Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Fist of the North Star Coming to PSP

Popular manga and anime Fist of the North Star is coming to the PSP soon in a form of a fighting game. Currently being developed by Arc System Works, this is another addition to many Fist of the North Star games.

Set to be released in Japan on Oct 2, the cell-shaded game will include characters such as Raoh, Uighur, and Reina.

Rumors of an upcoming DS Lite with camera and music playback are abound, after a report from Nikkei Net. The said new DS alteration will go on sale in Japan first, retailing for about $188.

One thing I like about the DS is unlike the PSP, it's made primarily for gaming. And they are doing one hell of a job out of it. Would I like a camera with my DS? I think I'll pass on this one.
Monday, September 29, 2008

7th Dragon Trailer

Sega is on the roll with regards to releasing RPGs on the NDS. 7th Dragon is one of those RPGs. Humans against dragons, now that's an RPG! The team behind Etrian Odyssey is responsible for this game so you know it's gotta be a REAL RPG.

Below is the first trailer of 7th Dragon. The FMV looks nice, with good animation and textured architecture. Although there's no footage yet of battles or any in-game animation.

Level-5 and Studo Ghibli's upcoming collaboration on a DS game just got better! Ni no Kuni: The Another World screens surfaced on Famitsu, and as expected the images are beyond awesome!

Studio Ghibli definitely had an open hand on this project, as can be seen by the characters and background. I can't speak yet about the gameplay though. Let's all hope they're localizing this game as soon as possible.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Pokemon Platinum Sales Reached 1.2 Million

Japan software sales revealed that the Japanese are the biggest pokefans ever. Pokemon Platinum for the Nintendo DS sales count reached 1.2 million last week with the addition of 300,000+ copies sold.

Two more DS titles entered the top ten. On second is Dragon Ball DS, with Rhythm Tengoku Gold on third. No wonder the DS dominated the hardware chart!
  1. Pokémon Platinum (DS) - 315,000
  2. Dragon Ball DS (DS) - 72,000
  3. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS) - 63,000
  4. Eternal Sonata (PS3) - 34,000
  5. Quiz Magic Academy DS (DS) - 29,000
  6. Wii Fit (Wii) - 28,000
  7. Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Battle Arena (PSP) - 25,000
  8. Samurai Dou Portable (PSP) - 17,000
  9. One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 1 - Nami ni Yureru Hihou (Wii) - 15,000
  10. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 14,000
The Nintendo DS Lite is known for its sought after limited editions. Add one to the list in the form of Limited Edition Pink Ribbon. The Pink Ribbon logo is the symbol of breast cancer awareness worldwide. Nintendo will donate $5 for every unit purchased, and has promised a minimum donation of $100,000. If you don't have a DS Lite yet, or looking to get a second one, now is a good time.
Nintendo scored big last week. The NDS topped the hardware sales chart, with Wii coming in second. The PSP came in third, with more than 30,000 units separating it from number one.

The numbers may be attributed to the recent release of solid DS titles like Pokémon Platinum and Dragon Ball DS, which are both chart toppers as well.

DS - 61,242
Wii - 29,921
PSP - 28,674
360 - 13,777
PS3 - 8,156
PS2 - 7,720
Thursday, September 25, 2008

NDS & Wii Blamed for More Girl Gamers

This year saw an increase in girl gamers, according to market research firm the NPD Group.

Girls aged 9-12 are graduating from traditional toys to move on to computer and video gaming, detailed the report entitled Girl Power: Understanding This Important Consumer Segment. Not surprisingly, the growing numbers are attributed to casual games, which as we all know Nintendo Wii and DS has an abundance of.

There's a lesson for Sony and Microsoft. It's not all about the hardware!

[Via EDGE]
Level-5, the guys behind the Professor Layton series, will be teaming up with Studio Ghibli to bring more awesome to our Nintendo DS. Studio Ghibli is famed for their animated movies such as Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away.

Ninokuni: The Another World is an RPG scheduled to be released on 2009. If this game looks anything like a Studio Ghibli movie, then expect it to be good.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008

PSP Games Going Downhill

PSP games are at a decline. As pictured on the graph above from EDGE, game developers are slowly abandoning the Playstation Portable. Just when PSP hardware is picking up sales in Japan, too! Anyone else glad that they opted for a DS instead? :)

See more shiny graphs and info over at EDGE.
I must admit I was a bit hesitant when I first heard that Grand Theft Auto was coming to the Nintendo DS. But after seeing earlier scans and screens, I was moderately intrigued. And just a couple of days ago, new scans of GTA: Chinatown Wars screenshots surfaced. Found it over at rockstarwatch.net.


Head over the link to see a bunch more of Chinatown Wars.
Hola! Welcome to my humble Handheld Gaming blog! First off, let me just say that I'm no professional journalist. I'm just a regular guy that loves blogging and gaming on-the-go.

This blog is dedicated to handheld consoles and games, particularly PSP, NDS, and GBAs. Expect to find information on the latest in portable gaming, and I'll try to throw in a review or two myself! If you habe anything interesting to say, please don't hesitate to shoot me a comment.

That's it for now. See ya next post!