Yokai Gaiden [Alt Japan]

The Art and Making of Star Wars The Force Unleashed is a chunky, 168 page book filled with more than 300 pieces of concept art, two packs of character cards and plenty of behind the scenes details of how the title went from concept to game.

I've only had a chance to flip through the book so far, but what I've seen impresses. The book is divided up into six chapters that tackle the concept behind the game and early pitches, the story approval process, the characters in the game, the environments, the technology and a run through of all of the game's milestones and how it progressed from greenlight, to alpha to launch.

I'm not typically a big fan of these over-sized art books but there seems to be enough meat to the book to make it worth picking up. I still might have a problem dropping $30 for it, but I'm sure bigger fans of the franchise wont.

“I’m fortunate to be able to do what I love and am grateful for all of the wonderful recognition I’ve received over the years,” said Sid Meier. “It is every kid’s dream to make it into the Guinness World Records and I’m thrilled to be a part of the prestigious book. I’m thankful to the many game critics who have enjoyed our games and hope they are as excited about our upcoming Civilization Revolution title as I am.”

And there, my friends, is why great men are great. They are never too proud to slip in a little marketing. Go read some more marketing in the official press release, while I apply some watercolor photoshop filter love to this great, great man.

Sid Meier Enters Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008

As Industry’s Most Award-Winning Developer

Sid Meier, creator of the Sid Meier’s Civilization® franchise and Director of Creative Development at 2K’s world-renowned Firaxis Games development studio, has officially won more game awards than any other video game creator according to the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008.The Civilization series boasts some of Sid’s most impressive game awards, including Sid Meier’s Civilization IV™, which was selected as Strategy Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) and 1UP.com. Next up from the award-winning developer is Sid Meier's Civilization® Revolution™, which promises to uphold the franchise’s gold standard.

Sid Meier’s awards for his game design genius are numerous. In 1999, Sid was the second person ever to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Computer Museum of America's Hall of Fame in 2002 and received a commemorative star on the Walk of Game in 2006. Meier was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards.

“I’m fortunate to be able to do what I love and am grateful for all of the wonderful recognition I’ve received over the years,” said Sid Meier. “It is every kid’s dream to make it into the Guinness World Records and I’m thrilled to be a part of the prestigious book. I’m thankful to the many game critics who have enjoyed our games and hope they are as excited about our upcoming Civilization Revolution title as I am.”

Built from the ground up solely for console and handheld gaming systems, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution features fast-paced, pick-up-and-play action involving strategic global domination and history's most intrepid leaders, as well as a highly competitive multi-player experience. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution brings the renowned Civilization franchise to current gen consoles and handhelds for the first time, delivering the vast re-playability and unmatched addictive gameplay that has become synonymous with the works of Sid Meier. New graphical designs and a streamlined interface will transport the Civilization franchise to a level that fans have never seen before.

Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution is rated E10+ for everyone 10 and older and will be in stores beginning July 8, 2008 for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Nintendo DS™. For more Civilization Revolution information, visit www.civilizationrevolution.com.

Looking for new reading material? A new book is out examining WoW, and is available from Amazon for the nice price of $19.77 (not bad for a book coming from an academic press!). I'm personally really fond of edited volumes, and this one sounds pretty interesting — both in the contents and background of the research. Scott Rettberg, one of the contributors, explains:

Hilde G. Corneliussen and Jill Walker Rettberg ... edited this volume, which is the first book-length anthology to carefully read the culture of the world’s most popular massively multiplayer online game. The anthology is the product of a unique collaboration. The volume’s contributors all played the game together for a year in a guild of academics known as “The Truants” before writing their chapters, each of which examines the game from a different theoretical/analytical bent. There are thirteen chapters in the book.

According to the publishing blurb, they're cutting a pretty wide swath here:

The contributors examine the ways that gameworlds reflect the real world—exploring such topics as World of Warcraft as a "capitalist fairytale" and the game's construction of gender; the cohesiveness of the gameworld in terms of geography, mythology, narrative, and the treatment of death as a temporary state; aspects of play, including "deviant strategies" perhaps not in line with the intentions of the designers; and character—both players' identification with their characters and the game's culture of naming characters. The varied perspectives of the contributors—who come from such fields as game studies, textual analysis, gender studies, and postcolonial studies—reflect the breadth and vitality of current interest in MMOGs

I'm currently up to my neck in reading on Japanese imperialism, but this is definitely on my list of to-dos this summer.

