PlayAsia 15% off till Friday

PlayAsia is having another one of their irregular sales. This time it is their 15% off sales. Looks like with the economic crisis everywhere in the world, everyone is in a bit of a pinch here. PlayAsia seems to be feeling the crunch too, I'd say.

But someone's loss is another one's gain. Maybe I can finally get Metal Solid Gear 4 Special Edition.

2 days to go in the Play Asia sales

With only 2 days left in the Play-Asia 25% sales, what did you get? I've scored myself a Wii Remote, a Nunchuck. Both the Ghost Squad Zapper pack and House of the Dead Zapper pack unforunately sold out. The price is back to the normal price.

But I did manage to get Mario Strikers Charged, a DS Pouch and a DS screen protector before they went back to normal price. Now my DS (or what's left of it) is finally protected.

Hurry, only 2 days left in the sale. Grab whatever is left to get.

GTA coming to the DS

So the extremely popular GTA series is making its round to the handheld. It's coming out on the DS. I thought it's a bit strange to release GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS. Maybe it's because of its wide install base. But I thought over 50% of DS owners are females?

I thought PSP would have been more appropriate. Strange, that. But I guess whatever float the boat.

PlayAsia 25% off all stock

PlayAsia is have 25% off sales from now till Sunday 20 July.

Better get in quick in you want some cheap stuff.

I just bought a Wiimote ($33.67US) and Nunchuck ($14.93US). That's much cheaper than if I buy them locally. Even without discount, it's still cheaper.

Next purchase, a Wii Zapper. Can't decide which one to get yet, the Link's Crossbow Training, House of the Dead 2 & 3, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicle, or Ghost Squad. Maybe RE:UC. Killing zombies is fun.

Sales Chart JPN: Everyone is getting in a brawl.

Week 28 January - 03 February 2008

Everyone is getting a brawl this week, as Super Smash Bros Brawl takes over the lead with 819,647. Wii Fit has been demoted down to 5th. In fact, the first 4 are all new games, with PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 a very far behind 2nd (205,390). The Xbox 360 version taking 7th place (40,023), some 5 times less.

Only World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 on the PSP and Mario and Sonic Olympics on the DS survived this week's new game onslaught, both 10th and 8th this week respectively.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

Wii - Super Smash Bros Brawl
PS3 - Devil May Cry 4
PS2 - Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut
PS2 - Haruhi Suzumiya's Wonderment
Wii - Wii Fit

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 24
Wii - 9
PS2 - 7
PS3 - 5
PSP - 4
360 - 1

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

Has PSP taken over the DS? This week saw the PSP overtaken DS by about 5K. Quite a feat. Super Smash Bros Brawl taking the Wii to new heights, more than twice of the PS3. Not a bad week for PS3, either, selling over 40K. PS2 is still selling in the 10 thousands.

Wii - 94,473
PSP - 72,528
DS Lite - 67,472
PS3 - 41,796
PS2 - 12,115
Xbox 360 - 6,060

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
48.19% vs 51.81%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
66.38% vs 29.37% vs 4.26%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Fit to go... still.

Week 21 January - 27 January 2008

Looks like the Wii is getting back into the grove, with Wii Fit still ruling the Earth, well, at least in Japan. It sold yet another 89,248 this week. World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 on the PSP came second kicking the goal... post with 76,669, more than 10,000 behind. A PS2 game still dominates. Lucky Star is getting lucky with 71,512. PSP has another game, Yggdra Union, in the top 10, albeit only selling 17,304 copies.

All the Mario franchise is still doing well. Mario and Sonic Olympics on the DS is at 4th (50,169) and Mario Party DS is at 6th (21,840). Xbox 360's Call of Duty 4 survived two weeks and has now dropped out of the chart.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

Wii - Wii Fit
PSP - World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008
PS2 - Lucky Star: Misasagi Sakura Gakuen Sakura Fuji Festival
DS - Mario and Sonic Olympics
Wii - Wii Sport

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 27
Wii - 8
PSP - 6
PS3 - 5
PS2 - 4

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

The PSP is much closer to the DS now, less than 2,000 between them. The DS, PSP and the Wii are doing in the range of 70,000's while the rest is, well, lacking way behind, but at least the PS3 is continuing to outrun the PS2 as it should be.

