CVG is reporting that sources close to Microsoft are claiming that the new controller for the Xbox 720 will “be a matt-black media hub with a mission to bring games to life in your living room with augmented reality, directional sound, and a four-player, finger-tracking Kinect.”

The sources claim that Microsoft is experimenting with a tablet-like controller that’s more comparable in size to the PlayStation Vita than the Wii U’s current tablet controller. It describes it as being “an HD screen surrounded by the traditional 360 buttons and sticks.”

“That touchcreen will be second only to Kinect in how you operate your console,” the source said. “It could be a remote control when you’re watching TV, a browser when you’re on the internet, extra buttons and information when you’re playing a game or a portable display when you want to take your game with you.”

Such a move would be costly as having a tablet controller is already causing speculation that the Wii U is going to be expensive despite it’s cheap internal hardware. To answer that question, the sources claim that the new Xbox would keep internal hardware costs low by going with a cheap CPU and GPU. If you already want to set aside money for the new Xbox, even though it’s two years out at best, you’ll have to pony up about $600.

The new Xbox rumors just keep pouring in which makes it plausible that an E3 2012 reveal is in the works. We’ll keep you updated on all the rumors that, if true, could make a huge splash at E3 this June.

Kit says:

“It’s absolutely super, I can’t speak highly enough of it. I don’t know what I would do without it, I’ll play it in the evening, then I’ll have a break and a cup of tea, then I’ll go back to playing my Nintendo.

The 100 year-old gamer loves her DS and she owns over a dozen games of which include, Scrabble, Art Academy and Family Fortunes; all to keep her mind sharp.

She says one game in particular, Brain Trainer, scored her at a mental age of 64 years old, which is an incredible 36 years younger than her apparent age. Kit says she has always spends her afternoons and evenings playing games on her Nintendo up until she retires for bed. Ms. Connell recommends that children have a go at the spelling games, she went on to say:

“If children had this at school, it would be wonderful”.

Nintendo during their quarterly report yesterday announced their intention to create the Nintendo Network. IGN reported that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was quick to distance their new online framework from their previous abomination.

“Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers.”

The publisher plans to first introduce personal accounts for the Wii U. This will put their next console in line with the Xbox 360 and PS3 who have allowed the same functionality since launch. Online profiles will no longer tied to your system or individual software. Iwata said that they will be able to construct and offer the personal account system by combining a multitude of different services and content.

In a more interesting direction, Nintendo also announced their plans to offer full titles over the service to both the Wii U and the 3DS. They aren’t saying when this program will start, because the 3DS is currently out and could support such full retail downloads, but they do have the framework in place to deliver such a system. Iwata said that they will have to consider retailer relations before they start offering games over digital channels. SD card limitations are also being taken into account.

The Nintendo Network will also be obviously offering paid downloadable content. The first title to take advantage of this will be Square Enix’ Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, which allows players to purchase new songs. The title launches in Japan on February 16.

“As a software maker, Nintendo believes that its packaged software should be sold to our consumers in a form so that the consumers will know in advance that they can enjoy playing the software they purchased just as it is,” Iwata said. “We believe that our consumers will be able to feel more secure if we offer our add-on content as an additional structure in which those who love the game will be able to enjoy it in a deeper way for a prolonged play time.”

Nintendo ended the online network segment of the report by promising to achieve compatibility for all the games on their platform under their new Nintendo Network.

That is what was hinted at CES this week when Nanea Reeves, CPO of Gaikai, predicted that one of the current console makers would be making a next generation device. Gaikai is a cloud-based gaming company that streams full games to web browsers.

At a panel titled, “The State of the Games Industry” panelists were asked about current and future trends that will affect the games industry. During this panel, Reeves was quoted by Industry Gamers as saying, “I think some will have one more cycle and I think others will not. I think that will be the big news at E3. That’s just my prediction.”

She declined to say which one she thought would drop out, but she remained adamant that one of the three console manufacturers would.

To add fuel to the fire, Mike Vorhaus of Magid Advisors, said that he thinks Nintendo would announce their dropping out of next gen hardware.

