After weeks of denying rumors and trying to keep up with the console pricing, Nintendo finally confirms the Wii price cut, though unfortunately the UK isn't getting one. Still, in the words of that counselor from The New Guy, "I'm sorry to tell you that denial is not just a river in Egypt." Different context, I know, but the deny-and-confirm-later-anyway routine is really catching on. Speaking of catching, you can catch up with all the things Nintendo right here.

It's time to compare numbers again. After the impressive giant leap that the PS3 console made the past couple of weeks, things are starting to simmer down as the DSi regains the top spot in Japan's Media Create hardware sales chart for the week of September 7 through the 13th.

Handhelds are dominating the hardware sales charts in Japan right now, but the story over there is still the PS3 -- specifically the fact that it has dropped to dead last in the Media Create sales rankings. More after the jump.

Over their lifetimes, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 have both introduced price cuts to buoy sales. But the Wii? Naw, it doesn't need a price cut to sell. It just needs to exist. But shouldn't manufacturing costs have gone down by now? Why doesn't Nintendo introduce a price cut? Because they don't want you to feel cheated.

More after the link.

Ok, this is getting old. The Xbox 360 beat the PlayStation 3 in Japan. Again. Oh, and the Wii beat their numbers. Combined. Also the same old story. But just in case you guys wanted to know.

Analysts had high hopes for October, particularly because of the release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, so it may have come as disturbing news to hear that a lot of titles didn't perform as well as they had predicted.

As it stands, October showed a solid rise in sales even if it didn't live up to expectations. More in the full article.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expects the Microsoft Xbox 360 to rally back after slow July sales and thinks that the Sony PlayStation 3 is due for another price drop early next year. He also says that the Nintendo Wii and DS will still be on top when the NPD results for August come in.

Pachter senses that the Xbox 360 sold about 240,000 units in August with the help of huge releases like Take-Two's BioShock and Madden NFL 08 from Electronic Arts. This, he thinks, is enough to edge the Sony PlayStation 2 which he predicts will hit the 225,000 mark.

The PlayStation 3, on the other hand, can be expected to have sold 150,000 units last month according to Pachter.

He expects sales to remain slow until the 80GB PS3 sheds US$ 100 off its tag later this year. He expects the 80GB PS3 to go as low as US$ 399 early next year as a prelude to big titles coming the platform's way. Pachter says:

We think that Sony's recent announcement of an IPO for its financial services unit (with an estimated $3 billion in proceeds) could forebode another PS3 price cut early next year. We believe that the company is interested in subsidizing sales of the console in order to stabilize its market share in the games market and grow its lead in the high-definition DVD market. We expect a price cut no later than April, likely to $399 for the 80Gb model.

Nintendo, according to the analyst, will remain very comfortable on top of the heap with its Wii projected to tip the 420,000 unit mark. He also expects undisputed handheld king DS to reign supreme with a steady margin over the Sony PSP.

Everybody likes a good deal. More money saved, more money for upcoming video games, right? This week's GameStop deals hails in new titles, price drops, and various bonuses. And the Halo 3 promo might pique your interest as well.

First off, GameStop is featuring Back to School Nintendo DS titles (some of which are tagged five percent off) like High School Musical: Makin' the Cut, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Brain Age 2: More Training In Minutes A Day, and others. Price drop offers US$ 10 to US$ 20 off the original prices (Fight Night Round 3, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2, among others).

GameStop is also offering extra 20% trade credit for video games traded for Halo 3 reservations. Plus it's giving away free stuff - Naruto PSP skins that come with Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes and Dewy Plushies that come with Dewy's Adventure.

Anyway, check out the via link below for more info.

Here's the latest on sales of hardware and games for the weeks ending on July 7 and 14. July 14, it has to be noted, is just a day after E3.

 

Recent data gives light to Sony's claim of a doubling in their sales since their US$ 100 price drop. For the sales week ending on July 14 at least, sales for the PlayStation 3 rose 131%, more than double, outrunning the sales of the 360. The Wii rose by 10% but the Xbox hardly moved, selling only 1% more than the previous week.

The Nintendo DS is enjoying a ginormous success; although sales slipped by 5%, you can hardly scoff at more than 97k units sold in a week. The PSP sold only 50k on the same week.

It also looks like the top 5 games in Amazon last July 8 seems to be just as popular to non-online shoppers. The most popular games for each console is Wii Play for the Wii, The Darkness for the Xbox 360, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3. Still going strong for the Wii are Mario Party 8 and Resident Evil 4. Slipping into the 360's favor is Transformers, while Gears of War is almost out of the top 10 in 9th place. Transformers also made it to PS3's top 3, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is still popular in second place.

Of the total of 11,878,996 units of next gen consoles that have been sold in America, 55% of those are Xbox 360 units, 31.3% are Wii, and the PS3 accounts for 13.7%. Also, if the PS3 continues to sell more than the 360, and if the Wii continues its current pace, the 360 will be in for some tough times.

For a detailed list of the sales for the week of July 7 and 14, you may click our Read link below.

Sony disclosed that Italian PlayStation enthusiasts - by far the most hardcore of Sony enthusiasts - have bought over 650,000 PSP units since its launch in Italy, with 50,000 coming from sales from the month of May alone.

As Sony's most ardent supporter, Italy comes in as the fifth largest European gaming market next to Spain. Some 35% of Italy's gaming population is comprised of females, with the average age of 28 years.

The increase of sales - which is almost double compared to last year's sales volume for the same period - was most likely brought about by the PSP's price drop of only 169 Euros. However not even Sony's staunchest supporters can quell Nintendo Company Ltd.'s success as the DS still stood on top, as noted by François Storelli, EA Italy's General Manager. The numbers, however, are showing that the DS and PSP are racing neck-and-neck and the difference in sales are not that significant.