Digital Culture, Play, and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader [GrandTextAuto]

My time with the game was short, so I tried to cram as much in as possible before I was ejected from the controls. I was dropped in the middle of a graveyard with the dead coming to life all around me. A combination of the stone fist, a special flaming fist move and various weapons helped me make my way through the walking corpses. The controls were simple enough to pick up and I found myself getting around with ease. Combos can be used as well to really give yourself some extra power. There are also contextual grappling moves that can be used to pull your enemies close for those final crushing blows. Puzzles also play a role in the gameplay although the one I played was rather simple.

The graphics look pretty good and are definitely in the realm of what we have come to expect from our now-gen titles. All in all it was a fun gameplay experience that borrows liberally from several other games of this style. While that might not appeal to some gamers, fans of Hellboy will find it a fun romp with one of their favorite characters. Hellboy: Science of Evil releases June 12 for the PSP, Xbox 360 and PSP.

But first, remember how we threw down the gauntlet on the the 80 Marios who showed up in London back in mid-March? Right, just wait for the next anime convention, that'll be blown apart. And that's what's gonna happen.

A-Kon, "the oldest continually running, anime-based convention in North America (at 19 years)," thinks they can pwn 80 wimp-ass Marios, easy, at their gathering, May 30 - June 1 in Dallas. And just to make sure there are no protests or challenges or "nuh-uh, nuh-uh!(s)" from their cosplay rivals, they've drawn up a list of rules for everyone to follow. They want this locked down tight.

Among the rules:

• Characters can be both video game and TV/movie, but must have appeared first in video games (Sonic the Hedgehog, yes. Batman, no.)
• Guinness can still determine who counts and who don't. So you can't just grab a bunch of bald guys in jacket and tie and say they're Agent 47.
• Each participant must sign his or her name "in front of two independent witnesses of high standing in the community." They shall be dressed as Princess Toadstool and Sheriff Bartlett from Red Dead Revolver.

There's a whole bunch of other serious-sounding stuff on the A-Kon page. I mean, really. Folks, did we come here to dress up like the Battletoads, or did we come here to f—- fuck around?

A-KON GOES FOR THE GUINNESS BOOK RECORD! [A-Kon, thanks to reader Matt Frager]

That certainly doesn't mean that the 30 kids sporting Mario outfits from Argyle Primary School, Kings Cross aren't adorable. We're just expecting the record to be smashed by the weekend. There's surely a con happening somewhere.

UK cosplayers set Guinness World Record [GameSpot]

The people who get married in Second Life, the idea there seems to be that love is purely a product of the mind, and that just seems insane to me. The body has such a central role in our sexual lives, in our physical lives, that you can't just leave it behind.

Q&A with author Tim Guest [Nerve]

Get Your Art in New UDON’s New Street Fighter Art Book!

[blog.capcom.com]

I was looking at Capcom's blog and noticed that Capcom and UDON were holding a contest to add fan art to UDON's new Street Fighter art book.  I remembered Kotaku showing some interesting in the art books earlier and thought it was pretty nifty.

Assassins Creed Comic [Photobucket]

The (game?) will be released October 18th with new content coming as soon as November. We're not certain that the DS screen is easy enough on the eyes for extended reading sessions, but we do fully realize that the DS can be held like a book—like a freakin' smartypants book! So we're sure it's a great idea.

The DS turned into an e-Book reader [siliconera]

With the standard line being that "video games are bad," it's nice to see people actually being encouraged to play them. Nicer when it's librarians being encouraged to play them. At the annual American Library Association meeting in Washington, a room full of librarians were recommended to get their game on. The reason? Today's students are "digital natives," while librarians are "digital immigrants" — meaning that librarians might have embraced tech and learned the language, but it's still not their first language.

According to James Paul Gee, a linguist who is the Tashia Morgridge Professor of Reading at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Why Video Games Are Good for Your Soul author, digital natives never read the instruction booklet before playing. Rather, they just figure it out as they go along. So students shouldn't be expecting to read a big instruction booklet of tools they'll be using in the library. What's more, tools should be designed with this in mind. In hopes of connecting with today's students, George M. Needham, vice president for member services of the Online Computer Library Center, even suggested that libraries host LAN parties in the libraries after hours and that librarians themselves play more video games.