The only thing wrong with that is that the Wii U is their next console that debuted last year at E3 and is still being shown at trade events like CES.

The other two, Sony and Microsoft, present other theories. Sony has already confirmed that there won’t be a showing of their next generation of hardware at E3 and Microsoft has said nothing. There have been unconfirmed reports though of the next Xbox being a tablet-based Windows 8 experience.

My personal opinion is that it’s too early to tell. As E3 in June draws closer and more details are revealed, it might be easier to make a conclusion. It could have just been wishful thinking on the part of Reeves as her company is focused on cloud gaming, which is in direct competition with the convenience of physical media-based consoles.

Either way, it’s an interesting way to start the year and to get the speculation rolling. The last major player to drop out of the console race was Sega in 2001. If it were to happen again, it would be the biggest news of the year.

NPD data was released today that cemented Microsoft’s position as the leader of 2011 in video game sales. That $6.7 billion worth of sales equated to Microsoft’s sales accounting for 40 percent of all video game sales in 2011.

The entire industry made between $16.3 and $16.6 billion in 2011. This includes both retail and digital game and hardware sales. The sales are down 2 percent when compared to 2010.

New physical content at retail still accounts for the majority of video game sales. Retail generated about $9.3 billion, an 8 percent decrease from last year.

HD console software sales were up 9 percent in 2011. Used games, full-game digital downloads, downloadable content and mobile gaming app sales were up as well.

“Overall industry results are not entirely surprising given that we are on the back end of the current console lifecycle, combined with the continued digital evolution of gaming. Core gamers continue to be engaged and spend on established franchises across both the digital and physical format using multiple devices for different gaming occasions,” Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group, said.

This ties into December seeing only 6.3 million console sales, down from 8.4 million a year ago. This is the lowest level since 2005 which was at the end of the previous console cycle. These are usually the signs of a new console cycle starting up soon.

December was the main factor that brought the year’s sales down. December is typically a strong month for software and console sales, but the NPD notes that sales were down across most software and hardware that month. In fact, the only two platforms to see an increase in sales in December were the DS and 3DS.

The top 10 best-selling games in December were:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)
4. Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
5. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
6. Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
7. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
8. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
9. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
10. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)

The top 10 best-selling games of 2011 were:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)
4. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
5. Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC)
7. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)
8. Gears of War 3 (360)
9. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
10. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)

The December and annual sales, even though they are down, represent the fact that gaming is a huge industry that continues to strive. With the increase in mobile gaming and the proliferation of digital sales, it can only get better.

Also, with new hardware like the PlayStation Vita and Wii U launching this year, there should be some good news and sales for video games in 2012.

It’s an interesting question that has raised a lot of eyebrows the past few weeks as more and more publishers and developers have risen up in opposition to the dangerous legislation.

The ESA issued a statement to Joystiq on why they support SOPA last week. Here it is in its entirety:

“As an industry of innovators and creators, we understand the importance of both technological innovation and content protection, and do not believe the two are mutually exclusive. Rogue websites — those singularly devoted to profiting from their blatant illegal piracy — restrict demand for legitimate video game products and services, thereby costing jobs. Our industry needs effective remedies to address this specific problem, and we support the House and Senate proposals to achieve this objective. We are mindful of concerns raised about a negative impact on innovation. We look forward to working with the House and Senate, and all interested parties, to find the right balance and define useful remedies to combat willful wrongdoers that do not impede lawful product and business model innovation.”

That last paragraph is especially interesting. They claim that they support the House and Senate so they obviously support SOPA and PIPA but are looking for ways to stop piracy that “do not impede lawful product and business model innovation.”

They could achieve this goal to “not impede” by supporting the OPEN Act, the safer alternative to SOPA. The ESA has not updated their stance, however, so it’s safe to assume that they are still firmly in the pro-SOPA camp.

The problem with developers and publishers is that they are represented by the ESA. This makes all of them supporters of SOPA by association.

Sony, Nintendo and EA, all members of the ESA, listed their support for SOPA. They had removed their support after some anger, mostly at Sony, arose from the depths of the Internet. Of course, when asked by Joystiq, EA said, “EA never expressed a position for or against SOPA.” I think putting the company’s name on the list of SOPA supporters firmly planted them in the for SOPA camp.

