports.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

Just when we were finished telling you that the BlackBerry Thunder’s haptic touch screen keyboard was the greatest thing evar, it turns out that things may be a bit of a mess over in RIM development land. According to one of Boy Genius’ sources, the BlackBerry Thunder is lagging far behind on development time and is “in no way shape of form market-ready.” And that awesome keyboard? Not so awesome. Reports are that it’s annoying to type on and the screen ripples when the touchscreen is pressed. Meanwhile, UI response times are pretty bad, buttons don’t click right, and RIM’s new touch-and-drag method of selecting items isn’t up to snuff. In short, says BGR’s source, “Most of the people who have handled it thinks it’s a joke.” We haven’t seen the thing ourselves lately, but if this report is true, it looks like you’ll be waiting a while before you get your hands on a Thunder.

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger

Filed under: Cellphones

According to the folks over at CrackBerry (who, let’s be honest, might be a little biased when it comes to a certain brand of cellphone), Research In Motion’s upcoming touchscreen phone — the infamous Thunder — will feature a virtual keyboard so realistic you’ll swear you’re sitting in front of 1986 IBM Model M. CrackBerry says “reliable sources″ have told them that the device’s screen will utilize a number of advanced technologies to create such an effect, including localized haptic feedback, which allows the screen to be literally pushed in while rewarding you with a vibration and click sound, and the option of a full QWERTY or SureType layout (depending on the phone’s orientation). We can’t speculate too much until we handle the device ourselves, but we’re expecting this thing to blow our minds out through the front of our heads. That’s not asking too much, is it RIM?

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

If the old saying that you can′t believe everything you read holds true, then it must be doubly so for images you see on the internet. Such is possibly the case in the latest batch of leaked pictures doing the rounds on the old information superhighway. Lately (i.e. today) shots of RIM’s new touchscreen phone — the Thunder — have surfaced showing off what’s supposed to be a new version of the BlackBerry OS (4.7) running its media player. Now we′re not saying these pics aren’t really real, but what we are saying is that these shots look an awful lot like renders to us, and since no one can verify them beyond an “anonymous source,” we′re just going to recommend a healthy dose of you-know-what, okay?

[Via MobileSyrup]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

We could tell by looking that RIM wouldn’t think of charging too many hundies for its still unannounced BlackBerry KickStart, but $49.99? CrackBerry has it that said flip phone will be selling at T-Mobile for a penny under $50 on a two-year contract, which certainly seems smart given the competition. ‘Course, we’ve nothing to substantiate this with just yet, but take one more look at that chubby side and tell us this thing deserves a triple digit price tag. That’s right, you can’t.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

If you were concerned that you didn’t look crazy enough screaming into your phone at business associates, family members, and the guy who does your landscaping, Google has added a feature to Maps for RIM devices that should confirm that yes: you’re a total maniac. Available right now for a handful of BlackBerry phones (8110, 8120, US version of the 8130) you can grab Google Maps with voice search, which enables you to find what you’re looking for by pressing the left-side button and speaking the name of a business (or location, we assume). Sure it sounds convenient, but think twice before searching for hookers or cocaine out loud — stock brokers, you have been warned.

[Via Gear Diary]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

According to reports crossing the wires this morning, Research In Motion is expected to delay the release of its next-gen BlackBerry Bold. The Boy Genius is claiming that software issues, battery life problems, and overheating are causing the hold-up, which will move the street date back to mid-August as opposed to the presumed July release on AT&ampT. There’s been no confirmation from RIM on the news, but that’s not stopping analysts from predicting the move will lower the company’s second quarter earnings outlook. We’re pretty sure it’ll make businessmen with twitchy thumbs none-too-happy as well.

[Thanks, Sam]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

Seriously, RIM, at this point you might as well just announce the Kickstart flip phone and let us officially request something more than EDGE data, because this thing isn’t exactly under wraps any more. The latest set of photos by our pal Mr. Blurrycam don’t really reveal anything we didn’t know apart from confirming that the Kickstart is still something of an ungainly beast — especially when set down next to the Bold. Oh, and there’s the first picture we’ve seen of the front 160 x 128 LCD display and 2 megapixel camera. Yeah, it looks like just every other flip phone with an external display and a camera — but if you’re a Berryman (or Berrylady), there’s a couple more shots at the read link to keep you warm until this thing finally hits.

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Original post by Nilay Patel