The nominees for the 11th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced, meaning that we now get to see what games the international panel of industry professionals felt are in the running to be acknowledged for the greatest overall achievements over the past year. (via Gamasutra)

The Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, LIMBO, leads the charge with seven nominations, followed closely by Red Dead Redemption (six nominations) and Mass Effect 2 (five nominations). All three front-runners are in the running for GDC's Game of the Year award. Pioneer, Ambassador and Lifetime Achievement Special Awards, as well as the host of this year's awards show, have yet to be revealed. Read more »

Wii Exclusive: Kirby's Epic Yarn

Kirby's Epic Yarn wove itself into gamers' hearts this year with its syrupy-sweet fabric-based visuals and decidedly unpunishing difficulty. Bead-collection, hidden items, and creative level-design help keep more experienced gamers engaged, but young kids and those who don't usually game will also find themselves hard-pressed not to have tons of fun with the little pink hero. Kirby's shape-shifting abilities keep the action fresh, and optional mini-game-based levels do a lot to extend the experience. Read more »

Action: God of War III

Over the past several years, Kratos has cemented himself as one of videogaming's most disgruntled badasses. We all suspected that the final chapter in the furious Spartan's quest for revenge (and Kratos' first original adventure on PS3) would live up to the high expectations set by the first two games. What we didn't expect is how masterfully God of War III would top the size, scope, and beautiful bloodiness of the high-octane combat and fantasy that made the series a favorite in the first place. Read more »

Would you be shocked if you heard that Nintendo reported a loss for the first-half of the fiscal year? I mean, this is the company that consistently charts at the top of NPD's hardware and software (at least first-party) for its widely popular Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. Sadly, for Nintendo, losses were reported.

In its earnings report [PDF] for the first-half of the fiscal year 2011, Nintendo announced net losses of ¥2 billion ($24.6M). The good news is that the loss really has more to do with the appreciating yen rather than assumed sales drops. Read more »

Last month, the Xbox 360 sold more hardware than any other system for the first time since 2007. Microsoft managed to pull it off again posting a second straight month of topping the hardware sales, though overall sales were down month to month. The PlayStation 3 was the only console to show gains versus the prior month, but has still not returned to its June sales of 304.8K units. The Wii posted its lowest hardware sales since launch.

U.S. Hardware Sales - reporting August 1 to August 28, 2010 Read more »

The NPD Group have released sales date for the month of July, revealing the Xbox 360 has taken over the top spot versus all video game platforms. The last time the Xbox 360 led all platforms was in September 2007, following the release of Halo 3.

Although video game retail sales were slightly lower over July 2009, one major standout was StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, which sold 721K units during the month. The release was a major contributing factor to the 103% growth the PC category saw versus last year. (The game does not appear on the NPD list, as NPD only tracks console sales.) Read more »

Nintendo's fiscal year has gotten off to a poor start as the the friendly video games giant reports its sales were down 25% between April 1 and June 30 compared to the same period last year, contributing to a net loss of 25,216 million yen ($290 million US).

While sales of Wii hardware for the quarter rose by 27% to 3.04 million units, software sales fell by 10% to 28 million units. Still, Super Mario Galaxy 2 put in an impressive performance and sold 4.09 million copies. Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort both shifted around 3 milion units, though they are of course often bundled. Read more »

NPD group has revealed the sales data for June 2010 and Red Dead Redemption continues to own the top of the charts. Claiming first on the Xbox 360 for the second month in a row and third on the PS3 (down from second place in May), Rockstar's title continues to dominate critical and commercial reception. Sadly, these figures come a day following word that the San Diego team behind the rebirth of the virtual wild west saw job cuts. Mario's second galaxy hopping adventure pushes into second place, while Toy Story 3 (NDS) and Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 debut and Remedy's Alan Wake (unfortunately) falls from the top ten. On the hardware side, the Xbox 360 (thanks to its new slim model) saw the largest gain of 257.1K units to take second place away from Nintendo's home console.

Top Ten U.S. Console Games - Reporting May 30 to July 3, 2010 Read more »

NPD group has revealed the sales data for May 2010 and, unsurprisingly, Red Dead: Redemption leads the sales posse. Selling a combined 1.5 million units across the Xbox 360 and PS3, each version of Rockstar's open-world western overtook Mario's latest Galaxy adventure, pushing the portly plumber to third.

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With zombie hordes and space marines duking it out for videogame supremacy, Nintendo's iconic plumber comes along with casual ease and delivers a reminder that having fun makes for a great game. Yes, there's a nostalgia factor at work in Super Mario Galaxy 2. At its core, the game retains the basic premise of guiding Mario in his quest to rescue the princess by running and jumping through imaginative worlds, collecting coins, stomping on enemies, and defeating bosses. But like its predecessor on the Wii, it does all of those things in a thoroughly modern way, both in its use of 3D space and ability to create unexpected experiences.

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With Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) due in just a few short days--it hits North America on Sunday, May 23--Nintendo has released one last trailer to help you get ready:

After a long week of pre-E3 game demos 1UP Yours alum John Davison, now executive vice-president of content for GamePro, joins Garnett, Brian, and Jeff for a terrific show. It starts of with two segments of Whatcha Been Playin? packed with Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Split / Second, Madden 11, and more. Plus there's four new Cannata-ford a New Game titles as well. The Warning kicks off with a discussion of John's recent "too long and too hard" editorial on videogames and moves on to cover writing and maturity in games along with whether the killer app for motion control will be a game. The show keeps rocking right through the Front Page with news of a rumor that Sony will introduce a premium online service at E3, Capcom pulling original games back to development in Japan, and more.

Weekend Confirmed Ep. 09 - 05/21/2010 Read more »

Remember Luigi? Mario's taller, goofier and greener brother? Turns out he got tired of always being left behind, so he's decided to go out and look for some Power Stars too.

I don't know about you, but I'm certainly not going to complain. Well, unless I have to keeping bailing him because he got lost and confused. Don't drag me down, bro.

A new Super Mario Galaxy 2 trailer shows the portly plumber donning a cloud suit to spread soft, fluffy sky kittens that'll also help him through the platforming sequel.

Super Mario Galaxy is headed exclusively to Wii on May 23. Pre-ordering from Amazon or Walmart in North America will net you a nifty $20 in credit. Read more »

Just as it did with Halo: Reach (Xbox 360), online retailer Amazon.com has now matched Walmart.com's promotion for Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) by offering those that pre-order the impending platformer "$20 off a future video game purchase."

But, as previously noted, there are some differences between the two offers. Though they sound similar--a $20 e-gift card at Walmart.com versus "$20 off a future video game purchase" at Amazon.com--those that pre-order from Walmart.com get their gift card immediately and can use it on anything sold by the online retailer. Read more »