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Thanks to GameScience for its round-up of financial results for Japanese videogame publishers for fiscal Q1 2004. The piece muses on "disappointing figures for Konami and Sega with a lack of big titles for the period, and with two cancelled titles, Namco also suffered heavy losses. Sony's game division also suffered, while Capcom and Square-Enix had a comparatively good period." The article also notes Nintendo's "large-scale gains", pointing out: "the Gameboy Advance SP continues to enjoy good sales while software such as 'Mario vs Donkey Kong', 'Kirby' and 'Famicom Mini Series 2' was a great success [both series together have sold over 2.7 million copies]", whereas "the bulk of the losses" in Sony's game division can "be attributed to lower hardware sales than usual", as the PlayStation 2 nears the end of its lifecycle.

Thanks to GameScience for its round-up of financial results for Japanese videogame publishers for fiscal Q1 2004. The piece muses on "disappointing figures for Konami and Sega with a lack of big titles for the period, and with two cancelled titles, Namco also suffered heavy losses. Sony's game division also suffered, while Capcom and Square-Enix had a comparatively good period." The article also notes Nintendo's "large-scale gains", pointing out: "the Gameboy Advance SP continues to enjoy good sales while software such as 'Mario vs Donkey Kong', 'Kirby' and 'Famicom Mini Series 2' was a great success [both series together have sold over 2.7 million copies]", whereas "the bulk of the losses" in Sony's game division can "be attributed to lower hardware sales than usual", as the PlayStation 2 nears the end of its lifecycle.

Thanks to IGN PS2 for relaying the news that Namco has confirmed bizarre PlayStation 2 'object conglomeration' videogame Katamari Damacy for U.S. release, as it's officially "due out on [North American] store shelves this September." The article explains of the previously featured PS2 title, thought "very unlikely" to get a U.S. release at the time: "Your father, the great king, has inadvertently eliminated the stars from the sky and it's your job as his son to clean up the mess that he's created. To do so, players become a sticky rolling mass that can collect objects and items from all over the world" - a review of the Japanese version at Game Science explains gameplay further.

Thanks to Game Science for its article analyzing Japanese videogame hardware and software sales for the first half of 2004. Of particular interest are the hardware sales for consoles ("PlayStation 2 - 1,365,260... Nintendo Gamecube - 340,204... Xbox - 18,239"), million-selling games ("Pokemon Fire Red & Leaf Green - 2,136,737... Dragon Quest V - 1,572,497... Sengoku Musou - 1,002,312"), a rare Western game popular in Japan ("Grand Theft Auto Vice City - 367,302"), a list of the publishers with the most games in the Top 100 ("Nintendo - 28...Bandai - 9... Konami - 8"), and the note that "The [videogame] market has increased 7.7% on the same period last year", meaning previous depressed forecasts for the Japanese games industry might not be entirely correct.

Thanks to Game Science for its post discussing the Japanese announcement of the Xbox Video Chat hardware/software bundle, which includes "camera, 12 months of Xbox Live service, chat disc and Live Starter Kit." Although the product is "being developed mainly in Japan", a release date in the West is likely, if currently unknown. However, with features including "up to 5 people video conferencing simultaneously... participation can be restricted to invite only... send vibrations to participants' controllers", the staid Brits at Eurogamer are naturally horrified: "Given the remote-rumble function and the fact the Xbox audience is 'adult'; well, our minds are boggling, frankly."

Thanks to IGN GameCube for its article noting overall sales totals for Nintendo's most famous franchises, revealed as part of the company's recent financial results. The winner? "Across a total of nineteen titles, the Super Mario Brothers series has managed worldwide sales of 174 million units. This figure works out to 54 million units across nine portable titles and 120 million units across 10 home titles." Additionally, "Pokemon comes in second at 91 million units... [though] the company has chosen to not include sales from the series' console counterparts... Donkey Kong beats out Zelda for third place with 43 million units... Zelda comes in at 42 million units." Elsewhere, Game Science has news of a limited edition Metroid-themed Game Boy Advance SP, with the "two-tone GBA SP body shell, in the colors of Samus' bodysuit" available in Japan via Club Nintendo.

CuBeFReNZy writes "Game-Science has an article mentioning: 'Capcom held a meeting today to show off their newly formed development team, Clover Studio.' The team showcased their first titles: a Viewtiful Joe conversion ('will include Dante, from Capcom's Devil May Cry series, as a playable character') to the PS2, Viewtiful Joe 2 ('new co-op gameplay') for PS2 and Gamecube, and Ookami ('toon-shading engine... nature adventure') for the PS2."

Thanks to GameScience for translating the news that Sony's PlayStation 2/DVR combination, the PSX, has temporarily ceased production in Japan, apparently "since the start of April." According to Sony representatives, the company is "in the middle of deciding when production will start again, based on the current stock levels, as well as the shift in demand for the unit", but the Japanese article claims "a development problem", suggesting "...both SCE's game unit and Sony's Blu-ray team are involved in the project, and apparently things haven't been running smoothly, resulting in some of PSX's functionality being mismatched" - is this partly referencing the PSX's initial feature downgrade? However, the PSX is "still on track for launch in Europe and North America in the second half of 2004."

Thanks to Game Science for its review of Namco's extremely odd PlayStation 2 game, Katamari Damacy, recently released in Japan. The game's premise involves fixing your father the King's drunken heaven-trashing exploits by "...collecting a load of junk from Earth, rolling it into clumps, and sending it up into the Cosmos to make stars." The gameplay is also distinctly unconventional: "Starting with a clump no bigger than the Prince himself, you must roll around the deepest crevices [MPEG link] of a house, picking up tiny things like drawing pins, moving up to Shogi tiles and batteries", before moving all the way up to "picking up giant octopi and huge monsters." The reviewer ends by noting: "A European release can't be ruled out, but a US release seems very unlikely. It's likely to become hot property when word spreads of its goodness, so I recommend a quick purchase if you're teetering on the brink of buying it."

Thanks to Game Science for its article revealing the first visuals of Parappa The Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura's new title, Vib Ripple. An earlier post at Game Science has further details, mentioning "'Vib Ripple' is a similar style of game to [PlayStation 1 title] 'Vib Ribbon' but with different content. The player takes control of Vibri with a photograph as the game field, and must jump at designated points to free characters from the field. The game can use photographs taken from your mobile phone or digital camera via the USB port." Elsewhere, Matsuura is to be honored at the Game Developer's Choice Awards at GDC in San Jose, receiving the oddly named First Penguin Award, "acknowledging developers who have taken risks to break new ground."

Thanks to Game Science for its article revealing the first visuals of Parappa The Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura's new title, Vib Ripple. An earlier post at Game Science has further details, mentioning "'Vib Ripple' is a similar style of game to [PlayStation 1 title] 'Vib Ribbon' but with different content. The player takes control of Vibri with a photograph as the game field, and must jump at designated points to free characters from the field. The game can use photographs taken from your mobile phone or digital camera via the USB port." Elsewhere, Matsuura is to be honored at the Game Developer's Choice Awards at GDC in San Jose, receiving the oddly named First Penguin Award, "acknowledging developers who have taken risks to break new ground."

Thanks to 1UP for its article covering a new interview with former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, as he discusses the recently announced DS portable and the state of Nintendo as a whole. In particular, the article notes: "The DS represents a critical moment for Nintendo's success over the next two years, Yamauchi said -- 'if it succeeds, we rise to the heavens, if it fails, we sink into hell.' His hope, and Nintendo's mission, is to spread new gameplay through this device and re-energize the games market in both Japan and the rest of the world." Apparently, it was the 76-year-old Yamauchi "...who first proposed the concept of games employing a dual-screen device about 18 months ago", and elsewhere, Game Science has coverage of largely enthusiastic comments from Japanese developers on the DS, ranging from the positive ("It's exciting hardware for both makers and users) to the guarded ("A machine with two screens is going to be quite a high hurdle for developers to get over.")

Thanks to Frictionless Insight for pointing to a China Daily article discussing Sony Online's moves to introduce its MMO titles into China, as it has "found a Chinese partner to help it run its shooting game PlanetSide", and is "also trying to find partners for the forthcoming EverQuest II." While a Chinese gaming entrepreneur suggested "Western game companies are much superior to their South Korean counterparts in terms of graphic quality and game designs", a Shanghai-based analyst retorted that "...most Chinese game players like fashionable heroes and heroines in games more than picture quality and game plots, the strong point of South Korean and Japanese game developers." Elsewhere, GameScience has a translated article noting Sony's struggles in launching the PlayStation 2 in China, as it's argued, with regards to both imported hardware and pirated software: "There is simply no way for the official goods to compete with the [widely available] pirate versions."

Thanks to Game Science for their second article, following yesterday's first part, discussing Japanese game developer expectations for 2004, as relayed via a survey in Famitsu magazine. Of 100 developers surveyed, 25 thought things would improve in 2004, suggesting "new hardware will spur the market on, [and] big hits like FFXII and GT4 will be released", but 32 expected no change, saying "makers and shops will struggle to get by, [and] it will be a tough year for small companies." Hints of the Japanese games slump in 2003 came from survey results in which a clear majority considered it a 'bad year', pointing out "companies like Digicube went bankrupt... [and] the market got smaller." Finally, of those Japanese developers surveyed, 52 were planning to concentrate on PlayStation 2 in 2004, compared with 24 on PC, 15 on PSP, 11 on GameCube, and just 7 on Xbox.

Thanks to Game Science for their article revealing comments and plans for 2004 from many of Japan's top videogame publishers and developers. Among the items of interest is Sony's re-confirmation that "We will definitely release PSP in 2004... we'd like to release it mid-December", and that Capcom are "putting a lot of effort" into PSP launch titles - Konami, Namco, and Sega also mention planned PSP titles, although Square Enix are only "considering whether to release any PSP games." Elsewhere, Nintendo mention that "Miyamoto is hard at work on Zelda: Four Swords and Pikmin 2", and that they "plan to show the new game machine at E3" (a reference to their mysterious supplemental game hardware, rather than GameCube 2?), and Sega intriguingly note that they "plan to invest in an MMORPG for East Asia."

Thanks to Game Science for their news story compiling the results of an end-of-year survey in Japanese videogame magazine Famitsu. Among the intriguing results: the most popular game of 2003 for readers was Namco's GameCube RPG Tales Of Symphonia, with another GC title, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, coming in second, and Square's Final Fantasy X-2 for PS2 was voted the most disappointing title of the year. Elsewhere, game developers and shops voted Western-developed Grand Theft Auto III the game that "sold better than your expectations", and Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII is the most-awaited Japanese title of 2004 among developers, retailers, and gamers, with that company's Dragon Quest VIII firmly ensconced in second place. Finally, as an aside, the Game Science site has collected a neat conglomeration of Happy New Year postcards from Japanese game developers.

Thanks to Game Science for their news story compiling the results of an end-of-year survey in Japanese videogame magazine Famitsu. Among the intriguing results: the most popular game of 2003 for readers was Namco's GameCube RPG Tales Of Symphonia, with another GC title, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, coming in second, and Square's Final Fantasy X-2 for PS2 was voted the most disappointing title of the year. Elsewhere, game developers and shops voted Western-developed Grand Theft Auto III the game that "sold better than your expectations", and Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII is the most-awaited Japanese title of 2004 among developers, retailers, and gamers, with that company's Dragon Quest VIII firmly ensconced in second place. Finally, as an aside, the Game Science site has collected a neat conglomeration of Happy New Year postcards from Japanese game developers.

Thanks to Game Science for printing details of UK design house Tomato's forthcoming Sony Music Japan-published PlayStation 2 title, an abstract "software toy" called 'wordimagesoundplay'. Tomato, who include members of electronic music group (and soundtrack authors) Underworld, says the abstract title "is not a goal-driven experience." Meanwhile, 1UP has an in-depth feature on Sony Japan's weirdest self-published PlayStation 2 games, including such memorable titles as Space Fisherman ("[a] space fishing action adventure") and Kuma Uta ("you're the manager for a performing bear, which specializes in singing bland... enka music.")