Enterbrain: Wii sells 9 million in Japan, PS3 sells 4 million

The Wii also achieved impressive sales, but it's the Wii, so its total is a bit higher: 9,048,012 units. Many of those Wiis were likely sold to people buying New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which reached a life-to-date total of 1,401,558 copies in its second week.
While the last million sales have occurred since April in Japan, over a million Wiis were sold last month alone in the US. The difference in scale can be attributed both to the US's larger population and to the Black Friday phenomenon.
[Via Andriasang]
Wii Remote turned into water sensor
The Wiimote has been used for plenty of non-gaming needs, including tidying up the house and controlling robots. Even the US military got in on the action, using the Wiimote to defuse bombs in Iraq. And let's not forget the groundbreaking work done by Johnny Chung Lee -- a man who just happens to have inspired the creation of the setup you see above.
See, a team of scientists in Luxemburg (via Wired) figured out that using the sensor-filled gutty-works of the Wiimote would -- through some tinkering -- be a good way to measure water evaporation. See, this type of measurement usually requires sensors that can cost up to $500 a piece, making the $40 Wiimote quite the attractive alternative. This has applications outside of just measuring water evaporation, the team said -- including measuring the speed at which a structure collapses.
[Via Gizmodo]
See, a team of scientists in Luxemburg (via Wired) figured out that using the sensor-filled gutty-works of the Wiimote would -- through some tinkering -- be a good way to measure water evaporation. See, this type of measurement usually requires sensors that can cost up to $500 a piece, making the $40 Wiimote quite the attractive alternative. This has applications outside of just measuring water evaporation, the team said -- including measuring the speed at which a structure collapses.
[Via Gizmodo]
New trailer reminds us that LOTR: Aragorn's Quest exists
It seems that, even though you're in the middle of a war and hacking up thousands of monsters, the game's been approved for kids because your avatar has big feet.
Rooms: The Main Building: A Trailer
Why would anyone even dare to enter a building with sliding rooms that threaten to trap you forever? For a birthday party, of course!
Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll gameplay trailer
Yoshi and Kirby decals eat your laptop logo
Let's all just agree that the above laptop decal is awesome. Created by LapTatt and available on Etsy for a paltry $14, it's just about the greatest Nintendo-themed laptop decal we've ever seen (not that there have been too many). Admittedly, it seems designed with the Apple logo in mind -- especially considering Yoshi's taste for brightly colored fruit -- but we imagine it would work just as well with almost any laptop logo.
And, if Yoshi and baby Mario don't do it for you, you could always pick up a Kirby decal (in black or white) for only $8. See it after the break.
And, if Yoshi and baby Mario don't do it for you, you could always pick up a Kirby decal (in black or white) for only $8. See it after the break.
Iwata Asks: 25 years with Miyamoto's dev posse
In the most recent edition of Iwata Asks, Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata gathers up Takashi Tezuka and Toshihiko Nakago for a thorough discussion of their time with the company, the many projects they've worked on and their 25-year-long partnership with Shigeru Miyamoto. Let's break it down: Takashi Tezuka and Toshihiko Nakago both started at Nintendo around 1984, helping to shape everything from Balloon Fight to Super Mario Bros. These guys were part of the team that developed Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda -- at the same time.
During the 10-page chat, a plethora of interesting tidbits are revealed about some of the game industry's most influential Nintendo titles. Did you know that Zelda was initially designed as a dungeon game without an overworld? Or, how about the revelation that World 1-1 was created last, after the rest of the levels in Super Mario Bros., and designed implicitly to teach the game to non-gamers? The chat even gets into the lurid sleeping arrangements of Miyamota-san and Nakago-san while on business trips for ExciteBike (spoiler: it's not that lurid).
During the 10-page chat, a plethora of interesting tidbits are revealed about some of the game industry's most influential Nintendo titles. Did you know that Zelda was initially designed as a dungeon game without an overworld? Or, how about the revelation that World 1-1 was created last, after the rest of the levels in Super Mario Bros., and designed implicitly to teach the game to non-gamers? The chat even gets into the lurid sleeping arrangements of Miyamota-san and Nakago-san while on business trips for ExciteBike (spoiler: it's not that lurid).
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey launch copies to include bonus soundtrack

