Nightly News Roundup, 2010.08.05

Waterloo Labs Creates Eye-Tracking System, Plays Super Mario Bros.

Though clearly electrodes are usually used for other things, such as arc welding, electric chair execution, or powering a Team Rocket hideout, a team of National Instruments employees, called Waterloo Labs, has developed an electrode system to measure eye movement. Though this certainly is an achievement unto itself, Waterloo Labs took the logical step forward, and used that electrode system to control the original NES version of Super Mario Bros. Though a bit unwieldy, considering the user must look up (and away from the screen) to jump, Waterloo Labs’ electrode system joins other projects in development that may eventually allow disabled individuals to play games just as well as any other gamer. Waterloo Labs has released documentation of the system here, and will be showcasing the technology at National Instruments’ NIWeek 2010 conference in Austin, Texas, this week.

Source: Waterloo Labs

Zallag’s Gods vs. Humans Revealed

For those who complain that WiiWare’s being neglected, Zallag’s and Artefact Studios’ Gods vs. Humans should be a shining light. In Zallag’s WiiWare game, players will take on the role of gods, attempting to stop humans from reaching your place in heaven. From the trailer, it seems like Gods vs. Humans combines elements of tower defense titles and strategy titles, though in a different way from both. The cel-shaded art style, at least, looks interesting, and Gods vs. Humans may well be the next big WiiWare hit.

Source: Destructoid

Media Create Releases Japanese Software Sales from July 26 to August 1

Media Create Co., a Japanese market research company and a competitor of Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation in the game sales data market, released today its sales data for the week of July 26 to August 1. Listed below are the data, with italicized titles being new to the list, and bolded titles those on Nintendo systems. Numbers after a slash (/) indicate total number of unit sales so far, though Media Create only publically releases those numbers for the top ten titles; percentages that appear correlate directly to the week prior.

01. [PS3] Sengoku Basara 3 (Capcom) – 243,000
02. [PSP] Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd (Sega) – 241,000
03. [Wii] Wii Party (Nintendo) – 83,000 / 529,000 (-16%)
04. [DS] Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbaride Card Battle Taisen (Namco Bandai) – 64,000
05. [Wii] Sengoku Basara 3 (Capcom) – 50,000
06. [DS] Metal Max 3 (Kadokawa Shoten) – 47,000
07. [DS] Inazuma Eleven 3: World Challenge!! Spark / Bomber (Level 5)– 34,000 / 727,000 (-24%)
08. [PSP] Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki: Alternative Saga (Nihon Falcom) – 30,000
09. [PSP] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2010 (Konami) – 22,000 / 103,000 (-25%)
10. [DS] Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem – Hero of Light and Shadow (Nintendo)– 21,000 / 197,000 (-47%)
11. [Wii] Dragon Quest Monsters: Battle Road Victory (Square Enix)
12. [PS3] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2010 (Konami)
13. [Wii] Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo)
14. [DS] Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Dororon! Battle with the Ghouls!! (Bandai Namco)
15. [PS3] ModNation Racers (Sony Computer Entertainment)
16. [DS] Friend Collection (Nintendo)
17. [DS] Harvest Moon: Twin Villages (Marvelous Entertainment)
18. [PSP] Last Ranker (Capcom)
19. [DS] Kaidan Restaurant: Ura Menu 100-Sen (Namco Bandai)
20. [PS3] White Knight Chronicles 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
21. [PSP] Fate/EXTRA (Marvelous Entertainment)
22. [DS] Quiz! Hexagon II (Namco Bandai)
23. [DS] Art Academy (Nintendo)
24. [Wii] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
25. [Wii] New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
26. [Wii] Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
27. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd [PSP The Best Reprint] (Capcom)
28. [360] Strike Witches: Shirogane no Tsubasa (CyberFront)
29. [360] Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku (5pb.)
30. [PSP] Momotaro Railway Tag Match: Friendship – Cooperation – Winning Volume! (Hudson)

In total, Nintendo DS titles make up ten of the top thirty, and Wii titles make up seven of them. PlayStation Portable titles number in seven, PlayStation 3 titles four, and Xbox 360 titles two.

Source: GoNintendo