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Sony PlayStation - "Perfect Day"
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Best-Selling PS4, PS3, and PS Vita Games on PSN in July Revealed

Sony has published its list of the best-selling games on the PlayStation Store in July, and surprisingly, The Last of Us Remastered did not come out on top on PlayStation 4.

That distinction goes to the Ultimate Edition of Injustice: Gods Among Us, which might sound odd given it's a game that's been available since last year. But the normally $40 game was on sale during July for just $8.40 if you're a PlayStation Plus member. That deal was enough to push The Last of Us Remastered--which did launch late in the month, on July 29--down to the number two slot during the month. Rogue Legacy, the new cross-buy game that is part of the PlayStation Play promotion, reached number five despite also being released on July 29, and Watch Dogs--May and June's top PS4 game on PSN--fell to number 13.

Minecraft's domination of the PlayStation 3 charts continues; it's been at the top of the list every month since its release in December. Without exact sales numbers, it's hard to know just far out ahead it is, but when it's finally released on PS4 and Vita, it'll be interesting to see if its chart-topping performance continues.

The Vita charts were largely comprised of games that were on sale during the month, like Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate and Injustice once again. But it also included new releases like Child of Light (which had only been available on PC and consoles previously) and Rogue Legacy.

The full lists follow below. Let us know what you picked up during the month and if anything on the lists surprises you in the comments.

PS4:

• Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
• The Last of Us Remastered
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
• Sniper Elite III
• Rogue Legacy
• Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
• Valiant Hearts: The Great War
• EA Sports UFC
• Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
• Outlast
• Octodad: Dadliest Catch
• FIFA 14
• Watch Dogs
• Trials Fusion
• Pure Pool
• Call of Duty: Ghosts
• Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition
• Battlefield 4
• Child of Light
• Thief

PS3:

• Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition
• Worms Revolution
• Double Dragon Neon
• Papo & Yo
• The Cave
• Batman: Arkham Origins
• Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
• Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee HD
• Urban Trial Freestyle
• Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn
• Machinarium
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
• ToeJam & Earl
• Marvel vs. Capcom: Origins
• Malicious
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
• Infamous: Festival of Blood
• LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
• Batman: Arkham Asylum

PS Vita:

• Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
• Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
• Child of Light
• Machinarium
• Urban Trial Freestyle
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
• Rogue Legacy
• Velocity Ultra
• Thomas Was Alone
• Terraria

Sony is giving up on PlayStation Mobile for Android

Sony will no longer support PlayStation Mobile for Android devices, originally part of the company's initiative to support cross-platfform indie releases publishing for both PS Vita and Google's operating system, the company confirmed today.

While the service will continue to exist on PlayStation Certified devices that run Android 4.4.2 and below, Sony will no longer guarantee games will play correctly from Android 4.4.3 and up. Likewise, there are no guarantees that users will be able to access the store on newer Android devices.

Android L, the upcoming release for phones and tablets, won't have access to the store at all. According to Sony, it has no plans to offer PlayStation Certified status on any more devices.

The PlayStation Mobile initiative launched in 2012 with plans to seek out indie developers looking to bring experimental games to mobile certified devices. At the time, PlayStation's Sarah Thomson told us that guidelines for Apple's iTunes Store and Google Play for Android don't necessarily apply to what Sony wanted to do with PlayStation Mobile.

"We're looking for indies who are wanting to bring interesting, unique content to the platform," Thomson says. "There are restrictions with iOS, where the platform is a lot more heavily policed or where it's a little more conservative, or a little edgier, if you're wanting to do something a little more experimental where publishers might not necessarily fund because it's risky, that's the kind of stuff we want to look at.

"That's what really defines a platform, so that's what we're looking for."

Why Nintendo Is Bringing Exclusive Third-Party 3DS Titles to Japan

Last Friday, Nintendo unveiled several exclusive third-party titles for the 3DS at its annual Nintendo Direct conference in Japan.

The new 3DS games include Square Enix's Final Fantasy Explorers and Dragon Quest X,Capcom's Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, and Marvelous AQL's Forbidden Magna. OnlyMonster Hunter 4 Ultimate has a confirmed North American release date, which is surprising considering how well-known the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series are in the United States.

