K.E.Y. Thoughts: Kirby's Adventure & Kirby 64 Data

Thoughts:
Out of all the "new" Wii games Nintendo showed at E3 last week, I think that Kirby's Epic Yarn is the freshest approach on an existing Nintendo franchise.
Donkey Kong Country Returns looks like another Donkey Kong Country.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword looks like it will be another Zelda title.
If you did not see the E3 trailer for Kirby's Epic Yarn, the trailer above shows Kirby's progress from his NES days, to the N64, and now onto the Wii.

The Kirby games are like what I mentioned about the original Kid Icarus game, in that I have played some of them, but never finished one completely through.

Quick Brew Info:
We will be looking at the data for Kirby's Adventure and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.

Kirby's Adventure was originally released for the NES on May 1, 1993.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was originally released for the N64 on June 26, 2000.

(click image to enlarge)

Virtual Console Release/Days Since Release:
Kirby's Adventure was re-released through the Wii's Virtual Console on February 12, 2007.  It is available for download for 500 Wii Points.
The data pictured above was collected approximately 1,226 days since Kirby's Adventure re-released.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was re-released through the Virtual Console on February 25, 2008.  It is available for download for 1000 Wii Points.
The data pictured above for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was collected approximately 848 days since the game re-released.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
Kirby's Adventure has 143,358 players reporting their play-time data.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards has 69,834 players reporting their play-time data.

Sales Info:
Nintendo has made approximately $716,790 from Kirby's Adventure since they released it on the Virtual Console.
They have made approximately $698,340 from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards since it was re-released.
Nintendo has made at least $1,415,130, from the combined sales of both Kirby games on the Virtual Console.

As of 2:00AM on June 26, 2010, neither Kirby's Adventure nor Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards were in the "Popular Titles" list on the Virtual Console.

Interesting Fact:
The first game that Kirby appeared in was Kirby's Dream Land on the Game Boy, releasing on August 1, 1992, in North America.  I thought this was interesting, as I always thought Kirby first appeared on the NES, then the Game Boy.

Questions:
Have you played any of the Kirby games?  I know there are a lot of Kirby games, and I remember playing Kirby's Adventure and Kirby's Dream Land.
Do you have a favorite Kirby game, and are you looking forward to Kirby's Epic Yarn releasing later this year?


You can pre-order Kirby's Epic Yarn on Amazon.com, and they have the release date for October 31, 2010.

Donkey Kong's Countries Data

(Retro Studios' new entrance page)

Thoughts:(first this time)
When the original Donkey Kong Country was announced for the SNES, I remember being really excited for the game, and I even received the VHS tape Nintendo mailed out to help promote the game.


The game released in November of 1994, and it was on my Christmas list that year. I knew I was getting it, because I was at Toys R'Us when my mom purchased(I knew Santa wasn't real!).
Instead of waiting patiently for Christmas day, I was super excited about the game and ran around the house acting ape like, begging my parents to let me open it early.


There was some stipulation to opening it early, but the running around like an ape helped; and I was able to open it early.


Last week at E3, Nintendo announced that Retro Studios was working on Donkey Kong Country Returns.  I was glad to see it, and after watching the trailer(multiple times) it looks like the game is coming along nicely; and should be a great return for the Donkey Kong Country series.


If you have not seen the trailer for Donkey Kong Country Returns, the following video is one I compiled of game-play from the original Donkey Kong Country(nostalgia), and the new Donkey Kong Country Returns:



Now, let us look at some data!

Quick Brew Info:

Donkey Kong Country was originally released for the SNES on November 21, 1994.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest was released for the SNES in December of 1995; it was released.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! was released for the SNES on November 22, 1996.
All three Donkey Kong Country games are still available for download on the Wii's Virtual Console service for 800 Wii Points each.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
Donkey Kong Country has 138,354 players reporting their play-time data.
Donkey Kong Country 2 has 57,322 players reporting play-time data.
Donkey Kong Country 3 has 32,697 players reporting play-time data.

Sales Info:
I checked the Virtual Console's "Popular Titles" section, at 11:55PM on 6-24-10.
The original Donkey Kong Country was the only game I saw listed, and it was at the #7 spot.
The "Popular Titles" section shows the "Top 20" Virtual Console titles that Wii owners are downloading, I believe for that day.
I also find it interesting that from the data collected, as of June 21, Nintendo has made approximately $1,826,984 off of the three Donkey Kong Country games on the Virtual Console.

Number of Days Released on the Virtual Console:
Donkey Kong Country was released through the Virtual Console on February 19, 2007.  The data pictured/written above was totals, from February 19, 2007 through June 21, 2010.
1219 days; or 3 years, 4 months, 3 days including June 21.

Donkey Kong Country 2 was released again through Nintendo's Virtual Console service on May 21, 2007.
The data totals above are reported for 1128 days; or 3 years, 1 month, 1 day including June 21.

Donkey Kong Country 3 was re-released for the Virtual Console on December 24, 2007.
Total days it has been on the Virtual Console, including June 21, are 911 days; or 2 years, 5 months, 29 days.

Questions:
Did you play the original Donkey Kong Country games?  If you didn't play all of them, which ones did you play?
I owned the original, Donkey Kong Country, but I didn't own the DKC2 or DKC3; though I did play DKC2 and I think I played a bit of DKC3.

Do you think the review score averages for the games are correct, with Donkey Kong Country 2 being slightly better than the original?
I would have to play them again before deciding, as it has been YEARS since I have played/completed Donkey Kong Country.

Last, but definitely not least, are you excited about Donkey Kong Country Returns?
Is it a "day one" purchase now, or are you taking a "wait and see approach" as I am?

As for Donkey Kong Country Returns, the game doesn't have a solid release date yet, but Amazon.com is taking pre-orders on it.  If you want to download any of the original Donkey Kong Country games off the Virtual Console, you can purchase them directly from the Virtual Console or use a Nintendo Wii Points card.

Kid Icarus Data

Quick Brew Info:

Kid Icarus was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in July 1987.

Kid Icarus was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console on February 12, 2007.  The game is available for download for 500 Wii Points.

The data shown below is approximately 3 years, 4 months, 10 days of data, since Kid Icarus released on the Virtual Console.

(click image to enlarge)

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
Kid Icarus has 65,818 players reporting their play-time data.

"Total" Game-Play Hours Reported:
Kid Icarus has 186,961 Total Hours reported, since it was released on February 12, 2007.

GameRankings.com Review Score Average:
Kid Icarus' Virtual Console review score average is 51.00%, based off of just one review.

You can read the review HERE.
The review was written by GameSpot, and surprisingly it is the only review counted towards Kid Icarus' Virtual Console review score average.

Thoughts:
I do not recall playing and beating the original Kid Icarus.  I think a friend had it, and I was able to play it, just not complete it all the way through to the end.

Nintendo announced Kid Icarus: Uprising at E3 last week, for the new Nintendo 3DS; and I know many gamers were happy to see Pit returning.
Being that it has been probably two decades since I played the original, I don't remember a lot about it; and I don't know how much Kid Icarus: Uprising looks to be pulling from the original's story.

The data showing on the Nintendo Channel, I think shows that Kid Icarus has a following; but if Nintendo Channel data can be used as a gauge for possible future sales, Kid Icarus: Uprising being a launch title on the 3DS is probably the best place for Pit's return.

Questions:
Have you played the Virtual Console version and NES version of Kid Icarus?  If so, do you think one version is better than the other; like the GameSpot review says?


Also, are you planning on getting a Nintendo 3DS because of Kid Icarus: Uprising?


If you have not seen the trailer for Kid Icarus: Uprising, here's the one Nintendo showed last week during their E3 press conference:

Monster Hunter Tri: The Game that Eats Time!

(The game that eats time)

Quick Brew Info:
Monster Hunter 3 has crossed one million "Total Hours" reported played this week.
It took Monster Hunter 3 approximately 63 days from its release, to cross the one million hours mark.
For comparison, The Conduit took approximately 182 days from its release, to cross the one million hours mark.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex took approximately 105 days from its release, to cross the one million "Total Hours" mark.

