I got going on this idea because my first night on the job for Kotaku — covering a Godfather II event — I sliced my foot open and spent the next week limping from junket to junket. But whenever I thought I had it bad as a games journalist, I'd always remind myself that journalists in video games usually have it way worse. They wade through zombies, deal with emotionally unstable people and more often than not wind up on the front lines of wars and stuff. They're the ones that deserve a bottle of Cristal and a hug. But instead, they get this photo gallery.

Taylor — Suikoden 5
[Image Cred]

Irene Ellet — Valkyria Chronicles
[Image Cred]

Frank West — Dead Rising
[Image Cred]

Elena Fisher — Uncharted
[Image Cred]

Joseph Schreiber — Silent Hill 4

Keith Helm — Disaster Report
[Image Cred]

Ben Bertolucci — Resident Evil 2
[Image Cred]

Ulala — Space Channel 5

Everyone — Michigan: Report From Hell (never came out in North America)
[Image Cred]

Madison Paige — Heavy Rain
[Image Cred]

Laura Parton - D2

Keats — Folklore
[Image Cred]

Maya Amano - Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

Alyssa - Resident Evil: Outbreak
[Image Cred]

I give honorable mentions to the news announcers in King of Fighters 12, the sportscaster characters in any sports game ever and one to Reuben Oluwagembi in Far Cry 2 (couldn't find a good enough picture of him). Other than that, these are all I've got — hit me up in the comments if you think of more. Owen Good nominated Paperboy I assume on grounds that he would have been promoted to copyeditor by now, but I don't know...

P.S. I still have the cork from that bottle of Cristal in my purse. It reminds me of everything that's happened in the last year and how much of it I owe to Kotaku. Here's looking at another year of blogging!

A total of five cars were made, one for Jet Set, Space Channel 5, Super Monkey Ball, Shinobi and House of the Dead. Apparently, these things don't go for anywhere near as much as you'd think they would, so Sega nerds, get on it.

Sega Hot Wheels Set [GameSniped]

Returning Classic songs from the original Samba de Amigo:

Vamos A Carnaval – WaveMaster*
Volare – Gypsy Kings
Hot Hot Hot – Arrow*
Salome – Chayanne*
Tubthumping – Chumbawumba*
The Cup of Life – R. Martin*
Samba de Janeiro – Bellini
Mambo Beat – Perez Prado*
Livin’ La Vida Loca – Ricky Martin*
Bamboleo – Gipsy Kings
Take On Me – Reel Big Fish
El Ritmo Tropical – Dixie’s Gang*
Macarena – Los Del Rio*
La Bamba – Ritchie Valens*
Tequila – Chuck Rio*
Soul Bossa Nova – Quincy Jones
Samba De Amigo – Bellini
The Theme of Rocky – Bill Conti*
Mas Que Nada – Jorge Ben*
Sway – Gimbel and Ruiz*
El Mambo – Solemar

All-New Wii-Exclusive Songs:

Baila Me – Gipsy Kings
Papa Loves Mambo – Perry Como*
Mambo No. 8 – Perez Prado
Conga – Miami Sound Machine*
Low Rider – War
Mambo No. 5 – Lou Bega*
Oye Como Va – Santana*
Asereje – Las Ketchup*
Arriba Allez – Bellini
Magalenha – Bellini and Mondonca Do Rio
Ran Kan Ran – Tito Puento*
Groove Is In the Heart – Dee Lite
Jump in the Line – Harry Belafonte*
Do It Well – Jennifer Lopez*
Como Ves – Ozomatli
Cha Cha – Chelo
Pon de Replay – Rihanna
Smooth – Santana*
Mexican Flyer – Ken Woodman*
Borriquito – Charo
Un Aguardiente – WaveGroup
Solo Tu – WaveGroup
Tango With Me – WaveGroup

* Denotes the song is performed by a cover band

Tetsuya Mizuguchi Interview [Eurogamer] [Pic]

His response to GameSpot when probed about another futuristic dancing game? "With Space Channel 5, if I have reason to improve on the HD experience, I will do that. Have you asked Sega?" adding a bit of laughter. The annoying kind that hints that he's not ready to spill something yet. He answered similarly to Game|Life's question on the matter with the same godforsaken laughter.

Look, Miz. We aren't laughing. We've still got the Ulala and Morolian refrigerator magnets up, if that tells you anything. Despite Sega's dismissal of the idea, their new tendency to look backward for hits only makes us want more Space Channel 5.

We know it's rumor, and we actually don't believe a lick of it yet, but let's get this done already. No more laughing! And can we get a cute microphone controller, while you're at it?

It's coming to everything—PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS—for maximum profit. A handful of screens await you.

I've heard from many who want to play the original Rez, but couldn't buy it in stores anymore. I feel that's the big reason why we're releasing Rez now. I can't say we're doing Rez 2. I am ready to go to the next level. Sequels are a good approach, and Rez is a life theme for me.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh... (grabs heart) Give me water... The Wii is special. It's not such a high def direction, but it's a fun direction as a future toy. That kind of idea always stimulates us in our ideas. This [the Wii] is another direction.

No, I wasn't nervous. He was nervous. During the filming, I had to give him direction like "relax."

My work all these years has been to entertain people through video games, but this virtual Tokyo concept could be the next step and path... The Tokyo we are trying to create is based on the image of city. How do people in Tokyo perceive the city? How about foreigners? That's what we want to express.

I must've missed the Sega PC announcement for Sega Splash! Golf, as I was genuinely surprised to see that Sonic the Hedgehog was hitting the links. He's not doing a Mario Golf-like stint, simply appearing alongside other Sega trademarked characters for an online, Japanese only golf game. It looks like he'll be joined by regular sidekick Tails, Ulala from Space Channel 5, NiGHTS, Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone and a puyo from Puyo Puyo as one of the guest stars in an otherwise uneventful cel-shaded golf game. Michael McWhertor

Upon looking over the games I've been playing lately, I realized that quite a number of rhythm games have been creeping their way into my collection. Ouendan!, DDR (I'm trying to shed a few pounds, so sue me), Guitar Hero 1 & 2, Donkey Konga, Space Channel 5. Now, these are definitely not games I play all the time, but I like them because they provide a great counterpoint to the often long winded games I love to play like Twilight Princess and Final Fantasy III. After wandering around the same part of the game map for an hour or two trying to level up, it's somewhat of a relief to take a break and pound out the beats on a couple of Ouendan! songs. They are quick (but not easy!) and can be played for a little while and then put down without fear of forgetting what side quest you were on when you saved last.

Rhythm games are definitely an acquired taste. Many people find them frustrating, although I wonder if that says more about the lack of rhythm in the player than the actual quality of the game. I know that for me, my experiences with FPSs is woefully small, not because I don't care for them per say, but more because I'm completely lame at playing them. It's also true that certain rhythm games have wider appeal than others. Take Guitar Hero, for example, which seems to have transcended the genre and appeals to an extremely wide audience.

So, let's hear it for the rhythm games! Are you an Ulala or an Ouendan? A Guitar God or a Bongo Beater? Become a part of the rhythm nation and let us know what your favorite rhythm titles are in the comments! Flynn De Marco

Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the man behind Rez and Lumines, talks with The Guardian's Alek Krotoski. Miz, like usual, is a good interview with much to say about music, clubbing and those evil Lumines Live micro-transactions. And he offers this back story on working with The King of Pop:

We were in the middle of production of Space Channel 5, in 1998 or 1999. I got a call from the US from my partner (the exec producer of Space Channel 5), and he said, "Oh, Michael wants to act in Space Channel 5." I said, "Who's Michael?" "Who is Michael Jackson?," he said. "The Michael Jackson, the real Michael Jackson!"

My partner had shown him the 60-70% complete version, when it was almost at the end of the game. We had one month to finalise. But Michael wanted to do something so we suggested that if he was OK with it, we could programme the people in the game do the Michael Jackson dance when taken over by the aliens He said yeah. We initially had five aliens who danced. One of them became Michael Jackson.

And one of them is still is, Miz. Brian Ashcraft

Working With Jacko [Gamesblog]

Kotaku sister site Idolator reports that former Deee-Lite singer Lady Miss Kier (a.k.a. Kierin Kirby) just lost a lawsuit against Sega Japan alleging that Space Channel 5's character Ulala is ripping off the Lady's schtick.

Says the Legal Reader:

Kirby was not interested and declined to cut a deal or give Sega permission to use her songs, likeness, or anything else. Subsequently, Kirby discovered that Sega had released the game and that it included a dancing female character named "Ulala" who Kirby felt resembled her Lady Miss Kier character in several respects. Among other "signature" characteristics, Lady Miss Kier was known for saying "ooh la la," as she does while introducing herself in the Groove is in the Heart video. Kirby thought Sega's use of "Ulala" was an obvious rip-off of her signature "ooh la la," and noted several other apparent similarities between Ulala and Lady Miss Kier.

Kirby charged misapporpriation of likeness but lost the case, partially because Sega claimed to never have heard of Deee-Lite, Kirby's band. Which is a bizarre claim if it's true they contacted her to do work for the game. How else would they have heard of her? Eliza Gauger

More here [Idolator]

The question isn't what inspires Lumines creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, but what doesn't inspire him? Giving a speech at the Develop Conference in England, Mizuguchi stated:

You can use influences from anywhere and create anything you like. There does not have to be any shape or format, all you need is inspiration.

Case in point. Ninty-Nine Nights was inspired by the television coverage of the Iraq war and the Kurosawa film Rashoman. His puzzle game Lumines was inspired by the PSP, while Meteos was influenced by multi-tasking and the Fox drama 24. MTV music videos, surreal art, jazz and stomp all influenced Rez and Space Channel 5.

So what influences his upcoming Lumines 2? Why, the mega-selling prequel of course. Now that's inspiration. Brian Ashcraft

Mizuguchi Talks [Next-Gen]