Round Up: PS3/Wii Units, IGN GamerMetrics, Exent/Portugal

Today's round-up includes news of analyst P.J. McNealy's observations concerning the launch numbers and expected units to be shipped of both the PlayStation 3 and Wii, IGN's GamerMetrics chart, and a free, ad-supported mobile game launched in Portugal with the help of Exent Technologies, as well as the latest Game Career Guide updates, Serious Games Source posts, GameSetWatch posts and Gamasutra job postings. - A new report from American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy has given estimates on shipment numbers for the recently launched PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles. Looking to Sony's console, McNealy noted, "... Sony's initial unit numbers for the launch weekend in North America were in the range of 125k to 175k, including some of the 15k units SNE was sending to retail for interactive kiosks." In addition, the analyst wrote: "We previously expected SNE to be able to still make a calendar year 2006 North American and Japan shipment number of 2MM, but those numbers are now under review." Looking to the Wii, McNealy added: "Our research indicates that Nintendo's initial numbers for the launch weekend in North America were in the range of 425k to 475k. ... Our research indicates that Nintendo will likely ship at least 1.5MM to 2.0MM units to North America this calendar year." - Following last week's launch of the PlayStation 3 and Wii, IGN Entertainment, owner of the IGN.com and GameSpy.com consumer websites, has released its latest GamerMetrics list of the most anticipated new releases for the coming week. The list, which is based on three months of IGN visitor activity, gauges reader interest and purchase intent in games across a variety of platforms. Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas for Xbox 360 ranked on top of the list, followed by Superman Returns and College Hoops 2K7, both for the Xbox 360 as well. The Elder Scrolls IV PC expansion, Knights of the Nine ranked fourth on the weekly chart, followed by Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. Tony Hawk's Project 8 was the seventh in terms of IGN reader anticipation for the week, while Activision's Wii and Xbox 360 release Rapala Tournament Fishing and Novalogic's Delta Force: Black Hawk Down – Team Sabre ranked eighth and and ninth respectively. The weekly chart was rounded out by Pimp My Ride for the PlayStation 2. - Israel-based games on demand provider Exent Technologies announced a partnership with Portugal Telecom to launch free branded games on the regions Sapo.pt Games-on-Demand portal. The game, Mahjong Artifacts, published by Alawar, will be offered for free to all broadband users in Portugal over a month long period. Officials note that the use of branded games is a move by Portugal Telecom and Exent to promote combined digital distribution and in-game advertisement models as well as the Portugal Telecom Games-on-Demand offering. Future plans by Portugal Telecom and Exent call for an offer constituting a package of free content subsidized by in-game advertising, with an upsell message for premium packages. This follows the cable-TV model for movies, offering bundled free ad-supported channels and premium ad-free channels. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog GameSetWatch include a look at the Wii from a woman's perspective, news of an indie PC shooter called B Intruders, and an editorial concerning what to do (and not to do) when making a racing game. - The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Serious Games Source include a Q&A with Bohemia Interactive's Peter Morrison concerning the company's presence at the recent SGS D.C., and a new serious game created by an after school program to teach children about Haiti. - The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Game Career Guide include news of a New York state approved degree program in game design. - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from General Dynamics Robotic Systems, High Moon Studios, KulaByte, Relic Entertainment, THQ, and Treyarch, and a new contractor posting from NOKS seeking partners for its "open-ended MMOTCG gaming world for kids".