Market research firm has issued its latest monthly retail-only sales report, covering February 27 through April 2--the first since the Nintendo 3DS handheld launched in March. As ever, console manufacturers have come out of the woodwork to support the report with figures and marketing spin.

Nintendo relays that the 3DS sold "just shy of 400,000 units" in the US within its first seven days of sale after launching on March 27. This falls slightly short of the regular Nintendo DS models, which combined sold 460,000 units. Read more »

BioWare is rewarding purchases of Dragon Age 2 with a free PC download of Mass Effect 2, the company announced today. The offer extends to anyone who buys the game and follows a few steps before April 30, 2011 at 11:59 PST, and that includes those who have already bought Dragon Age 2. The steps from BioWare are as follows: Read more »

By almost every measure, Dragon Age 2 is a superior game to the original. It's received a much-needed visual overhaul, the characters are more relatable, the writing is smarter, combat is more finely-tuned, and level progression is clearer. Despite the layers of polish, though, this installment feels like it’s lost some of its predecessor's charm.

The game picks up in the midst of events from the first game, as the protagonist, Hawke, flees with his or her (in my case, her) family from the Blight. They make their way to the northern city of Kirkwall, and Hawke has to start her life anew in an unfamiliar place, running odd jobs for smugglers and mercenaries. Read more »

[Update] An EA representative told Shacknews that the issue has been resolved:

EA strictly enforces the code of conduct at Social.BioWare.com. If a player violates the rules by using profanity, they will be temporarily banned. Unfortunately, there was an error in the system that accidentally suspended a user's entire account. Immediately upon learning of the glitch, EA took steps to restore the user's macro account and apologized for the inconvenience.

BioWare is working on fixes to a few bugs in the console and PC versions of Dragon Age 2, reports Eurogamer. Lead designer Mike Laidlaw detailed the two biggest bugs,which he says the team is "aggressively patching."

The first bug is a compatibility issue with DirectX 11. He suggests that if you're seeing stuttering or slowdown, you should move the renderer down to DirectX 9 until the patch arrives to fix the issue. "We're working with NVIDIA/AMD to make sure patches are coming out, because some of it is actually the driver compatibility," he said. Read more »

PC gamers blessed with a snazzy computer will be pleased to hear that Dragon Age 2 developer has celebrated the RPG's North American launch today by releasing a high-resolution texture pack. You grab the 1GB download from BioWare or here at Shacknews.

"This will add the option to enable higher detail replacements for most textures in game," BioWare said. "A big difference will be noticed on level art especially." It's recommended that you not use the pack unless you have a graphics card with 1024MB of RAM, and "most of the benefits" are said to only be visible in DirectX 11 mode. Read more »

[Updated: 13:56] The PC demo is now out and can be downloaded from FileShack in English, French and German flavours.

[Original] The anticipated demo for Dragon Age 2 has hit Xbox Live Marketplace this morning, exclusively for Gold members, coming in at a whopping 1.98 GB. As previously reported, the demo is due for the PC and PlayStation 3 today as well, so we expect to see them available later. Read more »

Dragon Age 2 already has more than a few pre-release goodies to collect, but BioWare is always happy to add more. The developer announced two new special unlockable items on its official site today, as long as the demo scores enough downloads.

If a million people download the demo across PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 before March 1, two books will be granted in the full game. The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall gives some extra money, and Lothering's Lament gives an XP boost. The site does note that it will be counting EA account log-ins towards the tally, so make sure you log in if you want to contribute to the effort. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter features a pile of new media. Check out new content for Dead Space 2, Dragon Age 2, Total War: Shogun 2, NeoGAF's Dudebro, Elements of War, Okamiden, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Painkiller - Redemption, Shoot Many Robots, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Testament of Sherlock, MLB 11: The Show, Cities in Motion, Realm of the Titans, Rango The Video Game, League of Legends, NASCAR The Game 2011, and Naval War: Arctic Circle. Read more »

Yesterday we learned that the scope of EA's Dragon Age 2 marketing machine has now set its sights on a six-part web series, featuring The Guild creator and star Felicia Day. In a brief teaser trailer, the publishing giant revealed the series, Dragon Age: Redemption, will arrive sometime this summer.

[Update: 13:24] Word came via a press release that the web series will premiere tomorrow, February 16, on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Felicia Day will be on the show to present the first look at the new series.

[Original Story] Felicia Day is now officially a part of the marketing blitz for Dragon Age 2. USA Today reports that Day has written and stars in an upcoming six-episode web series entitled, Dragon Age: Redemption. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter features new media for Dragon Age 2, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Magic: The Gathering - Tactics, Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury, Total War: Shogun 2, Mortal Kombat, Country Dance, World of Tanks, Dirt 3, Fight Night Champion, WWE All Stars, and Infamous 2. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter features media for Dragon Age 2, Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy, E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy, The Next Big Thing, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Karaoke Revolution Glee: Volume 2, Naruto Shippuden: Shinobi Rumble, Rift, Hyperdimension Neptunia, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Samurai Warriors: Chronicles, Overgrowth, and City of Heroes. Read more »

With a Dragon Age 2 demo just around the corner, EA is showing off the different paths of the franchise's new star: Hawke. Though the "champion" featured in the video is male, players have the option to select a female protagonist for the upcoming adventure.

The trailer features a glimpse at the path of a warrior, mage, and rogue. While all three are quite different in battle, all appear to have an unhealthy fondness for rolling around in the blood of his (or her) enemies. Read more »

When word of a previously-unannounced Dragon Age 2 demo was found hidden on BioWare's website earlier this week, the developer dismissed it as "speculation" and insisted the demo was not confirmed. Today, however, is a brand new day and it's been announced, unsurprisingly, that the fantasy RPG sequel will indeed receive a demo.

Read more »