Before the days of the PSP and the DS, only one name came to mind when it came to portable gaming - the Nintendo Game Boy. Since its launch in 1989, the Game Boy made its mark in the gaming industry, pioneering a new level in portable gameplay. For its contributions and millions of satisfied users, the Museum of Play has now honored the handheld by including it in its National Toy Hall of Fame.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has some pretty dire tidings for Nintendo. According to the analyst, the Wii's sales will continue to decline unless Nintendo gives a price cut the go signal. More estimates from Pachter after the jump.

We've got an even spread of game releases for this week's batch of On Shelves games, including a couple of downloadable ones. Big for handhelds this week would be Capcom's and Namco Bandai's brawler offerings on the PSP, Fate/Unlimited Codes (available via PSN) and Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny, respectively. Full list of game releases this week after the jump.

Time for that day of the week when you get all the biggest news and tidbits that came out the past weekend in QJ that you might have missed for one reason or another. There's a lot of GamesCom 2009 updates right here, nothing unusual about that given that the event opens next week. We also still have a healthy spate of rumors pertaining to the console price cuts, particularly because the NPD results are out, and it does look like it will take a mighty slash off the current prices to revitalize the scene. Not all would agree, however. Why don't you jump in and see for yourself what went down in your favorite blogs? We've got it all filled up to the brim for you.

It's time to rev up, racing fans. We've got a new video for you that gives you the skinny on everything you need to know about Electronic Arts' Need for Speed ProStreet (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS).

In the video, you'll find that Michael Mann, senior producer for the game, talking about what it means to be king of the streets. To earn that title, it seems, you've got to race against the best of the best in the different styles of racing, whether it be drift or drag racing. Not only that, but you have to race around the world against the elite in order to even have a shot against Ryo Watanabe, the Showdown King of Need for Speed ProStreet.

In any case, it's time to set your pulse racing. Do you have what it takes to bring down the kings of ProStreet? Find out in this video.

The Need for Speed ProStreet video after the jump!

 

For every ground-breaking title out there, there exists an unsung hero. They – like soldiers and bad sitcoms of old – are the miserable underdogs who never receive the due credit they deserve for their work. We're not talking about the developers -  we're talking about specialists - the (fictional) guys who work behind the scenes to ensure that the elements in whatever genre you play will always remain in tip-top condition, whether its your resident androgynous antagonist 's script, or your unfriendly neighborhood mook's marksmanship scores.

These guys will be the topic of today's quick list - along with an explanation with that special thing they do just to make the game better for one special individual - you. On to the list!
 
1. Sephiroth's acting coach
Let's be honest - Sephiroth isn't that original. More than one anime, manga, and J-RPG can boast its own brew of silver-haired, bad-ass sword-wielding bishie hotness, with Sephie being just a part of this popular trend. What sets him apart, however, is execution (acting, not Aeris…).
 
Sephiroth's dark foreboding lines and steely glare will haunt many a gamer's dreams, and for this, we can thank the man's ever-capable acting coach. We're talking the drama-guru who made Sephiroth walk the walk, talk the talk - the dude who probably taught him captivatingly cheesy one-liners like "Shall I give you despair?"
 
I'm afraid you haven't, Mr. Sephiroth's Acting Coach. You did give plenty of fanboys/girls something to think about for their next few - err - dreams, though...
 
Special accreditation goes to Cloud's hairdresser.

The rest of the list is available in the Full Article

The movie industry has had few and far between when dealing with issues of the game industry. It is the biggest and most mature sector in the entertainment front since music. While most bickering over the next-gen console wars happened in-house, the movie buffs were unmoved by the fans' enthusiasm for their favorite consoles and the companies backing them.

Unforgiving critics themselves, entertainment media mogul Entertainment Weekly took a step back to review their impressions of today's next-generation consoles: the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, and Sony PlayStation 3. And it appears that they were no more excited for any of the consoles than they were the first time around.

The Xbox 360 hasn't changed in grade at all, with their midterm impressions not changing from their first encounter with the console. They leave the grade at A- in anticipation of a price cut this year, although they do agree that the Wii may take the throne soon. They note that a strong game lineup and a good online network will keep the Xbox 360 as "the console to beat," although it must be fair to point out that it just celebrated its first anniversary while the other two are still starting out.

The Nintendo Wii, according to Entertainment Weekly, is the probably the biggest disappointment to them - dropping from a high B+ to a low B- - after a drought of really good games had the console giving off the first signs of "Wii-nnuii." The lackluster lineup of titles has outweighed the console's growing sales numbers and the lack of truly online games tip the balance against the Wii's favor. Even one of Nintendo's big three titles is enough to bring their Wii-nthusiasm back, but as they say, "no one's likely to care."