DS - 79,370
PSP - 77,933
Wii - 74,544
PS3 - 34,363
PS2 - 11,364
Xbox 360 - 4,296

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
50.46% vs 49.54%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
65.85% vs 30.36% vs 3.80%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Nintendo still Fit to rule

Week 14 January - 20 January 2008

The Wii is still fit to rule as Wii Fit continued to take control (92,471). Behind it is the DS version of Mario and Sonic Olympics (89,909). Third place belongs to Mario Party DS (33,003), while Wii Sport is at number four (30,458). PSP's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd remain fifth (23,614). Xbox 360's Call of Duty 4 dropped to 29th this week.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

Wii - Wii Fit
DS - Mario and Sonic Olympics
DS - Mario Party DS
Wii - Wii Sport
PSP - Monster Hunter Portable 2nd

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 26
Wii - 9
PS2 - 5
PSP - 5
PS3 - 4
360 - 1

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

DS continues to lead ahead of Wii and PSP. As usual, PS3 and Xbox bring up the rear. PS3 has selling a lot more than PS2 lately, so maybe it is finally time for the PS3 to shine. Who knows? Maybe GT5, MGS4, etc will make the PS3 a dominant force once again.

DS - 88,575
Wii - 81,638
PSP - 79,923
PS3 - 38,117
PS2 - 13,539
Xbox 360 - 4,552

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
52.57% vs 47.43%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
65.67% vs 30.66% vs 3.66%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Mario takes a back seat as everyone do their exercise

Week 07 January - 13 January 2008

Mario Party DS took a back seat this week to second places (43,082) as Wii Fit took control (89,584). Wii Sport still at number three (33,267). A surprise mover this week is PSP's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, which has constantly be PSP's entry in the top 50 since its debut. It went up to 5th this week (25,927), just behind Final Fantasy IV (32,427). Professor Layton is still doing very well indeed, with Curious Village (the first game) at 17th and Pandora's Box (the second game) at 6th (25,303). Xbox 360 also scored an entry with Call of Duty 4 at 22nd, which should see them drop next week.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

Wii - Wii Fit
DS - Mario Party DS
Wii - Wii Sport
DS - Final Fantasy IV
PSP - Monster Hunter Portable 2nd

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 24
Wii - 11
PS2 - 5
PSP - 5
PS3 - 4
360 - 1

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

Another pretty even week, DS are only slightly ahead of the PSP in terms of sales, only just over a thousand separating them. Wii, on the other hand, is till miles ahead of the PS3. Quite a different in console numbers.

DSL - 97,369
PSP - 96,159
Wii - 84,530
PS3 - 38,907
PS2 - 14,499
Xbox 360 - 4,690

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
50.31% vs 49.69%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
65.97% vs 30.37% vs 3.66%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Mario, Mario, Mario and Mario in the Top 10.

Week 01 January - 06 January 2008

It's still the world of Mario over in Japan at the moment. After the Christmas break, the ichiban spot is still Mario Party DS (195,781), Wii Fit at niban (127,142) and Wii Sport at sanban (118,286). Is it because of Christmas break, or if the Japanese has rediscovered Nintendo's dominance? The top 13 games are all Nintendo's, with quite a many making a come back.

But looking at the top 10, four of them are Mario themed, such is the power of the plumber during holiday seasons. It happens every year, and it will continue to happen for many years to come.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

DS - Mario Party DS
Wii - Wii Fit
Wii - Wii Sport
DS - Final Fantasy IV
Wii - Super Mario Galaxy

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 32
Wii - 9
PS2 - 3
PSP - 3
PS3 - 3

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

DS continues to dominate, but PSP is showing signs of resistance. Less than 50K separate them this week. The same can't be said of the Wii and PS3, though. It's more than 3 to 1 in favor of the Wii. PS3 is struggling, but is doing a lot better than PS2, which continues to sell in the ten thousands. Maybe it does have another year to go before PS3 finally takes off (maybe with GT5 or MGS4). Even Xbox 360 sold almost 10K this week.

DSL - 266,568
PSP - 218,234
Wii - 207,797
PS3 - 64,183
PS2 - 32,010
Xbox 360 - 9,763

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
54.98% vs 45.02%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
73.75% vs 22.78% vs 3.47%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: MArio holding on

Week 17 December - 23 December 2007

For the second week, Mario Party DS held on to the top spot leading up to Christmas (not that the majority of anyone care about the religious significant of the event in Japan). Another 329,826 was sold this week.

