AUGUST US GAME SALES PLUMMET 23%

Sales of video game hardware, software and accessories in the United States continued to slide in August according to new data from NPD Group, again dipping more than 20% compared to the same period last year. Overall industry sales slid 23% to $669.9 million last month from $873.8 million in August 2010. Hardware sales were down 12% from last year to $249.4 million, accessory sales were down just 1% to $134.7 million and software sales plummeted 34% to $264.8 million. ”August 2011 sales saw a decline versus August 2010 in all categories except for portable games hardware,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement. “In software, the bulk of the decline can be attributed to the shift of the annual Madden release from August to September (8/30 release falls within NPD’s September 2011 reporting period).” Frazier continued, “Even though year to date performance of the new physical portion of the industry is down 5%, more than half of industry sales in this channel are still to be realized in the back four months of the year. Given the strong release schedule in the coming months, new physical retail sales could still be flat to slightly up once full year sales are tallied.” Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the best-selling console for the seventh consecutive month in August with 308,000 units sold.

US SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN CALIFORNIA VIOLENT VIDEO GAME LAW

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected a law that would make it illegal for video game stores and publishers to sell or rent violent video games to minors. The law, which was adopted in 2005 and rejected in a 7-2 vote, was deemed unconstitutional and against freedom of speech rights. According to Reuters, a number of big players in the gaming industry opposed the law, including the Entertainment Software Association, whose ranks include Sony, Microsoft, EA, and Disney. “Our cases hold that minors are entitled to a significant degree of First Amendment protection,” Justice Antonin Scalia said. “Government has no free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which they may be exposed.”

VIDEO GAME HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SALES DECLINING

There was a time when you couldn't go three years without having to shell out $300 for the latest and greatest videogame console, something with mind-blowing graphics and slight refreshes of the games you'd already bought twice before. Those days are past, with the Xbox 360 over five years old and the PlayStation 3 four, yet neither having any replacements in the wings. Perhaps this is partly why videogame hardware sales are declining, down eight percent in January compared to this time last year according to NPD. Software sales are meanwhile down five percent

RUMOR: DUKE NUKEM GETS RELEASE DATE

According to sources from Amazon and Game Stop, Duke Nukem Forever (DNF) finally has a release date.  The much anticipated and 12 year delayed game will finally launch on February 1, 2011.  Of course, with all the issues that have surrounded this game, this date may also slip by without any DNF love. [Geek]

5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT MARIO

In honor of Mario's, from the Nintendo hit games, 25th birthday yesterday, we have 5 things you might not have known about him.

1. Mario’s last name is also Mario. He’s Mario Mario, in fact.
2. His first appearance was actually in 1981 in the arcade version of Donkey Kong, where he was known as “Jumpman.” He wouldn’t get his official name until the following year’s Donkey Kong Jr., also the only game where he plays the bad guy.
3. Not only is Mario the best-selling video game character of all time, he’s also its most prolific: according to Guinness World Records’s 2008 edition, he’s appeared in 116 separate games.
4. Mario’s distinctive high-pitched voice is provided by actor Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario’s brother Luigi and his longtime foe Wario.
5. Nintendo released a follow-up to Super Mario Bros. in Japan in 1986, but deemed it too difficult for Western audiences. It wouldn’t hit U.S. shores as a standalone title until 2007, as a Wii Virtual Console title dubbed “Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.” [Yahoo]

APPLE RELAXES iOS DEVELOPMENT RESTRICTIONS

When Apple announced iOS early this year, they also changed the terms for developers.  Developers had to use specific compilers, etc.  Now, Apple has loosened some of those restrictions allowing developers to use a wide range of third party tools.  Many suspect this change was made for game developers who use ported engines like Unreal and interpreters like Lua.  The upside is that developers can also now use Adobe Flash CS5.

Apple is also finally publishing it's App Store Review Guidelines, which will give developers a better idea of their apps will be analyzed by Apple, before they submit them for review. [Engadget]

LEAKED: DUKE NUKEM BACK FROM THE DEAD

The original Duke Nukem 3D was released in 1996 and changed gaming forever.  Now, more than 14 years later we are still waiting for the promised sequel.  The original creators of the title, Apogee (now 3D  Realms) have let the rights to Duke Nukem franchise go to Take Two publishers.

2K, creators of BioShock, will be announcing at PAX that they will be moving forward and producing the much anticpated Duke Nukem Forever, as the photo below will show.  The photo is of the booth panels for Duke Nukem Forever.

No word on release date yet, but hopefully it will be revealed at PAX.

UPDATE: It is Gearbox Software, creators of Borderlands, who will be finishing the game.  2K will be distributing.