Zumba Fitness World Party will bring the generations together with sweaty support for current and upcoming platforms. The fitness franchise, which has sold over nine million copies, will launch its latest installment this October on Wii U, Wii and Kinect for Xbox 360. An Xbox One edition will launch after the new console comes out later this year.
If you or someone you care for is likely to pick up Zumba Fitness World Party (or could stand to), registering at zumbafitnessgame.com will net you a $10 coupon for the game at GameStop.
The bullet-point features for the latest game are over 40 new tracks, a new visual presentation with 14 celebrity Zumba instructors and 30 cultural dance styles. Our Zumba dance style regularly devolves into a crawling motion toward the nearest water spigot after any five-minute routine.
Majesco Entertainment had revenues of $30.4 million in the second quarter ending April 30, 2012, with $2.7 in profit. These numbers aren't staggering by any stretch of the imagination for a video game publisher, but for a company that was threatened with stock delisting (twice), it's been a relatively stable year.
"While the overall retail environment for interactive entertainment remains challenging in both North America and Europe, we are pleased to announce that in the second quarter, sales of Zumba Fitness remained solid, and Majesco delivered another profitable quarter. Zumba Fitness has now sold over 7 million units worldwide, and is the second best selling fitness game of all time," said Majesco CEO Jesse Sutton. "We are very excited for the upcoming holiday season, during which we will launch both Zumba Fitness Core, as well as the much-anticipated, highly innovative Kinect title, NBA Baller Beats. Lastly, we are about to ramp up our social/mobile efforts with the launches of Mini Putt Park on Facebook, as well as at least four exciting new mobile games coming to iOS over the next few months."
Zumba Fitness' sales have been giving Majesco the drive it needs to maintain its modest condition. Much like Cooking Mama before it, the company needs to find another hit franchise before the Zumba gravy train runs out.
This Zumba clip serves as a reminder about the demographic spread of gaming and the power of Zumba Fitness lady's amazing armpits. With over six million units sold, it's not surprising that a demonstration ended up having a few thousand people joining in -- probably didn't hurt that the IHRSA Fitness Convention was going on at the same time either.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was easily the best-selling game in the UK for 2011. Data released today by UKIE (compiled by Chart-Track) has Activision's behemoth franchise grossing a record-breaking £83 million in sales during its first week, which also turned out to be the biggest week of video game sales ever in the UK at £121m. The year 2011 was also the third year in a row Activision had the top-selling game -- and all from the same franchise, fancy that -- with Call of Duty: Black Ops in 2010 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009.
EA took both the silver and bronze with FIFA 12 and Battlefield 3, respectively. Both titles had stellar opening weeks in the UK and have consistently performed well in the all formats top ten since launch.
The number four game for the year was Zumba Fitness, which should come as little surprise to anyone who followed our "summer of disbelief." The launch of the fitness title for the Wii kept the game atop the all formats chart for longer than we would have thought, but on the Wii chart it remained in first for a record-breaking 28 consecutive weeks.
Find the all formats and console-specific chart toppers for 2011 after the break.
Zumba Fitness, Grand Theft Auto IV, and CyberBike are three of the mismatched titles on sale today during Amazon's latest video game Gold Box extravaganza. Don't miss out! More »
Amazon has dropped a selection of Lightning Deals on us, and while we can't be 100% sure of the identities of all the mystery deals (and less sure of the prices) it looks like there's enough stuff in there that you'll want to keep an Amazon window open, and an alarm clock set.
Right now, F.E.A.R. 3 is $20 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Upcoming discounts include GTA IV, Mortal Kombat, and what is likely No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise. To round out the deal while flattening your tummy, the ongoing Deal of the Day is Zumba Fitness for Wii or Xbox 360.
Majesco sweated its way to a profit of $1.9 million for the third quarter ending July 31, 2011, with company execs thanking their lucky stars for the Zumba Fitness phenomenon. The company had revenues of $19.5 million, up 61% from the same time last year. The real sign of Zumba Fitness' magic is that for the nine months ended July 31, Majesco had revenues of $100.2 million, up 92 percent (nearly double), from the same period the prior year.
