Day in Gaming 1/31: Wii Got Cheaper

Apparently, Gamingfront.net heard from a guy, who heard from a guy, who heard from ANOTHER guy, who heard from his girlfriend, who heard from your Friendly neighborhood Nintendo Spy that Nintendo’s… going to drop the price of the Wii. In April

Two words: Completely. Unnecessary.

Apparently, yesterday Nintendo dropped their estimated profits by 12% (Let’s just say that that’s a lotta DS’s, ‘specially to a company that seemed invincible against the global recession). However, part of this was because price cuts for the other two big gurus in the console manufacturing market – you know who you are – were predicted around the same time. Due to this and the recession going on right now, some analysts have said that, yep, the Wii may enjoy a ‘small’ price cut in the not-so-far away future.

Why?

The Wii has been selling like hotcakes for the past two years, and shows no signs of slowing down, if the NPD numbers are to be believed. I doubt that Nintendo would forfeit potential big bucks by cutting the price (They make $6 per console at  $250 a Wii), so could you blame this on the economy? Perhaps, but 12% is a big number. If push came to shove, and Nintendo started to get in trouble, then I could see a price drop a-comin’.

Maybe the loss is coming from all the potential cash being spent on development for the next Mario, or Zelda. Hell, we haven’t heard from Samus in a while, either. If that’s not the case, then could the money be from the development the Wii 2? Nah, I didn’t think so, either. 

Whatever the case, Nintendo probably has a good reason, even if it’s the global economy being flushed down the toilet.

Source: Gamingfront.net

Day in Gaming 1/29: Leipzig is Dead

After a small snow-day filled hiatus, I’m back!

Leipzig, Germany’s and thus Europe’s version of E3 has been cancelled this year. A moment of silence…

Okay, that’s over! Taking it’s place will be Gamescom, a convention that’s says it’s going to focus on more online and mobile gaming. Gameforge 4D and Bigpoint, both industry leaders in handheld & mobile gaming, will be supporting this event.

I personally believe this is a good thing. Last year, both Nintendo and Microsoft didn’t show up, which severely hurt the convention’s credence in Europe. This showed that Leipzig needed to be retired, or at least reimagined. Plus, both E3 and TGS seem to focus more on console games. With a convention focusing on their handheld counterparts, this will give a better chance for the not-quite AAA titles that would’ve otherwise gone under the radar.

Now, this begs the questions if E3 needs a revamp as well. Me thinks so, but do you? Comment away!

~Chronoslayer

Sunday Special: Week 1: Paper

Well, here’s another short story. I had a good time writing this one; I like the idea, and the end product is close to what I imagined. First off, thanks to the person who edited this (You know who you are ), and thanks to all of you for waiting patiently.

And so, I give you Paper, a Ray Bradbury-inspired short story, by me. Enjoy!