Draft FCC orders would make it a bit easier for radio stations to move to urban areas from suburban and rural communities and also ease the process for U.S. tribes to seek new allotments, agency officials said. Those draft Media Bureau orders follow up on one approved at March’s commission meeting that made such station move-ins to urban areas harder and that allowed tribes without government-recognized lands to get stations more easily (CD March 4 p10). The two current drafts are moving on two different tracks, agency officials said. The move-in order is likely to change, possibly significantly, and won’t be voted on right away. The tribal order will be approved in coming weeks, likely without significant changes.
The 3DS remained Japan’s best-selling videogame system, as sales soared to 206,000 from 120,900 the prior week (CED Dec 5 p7), according to Media Create data for the week ended Dec. 4. It was helped by strong demand for Mario Kart 7, the week’s No. 1 videogame in Japan, of which Nintendo sold 423,600 copies its first week available. Cumulative 3DS hardware sales grew to an estimated 2.9 million in Japan. All weekly sales estimates are rounded to the nearest 100. The PS3 remained No. 2 on the hardware chart, sales growing to 40,700 from 34,000. The PSP repeated at No. 3, sales rising to 39,500 from 33,200. The Wii was again No. 4, sales growing to 31,100 from 20,100. Every other system trailed far behind again. The DSi LL remained No. 5, sales growing to 2,900 from 2,200. The Xbox 360 repeated at No. 6, sales flat at 1,700. The DSi moved up one to No. 7, sales growing to 1,500 from 1,000. The PS2 dipped one to No. 8, but sales inched up to 1,500 from 1,300. The DS Lite was again No. 9, sales again well below 100. Namco Bandai’s Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. for the PS3 was the week’s No. 2 videogame its first week available, moving 349,800 copies. Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii, the prior week’s No. 1 title, slipped to No. 5 in its second week as sales tumbled to 32,200 from 195,000. Also beating it this time were Nintendo’s Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS, up one at No. 3, sales growing to 73,900 from 61,700, and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations for the PS3, No. 4 in its first week, moving 39,900.
The following are details of the “Beyond the Border” Action Plan agreed to by President Obama and Prime Minister Harper on December 7, 2011. The plan includes specific actions and 2012-2014 target dates to achieve goals such as: (i) common data elements for advance cargo screening; (ii) mutual recognition of air cargo security programs for passenger aircraft; (iii) attempted alignment of Canada’s Customs Self Assessment (CSA) and the U.S. Importer Self Assessment (ISA) programs; (iv) assessment on ways to move wood packaging material inspections away from the border; etc.
The Department of Homeland Security is seeking comments on the “Beyond the Border” Action Plan announced by President Obama and Prime Minister Harper on December 7, 2011. The plan, which sets specific actions and dates, is one of the agreed steps to help the two countries realize the goal of a “perimeter approach” to security and economic competiveness declared by the two leaders in February 2011.
On December 7, 2011, President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Harper agreed to implement action plans for their Beyond the Border and Regulatory Cooperation Council initiatives, which include mutual recognition of air cargo security programs; harmonization of transborder advance data requirements for cargo; a single window for importers to submit information; harmonization of C-TPAT and PIP; coordination of border infrastructure; 29 initiatives to align regulations; etc.
On December 2, 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted the draft agenda and 20 documents for its Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) meeting on December 7, 2011. CBP has now posted another two COAC documents.
Activision’s multiplatform Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 remained the best-selling game in the U.K. its fourth week available, according to the Association for U.K. Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) Games Charts compiled by GfK Chart-Track for the week ended Saturday. It was the first time that sales of the game grew from the prior week since the title was released four weeks ago, sales up 2 percent. The only new release in the top 10 was Nintendo’s Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS, at No. 8. Nintendo’s Professor Layton and the Last Specter for the DS repeated at No. 7 in the title’s second week despite sales falling 9 percent from the prior week, while its Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS was again No. 10 in its third week despite sales growing 20 percent. Electronic Arts and Ubisoft each had two titles in the top 10. EA’s were the multiplatform FIFA 12, up three at No. 2 in its 10th week as sales jumped 30 percent from the prior week, and Battlefield 3 for the Xbox 360 and PS3, No. 9 again in its sixth week, sales up 16 percent. Ubisoft’s were Assassin’s Creed: Revelations for the 360 and PS3, down one, No. 3, third week as sales dipped 2 percent, and Just Dance 3 for the Wii and 360, up four, No. 4, eighth week as sales soared 54 percent. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim from Bethesda Softworks for the 360, PS3 and PC dipped one to No. 5 in its fourth week, sales down 7 percent. THQ’s Saints Row: The Third for the 360, PS3 and PC fell three to No. 6 in the title’s third week as sales declined 24 percent. Its WWE ‘12 for the 360 and PS3 fell out of the top 10 in that game’s second week, falling eight to No. 14. Mario Kart 7 was the only new release in the top 40, but UKIE said two titles entered the chart in their second week of release: Ubisoft’s ABBA: You Can Dance for the Wii at No. 30 and Majesco Entertainment’s Zumba Fitness 2 for the Wii and 360 at No. 34.
Lightsquared is “very pleased” with the results of a new round of testing into whether its proposed LTE broadband wireless network interferes with GPS-equipped devices, CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said Monday at the UBS conference in New York.
LightSquared is “very pleased” with the results of a new round of testing into whether its proposed LTE broadband wireless network interferes with GPS-equipped devices, CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said Monday at the UBS investors conference in New York.
The 3DS remained Japan’s best-selling videogame system as sales soared to 120,900 from 96,200 the prior week (CED Nov 28 p14), according to Media Create data for the week ended Nov. 27. Cumulative 3DS sales grew to an estimated 2.7 million in Japan, according to Media Create’s data. All weekly sales estimates are rounded to the nearest 100. The PS3 remained No. 2, but sales fell to 34,000 from 41,100. The PSP repeated at No. 3, but sales dropped to 33,200 from 40,100. The Wii was again No. 4, sales growing to 20,100 from 13,600. Sales of Nintendo’s console were helped by strong demand for Nintendo’s new game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which easily became the best-selling videogame in Japan its first week available, moving 195,000 copies. The DSi LL remained No. 5, but sales grew to 2,200 from 1,800. The Xbox 360 repeated at No. 6, but sales dipped to 1,700 from 1,800. The PS2 was again No. 7, sales flat at 1,300. The DSi remained No. 8, sales inching up to 1,000 from 900. The DS Lite was again No. 9, sales again well below 100. Sega’s 7th Dragon 2020 for the PSP was the week’s No. 2 videogame in its first week, moving 122,500 copies. D3 Publisher’s Saint Seiya: Sanctuary Battle for the PS3 was No. 3 in its first week, moving 66,600. Nintendo’s Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS remained No. 4, moving 61,700. Rounding out the top five was Konami’s Metal Gear Solid HD Edition for the PS3, selling 61,200. Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, published by Square Enix in Japan, fell from No. 1 to No. 10 in its second week as sales tumbled to 29,700 copies from 180,400.