Wow, libraries just got a little cooler. Brian Ashcraft

Librarians Urged To Game [Inside Higher Ed via Game|Life]

Super talented kid, but I have to say, this is the sort of thing that will make me feel like a dumbass for the rest of the weekend.Kim Phu

He's 9 Years Old and a Video-Game Circuit Star" [NY Times]

VH1's Harold Goldberg unearthed a little gem today while nosing around some book sites: It appears Steven Kent will be writing a book based on Gears of War for Del Rey books.

The book, which he founded listed on BooksAMillion's site for an August release, doesn't yet have a proper name but will be released in both paperback and hardcover. Kent, who wrote The Ultimate History of Video Games, is probably now most famous for his Clone books, one of which, Goldberg points out, was up for a Philip K. Dick award.

This sounds look it could be a match made in heaven. Brian Crecente

Exclusive: Gears Of War Novel! [VH1]

Some game songs are fantastic songs in their own right. You actually want to listen to them when you're not playing the game. From what I remember when playing Taito's DS girl manner trainer My Happy Manner Book, there weren't any memorable songs that resonated. I'd be hard pressed to hum anything from that game! So it makes perfectly good sense that the game's soundtrack, including the theme song Happy Smiling, is on iTunes for ¥150 (US $1.25) a pop! Brian Ashcraft

My Happy iTunes [Famitsu]

Picking up from the conclusion of blockbuster video game Halo 2, the must-read issue reveals how the Master Chief, while onboard a hostile ship headed towards Earth, is battling against Covenant forces! Intertwined with Master Chief's interstellar one-man-war is the saga of a great American city's rebellion and downfall, two disparate lives' collision and shared fate, and the Covenant's hunt for an ancient relic of untold power and value. With hope dwindling and the fate of humanity hanging by a thread, is there any chance for a future?

The first issue will retail for $3.99 and will hit store shelves on July 18th. Michael Fahey

Halo: Uprising #1 [Marvel.com]

Gaming is getting its own Guinness book. Titled Guinness World Records — Videogame Edition 2008, the book includes the 20 biggest titles of the year, highest paid pro players, fast times, record scores and technical achievements.

We reintroduced videogaming world records to our annual book a few years ago, and it's proved to be one of the most popular sections with our core readers. It makes sense, therefore, to dedicate an entire annual to the subject.

Future categories will hopefully include things like "Gamer with the longest finger nails." Brian Ashcraft

Guinness Gaming Book [Games Industry]

Maybe you can't play Halo 3 yet, but at least you can have new Halo fiction today.

Whoops, I fell for some PR double speak, turns out today was the day the game went from a trade paperback to a mass paperback, which means jack and shit to most everyone reading this site. Sorry for the confusion.

The "Halo Paperback Debuts Today" in the press release must have thrown me.

If you happened to miss the October release of the book read on, otherwise move along, nothing to see here.

Tor Books and Bungie Studios today released a bit of pulp fiction called Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, the first in a three novel series.

The author, Eric Nylund, also wrote Halo: The Fall of Reach and Halo: First Strike. This latest novel takes readers "deep into crucial events that unfold during the Halo and Halo 2 timelines."

Story Synopsis The Spartan-II program has gone public. Tales of super-soldiers fending off thousands of Covenant attacks has become the stuff of legend. But just how many Spartans are left? While Master Chief defends a besieged Earth, and the myriad factions of the Covenant continue their crusade to eliminate humanity, an ultra-secret cell of the Office of Naval Intelligence known as "Section Three" devises a plan to buy the UNSC vital time. They're going to need hundreds of willing soldiers, though...and one more Spartan to get the job done. The planet Onyx is virtually abandoned and the perfect place to set this new plan in motion. But when Master Chief destroys Halo, something is triggered deep within Onyx: Ancient Forerunner technology stirs, and fleets of UNSC and Covenant race to claim it to change the course of Human Covenant War. But this reawakened and ancient force may have plans of its own...

Eight dollars doesn't seem like too much to take a chance on a story. Oooh, we totally need to start a Kotaku Book Club. Brian Crecente

Yes, I realize you used this headline last week, but dude, you hadn't really gone anywhere. Man today sucked hard. Stepping back into daily work and blogging after a non-stop run covering a convention is just harsh.

Mike M is off to Ireland for either a week or a month, I forget which. He hopes to blog, but I suspect the lack of public internet access and availability of lots of really good watering holes will shoot that idea in the foot. I'm desperately seeking a six-a-dayer so I don't lose my mind trying to make up for the holes.

