Sony may have been a latecomer to the console gaming party in Australia, but that doesn't mean the PlayStation 3 is in a slump. Sony has reported a strong showing in the region, selling 238,000 units since it became available in March 2007. Learn more about this figure after the jump!

The Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee (BDA) has announced that sales have reached two million units in Europe. While this may not come as a surprise to those following the exploits of the format, it is a bit sudden considering Blu-ray discs have just recently broken the one million mark in the said region. For more information, be sure to check out the full article.

Numbers are in, and Activision has more than a few reasons to be proud about its third quarter of fiscal 2008 financial report. Thanks to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock,  Activision experienced substantial growth in revenue and it took top honors in software sales. More details at the full article.

If the Nintendo DS and Wii nabbed the prestigious title for the best gaming platforms for 2007, can you guess what was the best software title for the previous year? Activision gives us the answer by announcing that its best-selling Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) was considered the best software title in units worldwide for 2007 with over seven million units sold.

For more information on this story, check out the full article!

A study from London-based market research company GfK NOP is indicating that Apple's iPhone is not going to be picked up by British consumers this holiday season because of the mobile phone's steep price.

According to the research, awareness of the brand is not the problem as 75% of UK's population has heard of the iPhone and more than 25% mentioned that they like its look. Read full article for more info on this.

After hearing claims by the HD DVD Promotion Group that HD DVD's attach rate in movies were significantly higher than Blu-ray's, Blu-ray Disc Association chairman Frank Simonis reacts, saying that it was a "gross manipulation of numbers," and that it was far from the truth. Read more about it in the full article!

With the Nintendo Wii breaking through the age-long barrier between hardcore and casual gamers, as well as tapping into a recently-undiscovered market of non-gamers, it's no surprise that people are standing up and taking notice.

This is the case with the Nikkei Net Kansai, a Japanese economics resource that recently published a report on how the Wii has effectively taken the lead in the world market of videogames - the first time since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was made.

Compiling the figures tallied by Enterbrain, NPD and GfK, sales tracking agencies of Japan, America and Germany respectively, Nikkei Net Kansai proclaimed the Wii as the top of the hill, selling 9.02 million units throughout the three territories as of July. It's to note that the Wii managed to overtake the Xbox 360's huge 8.8 million unit lead, despite the latter having a year's head start as well.

Nikkei Net Kansai also stated in its report that despite the Wii lacking the processing muscle under its hood unlike the PS3 and Xbox 360, it has sold uniformly well across all three territories. The Xbox 360's sales, in contrast, are more from the US territories rather than the other two.

It's a good season for the Wii indeed.

Here's a little trivia for you: if you've ever wondered what gamers from other parts of the world are playing the most, GfK International, the all-encompassing umbrella of market research divisions like Gfk Australia, has sent in recently updated lists of top ten games in Spain and Germany.

First up is Nintendo DS-lovin' Spain, whose top four games all cater to Nintendo's handheld. That's Pokemon: Diamond, THQ's Ratatouille, Dr. Kawashima's More Brain Training, and Pokemon: Pearl in order from first to fourth. The top ten games list is half-occupied by Nintendo DS titles, while three of the five games are published by Nintendo.

In the German side, 2K Games' BioShock rules the charts, with the PC version (no surprise there) taking top spot. The Xbox 360 version sits just outside of the top five at number six. In similar fashion to Spain, Germany also revels in Nintendo DS games, with both Pokemon titles noted (Diamond still leads Pearl), plus two Nintendo Wii titles to boot. Blizzard's World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade joins BioShock as the only two PC games to penetrate the Nintendo-dominated charts.

Read the full article for a quick list of the top ten games in Germany and Spain.

Microsoft is going head-to-head with the Wii in Australia as it cuts down the price of the Core console down to AU$ 399.95 (US$ 325) - the same price as the Wii. The Xbox 360 Pro was also cut down from AU$ 649 (US$ 528) to AU$ 579.95 (US$ 472).

 

The price cut may be harmful to Sony, after the company announced that Australia's PlayStation 3 starter packs will no longer be available once supplies run out. However, the slash is definitely a challenge targeted at the Nintendo Wii.

Australia's Xbox director David Mclean says, "Since launch we've always had a fairly deliberate strategy to secure the hardcore gamers first ... but now that we've done that job it's time to expand the market."

Daniel Morse, game analyst at GfK also said, "You get a true next-generation device for the same price as the Wii and on top of that you can play Halo." The price cut may be considered as good timing for Microsoft, because a day before the event, Nintendo Australia announced that there was no plans for a price cut for the Wii.

Some casual games that the Xbox has lined up are Guitar Hero III: Rock Legends, Rock Band and Dance Dance Revolution Universe. Mclean furthers the challenge against the Wii and says, "We are starting to see some of those real social gaming experiences and with the console at the right price point it should enable us to be somewhat more competitive."

Want to see how games fare in the land down under? Games Industry GfK Australia gives you the skinny on what games wins the Aussie's hearts - and wallets - with its list of Australia's top-selling games for the first half of this year. In this list not Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo wins the top spot, as it is now owned by an expansion of the epic online game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

The list clearly shows that the perennial PS2 is still going strong down under, with about 5 entries in the charts, including Final Fantasy XII. Sony snagged the half of the top ten slots, and for a country which gets the PS3 at a very expensive price (estimated to be about US$ 900), two games still managed to snag the 6th and 7th slots: Resistance Fall of Man and MotorStorm, respectively.

Nintendo, however, is the overall winner in dominating the entire chart with about 8 games making it into the Top 20. It's cute doggie simulation, Nintendogs: Dachshund and Friends, also found a place in Aussie's hearts and was able to hang on the 20th spot in the list.

As for Microsoft, it only had one entry in the whole chart: Gears of War, which landed on the 14th spot.

The winning Burning Crusade expansion also propelled sales of World of Warcraft, with the original game landing in a very comfortable 5th place.
Check out the numbers:

1. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, PC
2. Final Fantasy XII, PS2
3. Pokemon Diamond, Nintendo DS
4. God of War 2, PS2
5. World of Warcraft, PC
6. Resistance: Fall of Man, PS3
7. MotorStorm, PS3
8. Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends, Nintendo DS
9. Cricket 07, PS2
10. The Sims 2: Seasons, PC
11. Guitar Hero 2 bundle, PS2
12. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nintendo Wii
13. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training, Nintendo DS
14. Gears of War, Xbox 360
15. Pokemon Pearl, Nintendo DS
16. SingStar Rocks! bundle, PS2
17. The Sims 2: Pets, PC
18. Nintendogs: Labrador and Friends, Nintendo DS
19. New Super Mario Bros., Nintendo DS
20. Nintendogs: Dachshund and Friends, Nintendo DS