by Don Kaufman

There have been multiple reports that PS3 is beating Wii in Australia. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Nintendo Wii has either outsold or outpaced both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 down under.

Michael Ephraim of SCEA said “Based on GfK since launch, PS3 has been the number one next-gen console, outselling Wii and Xbox 360 every week, except for last week.”

“Since March 23, PS3 has been the number one-selling next-gen console in Australia, and this is GfK figures. We’ve now sold 50,000–and we’re very excited about the fact that it’s being sold in retailers that are gaming retailers as a gaming device and other things, but as you’ll notice it’s now being sold in Harvey Norman consumer electronic stores as a Blu-ray player.”

That’s all well and good, except for the fact that Wii has sold over 100,000 Aussie units so far, and last week set the record for the fastest launch seller of any console ever in the country. Nintendo’s console took six months and two weeks to hit that point, beating the previous record set by Xbox 360 by two weeks.

Notice how Ephraim said PlayStation 3 was #1 “except for last week”. This indicates that whatever momentum PS3 had is now waning.

So wake me up three months and two weeks from now — I’ll be glad to eat my hat if Sony has sold 100,000 units at that point.

by John Finnegan

Midway has just announced that they have more Wii and DS titles scheduled for exclusive distribution. It’s a wise decision, indeed.

“Nintendo is very excited to be working with Midway to have these great brands and new products come exclusively to Nintendo Wii and DS,” said George Harrison, senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications, NOA Inc. “These new games paired with the unique controls of both systems will continue to expand videogames to new audiences.”

The two Wii games are:

Cruis’n (Wii, November) — An all new version of the classic Midway arcade racer, Cruis’n is coming exclusively to the Wii. Choose your ride from an impressive lineup of licensed cars and experience a rush of adrenaline as you race opponents through twelve different street circuits using the Wii Remoteâ„¢ to steer and perform outrageous stunts. Win races and earn upgrades including: turbos, body kits, neon and nitrous, allowing you to create the ultimate ride.

Game Party (Wii, November) — Game Party for the Wii is a collection of classic skill games from around the world, from American sports venues to European gathering spots. Using the Wii’s unique control interface, you can play classics such as darts; modern favorites such as table hockey and hoop shoot, or participate in multiplayer trivia contests. More than a half dozen games are available. It’s the ultimate party game.

And for DS, we’ve got:

Ultimate Mortal Kombat (Nintendo DS, November) — Ultimate Mortal Kombat combines the visceral thrills of the classic Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and the addictive puzzle action of the Puzzle Kombat component of Midway’s best-selling Mortal Kombat: Deception® in a single DS-friendly package. With new record-keeping capability, and Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection multiplayer, players will be able take UMK anywhere for fighting action on the go.

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders (Nintendo DS, November) — For the first time on the Nintendo DS experience the fun of Cartoon Network’s hit show in Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders, playing as head mischief-maker Blooregard Q. Kazoo. Goo has done it again…her overactive imagination has conjured up a group of diabolical cosmic invaders, the Space Nut Boogies. They’ve raided Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and taken Madame Foster hostage in search of The Greatest Thing in the Universe, and it’s up to you to stop them! Play as Bloo as you explore the Foster’s house, sneak past the Space Nut Boogie guards, and gather Mac, Coco, Eduardo and the rest of the gang to rescue Madame Foster!

The Bee Game (Nintendo DS & Game Boy® Advance, November) — The Bee Game for Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance lets players experience the adventures of Maya the Bee and her friend Willie as they search for their friends. A strong storm has blown through corn poppy meadow and some of the residents of the hive are now missing! Help Maya and Willie by taking on challenges and completing mini-games to find clues in the meadow, dark forest, blue pond, deep caverns and the garden to locate the other bees.

by Don Kaufman

Both Xbox 360 and PS3 have had one feature that Wii has been sorely lacking — original downloadable content. Sure, it’s fun to download and play Wario’s Woods (NES), but it would be nice to have the option of original content as well like PS3’s Calling All Cars.

And now Wii gamers are going to have that option with the newly announced WiiWare download service to begin in 2008. The only question is…will we have the option of a hard drive by then to store all this great new stuff?

From the Big N:

The search for the next ingeniously ground-breaking video game has begun. At a private developers conference this week, Nintendo announced the introduction of WiiWare, a game-creation service that will allow developers large and small to create new downloadable video game content for sale by Nintendo through the Wii Shop Channel of the hot Wii home video game system. WiiWare paves the way for smaller, more creative games to make their way to the public at lower prices, without any inventory risk to developers. The first WiiWare content will launch in early 2008.