Fahey is working on his Video Games Live feature as well as a more detailed, investigative-ish piece for next month. Joel is working on a fantastical piece for our return to the Armchair Designer. I think I'm in love with his tweaks to the idea.

GDC was, as I mentioned before, friggin insane. Like no sleep insane. I'll be doing some sort of wrap-up tomorrow.

Here's what you missed today:
Subtle aren't I
Oh GameJew, you're so fickle.
Assassin's Creed the books

Speaking of books, there's this bottle of champagne downstairs in our bar that my wife and I have been competing for over the past few months. I know that doesn't sound it has anything to do with books, but it does. The deal is whoever lands the first agent or book deal gets to pop the thing's cork and vigorously rub it in the other's face. (Figuratively speaking, I hope) You may have thought I had a step up on this competition, since you and I have been kicking around book proposals, but my wife just finished the last chapter in her fiction novel and now she's prepping to submit it to an interested agent.

GAH!

We've got to start shipping our proposals around like quick, or you're going to owe me a bottle of champagne.

Ps. I know you had nothing to do with this bet... but I have to blame someone if I lose. :)

Scott Steinberg, who writes for everyone about anything gaming, shot me a note recently to point out this his new book on video game marketing is hitting soon and that he's giving away free copies for a limited time.

Video Game Marketing & PR: Vol. 1 is meant to tip off marketing types about making sure their game tops the charts, makes the news and gets good reviews... that's a bit scary: marketing and PR making games review higher?

Available May 15 at all major retailers including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, this volume, the first of its kind, offers over 200 pages of in-depth commentary, expert advice, CEO-level insight, proven tips, step-by-step how to's and interviews with the industry's biggest names designed to offer exciting new perspectives into the business for everyone from newcomers to experienced vets. Covering all topics from PC to console, casual, mobile, massively-multiplayer, online and independent games, the volume's a natural fit for anyone with a vested or even passing interest in the interactive entertainment space.

The book also includes a forward by Trip "I helped found EA" Hawkins. Hit the link for details on the free. Brian Crecente

Sell More Video Games

This must be the third manner game for the DS in the past six months. Taito's My Happy Manner Book, however, is aimed at women. Guess men don't have happy manners or something. Practice manners in categories like "Ceremonial Occasions," "Work," "Personal Interaction" and "Communication (Letter and Email)." The game seems to work like the other non-game DS titles in that players are tested and then a curriculum is devised on how they do. The game goes on sale April 5th in Japan, well-mannered female gamers! Hit the jump for happy screens. Brian Ashcraft

New Manner Game [Game Watch]

You know Bullet Witch right? It's one of those near future, post-apocalyptic, zombie killing, withcraft 'n' guns games. The kind that aren't too good (Ashcraft says it's "shit"), but star a nubile protagonist with a hellspawn exterminating streak decked out in costumes unsuitable for combat, making it an instant purchase for the lonely, Xbox 360-owning Japanese crowd.

While our man in Japan says the controls are wonk, the third-person shooter from AQ Interactive is being localized by Atari for a late February release. They're throwing out an extra incentive—outside of revealing outfits—in the form of a pre-order only comic book. While I think it would've secured more reservations if they'd gone with the school girl outfit cover, it looks pretty nice.

Anyone out there hungry to get their Bullet Witch on next month? Michael McWhertor

Pre-order Bullet Witch & get a free comic book of the game! [Gamertag Radio]

The folks over at BlizzPlanet got a chance to sit down with Christie Golden, author of the new book "World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde" which is said to a "prequel" to WoW the game. In its pages you can read all about all the lore that led up to the current WoW mythos. The book goes into detail about the Draenei and how they were a catalyst for the creation of the Horde.

The Horde was created by Kil'jaeden to be used as a weapon against the Draenei, who in this book are revealed to be uncorrupted Eredar. The basic storyline is that of how the Orcs went from being essentially peaceable people in harmony with their world to demonically tainted beings capable of genocide.

Not being a WoW player, I have absolutely no idea what that last paragraph means, but my question is this: If everyone is busy playing Burning Crusade and peeing in empty water bottles, who's going to read the book? Flynn De Marco

Christie Golden - World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde Interview [Blizzplanet]

It's been a long time since the Guinness Book of World records has recorded video game high scores in it's pages, twenty years in fact. But, with consoles and portables appearing in more an more homes every day, it only makes sense that the purveyors of the world's largest pizza and the tiniest body microbe would want to include game scores in the '07 version of their publication.

There's even a special section profiling Canadian Greg Sakundiak, the current world record holder for the number one high score in Dragon's Lair, Tag Team Wrestling, Twin Cobra and four other games. He also holds second and third place high scores in several other games. Interestingly, he's also a world champion arm wrestler. I guess all those years of joystick jockeying built him up some pretty big biceps.

So start working on your high scores, kids, and maybe next year, you'll end up in Guinness alongside that guy with the long curly fingernails. Flynn De Marco

Guinness Book Adds Video Game Scores [GamePolitics]

You can order from the Japanese Amazon site (there is an English option) for a cheap 3,360 yen (about $29) plus potentially scary shipping, but I'd check your local import stores or favored online import shop to make it just a lil' bit easier. Michael McWhertor

Okami Art Book At Amazon.jp [via Insert Credit]

Unfortunately, because of Nintendo's idiotic Friend Code system, getting the number doesn't help unless I enter yours as well. Go ahead and post your Wii number here and I'll try to enter some of them in my system, also feel free to use this post as a place to hook-up with other Kotaku readers. Brian Crecente

While we may like books, Florian loves books. He/she/it adores the smell of the printed word, going as far as to even sniff books before purchasing them. While Flor prefers Joyce and highbrow whatnot, this might just get him excited. Halo developer Bungie states that there is another Halo novel in the works, titled Ghosts of Onyx by writer Microsoft scribe Eric Nylund (who is also the fella that penned the story for Gears of War). Bungie's Frankie also dishes:

The announcement of the new novel also heralds the fact that (at least) two other Halo novels will be published by Tor, and those will have some very exciting news attached to them, but we'll tell you more about that much later.

Halo-playing book-smellers of the world rejoice! Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Bungie] Thanks, Will K!

Dean Takahashi will be doing a book signing and reading at the Barnes and Nobel store at the Pruneyard shopping center in Campbell, Calif. on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. If you're a fan of the Xbox 360, Dean or just want to check out a good, in-depth look at the history of the Xbox and Microsoft's decision to enter the gaming foray, I can't think of a better place to start.

If you go, take pictures and send them our way for posting. Brian Crecente

Dean's Book Signing [Merc News]

Round of applause, round of applause. Gamer Cody Miller's 3 and 1/2 hours Halo 2 speedrun on Legendary with no deaths made it into the 2007 Guinness Book. Says KPaul from Halo's Bungie Studios:

I bet that about 40 of you will say, "ZOMG I TOTALLY DID THAT TWO YEARS AGO IN HALF THE TIME." But you're lying. I know it, you know it and your mom knows it good and hard. So just don't.

When I was a kid, people had to do things like grow their fingernails really long, eat a lot of blueberry pies or be a genetic freak to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. Good to see they're accepting hardcore gamer nerds. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Slashing Games]

The New Museum Store in New York City is throwing a little launch party on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Here's the cliff's notes on the book:

Filled with high-tech weapons, gung-ho desert soldiers, and terrorist scenarios ripped from the headlines, today's ultra-realistic video games have moved to the forefront of the militarization of popular culture. How did this once innocent pastime -now rivaling Hollywood in popularity -become so deeply enmeshed in America's entry into global warfare?

From Sun Tzu to Xbox is a definitive history of the longstanding relationship between games and military culture, from wargaming's roots in ancient civilizations, to the Cold War development of computing for battle, to a recent crop of Pentagon-funded shoot-'em-ups, big-budget commercial titles and homemade hacks.

Examining US military projects like America's Army and Full Spectrum Warrior, commercial games from Battlezone to Conflict: Desert Storm, as well as mods, artworks, and homebrewed games created as critiques and responses, From Sun Tzu to Xbox offers the first political history of the video game and a powerful argument of its role in the way Americans have come to think about war.

Anything that features ancient Chinese military philosophies and Battlezone has got to kick ass. I'm hoping to write up a review of the book just as soon as I land a copy. —Brian Crecente

I managed to read through the 489-pages of Dean Takahashi's latest book, The Xbox 360 Uncloaked, in about a week. While I found it inciteful, I think it probably could have been cut down to a more reasonable size with a bit more hands-on editing. Here's the run-down of what the reviews are saying. —Brian Crecente

This is an entertaining and in depth book by Dean Takahashi, who currently writes for the San Jose Mercury News. If you want to know the background on the console, and many interesting and entertaining anecdotes about the different players in the industry, this one's worth a read.
The Inquirer

From bad bets to lucky breaks, Dean Takahashi's book The Xbox Uncloaked tracks Microsoft's multibillion-dollar, multidecade venture into the nebulous and often unpredictable world of console gaming.
While it boasts tons of interesting details, readers might not find them all amid the book's many pages.
The Rocky Mountain News

The strongest point of Dean's writing is the way he connects the dots between the various elements of management, design, and engineering. The story of the 360 could have easily ended up reading like a random intersection of thousands of unconcerned people flailing away at a disconnected project. Instead, Dean ties together the threads perfectly, weaving the quilt of a story.
The Game Chair

At nearly 500 pages, "Uncloaked" provides a surprisingly engaging story about a little-seen side of a business obsessed with journalism about the products rather than the process. Digging deep into his ample array of sources, Takahashi has crafted a business book enjoyable by the average gamer and a grand narrative interesting to anyone in the industry.
Denver Post

Anyhow, the book's about thirty bucks. A bit less in PDF format, a bit more in print.

The Indie Developer's Guide to Selling Games

I just received one of my favorite bits of gaming swag: a City of Villains flask. Kinda makes me wish I was an alcoholic, I guess it's never to late to start.

After checking out my review of his I Am 8-Bit art book, author Jon M. Gibson dropped me a line to remind me that he is working on collecting game art for a brand new exhibit at Gallery 1988 during this year's E3.

This time around, Gibson teamed up with IGN to seek submissions from not-so-established artists. If you're interested hop over to IGN to check out all of the rules. You have until April 7 to submit.

Wanna Be a Famous Artist [IGN]

Jon M. Gibson just sent me a copy of his video game art book I Am 8-Bit. The hefty collection of original game art is 156 pages thick, with many of the pages taken up with vibrantly colored reproductions of the artwork first displayed together at the Gallery 1988 in Hollywood.

Gibson and I have been talking about the project since he first got it off the ground and started hunting up artists to contribute. I wasn't able to make the show, which closed during last year's E3, and I really regretted it.

Now, having had a chance to flip through the strange, emotional and sometimes funny artistic representations of my, our culture, I regret it even more.

One of my favorite pieces of work in the book include Shawn Barber's Forerunner inspired by Space Invaders. The image shows the close-up of a face staring straight ahead, eyes wide, jaw slack, paint sort of running down. If you look closely into the glassy eyes, you'll notice a tiny abstract game of Space Invaders going on.

I highly recommend picking up the book. Oh, also my name's in it, so that makes it that much cooler.

Francesco sends word of a new book heading to the states and Europe from Italy featuring a Japanese photographer s work. How s that for multicultural?

Samurai Girl by Julie Watai, 25, is a photobook about gamers, otaku culture and J-Girls and is set to hit in March. Watai, we re told, is a bit of an otaku idol herself. The singer/photographer/model was in the group Pikapika, sang the title song for Ape Escape Eyetoy, modeled for Smart Girl magazine and even did some of the prep photos for Killer 7.

Some exclusive photos from the upcoming book after the jump.

Samurai Girl [Amazon]

Writer Kevin Bryan sends us word that he's put together a big 142 pager, full-color book on the Sony PlayStation. Highlights include what PS title Shigeru Miyamoto enjoyed, a 60-page rarity guide and an interview with the former R&D head of Sony. There's a FREE pdf version and $28.99 bound and printed copy as well. Not a bad deal at all.

Bryan's Book [Digital Press]

The official site for the i am 8-Bit video game art book and shows just relaunched. The new site has a very cool retro arcade machine interface with links to wallpaper, the place to order the book and some sweet Merch.

i am 8-Bit [Official Site]

i am 8-bit: Art Inspired by Classic Videogames of the '80s hits streets in late March, but Amazon has already started pre-selling it at a discount. The current price is a mere $15.61, a deep 32 percent off the regular price of $22.95. Author Jon M. Gibson tells me the book is a 156-page softback that measures 9-inches by 9-inches, like a big pixel. The chunky collection of 100 pictures of game art weighs in at nearly two pounds, and sounds like it's worth its weight in gold.

i am 8-bit [Amazon]