Microsoft will not say how many of the 20 million Xbox 360 machines sold worldwide were in Japan, but it is widely viewed to be fewer than numbers sold elsewhere. The Wii console has been popular, selling 29.6 million worldwide so far. PS3 sales have lagged at fewer than half of the Wii at 14.4 million.

The follow-up takes place in a beach environment and uses the new Wii Motion Plus adaptor, so every movement of your wrist or arm is mimicked on screen by your player character. At its pre-E3 press conference NOA president Reggie Fils Aimes showed off a Jet Ski game in Resort, which is controlled with both Wii Remote (plus Motion Plus) and Nunchuk - just as if you were holding the throttle. Even more exciting is Sword Dueling, holding the Wii Remote with both hands - this is the 1:1 motion detection we imagined when the Wii was first announced. Exciting stuff!

It’s launching globally next Spring. More soon.

The next generation of Mario Kart is blazing a new path on Wii! New tracks, new racers (including Miis), new rides and 12-player racing via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection makes for the ultimate Mario racing experience!

With all the new additions, don’t expect Mario Kart Wii to skimp on the details. All your favourite Mario Kart franchise features return, such as classic tracks, cup modes, battles, boosts and ghost data. Mario Kart Wii isn’t an update – it’s a breakthrough!

Similar to Mario Kart DS, players will be able to take full advantage of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. You’ll be able to race against up to 11 other players from around the world in massive online races or race against your friends. You can create rooms for friends to join and even text chat while you’re waiting for other racers. The online function of Mario Kart Wii also lets you join a friend’s race in action and be a spectator until the next course launches.

When you’re not going full-throttle toward the finish line, you can see how you stack up against others in the Mario Kart Channel . Here, your best times on tracks are compared to other racers from around the world. You can also see which characters and control methods were used to record this time. See someone with a better time than yours? The Mario Kart Channel also lets you download their ghost data to your Wii and race against the best!

The other massive expansion to come to the Mario Kart franchise is the addition of a new type of vehicle: bikes! Although bikes have fewer wheels than karts, they have a different set of advantages. On a bike, you can pop a wheelie, which can make you go faster but also makes you vulnerable to other racers and environmental effects. Plus, bikes and karts can launch into the air from certain boost ramps, and once in the air, you can perform special tricks to gain a boost when you hit the ground.

All these new bikes and cool karts won’t just tear up new courses. Retro tracks are back! Along with new courses like Mushroom Canyon and Wario Mines, you’ll be racing on old favourites such as Sherbert Land, Waluigi Stadium, Peach Beach and 13 others. How will riding a bike on these new retro tracks stack up to the karts? You’ll just have to play it to find out.

You’ve been racing as the Mushroom Kingdom’s finest for a long time, but now there’s a new racer in town: Your Mii! Put your Mii behind the wheel and take on all comers! For those who want to get in the game even more, Mario Kart Wii comes packed with the Wii Wheel. Shaped like a steering wheel, you place the Wii Remote inside the Wii Wheel’s casing and get ready to ride! In addition to the Wii Remote, you can also use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers in combo, or use a GameCube Controller to take those tight turns and challenges Mario Kart Wii throws at you.

A new experience in racing is here! The world is waiting for you. Whether you get behind the wheel to go online, race solo or take on up to three friends at your home, you’ll find Mario Kart Wii to be a one-of-a-kind experience!

Play against up to 12 players, download and share ghost data and race friends via Nintendo i-Fi Connection. Plus, you can take part in events organised by Nintendo in the Mario Kart Channel. Perform special tricks to score some serious speed boost with the new bikes and supped-up karts. Mario Kart Wii gives you more options than ever. Race as your Mii! Grab the Wii Wheel and race through the new and retro tracks as your favourite Mii. It’s like you’re in the game like never before!

New features of note with the update will include support for Internet interactive functionality, better handling of DivX content, a Resume Play option to start playing a Blu-ray Disc or DVD from the same point it was stopped, and greater integration with the PSP which allows the PSP to be used as a remote control for the PS3.

Whatever you think of the PS3 having a Blu-ray player, and being used in statistics to try and prove how popular the format is, it seems pretty clear that Sony has produced a high definition player that puts many standalone units to shame, in terms of current and future functionality.

Sixteen new tracks will be included, in addition to sixteen other tracks from previous Mario Kart games. We’re preying one of those isn’t Baby Park. Multiplayer mode includes four-player local racing and eleven-player support using Nintendo’s Wi-Fi Connection service. Ten battle arenas will also be available.

In addition, a new Wii Channel will be launched alongside the game - the Mario Kart Channel. Players will be able to monitor their ranking against other players, as well as access and share Ghost Data with each other.  The Channel will also allow players to jump into friend’s races, even if they’re in progress, or simply be a spectator. Even better, Nintendo has hinted that it will run special events through the service.

This video documents all the finishing moves from all the characters (including the hidden ones), some of which look pretty spectacular. If, however, you want to preserve the mystery for yourself… Well, best give it a miss eh?

from wiiwii.tv

Game announced this morning that its like-for-like sales are up by nearly 50% this year, a performance which one analyst firm described as “stunning”.

The company said the growth reflected strong consumer demand for video game consoles and software, particularly for the Nintendo DS Lite and the Wii console.

The Wii’s motion-sensitive gameplay, which lets users play virtual sports in their living room, has been an unexpected hit. Nintendo has struggled to supply enough Wii units since the product launched just over a year ago in Japan, and Game revealed today that this is still a problem.

“We anticipate that demand will outstrip supply [over Christmas] particularly for the Nintendo Wii format,” warned chairman Peter Lewis.

A good home theater can be build within the boundaries of your home through Panasonic, JVC, Sony Surround Sound TV & DVD Players, and Receivers and Amplifiers. Another big addition to all this is hdtv which has superior resolution and sound to create a theatre like effect. Nowadays-home theatre requires video to dvd because currently it is the dominant form of consumer video formats

Shares in the company dropped by almost 7% today, losing 17p to 225.5p. Analysts said this was partly due to a drop in profit margins. Hardware sales have made up a greater proportion of Game’s overall sales this year, and they are much less profitable than software.

Andrew Wade, analyst at Seymour Pierce, raised his profits forecast for Game from £56.4m to over £60m, following the “stunning trading update”.

Here is a list of prices charged by various vendors for the new Nintendo Wii game Super Mario Galaxy.

• Roxy Records (Tralee, Manor West) €54.99
• Tesco (Tralee, Manor West) €39.99
• Argos €49.99
• Harvey Norman €49.99
• more to follow

I am amazed that there is a difference of 15 quid just by walking across the main corridor in Manor West shopping centre!