December 29, 2008 – When we were children, we wanted two things: a Super Mario Bros. movie and a Final Fantasy fighting game; we got one of those things, and it made us wish we were dead. Today, fifteen years later, we have the other one. More »

December 26, 2008 – Christmas came just on schedule in Japan yesterday, when thousands of players nationwide took White Knight Chronicles home and near-immediately realized the character creation system lets them freely adjust female characters' breast size. The breast size slider in question is shrewdly titled... More »

December 24, 2008 – Did you realize there's a pachinko game on the iPhone? Did you realize that you should care that there's a pachinko game on the iPhone? Sho Chiku Bai is a pachinko simulator for the iPhone.

December 24, 2008 – Bic Camera, one of the two larger electronics store chains, announced just minutes ago in an email newsletter to point-card-holders that preorders for Dragon Quest IX are officially open.

December 22, 2008 – For many gamers, this year's Jump Festa was about more than Dragon Quest IX — it was about experiencing the Dragon Quest IX Slime DS Stand / Speaker that Hori announced last week. Luckily, every DSi in the Square-Enix Dragon Quest IX play area was equipped with one such stand.

December 22, 2008 – I played Dragon Quest IX for the Nintendo DS this weekend at the Shueisha Jump Festa event in Chiba. Then I felt The Fear and got the hell out of there.

December 19, 2008 – You may have seen "Famitsu" credited as a source on a million blogs. Maybe you've never seen the actual magazine; maybe you don't want to. Either way, here's a guided tour of this week's issue! I suppose we can call this "video" "podcast" "Let's Read Famitsu With Us", named with respect to my person...

December 19, 2008 – Japan's Weekly Famitsu (suggested slogan: "The Only Magazine In The World") reviewed Sony and Level-5's White Knight Chronicles in their latest issue; More »

December 19, 2008 – This week's Famitsu has an interview with Hideo Kojima and Metal Gear Solid Touch producer Yasuyo Watanabe. The headline for the story is very careful to accentuate that Watanabe is female. More »

December 19, 2008 – In Japan, Santa Claus does not have a beard — just a mustache, and an eyepatch. Oh yes; your dreams are almost true. This Christmas, MGS4 and LittleBigPlanet become one. The "Metal Gear Solid 4 Costume Pack" - as first spotted the other day - will be available to Japanese PlayStation 3 owner...

December 17, 2008 – Since 2005, Square-Enix has had a YouTube channel. Since last month, they've actually been putting videos on it. Just today, they put up a new trailer of Star Ocean 4. You may remember something I said the other day about how I am often paid to do push-ups in the middle of boardroom tables during... More »

December 17, 2008 – Ahh, Akihabara, the mecca — nay, the Las Vegas of videogames. Uhh. I didn't go there today. I went to Nakano instead. Nakano is Akihabara in a shoebox. More »

December 17, 2008 – Bandai-Namco announced today that, starting tomorrow, Japanese users of PlayStation Home will be able to enjoy casual chats with viral marketers and Sony employees in a room decorated with beloved Namco game characters. Eschewing the "inverted pyramid" structure of newspaper journalism, right here ... More »

December 16, 2008 – About two weeks ago, Japanese gaming weekly bible Famitsu revealed white-hot details on the upcoming Star Ocean: The Last Hope, including the name of the battle system, which, as the headline says, is ridiculous. The name of the battle system is BEAT, which stands for — More »

December 16, 2008 – Famitsu Dot Com reports today that Nintendo has decided that today is the day to allow Famitsu Dot Com and only Famitsu Dot Com to reveal the release date of the first batch of DSi Ware titles. The games, available for download using "DSi Points", which are not to be confused with Wii Points, are a... More »

December 16, 2008 – Hello! Mr. Brian Ashcraft is hiding for the remainder of 2008. I am here to take his place. First: I'm going tell you a little bit about myself. You are advised to skip this post. If you're seeing this far, you've already clicked on "More", which means More Hits and More Ad Impressions, so if you'r... More »