Games Toaster

PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable continue to dominate Irish games charts

PlayStation Portable alone still frequently outranks Xbox & 360 in percentage sales  

A GamesToaster.com / BlurredKeys.com examination of the Chart-Track Irish Software charts, which tracks retail sales of computer games in Ireland, has found that Sony’s PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable continue to massively dominate the Irish multi-format charts, with Microsoft’s Xbox and Xbox 360 combined rarely amounting to over 25% of multi-format games.

Our study of the charts ranges from the start of 2006 to the week ending July 15.

When the combined percentages of the Xbox consoles reach higher percentages the games are usually at the lower end of the charts. Frequently the percentage of the two combined is lower then or around 10%.

When the high profile Xbox 360 game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released in March, Microsoft reported that the game “has topped the all-formats sales charts in key European countries”. Ireland was not one of those countries. Even with the support of 43% from PC sales, the Take 2 game entered the chart at number three, slowly dropping, then in its fourth week nose-diving to sixteenth place.

REVIEW: Popolocrois

Developer: G-Artists | Publisher: Ignition | Format: PSP

Reviewer: Craig Gallagher Popolocrois is the first European release in a role-playing series that has been doing the rounds for nearly a decade in Japan. It was so popular enough that it spawned its own anime series. The PSP version is something of an amalgam of the first two games in the series, which have been woven together into a singular, fairly cohesive adventure. The reason the game works is because is because the developers have wisely decided to keep everything relatively simple.

REVIEW: World Tour Soccer 06

Developer: SCE London  | Publisher: SCEE | Format: PSP

Reviewer: Craig Gallagher While the worlds attention is fixed on Germany and the World Cup, SCEE is hoping to capitalize on a little of that with the release of World Tour Soccer ’06 on the PSP.

“Summer Bash” console event this Saturday

World Gamer Live is to host a “Summer Bash” from 9am to 11pm this Saturday, July 29, in the Glen Royal Hotel, Maynooth.

The console multiplayer event is sponsored by Microsoft, Playstation, Ubisoft, EA, Magnet Entertainment, the Buda Bag Store, Coca-cola, and Lucozade.

According to the organisers, Xtra-vision will be “sole source of ticket sales”, with the 120 places available at selected outlets.

Galway games studio release tech video

Galway-based Starcave Studios have released a new tech demo video (101mb) of their game Terra: Formations, expected on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

The developer says the game will be a triple-A title, containing FPS, RTS, and RPG elements, mixed in what Starcave call a massively multiplayer online adventure. The new video shows a marked improvement in graphics since the last video released in March.

Set in the year 2157 the with earth plundered of all resources humans explore a Jupiter moon named Europa, with melting ice they find an enemy in waiting.

Still in development, Terra: Formations is due sometime in 2007.