202w ago - Nintendo released a Wii Firmware update, version 4.1 today in Japan.

A bug fix to Wii Sports Resort, in which after playing a WiiWare/VC game off the SD card, and then playing Wii Sports Resort afterward, you would be forced to watch the how-to Wii Motion Plus video that normally plays only once on the initial play of Wii Sports Resort.

The usual warnings apply, updating is not recommended until more information is known about its effects on homebrew.

Bannerbomb is still working! You may check updates via Wiimposter Logs.

Version 4.1 of the System Menu was built on June 24th, 2009 and released on July 3rd, 2009.

203w ago - As part of an absolutely massive 210-page report from Wedbush Morgan Securities on the future of the video game industry, analyst Michael Pachter has predicted that Japan will be the Achilles heel for Microsoft, enabling Sony's PS3 to overtake Xbox 360 on the global market.

Wii, however, will maintain its leadership role until the end (with a little help from a new "Wii HD").

To quote: "We expect the dominant console at the end of the this cycle to be the Wii, as we think that the console's low price point, innovative control mechanism, and compatibility with standard definition televisions will provide it with a competitive advantage over the next two years.

We expect Nintendo to sustain this competitive advantage by introducing a high definition version of the Wii, perhaps as early as the end of 2010, in order to convert its large installed base into true 'next generation' households," Pachter said.

"We think that the PS3 will capture significant market share, primarily due to Sony's victory in the high definition DVD format war, and will end up in second place by 2015.

Although Microsoft's Xbox 360 enjoyed a first mover advantage, we think that its market position will fade to third place due to lack of penetration in Japan."

205w ago - In the West, Final Fantasy XIII is a multi-platform titles, announced for the PS3 and the Xbox 360. In Japan, it is not. Something that makes this Xbox Japan Web site image perplexing.

This image appeared ever so briefly earlier today, before it was taken down. It's a Japanese Final Fantasy XIII page for the Xbox 360 -- which has not been announced for the region where it's apparently a Sony exclusive.

Square Enix and Sony have been cross prompting PS3-only-in-Japan FFXIII with the game's demo appearing on the Blu-ray version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete.

To quote: Try loading the page's URL now, and you'll turn up empty-handed. According to Microsoft, this was all a mistake, and the Western Final Fantasy XIII page inadvertently ended up on the Japanese site.

Xbox Japan PR told Kotaku, "The FFXIII page you pointed out was actually accidentally uploaded onto the Japanese Web site during Web management operations and has now been taken down. There is no change to what has already been announced that this title will be released in North America and Europe."

For the sake of comparison, here is the Xbox...

206w ago - Japanese gamers will soon be able to buy a black Nintendo Wii and red DSi console.

Nintendo has announced it will release the long-rumored black Wii console on August 1st in Japan (the same day as the Monster Hunter 3 release).

It was also announced the red DSi will be available on July 11th.

No information has been given about a Western release of these new colors yet.

212w ago - Sony must be pretty pleased with its performance on its home market and thinking about how it could replicate it all over the world.

The PlayStation 3 has become the best selling gaming platform in Japan, probably because of the release of the Blu-ray version of the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie, which is packed with a demo version of the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII.

The PlayStation 3 has seen an increase of 42,000 units in sales, to reach 62,527, a number normally reserved for the Nintendo DS or for the PlayStation Portable. The Advent Children Blu-ray movie sold more than 270,000 units in its first week on shelves, which is extremely impressive compared with the best sold videogame of the week, which only moved 142,000 units.

The Nintendo DS is in second place, selling 44,725 units as the phasing out of the DS Lite, which is being replaced by the DSi, continues. The PlayStation Portable saw a dip in sales of less than 1,000 units, reaching just over 40,000 to stay in third place.

Worryingly for Nintendo, the Wii is also continuing its descending trend, with the home console only selling around 13,000 units, which is about 2,000 down from last week. It's now in fourth place, just ahead of the Xbox 360, which sold 8,652 units in one week. There are over 8 million Wiis...