The DS Weekend Warrior: more bang in the form of numbers, Dragon Balls, and exploding chargers |
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E3 has come and gone, but that doesn't mean that the DS Weekend Warrior for this week is lackluster than the last. In fact, there's quite an amount of activity going on for the Nintendo DS, and this includes surfing high and dry in the hardware sales charts (once again), hot new details and revelations about upcoming games, and exploding chargers, among other things.
Surfing high in the hardware sales waters
Even if the Nintendo DS fell second place to Sony's PSP in Japan's latest Media Create hardware sales charts, the DS still managed to trounce the big three consoles - Xbox 360, PS3, and sister Ninty console Wii - as well as the still-standing Sony PlayStation 2. Scoring 48,540 units sold for the week of July 7-13, then Nintendo DS doesn't show any signs of slowing down as of this time.Link: Japan's hardware and software charts for July 7-13
In another part of the world, the DS was able to score its highest individual sales numbers in Australia for the week starting July 6, with 49,000 units sold. Nintendo pegged this particular feat to the release of Touch Generations titles, which includes the Brain Training games, Nintendogs, and other games.
Link: Australia: Wii breaks sales record, new titles for Wii and DS announced
Of balls, hearts, and other gaming delights
A gameplay trailer of Namco Bandai's upcoming Dragon Ball DS was finally released, and we can't help but think whether we're looking at a Phantom Hourglass sequel (only patched with Dragon Ball elements), or if we're just looking at a very, very well-made adventure game for the DS. We're just happy with how the game is turning out to be, with full 3D environments, gameplay reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and the good old Dragon Ball brand of fun.
Link: Dragon Ball DS may rival The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass
Those who are eagerly awaiting news concerning the release of Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days may start wagging their tails now, with the opening of the Japanese official site dedicated to the game.
While the website itself doesn't contain any solid proof that the game will be released sometime this year, its opening may mean that the KH 358/2's eventual Japanese release date may indeed be lurking around the corner, with the releases for other regions to follow.
Link: Japanese Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Official Site now up
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia's hot Shanoa will be soon stealing gamer's hearts - in Japan, at least - on October 23. Now, you may not be so happy with hearing about when the game will be released in Japan; it's understandable, of course, since you want to be able to play the game in your own language.
However, you do have to take note that most of the gameplay videos we've seen so far feature English voiceovers and in-game text. You know where we're getting at. Will this mean that we're seeing a simultaneous release, or at least a less-than-a-month gap between the Japanese roll-out of Order of Ecclesia and the North American version of the game?
Link: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia to launch in Japan by late October
Exploding chargers and other sundries
A closer inspection on the UK's electronics market has revealed an influx of what were deemed to be "unsafe" chargers for various handheld devices, including the Nintendo DS. With this in mind, it's good to steer clear from chargers with no code numbers (a clear indication that they're unsafe), or with a code marking of DE62347066, which was reported as faulty by UK trading standards officers.Obviously, buying cheaper chargers may give more bang for your buck, but it will also give some unwanted bang in the form of electrocution as well. It'll be better to keep in mind that a 3 or 5 dollar difference may be a big deal, but does being injured as a result of buying substandard electronics make the savings worth it?
Link: Unsafe gadget chargers making their way into UK
In another development concerning the quite misunderstood homebrew platform, the R4, retailers as well as independent gaming developers in the UK have finally clamored for the immediate removal of the R4 from the market, due to the possibility of piracy that the flashcard poses.
The intention of trying to prevent piracy is all well and good, but the banning of R4 will also mean that it will cripple the DS homebrew community in the UK, not to mention that an effective removal of R4 will probably lead to the weeding out of alternatives, including EDGE and such.
Link: Retailers and independent game developers in UK call for UK ban
And finally, Nintendo bigwig Satoru Iwata has something to say about Sony's John Koller's comment about the DS having to worry about the iPhone. "If you ask 'Is the overlap too big?,' my answer is no, not so much," said Iwata, in reference to the overlap between the DS and iPhone markets possibly overlapping with each other and threatening the other's unit sales.
We do actually agree with him - DS is being marketed as a gaming console, after all, while the iPhone, even if it can do a lot of things short of being able to grill foodstuff, is still being marketed as...yes, a phone.
Link: Nintendo CEO says iPhone not a threat to DS
That about wraps up the DS Weekend Warrior for this week. We're going to get more interesting news in the days ahead, of course, so better sit back and let the news unfold and don't worry if you miss out on any of them; we're going to do a recap every week here in the Weekend Warrior.
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