With Gamecube ports all the rage (like New Play Control! Pikmin ), it was only a matter of time before one of Nintendo’s lunchbox-looking console’s most acclaimed franchises made its way onto the Wii, refitted and reformatted for a new generation of fans who may have missed out on the first go-around. Nintendo has officially announced Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Wii, set for a August 24th release, and the package seems like everything fans were wanting – and more. Trilogy will feature all three Metroid Prime games, jam-packed onto one disc and retailing for $49.99, the cost of a brand-new retail game. While this represents a slight increase from the company’s previous Gamecube-conversions, the option to have all three landmark Metroid Prime games (including the highly-rated Wii original Metroid Prime 3 ) in one place and retro-fitted with the console’s improved motion-controls should seal the deal for many fans of Samus Aran. Fans can also look for improved 16:9 aspect ratios, faster loading times, and even slightly improved lighting effects for the older games. Unlockable content can be earned by completing specific objectives during gameplay, which will allow players to instantly view in-game artwork and music (all three games feature epic soundtracks) upon completing certain tasks. All three games will also be accessible on the fly, meaning players won’t have to restart games just to play another, much like the company’s own Super Mario All-Stars compilations of the past. – From VGChartz.com

Check it out

February sales are out and it’s the Wii coming out on top in hardware, but Street Fighter IV beating out the Wii fit on the software side. Special note to Killzone 2, which racked up 323,000 sales in just 24 hours.

Here’s the full list – or get more details from the good folks at GameSpot

US Console Sales – Feb. 2009
Wii: 753,000
Nintendo DS: 588,000
Xbox 360: 391,000
PlayStation 3: 276,000
PlayStation Portable: 199,000
PlayStation 2: 131,000

Software Sales – Feb. 2009
Wii Fit w/Balance Board (Wii) 644,000
Street Fighter IV (360) 446,000
Street Fighter IV (PS3) 403,000
Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) 86,000
Killzone 2 (PS3) 323,000
Mario Kart Wii with Wheel (Wii) 263,000
Call of Duty: World at War (360) 193,000
Mario Kart DS (DS) 145,000
New Super Mario Bros. (DS) 144,000
Guitar Hero World Tour (Wii) 136,000

In July, Square Enix scored a critical hit with its redux of Final Fantasy IV for the Nintendo DS. Named a runner-up in GameSpot’s 2008 DS platform awards (and the Reader’s Choice winner), the role-playing game originally released in the US as Final Fantasy II for the Super Nintendo featured all-new 3D graphics, CG cutscenes with voice-overs, a remixed score by series composer Nobuo Uematsu, and a multiplayer head-to-head battle mode. Now, Square Enix is hoping to follow up that that success with Final Fantasy IV’s sequel on the Wii. As revealed by a listing in the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s online database, the publisher is prepping Final Fantasy IV: The After Years for Nintendo’s console. Though it is unclear whether or not the game will be a WiiWare digital download or boxed copy release, it is apparently based on the 2008 Japanese mobile phone game Final Fantasy IV: The After (no “Years”). Square Enix had not responded to requests for comment as of press time. – From GameSpot

New Prince of Persia Lego toys are coming out. I’m sorry, but they just make me want to cry.

Gameloft has hit 200,000,000 downloads of their games. Wow. The company currently has 300 titles across various mobile platforms and all current-gen consoles.

Microsoft claims that Xbox now has a one million console lead on Sony PS3. Sony, of course, begs to differ. The two companies will pee on each other about the issue while Nintendo conquers the landscape.

Sega will bringing Virtua Tennis 2009 to market in May. This version of their classic game will be available for the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.Their 2007 version was available for the Wii, the console it is friggin’ made for.

There’s a game focused school opening in NY this year. WTF does that mean? It uses the “underlying design principles of games to create highly immersive, game-like learning experiences for students.” WTF does that mean? Oh well, read the article and figure it out yourself.

Gods of War III trailer for PS3 – this looks really fraking cool. Enjoy the awesomeness.

Midway, the publisher of Mortal Kombat, has filed for bankruptcy.

The Resident Evil folks want to see more Evil on the Wii. It would be cool to get a really great hack and slash game for the Wii.