It's rare to see a Final Fantasy game not getting to number 1 on its first week. And now we have seen it. Only 287,697 FFIV on the DS were sold, coming second this week.

The other new games on the top 10 were Naruto: Shippuuden N-Ultimate Accelerator 2 (PS2; 108,717) and Doraemon Baseball: Dramatic Stadium (DS; 84,639). Why does Doraemon have a baseball game, I have no idea.

It has been a long time, but the number of games on the top 50 for the DS has risen back to above 30.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

DS - Mario Party DS
DS - Final Fantasy IV
Wii - Wii Fit
Wii - Super Mario Galaxy
PS2 - Naruto: Shippuuden N-Ultimate Accelerator 2

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 32
Wii - 9
PS2 - 4
PS3 - 3
PSP - 2

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

Still the holiday season over in Japan. DS sold more, Wii sold more, more PS3, less PSP, less PS2 and less Xbox 360.

DSL - 279,551
Wii - 232,907
PSP - 171,804
PS3 - 58,167
PS2 - 20,391
Xbox360 - 7,908

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
61.94% vs 38.06%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
77.9% vs 19.46% vs 2.65%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Mario fighting back

Week 10 December - 16 December 2007

Same guy, same game. After two weeks absent, you might have forgotten about Mario, but no, he's back. Mario Party DS jumped back to grab the 1st spot this week, selling 180,042. Must be the holiday season. Wii Fit is just behind, on 124,238.

If you were to pay for an uncompleted game, you would probably complain, but not so if that game is Grand Turismo 5 Prologue. Seriously, it's just another way for Sony to make money, right? If you can't wait for the real game, you'll have to settle of this. 115,748 people did. Prof. Layton is still doing well in 5th (74,378).

It must be the holiday season, some of the older games creped back up onto top 10, with only 2 new game (GT5 Prologue and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: the Labyrinth of Forgotten Time (Wii, 40,580). Wii Play and Wii Sport both jumped back up.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

DS - Mario Party DS
Wii - Wii Fit
PS3 - Grand Turismo 5 Prologue
DS - Prof. Layton and the Pandora's Box
Wii - Mario Galaxy

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 28
Wii - 10
PS2 - 4
PSP - 3
PS3 - 3
360 - 2

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

Holiday season is certainly coming. DS sold almost a quarter of a million, while the Wii more than doubled that of PS3. One good news is that the PS3 sold a significant amount more than the PS2, while the Xbox 360 still struggles, selling only roughly the same amount as last week.

DSL - 222,132
PSP - 184,610
Wii - 170,558
PS3 - 63,720
PS2 - 18,025
Xbox360 - 8,561

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
54.61% vs 45.39%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
70.24% vs 26.24% vs 3.53%

Source: Media Create

Review: Zoo Hospital

New game review at Mobile Tech Review. It's my second review for the site. And this time, it's Zoo Hospital. A simple, but repetitive game. In fact, it's boring after a while. Read my review after the jump.

Review: Zoo Hospital

Sales Chart US: Modern Warfare kills on the field.

November Sales Figure

Three months on, Master Chief is still in the top 10. But guns still rule the top of the chart. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare came in at number 1, killing the rest of the field. Super Mario Galaxy came second, while Assassin's Creed is the highest ranking new IP in 3rd. No chart should be completed without at least one Guitar game.

Overall, US spent $2.63 billion in November and with Christmas shopping as well, that figure is still to soar, now that's a lot of money.

1. Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360, Activision) - 1.57 million
2. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 1.12 million
3. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, Ubisoft) - 980k
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock w/guitar (PlayStation 2, Neversoft/Budcat/Activision) 967k
5. Wii Play w/remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 564k
6. Mass Effect (Xbox 360, Microsoft) - 473k
7. Call of Duty 4 (PS3, Activision) - 444k
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock w/guitar (Wii, Neversoft/Vicarious Visions/Activision) - 426k
9. Halo 3 (Xbox 360, Microsoft) - 387k
10. Assassin's Creed (PS3, Ubisoft) - 377k

Console War VII: Battle for America

Everything is on the ups, with DS taking charge in November, selling over 1.5 million units. Something that still struck me as odd is PS2 still doing better than PS3. Why oh why? Oh wait, I know. That's because PS3 doesn't have any 'must have' exclusive games. Games like COD4, Assassin's Creed are all multiplatform. So why bother getting a PS3 when you can play the same thing on the cheaper Xbox 360?

