Regardless of age, gamers still love the PS2

Even though just about everyone is focused on the next-generation console battle between Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, Nielsen reported that the Sony PlayStation 2 was the most played game console in June.

PS2 gameplay accounted for as much as 42 percent of console use in the month of June - a number that really shouldn't surprise people. Considering the amount of PS2 consoles sold since its release in 2000, I am not surprised that so many people are still playing the older Sony console.

Here are the numbers for the other major consoles on the market: Microsoft Xbox, 17 percent; Xbox 360, 8 percent; Nintendo Gamecube, 5.8 percent; Wii, 4 percent; and PlayStation 3, 1.3 percent.

Nielsen's sample was made up of 33,000 people - 12,000 households.

And since I am discussing Nielsen GamePlay Metrics data, the media research company also found that the Nintendo Wii game console - despite being cheaper than its competition - is the console most likely to be found in households that have at least a $100,000 income per year.

Nielsen is already crunching numbers dealing with console video game titles and metering of PC game titles - those numbers will be available sometime soon.

{source}

AdSense for Video Games?

Google is planning to take the gaming world by storm, according to a story in The Seattle Post Intelligencer, which reports that the company is working on AdSense for video games.

Dubbed AdSense for Games, Google's new application, when launched, could be a significant player in a fast-growing market, according to a Yankee Group study that predicts in-game advertising will exceed $971 million by 2011.

Google will compete with IGA Worldwide and Double Fusion, which already participate in the $78 million in-game ad business.

Nintendo's Wii aiming to top PS2's sales

It's no doubt that the hottest gaming console right now is Nintendo's Wii, outshining it's rivals Xbox 360 (Microsoft) and Playstation 3 (Sony). And it is reported that sales of the quirky Wii video game machine could top the legendary PlayStation 2, making it the biggest hit in the gaming industry's history.

The Wii has outsold Xbox 360 and PS3 monthly since its November launch, helped by its relatively affordable $250 price tag and a motion-sensing controller that can be swung like a bat, for instance.

Sony has shipped more than 120 million units of the PS2, helping the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment conglomerate dominate the $30 billion global video game industry over the past decade.

Nintendo sold 5.8 million units of the Wii by March 2007, and aims to sell another 14 million during the current business year to March 2008.

Instead of offering lifelike graphics to appeal to hard-core gamers, who are mostly men, Nintendo has appealed to an audience including women and the elderly with innovative but easy-to-play games.

Sony cuts PS3 price, announces MGS4's exclusivity

Sony Corp.'s $100 price cut for the PlayStation 3 is not enough to turn the fortunes of the game console, which has suffered a slow start, an executive of game software maker Konami Corp. said.

Sony cut the PS3 price to $500 in the United States on Monday, in a bid to ignite demand. But it still costs twice that of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii console, whose $250 price and motion-sensing controller have made it a best-seller despite its lack of cutting-edge graphics.

"I wonder if Sony can win back user support by the price cut of just $100," Kazumi Kitaue, the head of Konami's North American and European operations, told Reuters in an interview ahead of this week's E3 video game industry trade show.

"I don't expect a substantial impact ... With $500, you can buy a personal computer."

Sony has packed its cutting-edge technology including a Blu-ray high-definition DVD player and high-performance chips in the PS3. The advanced functions enable life-like graphics, but have driven up production costs.

Its high price and a lack of attractive software have been cited as major reasons for the PS3's plight.

Kitaue said Konami may need to expand the target hardware for its blockbuster fighting game Metal Gear Solid, which has so far been developed for Sony's PlayStation machines, to other consoles in the future to recoup development costs.

"Since Metal Gear Solid was born for the PlayStation, we would like to keep it a PlayStation game. But we might have to take some steps," Kitaue said.

Konami plans to launch Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PS3 in the current business year to March 2008.

Tekken 6 beta testing in Japan

One of the most awaited fighting games both in consoles and arcade is the sixth installment of the Iron Fist Tournament -- Tekken. Early beta testing has begun in Tokyo for the arcade version of the game. Digital Battle has some YouTube videos showing early battles featuring Jack 5, Leo, Steve and King. The videos aren’t too high quality, but they give you a glimpse of what to expect.

Lara Croft is back in nicely updated `Tomb Raider Anniversary'

Scantily clad dungeon-crawler Lara Croft has been reborn many times over the years as a line of video-game sequels and mediocre film remakes.

Now this digital heroine is reprising her role from the original game with a remake of sorts called "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary."

A lot has changed in the decade since the groundbreaking original.

Gone are the barely distinguishable blocky graphics and the unforgiving controls that would often spell instant death.

Everything in "Anniversary" -- the precise, dynamic controls, the impressive, though not quite next-gen visuals, and the expansive, puzzling levels -- speaks of a game that's received a proper, careful overhaul for the PC and PlayStation 2.

The game's story remains essentially unchanged, and you'll spend most of your time bounding from one obstacle to another with pistols in hand.

It's cool reliving all those exciting moments from the original, culminating with a showdown with a towering T-rex. (And this updated beast has some pals that make it a much greater, more engaging challenge.)

The puzzles, and there are many, are far more interactive and complex than they were in the first game. And Lara's far easier to move around than ever before thanks to a revamped control scheme that is far more precise.

Video-game technology has changed immeasurably since 1997 and that's painfully clear if you happen to have a copy of the original "Tomb Raider." Game features that seemed revolutionary at the time are curiously quaint by today's standards.

One thing you don't get with "Anniversary" is a copy of the original. It would have been a great way to show just how far things have come in 10 years.

And this new version doesn't really take Lara in any new directions, so don't go expecting a completely new gameplay experience.

Lara might be forever preserved as a youthful heroine, but her gameplay has aged, and improved, considerably in "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary."