In a presentation to industry analysts, Electronic Arts' president Frank Gibeau has announced that they will be releasing sequels for both Skate (Xbox 360, PS3) and Mass Effect as well as a new Burnout game. If you want to find out more, head on over to the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

The NPD Group has just released the retail sales numbers of Canada's video game industry, and for the month of September, hardware sales of the Microsoft Xbox 360 have jumped to 51,200 units. The rise was attributed to the September 25 release of Bungie Studios' Halo 3, published by Microsoft. Over all, the game industry was reported to have met a 96% increase in total sales from US$ 66.2 million to US$ 129.7 million, year on year.

Throughout the retail sale categories that the NPD report covered, console hardware sales have more than doubled for the month alone, confirming Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's prediction. The revenue hit a high of 244% from US$ 13 million in September last year to US$ 44.7 million in September this year.

With it, console software sales rose 79% year-on-year, from US$ 27.8 million to US$ 49.9 million in revenue. Handhelds in contrast performed in the lowest margins, though both software and hardware revenue increased according to NPD's numbers.

Handhelds sold in the nation hiked up 29% from US$ 9 million in September last year to US$ 11.7 million this year, while handheld video games rose by a slim 2% from last year - US$ 9.5 million to US$ 9.7 million. The hardware sales ranked by most unit sales for the month of September stood as:

• Microsoft Xbox 360 - 51,200
• Nintendo DS - 45,000
• Nintendo Wii - 42,900
• Sony PSP - 2,200
• Sony PS2 - 16,500
• Sony PS3 - 15,600
• Nintendo GBA - 8,600

You can also see the top 10 video games for September 2007 ranked by most unit sales at the full article.

A new week, a new slew of discoveries waiting to happen in this week's "On Shelves" report. Highlights include the US release of Project Sylpheed, all locked and loaded for its sortie to the Xbox 360 console.

Meanwhile, PC fans will have a much uncharted territory to explore, as K2 Network sets sail with their Sword of the New World MMORPG this July 10.

In the handheld arena, sports buffs can take a swing at Smash Court Tennis 3 for the PSP, while those who want "warm and fuzzy" can cuddle up with AniMates for the DS.

Project Sylpheed. In this Xbox 360 sequel of a PS2 remake of the classic arcade shooter on Sega CD, players will be treated to a plethora of space-based missions and hardware, as they defend humanity from enemy forces.

• Xbox 360 - July 10, 2007
  
• ESRB T (Teen)
• US$ 39.99
• Microsoft Game Studios and Square Enix
  

Sword of the New World. This MMORPG from Hakkyu Kim (the creator of Ragnarok Online) is based on Europe's exploration of the New World. You control a party of three characters at once (your account holds several characters). K2's US release also has exclusive features.

• PC - July 10, 2007
  
• ESRB T (Teen)
• US$ 19.99
• K2 Network
  

See the other game releases by clicking on the Full Article link below!

 

If you've been penny-pinching to save up for upcoming games, here's a little primer on US retail releases this week, starting July 2.

Eye catchers of the week (for the grown-ups) would be Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3 and Vampire Rain for the 360. We've been covering both games for quite some time now, and the anticipation is fit to burst through Rachel's black leather suit.

Moms and dads may also want to get Platinum Sudoku or Vegas Casino for those quiet times when the kids are busy with Marvel TCG and Taito Legends 2. (More about these and other games in our Full Article).

What a way to start the month of July! New month, new week... new games!

Ninja Gaiden Sigma. The demo for this ninja action adventure title was one of the few demos that actually lived up to its hype. For those who are old enough to crave challenges and gameplay more suitable for mature audiences, this PS3 exclusive is a must-buy.

• PlayStation 3 - July 3, 2007
• US$ 59.99
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Tecmo and Team Ninja

Vampire Rain. Take on the role of John Lloyd, the government's vampire hunter, as he purges Los Angeles of the vampire threat. We're hoping that this horror action adventure game will cast new light on the vampire game genre with its stealthy "high-tech Buffy meets Sam Fisher" gameplay.

• Xbox 360 - July 3, 2007
• US$ 59.99
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Microsoft Game Studios and Artoon

See the other game releases by clicking on the Full Article link below!

It's common sense that "what goes up must come down," but you need specific formulas if you're going to send a space shuttle into space. In other words, you need solid data and clear numbers.

