Devil May Cry 4 Collectors Boxes & More Screens Out The Yoo-Hoo

Bionic Commando Screens

Japanese Gamers Want Quality, Don’t Care About Price

“A survey of 3,422 Japanese gamers showed that they care more about a console’s game library than its price, while the cheaper Nintendo platforms come out on top in ownership.”

Isn’t that a contradiction?

Via Next-Gen

Game Sales Reach $18 Billion

“The US games industry rose an astounding 43 percent in 2007 bolstered by strong performance in every product category,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “While hardware sales realized the greatest percentage growth over 2006 due to the closely scrutinized console hardware transition, each category under the video games industry umbrella reached their own personal bests in terms of annual sales.”

Via Gamespot

Call of Duty 4 Destroys Holiday Sales Numbers

01. Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360) - 1,470,000
02. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 1,400,000
03. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 1,250,000
04. Wii Play with Remote (Wii) - 1,080,000
05. Assassin’s Creed (Xbox 360) - 893,700
06. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) - 742,700
07. Brain Age 2: More Training In Minutes A Day (DS) - 659,500
08. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 655,200
09. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360) - 624,600
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - 613,000

Via Kotaku

How To Make A Japanese PC Playstation Store Account (And Use It!)

Don’t have a Playstation 3 or just hate going through the process of using the PS3 to access the Japanese Playstation Network Store? Then boy have we got the guide for you. Follow the directions below and you’ll be up and running in no time.

One thing you will need is a Japanese PSN Card. Play-Asia sells many varieties at excellent prices so I suggest you pick from one of the many available below. (more…)

Epic Buys Plot of Land Near College For Testers

“Success breeds expansion, and Epic is doing just that by doubling its Cary, North Carolina, operations, reports The News & Observer. Epic Games reportedly purchased a $1.57 million, five-acre plot next door to its 31,000-square-foot headquarters last month, with the intention of moving temporary testers sent by its games’ publishers closer to its base of operations.”

Via Gamespot 

PSN To Get Bigger Updates

“We’re certainly going to continue to plan on combining features so we can roll out fewer, but more significant firmware updates.”

“There are a few ways to look at this. We have several teams developing different types of new features for the PS3. Initially we schedule and plan on combining features in updates so users receive a lot of features in a single update. Sometimes the schedule on one feature will slip and we’ll have a few other new features ready, so rather than hold the release up for a single feature, we’ll release what is ready to go at that time.”

So there ya go, no more tiny updates that don’t do much. Sony is going to pack a ton of stuff in to each one and release them every few months.

Via Next-Gen