Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (Wii U) July Trailer

I'm one of the people who enjoys the Mario & Sonic Olympic games series. While the first game was pretty bad, the second was quite good, as was the third. My favorite part of these titles is the Dream Events that give regular Olympic events a Mario or Sonic face lift. Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (phew! Long title!) will release this fall on Wii U.

July 2012 NPD Results

The following table shows the top ten best-selling SKUs of July 2012 for the U.S. The best-selling console of the month for the 17th straight month was the Xbox 360. The DS and 3DS sold around the same. Some could be convinced that this means Nintendo should kill off the DS so consumers would flock to the 3DS. We'll find out next NPD when the 3DS XL will be a factor. If the numbers are lukewarm, then we'll know who was right. As for the game situation, over half of the titles are from last year. The retail situation in America is pretty pitiful right now. Thankfully, digital was up over retail for Q2 2012. That said, we desperately need a new generation, regardless. This one has far outworn its welcome, in my view. What do you think?

Review Round-Up - July 2012

What's old is new again with Theatrhythm.

July was Retro Review Month, thus the majority of reviews written were of the retro variety. However, I am sort of interested in extending the old school fun till the end of summer. What do you guys and gals out there think should happen?

Regardless, even though we are smack dab in the dog days of summer and the paltry release schedule, July was busy month review-wise. We started off with the Game Boy's Donkey Kong, climbing its way to a remarkable 9.0. From high to low, we swung with the webhead with Spider-Man: The Movie, which could only muster a disappointing 4.0. I've gotta update my Top Five Spider-Man Game list. Moving on, the highest-scoring retro reviews of July were Kirby Super Star, getting a gold star with a 9.25 and Mega Man X2, running, jumping, and shooting its way to a 9.5. Even though we examined a new release, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (8.5), this rhythm game featuring much old school styling made it still feel quite retro. But it wasn't all classics from gaming eras gone by. We had the chance to take to the kitchen in Order Up!! (6.75) and practice our balancing act with Art of Balance TOUCH! (8.5) We then quickly went back into the classics with my first experiences with Metroid II: Return of Samus, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, Tomba!, and Spider-Man 2 -- all of which scored an excellent 8.0. Finally, Wario charged onto the scene and earned an 8.75 for his efforts with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. A very productive and nostalgia-inducing month.

All scores are out of 10.
5 = Average
* = Guest Review 

Donkey Kong (GB, 3DS VC) - 9.0
Spider-Man: The Movie (PS2, GCN, XBX) - 4.0
Kirby Super Star (SNES, Wii VC) - 9.25
Mega Man X2 (SNES, Wii VC) - 9.5
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (3DS) - 8.5
Order Up!! (PS3) - 6.75
Art of Balance TOUCH! (3DSWare) - 8.5
Metroid II: Return of Samus (GB, 3DS VC) - 8.0
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (GB, 3DS VC) - 8.0
Tomba! (PS1) - 8.0
Spider-Man 2 (PS2, GCN, XBX) - 8.0
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (GB, 3DS VC) - 8.75

Lightning leads the critical chain charge.

The Buzz - July 11th, 2012

We're right in the middle of a work week, so why not alleviate some of that burden and stress with a look at The Buzz, a segment showing the most popular posts currently on SuperPhillip Central? It might not actually help anything, but at least I'm trying to assist you!

July 11th, 2012 Buzz results.

God of War's Rank Up! installment remains king of SuperPhillip Central popularity, but closely behind it, a new challenger approaches. It is my exclusive interview with Shin'en Multimedia's Manfred Linzner. The interview is one of the fastest rising articles in SPC history, circulating far and wide around the net. Following that is the trailer for Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D, Top Five Spider-Man Games (just in time for The Amazing Spider-Man film), and Best of... Mario Kart. Stay tuned for an all-new Best of... segment this Friday, by the way! The latter part of The Buzz is home to Pushmo QR codes, my Batman: Arkham City review (which has been on the top ten most popular posts ever since it was first live on SPC), my Report Card segment for the Xbox 360, Killer Soundtracks, Part One, and my review of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes which is based off the PlayStation 3 build of the game. I hope this look into what SPC readers are consuming visually was educational for you. Has that stress been relieved?

