After a year of major game releases, the game industry & gamers from all over the world are set to pick the best of the best for the 2011 Video Game Awards.

Shane Bell (Urgent Fury CIO) & Doc (The Tester (Season 1) & Replay w/ Doc) join Commander Fury to preview a few of the categories & make their 2011 VGA picks.

Story by Call of Duty Community.com.

Anyone who plays Call of Duty, knows that Custom Matches are a big part of why we play, from proving your point in a 1 on 1 quick-scope battle, to laughing at your friends in Mike Myers. This year, Modern Warfare 3 will take the Custom Match experience to a new level, allowing some new and some fan favorite game types to come to the field. They are:

One in the Chamber

Infinity Ward is bringing back this fan favorite to satisfy the needs of those craving the wager match, although it is worth mentioning, that this time there is no prize. Just the knowledge that you are better than your comrades.

Gun Game

Again, another fan favorite and something I’ll be falling over myself to play when the game is released to see which guns I like to play with. Definitely something to look forward to.

Infected

An age old game mode that never ceases to amaze, this is by far the best way to find out the best hiding spots in the game and how to get there. An aside to this, is that this has been called several names over the years. Mike Myers is one of the names, and also Zombies was a name given to it.

Drop Zone

Almost like Headquarters, except that it’s call Drop Zone. Oh, and given that it is called that, Care Packages drop to the glee of the team in command of the zone. I have visions of horrific “death by box” kills in killcams on this one.

Team Juggernaut

Didn’t get a lot of information on this one, but as far as we can tell, it’s Team Death Match with a Juggernaut on your team. Pretty straight forward huh?

Juggernaut

Now, this also sounds like a “Pro” version of Mike Myers. 1 person is a Juggernaut, your job is to kill him, then you become the Juggernaut. Easy right?

If you rather watch someone explain these game modes to you, have a look and see what WoodysGamertag has to say about the game modes.

I can definitely see some awesome lads (or ladies) nights in where these game types are put the test. Personally, I think this will really make for a better game as far as Modern Warfare 3 is concerned as it will mean a longer shelf-life!

As you can see, Infinity Ward have taken on some fan favorites, and produced some fine sounding other game modes. It really shows that they have taken some time to make sure that the Custom Matches are as good as the online ones. If you have any questions, please feel free to visit us at the forums: www.callofduty-community.com/forum/

Well the eagerly awaited game event is here, and as I and many other games fans made our way from the Underground to Earls Court I couldn’t wait to see and more importantly play the new upcoming games.

The atmosphere was amazing as we all made our way into the arena, which was broken up into seven zones with the centre area dominated by the hot topic of conversation outside – Onlive.

Not surprisingly this is the first place everyone headed including myself, there were a number of consoles set up around the stand with both wired and wireless controllers with demo’s of some of the 100 games that are now available as of Sept 22nd (that’s in the UK of course, Onlive has been running in the US for a while now). As well as getting to play some of the games on offer, there was also the chance to get your hands on a free console once you had registered, needless to say I managed to get my hands on one and I’ll be posting more on the Onlive console and the games on offer in a separate article.

All the big names in gaming were showing off their latest creations, including the big 3′s Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, Resistance 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Gears of War 3. My first port of call was the Forza Motorsport 4 stand, Turn 10 have raised the bar even further with this latest in the franchise, the graphics were stunning as has been the case with previous incarnations and the controls were very responsive. The demo for Forza 4 is coming for Xbox LIVE Gold Members on Oct  3 and will be available for Silver members on Oct 10 for those who want a taste of things to come.

Another of the games I sampled was Battlefield 3, due for release on Oct 25th which was tucked away in the over 18′s area. This had a long queue of people waiting to play as you’d expect, but it was well worth the wait. It was certainly an amazing sight seeing banks of people all working their way through the trees and undergrowth, utterly absorbed. It wasn’t hard to see why, EA Games with Frostbite 2 have created very impressive gameplay and the headphones allowed the low hum of Earls Court to be blotted out in favour of the crackle of gunfire and the shout of orders.

