Nintendo Attempts to Reach Young Children & New Gamers with Nintendo 2DS

This Saturday, Nintendo will venture into a market they have often been accused of targeting – young children. The upcoming launch of the Nintendo 2DS could be an incredibly smart move for the company, or it could be something no one will understand.

Not only does the device’s existence make it seem as if Nintendo has given up, at least to some degree, on the third-dimension, but it also seems strange that they abandoned their clamshell design that has been popular over the past several years. Sure, this device is geared toward young children, who may break the hinge of a traditional Nintendo DS or 3DS, but you also have buttons and screens that are more susceptible to damage.

As the old saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So, while many may not understand this move, just as they did not understand the Wii Mini, only time will tell if it pays off for the “Big N.” The Nintendo 2DS will launch at an MSRP of $129.99 alongside Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, which could help its sales.

Find out more in the press release below.

Nintendo Reaches out to First-Time Gamers with New Nintendo 2DS Portable System

New System Launches Alongside Pokémon X and Pokémon Y on Oct. 12 for $129.99 MSRP

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The Nintendo 3DS family is about to get a fun new addition. Launching on Oct. 12 at a suggested retail price of $129.99, the Nintendo 2DS system is designed specifically as an accessible entry point into the exciting world of Nintendo hand-held video games. The Nintendo 2DS system maintains many of the same hardware features as Nintendo 3DS, like touch-screen controls, StreetPass, online multiplayer functionality and the ability to download games.

The Nintendo 2DS system is comfortable and fits easily in the hands of people of all ages. Without any hinges, the durable Nintendo 2DS is an especially perfect first-time system for kids. Available in red and blue, Nintendo 2DS plays all Nintendo 3DS games in 2D, including recent hits like Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, as well as upcoming games The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Mario Party: Island Tour (both launching Nov. 22). In addition, Nintendo 2DS is backward compatible and can play the huge existing library of Nintendo DS games. Two sturdy and soft carrying cases in either red or blue will also be available at launch for a suggested retail price of $12.99 each.

Nintendo 2DS launches on the same day as Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, the next installments in the world-famous Pokémon series, ensuring that Oct. 12 will be one of the most talked-about video game days of the year.

“The Nintendo 2DS system expands the Nintendo 3DS family,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “At such an attractive price, and with such a huge library of games, it’s a great gift, no matter who you’re shopping for this holiday season.”

Remember that Nintendo 2DS features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/2ds/.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.1 billion video games and more than 655 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.

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[Multi] That Game Company aiming to wide the audience that their games reach

[Multi] That Game Company aiming to wide the audience that their games reach

So far the three games developed by That Game Company have been exclusively released on Sony's PlayStation Network (only two of them are currently available though), this was because of a contract that the company had with Sony at the time. Now that they are finishing up their third game that will be the final one in the three game contract that remains exclusive to the PSN.

In an interview with Pushsquare, Journey developer Jenova Chen talks about the fact that their three game contract with Sony is going to be done once Journey releases in March, which will then allow them to explore multiple platform.

“Right now we are very much exploring ways to bring our games to a bigger audience, beyond just PlayStation,” Chen said.

“We are still in the process of negotiating, but I hope that we can announce it [soon]. But right now it’s still in the process.”

I hope this happens so that all three main platforms can spew joy and excitement over each new release from That Game Company together in perfect harmony. Journey will be available on the PSN this March.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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GameStop holiday 2011 sales up slightly, reach $3.02 billion

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jan 10th 2012 2:30AM

GameStop reported sales for the nine weeks ending December 31, 2011. In that period, it achieved sales of $3.02 billion, which, on the surface, is a repeat of last year's number. Moving down the decimal point, the company reported $3,018.1 million in 2010 (itself a record) and $3,019.1 in 2011 -- a new record by a million dollars.

Digital sales increased 60 percent during the period, led by Call of Duty Elite, a 2011 blockbuster. The paid service reached 600,000 sales in early November and had already become one of the retail giant's "top 10 launches of the year."

New video game software increased 9.9 percent, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 leading the pack to the shock of nobody. New hardware sales declined 19.6 percent as "there were no new console products or low enough price points to stimulate consumer demand."

"During the holiday, our solid sales performance of new high-def console software was offset by weak Wii software sales and hardware sales due to the lack of new hardware offerings versus the 2010 period. We were pleased with the performance of our buy-sell-trade business, digital offerings and mobile initiatives," said CEO Paul Raines. The company's used sales increased 3.5 percent during the period, with iOS trade-ins exceeding expectations. "GameStop also retired the remainder of its long-term debt establishing a debt-free balance sheet as we go into 2012."

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[X360] Halo: Reach Multiplayer Getting Tweaked

[X360] Halo: Reach Multiplayer Getting Tweaked

An update to the multiplayer component of Halo: Reach will be coming sometime in the coming months, Microsoft announced during its Halo Fest event last night. The update will contain some surprisingly significant changes to the gameplay, perhaps the biggest of which is the tweaking of the Armor Lock ability. Instead of making players completely invulnerable to incoming fire and grenades, a small amount of damage will be absorbed while in Armor Lock and the ability no longer detaches plasma grenades after having been stuck.

Further changes include a reduction in the duration of Active Camo, the removal of the ability to swat away incoming sword attacks by meleeing with any weapon other than another sword, and melee beatdowns will now require three blows as opposed to two thanks to a shield bleed-through mechanic whereby damage bleeds through your shield into your health, a la Halo 3. Players will also be able to configure their reticle bloom to increase the power and accuracy of semi-automatic weapons like the pistol and DMR. Finally, owners of the 4GB Xbox 360 without a HDD will be able to partake in Campaign and Firefight matchmaking, which was previously impossible.

Developer 343 Industries says that the update will bring Reach's multiplayer more into line with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's multiplayer mechanics, which players will be able to experience this November. The Halo: Reach update is expected sometime in October.

Written by: Mike Glubish

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