Wait And Buy Portal 2 On May 1, 2011, At Kmart

I know you want to have fun with science, but just wait. Seriously, be patient and wait. I know that Portal 2 is all spiffy and new, and those ads you’ve been seeing on buses and TV are awesome, but you will regret it if you go out and buy the game before May 1, 2011. That’s because it’s going to be on sale at Kmart for almost half off next week. See? Patience will pay off.

That’s especially true since Kmart’s Portal 2 deal takes almost 50% off the price. Go somewhere else before Saturday and you’ll pay $59.99 for it. Wait, and you’ll only pay $34.99. It’s practically a steal. Especially if you grab the PS3 version, which includes Steam codes for a free copy of the Windows and Mac version. The KmartGamer twitter just made this announcement, so you’ll know before everyone else grabs their Sunday papers. The tweet doesn’t state if it applies to all versions, but I’m sure the PS3 and Xbox 360 ones will be covered.

In case you by some miracle haven’t heard, Portal 2 is one of the most anticipated games of the summer. It’s a FPS/puzzle game where players help a research subject named Chell escape from a laboratory and evil robots. The evil robots are also quite funny, by the way. There’s also a multiplayer campaign mode and it is the first game where PS3 gamers can play with Windows and Mac gamers.

Well, I guess I have plans for Sunday morning now. Anyone else going to take advantage of this deal?

Read [KmartGamer] Site [Portal 2

 

 

Source: http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/wait-and-buy-portal-2-on-may-1-2011-at-kmart-34.99-sale/

Major Retailers Cut Price Of Wii To $169.99

Although Nintendo hasn't made it official, the Wii's price has been cut to $169.99.

Several major retailers, including GameStop, Best Buy, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Target, and others are now selling the console at the reduced price. At those locations, customers can choose between the Wii White or Black bundle, which includes the console, a Wii MotionPlus Remote, the Wii nunchuk, Wii Sports, and Wii Sports Resort. The bundle was previously available for $199.99.

The price drop is especially notable, since Nintendo has yet to confirm that it has officially dropped the price of its Wii console. The company also did not immediately respond to CNET's request for confirmation that the Wii has officially gotten a $30 price drop.

In either case, a cheaper Wii isn't all that surprising. Just last week, Engadget cited sources who said Nintendo was planning to cut the Wii's price to $150 by May 15. Nintendo declined to comment to CNET at the time.

Nintendo's Wii was stuck at its former $200 price tag since 2009 when the company cut the price of its console from $250. Since then, critics have been calling on Nintendo to slash the price of its Wii, citing slumping demand for its console. In 2008, the company sold over 10 million Wii console units in the U.S. In 2009, it nearly hit the 10 million mark. Last year, however, its sales dropped to 7 million units.

Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata brought up the idea of a price cut back in October in an interview with the Associated Press. He said at the time that he had ruled it out in the "near future" but stopped short of saying that Nintendo wouldn't eventually cut the Wii's price.

"Of course, we cannot say [a Wii price cut] will never happen," Iwata said at the time.

If the Wii's price stays at $169.99, it might not be long before Microsoft and Sony follow suit with price cuts for their Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, respectively. In a research note to investors in February, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said that 2011 would be the year of the price cut in gaming.

"After maintaining console prices at historically high points throughout 2010, all three console manufacturers appear to us to be poised for price cuts in 2011," he said at the time.

Look for more on that front in June at the E3 gaming expo.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20055218-17.html#ixzz1Jzb5FOoW

Analyst: Nintendo 3DS Sales Hit 500,000 In March

Nintendo's 3DS led the gaming market in hardware sales last month, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said in a note to investors today.

Pachter said he believes that Nintendo sold 500,000 3DS units in March, besting the Xbox 360 and Wii, with 480,000 and 410,000 unit sales, respectively. The analyst estimates that PlayStation 3 March sales hit 380,000 units.

Actual sales figures will be announced later this week by research firm NPD.

If Nintendo only sold 410,000 Wii units, its sales would be down 26 percent year over year. Microsoft's unit sales, on the other hand, would be up 42 percent compared with March 2010, while Sony's hardware sales would be up by 21 percent.

But it's Nintendo's feat in the portable space that might be most impressive. The 3DS, which allows users to play 3D games without the need for special glasses, hit store shelves March 27 in the U.S. That gave it just five days to trump other gaming devices that were sitting on store shelves for the entire month.

Even better news for Nintendo, the company told CNET in a statement last month that the portable's launch-day sales figures in the U.S. were higher than any other mobile-gaming device it has ever launched, including the venerable Game Boy and DS.

Of course, the fact that the Nintendo 3DS sold well in March isn't all that surprising. When the device launched in Japan in February, reports out of that country said it sold out in its first weekend of availability.

The 3DS also contributed to stronger industry-wide hardware sales last month. According to estimates from Pachter, sales were up 6 percent in March for a total of 2.275 million units sold across all devices. However, he said that software sales were down 8 percent last month to $805 million.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20052749-17.html#ixzz1JFIkxWFV