Central City Census - July

June definitely heated up the responses on the old Central City Census with over 100 individual votes. The question asked regarded what each one of your favorite PlayStation platforms was. Let's count up the results:

It was a dead heat between the PlayStation 2 and the PlayStation 3, but in the end the PS2, Sony's best selling platform, pulled an impressive victory, taking 35% of the vote. The PS3 was close on its heels with 31% of the vote. Meanwhile, the original PlayStation made its mark with 14%. I'm surprised it wasn't higher as the console was home to such greats like Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy Tactics, Chrono Trigger, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Vagrant Story, Star Ocean, and many more. Lastly, the two portables of Sony lagged behind the rest with the PSP getting 11% and the Vita getting 8%. Not bad for something that has been out for less than a year. I wonder what will be asked for July's census?

Nintendo has been around the block for quite a while, and they have faced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows yet have stuck around in the face of tremendous adversity. Similar to June's poll about asking for your favorite PlayStation platform, what is your favorite Nintendo home console so far?

Review Round-Up - June-August

Zelda leads the charge with a tremendous score.

The conclusion of the month not only introduces a new Central City Census, but it also shows us the reviews of the past month. Since we haven't had a Review Round-Up for three months, let's review the past trio of months. Things started out slow with a retro review of Metroid: Zero Mission which earned an outstanding 9.5, followed in August with Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collected which garnered a stellar 8.5 which just so happens to be the same score our first Nintendo 3DS game review got, Dead or Alive Dimensions. Concluding the month both The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening received sensational scores of 10 and 9.5 respectively, and finally, James Bond 007: Blood Stone got the above-average score of 6.0. Remember that 5.0 is considered average here at SuperPhillip Central. All-in-all, summer was quite a good time for gaming!

Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA) - 9.5
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection (PSP) - 8.5
Dead or Alive Dimensions (3DS) - 8.5
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) - 10
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (GBC, 3DS VC) - 9.5
James Bond 007: Blood Stone (PS3, 360) - 6.0

DoA kicked off our 3DS reviews here at SPC.

July 2011 NPD Results

With sales at their worst since October 2006, it was not a good month for retail sales in the gaming industry. Let's examine the numbers quickly.

Software:

(Order seems to indicate order of sales.)

1. NCAA Football 12 - Electronic Arts (360, PS3) = ~796K (15% YoY Increase)
2. Cars 2 - Disney Interactive Studios (NDS, Wii, 360, PS3, PC)
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops - Activision Blizzard (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC)
4. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game - Disney Interactive Studios (Wii, NDS, 360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)
5. Just Dance 2 - Ubisoft (Wii)
6. Major League Baseball 2K11 - Take-Two Interactive (360, Wii NDS, PS3, PS2, PSP, PC)
7. Zumba Fitness: Join The Party - Majesco (Wii, 360, Ps3)
8. Fallout: New Vegas - Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax (360, PS3, PC)
9. New Super Mario Bros DS - Nintendo (NDS)
10. Mortal Kombat 2011 - Warner Brothers Interactive (360, PS3) = 85K

XX. Catherine = 78K
XX. Shadows of the Damned = 14K


Hardware:

Nintendo DS: Best selling platform.
Xbox 360: 277K (-37.5%) [Top selling console, 45% of total 360/PS3/Wii sales.]
Wii: 190K (-25%)
PS3: 148k (-31%) [Comes from statement math.]
Nintendo 3DS: Lower weekly average than last month, meaning at best 114K, but it could be quite a bit lower.

The 3DS + the DS is about flat to the DS total last year.


Nintendo Wii Game LTDs:

-Wii Play (13.04 million)
-Mario Kart Wii (10.64 million)
-New Super Mario Bros. Wii (8.36 million)
-Wii Fit (8.17 million)
-Wii Fit Plus (7.06 million)
-Wii Sports Resort (6.45 million)
-Super Smash Bros. Brawl (5.28 million)
-Just Dance 2 (5.09 million)

You know when a four year old game reaches the top ten that sales are slow. New Super Mario Bros. continues its sales domination. Meanwhile, the DS is the top-selling platform beating out even the 360 which still has to resort to tying sales to laptop purchases in order to get sales. Come back and brag when you sell consoles based on good games, Microsoft. Then I'll actually be impressed. Oh, and quit making shoddy consoles, too, and turning your back on your core fanbase. With all that venom out of the way, a slow month of sales indeed.

