Teens in Tech Games

According to the NPD Group, Nintendo’s Wii and DS family of systems outsold all other gaming hardware in the United States during the month of April. Even before the announcement of the new Wii hardware package, U.S. sales of the Wii console topped 277,000 for the month. Meanwhile, the Nintendo DS family of hand-held systems sold more than 440,000 units nationwide. Together, Nintendo video game system sales represented 60 percent of all hardware sold in the United States in April.

New additions to the basic Wii package in North America went on sale May 9. In addition to a Wii console, one Wii Remote controller, one Nunchuk controller and a copy of the Wii Sports game, each system now comes bundled with a copy of Wii Sports Resort and a Wii MotionPlus accessory. Consumers can also choose between two hardware color schemes: white or black. The suggested retail price of the system remains unchanged at $199.99.

Six of the top 10 best-selling games of April play on Nintendo systems. These include Pokémon SoulSilver Version at No. 2 with nearly 243,000 sold, New Super Mario Bros. Wii at No. 3 with more than 200,000 sold, Pokémon HeartGold Version at No. 4 with more than 192,000 sold, Wii Sports Resort with Wii MotionPlus at No. 5 with more than 179,000 sold, Just Dance by Ubisoft at No. 8 with more than 144,000 sold and Wii Fit Plus with the Wii Balance Board accessory at No. 10 with more than 130,000 sold.

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that singles from bands including Flyleaf, Busted and Silverchair will be added to the Rock Band Music Store. The songs will be added to the Rock Band Music Store for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.

With more than 400 artists, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, AC/DC and Green Day, as well as more then 1,100 songs available through the music store, 65 million songs sold through the download store alone. Rock Band is claiming to the sales and content leader in the interactive music space, providing the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums.

Busted, one of the new bands featured in the music store, have sold more than 3 million albums worldwide, won two BRIT awards and sold out several arena tours. Songs from the three bands, Flyleaf, Busted and Silverchair, will be added to the Xbox 360 and Wii on April 27, and PlayStation 3 system on April 29.

The songs will be available for purchase as individual tracks on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and as individual tracks only on Wii. Pricing information as follows:

Price: $1.99 USD,£.99 UK,€1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track

$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points) per track