360 sells more than Wii & PS3 combined in US

1.1 million Xbox 360s flogged in US of A, giving MS the Christmas crown

The latest NPD Group figures have arrived from the US, revealing especially impressive sales numbers for Microsoft that managed to sell more Xbox 360s than Wii and PlayStation 3 numbers combined.

According to NPD, Nintendo Wii managed to sell 604,200 consoles in December bringing its total to 1.1 million in the States, while Sony shifted 490,700 PlayStation 3s raising its US install base to an ample 687,300. Microsoft, meanwhile managed to get rid of an impressive 1.1 million Xbox 360s, making its US total 4.5 million.

But handhelds were the real winners in the US of A this Christmas, the Nintendo DS proving its dominance with a massive 1.6 million portables sold. The PSP didn't do too badly either, managing to shift 953,200 units, and the aging GBA is still alive and well at retail with 850,000 sold.

Advertisement: Interestingly, NPD notes that both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were held back by short supplies, perhaps indicating there's still good sales to come for the consoles, as hungry gamers discover them on shop shelves.

Euro PS3 launch details... soon

Announcement on launch " likely to go ahead at the end of January", says source. Update: Sony confirms

A well-placed source - who wishes to remain anonymous - has informed CVG that an announcement from Sony on complete, concrete PS3 Euro launch details is "likely to go ahead at the end of January".

++ UPDATE ++ Since posting this news piece, a Sony spokesperson has confirmed the information provided by our source. ++ UPDATE ENDS ++

But the timing of the company's announcement is not yet etched in stone, they added. Fingers crossed though, eh?

Sony remains adamant that PS3 is on track for a March launch in Europe, pooh-poohing recent rumour suggesting that the console may suffer further delay, possibly to September.

Sony was unavailable for comment on the information given by our source at the time of writing.

Konami breaks Xbox Live Arcade rules. Naughty

Castlevania to exceed Microsoft's strict 50Mb size limit

The downloadable version of Konami's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is going to break Xbox Live Arcade rules, by exceeding Microsoft's previously strict 50MB size limit.

In an interview with Gamespot, Xbox Live Arcade group manager Greg Canessa said that if a game exceeds 50Mb in size it's for a "very specific reason" that ensures that the gameplay experience is the best it can be.

"Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one of the most popular games of all time, and you can [bet] that you'll see similar high-quality games come to Xbox Live Arcade in the future," said Canessa.

Seeing as Symphony of the Night was originally a PlayStation game - and not a 20-year-old arcade title like many other Arcade entries - it's perhaps not too surprising that Castlevania won't be zipping down our broadband pipes as fast as other titles.

As for details on port itself, it's sporting enhanced graphics and sound, widescreen support, achievements, leaderboards and all the other fancy Xbox Live goodies you'd expect from Arcade titles.

Enchanted Arms for PS3 launch, uses motion sensing?

Ubisoft picks up new iteration of the RPG for Europe. The PS3 version of From Software's role-playing game Enchanted Arms has joined the European launch line-up, according to Ubisoft which is to publish the title this March on these shores.

In its announcement on the release date, the publisher has flagged up use of PS3's Sixaxis controller of one of the key features: "Use the motion-sensitive controller to harness weapons, recover your EX power meter, unlock more powerful attacks and solve puzzles." We're guessing that means the tilt function is being employed - but we're double-checking with Ubisoft.

Enchanted Arms - which has previously released on Xbox 360 - finds player embarking on an adventure romp as Atsuma, an enchanter-in-training who becomes saviour of the day. Over 50 hours of gameplay is promised, along with a heap of characters and questing and, of course, combat.

New features for Godfather on Wii, PS3

EA announces two new versions of its urban gangster game

Extended versions of The Godfather game previously released on Xbox, Xbox 360 and PS are on their way to the Wii and PS3, with extra content and enhanced controls.

The Godfather The Don's Edition is the name of the version coming to PS3 whilst the Wii game will be titled, The Godfather Blackhand Edition.

Both games will feature new missions, new ways to find dirty cops for your dodgy deals, and the added ability to follow the path of either an Enforcer or Operator, offering you different "perks and abilities".

The Don's Edition on PS3 will also have new Shipyard and Rail yard transportation hubs which will presumably increase mobility throughout the city, whilst the Blackhand Edition on Wii will have you swinging the Remote and Nunchuk to fight, and pointing the Remote like a gun to shoot your enemies.

Advertisement: The already-released Godfather game is a decent urban-gangster romp and, even though it's been out for a while already, with the new features added these versions, they could be well worth a look for Wii and PS3 owners this spring.

Both games are due in March in the US, and presumably shortly after in UK.

'Talentless' Sony responds to Microsoft attacks

200-plus million consumers have decided whether or not Sony has the DNA to deliver services to suit this industry, says Sony

SCEA's senior director of corporate communications, Dave Karraker, has responded to sniping comments made by Microsoft earlier this week, where MS's Peter Moore and Chris Satchell called Sony's PS3 online service a "disaster", and said Sony doesn't have the "talent" to launch a service matching Xbox Live.

"I would argue that consumers worldwide, to the tune of over 200 million PlayStations, PS2s, PSPs and PS3s, have decided whether or not Sony has the DNA to deliver hardware, software and services to suit this industry," Karraker told Gamepro.com, making sure to note that Gran Turismo HD highlights "the potential of the PlayStation Network and the kind of ground breaking content we plan to offer".

Advertisement: Karraker also took issue with Microsoft's recent announcement that it has sold 10.4 million Xbox 360s, suggesting that MS's touted number is actually the number of consoles shipped, rather than those actually in the hands of gamers.

"Microsoft views 'sold' as what has been sold to retailers but could be sitting on pallets in warehouses or stacked on store shelves," he said.

"'Sold' to Sony has always meant what the consumer has actually purchased, I think many people have incorrectly viewed our competitor's 'sold' figure to believe it was actually sold to consumers, which it was not."