Nintendo DS - 1.53 million
Wii - 981,000
Xbox 360 - 770,000
PSP - 567,000
PlayStation 2 - 496,000
PlayStation 3 - 466,000

Market share for the month

DS vs PSP
72.96% vs 27.04%

Wii vs XB vs PS3
44.25% vs 34.73% vs 21.02%

Source: Gamasutra

Sales Chart JPN: Wii is still Fit to rule

Week 03 December - 09 December 2007

It comes as no surprise that Wii Fit will continue its strong performance (149,587). It has toppled Prof. Layton and the Pandora's Box to take first place. As a matter of fact, the professor dropped to 5th this week (75,609). Mario Party DS jumped back to second (106,995).

There are four new games on the top ten, with Tales of Innocence leading the way (104,317). Xbox 360 has yet another game on the top ten, courtesy of Lost Odyssey (54,581). Is the Xbox 360 finally making in-roads in Japan? Highly doubt that.

Top 5 games:

Wii - Wii Fit
DS - Mario Party DS
DS - Tales of Innocence
PSP - Hot Shots Golf Portable 2
DS - Prof. Layton and the Pandora's Box

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 26
Wii - 9
PS2 - 5
PSP - 5
PS3 - 3
360 - 2

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

Wii Fit still rules, and it looks like that is exactly what the Japanese want. That's exactly what Nintendo needs. In the time when PS3 looks like it's finally taking over the world the lead, Nintendo bounded back with yet another innovative way to 'play'.

Leading up to Christmas time, the Japanese is probably going to spend as much as the rest of the world, even though it doesn't celebrate Christmas the religious way.

DSL - 168,255
Wii - 115,057
PSP - 91,481
PS3 - 38,123
PS2 - 11,987
Xbox360 - 8,876

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
64.78% vs 35.22%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
71.00% vs 23.52% vs 5.48%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Layton claim top spot while Wii is Fit to rule.

Week 26 November - 02 December 2007

As I have expected, Prof. Layton and the Pandora's Box topped the chart this week (293,897), but not by much. Wii Fit found some footing to come second (261,226). As a matter of fact, the top three games (SD Gundam G Generation Spirits on PS2 coming home in 3rd; 252,380) all sold more than 200,000 copies each. The top 5 games made up more than 1 million copies of software sold this week. Dragon Quest IV is still doing quite well in 4th, while Xbox 360 has yet another game in the top 10 with Assassin's Creed killing at 8th place.

PS2 still rules for now, with SD Gundam G Generation Spirits, Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes and World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 scoring in the top 10.

Top 5 games:

DS - Prof. Layton and the Pandora's Box
Wii - Wii Fit
PS2 - SD Gundam G Generation Spirits
DS - Dragon Quest IV
PS2 - Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 29
Wii - 11
PS2 - 5
PSP - 2
PS3 - 2
360 - 1

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

With the help of Wii Fit, the Wii is fit to rule the world once again. This week taking second behind the forever leading DS. Is Wii Fit going to last as much and as long as Wii Sports (which is still in the top 20)? Is the Wii going to take over Japan again?

Despite having 3 games in the top 10, the PS2 is not selling as much nowadays. Is PS3 finally gaining momentum?

Why am I asking so many question?

DSL - 124,591
Wii - 74,764
PSP - 74,626
PS3 - 37,092
PS2 - 13,703
Xbox360 - 6,632

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
62.54% vs 37.46%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
63.10% vs 31.30% vs 5.60%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Another remake, another ichiban

Week 19 November - 25 November 2007

If you think remakes can't make money, you should know better, especially when you are talking about Square Enix. Yep, this week's number 1 is yet another Square Enix remake special. It's Dragon Quest IV, selling over half a million (597,301).

Besides Mario Party DS (109,522), which was last week's number 1, everything else on the top 10 is new. Soccer is still big, with Winning Eleven 2008 PS2 version (293,926) edged out the PS3 version (141,432).

