That big red slice in the Japanese hardware pie represents the 237,000-plus PS3s snapped up by gamers hungry for some Final Fantasy. And that similarly impressive slice of blue? That's the Wii, which managed to move over 190,000 units last week, according to Media Create.

Those big Wii sales—combined with similarly solid DS sales—gives Nintendo the dominant share of the pie this week, somewhat unexpected given Sony's install base spike with the PS3. Full numbers for all nine systems are after this.

• PlayStation 3 - 237,086
• Wii - 191,915
• Nintendo DSi - 95,227
• PSP - 79,194
• Nintendo DSi LL - 75,241
• Nintendo DS Lite - 12,879
• Xbox 360 - 8,965
• PSPgo - 3,260
• PlayStation 2 - 2,982

Enterbrain puts Final Fantasy XIII sales at over 1.5 million over the course of the game's first four days on Japanese store shelves, selling through a major portion of the reported 1.8 million copies shipped. About 1.1 million of those are apparently from day one sales.

The boon to the PlayStation 3? Some 240,000 plus consoles sold in one week, including that fancy Lightning Edition PS3 released alongside the exclusive-in-Japan role-playing game. That's a considerable spike, as the previous week's figures, according to sales tracker Media Create, shows some 75,000 PlayStation 3s sold in Japan the week before FF13 hit.

ファイナルファンタジー13、発売初週で実売150万本　PS3本体も週間24万台販売＝PS3歴代1位 [Yahoo! JP]

Anticipation for Final Fantasy XIII also means a big boost for the PlayStation 3, which moved an impressive 75,000 units in Japan this past week, a number we expect to see dwarfed next week when hardware numbers arrive.

Sales were up across the board with one exception, the PSPgo. And while the DSi shows strong, the Nintendo DSi LL isn't quite matching sales of its DS siblings. Sales were up over the week prior, but not in line with other variations on Nintendo's dual screen platform.

I mean, look at these numbers and tell me what you see.

• Wii - 135,898
• PlayStation 3 - 75,086
• PSP - 71,885
• Nintendo DSi - 68,184
• Nintendo DSi LL - 58,006
• Nintendo DS Lite - 11,376
• Xbox 360 - 10,646
• PSPgo - 3,077
• PlayStation 2 - 2,463

That's a total of 436,621 hardware units sold in Japan, according to Media Create, compared to 357,013 consoles and handhelds sold the week prior.

Japanese Wii sales more than doubled on the release—and massive sales—of the new four-player Mario game, putting Nintendo's console well ahead of its closest competitor, the PSP. Sony's portable platform saw a solid boost from the release of Phantasy Star Portable 2 and Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus.

Sony's other lead platform, the PlayStation 3, saw a nice uptick in sales too. Perhaps for Assassin's Creed II, perhaps just due to seasonal spending, but enough to give it a third place showing.

With those three consoles at the top, that means previous hardware chart topper, the Nintendo DSi LL, had to settle for fourth, just ahead of the regular-sized DSi.

Here's how sales tracker Media Create saw the Japanese hardware contest shake down last week.

• Wii - 106,555
• PSP - 67,880
• PlayStation 3 - 57,782
• Nintendo DSi LL - 53,791
• Nintendo DSi - 51,635
• Nintendo DS Lite - 8,367
• Xbox 360 - 5,314
• PSPgo - 3,412
• PS2 - 2,277

It would appear that Modern Warfare 2's big software sales numbers on the Xbox 360 had a nice effect on Microsoft's showing last month. After being outsold by the cheaper, slimmer PlayStation 3 in September and October, the 360 outsold its high-def competition by more than 100,000 units.

The PSP and PlayStation 2 round out the bottom half of the list, with nearly a half-million units sold between the two platforms. November's 200,000-plus sales for the PS2 represent its 109th month on the NPD charts.

Here's how the NPD Group saw November's U.S. hardware contest shaking down.

• Nintendo DS - 1,700,000
• Wii - 1,260,000
• Xbox 360 - 819,500
• PlayStation 3 - 710,400
• PSP - 293,900
• PlayStation 2 - 203,100

Total hardware sales were $1.05 billion. That's a 13.4% drop from November of 2008, when all three consoles were considerably more expensive.

