Tack Angel: Fly Into The Sky: May 2010

Hello, I'm Tack Angel and this is Tack's Analysis

The latest NPD numbers have been released, and they come with some changes. First, the sales of PS2 hardware are still being tracked but will not be released. Second, NPD will no longer release the sales figures for anything but the top 5 software titles. With that in mind, here's the list:

Hardware:

1. DS - 440,800
2. Wii - 277,200
3. Xbox 360 - 185,400
4. PS3 - 180,800
5. PSP - 65,500

DS & Wii are King still almost every single month

Compare that with last month:
1. Nintendo DS 700,800
2. Wii 557,500
3. Xbox 360 338,400
4. PlayStation 3 313,900
5. PSP 119,900
6. PlayStation 2 118,300

There was a significant drop from last month for Nintendo. (Nintendo Exec: Oh no, we only sold 277,200 Wiis at $200 each. Now I can't afford that Olympic Sized Pool!)
360 almost Doubled it's sales from last month and that can be attributed to the release of High Profile games released in the month.
Sony is still chugging along, taking a last sip of it's Gin Bottle as it wonders how it went from 1st place in the last gen to last in this gen. I could tell you Sony but it's not the answer you are looking for or wanting.
By the by, the DS is expected to become the best selling console ever by the end of the year. The DS Pimp Hand is Strong.

Software:

1. Splinter Cell: Conviction - 486.1K
2. Pokemon SoulSilver - 242.9K
3. New Super Mario Bros Wii - 200.3K
4. Pokemon HeartGold - 192.6K
5. God of War III - 180.3K
6. Wii Sports Resort
7. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 360
8. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board
9. Just Dance
10. Super Street Fighter IV PS3

Splinter Cell and the 360 take top honors but Nintendo again has swept the majority. Super Street Fight IV didn't sell as well as I thought but I think will have a steady stream of sales over time. If not then Capcom needs to do some rethinking on timing of Expansion paks such as Super.
Everyone should know by now that the cool colors win in the race of the Pokemon Games: Red, Silver, Ruby, Diamond, & eventually Black.
By the by, Monster Hunter Tri is still considered a success despite not being in the Top 10 this month.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is not concerned about the possible demise of the console
, saying it's not coming soon.

"We do not think that the combination of a game system and dedicated software will last forever," Iwata said. "However, we do not believe that hardware dedicated to gaming shall (become obsolete and) perish in a few years. I personally think that kind of scenario is unthinkable."

Iwata went on to say that engaging people on games systems "is the lifeline for the company," and added "Should we stop what we are doing, the current business configuration with a video game system and dedicated software could become obsolete. However, as we have been thinking and proposing new ideas one after another, we do not think that it will become obsolete at all."

Iwata is basically saying what all Nintendo execs will say because no one wants to abandon the Money Making Wii. It does bring up a good point though that Home Consoles are slowing starting to go in the reverse of where Handheld Consoles are doing. Handhelds are of more use nowadays because everyone is on the go and wants their Gaming Fix anywhere. It's why the DS & iPhone Gaming are big at the moment and in my opinion are only going to get stronger. This is stated as such when Iwata has said himself that their war with Sony (& Microsoft) is won and that Apple is their current Rival. That says a lot of the current status of the industry where the leader of the industry is already calling this generation "A Win".

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is set to have 3 playable Characters. Mario right at the start, Luigi after 20 Stars, and a 3rd after getting all 120 Stars. Some are saying Wario, some Toad, some say Peach, and even some say Waluigi. But I wanna point out a rumor from a few months ago about SuMariGal2. The rumor was that for one level, you would lose control of Mario and play as Sonic. Yes, this was a legit rumor (as legit rumors go) and it came and went just as quickly. my guess is that Nintendo went into Hush Hush mode as they didn't want to get that rumor out there.
But really, It's not just wishful thinking. SuMariGal2 is really by Nintendo Exec standards, a throw away game. it uses the same engine as SumariGal1 just with new trinkets, So it's cost effective. And cost effective is music to the Nintendo Exec's Ear. Throwing a bit of money SEGA's way to get Sonic in is no problem and may set a new precedent for the Nintendo-SEGA relationship. Besides, Rock Mario is so totally Sonic.

The Humble indie Bundle done by Wolfire Games was a huge success as they brought in over $1 Million Dollars with the majority going to the developers. The charities got $300,000+ to split. The charities being Child's Play, a group that gets Video Games Hardware & Software as well as Toys for Children's Hostpitals, where kids go through Cancer treatments and various surgeries. The other charity being the Electronic Frontier Foundation who are a lobyist group who help the gaming industry in the Political Field (They are the people that push back on Laws against Video Games). So overall a great moment for the gaming industry & community.

The final big gaming news is that Steam has/is come out/coming out for Mac & Linux. And as an incentive, any Steam user from any Computer Platform (PC, Mac, Linux) can download "Portal" for the low low cost of $0. It's an incredible game and not one to pass up, so get it before May 24th as that's when it goes back to full price.

Sources: 411mania.com

In other news, Haim Saban (The Multi-Billionaire, yes he has more money than Vince McMahon) has bought back Power Rangers from Disney.

So I think it's time for a bit of history.

Haim Saban made most of his money by gaining media rights and distributing them in other markets than the media's home. He's the one behind some of the influx of Anime TV Shows in the English Speaking markets in the 80s and early 90s (EX: Samurai Pizza Cats was his import). As well as the music score of some other Animation Properties (Along with Shuki Levy) that you may have heard of, Inspector Gadget, He-Man, She-Ra, and Dragon Quest.

He was in Japan once and turned on the TV on a Sunday Morning when he happened to catch Chodenshi Bioman on TV. He went on to give France 3 Sentai Sereis to be translated and aired on their TV Broadcasting (So essentially, he inspired the France Born Sentai, Shin Kenjushi France Five).

Haim was said to fall in love with the Toku genre, so much so that he kept poking at TV companies in America to give Sentai (& other Toku) a shot (Even after the Dynaman Joke Dub). Eventually he caught the ear of FOX (Who were still new to the Network game) and they started Demographic testing with Chojin Sentai Jetman. They eventually settled with the Dinosaur Theme that was going to air the next year (Thank you Jurassic Park) and as you know, Power rangers was a smash hit.

Due to the success of Power Rangers, Saban was able to help FOX start the FOX Family Channel (Basically FOX Light). Buena Vista saw this and went after the channel, no matter what. Disney eventually were able to buy FOX Family and turn it into ABC Family but in the process bought a lot of FOX Animation Properties that Saban had a hand in (Digimon, the 90s Marvel Cartoons, & Power Rangers). All Disney wanted was the FOX Family Channel and these other properties were incidental. (This was about near the end of Power Rangers Time Force's Airing)

As such, Power Rangers was put on Low-Low Priority and could continue if it was cost effective (There's those words again). Thus they moved production to New Zealand where it was cheaper to film, and everyone at MMPR Productions could join if they want to, they just have to move to New Zealand. (The story of the closing of MMPR Productions can be found in the Internet Film, Diary of a PA)

Disney's standard for the show was to use as much Sentai footage as possible and don't change the script that much (If at all), bring it to the easiest of the Parent Television Council's approval, and do it quickly. The stories suffered, which was unfortunate.

Eventually, Disney saw how much money they were losing (Using the Exec logic of, "If it was a Triple A Product, it needs to bring in at least a Double A Revenue). So they wanted to end the show with PR Operation Overdrive. But when they bought FOX Family they also bought Saban's Contract with Toei on the licensing of the show. This meant that Disney had to make 2 more seasons with at least 3 for just Bandai of America. This gave us the cheaply made Jungle Fury and the last hurrah (As in Disney said, do whatever you want) in RPM (Which I do recommend you watch). So now Disney's contract with Toei was done and they just had to deal with BoA, this gave us the re-imagined MMPR Season 1. Disney within all of this bought out Marvel, which gave them a boost in stock sales and will allow them to not rely on Power Rangers for Children Products.

Toei was not happy with this as they now lost money because Power Rangers was ending (Disney basically playing hardball). this is why Toei went all out with their Smash Hit, Kamen Rider Den-O to help supplement the loss of Power Rangers. Saban came back in the picture when he saw that Disney was going to stop production on PR and with Toei's help, bought back PR from Disney and signing a deal with Viacom to air the shows on Nickelodeon's Nicktoon Channel. And that's where we are now.

Saban is going to produce the next season (The 18th, Production #19) for a 2011 Release and will so far have 20 episodes (Depending on how well the first few episodes go).

Sources: Wikipedia, Rangerboard, Henshin Justice Unlimited, Ranger Crew

Tack Angel: Fly Into The Sky

Friday, May 14, 2010

Tack's Analysis Issue 1

Monday, May 10, 2010

New Pangaea: Prologue

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