I am surprised that gamers are still playing FFXI. Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess sold 67,724 copies, while the Xbox 360 version debuted at 26th place. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is 6th (62,550), not particularly good, if you ask me. And why on earth are the Japanese playing Pachinko (10th; 35,882) on a gaming console? Strange bunch of people, they are.

Some of the bad performers include Heavenly Swords (from 7th down to 39th) and Armored Soldiers (from 10th to 50th).

My prediction next week, Professor Layton and the Devil's Box going straight to the top.

Top 5 games:

DS - Dragon Quest IV
PS2 - Winning Eleven 2008
PS3 - Winning Eleven 2008
DS - Mario Party DS
PS2 - Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 27
Wii - 7
PS2 - 6
PS3 - 5
PSP - 3
360 - 2

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

After 2 weeks of dominance, the PS3 has gone back to the old days. But not by much. Everything has gone up by a lot since this week. Must be the start of the holiday season, everyone gearing up for the Christmas end of year spending spread. But it is still a familiar sight with Nintendo taking charge on both counts.

DSL - 116,694
PSP - 75,027
Wii - 54,362
PS3 - 50,564
PS2 - 14,875
Xbox360 - 7,117

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
60.87% vs 39.13%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
48.52% vs 45.13% vs 6.35%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Mario still reigns and so is the PS3

Week 12 November - 18 November 2007

Same guy, same game. Japan is still having a Mario frenzies right now. The week before, it was Mario Galaxy, last week, it was Mario Party DS, and this week, it still is Mario Party DS, selling roughly half of last week (115,680). But still managed to beat the second place, Bio Hazard (aka Resident Evil) Umbrella Chronicles (82,637). Shin San Goku Musou 5 (or better known as Dynasty Warrior) still doing well at third place (75,515). The Xbox 360 version, however, dropped to 19th. Sports still play a great part on the DS, with Pro Baseball Family Stadium taking out 4th (49,365). PS2 is still hanging onto the top 10 chart, with Armored Soldiers at 10th. Professor Layton and the Curious Village upped another 5 spots to 44th. The second installment is well and truly going to be a hit over Christmas, one would hope.

And it's now looking a bit more rosy for PS3. It has more games on the chart than PS2.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

DS - Mario Party DS
Wii - Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
PS3 - Shin San Goku Musou 5
PS2 - Armored Soldiers
XB360 - Shin San Goku Musou 5
PSP - Dungeon Explorer: The Promised Door

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 26
Wii - 7
PSP - 6
PS3 - 5
PS2 - 4
360 - 2

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

The PS3 has outsold the Wii again! What's going on? Has the Japanese crazed finally faded? Or has the people finally accept the PS3? Or is it just that they have finally saved enough money to buy one ever since Kutaragi said they should? Who knows? All we know are the numbers.

DSL - 76,069
PSP - 65,609
PS3 - 39,178
Wii - 36,230
PS2 - 8,855
Xbox360 - 6,525

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
53.69% vs 42.78%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
44.22% vs 47.72% vs 7.96%

Source: Media Create

So, fancy playing your (really) old Famicom cartridges? Now you can do it on the go. On sale in Japan is this Famicom adaptor that allows you to plug and play your Famicom carts. The unit plugs into the GBA port. Just add Famicom/NES games.

Source: MyDS

Nintendo sold a lot of DS and Wii (as if we didn't know)

Nintendo of America released a statement today, reporting that it has sold a shitload of DS and Wii, and by extension, making another bucket load of money. The first week of the 2007 holiday season saw NOA getting over 653,000 DS and 350,000 Wii out there in storeland.

It also reported that with the increasing fuel prices, people are planning to spend less this holiday season, and claimed that the DS and Wii fits well with the price range (since everything else is more expensive).

Take that with a grain of salt. While it's true, my guess is Nintendo try to market itself off as a cheap console (at least that's what the RRP is saying).

Source: Nintendo

Review: Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon

So, I was scouted by Mobile Tech Review as one of their game reviewers a couple months back. I was thrilled. It was my other reviews on GameFAQs that got their attention. I knew my hard work wouldn't go to waste, plus, I have fun writing them.

I have finally finished my first review for the site, and it's now up. Go check it out. The first game I reviewed for the site is Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon. It is addictive if you are a Harvest Moonie.

Check out their site as well, it's all about Mobile Tech, including reviews of iPhones, Laptops and such.