“Independent developers armed with small budgets and big ideas will be able to get their original games into the marketplace to see if we can find the next smash hit,” says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “WiiWare brings new levels of creativity and value to the ever-growing population of Wii owners.”

The possibilities for WiiWare are limited only by the imaginations of developers. WiiWare provides game creators a simple method by which they can get their games to the public. This approach, combined with the remarkable motion controls of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, will give birth to fresh takes on established genres, as well as original ideas that currently exist only in developers’ minds. The reduced barriers to development provide developers the freedom to create and an inexpensive, clearly defined path to reach consumers who will ultimately determine which game will become the Next Big Thing.

WiiWare will be posted on the Wii Shop Channel. As with current Wii Shop Channel offerings, users will redeem Wii Points to download content. It will support a variety of pricing options.

by Marcy Franklin

E3 will be starting on July 11, and it’s a prime opportunity to check out what Wii and DS titles are on the horizon. A list (via Go Nintendo) of what third party games will be shown at E3 is below, but don’t forget — there are always surprises at the show as well.

Nintendo Wii:

Atari:

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Godzilla Unleashed

Capcom:

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure

Crave:

Brunswick Pro Bowling
Dave Mirra BMX Challenge
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection

D3 Publisher:

Ben 10: Protector of Earth
Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution

Disney Interactive Studios:

High School Musical: Sing It!

Electronic Arts:

Boogie
NBA Live 08
Madden NFL 08
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
Need for Speed ProStreet

Gamecock:

Mushroom Men

LucasArts:

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Natsume:

Harvest Moon Wii

Sierra Entertainment:

Crash of the Titans
Geometry Wars: Galaxies

Warner Bros. Interactive:

Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal

Nintendo DS:

Atari:

Godzilla Unleashed

Capcom:

Mega Man Star Force: Dragon/Leo/Pegasus
Mega Man ZX Advent
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations

Codemasters:

Race Driver: Create & Race

Crave:

Napoleon Dynamite
Spelling Challenges and More!

D3 Publisher:

Ben 10: Protector of Earth
Naruto: Path of the Ninja

Disney Interactive Studios:

High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut

Electronic Arts:

Madden NFL 08
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
Need for Speed ProStreet

Gamecock:

Dementium: The Ward
Mushroom Men
Insecticide

LucasArts:

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Majesco Entertainment:

Fish Tycoon
Holly Hobbie & Friends
Nancy Drew and the Deadly Secret of Olde World Park
Operation: Vietnam
Turn it Around
The Wild West

Natsume:

Harvest Moon 2
Harvest Moon DS Cute
Math Play
Puzzle de Harvest Moon
River King: Wonderland
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon

Sierra Entertainment:

Geometry Wars: Galaxies

Warner Bros. Interactive:

Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck

The Wii Shop channel is chock full o’ three new games to choose from for the Virtual Console. One racer and two fighters from three different systems past all make an appearance today.

F-Zero X (N64, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Nintendo Wii Points): Choose from 30 different hover-car racers, including updated versions of the Blue Falcon and other vehicles from the original F-Zero, and get ready to play one of the fastest racers ever. You’ll speed to the finish line on tracks that twist and turn through the air, doing your best to avoid the other 29 cars on the track. If you’re in a competitive mood, try to win a Grand Prix Cup, get the fastest lap time in a Time Trial or destroy the competition in a Death Race. You can also challenge three friends in the Versus mode. With five separate play modes, hidden vehicles and courses, and an excellent soundtrack, F-Zero X still represents one of the best racing titles to date.

Street Fighter II’ Turbo: Hyper Fighting (Super NES, 800 Points): Street Fighter II defined gaming in the 1990s by revolutionizing the fighting-game genre. Regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, Street Fighter II’ Turbo: Hyper Fighting was the third and final release in the original series. Featuring the eight original World Warriors (including Ryu, Chun Li and Guile) along with playable boss characters (Balrog, Sagat and M. Bison), this classic title offered enhanced playing speed and improved character balancing.

China Warrior (TurboGrafx16, 600 Points): China Warrior is a side-scrolling action game that was released around the same time as the TurboGrafx16 in Japan. It’s up to the kung fu master Wang to defeat the Dark Emperor, who stands atop the kung fu world in China. Punch, kick and jump-kick enemies along the path that lies between you and the three bosses of each stage. Skillfully fight your way through all four stages, and be sure not to miss recovery items while dodging enemy attacks. China Warrior boasts character size and detail that rivaled all other games at the time of its release. Exciting one-on-one fights against the game’s realistic bosses will make you feel like you’re in the middle of a kung fu movie.