Slashdot Mirror

Thanks to IGN for reprinting the Sony press release announcing that worldwide shipment of Sony's PlayStation 2 totaled 60 million units on September 6th. This can be split up into Japan/Asia (14.17 million units since March 4th, 2000), North America (26.42 million units since October 26th, 2000), and Europe/Australia (19.44 million units since November 24th, 2000.) The press release points out that: "Shipment of 60 million units within 3 years and 6 months since the launch is 1.6 times more in volume compared to the same period after launch of the original PlayStation." GamesIndustry.biz also note: "It's been quite a haul for Sony, who shipped their 50 millionth PS2 on January 15th 2003, having hit 40 million just four months previously and 30 million four and a half months prior to that."

Thanks to GamesIndustry.biz for their article discussing Take Two's comments on console exclusivity for the Grand Theft Auto franchise, following the surprise announcement of the GTA 'double-pack' for Xbox, which came about because Take Two/Rockstar had "amended its exclusivity deal with Sony, which had previously prevented the games from appearing on any console other than the PS2." Despite this amendment, Take Two CEO Jeffery Lapin confirmed "...that the next [GTA] game will be on the PlayStation 2 (not the PlayStation 3 as has been speculated by some commentators) and will have an unspecified period of exclusivity on that platform." He also stated that the company "currently has no plans to bring the series to Nintendo's GameCube", but might re-evaluate if "financially prudent".

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their article discussing the latest Japanese console hardware sales, in which it's revealed that the GameCube marginally outsold the PlayStation 2 this week, by 35,600 units to 35,300 units, largely "thanks to the release of Namco's RPG Tales of Symphonia", whose success we mentioned a couple of days back. Unfortunately, the third major console fared less well: "The picture was a little less bright for the Xbox, which slipped behind the PSone in the rankings again - selling 650 units to the PSone's 960. In market share terms, it was only one tenth of a percentage point ahead of Bandai's SwanCrystal. Ouch."

Thanks to Yahoo! for hosting the press release announcing Eidos Interactive's return to full-year profitability, despite the disappointing critical reception for the latest Tomb Raider title, as Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, TimeSplitters 2 and Championship Manager 4 "each sold circa one million units during the year." Eidos comment on Lara's transfer to developers Crystal Dynamics as bringing a "fresh look and feel" to the franchise. Elsewhere, the massive-selling Championship Manager soccer sim franchise will no longer be developed by creators Sports Interactive, raising questions of "how Eidos will manage to deliver anything up to CM's standard" for the 2004/2005 version, and Eidos won't be publishing TimeSplitters 3, since developers Free Radical own the rights to it.

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for reporting that Sony have confirmed their PSP portable has mobile phone and digital camera peripherals planned for it, separately of its 'main functionality' as a handheld console/media device. Sony executives also discussed the 'complicated' nature of "...copy protection measures in the hardware" for this new UMD optical disc-compatible handheld, saying "...software piracy won't be a problem if the protection system is as complicated as the one planned for PSP." In a related story, a ZiffDavis Wireless columnist takes Sony to task over the handheld's UMD format, concerned that "...Sony will hobble the forthcoming product's broad standards support in some bizarre proprietary way", and therefore miss out on making the PSP an "exciting and versatile media playback device."

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their story confirming that the PlayStation 3 will offer backwards compatibility with earlier PlayStation consoles via emulation, offering a quote from Sony boss Ken Kutaragi, sourced from the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun: "PSone runs on the PlayStation 2 through emulation rather than actual hardware. PlayStation 3 will offer the same compatibility for PS2 software and the format will continue forever." He also partially attributed the PS2's success to its multi-purpose nature, saying "[PS2] offers a sense of insurance because it is compatible with PSone and DVD movies", echoing earlier suggestions about DVD players in consoles, and obvious advantages to backwards software compatibility.

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their report that a source close to Sony suggests nVidia's rumored involvement with the PlayStation 3 is 'ridiculous'. According to the article, which dismisses earlier analyst reports, the source claims "...it was a 'ridiculous suggestion' that Sony would look elsewhere for a designer and manufacturer for the graphics processor (GPU) for the future console. 'Sony has its own chip design teams and manufacturing facilities with massive experience in this sort of thing,' he commented. 'Lashing NVIDIA's technology onto the PS3 architecture would simply make no sense either technologically or commercially.'"

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their report on the results of the annual ECTS Awards in London, documenting the ceremonies based around the E3-like English trade show. According to the piece, "Ubi Soft's cel-shaded FPS title XIII... [walked] away from the ceremony with the Best Console Game and Game of Show awards tucked under its arm. The company's multiplayer FPS title Far Cry also won the Best PC Game award, while Everquest 2 - published in Europe by Ubi - picked up the Best Online game award." Interestingly, the Edge Award, chosen by editors of the boutique UK games magazine, went to Capcom's Viewtiful Joe, while Half-Life 2 only came away with one prize, the London Games Week award.

