Sales of Nintendo’s Wii U console have been calamitously bad so far but the company’s CEO isn’t about to start blaming the rise of mobile games. Instead, AllThingsD reports that Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata thinks that the Wii U has sold poorly because Nintendo isn’t providing gamers with enough top-notch titles to draw them to the system. “The reason why the Wii U has lost the momentum it had during the launch period has something to do with the fact that Nintendo hasn’t been able to provide a strong software lineup, one game after the other, without too many intervals,” he said this week at E3. “Few people are willing to purchase hardware for the sake of purchasing hardware themselves, so we need

If the winner of the next-generation console war were to be decided today, Sony would undoubtedly walk away victorious. The Xbox One debut has been an unmitigated PR disaster for Microsoft, which didn’t bother to ensure that it had simple, clear explanations in place for its various confusing policies surrounding used games, game-sharing and connectivity requirements. As a result, blogs have been reporting misinformation and gamers have been getting angrier and angrier. To make matters worse, several Xbox One policies aren’t very gamer-friendly, so many people remained upset even once the air had been cleared. But despite the PR nightmare Microsoft and its public relations firm are dealing with right now, it’s still way too early to declare a winner

Rovio looks set to change its longtime formula for Angry Birds games. In a new website launched this week, Rovio teased a new game called Angry Birds Go! with a short Flash movie depicting one of its famous birds speeding down some sort of racetrack. From the looks of things, it seems that we’re about to get our first-ever Angry Birds racing game although Rovio hasn’t yet posted any specific details about how gameplay will work. In a company blog post, Rovio said that the game would be “Angry Birds, but not as you know it” and that “all your favorite characters are returning for a brand new title that will bring you closer to Piggy Island than ever before.”

In case you haven’t noticed, Microsoft’s Xbox One policies on connectivity and used games have caused a little bit of controversy among gamers. And now Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson has told The Wall Street Journal that Microsoft’s decisions may have upset gamers enough for him to consider cutting his sales forecasts for the Xbox One and raising them for Sony’s rival PlayStation 4. “Based on what we’ve seen now, the likelihood that Xbox One will be able to overachieve those estimates is low, and Sony’s ability to overachieve that is higher,” Olson told the Journal. “It’s a big enough deal that it could impact adoption and will impact adoption.” The Journal also talked with IDC analyst Lewis Ward, who said that

Nintendo banks its hopes for a smashing console surge on throwback titles.

Tech bloggers and reporters love to complain about dealing with public relations companies, but there’s a reason these firms exist — and a reason they get paid so handsomely. By working with PR firms on messaging and positioning when it comes to hot button issues, scenarios like the one that unfolded during Xbox boss Don Mattrick’s interview with GameTrailers might be avoided. Instead, Microsoft’s Mattrick told the world that there is a clear answer to critics who don’t like the Xbox One’s requirement for an internet connection: Just buy an old Xbox 360 and forgo the future of gaming. During the video interview, GameTrailers asked Mattrick about the new console’s connectivity requirements. The following is a transcription of his response:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's all about the games for Nintendo.

Excitement is growing among gamers around the world as they prepare for the launches of Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4. In Asia, however, only half of the video game fans in the region have cause for celebration. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has pushed the launch of its Xbox One back to late 2014 in Asia, a year after the console debuts in the U.S. and other regions. Alan Bowman, Microsoft’s Regional VP for Sales and Marketing in Asia, told the newspaper that its next-generation console will be released in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and India late next year, and the executive didn’t even make any mention of when the Xbox One

The Wii U will be one year old by Christmas 2013. How is it possible that Nintendo was unable to produce an entirely new iteration of its Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. franchises within the first year of the console’s life cycle? Nintendo has known for a long time that it will have to face the big debuts of the new Xbox and PlayStation boxes around the 2013 Christmas season. It is inconceivable the company can be so deluded or arrogant that it thinks it can coast along without a major new revival of any of its big franchises until 2014. Nintendo is doing its very best Miss Havisham imitation, sitting by a mouldering wedding cake and dreaming of

Not too long ago — in fact, it was less than a month ago — I was giddy with anticipation thinking about buying an Xbox One this fall. I mean, a next-generation gaming console that doubles as a TV set-top box and that gives me access to Skype over my television set? Where do I sign up? But then Microsoft actually released the details about how the Xbox One would work and they were filled with enough pitchfork-wielding devils to make me seriously reconsider my commitment to buying the console. The reason I object to Microsoft’s various Xbox One policies is straightforward: They all limit consumer choice in a fairly invasive manner. The requirement that gamers log on at least

The question marks surrounding next-generation video game consoles’ used games and game-sharing policies had been driving gamers crazy over the past couple of months, but future PlayStation 4 owners can now sleep easy. During its press conference at the annual E3 video game expo on Monday evening, Sony confirmed that it will not put any restrictions or limitations in place regarding used games or game-sharing on the PlayStation 4. Used games can be sold and repurchased with no issue, and there are no crazy obstacles when it comes to sharing games, as there are on the Xbox One. In fact, Sony created the instructional video below, which shows us exactly how to share PS4 games, as a nice little jab

By Malathi Nayak LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Corp on Monday priced its latest PlayStation 4 console $100 lower than the new Xbox One by rival Microsoft Corp as competition for gamers' pockets intensifies ahead of the year-end holidays and gift-giving season. Sony said it would sell the latest PlayStation model for $399 late in the year shortly after Microsoft announced a $499 price tag for its first new Xbox in eight years and said it would go on sale in the United States in November. ...

By Mark Gleeson WINDHOEK (Reuters) - A coach whose enthusiasm for the trade was forged by the 'Football Manager' video game will be thrown into the deep end on Wednesday when Nambia host African champions Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier. Ricardo Mannetti, 38, won more than 60 caps for his country, played at the African Nations Cup finals and was a professional in the league in neighboring South Africa but had no desire to coach. It was only after hours of playing the video game with his brother-in-law that his interested was fired. ...

By Mark Gleeson WINDHOEK, June 11 (Reuters) - A coach whose enthusiasm for the trade was forged by the 'Football Manager' video game will be thrown into the deep end on Wednesday when Nambia host African champions Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier. Ricardo Mannetti, 38, won more than 60 caps for his country, played at the African Nations Cup finals and was a professional in the league in neighbouring South Africa but had no desire to coach. It was only after hours of playing the video game with his brother-in-law that his interested was fired. ...

No, I don’t work for Sony, thanks for asking. But just to be up-front, I’m about to type a bunch of positive things about Sony (having typed a bunch of negative things four months ago). That’s because its E3 presser resonated quite a bit more than Microsoft’s, which aired early Monday morning. E3 (and, you know, life) isn’t made of perfectly balanced events where everyone comes out equally potent. Sometimes that’s just how things roll.

Now that we know all the specs about Microsoft and Sony's new video-game-and-lots-of-other-stuff consoles, it's time to settle this war before it gets any uglier: Which system is better when they're put side-by-side in an early test of living-room supremacy? Let's break it down, based on information gleaned from the many reactions that surfaced after the PlayStation 4 reveal last night at the E3 conference in Los Angeles. 

After revealing initial details surrounding the PlayStation 4 back in February, Sony on Monday filled in many of the blanks that had remained following its earlier event — including the price of its new video game console, and the console itself. During its press conference at the annual E3 video game conference in Los Angeles, Sony announced that its new PlayStation 4 will launch ahead of the holidays this year for $399, $100 less than the Xbox One, though the “day one” edition of the new Xbox ships with a new Kinect — the current Kinect model sells for $109.99 — while the PS4 will not include Sony’s Kinect-like “PlayStation Eye” accessory. The PlayStation 4 is now available for pre-order

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sony broke out the heavy ammunition Monday against Microsoft, announcing its forthcoming PlayStation 4 will cost $399 — $100 less than the competing Xbox One.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sony on Monday gave video-game fanatics their first look at the PlayStation 4 — and it's a rectangular black box, just like all the previous PlayStations.

What. A. Day… and it’s not over yet. First, Microsoft got E3 started with its Xbox One press conference and then Apple kept the party going with an action-packed WWDC 2013 keynote. Now, Sony will wrap up this crazy day with a press conference of its own, where the world will finally get its first glimpse of the PlayStation 4 console. More importantly, of course, Sony and its partners will be showing off tons of gameplay demos from some of the exciting titles that will be available on the next-generation PlayStation console. Sony’s E3 press conference is set to begin at 9:00 p.m. EDT, 6:00 p.m. PDT, and you can watch live streaming video from the event below.