The Digital Home

The Wii is coming to...Sports Authority?

(Credit: Nintendo)

You might be used to buying your video game consoles only at an electronics store, but all that will soon change. National sports retailer Sports Authority announced Tuesday that it will start selling the Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit Plus in its stores.

Aside from being able to pick up a Wii and Wii Fit Plus, consumers will also find Sports Authority stores that boast a Wii "interactive fitness experience." The section of the store will have "knowledgeable fitness trainers allowing customers to try Wii and Wii Fit Plus before they buy."

While it's certainly interesting to see a Wii being used by a fitness instructor in a sports store, Sports Authority said it believes that it will help set it apart in the marketplace. According to the company, users will now be able to "satisfy their fitness- and sports-gaming needs under one roof."

But just how much of a benefit Wii Fit actually affords its users is up for debate. Sports Authority might claim that it helps users "achieve better health," but a recent study (PDF) from the American Council on Exercise found that the game offers a "very, very mild workout."

That could throw a wrench in Sports Authority's plans as it attempts to make the case that the Wii and the Wii Fit Plus make sense next to other products designed specifically to improve the health of its users. As appealing as it might be to some, Nintendo's game might not be able to stand up against fitness-focused products.

Regardless, Sports Authority has thrown its support behind Nintendo's console. The Wii and the Wii Fit Plus will be available in 102 stores starting on Thursday. It will be rolled out to remaining company stores by spring 2010.

The Wii isn't living up to its expectations.

(Credit: Nintendo)

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello didn't pull any punches when he spoke at a quarterly earnings call earlier this week. As he discussed some of the issues his company faces in today's gaming market, he singled out Nintendo and its Wii as contributing factors.

According to Riccitiello, third-party games on the Wii just aren't performing nearly as well as EA had expected. And as the Wii's sales start to slip, it doesn't seem likely that that will be changing anytime soon.

"To be honest with you, I think the Wii platform has been a little weaker than we had certainly anticipated," Riccitiello said, according to a transcript of the call published by Seeking Alpha on Monday. "And there is no lack of frustration (about this coming out) at precisely the time where we have the strongest third-party share."

But Riccitiello didn't stop there. He said EA is "reaching out to Nintendo to find ways to partner to push third-party software harder." He contended that in order for the Wii to perform up to Nintendo's own expectations, the platform needs help from third parties.

Riccitiello continued on that theme. He said his company is providing high-quality titles for the Wii, but it's Nintendo that needs to do more.

"Wii is where we are missing it," Riccitiello said on the call. "And so I really do think that the opportunity exists to find different ways to partner with (Nintendo) in this case, to sort of help establish in the minds of the consumer legitimacy of some of these other brands, when they are going out multiplatform."

But it was Riccitiello's next statement that might send the most shockwaves through the Nintendo world. The EA chief said "very, very few multiplatform titles are succeeding on the Wii so far, and collectively, Electronic Arts and Nintendo need to tackle that."

Perhaps now the question is, then, how will those two major forces in the gaming industry achieve what Riccitiello wants? Nintendo's platform has enjoyed strong sales since its debut, but the Wii is slipping. Worst of all, during the most successful periods for Nintendo, it was first-party titles, not third-party games that performed best at retail. Whether Nintendo can help change that, making it more profitable for third parties to develop games for the Wii, is very much in doubt.

What do you think? Is Nintendo really in bad shape? Is Riccitiello overstating the Wii's shortcomings? Let us know in the comments below.

The hype surrounding Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 keeps heating up.

After Gamestop announced last week a $40 trade credit for those who preorder the game and bring it back to a Gamestop store by December 13, Amazon.com has launched a competition, dubbed "The Call of Duty-est Town in America." The contest is seeking the town or city with the most preorders of Modern Warfare 2.

According to Amazon, any town or city with a population of 5,000 or more can compete. It determined population size using the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.

Whenever a person preorders Modern Warfare 2 from Amazon, the location is tallied. The goal for each location is to have the highest percentage of preorders. Realizing that population plays a role in those figures, the number of orders doesn't factor into the competition.

Amazon said on its contest page that it will give a $5,000 gift certificate to a charity that serves the winning town. If the competition had ended at the time of this writing, the winner would be Grand Forks, N.D.

The page also features some interesting information about those preorders. As of this writing, the Xbox 360 version of the game accounted for 61 percent of Amazon preorders. The PlayStation 3 and the PC versions captured 31 percent and 8 percent of the preorders, respectively.