That won't happen with Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, though. Atlus announced today that every launch copy of the first-person RPG will include a soundtrack disc. You'll have to wait a bit longer to get that launch copy: the publisher also announced that the release date has moved from the March 10 date found on Nintendo's Q1 schedule to March 23.
Tatsunoko vs Capcom media assaults your eyeballs
Gallery: Tatsunoko vs Capcom (12.15.09)
No more driving around Santa Destroy in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

It should speed up the pace of the game significantly, and we know there were plenty of complaints about these segments of the game, but we'll personally miss tooling around the city on the Schpeltiger. You can read way more details about the game at GameSpot, though we wouldn't necessarily suggest it if you're trying to live a spoiler-free lifestyle.
Japanese Nintendo downloads: Phoenix Wright, Zaxxon, Photo Fighter X

DSiWare gets the cool Photo FIghter X, which lets you build fighting game characters from DSi camera snaps. More Paint By DS joins it, this time all about dogs; and in the requisite "puzzle game" positions are a new G.G. series entry and a Jupiter-developed game about rotating blocks to match colors.
- Zaxxon (Arcade, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (WiiWare, 1 player, 900 Wii Points)
- Shashin de Kakutou! Photo Fighter X! (DSiWare, 1-2 players, 200 DSi Points)
- G.G. Series Vertex (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
- Kanji Practice First Grade (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
- Artist ni Narou! Minna no Nurikai Inu-hen (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
- Atelier Deco La Doll (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
- Castle of Magic (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
- Panewa! (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
Dragon's Lair headed to DSiWare Dec. 21

Now, considering none of the DSiWare releases have been particularly large, we have no clue how they'll fit the whole game on the service. We do know from this video, however, that the console is powerful enough to handle the game. Now, the next obvious step in Dragon's Lair's quest for console domination? Well, Zeebo, of course.
Nintendo trademarks Bii, Cii, Oii, Yii and Zii

Conspiracy theorists will want to settle down, though. Our friends at Engadget discovered that the Zii trademark request is simply a renewal of a 2006 request. In fact, in addition to the Zii, Nintendo has applied for trademarks covering Bii, Cii, Oii, and Yii. Unless Nintendo is planning on making five new consoles, each with a different name, it seems as though the company is just covering its bases.
Source - What Is The Nintendo Zii? [Siliconera]
Source - Nintendo trademarks 'Zii' all over Japan [Engadget]
Christmas Light Hero brings rhythm to the holidays
You gotta hand it to this kid's parents, who managed to turn up their boring old Christmas lights to 11 and into quite the Guitar Hero homage. It's not the first time we've seen Activision's franchise mix it up with some Christmas lights, but it's certainly the most unique and inspired. We've embedded the video past the break so put on your favorite Rudolph sweater (the good one with the blinking nose you keep in the back of the closet), pour yourself a hot cup of cocoa and give it a watch.
Science: Uncharted 2 is the best game of 2009
Who says so? Science says so. Just look at the numbers in this Metacritic round-up of the year's top games and it's pretty obvious that Uncharted 2 is the best. Also, according to math, the PS3 is better than the 360. This isn't us or even Metacritic saying it, people, these are innocent, irrefutable numbers.
In all seriousness, while Metacritic has collected some interesting, worthwhile data in its report, we're not sure what the point is in trying to pick the best system or game of 2009 just going by statistics. We've relied on numbers just to help us organize our annual Game of the Year selection, and even so, just look how much damage they were still capable of.
In all seriousness, while Metacritic has collected some interesting, worthwhile data in its report, we're not sure what the point is in trying to pick the best system or game of 2009 just going by statistics. We've relied on numbers just to help us organize our annual Game of the Year selection, and even so, just look how much damage they were still capable of.
















