Wii becomes best-selling current generation console in Europe

by David Hinkle on Jan 11th 2012 11:30AM

We're always wary to talk numbers and Europe in the same breath, mostly because numbers over there don't mean the same as they do here. "One pound is a half kilogram? What does that even mean?" Luckily for us, there's no way to misconstrue the fact that the Wii is now the best-selling console in Europe this generation.

The European chapter of the Wii Defense Force is popping the bubbly now, we imagine, celebrating the 30 million Wii consoles in the region as of 2011's end. New console bundles brought a new "value Wii" into the region, The PS3 isn't far behind, however, with reports of over 22 million consoles sold at the end of August. But, the Wii figure looks even better when compared to the GameCube, which sold 4.7 million throughout its five year lifetime in Europe and Australia, combined.

On the peripheral front, Nintendo's also got robust sales figures for its Wii Balance Board and its bundled titles, Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, to celebrate. 22.67 million copies of Wii Fit and 19.31 million copies of Wii Fit Plus have been sold worldwide.

View the original article here

LA Noire becomes UK's fastest-selling new IP

by Alexander Sliwinski on May 23rd 2011 9:25AM

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 sequel outsold 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.

Top 10 UK Software Sales (All Formats); week ending May 21:
L.A. NoireLego Pirates of the CaribbeanBrinkZumba FitnessThe Witcher 2: Assassins of KingsCrysis 2Portal 2FIFA 11Mortal KombatCall of Duty: Black Ops

View the original article here

Fruit Ninja becomes life-size using CAVE technology

by Griffin McElroy on Mar 29th 2011 11:30PM

The same encapsulating virtual reality display that led to the memorable Kinect hack from last week now has an altogether new and exciting purpose. A group of students from FH-Wedel Germany have turned the CAVE hardware and a Wiimote into a gigantic, all-encompassing version of Fruit Ninja.

View the original article here

PAX East 2011 attendance 69,500; officially becomes biggest PAX

by Alexander Sliwinski on Mar 14th 2011 2:00PM

PAX East organizers have told Joystiq that the show's attendance at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center was 69,500, making it the biggest PAX convention yet. Last year's inaugural PAX East show welcomed 52,290 revelers to the smaller Hynes Convention Center.

Penny Arcade business honcho, Robert Khoo, told Big Download: "The venue we have this year is massive - it's legitimately 2-3x larger than last year's venue, so the amount of breathing room was fantastic. I didn't hear a single complaint about overcrowding. I never thought I would see the day."

PAX East 2012 is scheduled for April 6-8. Start booking those hotel rooms now ... we'd be surprised if it wasn't another sold-out show.

View the original article here