Enterbrain, the publishers of popular Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, has revealed the best selling games in Japan this year and guess what format they play on? That's right: DS. DS has sold the most consoles in the first half of the fiscal year, which runs from March 27 to September 24. Mario was one of the original adventure platformers and is a big seller just about everywhere, and during the first half of the fiscal year, New Super Mario Bros. for the DS managed to sell 3.09 million units!

The Japanese weren't satisfied with just one DS title, though. The popular Brain Age sequel, Motto Nou wo Kitaeru took second place, with 1.53 million copies sold in the given period. DS titles didn't take up the whole list though, with a PS2 game, Winning Eleven 10, selling 1.04 million units.

Then it goes straight back to DS titles, with the original Brain Age at number four selling 900,000 units, followed by Animal Crossing DS (870,000), Tetris DS (840,000), Final Fantasy III(730,000), the English language training program Eigo Zuke (670,000), the digital cookbook Shaberu DS Rori Navi (500,000), and Tamagotchi Puchi Puchi Omisecchi(500,000 units).

With three DS titles nominated for Game Of the Year in the Golden Joystick awards as well, it appears that 2006 is shaping up to be the year of the DS. But the release of PS3 and Wii in November should shake things up a little before Christmas. I wonder if New Super Mario Bros can hold onto the number one spot during this period? What do you think? Ssound off your comments!

Utada Hikaru, a famous Japanese singer who's done work for video games such as Kingdom Hearts, is also an accomplished Tetris player. Nintendo recently held an event in which contest winners were able to go against her in Tetris DS in front of millions of viewers. I don't really see how it's called winning a contest... after all, the prize was to be utterly annihilated on television!

Well, four player didn't fare too bad. Of the 30 players, only four were able to beat Hikaru. Three of them were right near the beginning when she was getting warmed up. After she was warmed up, she became a juggernaut. Check it out for yourself by viewing the video on Nintendo's Japanese website! Truly a sight to behold.

Japanese Pop Idol Utada Hikaru has long been associated with video games, especially since she has sung the chart-topping themes for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2 ("Hikari" and "Sanctuary", respectively). Now, she's belting out the signature song for the Japanese TV ads for the Nintendo DS, "Easy Breezy".

However, one thing that most may not know about Utada's closeness with games, is that not only is she involved in the Japanese RPG industry, but she is also a Tetris DS master.

Utada has already been featured in local Japanese shows for her mastery of the game. There have also been numerous occasions wherein she battled other celebrities on-air and trounced them squarely. Utada's prowess in Tetris has been validated when she posted in her blog a shot of her high score, which was a whopping 99,999,999 - a feat that was completed after 16 or 17 hours of play.

Last August 12th though, fans in Tokyo were given the chance to go head-to-head with the idol/Tetris-goddess. Club Nintendo previously announced a raffle where 30 lucky people will get the chance to do Tetris-battle with Utada on the Nintendo DS, while 504 others will get a pair of tickets for Utada's 2006 UNITED tour instead.

The result of the match? Utada-26, Everybody Else-4.

Previously, we reported that New Super Mario Bros. sold about 480,000 copies in its first day. Yesterday, Nintendo had a conference in which they informed everyone that the game had sold over 900,000 in its first four days. This is an astronomical number. The only games to beat it in recent years are Final Fantasy XII, Dragon Quest VIII, and Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green. Nintendo is also proud of the DS Lite which sold 950,000 units last month and Tetris DS which shipped 800,000 copies. We'll have full numbers for you in our weekly sales update on Thursday!

Today's announcement just brings great hope that Nintendo may do another 2D Mario soon. Hopefully we won't have to wait ten years this time!

The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service has amassed one million unique users just five months after it was launched to the public. It offers free online multiplayer service for a host of Nintendo DS games. The company's website displays a chart for each of its games; there's also an overall chart that shows the number of users who log on each day for the past two weeks.

Nintendo's data from April 10 to April 23  shows an average of 264,400 unique users daily, and usually peaks above 300,000 users on weekends.  And if you're wondering how your favorite DS games are performing, here's the breakdown:

Animal Crossing: Wild World 116,901 (44.2% of total)
Metroid Prime: Hunters 70,954 (26.8% of total)
Mario Kart DS 59,544 (22.5% of total)
Tetris DS 15,842 (6% of total)
Tony Hawk: American Sk8land 1,159 (0.4% of total)

Surprisingly, Mario Kart DS has been outperformed by Metroid Prime: Hunters, which has been out only for a month. Mario Kart was released the same time the Wi-Fi service was launched in November 2005. Not surprising is the fate of Tony Hawk: American Sk8land, which only managed to bring in over a thousand users. It would be interesting to see how Ubisoft's LostMagic performs when it gets released this week.

Whether Mario jumps to the top of the charts or Tony Hawk turns things around, only one thing is for sure, Nintendo is well on its way to reaching the 2 million mark.

According to Kotaku a  Japanese company by the name of Amadana is selling a Tetris travel alarm clock for all the people who are addicted to Tetris. Ever since the original NES there has been some form of Tetris on every major console including the new Tetris DS, guess what system that's for, in which this time you can actually play people around the world wirelessly. And it looks like the last two generations of gamers can't get enough of that little Russian block puzzle game. If you are one of the many gamers that are addicted to tetris maybe this will help you wake up with a smile on your face waiting to start your day.