The PlayStation 3 is a technological marvel to the movie critics, especially because they are fans of the high-definition movie experience. The HDMI and the Blu-Ray DVD experience is one thing to behold in the CELL-powered console, something that even the Xbox 360 Elite lacked without a packaged HD-DVD add-on.

The game lineup for the PlayStation 3 isn't any more varied than the Wii, and Sony's lack of a "bold executive decision" to slash prices left the reviewers no choice other than to dip the grade. But just in case Sony does drop the price just once before Christmas, they're temporarily notching the score at a B- from their first impression of a B.

A recent NPD group report gave a detailed demograph of 11,638 gamers aged between 6 to 44. The reports have shown that hardcore gamers are the biggest spenders, which is exactly unexpedted. What will surprise most though is the percentage of purchases and population of each majority group that the company split the consumers into.

NPD decided to group each gamer into one of six categories: Avid PC Gamers, Secondary Gamers, Avid Console Gamers, Mass Market Gamers, Casual Kid Gamers, and Heavy Gamers.

The avid PC gamers are those who average at least 13.6 hours per week primarily on a PC or Macintosh. These guys are the biggest of the group and consists of 33% of the population. Their average purchases per quarter? A disappointing 1.4 games.

Next up we have the Secondary Gamers which clock in around 6.5 hours of gaming on mostly a PC or a Mac. A third of these people also own the PlayStation 2. They make-up 22 percent of the US gaming population, the second largest group, and yet buy an average of only 0.8 games each quarter.

Among the console gamers, the largest by far are the so called Avid Console Gamers with a population of 20%. These individuals log in about 10.7 hours a week of gaming time on one console. They possess an average of 1.6 consoles and 0.8 portables. They are also the second biggest spenders, buying an average of 1.9 games per quarter.

Want to read more on this, click on the full article for more!

Over at CNET, their Top 20 Most Wanted Products for the week ending April 22 just got published. Much to say, the top four seem to echo who really are on the spotlight of the gaming and gadget world. Of course, charts and figures will always show different things, depending on the people who answer the polls or whatnot. Here's the lowdown on CNET's own list though.

The PlayStation 3 is finally on the top spot. Compared to last week's spot on the fifth, that's a big bump up, so much so that it brought the Nintendo Wii down the ladder by one rung. Yeah, the Wii was king of the hill last week (and reigned king uninterruptedly ever since March 25), but the PS3 somehow managed to catch up and finally take the throne. The Xbox Elite, on the other hand, is slowly and steadily on the rise, from last week's Top 4 to this week's Top 3. Just four weeks in the charts, and the Elite has already achieved the third spot. Quite a feat in itself.

On to gadgets though, we're not surprised to find the Apple iPhone snuck up there. While it had second place last week, guess the march of the consoles brought it down to the fourth spot. The notable thing about this item on the list is that, while it continuously jumps up and down a few spots every week, it's pretty much consistent and never left the Top 5 ever since it debuted on the list (debuted on the Top, no less) on January 14!

You can click the Read link below to check out the full Top 20, which contains other miscellaneous gadgets like laptops, cameras, mobile phones, and mp3 players.

A lot of Madden fans thought the day would never come when the guys at EA Sports would rate a player's speed at 100, but the impossible is now confirmed: Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears is the first man to receive the pedigree.

"It's an honor -- I don't know what to say, really," says Hester, the man who racked up his six scores on three punt returns, two kick returns and an incredible 108-yard return of a missed field goal attempt all in his rookie season in America's biggest and most popular sports league.

Despite the fact that Hester has achieved the ultimate rocket fuel award in electronic entertainment, he's not completely satisfied with how Madden rates his other stats. In particular, he thought his defense and breaking tackles ratings were a bit underrated.

"I definitely need to break more tackles. On a few of my returns last year I feel like I showed what I can do in that category," says the dissatisfied Chicago return man. What he has to worry more about is getting nerfed in Madden 09 if he becomes a little too unstoppable in this year's release.

Other speed demons have topped previous Madden games with a 99 rating on their pedals, with Hester's mentor Deion Sanders in that elite list, but "the Windy City Flyer"  was deemed a cut above the rest for his insane ability to track down field goal attempts and return them for a score. Incidentally, Hester is also the first NFL player to open the Super Bowl with a touchdown on the first kick.