(click photo to enlarge)

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:

Monster Hunter 3 has 23,260 players reporting their play-time data.

Player Increase Since Last Report:

Monster Hunter 3 had an increase of 4,227 more players reporting their play-time data, since the data was reported 2-weeks ago.

"Total" Game-Play Hours Reported/Increased:

Monster Hunter 3 has 1,229,209 Total Hours reported, an increase of 389,518 hours over the last 2-week period.

Amazon.com Sale Ranks & Advertised Prices:

Monster Hunter 3's Amazon.com sale rank is #320 and the current selling price is $49.95.

This is the first week I can recall the game's price not being at least 46.99, and Amazon.com raising the price to $49.95.

GameRankings.com Review Score Averages:

Monster Hunter 3's review score average is now 85.00%, based on 46 reviews.

Monster Hunter 3 gained one review in its average since 2 weeks ago, lowering its average from 85.33%.

(It will suck your life and your time away!)

Thoughts:

The average number of hours per person being reported already, I still find crazy.

Its average hours played "per person" has now passed games like Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

The only Wii games currently ahead of Monster Hunter 3 as of average hours played "per person", are: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and Harvest Moon: Animal Parade.

Questions:

Are you still playing Monster Hunter 3?  If so, and I have not hunted with you online, what times do you normally play?

Also, what are your total game-play hours for Monster Hunter Tri?

Currently, mine are 55 Hours 30 Minutes.

If you have not purchased Monster Hunter 3, you can see new and used prices for the game on Amazon.com below.  Join the hunts!

God of War: Collection's May Sales Ranks on Amazon.com: Chart Included

Quick Brew Info:
God of War: Collection was released for the PS3 in North America, on November 17, 2009.
God of War: Collection contains both the Playstation 2 titles, God of War and God of War II, on one disc.

(Click chart to enlarge)

Chart Info:
The chart above shows the sales ranks for God of War: Collection, with data captured between April 25 and May 31.
The lowest sales rank I recorded for God of War: Collection was #88 on May 18, around 11:40PM.
I found it interesting, that May 18 was a Tuesday.
There were five PS3 titles released on May 18, that probably affected its sales rank.  Some of the titles released on May 18 were; Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Red Dead Redemption, and Split Second.
The highest sales rank I recorded for God of War: Collection was #49 on May 2, around 10:35PM; and May 22, around 11:35AM.

Critical Reception & Price Drop:
As I stated in the "Quick Brew Info", God of War: Collection released on November 17, 2009.  It released with a MSRP of $39.99.
God of War: Collection currently has a review score average of 90.79% on GameRankings.com, based on 39 reviews.

(Too high?  Too low?  Just right?)

God of War: Collection was ranked 17th overall, in the NPD's sales numbers for November 2009.
It started being reported around January 29, that the MSRP for God of War: Collection was dropped to just $29.99 by multiple retailers.
Other months it has made the NPD "Top 20" were January 2010, February 2010, March 2010; with December 2009 and April 2010 being the only two months it has not been listed in the NPD's "Top 20" software sales.
God of War: Collection is currently ranked #104 and is selling for $29.54 on Amazon.com.

Thoughts:
As I stated in my "God of War III's May Sales Ranks" post, back on June 9, I have never played a God of War game from beginning to end.
I know this was Sony's first "remastered" game from the PS2 to port to the PS3, but with the sales God of War: Collection has seen I wouldn't doubt if Sony is porting more PS2 games to the PS3, with "remastered" graphics, and now perhaps even new game-play controls with the new Sony Move controller.

As for the sales ranks, I think it will be interesting to see if God of War: Collection makes the NPD's "Top 20" in software sales for May, when the numbers are released in July; compared to how it was ranking on Amazon.com throughout May.

Questions:
Have you played both the PS2 and PS3 versions of God of War and God of War II?
If so, do you prefer one version more than the other?


Also, if Sony is porting anymore PS2 games to the PS3, what games would you like to see "remastered" and brought to the PS3 like God of War: Collection?


If you are interested in God of War: Collection for the PS3, you can see new and used prices for it on Amazon.com below: