I’ve been doing a little work on my IIgs (more on that later), but I managed to sneak in a little Odyssey2 (Videopac) testing. At this point in time it is a secret, but if all goes well, I would guess we’ll have a new O2 game coming out soon (I would hope). Here’s to the future of the old Odyssey2. October is coming up, and we have at least two new game releases (old protos finally being released), and an updated Odyssey2 multi-cart. Yeah!
I make no apology for being late with the NPD sale figures again. Just been busy doing other things, but here is the listing, finally.
NPD sales figures for August 2009 (U.S.) show a slight increase in sales, changing course from the last few months. Not sure about the economy as a whole, but at least VG sales are picking up.
As said, August saw an overall increase in sales from July, with the exception of the PS2 (the only system to sell less). The other nice exception is that the PS3 saw a rather large increase in sales from last month, mainly due to their new slim PS3 that came out recently. For August, the sales of the PS3 were just behind those of the 360. Not a bad thing at all in my book (I like competition). Of course, the DS is the top seller again (and once again, I did not find a list that brook up the DS/DSi sales figures.) Oh well.
NPD figures for August 2009 are:
Hardware:
Software (top games for August 2009):
Video game sales for August were a nice mixed bag for a change. Nintendo did not dominate the charts last month, but did make some nice spots at the 2nd and 8th through 10th spot. Of course, the new Wii Sports Resort was the big N’s game for August (and I still need to get that game). Wii Fit and Mario Kart came out at the bottom of the top 10, with Fossil Fighters make 10th (and being the only DS game in the top 10 for August). On the 360 and PS3, good old Madden appears once again (like he does every year), with the 360 version making the top stop for the month. Batman did rather well too on the 360 and PS3.
I won’t admit that I was surprised to see Madden on the PS2 in the top ten! Guess the old PS2 still has some selling power left to it, in regards to games. Dissidia was a nice surprise as well, in the fact that it was a PSP game in the top ten.
That is all for this months NPD list. As Xmas gets closer, it will be interesting to see how sales for the Wii, 360, and Wii turn out.
I got the new MicroDrives for the //gs and //e just last week. I have not however had time to play around with them. Hopefully in the next few weeks, but I make no promises. On the one sour side, I had to purchase a IIe Enhancement Kit, as the //e I have does not have the chips associated with the upgrade. This is needed for the MicroDrive to work on the //e. Thus the //e will have to wait a while longer.
Other than that I am starting to debate with me, myself, and I about what underdog systems to bring to the show in 2010. The Odyssey2 will be a must, with some new games for it (yes – new). Of course the //gs and //e will be there (as long as nothing goes wrong with the new drives, which I do not expect in the least). I am thinking about the Jaguar too, since I have not displayed this, ever. Other than that, it is just in the early planning stages at this time.
Back to get some homework done (after my NPD update coming in minutes).
I’ve had the Apple IIgs in the show in the past, but I always wanted the IIe as well. My only gripe was having to use floppies or my old (and slowly dying) 40MB hard drive (yeah, 40MB). I finally got around to ordering some IDE controller cards for these old computer that will allow me to run software from Compact Flash Cards. I’m really looking forward to getting the hardware, and hope I will have some time to work on them very soon. I am taking college classes again, so homework will put a dent in my free time (it always does, of course). Hopefully will be able to report back on how well these new MicroDrive’s work!