The NPD Group recently released their tracked sales numbers for April 2008, for the four week tracking period that ends on May 3rd, 2008. Many thanks to sonycowboy at NeoGAF and the NPD Group for the numbers.

April saw the release of two major games: Grand Theft Auto IV, which shattered industry records, and Mario Kart Wii, the latest installment in Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise. You would think that there would be strong sales all around for the three current generation consoles, but ...

It's no secret that Japanese companies use celebrities and popular bikini models to promote their goods. Sony has done it for PSP, Nintendo has done it for their games, and let's not forget the booth babes and show girls that appear at many gaming expos.

These girls are usually paid to look good and act excited while playing a game or console, no matter how awful it might be.

But if you take a look at many Japanese celebrity's blogs, you will often find them talking about their favorite...

"After being officially confirmed yesterday, the first proper screenshots of Lost in Blue for the Nintendo Wii have emerged. And if their awful quality is reflective of the gameplay we can expect, we’re not holding out much hope.

Whether these shots are from early development of Lost in Blue Wii or not isn’t clear, but even still, they’re really rather awful. The Nintendo Wii has been around for a year and a half now (and developers will have had kits to create games before then), so why so..."

The previous rumor of Sega and PlatinumGames purportedly agreeing to a three-game deal is now confirmed by Sega, with the embargo on all related materials now over.

The most interesting fact is that there will now be four games developed by the developer, the former Clover Studio, instead of the original three mentioned. Again, Sega will handle the publishing of all four titles. Other than the three previously-mentioned games (Bayonetta, Infinite Line and MADWORLD), there is a fourth unn...

Some scans from Famitsu give us a peek inside another solid-looking sci-fi DS game (first Moon and now this!): Infinite Line. And for those looking for a little role-playing in their science fiction, this one comes with a lot of RPG flavour. The spin on the Active Time Battle system seems particularly interesting: the more full your gauge is in battle, the more actions you have available to you.

"Rejoice! For many years the zany Nintendo peripheral was a diminishing phenomenon. But no longer. Thanks to the Wii, all manner of weird and wonderful accessories are being released again, while the Virtual Console continues to churn up deep feelings of nostalgia for the games and peripherals of ages past. In honour of this new golden age, we thought we’d root around our collective memories for some of the more bizarre, wonderful and downright useless peripherals we’ve encountered over the ma..."

"EA has lifted the lid on another Sims game for Wii and DS. And this one is all about adventure, discovery and exploration in the name of King Roland bringing life back into his kingdom.

The Wii version features said Roland character who needs your help to make his kingdom a better place. The official blurb says you must help new and old friends discover new lands and build "to the limit of your imagination". Sounds a little like Civ to us.

Action begins in The Capital, the centre of the..."

Ah, darts. The game where you throw pointy metal sticks into a board constructed of boar bristles. Well, it's coming to the DS in the form of Touch Darts, naturally supporting stylus control, and to be released in June. Agetec Producer Mark Johnson says the realistic action will quench the thirsts of "even the most hardcore dart fanatic." Mhm.

BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka was recently interview regarding the PC version of Mass Effect. He didn't speak about the authentication issue in the interview but he did explain why Mass Effect was first released on the Xbox 360. Mass Effect was supposed to be a Xbox 360 exclusive right from the start but late in the game's development it was decided to develop a PC version as well. As some of you know, the PC version will be getting Bring Down the Sky for free, which is downloadable content and Ray...

PlatinumGames is the studio that was formerly named Seeds, which currently houses ex-employees from the now-defunct Clover Studio. In a now-removed report from Videogaming247, Sega has apparently struck a deal with PlatinumGames to publish its first three titles.

Those three titles are the following (some info via Kotaku):

Bayonetta, directed by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya, an action game featuring a "witch battling angels", with guns on her feet.

Infinite Line, a DS Sci-fi RPG ...

Tying a string to your rear and running around the house is an awesome way to play with your kids, according to Marvelous Entertainment. The company will be soon publishing a game in Japan aimed to help parents raise and play with their kids. Called Sukusuku Kosodate DS (Sukusuku Parenting DS), it will also allow you to 'record memories.'

