Brian Ashcraft

Right Now, Microsoft Showing 31 Games For Japan

Today in Tokyo, Microsoft is holding its spring 2009 press conference. Xbox Japan boss Takashi Sensui announces that 31 titles for Japan will be covered. Before we get to them, Sensui confirms that a million Xbox 360s have been sold in Japan. To mark the occasion, a million Microsoft Points will be given out nationwide.…

Ninety-Nine Nights II Is Dark, Fiery And Smokey

Xbox 360 title Ninety-Nine Nights is getting a sequel with the clever temp title Ninety-Nine Nights II. As you can tell by these screenshots, the game’s visual hook is equally clever: light and dark. So original! As we previously posted, the game is currently 50 percent finished and slated for release sometime this year. The…

The Wii Is Perfect For Computer Illiterate Old People

Not that there is anything wrong with computer illiterate old people. Why our mother just asked us yesterday if it was difficult to use a PC mouse. Yes it is, we said. We lied! The above ad is for phone carrier NTT Western Japan and is eye-roll inducing if you understand Japanese. For those who…

Comparing Final Fantasy XIII Demo On HD TV And Analog TV

Not all televisions are built the same. For kicks, Japanese site Intermezzo compared the Final Fantasy XIII Blu-ray PS3 demo on two televisions (one HD, one analog). Let’s have a look. One of the televisions was a US$200 model 14-inch Sony WEGA from the year 2000. It was connected to the PS3 with composite cables.…

Kojima Productions: Who Wants Zone of the Enders 3?

Hideo Kojima doesn’t only make Metal Gear Solid games. He also makes Zone of the Enders mecha games — though, it’s been six years since the last one. He’s been busy, you know. ZoE spawned two three sequels as well as two anime. The first title was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2001 with…

Going Indie: Fez Creator Phil Fish’s Moment Of Clarity

It could’ve gone another way. Everything depends on perspective. There are different angles and other choice. Life could be very different right now, but Phil Fish knows the exact moment he went indie. He was toiling away in a Montreal game studio Artificial Mind and Movement, one of many working on some movie-based game. The…

Last Week Living In This Apartment (Everything Must Go!)

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft This is it, next week I move from the apartment I’ve lived for the past seven years. Seven years is a long time, and as small and cramped as this place is, it has been home. But we’re ready to go. And excited to do so. It’s amazing how attached we…

Study: 8.5 Percent Of Kids Gamers “Pathological Gamers”

Research time! According to The Washington Post, researcher Douglas Gentile of Iowa State University discovered that at 8.5 percent of 8-18 year-old Americans are “pathological” gamers. Gentile used a modified version of the criteria for pathological gambling to formula questions to poll 1,178 children and teens. Those “pathological” gamers experienced spending more and more time…

UK Undercover Operation Reveals Illegal Game Selling

The UK’s Trading Standards cracked down on underage-game-selling last week when it targeted 16 game retailers in Dundee, Scotland. Using a 14-year-old volunteer, it was able to expose 12 shops who selling mature titles. This is one measure in a larger national effort to examine underage game sales of 18-years-old and up rated titles. Out…

Unused Miyamoto Touch Screen RPG

Back before the DS was released, Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto was conceptualizing a touch-screen role-playing-game. The game’s patent has recently popped up online, and the RPG is heavy with RPG cliches (monsters, random battles, etc.). Though, the game does offer a fresh take on the genre. During combat, the monsters move in patterns,…

Final Fantasy Advent Children Complete Sells Over 100,000 On First Day

Last week Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete went on sale in Japan. The Blu-ray CG animated movie brought with it something eagerly anticipated by Japanese gamers: the Final Fantasy XIII demo. According to early software sales reports, the movie has been doing exceedingly well. It’s reported to have sold over 100,000 copies in its…

John Woo: Stranglehold Movie Won’t Be Ready “For Years”

Stranglehold, the Midway video game with John Woo‘s name slapped on it, is getting a movie version. He won’t be directing, but rather, producing. And don’t look for it shooting up theaters anytime soon! The game is a sequel of sorts to 1992 Hong Kong action flick Hard Boiled and starred the film’s lead Chow…

Release Date Announcement For Street Fighter IV PC Version Coming May 1

Street Fighter IV has already been released in arcades and for the Xbox 360 and for the PS3. All that’s left is that promised PC release. Well, all that’s left of what we know about. Last fall, we reported that the computer version of SFIV would fall after the console version were released with Capcom…

The Top Twenty Original Games of 2008 Were…

Even though there were lots of big sequels released last year (like almost every year before it!), 2008 did see its share of original titles. Magazine Famitsu listed the top 2008 original games for April 1, 2008 to March 22, 2009 — the 2008 financial year. Here’s the data: 1. Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode (DS)…

Do You Like Console Exclusive Characters/Content?

Hey! You!! Did you know it’s Friday? I did. Good for me. Good for you. Here’s how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn’t some marketing survey or whatever. It’s an emotional investment in you. Yes, we’re interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably…

Major Minor’s Majestic March’s Majestic Anime Shorts

Wii title Major Minor’s Majestic March, the latest music game from PaRappa The Rapper dev NanaOn-Sha, is getting a series of anime shorts. The music-based game centers around drum major Major Minor as he leads his band. Starting April 19, Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV will be airing animated Major Minor’s Majestic March anime shorts until…

A Week In Comments

Microsoft Explains the E74 Code, Sorta Comment by: gojirah Nominated by: Billkwando I like how they insist on using the phrase “general hardware failure” when they also tell you there are different specific kinds of general failure. It’s like saying Jo, you are generally bad at sports, and also generally bad in academics, and generally…

Was Pirate Girl Cut From Xbox 360 Tales of Vesperia? Namco Bandai Says…

The PS3 is getting Tales of Vesperia, and ToV for the PS3 is getting a new character, young pirate girl Patty Fruel. Let’s review and hear what Namco Bandai has to say. A young pirate girl was referenced in the original Xbox 360 version: “Inside the drawer, there’s a pirate outfit for girls. A name…

I Wrote You A Letter. No, You Didn’t. But…

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Flying Tristan Mini-Bash is getting ready to change schools, leaving behind the friends he’s made at his current school — especially one little girl he’s quite smitten with and who’s quite smitten with him. She’s written him a couple letters this week on fancy Power Rangers type stationary. (We think…

The Pirate Bay Court Decision: Guilty

A verdict has been reached in the nine-day trial against one of the largest BitTorrent websites The Pirate Bay. Ironically, the decision was leaked from the court. The Stockholm-based piracy site is a peer-to-peer server which made video games, movies and music available for “sharing” among users. Swedish police raided the The Pirate Bay and…