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their report on the expansion of the traditionally quiet videogame market in the Middle East, covering Sony's announcement that "...combined sales of the PSone and PS2 have broken the 3 million unit mark... making the region into the fastest growing games market in the world - with sales expected to double for PS2 next year." The article also, interestingly, points out: "Sony's success in the area lends further weight to Europe's claim to be the world's largest games market."

Ian_Bailey writes "In official announcements, Nintendo has confirmed a number of new games, including a sequel to Wario Ware Inc. for the GameCube and a new Donkey Kong game developed by Namco. Furthermore, Nintendo indicated that a 'new game product' will be unveiled in Spring 2004, which could be their N5 next-gen console. Finally, after the IGN PS2 rumor reports, they have now had a look at the 10 Biggest Rumors on GameCube, including Metroid Prime 2, Too Human, and a realistic-looking Zelda."

TomPee writes "Hackers may have oiled the rails for Linux fans eager to run their favourite Penguin-fronted operating system on Xbox, but that's nothing compared to IBM's latest in-house project, according to Gamesindustry.biz: running the AS/400 enterprise operating system on a humble PlayStation. Now I'm only wondering: what will be the practical use of this ?" According to another account from News.com.au, which non-specifically mentions 'PlayStation', it may be that IBM are working on the PS2, and not the PSOne, as the newer article claims.

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their report on Nintendo's announcement of significant first-quarter profits, around $95 million (11.5bn Yen), "buoyed by stellar Game Boy Advance console sales, foreign exchange rate gains in Europe and the well timed re-emergence of the Pokemon brand." However, the article cautions that GameCube's current prospects are "...looking increasingly bleak, with a mere 800,000 units of the underperforming console selling through from April to June. Targets of six million have been set for the end of its financial year, but it's looking unlikely that it will reach this unless it's prepared to heavily discount the console in the run up to Christmas - something Nintendo has traditionally been reluctant to do." What can Nintendo do to get out of this hardware slump? Update: 08/05 20:43 GMT by S : According to this Reuters report, Nintendo sold just 80,000 GameCubes to retailers worldwide, not 800,000.

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their article discussing Sony's disappointing games division financial results. According to the piece: "Global sales of the PlayStation 2 may well have peaked, with Sony's results for the quarter ended June 30 revealing a steep decline in sales of the console and a drop in overall revenues for the games division of the corporation." The specific news was mixed: "The company sold some 4.59 million PS2s during the quarter last year - this year, however, the figure has dropped off to 2.65 million. As you might expect at this point in the console's life cycle, however, software sales are up - gaining four million units in during the period this year to bring the total to 31 million units."

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their report detailing Sega's first press conference under their new boss, Hisao Oguchi. As well as announcing "a target of doubling the company's global market share in the next five years", Sega announced better-than-expected Japanese software sales, including a good performance for racing title Initial D, and also detailed major changes in the company's development structure, as explained via a GamePro article - highlights include: "Sonic Team and United Game Artists (makers of Space Channel 5 and Rez) will merge and form a company whose aim is games for casual users. Sega-AM2 will stay as is... [and] Virtua Fighter designer Yu Suzuki will form a new development team."

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their report that Jeremy Heath-Smith, managing director of Tomb Raider developers Core Design, has resigned from the board of both Core and parent company Eidos. According to the article, Heath-Smith "..was closely associated with the development of the hugely delayed Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness.. [which has] been widely criticized since its launch for showing signs of extremely poor quality control, with serious gameplay bugs abundant throughout the product." However, as the piece points out, "..it is of course possible that the departure is for personal reasons and was planned prior to the launch of the game.. [but] it's fair to speculate that he may well be the sacrificial lamb required by Eidos."

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their new opinion piece suggesting poor customer service infrastructure is the biggest obstacle to to the growth of online gaming. According to the piece: "The biggest threat to online games today is the industry's neglect of the customer - usually a subscriber. How can a group so focused on giving the customer what they want, fulfilling their inner desires and fantasies in an online game be accused of neglecting this customer?" The writer also advocates partnering with an external subscription management solution if it makes sense, saying: "..overlooking those operational details that support the subscriber (billing, authentication, marketing, etc.) can mean the difference between disaster and success - even for a very good game."

Andrew writes "A press release has announced that Sony have officially licensed XDR DRAM, a joint effort between Elpida, Toshiba, and Rambus, for use in their future Cell broadband technology apps, which should include the next incarnation of the PlayStation series." An additional report at Gamesindustry.biz suggests that "..it's likely that the vast bulk of Elpida's [DRAM] output will be destined for PlayStation 3", and speculates on the PS3's release date based on the DRAM's 2004/5 production schedule: "We're not gambling types, but if we were, we'd put money on a mid-2005 [Playstation 3] launch in Japan, followed by US and European launches only a few months apart later that year - perhaps September 2005 in the USA, and November 2005 in Europe..."

