Xbox 360 outselling Wii in UK by two to one

The Wii has a reputation for being a sales powerhouse, but according to the latest data, it would seem that at least in Britain, it's the Xbox 360 that's become the breadwinning console. The Annual General Meeting of The GAME Group has released sales data that shows the 360 outselling the Wii at a ratio of two to one.

The data, which covers all UK retailers, shows that from February to June this year, the Wii sold 300,000 units while the Xbox 360 was able to shift 600,000. The Wii is, of course, still ahead in total lifetime sales, but this represents one of three things: Either people are getting bored of the Wii craze, everybody in the UK who wants one already has one, or consumers are just buying a brand new Xbox 360 every time their one red rings. 

Wii Sports Resort is out very soon, so we'll have to see what this does to the sales data. Still, I'm sure Microsoft is quite happy with this data in the meantime, and will ignore all subsequent statistics to the contrary.

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Kotaku Originals: Hot Fun in the Summertime
[Kotaku Originals]

This will be the first time I've ever worked on Crecentral Time, as I'm in Colorado hanging with Kotaku alum Adam Barenblat for the weekend. It's also a shortened two days thanks to July 4.

But to everyone who might be kicking back, lighting up and/or grilling out this weekend - Francophones, we realize you're waiting on Bastille Day - we start with a roundup of our reporting highlights, led by the Summer of Gaming package. McMike also got a look inside Blizzard and Starcraft.

Hey, wasn't Frank O'Phone a reliever for the New York Mets? I digress. The week in original coverage.

Summer of Gaming
Sink Or Swim? The Game Designer's Conundrum
Kotaku's 2009 Summer Reading List
Kotaku's Summer of Gaming

Blizzard/Starcraft
No LAN Play For Starcraft II
Three Things We Weren't Allowed To Photograph At Blizzard HQ
Ogle Blizzard HQ's Epically Mounted Orc
StarCraft II Beta Planned To Last 4 To 6 Months
What's Inside Blizzard's Library?
StarCraft II Hands-On: Round Three

Features
How To Name A Video Game Studio - And Hopefully Get It Right
In Defense Of The Classic Controller

Previews, Reviews, Hands-On and Impressions
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen Review: Clench The Difference
Battlefield Heroes Review: The Great (Cartoon) War
Frankenreview: The Conduit
Mecho Wars Micro-Review: Landians Versus Wingians... Really?
Sony Expands "Official Licensing Program"
Let's Take A PlayStation Home Survey!
Captain Blood Preview: Errol Flynn He Ain't - But He'll Do
Dreamkiller Impressions: "Emotional Painkiller" Doesn't Sound As Cool
The Conduit Review: A Bland, But Enjoyable Shooter
Death To Spies 2: Moment of Truth Preview: SMERSH is a fun word to say
Bit.Trip: Core Preview: Thumb-Aching Good Fun
Gunstar Heroes Micro-Review: The Perfect Shot
MySims Agents Preview: Spy vs. Sims
Fight Night Round 4 Review: Boxing Beautiful

Rumor
Foot Controlled Silver Surfer Game?

News
PS3 Bundle Includes MGS4, Killzone 2

Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma Premium Box Pack Premium Price
How Many Hours People Play Nintendo's Wii Games (Sorry, Donkey Kong)
Square Enix Brings Hammer Down On French Retailer
Midway Sale To WB Clears Court, Staff At Two Studios Given Notice
Grand Theft IV Auto Goes Discount In Japan
Xbox 360 Game Creation Tool Kodu Now Live - Got Any Ideas?
Dave Perry: How Gaikai Goes Beyond OnLive, Could Spread Gaming Everywhere
Square Enix Mystery Solved - The Four Warriors Of Light
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Dated And Detailed For Japan
Damnation Developers Laid Off
Nintendo Patents WarioWare Take On Othello
Carmack: Just About Everything id Makes Coming To iPhone
Doom Resurrection: The iPhone Game That Nearly Wasn't
Would Natal Enable User-Generated Mo-Cap?

Kotaku Reader
K6

Swag and Toys
Wish I Had A Record Player
Kotaku Kard Man
Check Out This Awesome Akuma Statue

At the Half
2009 Is Half-Done: What's Been Great So Far?