Some developers that are represented by the ESA have stood up against SOPA though. The list is still really small unfortunately. The confirmed list is Epic Games, 38 Studios, Mommy’s Best Games, Trion Worlds, Major League Gaming, Riot Games, Nvidia and Red 5 Studios. Out of all those companies, only Epic, 38 Studios, Trion Worlds and Nvidia are members of the ESA. They are a minority where as the other publishers just seem to delegate any concerns over SOPA to the ESA.

Capcom was the first to do this as they said that the ESA represented them in legislative matters. They then doubled back and said that they never claimed to support SOPA and that anybody inferring that from their statement was practicing bad journalism. I hate to break it to you, Capcom, but SOPA is a legislative matter.

Sega was even worse when a fan asked for their position on the matter. Sega sent back a form letter telling the concerned gamer that they need to “hard reset” their device. They apologized later for the answer, but still gave no official stance on the subject.

Once again, this is the main problem. By remaining silent, these publishers are supporting SOPA and the ESA.

That’s where you, the gamer, comes in. Keep pestering these publishers to actually say something about it. The more publishers that come out against SOPA, the more likely that the ESA would drop their support for it. This can’t be done by a few dedicated concerned gamers though. Get your friends, your clans, your guilds and everybody else in on this.

Gamers are a powerful force that have and can achieve a lot. Making publishers and developers formulate an opinion on SOPA independent of the ESA should be a piece of cake. We just need to show them our sheer force and numbers.

The companies that have yet to make a stance are 505 Games, Deep Silver, Disney Interactive, Eidos Interactive, Ignition Entertainment, Konami Digital Entertainment, Level-5, Namco Bandai Games, Natsume, Nexon America, Perfect World Entertainment, Square Enix, Take-Two, Tecmo Koei, THQ, and Ubisoft.

Getting a stance, even a pro-SOPA one, is an important step in this fight. Without knowing, we are left to just assume they are supporting it. Don’t let them delegate this stuff to the ESA. It’s too important to just let them delegate everything to them.

Reddit can do a black-out, every tech company can voice their dissent but gamers are a large force that can make things happen.

Demand action and the ESA will have to notice.

Last month rumors began circulating that Nintendo was preparing its own app store to run on the console, though representatives at CES are apparently keeping quiet on that issue. They are also keeping quiet on pretty much everything else. Questions about the console’s inner workings, pricing, release date, and launch titles have gone unanswered. What is known is that the console has HD video output (something sorely missed in the first Wii console), and that it includes a tablet-like controller with a 6.5-inch touchscreen with motion controls and front- and rear-facing cameras. There are several game demos available to play and/or watch on the floor at CES, including a glimpse at a Legend of Zelda game that has many a fanboy drooling.

The console is due out sometime in 2012, probably around Thanksgiving, if the launch of the Wii is any indication. Meanwhile, check out a video (courtesy of The Verge) of the Wii U in action, then let us know what you think in the comments.

Consoles were the biggest troublemakers overall, accounting for more than 60% of the total questions posted on the website. In fact, of the top 7 problematic products consoles took the first three spots. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the most troublesome console, with 5,000 more questions reported than Sony’s PlayStation 3, which in turn had over 30,000 more complaints than Nintendo’s Wii. The biggest problem for Xbox 360 users was the dreaded Red Ring of Death, which signals massive failure of the console’s hardware (usually due to overheating), and was responsible for 45% of reported issues.

Meanwhile, the iPhone topped the list of troublesome smartphones by a wide margin. There were nearly 100,000 complaints about the iPhone, compared to just shy of 40,000 for the second place Samsung Galaxy S. Forty percent of the iPhone complaints dealt with battery life, while a further 15% were concerned with dropped calls.

Apple fared far better in the tablet department, however. The iPad WiFi was at the bottom of the list of tablets, and had less than a third the complaints of the leader, the Coby Kyros. The iPad also got fewer complants than the Samsung Galaxy and the Amazon Kindle, again by a considerable margin.

