Even though I did not mention this yesterday, I received via UPS the Samsung 24" 1080p LCD HDTV, Nintendo Wii console, and third-party component cable for the Wii. I bought them from Newegg.com, as New Super Mario Bros. Wii will be released more than a week from now.

I was surprised that it took a day for my order to arrive at my address, as well as the cheap shipping fee ($5.99). However, my order was shipped from Baldwin Park, California which is not that far away than my town of Claremont which borders the Los Angeles county/San Bernardino county line.

Like all Newegg.com orders I made in the past, I have to pay the state and local sales tax, as well for the first time California's Electronic Waste Recycling fee ($16) because the Samsung HDTV has a plat-panel screen over 4" diagonally.

Thinking about the recycling fee, it will also apply to the upcoming DSi XL solid in California, as its LCD screen is 4.2" diagonally, so if I am to buy it in the state, I will have to pay the $8 fee. I would rather buy it from an out-of-state store or an online retailer like Amazon.com.

Software (Top 10 only):

Rank./ System/ Title/ - weekly sales

01. [PS3] Bayonetta – 135,242 *NEW*
02. [NDS] Final Fantasy Gaiden: Four Warriors of Light – 114,714 *NEW*
03. [PS3] Tekken 6 – 103,105 *NEW*
04. [PSP] Persona 3 Portable – 94,287 *NEW*
05. [NDS] Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver – 87,594
06. [Wii] Wii Fit Plus – 81,427
07. [X360] Bayonetta – 64,325 *NEW*
08. [NDS] Tomodachi Collection – 53,159
09. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryakusha – Fire / Blizzard – 41,437
10. [Wii] Super Robot Taisen Neo – 26,559 *NEW*

Hardware:

DSi - 37,517
PS3 - 36,061
PSP - 34,911
PSP Go - 29,109
Wii - 28,888
DS Lite - 6,902
Xbox 360 - 6,047
PS2 - 1,966

Note: due to HTML formating problems, I decided not use system icons on my Media Create software/hardware posts.

Software (Top 10 only):

Rank./ System/ Title/- weekly sales

01. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - 117,972
02. Wii Fit Plus - 88,197
03. Tomodachi Collection - 52,464
04. Inazuma Eleven 2 Fire/Blizzard - 49,238
05. Rune Factory 3 - 41,279 *NEW*
06. Forza Motorsport 3 - 31,818 *NEW*
07. FIFA 10 - 20,598 *NEW*
08. Wii Sports Resort - 19,262
09. Uncharted 2 - 18,508
10. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special - 18,348 *NEW*

Hardware:

i - 42,199
- 32,865
- 29,977
- 25,917
Lite - 6,550
- 4,470
- 1,951

Japanese software/hardware sales ranking (Media Create): 10/12 - 10/18

Software (Top 10 only):

Rank./ System/ Title/ - weekly sales

01. Pokemon Heart Gold / Soul Silver (Pokemon Co.) – 164,721
02. Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo) – 118,167
03. Friend Collection (Nintendo) – 63,086
04. Inazuma Eleven 2 – Fire / Blizzard (Level 5) – 60,580
05. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (SCE) – 53,827 *NEW*
06. Okami (Capcom) – 23,810 *NEW*
07. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) – 22,808
08. Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulation (SCE) – 22,027
09. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (Atlus Co,) – 19,642
10. Love Plus (Konami) – 19,561 / 141,000

Hardware:

i 49,145
33,508
30,231
29,965
3,662
Lite 2,590
2,109

With the third game (Bayonetta) to receive Famitsu's 40/40 (10,10,10,10) score this year, and the eighth since 2005, I am now convinced and agree with fellow gamers that the magazine is a joke of a review outlet. This was the same Famitsu that gave The Last Remnant 38/40 even though there were technical issues that the four Famitsu reviewers would have been aware of which would have knocked points from its undeserved score. This was also the same Famitsu that is willingly to be heavily influenced by major Japanese publishers like Square-Enix who then give it exclusive content (screenshots, information, interviews, ect.) which influenced how their games will be scored. The problems found in Bayonetta Xbox 360 version shows that it did not deserve its 40/40 because the reviewers ignored its flaws.

As a result, I decided to no longer post reviews from Famitsu nor even mention them anymore on my blog or comment on them on the GameSpot forums. Famitsu is not a reliable review source and serious gamers should try to pretend that the magazine does not exist. There are better and more credible review outlets available on print and online.

Media Create hardware sales: 10/5 - 10/11

i – 50,144
– 40,100
– 30,896
– 30,741
Lite – 5,454
– 3,326
– 2,133

Software sales (Top 10): 10/5 - 10/11

Rank [Platform] - (Publisher) - Copies sold

01. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver – 188,625
02. Wii Fit Plus – 152,587
03. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey – 97,221 NEW
04. Inazuma Eleven 2 Fire/Blizzard – 95,515
05. Tomodachi Collection – 62,772
06. Gran Turismo – 39,948
07. Wii Sports Resort – 24,130
08. Macross Ultimate Frontier – 18,804
09. Love Plus – 18,777
10. Dragon Quest IX – 15,961

I have leveled-up Bowser to Level 99 in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. While I am relieved that I have reached that goal after several days, I am quite disappointed that when I defeated the last boss (Dark Bowser) and watched the ending credits and epilogue, nothing was changed after Bowser and the Mario Bros. reached Level 40. It seems to me that doing "100%" was a waste of time and effort.

Now if I can try to get an "A Rank" on the Cholestroads and Broque Madam minigames...

After an hour and twenty minutes of gameplay in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, I was able to level-up Bowser to Level 95 from Level 90. By looking at the game timer, I have been playing the entire game for 96 hours and four minutes. This is many more hours than it took me to level up all characters to Level 99 in Final Fantasy II for the SNES when I played it in the early 1990s. Since the enemies of Bowser's Inside Story are visible and do not randomly appear as in older RPGs, it takes time to level up.

Tomorrow, is Level 99.

Bowser is now at Level 90 in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story on Monday. It took me about an hour and four minutes to level-up from 85 to 90, indicating that it may take me about 12 to 13 minutes average per level. Because of Bowser's increasing Power, he is able to defeat most enemies in one turn, making leveling-up faster. Nine more levels before Level 99.

The goal for today: level-up Bowser to Level 95, and finish the rest on Wednesday. I want to see whether IGN's claim that there is a "surprise" if I complete the game at "100%" is true or not.

I am currently at the halfway point in my goal of leveling up Bowser to Level 90 after reaching Level 85. Every new level, Bowser gets more powerful to where in many cases, he can defeat enemies without them even countering him. This means that battles are getting shorter and will take me less time to level up. I am also using Bowser's Spiked Ball ability to quickly move around Peach's Castle and save time.

This evening, five more levels.

Unrelated to Bowser's leveling up, I was able to clear The Gauntlet's Level 7 within 11 turns. I defeated the previous bosses in nine turns and defeated Bowser X in two. I do not know whether I can defeat him in a single turn as I estimated that he has about 6,000 HP and the Mario Bros. need to use Falling Stars special attack (the most powerful) twice to do that. Unfortunately, Bowser X inhales the Falling Stars icon after it is used, so I cannot use it again until the next several turns when he vomits it out of his stomach.

Regardless of the trouble, clearing Level 7 within 11 turns was possible due to the Mario Bros. leveling up to Level 99.