Pokemon X and Pokemon Y sold 4,000,000 copies over the weekend
Ever since Pocket Monsters: Red and Pocket Monsters: Green launched in Japan in 1996 (Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue in the US in 1998), it seems like the craze has barely died down for the franchise all about catching them all. After 15 years and six main sequels (not to mention the direct sequels and spin-offs), Pokemon is just as much the powerhouse it has been since its release.
With the latest games in the series, Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, released over this past weekend, the franchise demonstrated just how popular it really is. Earlier today, Nintendo issued a press release lauding Pokemon X and Pokemon Y for selling more than four million units in its first two days across the US, Asia, and Europe. The staggering launch numbers are thanks to Pokemon's first-ever worldwide launch, as well as the franchise staple of releasing two different versions at a time.
Nintendo also released lifetime sales for previous Pokemon games. The most successful entries were Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl with 17.63m, followed by Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire with 16.22m, Pokemon Black and Pokemon White with 15.42m, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver with 12.67m, and Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen with 12m.
[via Destructoid]
[Video] New gameplay video of Kingdom Hearts III
At the D23 Expo in Japan last night, a new gameplay video was released for the highly-anticipated Kingdom Hearts III. Originally announced earlier this year, the new prime sequel in the storied Kingdom Hearts franchise will be released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with no release date set just yet. This new video comes hot on the heels of Square-Enix's announcement that Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix will be released on the PlayStation 3 next year. The game will be an HD remake of the previously Japan-only Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix with HD cutscenes from the Nintendo DS' Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Kingdom Hearts melds together the world of Square-Enix's Final Fantasy series with iconic Disney characters and locations into an action-RPG game about identity and self-discovery. While Kingdom Hearts II originally released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2006, a multitude of spin-offs have been released in the interim on the PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix will be the perfect opportunity for gamers that skipped them (or couldn't finish them like myself) to play them all in one package to prepare for Kingdom Hearts III's release.
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Flying Lotus: "Heart Racing Mix"
It's been almost a month since Grand Theft Auto V was released, amassing seven Guinness World Records (including the fastest-selling video game to gross $1b). Of course, it wouldn't be a Grand Theft Auto game without its fair share of controversy, ranging from the technical problems that plagued Grand Theft Auto Online's release two weeks ago (resulting in the studio offering $500,000 in in-game currency) or the social problems about the game's violence. One aspect of the franchise that can't be argued with is each game's immaculate soundtrack.
When I'm patiently following the rules of the road (and having other drivers heckle and flip me off because of it), I like to channel surf between the punk rock-driven Channel X, the jazzy WorldWide FM, and the hip hop stylings of FlyLo FM. Flying Lotus has recently released a new mix, "Heart Racing Mix," that features some of the mixes found in GTA V. Check it out below!
Rockstar offers $500,000 of in-game currency for Grand Theft Auto Online
Are you one of the millions who ran into problems when attempting to connect to Grand Theft Auto Online last week? Were you one of the lucky ones to have connected early on, but then became extra unlucky when your character was inexplicably deleted? That's exactly what happened to me when I made my first online journey into San Andreas. After hours of playing with my cousin and friends, I woke up one morning to discover my character was deleted. With the reports of countless others experiencing the same problems, I had faith that Rockstar would be able to restore our progress, leading me to unofficially boycott the game until more updates came out. After a week, I threw caution into the wind and restarted two nights ago. Turns out, that was a great decision.
Rockstar has publicly come out and stated that the loss of characters and progress can't be retrieved. However, to make up for the major inconvenience, the studio will be depositing two installments of $250,000 into the bank accounts of every person that logs into Grand Theft Auto Online and installs the new patch coming out next week until the end of the month. The wealth of money is more than enough for gamers to purchase in-game garages, apartments, clothes, vehicles, etc.
Does this make up for all of the crap gamers had to endure during Grand Theft Auto Online's initial launch, or is it too little, too late?
[via Rockstar]
Microsoft may sell your Kinect data to third-party advertisers
It's no secret to anybody that I'm an anti-Xbox gamer. For close to a decade, I've scoffed at Microsoft's entry to the gaming industry. While I acknowledge (and admire) the company for revolutionizing online gaming, there have been way too many missteps made for me to ever fully embrace the Xbox line. While the Xbox 360 has spent the past four years near the top of the gaming industry, due in no small part to Sony's own missteps with the PlayStation 3's first few years, Microsoft's handling of the Xbox One has been more than enough proof to show just how conniving and money-grubbing the company can be.