So we appreciated the data we found in a Gamasutra article about BrandIntel, a market research company out of Toronto, and BrandIntel's "Top 50 Video Games Report." The study took data from both "online and human analysis from January 1, 2006 to October 31, 2006 for over 1,200 titles" - including those that have only been announced. "The games were broken down in terms of audience interest and sentiment score, and then subsequently ranked."

The results. So which games got the most audience (customer) interest?

1. Gears of War
   The game is from Epic Games and Microsoft Game Studios is unstoppable. (We had to use Tim Buckley's Ctrl+Alt+Del comic take on it from ctrlaltdel-online.com.)
   
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
   Any "hardcore gamer" should be willing to show respect for this venerable franchise steeped in gaming tradition from Nintendo EAD. *bow your head and ask for Miyamoto's blessing* LOL
   
3. Madden NFL 07 (with versions for the Xbox 360, for the PS3, and for the Wii)
   If you've been reading QJ comments, you'll see people's interest vary depending on the platform. Some versions for some consoles are ridiculed for bugs and because EA Sports has lost its touch, but some versions are praised for innovations.
   
4. Halo 3
5. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (with versions for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii)
   
6. Fight Night Round 3
7. Call of Duty 3 (with versions for the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3)
   
8. Assassin's Creed (with versions for the Xbox 360 and PS3)
   
9. Resistance: Fall of Man
   
10. Tony Hawk's Project 8

The research took "online consumer communities such as message boards, discussion forums, blogs and other internet social communities," as well as "over 670,000 raw search results, of which 48,000 consumer mentions on next-gen video games were used in compiling the data."

The trends. According to the study, there are some trends: moving away from World War II shooters and moving towards futuristic shooters, action adventure got discussed because of "open-ended game play and highly-interactive environments" but sports games got discussed (dissed) for "inaccurate and unrealistic" gameplay.

That makes sense to us: it's easy to diss a sport game because you play the sport in real life or watch it on TV. You don't usually have to deal with aliens or monsters unless you went to snooty high school, so a futuristic shooter will tend to make us notice (in a positive way) the atmosphere and effects and gameplay.

As expected, this year's Golden Joysticks Awards held at the Park Lane Hilton hotel in London, was a real blast. There are a total of 16 awards given, 15 of which were decided by the gaming public. Winner of the Editors' Choice Award, on the other hand, was selected by a panel of the industry's journalists. Titles that came out on or after August 1, 2005 until July 31, 2006 were all contenders.

Rockstar Games continued on its winning ways as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories took home the Handheld Game of the Year award. It would be remembered that just last year, San Andreas also emerged victorious in the said award giving body. Accolades were then given to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion by 2K Games as it grabbed three trophies: PC Game of the Year, Xbox Game of the Year and PLAY.com Ultimate Game of the Year.

Nintendo also shared the limelight as it won in three categories as well: Nintendogs for The Sun Family Game of the Year and Bliss Girls' Choice for 2006. New Super Mario Bros., on the other hand, won the Nintendo Game of the Year trophy.

Other winners are as follows:

• T3 Innovation Award - Xbox Live Marketplace (Microsoft)
• 1Xtra Soundtrack of the Year - Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts)
• Nuts All-Nighter Awards - Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (Konami)
• PlayStation Game of the Year - Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
• Intel Online Game of the Year - Age of Empires III (Microsoft Game Studios)
• Retailer of the Year - GAME
• CVG's The One to Watch for 2007 - PlayStation 3 (Sony)
• Publisher of the Year - Electronic Arts
• Editors' Choice Award - Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)

The prestigious Golden Joystick Awards are the oldest gaming awards and have taken place each year since 1982, when the video game industry was still in its infancy. The awards ceremony is anticipated by gamers in the UK (where the Golden Joystick Awards originated from) every time, and 2006 will not only turn out as the most successful year for the Golden Joystick Awards, it's also the time of the tightest head-to-head races as there are still no clear winners in most of the categories.

400,000 voters, more than twice more compared to last year, have voiced their favourite games as of now, an impressive number that easily smashed the organisers' expectations.

With console generations currently shifting and the new opponents all aiming for the top spot, gamers seem to be even more passionate to have their say in the Golden Joystick Awards. Voting's still open till Friday, October 12 and everything can still change.

Check the current top five ranking in each of the categories right after the jump!