Facts and Figures
How Many Hours People Play Each Wii Sonic Game, Music Games Too
The Ten Most Avidly-Played Wii Games In America (As Of July 1)

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Electroplankton making a splash on DSiWare
(Update)

Finally, a DSiWare "game" that isn't a clock or a complete load of wanking sh*t. Electroplankton is a quirky music maker that uses little neon sea creatures to create tunes. It was a really interesting game that sat on my "must get" list for ages, but I never did go and buy it. Now that it's coming to DSiWare and I still have complimentary points to burn, it's certainly tempting. 

Of course, there's always a catch. Electroplankton's ten different programs will be sold as individual 200 Point downloads. This still works out as a pretty good deal, since the original game was retail priced, and with 2000 Points still sitting on my DSi and doing nothing, I might as well just get the whole thing. 

What about you? Is ElectroPlankton finally a worthy bit of DSiWare, or did you blow your Points on an Animal Crossing Clock? 

[Update: God damn it, I did not notice where it said Japan only. For God's sake, NoA, why can't we have nice things!?]

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Electroplankton making a splash on DSiWare next
week

Finally, a DSiWare "game" that isn't a clock or a complete load of wanking sh*t. Electroplankton is a quirky music maker that uses little neon sea creatures to create tunes. It was a really interesting game that sat on my "must get" list for ages, but I never did go and buy it. Now that it's coming to DSiWare and I still have complimentary points to burn, it's certainly tempting. 

Of course, there's always a catch. Electroplankton's ten different programs will be sold as individual 200 Point downloads. This still works out as a pretty good deal, since the original game was retail priced, and with 2000 Points still sitting on my DSi and doing nothing, I might as well just get the whole thing. 

What about you? Is ElectroPlankton finally a worthy bit of DSiWare, or did you blow your Points on an Animal Crossing Clock? 

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A Brief History of the Elusive PSPhone

Rumors about the PSP Phone just won't go away.

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What's you favourite intro. to a game Not ...
[From Comments]

What's you favourite intro. to a game? Not just the opening cut scene but the very first bit of gameplay where you know "this is where it starts."

I've been playing Oblivion and Fallout 3 lately and the first part of those games is just great. I love the whole, "emerging into a huge, unknown world" thing they've got going.

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Amazon offers Animal Crossing City Folk for $20

Animal Crossing is such an addictive series of games that I've made a concerted effort to avoid the Wii installment. It's better for my health, which would really suffer from me obsessing over collecting fossils and paying that bastard Nook. Now that Amazon has offered the game for $20 today, it may be too enticing to resist any longer.

It's a Deal of the Day, so make sure you hop on over and grab it now if you're interested. This is the standalone version, meaning that it doesn't come bundled with the WiiSpeak accessory. That's even worse for me, as the bundled accessory was repellant enough on its own to keep me away.

If you guys don't see me for a few weeks, could you send someone around to my place to make sure that I'm not sitting on my couch, unbathed, wearing tattered clothes and muttering, "just one more fish," as I limply waggle a remote in my hand? I would really appreciate it.

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Sesame Street approves of videogames

While politicians and moral crusaders have done their best to criticize videogames and preach about their perceived ill effects, Sesame Street (by way of the Joan Glanz Clooney Center at Sesame orkshop) approves of their existence, and sees games as a force for good in the world.

"Despite their reputation as promoters of violence and mayhem, digital games have in fact been shown to help children gain content and vital foundational and 21st century skills," explains the center's Game Changer report. "We know enough about digital games and how they work to recognize their promise. Now we need to invest time and resources to turn this promise into a real “game changer” for America’s children."

The report focuses on various elements of videogames that have value in the development of children, discussing the educational value they have, the potential to develop problem-solving skills, creativity and systems thinking.

It's a shame that those who rail against videogame don't try and do something to enhance the game industry's positive aspects, rather than simply focus on the perceived negative aspects. That never really helps anybody or anything. Still, we now officially live in a world where Big Bird is making more sense than Jack Thompson, so that's something.

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Youre Free to P(l)ay

When reading the above title you might think that I’m selling the latest pyramid scheme.[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://ready-up.net/2009/07/04/youre-free-to-play/

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SGC 09: Metal Gear FAIL

It seems that every gaming convention needs some genius in a cardboard box, pretending to be Solid Snake. Everyone laughs like it's the first time they've ever seen it, and even cynical bastards like me find a tiny sliver of grudging respect for somebody willing to sacrifice their dignity to impress a gang of nerds.

This guy went beyond the call of duty, especially when it came to the dignity part. As you can see from the footage we captured at the ScrewAttack Gaming Convention, there was much fail to be had for one intrepid cosplayer. Hit the jump to watch the video, because GAME JOURNALISM!

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