"Despite what is normally a seasonally weak time for our business, Majesco experienced another strong quarter. Driven by strength in Europe this past quarter, Zumba Fitness has now sold over 3 million units worldwide," CEO Jesse Sutton said. "The growth of the Zumba phenomenon overall has us very excited about Zumba Fitness 2."
Deus Ex isn't quite ready to give up the glory it earned for knocking Zumba Fitness off the top of the UK All Formats sales chart last week. The conspiratorial RPG may have experienced a 46 percent reduction in sales from its debut week, but it still had enough to keep Driver: San Francisco in second place for its premiere week.
The usual cast make up the rest of the top ten, including Zumba Fitness dancing in third (take that!), with the exception of Madden NFL 12, which found a nook in sixth. The only other new title to enter the top 40 last week was Bodycount, which despite serious faults, found a home in 36th place. Find the UK top ten after the break.
The ten long weeks of Zumba Fitness and its representative armpits ruling the UK charts is at an end. Deus Ex: Human Revolution has augmented chart news in its debut week, leaping straight to number one. Chart-Track notes that, in just two days of sales, the latest Deus Ex came just 26,000 units short of outperforming Deus Ex: Invisible War's seven years' worth of lifetime sales.
Zumba Fitness still managed to take second place.
But, third place went to another newbie, Rugby World Cup 2011, which was only 400 sales short of overtaking Zumba. Disney's Lego Pirates of the Caribbean kept on sailing strong in fourth, with Call of Duty: Black Ops ascending thirteen spots into fifth, thanks to pricing deals and the launch of the Rezurrection map pack. Head past the break for the UK top ten.
Zumba Fitness has now maintained seven consecutive weeks atop Chart-Track's UK all formats chart, with a 33 percent increase in sales this past week. One more week in the top spot and Zumba Fitness will have matched the first-place records held by the likes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Need for Speed: Underground 2.
Adding to the weirdness, Cars 2 sales doubled, placing it in second. The not-very-compelling Call of Juarez: The Cartel enjoyed third and, as if we should be surprised, Just Dance 2: Extra Songs sales increased 127 percent to place it into fourth.
We're going to go take a couple Advil to kill this cognitive dissonance. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
Zumba Fitness has maintained the top spot on the UK charts for three straight weeks, with Chart-Track prognosticating the title has "a good chance of holding on for a few more weeks yet." The workout dance game has reached the top spot in the UK a total of six times and -- here's the mind blowing part -- last week beat the combined sales of the games in spots two through five combined, despite Zumba experiencing a 5 percent drop in sales. We know this time is "quiet" in terms of sales, but this is just getting seriously awkward.
With the completion of Wimbledon 2011, two tennis titles racketed up some sales. Virtua Tennis 4 stormed the court, moving up 15 spots into the fifth seat, while Top Spin 4 jumped two spots into eigth.
Last week's debut titles to crack the top 40 were Capcom's Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D and THQ's UFC Personal Trainer, at spots 21 and 22, respectively. Check out the UK's top ten games after the break.
We've given up trying to understand. Zumba Fitness is back atop the UK charts this week, a position it's enjoyed several times before. This latest ascension for Zumba was thanks to a 51 percent increase in sales of the Wii version. Chart-Track doesn't provide an explanation for the sales boost ... probably because some things just can't be explained.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for 3DS enjoyed a second place debut on the charts, with around 20% of UK 3DS owners buying the title during its launch week. Duke Nukem Forever sales slipped 58 percent and the title drops two spots into third place for its second week at retail -- this hasn't quite been the glorious comeback for Nukem.
Other premieres last week were Dungeon Siege 3 and Alice: Madness Returns, which charted at ninth and 13th, respectively. Child of Eden, the Kinect-enabled sensory experience appreciated by critics, debuted in 25th. Taste the purple of the UK top ten after the break.
