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oddities

Nintendo Says There Is No Casual Gaming

Casual gaming? Whatever! This is no casual gaming, buster. Just ask Nintendo! It'll set you straight. Nintendo Europe's senior marketing director Laurent Fischer unloads:

For me, you are a gamer or non-gamer... I think most of you know that you can spend ten or twenty hours on an internet flash game and have not realized. The guy who plays these games regularly — he's a core gamer... Someone who is fifty-years old who only plays Brain Training, but plays it like a core gamer is a core gamer... I don't like this word casual so much. Because people consider that casual needs to be something easy. If you're good at any game you can play at a high difficulty level... Take Tetris. There is incredible gameplay, it's very simple, very easy to understand, but it's also very different. I think a game can be a light enough to enjoy and for all gamers to become a core gamer on it... There is no casual gaming. There is just a different way to play.

Fischer doesn't like the word casual so much? Talk about an understatement.
No Casual Gaming [CVG] [Pic]

6:40 AM on Thu May 15 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
3,096 views, 108 comments

Latest by Marlor: @kurokotetsu: That's right. I think "casual games" really can only be defined as the types of game that are played by people with no interest in the wider gaming scene. In other words, "casual games" are the games "casual gamers" play. You more »

wiiware

European WiiWare Launch Lineup A Little Bigger, A Little Different

Unlike Nintendo of America, Nintendo Europe are giving PAL customers a little time to prepare for WiiWare's launch, by announcing their first lineup of games for the service a week in advance (European launch is May 20). Europeans will be getting eight games instead of six, and while they won't be getting Defend Your Castle or VIP Blackjack, they will be getting Dr Mario, Germ Buster, Pirates: The Key of Dreams, Toki Tori and Star Soldier R. Full lineup after the jump. More »

4:00 AM on Tue May 13 2008
By Luke Plunkett
4,650 views, 35 comments

Latest by Josh*: There's gonna have to be an SD card solution - they didn't put that slot there for the Photo channel and Brawl screenshots. more »

david reeves

Yes, Europe Is Multi-Lingual, Thanks Sony!

His Nail Is Dirty So Dirty Did you know that there are many different languages in Europe? Not everyone speaks English! Mind officially blown. That means localizing games for Europe is a gianormous pain in the ass. Says Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe honcho David Reeves:

But even if you talk to Guerilla, Namco, Square Enix, they all do it in English to begin with and then think about localisation later. You're absolutely right, we should do it at the beginning. But they look at it like, 'How much can I get for a Dutch version of the game?' With PlayStation Store we could probably go in the UK almost day and date. But then what are the Germans and the French going to say to me? That I'm Anglo-centric.

Well, yeah. And blaming all this on the poor Dutch? So not cool.
Why Europe Must Wait [Eurogamer]

4:30 AM on Thu May 8 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
1,982 views, 75 comments

Latest by Yukito: Yeah well, I've never played a video game with my own language. Never seen one either. I bet 90% of us European gamers would be happy with Japanese audio (or English audio for non-Japanese games) and English subtitles. Most of more »

playstation 3

British Ad Yanked Because It Fibbed About PS3 Backwards-Compatability

Hrm, thought we'd seen the last of this topic. Seems a British TV commercial for PC World has been taken off the air by the Advertising Standards Authority. Why? It contained "misleading" information about the PS3, claiming the PAL 60GB unit "plays your PS2 games as well", even though it, well, does not. It plays most of them, yes, but not all. I'm sure they meant to say "plays most of your PS2 games as well", but hey, maybe they were paying by the word.

"Misleading" PC World PS3 Ad Pulled [Next-Gen]

11:30 PM on Wed May 7 2008
By Luke Plunkett
2,317 views, 36 comments

Latest by Ryuujin1024: @Lov3: But since this is how sony are making the PS3 from now on I should Imagen like the PSP the emulation firmware will be updated so often. more »

playtv

PlayTV Hits Europe In September

Looks like those SCE Australia reports were spot-on. At yesterday's SCEE event in London, Sony announced that PlayTV - Sony Europe's HDTV tuner & recorder for the PS3 - would be launching in Europe sometime in September, for the price of €99/£80. No idea how well this kind of thing will do at market (it's an awful lot of money considering it's skimming off your PS3's HDD), but as someone yet to fork out for a HD tuner for my own TV, I'll be keeping an eye on it later this year regardless.
PlayTV Dated, Priced [Next-Gen]

7:20 AM on Wed May 7 2008
By Luke Plunkett
1,715 views, 39 comments

Latest by PSWii60-Fanboy: British free-to-air HDTV will start early next year: [www.freeview.co.uk] Dunno about the rest of Europe, this is a must buy for me. more »

wii eating disorder

Wii Fit To Little Girl: "You're Fat"

Japan made it through Wii Fit mania without a hitch, really. Nobody fell off the board or anything like that. Good times, all around! But, that's Japan. What about elsewhere? Over on Disney community forum (yeah, we know) DISboard, one poster claims:

We have all laughed and joked about being told that we're fat and need to lose weight but I was gobsmacked when it [Wii Fit] told her that she is overweight. She is a healthy 10 year old girl with an active lifestyle, she swims and dances every week. She is 92lbs and 4ft9" tall and there is not an inch of fat on her. She is solidly built but not fat. She was devasted to be called fat and we had to work hard to convince her that she isn't. I know it is just a game but seriously we already have to worry about young girls starving themselves to look like the magazine models and now we have a game that tells them their fat. This to me is very worrying and I hope that is doesn't cause emotional problems for any youngsters out there :(

Cue Karen Carpenter concerns!
Disgusted With Wii Fit [DIS Boards via CVG via Dtoid] [Pic]

6:00 AM on Wed May 7 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
14,296 views, 203 comments

Latest by null: Hello, Two points haven't been raised on this discussion that I think are important. The first is to look at the parents. If they are fat, then the girl has lots to be concerned about, whether or not she is more »

Sony Playstation Day London 08

Europe Getting MGS4 Bundle After All

Aww Europe, did you really think Sony would leave you out of the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PlayStation 3 bundle loop? Of course not! Come June 12th, European gamers will be able to get their hands on their own MGS4 bundle, complete with PlayStation 3, SixAxis controller, and of course, a copy of the game. Not the most exciting bundle really, but hey, it's a bundle allright. The pack will be priced at 439.99 Euros, perfect for any fan of the series who managed to hold out on picking up the console until now. More »

11:10 AM on Tue May 6 2008
By Mike Fahey
6,551 views, 70 comments

Latest by sweenyJ: they really REALLY dont want to sell the dual shock 3 do they. "ok thats japan amaerica and now australia has DS3 on sale what about the uk?" "nah not yet we still need to get rid of all those sixaxis'" more »

virtual console

Another PAL Hanabi Festival: Gradius II & Cho Aniki To Hit VC

Last year Nintendo ran a little party for PAL customers called the "Hanabi Festival". For a month, they put a bunch of Japanese games up on the Virtual Console, games that had never been available outside of Japan. It went down well! So well they're running another one. This week, European and Australian Wii owners have been able to pick up Final Soldier, Columns III and Gradius II. In coming weeks? A lineup that includes Star Parodier, Puyo Puyo 2 and, amazingly (awesomely?), the original Cho Aniki.

11:30 PM on Fri May 2 2008
By Luke Plunkett
4,267 views, 49 comments

Latest by Yetanotheruninspiredscreename: " but Square is STILL hesitant to bring out Chrono Trigger and FF VI." No FF games on the vc when Nintendo won't let them charge 15 bucks for the NES and SNES ones plus they can do remakes for the more »

playstation store

Next Week, Europe Gets A Proper PS Store Update

Europeans are sick of crummy PlayStation Store updates, I'm sick of writing about them. So it's lucky for the lot of us that next week, we get a temporary reprieve. To celebrate the PlayStation Day event being held in London on May 6, Sony have promised that next week the European store will be updated not once, but twice. The first round of content, including a Haze demo, will hit on May 6, with a second round (which includes a Race Driver: GRID demo) due on May 8. More »

10:30 PM on Fri May 2 2008
By Luke Plunkett
3,444 views, 45 comments

Latest by null: Comment on Next Week, Europe Gets A Proper PS Store Update is anyone able to see the update yet? im on psn now and nothing has been updated :( more »

playstation store

PAL PlayStation Store Update

The PAL PlayStation Store's usual slim pickings gets somewhat of a free pass this week, as with GTA IV upon us I can't imagine too many people clamouring for PSP demos or wallpapers. It's still slim pickings, however. No Echocrome, no PS3 demos, just Ape Quest for the PSP and some Need for Speed DLC. More »

11:30 PM on Thu May 1 2008
By Luke Plunkett
1,706 views, 15 comments

Latest by enewtabie: I sent it over to Kotaku,but you SCEE folks will receive two updates next week.Four demos,3 or four psn games,etc. May 6th and May 8th. more »

peter moore

"Anti-Americanism Higher Than Its Been In A Long Time"

So Peter Moore has long since taken the reigns over at EA Sports. He's a regular and has blended in like the carpet. But when he left Microsoft last year, did he have any reservations about going over to EA Sports. Yes, yes he did. According to Moore:

When I first came on, my concerns were the "American-ness" of the brand. Powerful brand, strong voice, red, white, and blue, out of California, an American voice: Andrew Anthony, you know, 'It's in the game.'
More »

4:00 AM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
7,616 views, 133 comments

Latest by Jac21: @red: Just to point out, you're the one who started it. Oh yeah, you're a racist biogt if I ever did see one. more »

gta iv

360 GTA IV Is Region-Locked

This won't be terribly useful to Americans or PS3 owners, but anyone in Europe looking to score a cheap imported copy of GTA IV (or anyone in Australia looking to score the uncensored American version) should know that the 360 version of the game's been region-locked by the publisher. I only point this out because, over the past twelve months, nearly every single major 360 release has been region-free, meaning Take-Two joins MTV (ie Rock Band) as two of the last publishers to still make the decision to restrict the international sale of their games.
GTA IV: Region locked [CVG]

3:00 AM on Tue Apr 29 2008
By Luke Plunkett
5,955 views, 72 comments

Latest by NunianVonFuch: @tranzfusion: As can us Europeans... Seems the entire article is misleading. Kotaku print a retraction/correction? more »

metal gear online

Metal Gear Online Beta Is Go

The Metal Gear Online beta test is now live and ready to play in North America, Europe, and Japan. We've gotten reports from various Kotakuites that they are already connected and playing the long-awaited and slightly delayed game. How is it so far? Well reader JP just played a team death match and had this to say:
It's great.
So there you have it. Great. Keep in mind that you'll have to download the 1.2 update before playing, on top of the ridiculously large 1.1 update from earlier. Those of you never got around to downloading that first update (like me) might want to get on that right now, as the download might finish before the beta is over...if we're lucky.

10:40 AM on Fri Apr 25 2008
By Mike Fahey
9,250 views, 154 comments

Latest by elgabo: @NirvashStarwind: Where did you see this? I have my receipt and dvd to prove I have a legit code and I can't log in. more »

go!view

Euro Go!View PSP Video Service This Summer

First announced by Crecente last year before the Sony Games Convention press conference, the Go!View video download service for the PSP will be launching across Europe this summer. The service, the result of a partnership between SCEE and Sky, will allow PSP owners to download high-quality video via their PC for viewing on their PSP, as opposed to the current system which involves us converting our porn to a more friendly format before playing it on the handheld. No news of the prices involved, though they will be offering both purchase and subscription payment models. Still no word of a U.S. release, though honestly I think most PSP owners who want to watch tv shows on their handheld already do anyway.

Sony reveals "summer" launch for Go!View [GamesIndustry.biz]

9:40 AM on Thu Apr 24 2008
By Mike Fahey
1,033 views, 6 comments

Latest by Hand_O_Death: I just want the Digi Tuner (I know, Feb 09) and the GPS already more »

final fantasy iv ds

Final Fantasy IV DS To Europe This Summer

The 3D remake of what I consider to be the second best pre-CD era Final Fantasy games is heading to Europe this summer. Final Fantasy IV DS adds a layer of 3D shine to the characters many of us have known for years as 2D sprites, bringing Cecil, Kain, Rosa, and that damn spoony bard to life like never before. I wish they could be more specific than Summer 2008 for the Euro release, but with it heading stateside on July 22nd I am sure European fans will have it around that date, one way or another. To commemorate this vague release window, Squeenix gives you many pictures to print out and tape to your DS so you can pretend you're from the future.

More »

8:20 AM on Thu Apr 24 2008
By Mike Fahey
2,995 views, 69 comments

Latest by ReaveT: @KirbySS: Your foolish "logic" and "reading comprehension skills" ruined my comment! PISTOLS AT DAWN, GOOD SIR! more »

super smash bros

Smash Bros. Gets Official European Release Date

Sing. And rejoice. For Europe, you long wait is over. Nintendo Europe have published their Q2 release schedule, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl is pencilled in for a June 27 launch. No, really. Also dated are the Everyone's Nintendo Channel (May 30), as well as the WiiWare service, which will launch - as (sorta) expected - on May 20. Oh, pick that mouth up off the floor. It had to come out eventually, didn't it?
[Nintendo Europe]

4:05 AM on Thu Apr 24 2008
By Luke Plunkett
5,454 views, 106 comments

Latest by Trilbynerd_wii: *sniff* *weep* this is exactly the same day as my school prom. I hate you nintendo, I hate you!!! more »

top

Sony Confirms GTA IV Bundle For Europe

No surprises here. Today, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe confirmed the long rumored (with pictures!) Grand Theft Auto IV bundle. Going on sale April 29th, it's packed with a 40GB PS3, a SIXAXIS and copy of Grand Theft Auto IV. Says David Reeves, SCEE president:


We are delighted to offer the millions of PS3 and GTA fans the ultimate gaming package.

That's not a very exciting quote, now is it? While SCEE is confirming this for, well, Europe, we image that the same will be true for the US. Hit the jump for the press release in full. It's THRILLING.
More »

5:00 AM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
4,408 views, 70 comments

Latest by Shakezula84: Sorta off topic from the comments, but with the article. I work at a NA GameStop and we are getting 10 PS3 systems scheduled to arrive on Monday. This will triple our stock. I find this odd, since our next more »

limited edition

Alone In The Dark Euro Limited Edition

Someone at Eden Games has a thing for Keanu Reeves, don't you think? It's as if they buffed him up, renamed him Edward Carnby and plastered his face all over the European Limited Edition for Alone In The Dark for the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. He's on the cover of the Official Soundtrack CD, the Making Of DVD, and splashed throughout the pages of the bound art book. Hell, they've even included a figurine of Neo Carby for you to play bullet-time with in the bathtub. It's all wrapped up in a rather nifty looking box that will completely fail to fit on the shelf with the rest of your game collection, securing it a cherry spot above your mantle. All I can say is whoa...I hope we get something similar stateside. Not to sure about the game but I love having boxes of Limited Edition stuff lying around.
More »

8:20 AM on Tue Apr 22 2008
By Mike Fahey
4,569 views, 54 comments

Latest by StuiWooi: Looks more like peter petrelli from heroes than keanu to me more »