Brian Ashcraft

Buy John Woo Movie, Get Video Game Armour

Red Cliff, the latest from Hong Kong action director John Woo (Hard Boiled, The Killer), is coming to DVD in Japan this March. What’s that got to do with gaming? Buy either Red Cliff Part I Standard Edition or Red Cliff Part I Collector’s Edition and get a bundled Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi-Raid (Dynasty Warriors:…

Check Out These Crane Game Prizes

The great thing about Japanese arcades isn’t only all the cool games you can play, but also the cool things you can get in crane games. At Japanese arcade industry show AOU, SEGA and Taito showed off the prize goodies appearing in their crane games. The keywords here are “plush toys.” Go on, have a…

Japanese Adult Website Selling Pornography Downloads For PSP

Back in 2006, a splurge of pornography appeared on Sony’s UMD format for the PSP. Several years have passed, and new ways of delivering adult PSP content have come. Screw UMD! Japanese adult contents site DMM.com is now trying to take advantage of the free pornography already playing on discerning PSPs by selling full length…

Something About MadWorld That May Make Selected Wii Owners Sad

Upcoming black, white and red Wii title MadWorld is a unique looking game. It runs, however, in 480i and not the more HD-kosher 480p. Surprised? IGN’s Matt Casamassina noticed the game was running in 480i while capturing MadWorld videos. “Usually, lack of 480p support can be credited to developer laziness,” writes Casamassina. “No way such…

Official Picture of Red-Colored Xbox 360

Microsoft has released pictures of the Exclusive Red Xbox 360 Resident Evil Limited Edition Console, which was confirmed earlier tonight and mentioned officially by Microsoft earlier this month. The Xbox 360 Elite console is bundled with a red wireless controller, black Xbox 360 headset, 120GB hard drive, via-LIVE-downloadable-Resident-Evil-theme, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix…

Star Ocean 4 Makes Strong Japanese Sales Debut (For Xbox 360 Game)

Square Enix role-playing-game Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope has given Japanese companies another glimmer of hope for the Xbox 360. While the Xbox 360 has been successful abroad, the console traditionally has had difficulty cracking the Japanese market. Recently, Microsoft has made in-roads with consumers in The Land of the Rising Sun thanks to…

World of Warcraft Guild Leader Wins Oscar

Last night was the Academy Awards. Actors, directors, writers and producers were honored for their work in films — as was a World of Warcraft player. By day, Steve Preeg is a big time Hollywood visual effects artist, working on films like Lord of the Rings and I, Robot. By night, Steve Preeg is also…

Fired, Overpaid Microsoft Employees Get To Keep Money

Due to “an inadvertent administrative error,” some of the 1,400 individuals Microsoft laid off recently received overpayments in their severance packages. That is, until Microsoft asked for them back. Twenty-five of the 1,400 people let go received checks that were off about US$4,000 to $5,000. Microsoft sent out a letter to those who accidentally received…

Chun-Li Movie Brings Schoolgirl Anime

Those in Japan who actually go see Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li in theaters and stay for the entire movie, get a special treat. Think of it as a reward. After the Chun-Li film ends, a Street Fighter anime starring schoolgirl Sakura will be screened. Animation house Studio 4C, who’s responsible for the Street…

God of War III Developers Got A Little Help From Their Friends

God of War III, the latest entry in Sony’s hack-and-slash franchise, is a big game. Big games need lots of game developers to make them. The God of War III developers at Sony’s Santa Monica studio have roped in a little help. According to French magazine PSM3, developers Naughty Dog (Uncharted) and Insomniac (Resistance) are…

Ridiculously Tanned Game Designer In Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 Ad

The latest Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 (Yakuza 3) ads don’t just feature gameplay, but a bigger selling point — well, for us at least. The game’s ridiculously tanned Toshihiro Nagoshi skips stones with the game’s hero Kazuma Kiryu and talks about the PS3’s “power of expression.” Kazuma Kiryu says how importance belief is. The first…

Did You Watch The Oscars?

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft Yay for syndication deal! Good work on that. Well… what did you think of the Academy Award winners? Agree? Disagree? Don’t care?! (Living in Japan, I haven’t seen most of these movies yet — a lot of them haven’t been released yet.) What you missed last night The Pressure of Killzone…

Lost Planet 2 Announced, Features Jungles

Last Friday, Capcom announced it would be unveiling a new game over Xbox LIVE on Monday. Well, today’s Monday, and that game is Lost Planet 2. This is not the first time we’ve recently heard of Lost Planet 2. We broke first the news last month that Dead Rising and Lost Planet developer Keiji Inafune…

2009’s Cosplaying Arcade Game Booth Companions

This weekend wrapped up arcade show AOU 2009 in Chiba, Japan. The event was held at the Makuhari Messe, home of the Tokyo Game Show. Besides arcade games, the event featured cosplaying booth companions. Bonus points for those who can spot retro gaming idol Haruna Anno and gravure idol Shiori Kawana! AOU2009でゲームキャラのコスプレで登場していたコンパニオンさんたち [GIGAZINE]

The Pressure of Killzone 2

Ever since the now infamous E3 2005 Killzone 2 trailer, the developers at Guerrilla Games have been under the gun to deliver something spectacular. This week, the long waited four-years-in-the-making game hits store shelves. Legions of PS3 owners are very much excited to get the game. The hopes and dreams of many are pinned on…

12-Years-Old-And-Up Rated PS3 Tentacle Game Getting Anime

PS3 role-playing-game Tears to Tiara — which features rope play, suggestive udder spray and touching tentacles [links NSFW] — is getting an inevitable anime version. Premiering in Japan on April 2, the anime is being produced by WHITE FOX animation studio and directed by Tomoki Kobayashi (Ichigo 100%). Doko Machida (Lucky Star, Ramen Fighter Miki)…

Xbox LIVE Gold Members Getting Weekly Deals

Microsoft is bringing discounts to Xbox LIVE. Starting today, Xbox LIVE Gold members get discounts that range from 25 percent to 50 percent on Arcade titles, DLC, Xbox Originals and other LIVE content. This week’s deal is Braid, now available at a 33 percent discount for 800 Microsoft Points. This deal will only last one…

Xbox 360 Port of DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Buggy, Developer Apologizes

Xbox 360 port of maniac shooter DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black EXTRA was originally slated for Christmas Day, but was delayed until February 19. Now that the game’s out, it’s reportedly plagued with bugs. Japanese developer 5pb, who did the port, issued a statement on the DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black EXTRA Xbox 360 webpage.…

Watch Kill Bill Actress Sell Xbox 360 Resident Evil 5

Japanese actress Chiaki Kuriyama, who played Kill Bill‘s Gogo Yubari and who will play Ling Xiaoyu in the Tekken movie, appears in the Xbox 360 Resident Evil 5 TV spots. This ad features button-mashing and focuses on co-operative play, and Kuriyama appears with actor Yoichi Nukumizu. The commercial is short — much like this post!

What Are Your Votes For 2008?

It’s Friday. Know what that means? It’s Friday. That’s not all, it’s also time for Tell Us Dammit. 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…