Is the video game industry recession proof?

At a time when retailers are struggling to sell merchandise leading up to Christmas less than one month away, video game makers have seen great success selling game consoles and video games.

Recently, October video game sales were up 18 percent -- up to $1.31 billion from $1.12 billion -- from the same time last year. Fable II led the way in October with 790,000 units sold throughout the month.

The Nintendo Wii continued its domination of the console market, with the Japanese company selling more than 13 million consoles since its launch in 2006. Microsoft has sold 12.1 million Xbox 360 units and Sony has sold just 5.1 million PlayStation 3 game consoles since launch.

Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 have had price cuts to help lure in new gamers, while the Wii is still being sold for $249. Even with its Blu-ray capabilities, the Wii and Xbox 360 are expected to be the top selling consoles -- the Xbox 360 will get a strong boost due to the recent release of the New Xbox Experience (NXE), which includes streaming Netflix.

In addition to October video game sales, the latest World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, sold 2.8 million units in one day, which became the all-time one-day PC game sales leader.

Why all of the success for the video game industry?

"There are a couple of reasons," Hollywood Interactive Group director Ron Meiners told CNET. "One is the traditional value of entertainment during tough economic times. Like the great fantastic musicals in the 30s. Movies did great, because they took people's mind off of the troubles they were facing. (And) video games have great value as entertainment. The number of hours of solid entertainment that comes from a video game purchase is much greater than a movie, for example, for very comparable cost."Video games today offer gamers a level of interactivity and engagement that simply wasn't possible 10 years ago, which is important for game sales. If the economy continues to slide down hill, and Americans continue to be more careful with their money, it's likely video games and movies will be a good alternative to keep them distracted.

Although Blu-ray, HDTVs, and other consumer products have the necessary products and price cuts in place, the video game industry has the products but doesn't necessarily need to slash prices.

Nintendo introduced two limited edition Nintendo DS bundles for the holiday shopping season: Mario Red Nintendo DS and Ice Blue Nintendo DS. Japanese consumers now can get their hands on the Nintendo DSi, a next generation DS.

Sony also released its PSP 3000, a next-generation PSP aimed at competing with the newer DS game consoles.

Although other industries are expected to struggle, it's certainly a great time to be a gamer.

The Nintendo DSi is the answer to the PSP-3000, the new hardware variant from Sony, and Nintendo is aiming to get the fresh handheld as quickly as possible to the West. The new hardware
specifications include not one but two cameras, both with 0.3 megapixel capacities and a larger screen; the whole device is smaller and lighter. Another change is that the old Game Boy Advance port was dropped to be replaced by an SD card slot. The DSi will also be able to get online and download music and videogames.

Satoru Iwata, the president and the Chief Executive Officer of Nintendo, said that the Nintendo DSi is supposed to arrive in the West before the autumn of next year, which means that the console will be a Japan exclusive for about one year, as the official release is scheduled for this November.

For the Japan release, Nintendo has prepared 200,000 units of the DSi and 100,000 more will be made available if stores run out. But the handheld is still selling very well in the West, mostly in North America, and Nintendo does not want to cannibalize its own sales by offering a new hardware variant in a period when it manages to attract customers with the hardware already available.Iwata was quoted as saying during a press conference that “Specific plans will be unveiled by our local subsidiaries, but an autumn or year-end launch would probably be too late”. At the moment, Nintendo is the most successful of the three major console creators, with both the DSi and the Wii selling very well on all markets. The company has recently revealed record financial results while also saying that overall expectations for the year would be reduced to reflect current market conditions.

The more complex consoles become, the more weirdy-beardy secret functions are squirreled away inside of them, and Nintendo's latest is no exception.

While most of the Wii's Easter Eggs are specific to certain games - there's a whole trove of 'em in Wii Sports alone - here's seven of the best for the console itself.

1. Email a chum's Wii

You'll need to have a record of those damnably unmemorable friend codes for anyone you want to mail, but once you do it's simple: just drop a message to w[friendcode]@wii.com. For instance, w1234567891011@wii.com.

2. Add a smooth, constant blue glow to your Wii

The blue lighting around the disc slot normally only glows when the Wii's got some sort of announcement for you, and disappears once you've read it. However, you can lend your lounge a sci-fi feel by making that tastefull glow permanent. Just email your own Wii - using the system in the tip above - but never read the message (which can take up to an hour to arrive, incidentally). As long as it stays unread, that cheeky light will keep on twinkling.3. Mario attack

If you're downloading something from the Wii shop - be it a new channel or a virtual console title - have a gander at what the Mario animation in the progress bar is wearing. If he's dressed in red and white (as opposed to his traditional red and blue togs), you can make him chuck fireballs with the A button.

