London Games Festival kicked off this week with a plethora of events. Monday saw ‘Be Very Afraid’ taking place in Piccadilly, whilst Cake’s very own Mark Whelan gave a talk at Central St. Martins. Day one of this two week extravaganza culminated in the mind-blowing Video Games Live, music from video games played by the Philharmonia Orchestra which was captured by London Tonight.
London Games Festivals continues until 2nd November
As part of this year’s London Games Festival Londoners will be able to enjoy over fifty diverse and exciting events ranging from public displays to industry conferences and seminars.
Here are some of the best events announced so far:
Video Games Live
www.videogameslive.com
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, SE1 8XX
tube: Embankment / Waterloo
dates: from 5.30pm Mon 22 Oct
Tickets from 0871 663 2500 or (from £19.50 + booking fee)
Video Games Live is a ground-breaking new live performance showcasing the thrilling music of video games, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and choir, and the cutting-edge visuals, interactivity, technology and fun that video games provide. The evening includes performances of some of the greatest game franchises and music, including Mario, Zelda and Halo, through to a special retro classic arcade medley, featuring over 20 games such as Pong, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Tetris.
Dare to be Digital
enquiries@daretobedigital.com
Shop 14, Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, E1 6QL
tube: Old Street
dates: daily 22 – 24 Oct
Exhibition featuring concept art, finished characters, games trailers, playable demos and a documentary film plus some games will be available for free download. Drop in to find out more about how video games are made and details about Dare to be Digital - the UK’s premier video games design competition for university students.
As the face of Nintendo’s Brain Training series in Europe, Nicole Kidman is putting her brains before her famous beauty.
Unveiled on Monday in the first adverts for the series, Nicole has become an instant online hit, with the advert reaching the fourth most viewed spot on Youtube in under a day.
You can view the video here
The latest games console sales figures are in from the US and Japan and Nintendo has not only beaten but totally humiliated the opposition.
In America NPD sales figures for April are lead by Nintendo’s DS handheld with the Wii in second place and even the five year old GameBoy Advance beating one next-gen contender.
DS: 471k
Wii: 360k
PS2: 194k
PSP: 183k
360: 174k
GBA: 84k
PS3: 82k
The situation in Japan is even more favourable for Nintendo. Weekly sales from Media Create show that last week Nintendo DS sold more than every other console combined and the Wii came in second place with more sales than all competitors combined.
DS: 285,192
WII: 101,320
PSP: 35,172
PS2: 14,815
PS3: 12,974
360: 3,205
Last but no means least Europe. New sales figures aren’t available for the territory but with the Wii and DS selling out as fast as they are restocked and retailers estimating Wii is outselling PS3 by at least 2:1 week on week things look good for Nintendo.
Best Dr.Evil voice “Today the games industry tomorrow the world”
