Bonsai Barber™

Wii Points: 1000
Game Type: Barber Simulation (Bonsai)
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Zoonami

"The village residents are hungry for the latest in foliage fashion, and it's up to you-the new barber-to fix them up. Use the tools of your trade: scissors, clippers, spray can, and more, in this humorous, first-of-its-kind "first-person-groomer" game.

"Bonsai Barber features a colourful cast of twelve intriguing customers, including a temperamental shallot starlet (don't call her an onion!), an oddball strawberry boffin, a cactus cowboy, a daredevil carrot, and a suave banana with top-secret clearance and a license to peel.

"Each day, five customers arrive to test your stylistic skill. If the customer requests a specific style, you'll plow that furrow, or you can rely on your expertise to pick from over thirty popular fashions... Or why not turn over a new leaf; be creative and see how they react!

"They're a demanding bunch, so if you miss an appointment, you'll hear about it-on your Wii Message Board. But, if you do a good job, you may receive a gift or even a postcard from an exotic destination, as your happy customers travel to distant lands and show off their exquisite coifs."

Usually we'd steer clear from WiiWare titles that get announced just a few days before their release, but from the rumblings at GDC we've might be looking at a quality, if not bizarre product. Might want to check out the reviews throughout the week.

Super Punch-Out!!

Wii Points: 800
Game Type: Sports, Arcade
Players: 1
Format: Super Nintendo

"Featuring the tight game play and humor the series is known for, this sequel to the NES classic sees Little Mac return to the ring with the World Video Boxing Association belt once again at stake. Slug your way through the grueling, sweat-pounding matches of the Minor, Major, and World Circuits as you face off against some of Little Mac's greatest rivals like Bear Hugger, Bald Bull, and Super Macho Man. With a cast of new challengers waiting, do you have what it takes to identify their unique patterns and exploit their weaknesses? Go to your corner and come out fighting, but remember what Doc Louis would say, "It's not about brawling - it's about finesse!""

Miss out on a hands on preview or a new trailer? GamerBytes has you covered, with all the latest on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare titles that popped up at the Game Developers Conference this year.

Rag Doll Kung Fu (PSN)

IGN.com - GDC 09: Rag Doll Kung Fu Progress Report

Smash Cars (PSN)

IGN.com - GDC 09: Smash Cars Hands-on

NECTARIS: Military Madness (XBLA / PSN / WiiWare)

IGN.com - GDC 09: Military Madness Hands-on

Water Warfare (WiiWare)

IGN.com - GDC 09: Water Warfare Hands-on

Fat Princess (PSN)

1UP.com - Fat Princess Single-Player Modes Detailed

IGN.com - GDC 09: Fat Princess Update

Diner Dash (XBLA / PSN / WiiWare)

IGN.com - GDC 09: Diner Dash Hands-on

Battlefield 1943 (XBLA / PSN)

IGN - Battlefield 1943 Screens

GameSpot - GDC 2009: Battlefield 1943 Updated Hands-On

Joystiq - GDC09: Battlefield 1943 rolls onto Iwo Jima

Space Invaders Extreme (XBLA)

GameTrailers - Space Invaders Extreme - GDC 09: Power-Up Gameplay HD

GameTrailers - Space Invaders Extreme - GDC 09: Big Bad Boss Gameplay HD

GameTrailers - Space Invaders Extreme - GDC 09: Flashing Lights Gameplay HD

Joystiq - GDC09: Space Invaders Extreme (XBLA) hands-on

Flock! (XBLA / PSN)

GameTrailers - Lets Flock Together Trailer

Lode Runner (XBLA)

GameTrailers - Lode Runner - GDC 09: Cooperative Mechanical Level Gameplay HD

GameTrailers - Lode Runner - GDC 09: 4-player Mines Gameplay HD

GameTrailers - Lode Runner - GDC 09: Singleplayer Frozen Gameplay HD

GameTrailers - Lode Runner - GDC 09: Singleplayer Ruins Gameplay HD

GameSpot - GDC 2009: Lode Runner Hands-On

G4 - 'Lode Runner' Walkthrough: Original Puzzle/Platformer Gets XBLA Make-Over

Virtual Console Arcade (Wii)

GameTrailers - Nintendo Wii - GDC 09: Virtual Console Arcade

Pixel Junk Eden: Encore (PSN)

GameTrailers - GDC 09: Encore Smart Bomb Gameplay

IGN.com - GDC 09: PixelJunk Eden Encore Hands-on

Yo Ho Kablammo (XBLA)

GameTrailers - Yo-Ho Kablammo - GDC 09: Trailer

"The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is a 2-D stylistic action platformer for Xbox LIVE® Arcade showcasing fast action, deep gameplay, and a unique visual style. An undead samurai dishwasher in a dystopian universe is on a quest for revenge against the evil cyborg army. To dispatch hordes of zombies, cyborgs, and robots, the Dishwasher has at his fingertips a devastating array of attacks using ancient blades, disturbing machinery, and screen-obliterating Dish Magic. Compete with the rest of the world in a variety of speed run and high score challenges to become the most formidable Dishwasher yet!"