L.A. Noire, despite a 56 percent drop in sales this past week, remained the top game in the UK, according to Chart-Track's All Formats chart. With little in the way of competition, Rockstar's crime procedural, which debuted as the UK's fastest-selling new IP two weeks ago, maintained its position atop a list of the usual suspects.
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean caught the trade winds and sailed back into second, while Dirt 3 lost some ground and slipped one spot into third. Sims 3: Generations, the fourth expansion pack for the series and the only game that wasn't previously playing musical chairs in the UK top ten, premiered in tenth.
The only other debut that made it into the Top 40 was the Bethesda published Hunted: The Demon's Forge. Despite receiving (at least in the States) what feels like little promotion, InXile's decent game still managed to come out swinging a sword in 14th place. Check out the full UK top ten after the break.
Your friends list can probably corroborate: L.A. Noire is a hit. Chart-Track revealed today that Team Bondi's crime drama is the "fastest-selling new video game IP ever in the UK," and the 13th fastest-selling title during launch week for Xbox 360 (11th fastest on PS3). It'll be interesting to see if L.A. Noire does as well as Red Dead Redemption, which sucked the oxygen out of retail during its first few weeks.
Meanwhile, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean maintained second place, while Brink slipped from its top position last week to third. Zumba Fitness won't go home when the lights go out, slipping only six percent in sales and capturing a spot in fourth.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings premiered in fifth as the only other debut to break into the top 40 last week. The sequeloutsold The Witcher's UK launch nearly three to one, according to Chart-Track -- remember that those figures don't include digital sales.
Investigate the rest of the UK top ten after the break.
Zumba Fitness and Crysis 2 both moved significantly less product last week in the UK. With only 500 copies separating the two the prior week, the 57 percent drop by Crysis 2 and the 47 percent decline by Zumba Fitness meant the latter took the lead.
It seems that "winning" the sales chart last week was all about having the lowest decline in sales, as almost every game in the top six saw a 40-something percent drop (Chart-Track speculates it was the UK's warm weather). This led to Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars forcing itself to maintain third place, while Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters climbed up two spots into fourth and Shift 2: Unleashed decelerated into fifth.
Tecmo-Koei's Dynasty Warriors 7 was the only new entry in the Top 40, button-mashing itself all the way up to tenth place. Observe the UK top ten after the break.
Majesco Entertainment ended its last fiscal year (on October 31, 2010) with a $2.1 million loss -- which is better than the $6.6 million it flambéed the previous fiscal year. The financially troubled publisher is pinning its hopes in the new fiscal year (which began Nov. 1) on Crafting Mama, Babysitting Mama and Zumba Fitness, which has already sold a half-million units since its mid-November release. Majesco has also planted one of those money-growing trees: a Facebook game, Friends Cafe.
With its focus on mass-market appeal, Majesco could well bake up some profits this fiscal year. We'll keep watch over its shoulder, though, mindful to leave a clear path to the fire extinguisher in case the money continues to burn.
When you get your shiny new Kinect, what games will you get with it? Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has provided a handy guide to the full Kinect launch lineup -- including launch day games and those arriving soon after. If you wagered there would be four sports minigame collections (Kinect Sports, Deca Sports Freedom, Game Party In Motion and MotionSports), you win!
The seventeen-game lineup also includes three dancing games (Dance Central, Zumba Fitness, and DanceMasters), four exercise games (Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout, EA Sports Active 2.0, and the aforementioned Zumba Fitness), and two 'boarding games (Adrenalin Misfits and Sonic Free Riders). See the full list after the break.
Major Nelson notes that the Xbox 360 launched in North America with 18 games, just one more than Kinect is launching with -- bearing out Shane Kim's comment that Microsoft would treat the Kinect launch like a new system. Or, it would, if this list didn't count the Kinect games coming out weeks after the Kinect release date as "launch games" vs. the 360's 18-game launch day. In any case, the Kinect has a lot of choices, even if they're all within a few categories.