I have made a post about upcoming titles for PlayStation Portable for this month as well as Xbox 360 titles set for release this spring; now let me practice a little bit more of democracy (take that Kim Jong-il) as I make some game-release announcements for Nintendo DS titles in Europe too.

Megaman invades Europe videostores this coming April 14 with his latest stint titled Megaman Battle Network 5 Double Team. This version is a dual-screened game based from the Game Boy Advance title. The DS will combine both Team Protoman and Team Colonel in one game, but a specific content unique to the Nintendo DS version should be expected. The second screen comes into play by giving players direct access to their Cyber Map and PET. The microphone can also be "yelled" into to power up Mega Man during battle.

April 21 is the day the brick-layering, puzzle-type game Tetris DS occupy shelves in videostores. Still based on the classic Nintendo game, this game boasts of touch-screen features, head-to-head action between two players, and massive wireless battles up to 10 DS users.

Trauma Centre: Under the Knife becomes available by April 28. This title enables the gamer top play doctor, as you use the stylus as your scalpel to solve complex surgical puzzles with extreme precision. A compelling story with intriguing characters revolves around the player (so ER'ish, I know).

There, Nintendo fanatics can't hit me for being biased now (I must comment though, two of those three are suck-prone, make your guess).

Here is a TV commercial for the Tetris DS. I should say this one is amazing!


Download: [Tetris DS TV Commercial]

Nintendo has announced that the Nintendo DS puzzle game "Tetris DS" will be released on April 27, price 3,800 JPY ($32.2USD).

The DS game "Tetris DS" is based on the original Tetris game. There are 6 game modes set in the game. The company once has made an amazing success with the title "Tetris" on the GameBoy platform around the world.

The special feature of the latest title on the DS will be the in-game performance. Characters from several classic titles like "Super Mario Brothers", "Legends of Zelda" and "Metroid" will be present in the performance. The background music of the game will also be adopted from the old titles, bringing back the feelings of the good-old times to you.

The wireless function is also present in this title. The games will be supporting the DS Download function, allowing up to 10 players to download and play in a multiplayer game. The game will also support "Nintendo Connection", which means the players around the world will be able to take on others via the internet.

There will be 6 game modes in the game. Starting from the basic "Standard" mode, there will also be V.S. battle modes and chess-like modes. The objective and gameplay in theses additional modes are all different from the original Tetris.

One of the best puzzle games ever will be arriving in Europe on April 21st. Now with the ability to play anyone around the world with the Nintendo Wi-Fi should definitely create some new Tetris addicts. Here's the important parts of the press release that may interest those of you who haven't been able to get through a night without dreaming of falling blocks since '89:

Back in 1989 the world became obsessed with Tetris when it took the Game Boy by storm. Adored by all, young or old, players were hooked as soon as they picked it up. Now it's time for a whole new generation to experience the craze that introduced puzzle games to the mainstream. Tetris DS combines the much loved original game with all new modes of game play, including the Touch Mode, which takes Tetris to a completely new level of gaming allowing for the first time ever to move blocks around the screen using the Nintendo DS stylus and touch screen.

Via the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection service, you can really take on the rest of the world! Players can connect with up to three players from around the world and battle it out to be the ultimate Tetris champion. What's more, up to ten Nintendo DS owners can battle it out together, even if only one player has a game card! An innovative point-based rating system based on players' battle results, also lets users check the skill of their opponents before taking them on! Players can select to take on all challengers in intense two or four player versions of the Standard Mode, as well as playing the unique two player versus mode provided by Push Mode.

Players can hone their construction skills through any one of six different modes contained in Tetris DS, each featuring a theme based on classic Nintendo games such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. As well as Nintendo theme based modes, the modes also contain remixed classic Nintendo music, guaranteed to bring sweet music to any player's ears. Traditional falling blocks and line clearing strategy remain essential, however the Nintendo DS's touch screen opens up a whole new level of interactivity for the player as the screen is used to twist and turn the blocks.

The game's Standard Mode is a faithful recreation of the much-loved Tetris. However, as the player completes lines, the computer plays through the original Super Mario Bros on the top screen. Push Mode adds a Donkey Kong themed tug-of war spin to Tetris, where players race to 'push' their opponents off the screen by completing lines. Touch Mode makes use of the Nintendo DS touch-screen, with a distinct Balloon Trip feel as players drag towers of blocks around to make lines. Yoshi themed Puzzle Mode challenges players to clear 200 pre-programmed puzzles with a selection of blocks. There is only one correct combination so the challenge is definitely a head-scratcher! Mission Mode gives players a series of Zelda themed tasks to complete and Catch Mode is a wacky space based game with a Metroid theme. Players must control a flying block and catch other blocks to make 4x4 grids.

So prepare to be hooked on one of the world's most addictive puzzle games ever! Tetris DS is unleashed across Europe on the Nintendo DS from 21st April 2006 for the estimated retail price of around £30.

Maybe its just an overreaction, but I think the massive sales of the Nintendo DS version of Tetris, which was released today, really did slow down servers and surprise gamers with less than stellar online experiences. Some nitpicking taking place in the Nintendo forum today seems to confirm my budding cynicism towards the apparent success of Tetris in the market. Some people complain about getting shotdown in the middle of their games. Some were wondering what the heck is going on. Is it not so disappointing that just when you had gotten totally addicted to it then the server goes down?