Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

That’s right, we just used “billion” and “million” in a headline. Clearly, we’re writing about the game industry’s North American performance during the month marked by Christmas trees, torn wrapping paper and men wearing fake beards. According to the latest NPD sales results, December saw consumers spending $5.29 billion on gaming, resulting in a grand 2008 total of $21.33 billion — that’s up 19 percent from 2007.

And here comes the paragraph where we tell you about Nintendo’s unstoppable success. America bought 3.04 million DS systems in December and another 2.15 million Wii consoles. The best selling game, not only for the month but the entire year, was on Wii (and bundled with a controller). You win again, Wii Play.

As for Microsoft, the Xbox 360 did a respectable 1.44 million units, nearly double that of the PlayStation 3, which sold 726K. The PSP fared better with 1.02 million sold, and the trusty PlayStation 2 still managed to shift 410k units. Don’t feel bad about its position at the bottom of the chart, though. Everyone gets a green arrow for Christmas!

- DS: 3.04m 1.47m (94%)
- Wii: 2.15m 110K (5%)
- Xbox 360: 1.44m 604K (72%)
- PSP: 1.02m 599K (142%)
- PS3: 726K 348K (92%)
- PS2: 410K 204K (99%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading December NPD: DS sells over 3 million, ’08 sales reach $21.33 billion

December NPD: DS sells over 3 million, ’08 sales reach $21.33 billion originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: News

You can let go of all that anxiety you’ve been experiencing while waiting for December’s NPD sales figures to be released, because we have ‘em and are nice enough to share.

For December, the NPD group is reporting that the Xbox 360 performed as expected, selling a satisfying 1.44 million units which is double that of the Playstation 3′s 726K, but way (way, way) below the Wii’s 2.15 million in sales. 360 software sales also did well, with World at War taking the number two spot with 1.33 million copies, Gears 2 selling an additional 745K and Left 4 Dead selling a very respectable 629K.

Make your way towards the break for a complete listing of December’s NPD hardware and software sales as well as 2008′s top ten best selling games. We won’t ruin all the sales surprises, but will tell you that a certain Grand Theft Auto IV was the Xbox 360′s best selling game in ’08.

Continue reading Dec NPD: Xbox 360 outsells PS3 by 2:1

Dec NPD: Xbox 360 outsells PS3 by 2:1 originally appeared on Xbox 360 Fanboy on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Books, Developer, iPhone

I recently decided to embark on a personal challenge to learn Objective-C (the programming language behind Mac and iPhone applications) so that I could one day get applications into the App Store. I’m not looking to make millions with a fart machine app, but I do want to see some of my ideas come to fruition and end up on some iPhones. While we’ve previously mentioned how to delve into programming in Objective-C, there have been some recent releases of educational materials that can help those who want to learn the language:

Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (book, $44.99)

This is the latest release of Stephen Kochan’s series which some consider to be the Objective-C bible. It has a wealth of information jammed into almost 600 pages, and it will take you from simple variable assignments to advanced class implementation. I’m over halfway through this book, and the text is easy to read (not too high level), and is broken up in a visually appealing style with sufficient whitespace to be gentle on your eyes. If you’re only interested in programming for the iPhone, you may only want to rely on this book for its wealth of foundational Objective-C material as it only has one chapter devoted to the iPhone.

Continue reading Starting out with Objective-C

TUAWStarting out with Objective-C originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Mac, PC, Portable, MMO, Mobile

Sometimes, it seems that games are created just for us. They’re lovingly mixed together from base ingredients we can’t resist, rolled out on a floured surface, cut into Joystiq-logo shaped cookies and baked to a delicious golden brown. That’s exactly what Jolt Online has done by resurrecting the “Zork” franchise in Legends of Zork, a casual, browser-based MMO.

Aside from telling Gamasutra that the game would feature microtransations and that it could be played on a computer or iPhone, Jolt’s hasn’t spilled much in the way of details. But rest assured that we’ll be buying the game (or buying a wicked cool sword in the game, as the case may be) on day one.