Did you have any of these problems over the holiday break? Let us know in the comments.

[Source: FixYa]

That’s exactly what happened to Icon Games, a London-based developer, when they published their sales numbers across the iOS, WiiWare and PSP Minis/PSN platforms. They received a take-down notice from Nintendo for their WiiWare sales figures.

The company outlines several reasons why this is such a damaging policy. Not only do game publishers rely on sales data to determine the release schedule of titles, they also use this data to determine whether or not a title is worth releasing. If an indie developer isn’t allowed to share this information with potential publishers, they lose out on lucrative publishing deals that provide a lot of capital to these developers.

The company also says that this policy effectively bars them from receiving private investments from banks or other financial firms. No bank or investor is going to want to put money into a product that can’t be proven as a success through prior sales data.

The most damaging of all is of course the actual jobs that are at stake. The company makes a point to say that they can’t accurately forecast the future for their company and their employees without this sales data.

This is on top of the long-standing policy of the WiiWare service that games can’t be put on sale or offer promotions to drum up sales for titles on the service.

This isn’t to say that the WiiWare service is evil and needs to go. WiiWare, like the PSN and Steam, offers a great digital delivery service free of the need for developers to go through publishers to get their product to consumers. PSN and Steam, however, let developers who self-publish show their sales data. Why doesn’t Nintendo afford those who develop for their platform that same luxury? What does Nintendo have to hide?

As more services, including gaming, move to digital delivery services, these kind of issues are going to become more important. Nintendo has traditionally been behind every other major publisher when it comes to digital content, but this is an area that they especially need to improve. It’s not just about sales data, Nintendo’s WiiWare and online service as a whole is too restrictive for developers and the gamers who play their games.

UPDATE: In an email to WebProNews, Richard Hill-Whittall, director at Icon Games, had a few things to say on the matter.

We asked if other developers had run into this problem before and Richard said:

“Yes, I have spoken to several other developers since this began and the story is the same for all – they don’t try to release sales figures because they are worried about Nintendo and the NDA. I don’t know of any specific examples of data being released before and Nintendo asking for it to be removed, but then I have never seen any actual sales numbers ever for any of the Nintendo-Ware services.”

We also asked why they think Nintendo doesn’t let indie developers publish sales data when it’s an obvious win-win for both sides:

“Nintendo themselves killed developer interest in WiiWare – making it as hard as possible for developers every step of the way. If they had been reasonable with the way they operated the service, and treated developers as partners rather than a resource I think the WiiWare service would have been a massive success. I read on a forum today something that I thought summed it up well – ‘the thing that’s hurting Nintendo the most is Nintendo’.”

We finally asked if Icon Games had future plans to work with Nintendo or if they were going to start some kind of petition to change Nintendo’s mind on the subject:

“I like the Nintendo brand, and they have produced some amazing systems over the years, but I wouldn’t want to self-publish on a Nintendo platform again unless they modernise the way they work with developers! I am sure they don’t want to work with us now either.

A petition is a great idea actually, I must admit I hadn’t thought beyond the here and now with this. Yeah, I’m up for that – to see what other developers think.”

According to Nintendo, they have sold more than 4 million 3DS units since its launch in early 2011. What’s even more impressive about this feat is how it matches up with Nintendo’s prior hardware successes. The 3DS wins out when you compare its first 9 months with the first 9 months of the insanely popular Wii.

In 2011, Nintendo sold over 4.5 millions Wiis and 3.4 million more of the DS family. This puts the total 2011 hardware sales at over 12 million, a feat that they have accomplished for five straight years.

“One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising.”

The holiday 3DS sales were bolstered by games like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, which became the first two 3DS titles to sell over 1 million units in the U.S.

As far as the Wii goes, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ended up as the 45th Wii game to sell 1 million copies in the U.S.

In 2012, it looks like the PlayStation Vita will attempt to challenge the 3DS for consumers’ dollars. Sony’s new handheld just launched in Japan and is scheduled to debut in the States on February 22nd.

Have you had the chance to try out the Nintendo 3DS? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.