G7 News: Guitar Hero: On Tour Edition

Top Story: Guitar Hero: On Tour & DS Peripheral Revealed

Finally, after months of speculation and funny Photoshop mockups of little guitars, Activision has spilled some details on the portable DS release of Guitar Hero dubbed, as expected, Guitar Hero: On Tour. Most notable is the hardware peripheral that looks decidedly unlike a mini-guitar. Instead, the “Guitar Grip” gives you not only a place to grip your DS while playing, but four “fret” buttons and a storage slot for the game’s sure-to-be-lost-quickly “guitar pick” that you “strum” on the touch-screen. Since the luckier amongst us have a full set of five fingers – with our poor thumbs reduced to simply gripping things – we’re anticipating a significantly easier gameplay experience than On Tour’s five-buttoned siblings.

But what about the music, man? Karthik Bala, CEO of developer Vicarious Visions, says “There are more than 20 songs in the game, with the majority being exclusive to Guitar Hero: On Tour.” he continues, “We’ve done custom note tracking for all the songs and over 80 percent of the songs are original, master recordings.” We’re not sure what 20 master recordings are going to sound like once they’ve been squished into a DS cart, but we’re hopeful they’ve addressed that concern. Close-up shot of the Guitar Grip and cheesy marketing vid embedded after the break.

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G7 News: Famitsu <3s Xbox 360 Edition

Top Story: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Sells Record-Breaking 1.4 Million First Week In US

Nintendo’s brawler Super Smash Bros. Brawl has smashed records with its US release. According to a press release from Nintendo of America, the game has sold over 1.4 million in the region, with 874,000 of those sales on its March 9 release date. That makes it the “fastest-selling video game in Nintendo of America’s history.”

Always one to play the numbers game, Nintendo claims to have sold “at a rate of more than 120 units per minute between launch and March 16.” Assuming they mean the entirety of March 16 (i.e. the first eight days), that amounts to 8 days * 24 hours/day * 60 minutes/day * 120 units/minute = 1,382,400 units. Too bad they didn’t make 130 units per minute. Oh well, better luck next time.

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G7 News: February NPD Sales Edition

Top Story: February NPD: Industry Sales Hit $1.33B & Nintendo DS Takes Back The Top Spot

February NPD sales data are here! Overall industry sales increased by 34% to $1.33 billion, the Xbox 360 is still trailing behind the Playstaiton 3, (No surprise here), and the Nintendo DS takes back the top spot! Here are the numbers!

Update: Aaron Greenberg explained today that Microsoft is expecting low Xbox 360 sales because of console supply issues. ; ) sure.

Nintendo DS: 588 000 (Up 134%)
Wii: 432 000 (Up 58%)
Playstation 2: 352 000 (Up 33%)
Playstation 3: 281 000 (Up 4%)
Xbox 360: 255 000 (Up 11%)
PSP: 243 000 (Up 6%)

On the Software side of things, Call Of Duty 4 Is still dominating the chart o_O. Nice numbers for Lost Odyssey and the sales between Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 games are quickly growing closer : O

1 – Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360) – 296 000
2 – Devil May Cry 4 (X360) – 295 000
3 – Wii Play (Wii) – 290 000
4 – Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) – 234 000
5 – Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock (Wii) – 223 000
6 – Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games (DS) – 206 000
7 – Lost Odyssey (X360) – 204 000
8 – Turok (X360) – 198 000
9 – Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock (PS2) – 184 000
10 – Rock Band (X360) – 162 000

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G7 News: Xbox 360 Price Drop Edition

Top Story: Xbox 360 Gets Price Drop In Europe This Friday!

It’s finally been confirmed : D that all 3 models of the Xbox 360 in Europe will receive price-drop which will make the arcade verison of the 360 cheaper than the Wii! Hopefully this will help the Xbox keep up with the rising Playstation 3 sales. Here are the new prices in Euros and American dollars:

Xbox 360 Arcade was: €269.99 / £199.99 ($414) now €199.99 / £159.99 ($307)
Xbox 360 Pro was: €349.99 / £249.99 ($536) now: €269.99 / £199.99 ($414)
Xbox 360 Elite was: €449.99 / £299.99 ($691) now: €369.99 / £259.99 ($566)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Is Finally Here!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

It’s finally here and I’ve got a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in my Wii right now, with the title screen on as I’m writing this. Amazing huh? After many delays the most anticipated game of the year, SSBB, was released today. But you already knew that right?

First Impressions

I’ve been playing around with Brawl for a couple of hours now and to be honest, it’s not THAT amazing. It’s a really good game, but it did feel a lot like Melee. Got to play with Diddy Kong, Link, Pokémon Trainer and Mario and had a lot of fun. The gameplay itself hasn’t really changed but what really makes this game great is all of the extras. There’s so much stuff to do and unlock. Haven’t played any multiplayer or online yet (which might be why it feels like Melee so far) but with just 2 hours in, it’s really really good. Now, I really have some important stuff to do today ; ), so go try and find this game if you havn’t pre-ordered it and we’ll have our full review up next week!

Metacritic

IGN: (95/100) The title’s robust and balanced multiplayer offerings are completely engrossing and wholly entertaining from beginning to end, and this time around you can take those bouts to the online arena for similarly satisfying results.

1UP: (A) Brawl is a good game, with solid controls, a lot of options, and not-much-better-than-the-last-one-graphics. For the uninterested gamer, it’s a curious diversion. For the Nintendo fanatic, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is like manna from heaven.

GameSpot: (95/100) With a bigger roster than ever, online multiplayer, and the ability to share screenshots, custom levels, and game replays with friends, Super Smash Bros. has never been better.

I’m a huge FoxTrot fan, (read it every Saturday Morning : p), and thought this was pretty funny. Enjoy!