"The Call of Duty-est Town in America" competition ends on the game's release day, November 10. The winning town will be announced that day.

Get ready to pay $20 for this game.

(Credit: Inifinity Ward)

Gamers looking to get their hands on Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 will have the opportunity to preorder the title and pay a net price of $20 if they follow basic guidelines announced recently by retailer Gamestop.

According to the company, anyone who preorders the game from Gamestop.com will have it when it hits store shelves on November 10. If those customers trade in the game by December 13, Gamestop will give them a $40 in-store credit.

Considering Modern Warfare 2 costs $60, that means that those who trade in the title will pay just $20 to play it. It's not a bad deal for frequent gamers who play through a game once and never play it again.

The $40 credit is also available to those who purchase the $80 Modern Warfare 2 Hardened Edition.

Of course, there are some rules that govern the deal. The $40 credit will only be offered for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. And after December 13, Gamestop's $40 offer will expire.

Gamestop's decision to offer customers the opportunity to pay an effective price of $20 for the game is an interesting one. Modern Warfare 2 is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, and having an ample supply of pre-played titles is important to Gamestop's bottom line.

But it's putting a lot of hope in gamer willingness to return Modern Warfare 2.

Call of Duty 4 is still one of the most-played multiplayer games. Modern Warfare 2 will likely follow suit. Realizing that, will gamers want to part with what could be the best multiplayer first-person shooter release this year? Let us know in the comments below.

This is nothing more than a huge rumor at this point, but gaming-industry site Superannuation is reporting that it has found a resume posted by a video game animator claiming to have worked on an unannounced GoldenEye 007 game for the Nintendo Wii.

Remember this level in GoldenEye 007?

(Credit: Screenshot by GameSpot)

According to the report, the animator worked for Eurocom Entertainment Software, a company that has worked on several versions of James Bond titles, including Quantum of Solace and James Bond 007: Nightfire, between July and September.

The job listing said the person worked on "GoldenEye 2010 (Wii)." According to Destructoid, which also viewed the resume, the job description read, "Animator on Activision's James Bond series for the Nintendo Wii assisting in: Key frame animation, the preparation and clean-up of motion capture data, prop animation, in-game cut-scene animation, scene layout, and camera animation."

The resume was eventually pulled down from the site from which Superannuation accessed it.

Since its release in 1997, the iconic GoldenEye 007 has been the subject of several rumors claiming that a follow-up was on the way. But after Microsoft acquired Rare, the game's developer, in 2002, and Activision acquired the James Bond game rights in 2006, several licensing roadblocks were erected, limiting the chances of such a release.

Neither Activision nor Nintendo immediately responded to request for comment.

Considering that Nintendo and Activision are mum on a possible GoldenEye release for the Wii, it might be safer to assume that those roadblocks are still in place. But that doesn't mean that there aren't discussions going on behind the scenes to pave the way for the GoldenEye release. At this point, we just don't know.

So, let's hear from you. Do you think that this is the smoking gun for which GoldenEye fans have been waiting? Will GoldenEye 007 come to the Wii next year? Let us know in the comments below.

Blu-ray add-on, anyone?

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told Gizmodo in a recent interview that a Blu-ray accessory could be on its way. But speculation over the possibility of that accessory being offered for the Xbox 360 has been put to rest by the software giant.

"Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there," Ballmer told Gizmodo, responding to a question about Blu-ray in the Xbox 360. "You'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories."

Ballmer then quickly hedged his bets a little, saying that he believes that "the future of movies is on-demand, actually, as opposed to via distribution on physical media." He then said that his company is focused on trying to create the "best overall entertainment experience" that it can.

Ballmer's comments about on-demand video echoes what we've heard from the Microsoft camp all year. The company has consistently said that it's tying its future to Netflix and streaming HD content.

But it was the Blu-ray comment that caused some raised eyebrows. It was originally believed that Ballmer was talking about accessories for the Xbox 360. But a Microsoft spokesperson wrote to me on Thursday, saying he was really talking about accessories for the PC.

"Steve was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC," a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. "As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. In fact, the future of home entertainment starts this fall when Xbox 360 becomes the first and only console to offer instant-on 1080p streaming HD movies. With a library of thousands of TV shows and movies to choose from, Xbox 360 owners can instantly watch the movies they want, when they want, in the highest form of high definition."

