While the PSP and DS aren’t exactly direct competitors to the iPod Touch, Apple is touting the fact that games are cheaper on their platform as a selling point for iPod hardware. During its press conference earlier today, which highlighted the arrival of a third-generation iPod Touch, shown on-screen was a slide pinpointing the “expensive” price points of such titles.

Apple also took a casual jab at both platforms for “no multi-touch user interface” and a minuscule library of games. Not exactly a fair comparison, when considering the quality ratio is lacking on the App Store compared to efforts on PSP and DS. At any rate, it’s interesting to see that Apple is acknowledging portable devices other than their own for once. Perhaps the increased focused on digital distribution with the DSi and PSPgo has edged them towards taking precautionary measures.

Nintendo may have plans to position the DSi platform as more than a mere enhancement over previous DS hardware iterations with rumors cropping up that titles exclusive to DSi will hit retail channels later this fall. They’ve already done this to a certain extent with DSiWare, but the digital market is still small potatoes compared to retail. more »

Capcom is working on a follow-up to Clover Studios’ (now defunct) hit watercolor-style RPG Okami, entitled Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo. Poised for release on Nintendo DS, Capcom is rounding up the talent on this one, with Motohide Eshiro of Ace Attorney fame and Kuniomi Matsushita serving as producer and director on the project, respectively.

Matsushita calls it Okami with a broader appeal. Gameplay-wise, he told Famitsu that players can use the stylus as a brush. The aim is to create a seamless pick up and play type experience.

Look for more details on this portable Okami follow-up to be revealed at TGS, likely alongside a trailer.

Speaking in a keynote at GDC Europe, Crytek co-founder Cevat Yerli said that he expects the next-generation of consoles to hit in 2013 at the latest. However, Yerli is not standing by his statement entirely, noting that “there’s a big debate about whether there will be a next generation at all.”

With both Sony and Microsoft taking bold initiatives towards introducing motion-sensing peripherals, it’s quite plausible that this generation could carry on for another three years. After all, there’s not much point in coming out with new tech if the current crop of consoles are soon to be phased out. It’s very possible we may see a “refresh” of this gen, similar to what Nintendo and Sony have done in the portable sector with the DSi and now PSPgo. more »

The NPD figures for July are in and for the fifth consecutive month, once again show a year-over-year decline in industry sales. The results are far from uplifting, as total dollars generated throughout last month missed the $1 billion mark, clocking at a $848,000, a 29 percent decline.

The PS3 barely edged pasted its last-generation counterpart in sales, with both platforms shifting 121,800 and 108,000 units respectively. It’s safe to say that Sony needs that price cut, pronto. Xbox 360 sales weren’t as bleak, but still took a dive compared to last month with 202,900 units sold.

Wii Sports Resort, perhaps unsurprisingly, took the crown for July’s best-selling title. Released near the tail end of the month, it sold 508,200 copies.

See the full breakdown of July figures past the break, courtesy of NPD. more »

After selling 3.5 million copies overseas, one would automatically assume Square Enix is gearing up to bring the latest installment in its Dragon Quest IX stateside, but it’s always nice to receive an official confirmation. In a recent Q&A, company CEO Yoichi Wada revealed that they are “considering” to bring DQ IX to other territories, but is not yet ready to make a full commitment regarding a release date.

The wait will be long for this one, as it won’t happen this year. Wada says a localization is planned for release next year, likely after April.

Dragon Quest IX sales are on the rise and the momentum shows no signs of slowing down. The latest batch of figures from industry outfit Famitsu have revealed that over 3.5 million copies have been sold in Japan since July 14, the title’s launch date. If Square Enix had decided to not drift from providing Sony with format exclusives, imagine what these numbers could have done for the PS3.

Still no word on a North American release date, but we’re waiting patiently for Square Enix to localize this gem.

While the many of the modern Sonic games aren’t bad per se, they certainly lack the charm and longevity of the original Genesis installments. Back in the day, Sonic titles went head to head with Mario. Now, there’s no comparison between the two in terms of quality. Relatively speaking, of course. There has been subpar Mario titles before, but nearly all the main entries are considered AAA-worthy.

Sega is looking to fix that and in turn hopefully win back core gamers who were previously fans of the franchise, but company VP of Marketing Sean Ratcliffe says doing so will take time. A significant amount of time, apparently:

Interestingly, I think Sonic Unleashed was very well received by the kids. There was some talk about the werehog aspect, the slower pacing and more combat-oriented gameplay, but when we go out and test this stuff and sit down with the consumers, kids actually like that. I think older, die-hard Sega fans who grew up with the franchise and the first Sonic the Hedgehog associate Sonic more with 2-D side-scrolling super fast, and they liked the daytime gameplay, but when it came to the slower paced gameplay they were fairly critical of that, and that’s fine – they have their opinions.

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Dragon Quest IX is well on its way to earning the coveted title of the best-selling DS game in Japan. Honestly, who would have expected otherwise? Famitsu parent Enterbrain today reports that unit sales in the region have crossed the 3.2 million mark, a figure that represents sales from July 11 to July 26.

Bet it won’t be long before the 5 million mark is hit. Give it a month or two. On another note, here’s hoping Square Enix recovers from the euphoric shellshock of all this green flowing in and pins down a stateside release date for DQ IX.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the SaGa series and the release of SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny, Square Enix is releasing a hardware bundle that packs the game plus a special edition DSi.

Pictured above, the included DSi brandishes the trademark SaGa logo in silhouette-style. Part of it is covered by a large 20th anniversary emblem, which almost looks as if it was thrown on as an afterthought. Not sure about you, but this design decision completely ruins the minimalistic look for us. Despite this, it still looks decent, but could look so much better.

For those still interested, the bundle goes on sale later this September in Japan. It’ll carry a price tag of 24,880 yen. Just be prepared to pay a significant premium on top of that if importing, as usual.