I’m sure you have seen all the advertisements and coverage of the 3DS but you may have been like me and wondered just how good it is. Well they were showcasing the latest Mario and sonic releases as well as a demo of Sky 3D. The latter to try and show people that the 3DS has more to offer than just a handheald  gaming console. I was curious as to what the experience would be like and chatting to some of the others there, they felt the same.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Its true to say that as this doesn’t rely on glasses, it makes it feel a more natural experience, although I did find the need to keep your viewing angle steady took a bit of getting used to. The 3D effect was very good and the adjustable 3D slide on the side made a noticeable difference.

It wasn’t just all game and console demo’s of course, there were a host of developer sessions throughout the weekend as well. Among those giving talks were Michael Denny from Sony talking about the Playstation Vita and Dr Ray Muzyka from EA Games on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

To sum up, there was much more at Eurogamer Expo 2011 than I am ever going to be able to write here, that said, the Playstation Vita, 3D gaming and the prospect of on-line gaming like never before with Onlive makes the next twelve months a very exciting prospect indeed.

Story by Luke Plunkett @ Kotaku.com.

Say what you will of the basketcase this franchise’s singleplayer has become, one thing it still does very well is multiplayer.

Which, you know, is the reason 95% of people buying this game buy this game. So…it doesn’t really need a trailer at all! But thanks for making one anyway, Activision. Appreciate it.

Story by Michael McWhertor @ Kotaku.com.

Year after year, how can Call of Duty‘s massive online shooter remain fresh? With Modern Warfare 3, the game’s developers have focused on what works—player progression, extensive customization, tons of maps and game modes—and are blowing it out.

Activision offered a first look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the night before Call of Duty XP officially kicks off. I liked what I saw, even if I’m not the kind of Call of Duty player capable of a 15 kill-long killstreak.

It’s still the same hyperfast, 60 frames per second kill or be killed war game at its core: lots of guns, plenty of carnage, tons of explosive action. But developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games are experimenting with a few new gameplay innovations that are designed to both deepen the experience and make playing multiplayer a little bit easier on the casual Call of Duty fan.

Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling promised “more changes to the core experience than we ever have before” and “the most balanced multiplayer experience we’ve ever done” at a preview of the game at Call of Duty XP. He and Sledgehammer’s Michael Condrey blazed through a long list of new additions and tweaks to the very successful multiplayer formula of Call of Duty.

They even dove deeply into the waters of Call of Duty Elite, which you can read about right here. On the multiplayer side, here’s what’s new in Modern Warfare 3.

Modern Warfare 3′s New Strike Packages and Pointstreaks

Before I get into the meat of what Strike Packages mean for Modern Warfare 3, say goodbye to the killstreak. And say hello to pointstreaks, all 28 of them. No longer will player kills be the only way to build up streaks. Sure, kills still count, but in MW3, completing objectives in gametypes like Capture the Flag and Seek and Destroy will reward players with points they can cash in to call in recon drones, attack helicopters, sentries and other power-ups. Kill assists count toward pointstreak numbers too, letting supporting players, not just the dominant virtual marksman have all the fun.

Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling explained the change at Call of Duty XP, saying “the killstreak system was optimized for one game type: Team Deathmatch.” Now, players will be rewarded more handsomely for actually completing each gametype’s objectives.

Modern Warfare 3‘s pointstreaks come in three groups, dubbed Strike Packages. Players can customize their classes with one of three Strike Packages, adding a new layer of personalization to COD multiplayer. The three types are Assault, Support and Specialist. Each has its own list of ‘streaks. Here they are.

If you like “big body counts, the Assault package is for you. With Assault, you can call in UAVs and care package drops, naturally, but this is also where the big guns live: assault helicopters, AC130, Predator missiles, mortar strikes, Juggernaut suits. Assault brings the pain. Your streak count will reset every time you die, if you go for the Assault Strike Package.

Support is about “helping the team win,” not just stacking your body count. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? For the less aggressive team player, Support deals in ‘streaks that lean more defensive. This includes the option to drop a remote gun turret, call in a hacked airdrop, deploy ballistic vests to your team, drop an EMP or, ultimately, call in an Osprey gunship that also delivers five airdrop packages (one of them hacked). With Support, your streak count will not reset upon death.

Finally, Specialist is all about perks. Become a super soldier with Specialist, which lets players stack on additional perks. You’ll get up to six perks—including Sleight of Hand, Hardline, Recon, et al—as the ‘streaks pile up. After your eighth kill, however, you get every perk available to you. You become a monster.

Here are a few of the new perks coming in Modern Warfare 3.