Zork returns in ‘Legends of Zork,’ a casual MMO originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading One for the Roadster: Huet Brothers to offer HB Special in limited numbers

One for the Roadster: Huet Brothers to offer HB Special in limited numbers originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may not be seeing the car itself roll off an assembly line anytime soon, but Johnson Controls is hoping that some of parts in its new plug-in concept vehicle will eventually find their way into a few production vehicles. The car, dubbed the re3, made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show this week, and packs a whole slew of gadgetry, including an “extended cluster” with a 7-inch touchscreen, a seat-wing armrest and controller that moves some of the controls away from the dash, and a lithium-ion battery pack that makes use of “active cooling” and is able to be tucked in between the two front seats. Johnson Controls also says that the car makes use of renewable materials throughout and, supposedly, it can seat five people relatively comfortably. No word on any interest from automakers just yet, but you can get a closer look at it courtesy of Autoblog at the link below.

Filed under: Transportation

Johnson Controls rolls out re3 plug-in concept vehicle originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Etc.

The Autoblog team would like to thank everyone who voted for us in the Best Major Blog category of the 2008 Weblog Awards. The results were certified today and we did not win, but came in a close second to c jane enjoy it, a blog run by a woman named Courtney who is married to a guy who likes Autoblog. That’s got to count for something, right? Though victory slipped through our fingers, we thoroughly enjoyed the process and are grateful for the volunteer “Get out the Vote” effort by all the Autoblog faithful. Because of the efforts made by both campaigns, Best Major Blog was the second most voted category behind the top prize, Best Blog, among 48 total categories.

You were probably as dumbfounded as us by the events that took place on Tuesday, the final day of voting. No matter what we did to shore up votes, Autoblog was continually behind this blog we had never heard of written by a Mormon mother. Where’d she come from? As it turns out, c jane enjoy it isn’t written by Jane at all, it’s written by a woman named Courtney whose sister and brother-in-law, Stephanie (herself a blogger) and Christian Nielson, were badly burned in an airplane accident last August. Courtney’s blog is devoted to raising money for their recovery and has gained national attention along the way. You can read about what happened here and donate to the cause here if so inclined.

We’ve chipped in not because we share Courtney’s faith, which we don’t, or because want to score brownie points with whichever deity is running the big show, but because we’re all in this giant blogosphere together and believe the online community has the power to do good for real people when the opportunity presents itself. And so it has, so go call your mom, kiss your kids and, like we said, help out our worthy adversary if so inclined.

UPDATE: Broken donation link replaced with link to the Nei Recovery website.

Autoblog’s Concession Speech originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, FPS, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

The original F.E.A.R. had a very impressive graphics engine but it also caused even high-end PC rigs to suffer through some low frame rates during fire fights. The upcoming sequel from Monolith and Warner Bros. Interactive, F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin, will have an improved graphics engine but will it also be hard on high-end PCs?

We got a clue about that when the official F.E.A.R. 2 message board posted up the minimal and recommended PC system specs for the game. Is your PC up to the task? We will note that F.E.A.R. 2 is DirectX9 only; there’s no DirectX10 graphics upgrade needed. Check out the hardware requirements after the jump:

Continue reading F.E.A.R. 2 PC system requirements revealed

F.E.A.R. 2 PC system requirements revealed originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interestingly, we hear a Mwai Kibaki-branded Finnish ripoff of a Chinese phone is launching in the States. Go figure.

[Via Unwired View]

Filed under: Cellphones

Obama-branded Chinese ripoff of a Finnish phone launches in Kenya originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The decision on whether or not to allow states to enforce limits on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions is moving back to center stage under the incoming Obama administration. Lisa Jackson, the President-elect’s nominee for EPA administrator, has promised to “immediately revisit” the issue once she is confirmed for the office.

During his election campaign, Obama promised he would allow states to each dictate their own rules towards greenhouse emissions. This puts the administration at odds with the automakers, which argue that it’s a federal responsibility (along the same lines as regulating fuel economy). Most in the industry feel that having state-mandated greenhouse gas limits would add unnecessary costs to vehicles, and create problems for dealers located near state lines. The states, however, want the right to impose their own regulations. We’ve been watching this exhausting cage match for years, and the conflict doesn’t show any signs of waning.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

EPA under Obama will revisit state emission laws originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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