holidaze-2008 posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Hardware shortages blamed for Wii's underwhelming December

by Chris Greenhough { Jan 18th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Let's make this clear: Wii sold a helluva lot of units in North America during December. 2.15 million consoles in a single month is a number Sony and Microsoft can only dream about right now, but there's no doubt that the figures weren't as grand as expected. He who is Pachter predicted the console would clear the 3 million mark, only for the platform to fall short by 850,000 units.

Why the lower-than-expected sales? As usual, analysts reckon they have the answer: more of those accursed hardware shortages. EEDAR's Jesse Divnich and Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel both believe demand outweighed supply for the third December running, with Divnich stating the Wii would have sold "north of 4 million units" if more consoles had been produced in time.

Phew, panic over! Wii's not the next N-Gage or anything!

[Via Joystiq]

Coupon: $10 off BioShock PS3, other 2K games

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jan 7th 2009 at 11:00PM }

In case you're not in the habit of scouring 2K Game's site for coupons, might we direct you to the company's latest promotion? This coupon is valid through January 31, 2009 and good for $10 off the 2K games pictured -- more specifically, BioShock (PS3) and others. Just print out the coupon, multiple times if you'd like, and present it to a cashier at one of these local retailers:

Wal-Mart
Target
Kmart
GameStop
Game Crazy
Virgin
Hastings
Meijer
f.y.e.
Fred Meyer

And no, this coupon is not valid for Go, Diego, Go! Great Dinosaur Rescue. So stop asking!

Xbox 360 'over-achieved' in Euro Christmas sales

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jan 5th 2009 at 3:45PM }

Microsoft has deemed its European holiday onslaught a success, with Chart-Track data reportedly showing Xbox 360 sales "almost" doubling when compared to the same period in 2007. This made the Xbox 360 the fastest-growing system of 2008, leaving it in a prime spot for further 2009 traction, says Chris Lewis, Regional Vice President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business for the EMEA region.

"Christmas 2008 was a resounding success for Xbox 360. 2008 saw us grow faster than any of our competitors and we over-achieved in sales during the crucial Christmas selling period," said Lewis. "With eight million consoles sold since we launched, and consistently out-selling PlayStation 3 in EMEA, we're poised to build on this success in 2009." Microsoft claims to have over a one-million unit lead over the PlayStation 3 in the EMEA region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Canadian receives spirit of N64 kid for Christmas

by David Hinkle { Jan 2nd 2009 at 2:37PM }

Remember the kid that was so happy to get himself an N64 for Christmas? Of course you do, who doesn't? Well, it would appear the torch has been passed on to a small Canadian child, who is a bottomless well of excitement upon receiving a certain gift this Christmas. We won't ruin the surprise (you probably already guessed, anyway), so just head past the break and watch the video. Oh, and if you need a refresher on the N64 kid, hit up the video above.

Gallery: Retro Mods

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Joyswag regift giveaway: PS3 Wireless Keypad and AC Adaptor

by Christopher Grant { Dec 30th 2008 at 8:29PM }

[We've got our winner! Larry, aka Freak Mojo, wins the PS3 treats! Thanks for entering, everyone!]

Just like you, we get all sorts of gifts around the holidays here at Joystiq HQ. Probably unlike you, we don't keep any of them (even the good ones!). With that in mind, we've got five days of regift giveaways planned, where you get some free stuff (and we get some of our HQ real estate back).

Today, we're offering up the PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad (our two word review: pretty terrible) and, since you need to charge the thing separately from your controller (no, really!) we're throwing in the PlayStation 3 AC Adaptor. We're still waiting for Sony to implement some sort of low-power charging solution in a future PS3 revision – until then, we'll keep charging everything off the 360.

Here's how you win:

Leave a comment expressing your holiday cheer ... in txtspk.
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
Limit 1 entry per person
This entry period ends at 8:30 pm ET on Wednesday, December 31st. We'll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive the PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad (ARV: $50) and the PlayStation 3 AC Adaptor (ARV: $25.00). Please check your e-mail!
For a list of complete rules, click here

Steam's holiday sale boasts 10-75% off everything

by Ross Miller { Dec 26th 2008 at 5:30PM }

Steam is having a rather tantalizing holiday sale from now until January 2, with everything in the store 10% to 75% off. In case you missed it the first time, Team Fortress 2 is back down to $10. We recommend picking up BioShock if you've never played it, now only $5. The Valve Complete package is 25% off, now only $75, and the id Super Pack -- which nets you every single id title before Quake Wars -- is just $35. Our holiday money is officially spoken for.

What ho, Brits! Fifty Boxing Day deals to savor

by Chris Greenhough { Dec 26th 2008 at 2:45PM }

Didn't think we'd forget about our lovable Brit readers, did you? No way, Jose! Numerous UK outlets have kicked off their post-holiday sales, and there are some worthwhile bargains to be had for those with gift money to burn.

We've scoured the 'net for the best deals we could find on everything from new games (Disaster, Sonic Unleashed, Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City) to older games (Zack & Wiki, No More Heroes) to not-games (Wii Wheels, Nunchuks, Wii Points). Make the jump for the best fifty (and links to each!).

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Boxing Day deals for Canadians

by David Hinkle { Dec 26th 2008 at 12:00PM }

Today is what's known as Boxing Day in some parts of the world. This means that some retailers will be discounting goods. In Canada, such retailers offering big sales include:

Hit up those links to check out what deals they're running. Additionally, you can also cruise past the break for a list of the deals offered by Amazon Canada.

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The obligatory 'What did you get?' post

by Joystiq Staff { Dec 25th 2008 at 11:30AM }

We realize not everyone celebrates Christmas, but a lot of us do. As such, use this post to discuss any and all Christmas gifts you got this year. Did you score a Wii? Get a new DS Lite? Did your folks buy you a, uh ... Xbox? So, relax, sip some eggnog and tell us if Santa deemed you naughty or nice in the comments below.

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading!

The obligatory 'What did you get?' post

by David Hinkle { Dec 25th 2008 at 11:30AM }

Joyswag Holidaze: Lumines Supernova (PSN)

by Andrew Yoon { Dec 24th 2008 at 11:58AM }

WINNERS: Steve, Imi, Brandon, AAAChampions, Jay

Just in time for Christmas, we're giving away five codes for Lumines Supernova on the PlayStation Network. The classic PSP puzzle game is now on PS3, with fancy 1080p graphics and Trophy support. Oh, and a LittleBigPlanet skin.

Leave a comment telling us if you'll be giving the code away as a gift -- or keeping it for yourself!
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
Limit 1 entry per person
This entry period ends at 12 pm ET on Thursday, December 25th. We'll randomly select 5 winners at that time to receive a code for Lumines Supernova (ARV: $15.00). Please check your e-mail!
For a list of complete rules, click here

Gallery: Lumines Supernova

Wii Warm Up: Procrastinators, unite!

by David Hinkle { Dec 24th 2008 at 10:30AM }

With this being Christmas Eve and all, it's the last shopping day before Santa comes shuffling down that chimney. So, do you have to pick up any last-minute gifts? If not, did you pick up any gaming gifts this year? Wii stuff? If the particular individual reads us and knows your account name, then, uh, lie.

2008 holiday card blowout, now with exclusive music!

by Kevin Kelly { Dec 23rd 2008 at 12:29PM }

click for all the Holiday cheer!

It's that time of year: delayed travel, cold weather, spiked egg nog, and holiday gaming cards from the video game industry. They range from Konami's fairly plain jane attempt (No Snake? No Hideo?), all the way up to the custom old-school card created for us by The Minus World. What, no $20 gift card love from Sony this year? (But they did give us their AC Adapter peripheral.) At least Sony tried -- where's the love Microsoft, Nintendo? We'll even accept some coal -- just send us something for the holidays! Please?

Foundation 9 wins the award for the niftiest card so far this year. It sent out a holiday card with an exclusive CD inside, complete with 11 tracks of holiday chip tune music created by 8 Bit Weapon, Leeni, Computeher, and others. We've got an exclusive track that you can enjoy without leaving the warm comfort of this post. Check out Doctor Octoroc's version of "We Three Kings" right here. Happy Holidaze!

Some notable cards:

"Barack O'Clause" from Reverb Communications
LittleBigChristmas from SCEA
Christmas Kingdom Hearts from Square Enix
Little Sister figurine from 2K Games
Christmas Cthulu from Penny-Arcade
A Fallout Christmas by Bethesda

Gallery: Game Industry 2008 Holiday Cards

A Very Gears of War Christmas

by Justin McElroy { Dec 23rd 2008 at 11:20AM }

If you're smart enough to click and watch the video we've embedded for you just after the jump, you're going to doubt us at first. "I don't even see how this is video game related!" you'll think. "You're slipping in your old age, Joystiq." While it's true that we are, we implore you to hang in there until the end.

Congratulations to "aplusjimages" for providing us with the most upsetting, NSFW imagery of the yuletide. By the way, we take back everything we've ever said about violent video games being harmless.

[Via XBYA Podcast]

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Warm yourself by the Xbox Live fireplace

by Justin McElroy { Dec 22nd 2008 at 10:25AM }

Oh, hello friends! Please, come in, we've been waiting for you. Here, let us get your coat. Dear, look at you, you're frozen! Why don't you come over here and stand by the fire. ... Go on, it's really warm. ... Oh, buttons! You've figured us out! It's not really a fireplace at all, but rather a fake fireplace created in XNA for download on Xbox Live. Sorry, we just couldn't resist a little yuletide chicanery.

... What? ... Oh, umm, 400 points. So -- so basically, yeah, five dollars. Huh? Oh, yes, we can watch the video after the break for free. ... No, you're right. That's probably ... no, you don't need to apologize. We're disappointed in us too.

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