Rumors have been swirling for over a year that a Blu-ray add-on is coming to the Xbox 360. In fact, last October, it was reported that Microsoft had Blu-ray add-ons from Samsung and Toshiba ready for store shelves. Those products (if they existed) were never released. And by the looks of things, they won't be.

But we leave it up to you. Should the Xbox 360 feature a Blu-ray add-on? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Updated at 5:52 p.m. PDT to include Microsoft's comments.

The Stage-Gig video-game amp.

(Credit: Altec Lansing)

With the popularity of music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero continuing to climb, there's no surprise that companies outside of video game development are trying to make a few extra bucks on those titles.

Thus it its that on Tuesday, Altec Lansing announced the Stage-Gig amplified speaker. The accessory is designed to work with Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and DJ Hero. According to the company, the amp puts out 40 watts of power. It works with any current gaming console.

Altec Lansing believes gamers who play popular music games want better sound. The company said that with the help of the Stage-Gig's 6.5-inch woofer, gamers should be able to achieve that. The amp can also be easily transported, thanks to a "grab and go" handle. It features a volume knob and RCA outputs for extra speakers.

Whether gamers really want an amp to help them improve the sound of their gaming guitars is up for debate. The video game industry is littered with accessories that didn't quite attract the kind of appeal companies had hoped for.

Altec Lansing's Stage-Gig hits store shelves in early November for $99.95.

The video game industry is poised to make a rebound, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. The analyst also predicted that it will be Sony's PlayStation 3, and not the Nintendo Wii, that will lead console sales for the month, when NPD releases figures next week.

The PlayStation 3 Slim is helping spur console sales.

(Credit: Sony)

"After six consecutive months of double-digit declines, we expect a return to double-digit sales growth (on video game software)," Pachter wrote to clients. "We forecast sales of $750 million, up 21 percent, compared to last year's $618 million."

It's a good sign that after months of decline, the video game industry is finally rebounding. That said, overall sales are still far behind 2008 figures.

PS3 victory?
But it's Pachter's next topic that might easily attract the most attention. According to the analyst, he estimates that September's NPD figures will show a "sell-through of 390,000 Wii hardware units (down 45 percent from last year), 350,000 Xbox 360 units (up 1 percent from last year), and 410,000 PS3 consoles (up 76 percent year-over-year), as the price cuts for all three consoles spurred demand."

Although Pachter said he thinks console sales will be "relatively flat for the balance of the year," he did say that the price cuts could "benefit the PS3 the most in coming months." Not only does Pachter believe Sony's console will outsell the Xbox 360, but he contends that it's possible that the PlayStation 3 will lead Xbox 360 sales for the rest of the year.

Another Xbox 360 price cut?
Pachter isn't convinced that the price cuts are over. He wrote to clients that "Microsoft has the ability to lower price yet again," but he cautioned that a more likely scenario would see the company offer a "more feature-packed Xbox 360 in early 2010 (likely with a 250GB hard drive) at the same $299 price point." It could cut the price of its console if "it begins to lose significant market share to Sony."

As interesting as they might be, Pachter's comments are purely speculation at this point. Look for the official sales figures to drop next week, when NPD makes them available.

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Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Jack Tretton said in an interview with Forbes earlier this week that a Sony victory in this generation's console war is good for the industry.

SCEA President and CEO Jack Tretton

(Credit: SCEA)

"In an industry that has certainly had its challenges this year, we like to say that the environment where the PlayStation wins is best for this industry," Tretton told Forbes. "We have a brand that can play on a worldwide basis, to young and old, male and female, where our competition tends to be relegated to select regions or to select consumer audiences."

Tretton's comments came after the SCEA chief told Forbes that Nintendo, the current console leader, "delivers a casual, youth-oriented entertainment experience."

Of course, Tretton's statements echo what has been coming out of the Sony camp for quite a while. Sony has made it clear that it views Microsoft as its direct competitor. And although Nintendo sells far more consoles than both Microsoft and Sony, it seems that, as always, Sony doesn't believe that Nintendo is a real competitor.

More than gaming
That might be based in Tretton's belief that the PlayStation 3 is much more than just a gaming console. Tretton cited Sony's new advertising slogan where the company claims the PlayStation "only does everything." He said that the PlayStation 3 might be a gaming console at its core, "but it's so much more: Blu-ray movies, downloading music content, downloading video content, surfing the Internet. This is really the central entertainment device for a room."