Central City Census - July

Happy July, everyone. It's a new month, so it's now time to check out a new Central City Census. But before we do that, however, let's take a glimpse at last month's results.

When was the first time you visited SuperPhillip Central?

Since the very beginning.	7 (28%)
A year into SPC.	0 (0%)
1-2 years ago.	5 (20%)
Less than a year ago.	13 (52%)

Votes so far: 25

Twenty-five votes this month, a nice rounded number. The majority of people voting on when their first SPC experience was was less than a year ago. In second place was the very beginning. Glad you folks could hang around with me. The last option was 1-2 years ago which isn't a laughable chunk of time either. Now let's check out July's newest poll.

Sports games are extremely popular within a certain sect of the gaming populace. Are you a regular fan? Vote now even though the poll is open all month long.

July 2009 NPD Results

The NPD results for July 2009 are here. Note that these sales are for the United States only and that Wal-mart is not tracked by the NPD.

PlayStation 2 108K
PlayStation 3 121.8K
PSP 122.8K
Xbox 360 202.9K
Wii 252.5K
Nintendo DS 538.9K


Wii SPORTS RESORT W/ WII MOTION PLUS (WII) 508.2K
NCAA FOOTBALL 10 (360) 376.5K
NCAA FOOTBALL 10 (PS3) 237.4K
WII FIT W/ BALANCE BOARD* (WII) 164.3K
MARIO KART W/ WHEEL (WII) 156.6K
MARIO KART DS (NDS) 132.2K
POKEMON PLATINUM VERSION (NDS) 116.4K
FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4 (360) 116.4K
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS (NDS) 101.8K
EA SPORTS ACTIVE BUNDLE (WII) 96.8K

(*includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

A pretty depressing month sales-wise as it seems the industry has been hit by the recession. The lower end of the top ten software sales are around sub-100,000 which is never a good sign. The 360 sneaks closer to the Wii after Wii hardware dips, but the lead is being widened still. Wii Sports Resorts tops the charts not being a system-seller like many believed. In surprising news, Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros. are still in the top ten after three years. That's just uncanny. It seems no one can compete with Nintendo software sales.

Meanwhile, the fantastic Little King Story only sold around 12,000. I'm surprised at that since Wal-Mart and Best Buy wouldn't carry it. I had to go to a GameStop to get a gutted copy, their only copy just to get the game. The Conduit is still strong with 60-70k in sales. It's a bomb in Europe but a hit in America it seems. Good for them. Perhaps we'll see a sequel with a better budget... and better design... and better online.

Review Round-Up - July

Wii Sports Resort received a solid 8.5 this month.

July was a really busy month when it came to new reviews. We started off strong with The Conduit, set a stride with Ghost Squad, Overlord: Dark Legend, PANGYA: Fantasy Golf, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, and Dead Space, and finished the month off strong with Star Ocean: Second Evolution, Wii Sports Resort, and Little King's Story. I have plans to review Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and InFAMOUS for August, and who knows what else! As usual, italicized reviews are classic reviews.

All scores are out of 10.
5 = Average

Sonic Rivals 2 (PSP) - 5.5
The Conduit (Wii) - 7.5
Ghost Squad (Wii) - 7.5
Overlord: Dark Legend (Wii) - 7.5
PANGYA: Fantasy Golf (PSP) - 8.5
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (360) - 8.75
Dead Space (PS3, 360, PC) - 9.25
TMNT (GBA) - 7.0
Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP) - 8.75
Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 8.5
Little King's Story (Wii) - 9.25

Sonic Rivals (PSP) - 5.0
No More Heroes (Wii) - 8.0
TMNT (Wii, 360, PS2, PSP, GCN, PC) - 5.25

What reviews did you enjoy this month?

Central City Census - July

It's the dawn of a new month, people, so that means out with the old CCC and in with the new!

We asked what you thought of Project Natal, Microsoft's supposed "Wii-killer". The majority of readers thought it was at least interesting while a smaller minority either didn't care or didn't like what they saw. I thought it was really cool, but I want to see actual games being played with it before it becomes "must-buy".

Rhythm games have been around for some time, but it was only until Guitar Hero where they came extremely popular and mainstream. July's Central City Census asks what is your favorite music game, so break out the drumsticks, strap on your guitar, and let's start rockin'.