• Recon – Explosive damage paints the target on the mini map
• Blind Eye – Undetectable by air support/sentries
• Assassin – Undetectable by UAV, portable radar, thermal, heartbeat
• Quickdraw – Faster aim down sight
• Stalker – Move faster while aiming
• Marksman – Identify targets at longer range

Some perks you wont see return in MW3. “No One Man Army, no Nuke, no Commando and no Last Stand,” Infinity Ward promises.

New Progression

Another big change to Modern Warfare multiplayer is Weapon Proficiencies, a new leveling system for firearms. Basically, the more often you use a weapon in MW3, whether it’s an assault rifle, handgun, shotgun or sniper rifle, the better that weapon gets. In real terms, this means players can reduce gun sway, decrease recoil and add more attachments over time—among other things.

Click pic below for the Gallery @ Kotaku.com.

Modern Warfare 3′s New Gameplay Modes

Competitive multiplayer in Modern Warfare 3 will be expanded with at least two new prominent gameplay modes, Kill Confirmed and Team Defender.

You may have seen a snippet of Kill Confirmed in the leaked-early multiplayer trailer. That’s the one with the big glowing dog tags that drop from corpses. Those dog tags are how players confirm kills in this Team Deathmatch variant. Kills don’t count as a point for your team until you or one of you allies grabs a dead man’s dropped dog tags. That adds an intriguing layer of strategy to Team Deathmatch, as opposing players can grab the dog tags of their fallen teammates before you do. And if they see one of their comrades lying dead, dog tags floating above their body, they’ll know where your headed if you want to score.

Team Defender, which I didn’t get to preview, is a Capture The Flag variant, just without the flag return. Hold onto an enemy flag for as long as possible, sticking together as a team to survive.

There will also be new Private Match game types added to MW3, each of which has been “significantly enhanced to allow players to create new, customizable game modes” that they can share with friends. “Through [Call of Duty Elite], subscribers can vote on favorite new modes and those modes could make their way into public playlists,” Activision says. Here are those new Private Match modes.

• Infection – The infected kills enemies to recruit them for the infected team.
• Drop Zone – Hold the Drop Zone for Team Points and Care Packages.
• Team Juggernaut – With the support of a juggernaut, kill players on the opposing team. The first team to reach the score limit wins.
• Juggernaut – Kill the Juggernaut to become the new Juggernaut.
• Gun Game – Be the first to dominate with every gun.
• One in the Chamber – Gain ammo by eliminating enemies. Be the last to survive.

We’ll have hands-on time with Modern Warfare 3 (and much more) from the Call of Duty XP convention this weekend.

Story by Nemesis.

Here is a new video interview of Robert Bowling telling us a little more about Spec-Ops Survival Mode and the various Perks, Armory, and Weapon Upgrades that you can purchase with the COD Dollars that you get within the game mode instead of ranking up. Modern Warfare 3 will be out on November 8, 2011 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and the Wii.

Thanks to GamerSpawn for the video.

Story by Admin @ XboxDailyNews.com.

Warfare 3 Killstreak and Perk List has been leaked. Lots of different web sites from all over the world have been posting up the leaked killstreak and perk list. With no word on who first leaked this and no official release from Infinity Ward or Activision, there is no real way of knowing how much, if any of this list is true.

Perk Slot 1

Extreme Conditioning: Sprint longer distances +: Climb obstacles faster

Sleight of Hand: Faster reload +: Faster weapon swapping

Scavenger: Reload ammo from bags +: More ammo to start

Blind Eye: Undetectable by support stuff +: Launches lock on faster;, extra damage to support

Recon: Explosive damage paints target on mini-map. +: Bullet damage paints targets.

—–

Perk Slot 2

Hardline: 1 less kill required for killstreak +: 2 assists count as one kill towards killstreak

Assassin: Immune to UAV, Portable Rader, thermal and heartbeat. +: Immune to Counter-UAV and EMP

Overkill: Carry two primary weapons. +: 2nd primary weapon can use two attachments.

Quickdraw: Faster ADS +: Faster recovery from throwing grenades.

Blast Shield: Like Flak Jacket + : Immune to stun and flash grenades.

—–

Perk Slot 3

Sitrep: See enemy explosives. +: Hear enemy footsteps louder.