Here's NPD Group Anita Frazier with some silver lining.

"While there has been a lot of focus on Wii sales as compared to last year, the system was still the best-selling console system by a margin of 54%," Frazier notes. "At this same point in the PS2 lifecycle, the PS2 was down in unit sales by 23% over the previous year, but as history has shown, it continues to have a great deal of life left in it. So focusing on a comparison to Wii's stellar 2008 performance masks the reality of just how well this system is selling."

"The PS3 realized the greatest increase over last year's November sales and had its third best month in unit sales ever, coming in just under Decembers '07 and '08."

While the PSP continues to sell well in Japan—another 38,000 handhelds sold—the PSPgo managed to move less than 4,000 units in the past week, according to sales tracker Media Create. That puts it in Xbox 360 territory, perhaps an indicator of Japanese consumer hardware acceptance for the download-only device.

Sony's PlayStation 3, on the other hand, continues to move at a good clip, with hardware sales way up from the week prior. It managed to be outsold by the Wii this week, but by a mere 115 units. Media Create's numbers are after this.

• Nintendo DSi LL - 67,243
• Wii - 46,673
• PlayStation 3 - 46,558
• PSP - 38,839
• Nintendo DSi - 37,021
• Nintendo DS Lite - 7,268
• PSPgo - 3,809
• Xbox 360 - 3,685
• PlayStation 2 - 2,057

NVIDIA's 3D Vision Glasses use today's advanced technology to deliver two different images to your two different eyes, creating the illusion of depth. How this works is rather simple. The monitor runs at 120 Hz, delivering two sets of images at 60 Hz each. The glasses contain an extremely precise shutter that alternates the images your eyes see. It's like old red and blue 3D, which uses color filters to achieve the same effect, only much more technical and much more expensive to pull off. Using this stereoscopic method, the glasses deliver a 3D effect to a large selection of PC, without the games needing to be designed with 3D in mind.

The 3D Vision Glasses kit comes with a pair of glasses which can be charged via USB to provide up to 40 hours of playtime, and an infrared receiver that communicates between your PC and your eyewear, telling the shutters in each lens when to open and close.

Hardcore PC gamers enjoy being on the cutting edge of technology, but with some rather steep hardware requirements, are the 3D Vision Glasses cutting too deep?

Loved
Almost Like Being There: The differences between running your average game normally and with the 3D Vision glasses on is night and day. Describing it to someone who hasn't seen it before is difficult. A certain sense of depth is added to the monitor, creating the illusion that you could look behind objects in the game simply by turning your head. Rather than being pasted over your game, HUD objects seem as if they are floating in front of your face as part of an actual heads-up display. In a game like World of Warcraft, ground cover looks like it is really jutting out of the ground.

I could go on for paragraphs giving examples that won't mean anything to someone who hasn't experienced the technology. Perhaps the best reference I can give is a Viewmaster. You know how the Viewmaster toy made flat animation cells look as if they were layered? That's exactly what NVIDIA's 3D Vision does to your computer screen.

The effect takes a certain amount of getting used to, and you'll find yourself adjusting the depth slider on the base frequently as your eyes adjust to seeing in stereoscopic 3D, but once you find your sweet spot it can greatly enhance your gameplay experience.

A Good Fit: My first thought when I found out I would be reviewing a pair of 3D glasses was, "What about my own glasses?" I'm blind without my specs, so I was afraid that the 3D Vision glasses would be next to useless on my giant, bespectacled head. In my instance at least, this wasn't the case. The glasses fit somewhat comfortably over my glasses, and NVIDIA provided extra rubber bridges to accommodate all sizes of noses. Sure, I look completely ridiculous, but that's why I game inside with the curtains drawn.

Strong Support: NVIDIA's official compatibility list contains more than 300 games tested and approved for use with the 3D Vision technology, and I sampled about a half-dozen or so from the various categories of support - excellent, good, and fair. Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty: World at War, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Resident Evil 5 all performed without a hitch, and the experience was relatively smooth with each game I played. I even played a few that weren't on the list with varying degrees of success. Aion, for instance, looked amazing, but had a tendency to crash when running in 3D. Still, you always have the option to turn 3D off, and NVIDIA is constantly updating the drivers.