Here’s a preview of the new G.I. Joe game from Electronic Arts. The game will take place right after The Rise of Cobra. Things look pretty good, but the game sounds pretty simplistic.

Following in the steps of Apple’s successful retail outlets, Microsoft is opening it’s own gaming stores.

Dragon Quest IX is being delayed (from March to June), and that could push back Final Fantasy XIII.

Sega is putting its Aliens role-playing for franchise to rest (they never die – someone will bring it back – someday). Developer Obsidian laid off 20 people due to the cut.

The Wii Fit sold 777,000 units in January. Holy shit – that’s a record for them. Check out all the sales for games and hardware for January.

Guitar Hero continues to roll along. Now they are putting out a greatest hits compilation accommodate World Tour’s drum and mic set. This means fan-favorite selections from Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2 and Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, now with the drum and mic support.

Hold your breath: Monster Hunter 3 is set for a summer release in Japan. Okay, exhale. Resume life much better than before.

Here are some numbers:

Wii – 679,200
Nintendo DS – 510,800
Xbox 360 – 309,000
PlayStation 3 – 203,200
PSP – 172,300
PlayStation 2 – 101,200

Software does well for both Nintendo and Xbox, with the two systems holding all top 10 slots:

Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) – 777,000 units
Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) – 415,000
Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) – 292,000
Left 4 Dead (Valve/EA, Xbox 360) – 243,000
Call of Duty: World at War (Treyarch/Activision, Xbox 360) – 235,000
Skate 2 (EA Black Box/EA, Xbox 360) – 199,000
Guitar Hero: World Tour (Neversoft/Activision, Wii) – 155,000
New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, NDS) – 135,000
Mario Kart DS (Nintendo, NDS) – 132,000
Lord of the Rings: Conquest (Pandemic/EA, Xbox 360) – 113,00

The amazing thing is that the Wii Fit sells for $90, meaning upwards of $70 million at retail. Two years after the Wii was introduced, it’s showing amazing legs and still attracting new gamers.

The Wii has brought Nintendo to supremacy. Sony is taking a bath. However, Nintendo has lowered its profit targets. Still, with the continued rise of the Wii and such standouts as Wii Fit, they are going to be fine.

Recently, Sony gave a preview of its third quarter earnings that set the stage for a grim set of final figures. Those figures were released Thursday, on the same day that Nintendo unveiled the results of its sales during the third quarter. Although both companies are facing the same problems when it comes to general economic conditions, Nintendo seems set to stay in the black regardless, and it’s worth taking a look at why. The most fundamental problem that both companies face is that much of their income comes from overseas sales, and the Yen has strengthened considerably against many currencies as people flock to its relative stability. That means that all of the overseas revenue is diluted in value when it’s converted to Yen on its return to the company. – From Ars Technica

Nintendo, which has led the video-game console market with its hot-selling Wii, shocked industry watchers Thursday by reporting that profits for 2008 would be 33% less than expected. The Japanese company, which trades on the Tokyo stock exchange, gave no clear reason for the warning, other than saying in a company statement that there was a “softness in the Japanese consumer market.” – From Information Week

Electronics earnings news brought little comfort to Sony on Thursday but plenty of encouragement to rival Nintendo. Sony on Thursday reported that its profit dropped 95 percent for its third quarter ending Dec. 31, which includes the first-ever operating loss from its electronics division. Sony executives also forecast a loss of $1.67 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, which will be the company’s first loss in 14 years, according to Reuters. – From Channel Web

Nintendo was on Santa’s ‘good list’ this Christmas, as the Wii and DS took the lead and bitchslapped Sony and Microsoft. Everyone received a Wii this year — even my frakin’ dad wanted to buy one. So you hear about these tough economic times, but I doubt anyone was playing Wii Bowling during the depression era. Unless you count waiting in the bread line as a sport… Here’s the buzz on Nintendo:

Despite the slumping national economy, sales of video games still managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations for the month of December, thanks mostly to strong demand for Nintendo devices. Sales of game software in the U.S. jumped 15% to $2.75 billion for the month, according to data from NPD Group issued late Thursday. Analysts on average had been expecting sales growth of approximately 9-10%. Sales of game hardware edged up 2% to $1.88 billion for the month. – from Marketwatch

Nintendo Co. continued to dominate the U.S. video-game market in December, increasing sales of the Wii console by 59 percent and setting an industry record with more than 3 million purchases of its handheld players. Nintendo, the world’s largest maker of game consoles, sold 2.15 million Wii players last month, researcher NPD Group Inc. said today in a statement. Total U.S. video-game industry sales rose 9.3 percent to $5.29 billion in December, the Port Washington, New York-based group said today. – from Bloomberg

NPD reported that 55 percent of new-generation video game consoles sold in the United States last year were Wii devices, known for motion-sensing controllers and family-style play. The four top-selling video games last year are Wii titles, and Nintendo’s retail success is credited with helping video game industry revenues in 2008 rise 19 percent from the previous year. – from AFP

When Barack Obama takes office on January 20th, he’ll not only be the most powerful man in the world, but also the most powerful gamer.

From Here

Toddlers could be screened for speech problems after evidence that many are so addicted to television and video games that they are failing to learn basic communication skills. An ambitious nationwide screening programme for two-year-olds is reportedly being considered to tackle the problem which experts say is now more prevalent than dyslexia or autism. The decline of the traditional family meal time, the long-hours culture in the parents’ workplaces, poor childcare with little stimulation and social deprivation are also being blamed. – from Telegraph

For most of this year, Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 videogame console seemed finally to be taking off after a slow start. The PS3, trailing Nintendo Co.’s Wii and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 consoles, was closing in on the No. 2 Xbox 360, with new games and quarterly sales growth at twice the speed of last year. But early results from this holiday season aren’t promising. U.S. sales of the PS3 fell 19% last month from a year earlier, while sales doubled for the Wii console and rose 8% for the Xbox 360, according to research firm NPD. Analysts say they expect PS3 sales for this month to be flat or lower than last year, while sales for its rivals are likely to rise. And Sony may not reach its goal of selling 10 million PS3 consoles in the fiscal year through March, analysts say. – From Wall Street Journal

So, what are some of the main issues with the PS3? It’s overpriced. Microsoft dropped prices on the Xbox 360 to gain market share, and it worked. Sony is intent on becoming profitable (the right motive) but is doing so at the sake of building momentum. A console that starts at $400 (with only one controller and usually zero games) puts you over $500 before it’s much fun. According to the WSJ article, “U.S. sales of the PS3 fell 19 percent last month from a year earlier, while sales doubled for the Wii console and rose 8 percent for the Xbox 360, according to research firm NPD Group. Analysts say they expect PS3 sales for this month to be flat or lower than last year, while sales for its rivals are likely to rise.” Lack of exclusive games. It’s gotten much harder to find compelling games that are only available on PS3, a strategy that has been very successful in the past. – From CNET.com

A Portsmouth, N.H., couple yesterday blamed each other for their black and blue Christmas when they got into a violent fight – and arrested – after an argument over a gift of the popular Nintendo video game. “This was the worst Christmas ever,” Randi Young, 24, said a day after she and her boyfriend, Heath Blom, 26, were both cuffed and carted off by cops on misdemeanor charges of “domestic-related” simple assault. olice were called to South Street home where the couple lived with Blom’s grandparents at 1:55 p.m. Christmas day. Officers arrested the pair upon observing bruises on each of them.

Portsmouth police said tempers flared because the boyfriend was smarting over not getting the present he wished for. “Heath Blom wanted a remote-controlled airplane for Christmas, and not the Wii,” said Sgt. Kuffer Kaltenborn.

Blom, a flooring contractor, said the cops got it wrong, and that he had asked his grandparents to get him the $1,000 airplane for his birthday next April. “You can’t fly an RC plane in the snow,” he said.

But he admitted disparaging the Wii game to his grandma and angering his girlfriend, who accused him of being an ingrate. – from Boston

An argument ensued, and Young allegedly hid the gift and began packing her bags. Insults flew, and a fist fight between the two allegedly ended in a two-story tumble down the stairs. “He dragged me down two flights of stairs, by the hair,” Young claimed on Friday. But Blom said, “I stood in the doorway trying to block her. She punched me in the eye. She punched me three times. I said ‘That’s it.’ And I pulled her hair.” – from Boston too