4. Puzzle puzzle

Unlock a hidden hardcore mode in the Photo Channel's jigsaw mini-game. Move the cursor over the number of pieces you want to split your photo into, but hold down the 1 button before you select the option. The resulting jigsaw will be split into 194 pieces, which makes for quite the pictorial challenge.

5. Restore MP3 playback

Speaking of the photo channel, you were probably narked to discover that last year's update to do it inexplicably removed MP3 soundtrack support, lumping us with AAC tracks only. Yeah thanks, Ninty. Fortunately, you can downgrade to the original version by heading to Wii Settings then Data Management, then selecting the Channels tab and choosing to delete the Photo Channel entirely. Don't worry, it won't disappear - instead, it'll revert to sweet old version 1.0, replete with MP3 support.

6. Fix stubborn Wiimotes

If you're having trouble getting a new or borrowed Wiimote to synch with your console, there's a way to make the Wii completely forget about all the remotes it's paired with so that you can start afresh. Turn the Wii off and unplug it from the wall. Wait 30 seconds, then plug it in and turn it on again. When the Health & Safety warning pops up, open the flap on the front of the Wii, then press and hold down the red SYNC button for 15 seconds. And that's it - all the synced controllers will be forgotten. Then pair all your Wiimotes with the console using the standard method.

7. Use your Wiimotes with your PC

Yep, the Wiimote uses standard Bluetooth wireless tech to talk to the console - which means it can also work with a PC. So your Wii controller can double up as a remote control for movie watching, or you can even play any game with it. You'll need either built-in Bluetooth support or a USB adaptor in your PC, plus free app GlovePIE to get it working. There's a little bit of faff involved, but the instructions at the GlovePIE site will talk you through it. You can also download pre-made profiles for specific games.

If you just unloaded your original DS on Ebay and replaced it with a DS Lite, you'll soon be outdated again. During their Fall Press Conference in Japan, Nintendo announced its new DSi, the "third platform" in the DS handheld gaming hardware series.
The new version comes a little thinner than the model it's replacing while offering 17 percent larger screens at 3.25 inches each. Certain "audio enhancements" have been made, but arguably the biggest addition is the inclusion of a .3 megapixel camera capable of 640x480 resolution.Old school gamers won't have any place to put their Gameboy Advance cartridges, as the GBA slot has been removed. Instead the DSi comes with an SD memory card slot. The DSi also features a built-in browser, and gamers will be able to download games and other DSiWare from Nintendo's DSi Shop. As is sadly the trend, pricing is based on a points scale, and customers will start off with 1,000 free points that must be used by March 2010.

Japan will get first crack at the DSi this November for roughly $180 USD, with other markets to follow sometime next year.

Two whole years after they should have, Nintendo is finally bringing the Wii to India--or more accurately, allowing Samurai India and HCL to bring it to India--on the 30th of this month. There have been rumours circulating over this through the Indian distributors for months now, and note that there is no official confirmation of this news yet. However, the ANGRY pixel seems certain and breaks news that the Nintendo Wii is Indian-bound, and soon. The DS, that dual-touchscreened handheld of joy, will come along with the Wii as well. The Wii will be priced at Rs 19,990 (about $450!), and the DS for at 7,990. And here we were, thinking that the grey market prices were ridiculous.We wonder if this move comes a little too late--people who really wanted a Wii gave up waiting a long time ago, and were content with dropping Rs 15,000 on a console that should really cost Rs 11,000 ($250, remember?). We'd expected the launch price to take a swipe at the grey market price, but it looks like this is not to be. The DS, however, is a more reasonable Rs 7,990, and should compete with the PSP rather well. It too, however, has adorned the shelves of stores that took to importing the little handheld themselves.

What might win people over could be clever marketing and retail store presence. Few can resist the waggle-wand that the house of Mario built. But we do believe that a price closer to Rs. 12,000 would have done wonders for the little white console in India.

There's also the question of whether the Wii will come in its NTSC or in its PAL avatar. When rumours first trickled over HCL bringing the unit to India, NTSC was being touted as the unit incoming. Indeed, the few retail titles that are officially available in India are NTSC games. For gamers, NTSC would be great news -- PAL releases, especially for titles under the Nintendo banner, are ridiculously delayed. It would do us well to be aligned with US release dates. We'll know better when the console finally launches.

For now, after two years of waiting for an official launch, wii're not that impressed with the launch price.