Hated
The Price: Viewing your games in stereoscopic 3D isn't cheap. The base NVIDIA Geforce 3D Vision kit, which comes with the glasses themselves, the IR receiver, and cords needed to connect it to your PC or HDTV, runs $199. Not much considering how much a hardcore PC gamer can spend on their rig, but then you have to take into account your video card, which has to be a higher-end NVIDIA card, adding at least another $100 to the mix. Then you're going to need a monitor or HDTV capable of running at 120 Hz, and that can get pretty expensive. NVIDIA sells a bundle that comes with a 22 inch Samsung monitor for $598. Whether or not seeing games in 3D is worth that much is completely up to you.

Headaches: After about an hour of using the 3D Vision glasses my head starts to throb, and after two hours it starts to pound. This could just be how my eyes react to seeing this way - I do have a rather severe astigmatism in one eye - but it is enough of a problem that NVIDIA addresses it in the FAQ for the product. Adjusting the depth as suggested on NVIDIA's site helped somewhat, but I'm still wary of using the glasses for extended play.

While the NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Glasses will certainly have a profound effect on how you view your PC games, they won't really affect how you play your games. Seeing other players popping off the screen in Call of Duty didn't stop them from killing me where I stood again and again. They simply looked better doing it. With benefits that are strictly aesthetic and a rather exorbitant price when you take hardware requirements into consideration, the 3D Vision glasses are purely luxury objects.

With that in mind, are they luxury objects we'd recommend? If you've got the spare money floating around and are looking for a PC gaming experience like no other then by all means, pick up a pair, but I'd suggest giving the 3D Vision glasses a lengthy test run before you invest, lest you wind up with some very expensive headaches.

The NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Glasses were developed and released by NVIDIA. Basic Kit retails for $199.99. A kit with Samsung monitor was supplied by the manufacturer for reviewing purposes. Used glasses while playing Call of Duty: World at War, Left 4 Dead, World of Warcraft, Aion, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Resident Evil 5, and various other supported PC games for varying periods of time.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Greenberg didn't put a specific figure to the console's sales from the Thanksgiving/Black Friday week as Nintendo did earlier today. But the increasingly svelte Xbox 360 spokesman did write that last week's numbers were "more than [two times the] previous week sales."

We'll see if Microsoft can top 2008, when the Xbox 360 maker claimed it outsold its PlayStation 3 competition three-to-one.

That 1.5 million breaks down to more than 550,000 Wii consoles and more than 1 million Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi portables, according to Nintendo's internal estimates. In terms of frequency, that's over 150 Nintendo hardware units sold every minute, more than 2.5 smiles put on faces every second.

Yes, those are impressive numbers. But one of those numbers was more impressive last year, when Nintendo says it sold more than 800,000 Wiis during the same time period.

In 2007, Nintendo sold a comparitively meager 350,000 Wiis during the Thanksgiving spending spree. That year, Nintendo boasted that Nintendo DS sales topped 600,000 during the same week long period, a number that jumped 20% the following year, nothing that compares to the new 1 million unit sold record held by combined DS and DSi sales.

Since Nintendo sold 506,900 Wii consoles and 457,600 Nintendo DSs during the full month of October, we'll bet the company will have something to brag about when November's tally rolls around. While we suspect it won't shatter November 2008's amazing, "historic" records,, we wouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo branded things topping the charts.

After giving up pie chart real estate to Sony for the past few weeks, the ninth hardware platform on the Media Create weekly sales chart pushes Nintendo back into the leadership position in a major way. The DSi LL's closest competitor was the PlayStation 3, which commands a second place spot this week, outselling—but not by a whole lot—the Wii, PSP and regular sized Nintendo DSi. It's a fairly close race for second these days, with four platforms running neck and neck on the hardware sales front.

Not much of a competitor this week is the PSPgo, which settles for a spot between the DS Lite and Xbox 360.

The full list of hardware numbers is after this, along with a less colorful chart that may paint a better picture of how the general platform content is working out.

• Nintendo DSi LL - 100,553
• PlayStation 3 - 34,752
• Wii - 32,844
• PSP - 32,752
• Nintendo DSi - 32,070
• Nintendo DS Lite - 5,051
• PSP go - 4,574
• Xbox 360 - 4,085
• PlayStation 2 - 2,024

Take for instance, The Cradle, a dock used to both charge your PSPgo and hold the portable while it is connected to your computer or television. How can you go wrong with something like that? Right? Right?

Loved
Design: The cradle for the PSPgo is a neat little bit of accessory that not only can be used to quickly and easily charge your PSPgo, but also lets you sync with your computer or connect to your television. When freed of any case, the PSPgo pops straight onto the cradle effortlessly. When not in use, the stand has a pretty low-profile, small footprint.

PSP AC Adaptor Support: Unlike just about everything else to do with the PSPgo, the cradle actually lets you use the AC adaptor that came with the PSP 1000, 2000 or 3000 to charge your PSPgo. Not a big deal if you never owned one of these, but pretty nice if you did.

Hated
No Included Cables: While there's a lot you can do with your Cradle, from synching to charging, all of them require you to already own or go out and purchase cables. That's a little annoying. It would have been nice if the thing came with a spare power cable that you could leave at home and connected to the cradle. I'd also love to see a, perhaps more expensive, version that comes with the AV cables you use to connect the cradle and PSPgo to your television.

I'm a big fan of charging stands for my electronics. I don't like screwing around with cables. I prefer to slap the device into something that holds it and go about my business. The cradle's design is exceptional in this case, but only if you don't have anything attached to your PSPgo. I tried using the cradle with the faux-leather go case, which is fairly skin tight, and it was a no go. That's a pretty big disappointment for me. If Sony can't plan ahead on their own accessories and ensure they will work together, can we expect outside companies too?

Ringing in at $30 or so, the cradle is probably a worthwhile investment for those of you who like charging stands and those who plan on using the PSPgo connected to your TV a lot.

The Cradle was developed by Playstation for the PSPgo. Retails for $29.99 USD. A unit was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Used the cradle over the course of a month or so.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

The A40 Audio System is comprised of Astro's A40 Headset and A40 MixAmp. Released last year, it's a petite but powerful package that supports gaming on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, offering 5.1 Dolby Surround and combined voice audio. But you certainly don't need to be a "professional" to partake in the sweet sounds of the A40.

Here's what we thought of our month-long ears on time with Astro's audio system.

Loved
The Headphones: These things sound glorious. It wasn't until I was forced to take them off so that other people in the room could participate in the listening experience via my antiquated receiver and surround sound set up that I realized how meaty the A40 Audio System was. The A40 headphones deliver sharp, crisp and powerful audio, which I credit with helping to improve my performance in some recent Left 4 Dead 2 and Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer gaming. And while aural advantage is great, it was while playing Dead Space with these things on that really sold me.

The Mixamp: The compact, densely constructed A40 MixAmp packs plenty of connections and power into a tiny package. It's simply and beautifully designed, with one large dial for controlling volume, a smaller dial for controlling the mix of game audio and voice chat audio. Popping cables in and out and storing the MixAmp out of site makes the wee amplifier an easily portable option.

USB Powered: I like things that are USB powered, as each of my currently hooked up consoles and the PC on which I play games come equipped with USB ports. The device can also be powered by a quartet of AA batteries, an option I haven't found a need for yet.

Comfortable, But Hefty: I'm not used to wearing headphones, so my initial experience wearing the A40 headset was not an altogether comfortable one. But my head adjusted, eventually feeling comfortable with the light pressure the A40 put on my skull. It's a solid set of headphones—324 grams/11.4 ounces—so some adjustment doesn't seem out of the ordinary, but at this point, I use these things for nearly every solo gaming session.

Hookups Aplenty: Astro doesn't skimp on the cables, including just about everything you'd need in the package from a connection standpoint, way more than I needed for my own personal use.

Hated
Boy, That's Kind Of Expensive: Purchased together, the A40 Audio System, will set you back $249.99. And that's not cheap. The package is much more expensive if the headset and MixAmp are purchased separately, so don't do that. But they're a great, well-built option for late night gaming or for those who move their gaming sessions around the house.

One Cord Too Short: The one cable that's lacking is the Xbox 360 controller communicator cable, which plugs into the MixAmp and at the bottom of the pad. My own set up has just a little too much distance from couch to console and your mileage may vary. But the shorter cable, much shorter than the headphone cable, means I'm forced to play leaning forward. And to suffer this minor discomfort is the kind of thing wimps like me prefer to nitpick.

At $249, the A40 is an investment, pricier than some of the consoles, but also a sound one. I've mostly made the switch from my home audio set up to the A40, and not just because the other residents in my household have become annoyed with the constant din of zombies, terrorists and space aliens being aerated and liquefied by heavy gunfire. It's not without its shortcomings, but the warm, powerful audio experience more than makes up for the minor inconveniences it's saddled with.

Would we suggest that everyone go out and grab an A40 and make it their primary audio option? Absolutely not. If you're already good on sound, more power to you. But if you're in the market for a new audio option, either out of consideration for your housemates or for a better headset/mic combo, give the A40 an earful.

The A40 Audio System was developed and release by Astro Gaming. Retails for $249.99 USD. A unit was provided at a video game review event. Played through through portions of Modern Warfare 2 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Left 4 Dead 2 on the Xbox 360 and Dead Space on the Xbox 360 with the full A40 Audio System. Played through portions of Batman: Arkham Asylum on the PlayStation 3 using a dedicated receiver and A40 Headset.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Scratch that. There was a slight change. PSP sales jumped up, PlayStation 3 sales dropped down and the two platforms switched positions from the week prior.

With PSP games and PS3 games selling well, sometimes better than their Nintendo DS and Wii rivals, it's not much of a surprise to see Sony's current generation platforms reaping the benefits of a larger install base. With Final Fantasy XIII due to hit the PS3 in Japan in less than a month, expect those increases to continue.

This is Japan's bestselling hardware for the week of November 9 to 15, courtesy of Media Create.

• PSP - 38,770
• PlayStation 3 - 38,498
• Nintendo DSi - 33,749
• Wii - 26,764
• PSP go - 6,427
• Nintendo DS Lite - 5,036
• Xbox 360 - 4,124
• PlayStation 2 - 2,031

The news supports previous reports on Sony's 3D PlayStation 3 strategy, suggesting that a firmware upgrade would introduce the capability to existing consoles. Not only does Sony plan on upgrading the console to support 3D, but release games in 3D as well in order to take advantage of the enhanced capabilities.

Of course, 3D games and 3D televisions would go hand-in-hand, so adding the capability to the PlayStation 3 would definitely help drive at least a few television sales.

Would you purchase a new television to support 3D gaming, or is Sony seeing things?

And doing so by a relatively wide margin, as the PS3 outsold the Nintendo DSi by more than 10,000 units, the console's closest competitor. Less exciting for Sony executives is the PSPgo's second week sales, mustering up just shy of 14,000.

The full Japanese hardware sales rundown, courtesy of Media Create is after this.

• PlayStation 3 - 48,925
• Nintendo DSi - 37,421
• PSP - 33,784
• Wii - 31,810
• PSP go - 13,992
• Nintendo DS Lite - 5,515
• Xbox 360 - 4,679
• PlayStation 2 - 2,066

Is it worth buying a piece of plastic to slap onto your controller? Let's see.

Loved
Fanboy Look: If you're a big fan of Modern Warfare 2 and want everyone to know it, this is a great wait to do that. The vinyl faceplate snaps tightly onto the controller leaving very little to tell it's an aftermarket add-on.

Feel: Once locked in place, the faceplate doesn't really change the feel of the controller at all. And that's a good thing. The only seam you'll notice lines up with where the controller halves are screwed together, so it even looks like your controller came splashed with Modern Warfare 2 art.

Hated
Flimsy Alone: If you plan on not leaving this faceplate on all of the time you'd better be careful where you store it. The thin vinyl feels like it could snap if bent, sat or stepped on.

I'm not a big fan of customizing my gaming equipment to advertise a particular title, but if I were this $15 faceplate seems like a pretty good option.

Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller Camo Faceplate was developed and produced by Mad Catz for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on Nov. 10. Retails for $14.99 USD. A camo Playstation 3 faceplate was given to us by Mad Catz for reviewing purposes. Played several games for several hours with the faceplate snapped onto a controller.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

The Wii moved more than a half-million units to consumers in the United States last month, according to the NPD Group. That's up from the 462,800 it moved in September and more than enough to best its closest competitor, the Nintendo DS.

Sony's September to October performance was less fortunate, dropping from 491,800 to 320,600. On the Microsoft side, things were less worse, with Xbox 360 sales dipping from 352,600 in September to 249,700 in October. Without the sales boosting power of Halo 3: ODST, that puts Microsoft in fourth place in last month's ranking.

Here's how October treated console makers Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, according to NPD, whose reporting period ran from 10/4 to 10/31, a four week span compared to September's five week span.

• Wii - 506,900
• Nintendo DS - 457,600
• PlayStation 3 - 320,600
• Xbox 360 - 249,700
• PSP - 174,600
• PlayStation 2 - 117,800

U.S. consumers spent $380.74 million on video game hardware last month, down 23% from October 2008. While that's not good—not good at all—there is a faint silver lining, according to NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier.

"The video games industry suffered another decline this month as compared to last October," Frazier points out, adding "This is the third best October on record, behind October 2007 and October 2008."

Frazier points to the Wii and Xbox 360 as "decreasing the most compared to October 2008."

And, putting reporting period windows into perspective, Frazier outlines the positives from October.

"Compared to last month, which was a five-week month as compared to four weeks this month, Wii, PSP and NDS sales increased on an average sales per week basis, while the PS3 and Xbox 360 declined," she says.

"On a year-to-date basis, only the Xbox 360 and the NDS have realized unit sales increases over the same time frame last year," Frazier said, find a bit more silver. "While overall portable hardware unit sales are down, dollar sales are up thanks to an increase in the average selling price of portable hardware generated by the higher price points of the new portable systems and bundles."

Thanks to the NPD Group for this month's info.

Sure I looked uncomfortable using my Ki to move stuff around in a game, but it was... neatish. But is it $300 neatish?

Emotiv Systems is rolling out a limited edition version of their Epoc PC controller, which uses sensors to "tune into electronic signals produced by the brain", on Dec. 21 for $299. The fact that it's a limited roll-out and that there's no mention of the games designed specifically for the device gives me major pause.

If you're interested in this tech, I'd say hold off until other early adopters have worked out the kinks for you. And if you must, must, must have this now, go watch the video of me trying it before you buy.

Epoc [Emotiv]

Media Create's tally of PSPgo sales in Japan was 29,109—about what we were expecting—good enough for a fourth place showing. Enough to just barely outsell the Wii this past week but a contribution that puts the PlayStation family in charge of more than half of the week's total hardware sales. And look! It's brought a little purple to the pie chart. Welcome, purple.

PlayStation 3 sales were up considerably from the week prior, probably thanks to the release of Bayonetta in Japan, with the Wii and Xbox 360 seeing smaller percentage gains. Numbers in list form, right after this.

The bestselling console hardware in Japan for the week of October 26 to November 1 is....

• Nintendo DSi - 37,517
• PlayStation 3 - 36,061
• PSP - 34,911
• PSP go - 29,109
• Wii - 28,888
• Nintendo DS Lite - 6,902
• Xbox 360 - 6,047
• PlayStation 2 - 1,966

Numbers courtesy of Media Create.

That sales data doesn't tell us too much about the PSPgo's reception in Japan, considering Enterbrain only tracked one day, November 1—the platform's launch day—as part of its weekly sales monitoring window. As for how that compares to weekly figures, the most recent data we have is from sales tracker Media Create, which put non-go PSP sales at 32,865 for the week of October 19 to 25.

We'll have to see how the rest of the week shakes down, but won't have that info for a while, since Media Create's window tracks the same period

Enterbrain did note that the PSP had sold 12,797,180 units in Japan since the console's launch in December of 2004.

速報！ PSP go発売初日は28275台のセールス−−エンターブレイン調べ [Famitsu]