Final Fantasy Explorers. Source: Square Enix.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's 3DS LL remains the most popular console in Japan, coming in first with sales of 21,914 units for the week ending on July 6, according to Media Create. Sony's PS Vita came in second, with sales of 18,438 units, while the Wii U came in third with sales of 10,653 units. Sony's PS4 and PS3 respectively came in fourth and fifth. Of the top 10 Japanese games of the week, three were 3DS titles, but only one title -- Pokemon Art Academy -- has been released in the U.S.

Understanding Nintendo's Japanese marketWhen we analyze Nintendo's Japanese sales alone, the company appears to be an unstoppable beast.

But U.S. and European sales tell a different tale. In North America, Microsoft's Xbox One was the top selling console for the week ending on July 5, according to Vgchartz. In Europe, the 3DS claimed the top spot. But when we compare the weight of the Japanese market on overall sales of Nintendo and Sony's consoles, a clear split between East and West emerges.

Console	3DS	PS Vita	Wii U	PS4
Global weekly sales	126,388	35,497	62,668	98,406
Percentage of sales from Japan	21.6%	59.2%	14.2%	7.7%

Source: Vgchartz, weekly sales data ending on July 5.

Japan is heavily fixated on handheld games, as opposed to mobile games or home console ones. Meanwhile, the strength of the 3DS in Japan means that Nintendo must pump out a steady stream of role playing, monster collecting, and simulation titles designed for Japanese gamers while appeasing international gamers with strong first-party titles like Super Smash Bros.

Why Nintendo needs third-party developersNintendo's answer to this dilemma is to bring in more third-party publishers to develop 3DS titles. But when Nintendo discusses third-party publishers, it focuses on Japanese ones like Square Enix and Capcom, instead of Western ones like Electronic Arts ,Activision Blizzard, and Ubisoft .

Since Nintendo only exports a small percentage of its third-party Japanese titles to North America and Europe, these domestic partnerships don't make much of an impact on overall worldwide sales.

Out of the top 10 best-selling 3DS titles of all time, only one -- Capcom's Monster Hunter 4 -- is a third-party title. We see the same problem with the Wii U -- Ubisoft's ZombiU was the only third-party title among the top 10 best-sellers. By comparison, Sony only published three top 10 titles for the PS4 and three more for the PS Vita.

Therefore, when Nintendo hinted that it would unveil more third-party titles at Nintendo Direct, investors perked up. But the titles that Nintendo unveiled were clearly not aimed at Western audiences, and therefore have limited appeal outside of Japan. Investors and gamers looking for handheld variants of Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed would still be better off with a PS Vita instead.

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation for the PS Vita. Source: Ubisoft.

How Nintendo intends to win back third-party publishersTherefore, Nintendo's strength in Japan is a double-edged sword. Japan's booming gaming market boosts Nintendo's global sales figures, but it also distorts Nintendo's perceptions of the global video game industry.

Last month, Nintendo of America Senior Director of Communication Charlie Scibetta told Ars Technica that by "driving the installed base through first-party software, like Mario Kart 8, likeSuper Smash Bros., then the third-party developers will follow." It's a confident strategy that might work, considering that Mario Kart 8 has already sold 1.9 million units since launching in late May.

Mario Kart 8. Source: Nintendo.

Yet there are two distinct flaws with that idea. First, the 3DS has a huge installed base with 45 million units, but North American publishers have only launched a handful of games -- like EA's FIFA and Madden titles, and Activision's Skylanders -- for the handheld console. Second, the 3DS and Wii U have different control schemes and graphical abilities than standard home consoles or PCs.

Many publishers simply aren't willing to spend extra time making optimized games for the 3DS' 3D screen or the Wii U's GamePad. For example, Square Enix's Dragon Quest X is simply aport of its mobile version, and does not support stereoscopic 3D on the 3DS' top screen.

The Foolish takeawayIn conclusion, Nintendo's heyday during the 8-bit and 16-bit eras was characterized by an abundance of third-party publishers pumping out endless games.

Nintendo still makes amazing first-party titles, but in the long run, it needs more dedicated third-party publishers to level the playing field against Sony and Microsoft. Since Nintendo's third-party support in Japan is much stronger, it should focus on bringing cross-cultural 3DS games like Final Fantasy Explorers to North American gamers as well, instead of viewing both markets separately.

Bungie Says It Loves Xbox and PlayStation Fans Equally

 

Most Bungie fans got to know the developer while it was working for Microsoft on the Halo series, which helped define Xbox in the last two console generations. Some of these fans, which stuck with Microsoft and Xbox One, are upset that Bungie has aligned itself with Sony and the PlayStation 4 for its upcoming sci-fi shooter Destiny. PS4 and PS3 owners already got a chance to play an alpha of the game, the beta will hit PlayStation consoles first, and Destiny will also have PlayStation-exclusive content.

In a recent post to Bungie’s official website, Community Manager David Dague explained that despite its new relationship with Sony, Bungie doesn’t “hate” its Xbox fans, as one fan suggested in a question.

“Loving a good game and the hard-working developers who create it is not a console exclusive,” Dague said. “Bungie has embraced many different platforms in our storied history. We have a hard time sitting still. Our goal has been to create amazing worlds and fill them with as many passionate people as possible. What we would tell you is that, if you want to explore the world of Destiny, it was built with you in mind. We make games here at Bungie. We love the people who play them equally.”

And as Head of Xbox Phil Spencer recently made clear, there’s no bad blood between Microsoft and Bungie.

Destiny launches September 9 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. A beta begins July 17 for PlayStation consoles, before coming to Xbox later in the month.

Best-Selling PS4, PS3, and PS Vita Games on PSN in June Revealed

Sony has rolled out its monthly list of the best-selling games on the PlayStation Store in North America for the month of June, and the top spots on the charts--at least on consoles--look a lot like they did during the previous month.

On PlayStation 4, Watch Dogs remained the best-selling game for the second month in a row. That perhaps shouldn't come as a surprise in light of the lack of major releases in June, as well as the fact that Watch Dogs released in late May. Following it were two of June's new games, EA Sports UFC and Valiant Hearts: The Great War. Transistor, the number two game in May, fell outside of the top 20, while the number three game in May, MLB 14: The Show, fell all the way to number 16. Also of note is standalone DLC Infamous: First Light, preorders for which were strong enough to make it the number 10 game.

The PlayStation 3 list again follows the pattern that has emerged in recent months: Minecraft, and then whatever is on sale. Minecraft has been the top seller on PSN every month since its release on PS3 last December, and in June things were no different. Next up were the gorgeous JRPG Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, both of which were available at $5 at different points during the month.

PlayStation Vita's best-selling games were all titles that were discounted at one time or another in June, including Rainbow Moon, Real Boxing, and Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (which I'm very glad to have bought for a mere $3.25). Borderlands 2, the most high-profile release on the system in some time, was down to number seven after being the number three title in May.

The full list of best-selling games for the North American PlayStation Store follow below. Let us know if anything surprises you, as well as what you picked up during June, in the comments below.

PS4 Games:

1. Watch Dogs
2. EA Sports UFC
3. Valiant Hearts: The Great War
4. Outlast
5. Entwined
6. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
7. Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition
8. FIFA 14
9. Trials Fusion
10. Infamous: First Light
11. Battlefield 4
12. Worms Battlegrounds
13. Child of Light
14. Wolfenstein: The New Order
15. Flower
16. MLB 14: The Show
17. NBA 2K14
18. Octodad: Dadliest Catch
19. Sniper Elite III
20. Infamous Second Son Limited Edition

PS3 Games:

1. Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition
2. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
3. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
4. Watch Dogs
5. Mass Effect Trilogy
6. Twisted Metal
7. Saints Row IV
8. Grand Theft Auto V
9. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
10. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
11. 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
12. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
13. Battlefield 4
14. Dragon Age: Origins
15. Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Duels
16. Shadow of the Colossus
17. Diablo III
18. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
19. Assassin's Creed Liberation HD
20. FIFA 14

PS Vita Games:

1. Rainbow Moon
2. Real Boxing
3. Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
4. Killzone: Mercenary
5. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
6. Luftrausers
7. Borderlands 2
8. Tearaway
9. Monster Monpiece
10. Soul Sacrifice

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