While they reversed their pro-DRM policies back in June, there was still the worry of the Kinect camera's ability to detect everything from the user's voice to scanning the items and objects in the room. After all, Microsoft is a known supporter and backer of the National Security Agency (NSA), and with their penchant to make money any way they can, the latest news that they're considering selling Kinect data to third-party advertisers comes as no surprise.
Microsoft's Vice President of Marketing and Strategy made a speech at this past weekend's Association of National Advertisers Masters of Marketing Conference about the future of advertising and the "gamification" of it all, stating:
"We are trying to bridge some of the world between online and offline. That's a little bit of a holy grail in terms of how you understand the consumer in that 360 degrees of their life. We have a pretty unique position at Microsoft because of what we do with digital, as well as more and more with television because of Xbox. It's early days, but we're starting to put that together in more of a unifying way, and hopefully at some point we can start to offer that to advertisers broadly."
With the Kinect camera,the Xbox One has the ability to detect everything from the aforementioned voice commands to even a consumer's heart rate. Based off of a gamer's trends, Microsoft can compile data and send that to third-party advertisers, leading to a potential in spam, targeted ads within the Xbox One dashboard, etc. Of course, users can opt out out of this, but at what cost? Simply not signing an agreement? Not actually playing an Xbox One? You're all better off getting a PlayStation 4; this news just helps affirm why the PS4 is a more consumer-friendly console than the Xbox One.
[via Advertising Age]
EA settles for "tens of millions" in NCAA lawsuit
A huge win for NCAA athletes was reached last week as Electronic Arts announced it has settled with lawyers over the use of athletes' names and likenesses in past NCAA sports games. While an exact amount hasn't been revealed, the rumored "tens of millions" of dollars will be shared amongst current and former NCAA athletes featured in EA Sports' NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball games. However, while EA settled, the NCAA is still preparing to fight the lawsuit as they are the lone defendant in the case.
The debate over the commercialization of college sports will continue for a long time, but this settlement is one victory that could represent a change in entertainment practices of large groups profiting off of the athletes' talents. In related news, EA also announced that they will not be releasing NCAA Football '14 this year per the settlement. It's unknown if the popular video game franchise (alongside its basketball counterpart) will continue, but the company is "evaluating our plan for the future of the franchise."
[via USA Today]
Rockstar is interested in making a Bully sequel
When Bully came out in 2006, it was both the anti-Grand Theft Auto and a psuedo-Grand Theft Auto Lite. It took the GTA formula, but framed the game within a private school setting with a decreased focus on rampant violence and carnage. However, what Bully may have lacked in the violence department, it more than made up in the game's humor, tight storytelling, and amazing gameplay. Unfortunately, seven years have come and gone with little to no word on the franchise's future (outside of the game's re-release on the Xbox 360 and Wii, as well as a digital re-release on the PlayStation 3).
With the national focus on the success story that is Grand Theft Auto V, the questions have come up again about a Bully sequel. In a talk with Polygon, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser wants to make a sequel to Bully by stating, "Well, hopefully, you never know. There's a lot of directions I could go with that one [...]" The video game industry and the mainstream society's tolerance/acceptance of video games is in a better position than it was almost a decade ago, which could hopefully help the odds of a Bully 2 become that much more realistic. Keep your fingers crossed and make a wish, ladies and gentlemen.
[via Polygon]
NBA Jam lead designer admits to collusion against the Chicago Bulls
NBA Jam was a huge hit when it hit arcades and home consoles back in 1993. The NBA-licensed arcade basketball game featured 2-on-2 teams pushing, shoving, and dunking on one another in intense, high-energy games. Some of the best memories from the game included backboard-shattering slam dunks, players going on fire after making three consecutive shots, and game announcer Tim Kitzrow's catch phrases ("Boomshakalaka!").
A full decade has passed, and while the franchise isn't as popular as it once was, gamers and basketball fans of age all have fond memories of the Midway game. In an interview with ESPN, NBA Jam lead designer Mark Turmell addressed one such memory. When asked about whether Scottie Pippen's ratings dropped unexpectedly, Turmell offered an interesting explanation:
It's true, but only when the Bulls played the Pistons. If there was a close game and anyone on the Bulls took a last second shot, we wrote special code in the game so that they would average out to be bricks. There was the big competition back in the day between the Pistons and the Bulls, and since I was always a big Pistons fan, that was my opportunity to level the playing field.
Collusion! Then again, over the past year, the Chicago Bulls attained three more championships, Derrick Rose, and one of the league's highest attendance; the Pistons, on the other hand, are still in Detroit... enough said. It's the little battles that matter, right?
[via ESPN]