NUMBER One!
According to Nintendo (and reported by Gamasutra), Mario Kart 8 has sold over 2 million copies. When taking into account the last official number of Wii U consoles out in the wild, which is over 6 million, this means that one third of the console owners also own Mario Kart 8. This is a huge success for Nintendo, and I'm sure there will be news relating to an increase in Wii U sales soon.
NUMBER TWO!!
Reports have been circulating that developer Crytek is in financial trouble. Earlier this week various news outlets have been releasing stories about trouble with paying employees on time. Projects are also being put into question, such as the new Homefront game that was recently announced after E3. Ryse 2 has also been reported to be canceled all together, leading to an argument over who owns the rights to the franchise and a falling out between Crytek and Microsoft.
This is no good. Crytek is a very strong developer, but the company has not had a strong hit in some time. Ryse sold fairly well, but a majority of the money for Crytek comes from it's game technology being used. These are all just speculation at this time and I will update as new reports come in, but with so many resources talking out about the developer, it seems inevitable.
Number THREE!!!
PlayStation Now's beta will be coming to even more platforms. Starting on June 30th, owners of a Sony Smart TV and PlayStation 3 will have access to the beta as well as PS4 owners, who currently have access to the beta. The service is slated to launch by the end of this summer for PlayStation TV, PS3, PS4 and Sony Smart TV's with PS Vita and mobile support to come afterwards.
Sony seems to really be putting all their eggs in this basket, and for good reason. It's still confusing as to how high the pricing will be and what the subscription service will look like, but once the beta has moved to other platforms we will hopefully be getting a better idea of what to expect. I want to believe in this service, but like everything else with Sony, I need to see it first.
Number FOUR!!!!
Nintendo has released four student games on the eShop in Japan this week. Created during Nintendo's annual video game seminar for college students, the four games will be free on the online store. Applications for next year's conference will be accepted until Sunday.
This is such a small move, but is so smart on Nintendo's part. The games are quality controlled because they are technically made in house. The developers get some face time on a real store to share not only their vision, but their name and skills. And that is something these students will not forget when they graduate, meaning they will feel more inclined to work with Nintendo in the future before anyone else. I really wish they would do something like this in America and Europe.
As always, here's a list of smaller stories that are self explanatory:
- Space Hulk: Deathwing coming to PS4 next year.
- Satoru Iwata retains his position as Nintendo president
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