Dead Silence: Move silently +: No fall damage

Stalker: Faster movement while ADS. +: Delay Claymores

Marksman: Tag targets from long range. +: Hold breath longer when scoped.

Steady Aim: Increased hip fire accuracy. +: Faster ADS after sprinting.

————————–

Assault Killstreaks

4 Kills – Care Package 5 Kills – IMS (3 or 4 landmines that cannot be stunned or flashed.) 5 Kills – Predator Missile 5 Kills – Sentry Gun 6 Kills – Precision Airstrike 7 Kills – Attack Helicopter 7 Kills – Little Bird Flock (Mini helicopters that patrol the map.) 9 Kills – Little Bird Guard (Big helicopter that follows you.) 9 Kills – Reaper (Mortar Team with 5 predator missiles.) 10 Kills – Talon (Mini Tank, like the one in Homefront) 12 Kills – AC-130 12 Kills – Pavelow 15 Kills – Juggernaut Armor (Juggernaut suit from Spec Ops) 15 Kills – Osprey Gunner (Chopper Gunner that drops an emergency airdrop)

—–

Support Killstreaks

4 Kills – UAV 5 Kills – Counter-UAV 5 Kills – Ballistic Duffel (Entire team gets Juggernaut perk until they die.) 5 Kills – Airdrop Trap (Drops hacked Care Package) 8 Kills – SAM Turret 10 Kills – Remote UAV (Target enemies with missiles) 12 Kills – Remote Turret (Sentry Gun you can control. Works like Camera Spike in Black Ops) 14 Kills – Stealth Bomber 18 Kills – EMP 18 Kills – Juggernaut Armor (Care Package drops armor) 18 Kills – Escort Airdrop (Same as osprey gunner, except you don’t control it, and it drops 4 care packages, and 1 hacked care package.)

—–

Specialist Killstreaks

2 Kills – Gain an extra Perk 4 Kills – Gain an extra Perk 6 Kills – Gain an extra Perk

—–

Deathstreaks

4 Deaths – Juiced (Lightweight) 4 Deaths – Martyr 4 Deaths – Final Stand 5 Deaths – Revenge (Last person that killed you is now on your radar) 5 Deaths – Stopping Power (Only for one kill) 6 Deaths – Dead Man’s Hand (Suicide bomber)

Story by Brian Crecente @ Kotaku.com.

“You’ve got a whole group coming down the street at you,” my co-op buddy calls out to me.

But I’m not looking at the street. Instead, I’m staring straight down at the ground. At my feet there is a cloth sack, an improvised explosive device. A circle fills as I defuse the bomb.

Crouching on the second-floor balcony of a nearby collapsing Berlin building, Sledgehammer community manager Guy Behm pulls off a couple of shots with his sniper rifle, knocking down two of the approaching armed men.

Bomb defused, I swivel and open fire on the remaining group, clearing the street of enemies, but only temporarily.

We’re playing Invisible Threat, a cooperative Spec Ops level in November’s Modern Warfare 3. Behm explains that the goal of the match is for me to defuse eight bombs hidden throughout the map without getting killed.

I’m down on the street, swathed in a bombsuit that includes a helmet that slightly limits my view. Behm is in his overwatch position armed with a sniper rifle and predator missiles which can be used to scout and pinpoint hidden IEDs.

During the first play-through I work my way carefully down the street, defusing the first three bombs fairly easily. Behm sends off a second missile, locating three more of the bombs as I scramble into a nearby store, taking fire from a wall of enemies.

The bad guys come at me in waves. After clearing them out there’s usually enough time to make it to a bomb, but not completely diffuse it before a new wave comes in.

I’m down to the last bomb, waiting for Behm to find it when things go sideways. Scouting the area for the hidden IED, Behm accidentally slams the missile nearby, killing me.

In a second attempt, we only make it four bombs in before dying. While both of my attempts at clearing the Special Ops missions were with Behm’s help, Activision told me that the mission can also be played solo, but then you have no overwatch, not even a computer-controlled one.

Of course the game has other Special Ops missions, the developers just weren’t talking about them at Gamescom this week. Many are cooperative, but not all, I was told.

Story by Admin @ XboxDailyNews.com.

Infinity Ward’s Creative Strategist, Robert Bowling has today revealed a couple of new details about Modern Warfare 3.

He revealed via twitter that Dive to Prone has been removed from this years game in yet another move by the team to further balance multiplayer gameplay.

It was also mentioned that new multiplayer modes would be coming to Modern Warfare 3 except Bowling didn’t share any information on what these modes would be.

“There’s no dive to prone in#MW3but I can’t talk about MP specifics yet, but there are new modes.”

Story by Luke Plunkett @ Kotaku.com.

The upcoming Modern Warfare 3 is being developed by Infinity Ward. Or, at least, what’s left of it. The Wii version, however, is being developed by somebody else, somebody just as familiar with the series, if not quite as popular with its fans.

That developer is Treyarch, the team behind Call of Duty 3, World at War and Black Ops. If you’re wondering why some of their team is “stuck” on the Wii port, well, they’ve got a ton of experience on the platform, having handled the Nintendo home console versions of World at War, Modern Warfare and Black Ops, as well as having turned out 2008′s Spider-Man: Web of Shadows on the Wii.

Modern Warfare 3 is due not only on Wii but PS3, 360, PC, 3DS and Vita. Most of those versions, Vita excepted, should be out in November.

Story by Griffin McElroy @ Joystiq.com.

Activision’s been hesitant to talk about whether its upcoming soon-to-be-blockbuster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 would also bust blocks on the Wii — despite the fact that the franchise’s last outing, Black Ops, appeared on the console. During today’s investor’s call, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg brought said hesitation to an end, explaining, “We’re pleased to have recently confirmed that we will release a Modern Warfare 3 Wii SKU this year, so as not to leave any of the community out of the excitement.”

Story by: CritiKiL

Story by Stephany Nunneley @ VG247.com.

2K Sports has announced NBA 2K12 will offer three separate covers featuring Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

The covers will spotlight each legendary player on his famous team: the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. The covers featuring Bird and Johnson will be available at launch in a limited quantity.

NBA 2K11, which featured Michael Jordan as the cover athlete, sold over 5 million units worldwide and garnered over 20 video game accolades, including 14 Sports Game of the Year honors, according to 2K.

“Bringing Michael Jordan to the virtual hardwood last year was a huge success for NBA 2K11; however, we didn’t want to stop there,” said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “We’re bringing ‘His Airness’ back to the NBA 2K franchise as part of a multi-year extended partnership, along with two other legendary icons – Larry Bird and Magic Johnson – for a special cover athlete collection representing the NBA’s greatest heroes.”

NBA 2K12 can now be pre-ordered from retailers nationwide, and will be available on October 4 for PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360.

Story by Sam Winstrom @ Kotaku.com

Activision puts nostalgia-loving gamers in their sights once again, gathering a nice list of domain names revolving around something called “Goldeneye Reloaded”. This could mean a number of things are in the works: an HD re-release of Goldeneye for the Wii, an HD remake of the classic N64 Goldeneye, or maybe even a turn as an Xbox Live Arcade game or on PSN?

Domain registrations are relatively inexpensive ass-covering for a company as large as Activision and have to be taken in stride, but “Reloaded” is pretty specific. [via @Supererogatory]

Story by Brian Crecente @ Kotaku.com

Starting Friday the denizens of grocery stores, Walmarts and gas stations nationwide can quickly rent video games from kiosks at $2 a day.

Ignoring for a second the option to rent by mail through Gamefly, that means a month’s rental will end up running you about the same amount you’d spend on buying the game. Redbox tells Kotaku that after keeping the game for 30 days, gamers would be charged $60 and may keep the game. That’s a total charge, including the rental fees. Not bad.

The service will be available at more than 21,000 redbox locations nationwide and includes a selection of titles for the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.

Name: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Release date: TBA
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS
Publisher(s): Ubisoft
Developer(s): Ubisoft Paris

Story by Nemesis

X-Men Destiny is a video game based on the X-Men comic book series. Silicon Knights is a Canadian video game developer that will be making the game and it is being published by Activision. The only original characters that are confirmed so far are Wolverine, Magneto, Iceman, Cyclops, Gambit, Surge, Nightcrawler, Pixie, Mystique, Northstar, Quicksilver, Pyro, and Juggernaut, but be sure that more will be revealed soon.

The release date is scheduled for September 2011 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, & Nintendo DS.

Check out the video below that unveils more details about the game.

Today Nintendo held their E3 2011 Press Conference and unveiled the upcoming Nintendo Wii U (Project Cafe) console alongside Wii U pictures, launch game details and video footage.

The Wii U controller includes everything from motion sensing to analogue sticks and a touch screen. Wii U will allow gamers to play either on their TV screen, on the controller.. or both.

According to the official site, confirmed Wii U titles include Assassin’s Creed, Tekken, DIRT, Darksiders II, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Ghost Recon Online, Metro: Last Night, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge and Batman.

Press Release:

Discover an exciting new way to enjoy home entertainment with Wii U, Nintendo’s next home console. With a revolutionary new touch screen controller, precision motion controls, and full HD graphics, a whole new world of play styles and gaming possibilities is on the horizon. The time is coming to truly expand your idea about what a game console is—and can be.

Wii U Specifications:

Launches: 2012

Size: Approximately 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long.

New Controller: The new controller incorporates a 6.2-inch, 16:9 touch screen and traditional button controls, including two analog Circle Pads. This combination removes the traditional barriers between games, players and the TV by creating a second window into the video game world. The rechargeable controller includes a Power button, Home button, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons. It includes a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, a microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor strip and a stylus.

Other Controls: Up to four Wii Remote™ (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers can be connected at once. The new console supports all Wii™ controllers and input devices, including the Nunchuk™ controller, Classic ControllerTM, Classic Controller ProTM and Wii Balance Board™.

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density optical discs for the new console, as well as 12-centimeter Wii optical discs.

Video Output: Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. Compatible cables include HDMI, component, S-video and composite.

Audio Output: Uses AV Multi Out connector. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI.

Storage: The console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive.

CPU: IBM Power-based multi-core microprocessor.

Other: Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible with Wii games and Wii accessories.

Story by PS3News.com.

Wii Has the Best Month in Video Game History, Nintendo DS Has the Best Calendar Year of All Time

A holiday shopping frenzy helped both of Nintendo’s video game systems make history: Nintendo’s Wii™ home system sold more than 3.8 million units in December, a new all-time single-month U.S. sales record. The Nintendo DS™ Lite and Nintendo DSi™ hand-held systems combined to sell more than 3.3 million, the second biggest month in U.S. history.

Those strong December numbers helped propel the Nintendo DS franchise to more than 11.2 million sold in 2009, a new U.S. calendar-year sales record for any video game system – ever. The Wii console finished 2009 with 9.6 million sold. Of all the Wii consoles ever sold in the United States since its November 2006 launch, nearly one-fifth (18.7 percent) were sold during November and December 2009.

“Wii, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi combined to sell more than 7 million units in the month of December alone,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Clearly there is overwhelming consumer demand for fun games, motion controls and value. This remarkable hardware sales surge presents a tremendous software opportunity for Nintendo and its third-party partners as we head into 2010.”

Lifetime U.S. sales for Wii have now surpassed 27.2 million units. No other home console has ever sold so many so quickly. Lifetime U.S. sales for the Nintendo DS franchise have topped 38.8 million units, surpassing lifetime sales of the Game Boy™ Advance franchise.

As always, great software drives hardware sales. In December alone, consumers placed six Nintendo games in the top 10 best-sellers of the month. These include New Super Mario Bros.™ Wii at No. 1 with more than 2.8 million sold, Wii Sports Resort™ at No. 2 with more than 1.7 million sold, Wii Fit™ Plus with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory at No. 3 with more than 1.7 million sold, Wii Play™ at No. 6 with more than 1.0 million sold, Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 7 with more than 936,000 sold and Mario & Luigi™: Bowser’s Inside Story for Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi at No. 10 with more than 656,000 sold.

For all of 2009, Nintendo finished with seven of the top 10 best-selling games of the year. These include New Super Mario Bros. Wii at No. 2 with more than 4.2 million sold, Wii Sports Resort at No. 3 with more than 4.2 million sold, Wii Fit™ at No. 4 with more than 3.5 million sold, Mario Kart Wii at No. 5 with nearly 3.1 million sold, Wii Play at No. 6 with more than 3.1 million sold, Wii Fit Plus™ at No. 8 with more than 2.4 million sold and Pokémon™ Platinum Version at No. 10 with more than 2.0 million sold.

All numbers contained in this document are according to the NPD Group, which tracks U.S. video game sales.

For more information about Nintendo, please visit www.nintendo.com.