All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Across two of Nintendo's biggest markets, the US and Europe, the house that Mario built has managed to get a lot of its hardware and software into customer's hands, reporting huge sales milestones and a very prosperous December. In Europe, the DS is now the best-selling video game console of all time, surpassing the 40 million mark in the region. The Wii now tops 20 million, becoming the fastest-selling console in the region since its release three years ago. There's also some data on Nintendo's games to chew on, including Wii Sports Resort, which sold five million since releasing in July, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which just reached 2.5 million units sold. As for the States, Nintendo's been raking in equally impressive amounts of cash here. In December, three million Wii consoles were purchased and the DS set "a new all-time calendar-year U.S. sales record for any console or hand-held system." You know, just like the company did last year. Also, New Super Mario Bros. Wii had quite the stellar showing in the U.S., achieving lifetime sales of four million units in the region. In short: Nintendo is pretty much doing the same. Source - Nintendo UK press release Source - Nintendo of America press release

You'd hoped that after investing 60 hours of your life, you could hang up your sword and catch a breather until the next BioWare RPG, but, oh no, the Darkspawn did not simply disappear. Thankfully, today's announcement of Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, a retail expansion to IGN's & Spike's RPG of the Year Joystiq's "4th Best of 2009," has been accompanied by this video pep talk. After all, you have quite the task ahead of you. Awakening will be released March 16 for $39.99 on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. A copy of the original Dragon Age: Origins is required to play.

First time the FightStick is available on the Nintendo Wii.

Though we've had very specific hints about such an item for a while, MadCatz never released details about an officially licensed Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars arcade stick until today. Now, the peripheral maker has announced that the stick is real and will be out sometime this month, to coincide with the game whose name and art it bears. It's so real that, as Kotaku reports, you can pre-order one from MadCatz's site! The stick connects to the Wiimote for a wireless-ish experience, a de facto upgrade over the wired connections used by the PS3 and Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightSticks. It'll retail for $79.99.

Re-live the greatest action movies of all time in the first 3D shooter for Wii.

Leadfoots looking to put the pedal to the metal in Bizarre Creations' upcoming racer, Blur, may just get their chance, as Germany's USK database has posted (machine translation) that a Xbox 360 multiplayer demo is in the works. The listing makes no mention of a PS3 demo, though we wouldn't suggest our PS3 brethren start taking long walks off short piers just yet. Odds are if a Xbox 360 demo makes its way onto Microsoft's console, a similar demo will also eventually end up on PS3, right? Blur is currently geared up to race onto consoles sometime in 2010. [Via VG247]

Direct link here IRVINE, CA — JANUARY 5, 2010 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc. today released a new video focusing on the Surgery portion of the upcoming medical entertainment experience Trauma Team, set to release for Wii™ on April 20, 2010. The video offers fans their first glimpse at gameplay footage from the upcoming game, presenting [...]

Just before the clock struck midnight to round out the last decade, Naughty Dog unveiled (and released) a major overhaul to its online stat tracking for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The game's new stat display digs let us get down and dirty into the tiniest little details. Need to know your kill/death ratio, and your lifetime loot stockpile, and see how you compare to the entire global average on a specific map? Done. Looking for detailed breakdowns of previous multiplayer showdowns? Covered. This stat update is a monster and according to Naughty Dog, the team may still expand the system further. We're willing to let them sit on it for a while, but only because we're still a little busy swooning over our top pick of 2009.

Here’s an awfully strange finding. It turns out that a secret rice ball is hidden in a flower box that is out front of the Onett battle stage. Check out the pictures below to see the flower box, and then the flower box removed with the rice ball inside. Why would Nintendo bother to [...]

Once again, more love for A Boy and His Blob, but it comes too late. I fear too many gamers are too interested in 2010’s offerings to go back and pick this one up. At least those that did purchase have realized just how wonderful a title it is.

Power Pro-Kun Pocket 12 3rd commercial (nds, jpn) Koushounin DS The Negotiator (nds, jpn) Jewel Pet 2 Mahou no DS Kirapi Kariin (nds, jpn) Thanks to Cadaver for the heads up!

So, okay, Army of Two: The 40th Day is kind of the definition of a multiplayer mode: "All co-op, all the time." But on top of the constant comradery of the core campaign, this sequel also features several traditional multiplayer modes inspired by other popular multiplayer games. This latest trailer chronicles the classic struggle between the colors Red and Blue across the game's four muliplayer modes: Warzone, Co-op Deathmatch, Control, and Extraction. Sadly, it appears that the So You Think You Can Fist Bump competition didn't make the cut.

Take the road less traveled to get to your revenge in Darksiders.

War brings the big hurt in this Darksiders Gameplay Montage.

Use all kids of guns and gadgets to get a leg up on your enemies in Darksiders.

GamePro has given itself quite the makeover, but was all the effort worth it? I haven’t picked up a copy just yet, but the article below seems to indicate that the revamp has definitely taken things in the right direction. It sounds like the staff have taken some huge inspiration from EDGE magazine, [...]

The classic "Choose Your Own Adventure" contemporary comes to the DS, but you'll likely just choose to go back to the book.

Nintendo appears to be confident in the sales potential of Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri. The company will take on sales, marketing, and distribution of the Wii action RPG in Europe and Australia, as it did for Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Zack and Wiki. Despite Capcom's announcement that the title would be delayed, Monster Hunter Tri will be released in April in the West -- just out of its original Q1 window. "Nintendo has identified Monster Hunter Tri as a key title for the Wii platform in 2010," Capcom Europe senior director of marketing Michael Pattison said. " We are really excited about partnering with Nintendo to further develop this franchise." Perhaps it could be developed further by releasing the Classic Controller Pro along with it. Just an option.

In A Spin - Super Castlevania IV, SNES The spinning barrel level in Super Castlevania IV blew me away back in the day. I couldn’t believe I was seeing something so complex on screen. Even when I see it today, I’m still impressed! Ah, back in the day when little things put a [...]

Direct link here (thanks NintenDaan!) Help the ball of “Move your Brain – Rollway Puzzle” to find the way out of each level! To do so, solve the riddles and use your dexterity to escape your enemies without falling. While playing, tilt the system to move the ball. Collect [...]

Sure, Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer mode has already sucked you in, but just imagine what would happen if you added an invigorating soundtrack to all those bullet-soaked moments? Well, guess what: The game's soundtrack composer, Hans Zimmer, recently indicated in a Facebook note that the "soundtrack album is in the works." That's right -- soon you'll be able to take the orchestrated drama from the single-player campaign and import it into a looping death march beat. But hey, at least your folks will be glad you're listening to classical music, right? [Via GamePro; image credit: quintanomedia]