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for writing up an article discussing Nokia's most recent comments about their N-Gage portable phone/game deck, which launches later this year, and will be at least partly competing against Nintendo's all-conquering GameBoy Advance. Most notably, Nokia boss Ilkka Raiskinen is quoted as saying "GameBoy is for 10-year-olds. If you're 20 or 25 years old, it's probably not a good idea to draw a GameBoy out of your pocket on a Friday night in a public place."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz article analyzing the best-selling UK videogames of 2003 so far. This intriguing analysis also includes sales figures, often difficult to come by in US charts, and notes the biggest selling all-formats title was The Sims, with "..total sales to date across the three console formats.. [of] a whisker short of 300,000, with the PS2 sales of the game accounting for over 90 per cent of that figure." Close behind it was soccer sim Championship Manager 4, which "tempted over a quarter of a million PC owners to part with their cash." Overall, they gave 'top marks', amongst others, to "Ubi Soft for bothering to port Splinter Cell properly", and 'must try harder' to "Sony for ignoring [marketing efforts for] any first party titles not developed in the UK."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz article describing Nintendo's attempts to stop European retailers importing Gamecube/GBA games. According to the piece, "..cease and desist orders have been issued to a number of independent retailers by Nintendo this week, demanding that they stop selling imported Nintendo titles and supply details of their suppliers." With handheld titles such as Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire lacking regional lock-outs, and even US/Japanese Gamecube games being playable with the help of Freeloader, Nintendo are clearly worried about imported titles taking away from native European sales, but as Gamesindustry.biz points out, "..the move will prevent [consumers] from playing titles which Nintendo of Europe has failed to release in this territory, such as the highly acclaimed Animal Crossing."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz article rounding up the Japanese rumors that an XBox 1.5 will launch later this year. It seems Japanese magazines such as WAM and Dorimaga are reporting a smaller-sized XBox will be launched alongside the flagship Japanese RPG True Fantasy Live Online. But the article suggests that "..it's not expected that any changes will be made to the internals of the system, however - this is, by all accounts, a purely cosmetic makeover."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to Gamesindustry.biz's analysis of Sony's game console brands, called 'Playstation: Evolve, Multiply, Conquer'. The article starts with the statement that "Sony clearly sees the games market as a stepping stone to dominance of the home entertainment sector", and goes on to look at the 'Playstation 2 Plus' PSX device unveiled this week, as well as the newly announced PSP portable. The piece concludes by looking at what the Playstation 3 might be, suggesting a family of complementary games consoles may be Sony's eventual goal - "..in an ideal world for Sony executives, the question asked when you go to buy a new piece of consumer electronics will not be whether you want a PlayStation, but which PlayStation you want."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz report that Argonaut's flagship title, Malice, has been cancelled by publisher Vivendi Universal. This 3D platform title was one of the first ever demonstrated for the Xbox, during Bill Gates' 2001 unveiling of the console, and had more recently added a PS2 version, plus Gwen Stefani of No Doubt's voice for the lead character. The former Starfox developer "..does hope to find a new deal for the game [Malice]", so we may still see it eventually. Also in Argonaut's disappointing news was the fact that their 3D beat-em-up Orchid has been cancelled by Namco - though Namco are still publishing their quirky I-Ninja action title.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz report discussing the financial terms of the deal made with the Wachowski Brothers for the Matrix games. It's rare that anyone gets to see the kind of financial terms granted to creators of big licenses like The Matrix. But divorce documents for one of the brothers, made available via The Smoking Gun, have revealed a total of 2.75 million dollars will be paid to them with regard to Atari's Enter The Matrix game (and another 2.75 million going direct to Warner Bros), plus an eventual total of 2.5 million dollars going to the Wachowskis for Ubi Soft's The Matrix Online through 2007. More proof, if needed, that games are seriously big business.

mojotooth writes "According to an article on The Register (via Gamesindustry.biz), German courts have handed down a ruling that the EA Sports game FIFA World Cup 2002 cannot be sold in Germany, because it features the name and likeness of Bundesleague goalkeeper Oliver Kahn without his express permission. The court has not yet handed down damages. This could be troubling to the sports gaming industry - we might be forced back into the dark ages of sports gaming, where team names and jersey numbers could be used, but not the names or likenesses of the players."

News for nerds writes "Eidos, maker of Tomb Raider, said it doesn't plan to make games for Xbox Live because Microsoft controls the system and manages subscriptions itself, leaving no incentive for a publisher to collaborate. Sony's approach is to sell just the equipment needed to connect to other's services, such as those run by game makers. Electronics Arts, which makes titles such as 2002 FIFA World Cup and NHL 2003 for the Xbox console, is also reluctant to join Microsoft's system, while supporting GameCube."

DaytonCIM writes "Honduras has issued a blanket ban on all violent videogames and toys, which is set to come into effect next June - giving retailers in the country a six month grace period to clear stocks of the games from their inventories. Among the banned games named are Resident Evil, Shadowman, Street Fighter, Turok, Perfect Dark, Quake and Doom. Read more here."