The Dishwasher will cost 800MSP and will be available Wednesday.

Check out the official Xbox.com splash page here

Check out Ska Studios main page here.

Click here for screenshots of The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

The "Deal Of The Week" is an Xbox Live Arcade game. You can now grab Alien Hominid for 400MSP, 50% off the regular price.

Click here to download the demo of Alien Hominid on the web marketplace.

[Compiling many of the statistics from XNA Community Games' first data dump, GamerBytes editor Ryan Langley takes an in-depth look at what the divulged sales numbers mean for the future of the service.]

Since the start of the XNA Community Games on the Xbox Marketplace it's been well known that the developers had no way to look at any data about their titles. As of Saturday however, download history is now available to game submitters, complete with specific details on how many trial games have been download, the amount of sales they make on a daily basis, and which regions they were bought.

Many developers have openly discussed their sales through the XNA Creators forums, or on their own websites. Several others have been in contact with us and are allowing us to display their own totals. I thank every developer who was willing to speak with us and be a part of these statistics.

Below is a chart of sales for 27 different games - the amount of trial versions downloaded, and the amount of games bought. Some of the data is incomplete, but we've done our best to be as accurate as possible.

The earnings are based on the 70 / 30 scale suggested by Microsoft for how much developers will earn through XNA Community Games, but this might change in the future, with Microsoft taking an extra 10-30% depending on the amount of promotion they give a game. (However, right now, the XNA admins says: "For the time being, we've decided to maintain the 70/30 split across the board whether your game was featured or not"):

This week's episode of XNA Roundup has a look at Solar, where you take control of a star in a solar system collecting planets, and Battle Havoc - an online trajectory shooter similar to that of Death Tank and Scorched Earth.

If you haven't given the trial a download yet, check out this episode. You can also download each episode via the iTunes music store.

To download the trial for Solar, click here for the web marketplace page.

To download the trial for Battle Havoc, click here for the web marketplace page.

It appears that we were wrong about Drill Sergeant Mindstrong, a WiiWare title that popped up on the ESRB rating website last week. Instead of being Americanization of Discipline, it's an entirely new game from XSEED.

"Welcome to the army, Maggots! As a newly-enlisted cadet, your brain will be challenged by the toughest Drill Sergeant around, to see if you are worthy to wear the camouflage, or if you should crawl home like a Princess. Once players enroll in boot camp, they must instantly choose between two modes of gameplay – ‘Focus Training’ and ‘Basic Training.’ Regardless of the path the new recruit chooses, they will suddenly be thrust into life as a lowly Private, playing a variety of brain-intensive mini-games to advance their brain power and rise up the food chain to Sergeant, Lieutenant General, and eventually Field Marshall."

Interesting premise for a mini game collection, but going by the screenshots it's looking a bit ugly. Half of that is really the strange resolution and compression in the photos, so hopefully it looks a bit better in the release game.

The game is set for release in April in North America.

Through all the hustle and bustle of the Game Developers Conference, we didn't get a chance to mention the upcoming PixelJunk Eden: Encore expansion. We'll make up for that now.

Eden Encore will include 5 brand new gardens, including new mirror versions of the worlds as well. Each garden has a new theme and new music, and are much larger than those in the original PixelJunk Eden, for a total of 25 new spectre to find.

There are two new moves available to players as well - one allows you to move in Zero-G where you can float without the worry of plummeting to your death all the time, and a "smart bomb" element, where if you trigger three seeds in a row, it will explode everything on screen and cause a mass pollen breakout for you to grab.

The expansion is set to be released sometime in April, and will cost $5.99 in the United States. Check out the new video and interview with Q Games president Dylan Cuthbert from GameTrailers above, or read more about PixelJunk Eden Encore on the PlayStation Blog.

[Compiling many of the statistics from XNA Community Games' first data dump, GamerBytes editor Ryan Langley takes an in-depth look at what the divulged sales numbers mean for the future of the service.]

Since we released our initial analysis of sales numbers for XNA Community Games, several other developers have revealed their own numbers, which gives us a glimpse into some of the most popular titles available, and some which have not done quite as well.

As with the prior data, those titles with an asterisk next to their names only gave rough estimates on their sales: