They

Divorced Families Cause Miyamoto Wii Fit Uncertainty

Yes, Japanese people do get divorced. It's just that American families get divorced more. This confuses Shigeru Miyamoto. He didn't make Wii Fit for single parents! According to CNET's Crave blog:

While Wii Fit has become somewhat of a family sensation in Japan, Miyamoto says he's not sure how an American audience will receive the game. When we asked Miyamoto what he expected from American consumers, he noted that on average, American families are apart more often than those in Japan. A lot of families have parents who have separated or divorced, so it's tougher to predict the role family will play in the American response to Wii Fit—and we couldn't agree more.

Still not quite sure being a single parent has to do with not purchasing Wii Fit. Can someone explain? Thanks.
Up Close with Shigeru Miyamoto [Crave via MEGATONik] [Pic]

6:00 AM on Mon Apr 21 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
3,817 views, 60 comments

Latest by onomeister: I read over all the comments, and no one has actually stated this possible reason as to why Shiggy said what he said. And that's the strange socio-cultural phenomenon of Japanese people (generally-speaking of course), who always worry about their behavior more »

where are they now

Gamasutra Catches Up With Alexey Pajitnov

Gamasutra has a great article up right now in which they pay a call on gaming pioneer Alexey Pajitnov. For the uninformed, Pajitnov is the creator of a a little game called Tetris. They caught up with him at the GameCity conference in Nottingham, England before a viewing of the documentary Tetris: From Russia With Love to discuss his views on such subjects as the casual gaming scene (including Katamari Damacy), his new projects and the history of Tetris. It's some terrific weekend reading if you have some free time if only to hear the perspective of a true old school gamer on the modern gaming scene. Also, if you have never seen one of the several documentaries that follow the long arduous history of one of the most addicting games ever made, do yourself a favor and check one out. It's an amazing story filled with more drama and intrigue than most soap operas.

Catching Up Casually: A Chat With Alexey Pajitnov [Gamasutra]

3:00 PM on Sat Jan 19 2008
By fdemarco
1,953 views, 22 comments

Latest by JoDi: This dude is so nice always. I think I was going to make a "In Soviet Russia..." joke but after reading the interview I am just happy the rights to it went back to him so he could cash in. more »

they finally did it

Crossword, Charades and Cosplay In One Wii Game

Oh SEGA. That's a screenshot for its new Wii game Miburi-&Teburi-. It's not just a crossword game, but a crossword game based on charades and cosplay. Meaning? People in funny outfits make funny gestures. From that you deduce a word. Sounds like non-stop shits and giggles. So, based on the picture above, what words or phrases leap to mind?

Hit the jump for more hilarity.

More »

5:00 AM on Tue Sep 11 2007
By Brian Ashcraft
4,354 views, 53 comments

Latest by Knukleur: The second screen makes me wonder if I've seen all the videos for the Cardigans or Aqua. I blame MTV for this. more »

clip

They Revealed

IMC has released new screens and a trailer for their mysterious FPS They, which we first heard about back in late July. Judging from these new assets, it looks like the commentors who compared the creatures to the aliens from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within might have been closer to the truth than they realized. Luckily they have until 2009 to differentiate themselves from the box office failure before the game hits the PC and next-gen consoles. Good luck!

11:30 AM on Mon Sep 3 2007
By Mike Fahey
13,084 views, 95 comments

Latest by GulliverFoyle: The aliens in FF were the coolest part of the movie - no problems there. more »

they're tiny!

Twilight Princess Capsule Figures

While I was roaming around PAX last weekend I happened upon a booth by local Seattle store Pink Godzilla. They had an amazing selection of vintage games, Japanese toys and even some Japanese systems. What really caught my eye (although it was hard to focus on just one thing) were these little Twilight Princess figures. These are actually capsule figures from Japan and each figure came in parts, reminding me of my model making days. They come in pieces so that they can produce larger figures and still manage to fit them into the little plastic egg shaped capsules. I grabbed the whole set for $25 and spoke with one of the guys working the booth who told me they are readily available through the Pink Godzilla website. What's really great about PG is that all of their items include free shipping from right here in the US, thus relieving some of the long ship times often run into when ordering the same items from overseas. So, if you're a fan of Japanese games and toys and don't like waiting six to eight weeks for your precious treasures to arrive, run, don't walk to Pink Godzilla now!

8:00 AM on Sun Sep 2 2007
By fdemarco
4,609 views, 31 comments

Latest by -: awesome more »

they call him flipper

Dolphins Join DS Pet Sim Genre

Come on folks, we've got to run out of cute animals at some point. 505 Games had to go aquatic for their new DS pet sim for November, Dolphin Friends, which features a rather Flipperesque tale of a young child befriending a cute little dolphin, only with the more realistic twist of teaching it tricks to make money instead of solving crimes like some waterlogged Lassie. Players will be able to train the dolphin, encourage it with petting, and feed it various foods (fish and...? Skittles? Small rocks?) in order to gain its trust, which you will ultimately betray by turning it into some sort of performing freak the other dolphins will laugh at. I highly doubt fin rot or dolphin/human love will factor into the title, though there is a comprehensive dolphin encyclopedia that makes up for those omissions none at all.
More »

4:30 PM on Wed Aug 29 2007
By Mike Fahey
1,545 views, 44 comments

Latest by n/a: how do i get a dolphin???,ticina <3 more »

mysterious mysteries

What Is They?

What is They? Other than the fact that it is a mystery first person shooter for PC and next generation consoles, I have no earthly clue, but IMC seems to think it is a big deal, issuing a release about the game, which will debut behind closed doors at the Games Convention in Leipzig, along with this single screenshot meant to whet our appetites for more.

„THEY" features a technically future minded 3D engine with next generation effects, brand new gameplay elements and a revolutionary weapon system to survive the challenges ahead! But always remember: Nothing is as it seems!

Vague, vague vague. I am, however, intrigued by one line in the features list from the release below. "Unique weapon system that makes you „love" your weapons." For the sake of the less gutter-minded among us I shall leave the speculation to the comments section. More »

9:40 AM on Mon Jul 30 2007
By Mike Fahey
5,017 views, 67 comments

Latest by xINTRINSICALLY_PWNINGx: I was about to state that the supposedly unique weaponry might include fleshlights built into them, then I noticed the "less gutter-minded" statement. Anyways, I'm uncertain about how many times I can recall reading iterations of that bullet-point-like list of more »

never say they weren't progressive

Jesuits See the Potential of Second Life

It's not just universities, police departments, and businesses who see Second Life as a potential recruiting ground: the Society of Jesus, that rather controversial order of the Catholic Church better known as the Jesuits, are being urged by one of their own to head into virtual territory to facilitate real-life spirituality. In the Italian Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, "Antonio Spadaro urged fellow Catholics not to be scared of entering the virtual world, which may be fertile ground for new converts wishing to better themselves." Despite the inclusion of "the erotic dimension" and people who no doubt would prefer to escape the real world, not be converted, Spadaro feels that the virtual world is just a new frontier for missionary work: More »

12:30 PM on Sun Jul 29 2007
By Maggie Greene
2,419 views, 37 comments

Latest by n/a: @evirustheslaye: one of my favorite jokes: We're not C/catholic, we're Jesuits! oonagh+ more »

woes

EA+E3+LA = :(

I have spent the better part of this month scheduling, rearranging, tamping interviews for myself and the staff at this year's E3. Due to the fact that the show is now spread out over the city of Santa Monica, squirreled away in a half-dozen or so hotels, on the pier, in a hanger, in restaurants, in a high school, at a studio, the process has not been a fun one. More »

9:00 AM on Thu Jun 28 2007
By Brian Crecente
2,489 views, 47 comments

they are coming

Supreme Commander 2 Confirmed

Back in February of this year Gas Powered Games unleashed Supreme Commander on the PC gaming public, delighting both RTS and giant robot fans everywhere with its focus on story and the awesome strategic zoom. Now publisher THQ has announced that a sequel will be strategically zooming to a PC near you this November. More »

8:20 AM on Thu Jun 28 2007
By Mike Fahey
4,137 views, 34 comments

Latest by TheDarkerPhantom: I think Supreme Commander is a great game the only problem with the game is unit blance doesn't exist. When it takes 60+ flying units to even get some progress, which means after you move those units, you need more »

they know

LaRouche Camp Calls Foul On VA Tech Report

GamePolitics has been following the saga of the Virginia Tech Review Panel since they began, documenting the semi-invasion of the the process by followers of nutty political figure Lyndon LaRouche, seemingly hell-bent on blaming the entire incident on video games. From telling the panel that violent games should be banned like heroin to endlessly testifying against a hobby that had nothing to do with the incident at all. When the report was finally released last week, it contained no mention of video games. Case closed, right? More »

10:20 AM on Tue Jun 26 2007
By Mike Fahey
1,308 views, 53 comments

Latest by Kyouryuu: Does any Democrat really believe LaRouche is a member of that party? Fringe at best. Cult leader at worst. I would say this much, though. The fringe candidates - the ones that have no prayer of ever winning more »

they see me rollin'

Saints Row Hummer Limo Rollin' In Shibuya

Bring on the guys in wife-beaters and in Yankees caps! A Saints Row party was held in Shibuya's Club Unit, complete with hip-hop DJs. The club had a playable demo kiosks, but the real head turner was the Hummer Saints Row limo. While the Hummer seems relatively popular for rich Japanese who love impractical cars, there are only a handful of the limo versions. Side note: in my old apartment building, one of the tenants had a hummer. Dude would spent at least 15 minutes everyday squeezing that truck out of the cramped parking lot. Brian Ashcraft More »

7:00 AM on Mon Jun 18 2007
By Brian Ashcraft
2,345 views, 65 comments

Latest by n/a: I'm an american in america and i just so happen to luck up on this web site, because i was interested in visiting Japan one day and i'm completely shocked to see all this racist stuff going on (did i more »

oh no they didn't

WomenGamers Announce Scholarship Winners

Two little darlings have won a scholarship to go to National Computer Camp through WomenGamers.com. Briana F. (age 16) and Elizabeth H. (age 12) both wrote winning essays, and not only will they get money towards the camp, these girls could steal my job any day of the week. In fact, I'm not even sure I could write a complete sentence at age 12, let alone win a contest with a competent string of insightful thoughts and ideas. Congratulations to you both, and *ahem*, "Girl Power!" Sorry, sometimes that still has a tendency to slip out. Kim Phu More »

12:40 PM on Tue May 29 2007
By Kim Phu
824 views, 12 comments

Latest by Tarislar: Read the essay (Briana's anyway). Very thoughtful and well put. I guess if you wanted you can be a pedantic twit and miss the point completely of the Virtual Boy reference, no place like the net to be more »

if they mated

R-Type Tactics Site Goes Live

Irem has pushed the R-Type Tactics web site live, giving shooter and strategy fans some sweet direct feed screenshots to obsess over until the game is finally released. Speaking of a release, the R-Type Tactics site lists a vague 2007 release for the PSP game and a price point of 5040 yen but offers little else in the way of solid gameplay details for non-Japanese speakers. More »

4:00 PM on Fri May 25 2007
By Michael McWhertor
1,778 views, 29 comments

it's like they're multiplying like...

Rayman's Raving Rabbids 2 for Wii

It's round two for Rayman's Raving Rabbids and the onslaught of oddly-amusing mini-games. This time, Ubisoft is promising to go into more detail about the background of the Rabbids with a narrative about their world domination plans (did I mention that they're HQed under a mall?). More »

1:40 PM on Fri May 18 2007
By Kim Phu
14,733 views, 26 comments

if you build it, they will play

EA Godfather Sequel?

An industry analyst by the name of Todd Greenwald spent some time at Electronic Arts in Redwood City and found out some interesting developments that are happening over in their neck of the woods. After building the open-world engine from the ground up for The Godfather, EA will be cutting costs by using the same engine in five different franchises. One of them includes the sequel to The Godfather (although there was no mention of its release) and another game that is using the engine is the new Simpson's Game coming out later this year. EA has already had a stellar year and since cost-cutting usually doesn't typically pass over to the consumer, we can only hope that at least we'll can squeeze a few extra games out of them in the future. Kim Phu More »

12:40 PM on Thu May 17 2007
By Kim Phu
1,510 views, 23 comments

Latest by crazyspoonhead: EA should go right ahead and make a sequel. The first game was a failure, so it's only natural that they make a sequel that will fail as hard as the first. more »

they love the gamecock

Croteam Goes With Gamecock

Back in 2001, Croatian developer Croteam released the first Serious Sam title for the PC, published by Gathering of Developers. Now six years later Croteam is back with Mike Wilson and crew with the announcement that the company's next big title is going to be published through Gamecock.

"The Gamecock team includes some of the best people we've worked with in our 14 years of game development," says Roman Ribaric, Croteam CEO. "We had a great time and learned a lot when we worked together to produce the first Serious Sam and we are confident that we will achieve similar success this time around."

The new game hasn't been titled yet (come on, Serious Sam 3!), but it will be developed using the Serious Engine 3, the latest version of Croteam's proprietary dev system, which you can see in action up top there. We'll have to wait until 2009 to play it, but with visuals like that possible and the Serious Sam guys behind the helm, I'm expecting something glorious. Michael Fahey More »

11:20 AM on Tue May 15 2007
By Mike Fahey
1,249 views, 12 comments

Latest by n/a: Best tag. EVAR. more »

they put the g in pong

T&A Pong