"If Japanese publication Coro Coro Comics is to be believed, the last iteration in Nintendo’s critter-hunting Pokemon series is named Pokemon Platinum, and will be heading to the Nintendo DS in Japan this September.

Legendary Pokemon Giratina is seen to feature prominently in Coro Coro Comics’ single-page feature (and on the box of the game), so it could be that the monster who debuted in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl; one that represents death and dwells in the ruined depths of Turnback Cave, ..."

Could Force Unleashed be one of the best Star Wars games ever made? Cameron Suey Producer of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions certainly gives that impression in this interview. He also talks about the future of the Star Wars franchise in the game industry and says "You might see less and better" meaning there might be less Star Wars games in future, but they'll be of better quality.

Few more screenshots of The Force Unleashed for all you Star Wars fans. The game - developed and published by LucasArts alongside Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books - will be released mid-Septemeber, and the plot will focus on Darth Vader's secret apprentice.

"And to wrap things up today, here's "The ABCs of Gaming," from a t-shirt design contest at Shirt.woot.com. The contest closed this week. The latest on the site shows another shirt claiming 2nd place in this derby so, who knows, maybe it won. I'm sure the ordering information will follow.

For now, take a long look and see if you can name all 26. I can name about 19 offhand. There's a spoiler solution after the jump."

With it's low price and mass market appeal, the Nintendo DS is continuing to be the more popular choice in the portable gaming market. Sony shouldn't feel too bad, but I wonder how they can predict a turnaround at this point? Well, according to Sony Europe's president David Reeves, the PSP needs more games to be released for it here in the West. If Sony is ever going to gain ground on the DS, it needs alot more big name releases.

"Griffith said that CoD5 would be available on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, and PC. That pretty much covers every platform but the PSP. Why this is, is anyone’s guess. Griffith also pointed out that CoD5 will be using the same game engine that was used in CoD4. As for the game’s setting, “We’ll bring the intensity of the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare title to a new military theater to engage our significantly larger user base which nearly doubled last year as new users came into the fran..."

The most popular pokemon games, Diamond and Pearl are not going to be the best within then next year or so. Nintendo has finally given evidence that their next game, Pokemon Platinum will be making a possible debut within the next 2 years. Although the evidence is slim, it's still has a little to make it true. Looks like Opal won't be happening until after Platinum.

""

Remember the article a while back that talked about DS bling? It looks like a business has been made out of it. A Japanese company by the name of King is redecorating girls DSes. Too be honest I would refuse to link with someone who's DS looked like this. It seems criminal to me. That said I can't help but wonder what the rest of them look like.

"PC
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Ford Racing Offroad

PS2
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

PS3
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Xbox 360
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Wii
Castle of Shikigami III, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Deca Sports, We Ski

DS
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Drone Tactics, Myst"

"Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk has pretty much had it all his own way for years in the skateboarding videogame genre - that was until Electronic Arts sprung a surprise with Skate for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 last year. It’s analog control-focused trickery gave Tony a kick up the arse for once… but it’s biggest draw (the controls) meant it wasn’t suited to either the Nintendo Wii or Nintendo DS’ default input. Now, however, EA has announced Skate It, a Wii and DS spin-off, set..."

"BLEACH: Dark Souls is the next BLEACH game coming to the Nintendo DS from famed developer Treasure. This new BLEACH title features its own exclusive storyline that contains events that take place in between season's one and two of the animated series currently running on Adult Swim. With over 40 characters to choose from BLEACH: Dark Souls is the biggest BLEACH video game to date.

Dinosaur King is based off an animated series that will be returning for its second season on the CW network. ..."

"In Nanostray 2, Shin'en has addressed the most critical of the flaws that pulled down the original Nanostray, added a few new twists and turns, and produced a solid game that'll please anyone who digs this type of classic arcade shooter."

"NOTE : Original source not English. Quote is from alternate source

There it is, have a look, the cutest bus in Tokyo. To promote DS game Kawaii Koneko ("Cute Kitten"), the above bus was wrapped in cavity inducing sacchrine. The pet sim went on sale way back in January and lets players pick from eight different breeds like Russian Blue and American Shorthair. The bus ad features cutesy Japanese celebrity person Becky. See that old dude flagging down that pink bus? His teeth hurt."