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Even Turtles Like To Do Touristy Things
Half-Shell | NEW YORK: In 2007, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles visited the Empire State Building. (Photo: Marion Curtis | AP Photo/Warner Bros.) There Are No Music Games. There Are Only Rhythm Ones. PaRappa the Rapper designer Masaya Matsuura has been called the father of music games. Thing is, he doesn’t believe there are music…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011 -
Mario Kart 7 Screens Pull Up. Throw Turtle Shells.
This December, Mario Kart 7, which is actually the ninth Mario Kart, pulls off the line. Mario Kart 7 features a new first-person mode, hang gliders, and new weapons. It also features Mario. He’s not new, but that’s okay. We love him. You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011 -
There Are No Music Games. There Are Only Rhythm Ones.
PaRappa the Rapper designer Masaya Matsuura has been called the father of music games. Thing is, he doesn’t believe there are music games. “Strictly speaking I do not believe that ‘Music Games’ as a genre really exists yet,” Matsuura recently told Kotaku. “We just have ‘Rhythm Games.'” This isn’t the first time Matsuura has said…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011 -
Star Wars, As Explained by Some Japanese Lady
At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Luke and I had our collective mind blown after speaking to multiple Japanese colleagues who had not seen Star Wars Mika has seen Star Wars and explained it in the above video. Her native language is not English—and she does a valiant job! And before you crack snide jokes,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011 -
Japan, Get Ready To Party with a New Wii Bundle
This November, Nintendo is rolling out a new bundle in Japan. The white or black Nintendo Wii will come with a regular Wii Remote Plus and a Nunchuk as well as a pink Wii-mote Plus and a copy of Wii Party All priced at ¥20,000 (US$260)—a good deal as the Wii console itself is priced…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011 -
Making a Butt-Flashing Music Video Sure Looks Easy (and Breezy)
Japanese voice actress Chiaki Takahashi of BlazBlue and The Idolmaster fame is releasing her debut solo single, a cover of club tune “Chupa Rico”. So far, Takahashi has gotten more attention for the song’s video. In it, she licks things and shakes her butt. That’s also what she does in this making-of clip from her…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011 -
Stupid-Looking 3DS Slide Pad Gets a Monster Box
Nintendo’s dumb-looking and uncomfortable 3DS Slide Pad will be sold separately as well as bundled with Monster Hunter 3 (-tri) G Nintendo is releasing two Monster Hunter 3 (-tri) G bundles in Japan. One comes with the slide pad and the game. It’s priced at ¥6,990 ($91) The other costs ¥20,800 ($271) and comes with…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011 -
For Under a Grand, You Can Put Magic on Your Desktop
Sick of buying action figures? Don’t like what others design? You could always make customized figures from bits and bobs of other toys as well as your own elbow grease. Or, you know, you could just print them out. Two things: One, 3D printers are not new, and two, they are not usually affordable. Japan-based…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011 -
Hey Cosplayer, You Can’t Walk in Shoes Like That!
Well Heeled | HONG KONG – A cosplayer takes a stroll at this summer’s Comics Festival and Game Fair in Hong Kong. (Photo: Vincent Yu | AP) You may not Survive This Dark Souls Concept Art To go with the Demon’s Souls concept art we showed you a few months back, today we’ve got a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
Outrageous Bikini Cowgirl Game Dons Outrageous String Bikini
In past Onechanbara, you are a bikini-wearing, sword-swinging cowgirl out to kill zombies. In Onechanbara Z: Kagura, you do that, plus try on a new micro bikini. For the first print run of Onechanbara Z: Kagura, you can snag a “risqué swimsuit”. The dental floss is available to players via download code. Today, game company…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
You’re Doing It Wrong
Totally wrong. But bless you. The photo originally appeared in a South Korean newspaper a few years back—hence the PS2 game and DualShock 2. 超斬新なコントローラーの持ち方 [オレ的ゲーム速報] You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
It Was a Party. A Dream Party.
Outside this fall’s Tokyo Dream Party, pesky cosplayers were getting in front of crazy cars. Inside, booth companions got in front of booths. The nerve! Held in both Tokyo and Osaka, Dream Party is a bi-annual event for bishoujo (beautiful young girl) computer games. Dream Party booths offered all the bishoujo nerd heroin (heroines?) you…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
Will There Be an Xbox 720? Hollywood Thinks So.
Real Steel, that new Hugh Jackman flick with fighting robots, is set in a near future, dominated by battling bots. More preciously, the movie is set in 2020. In one arena scene, corporate logos like Mercedes-Benz, Capital One, and, ahem, Del Taco light up a stadium. There is also a Bing logo and an Xbox…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
Help Real Japanese Earthquake Orphans Through Fiction
The earthquake might have rocked Japan last March, but its effects still linger. Charity book Kizuna, a collection of short fiction by international writers, aims to help orphanages in the areas hit hardest by the quake and tsunami. [Kizuna]
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
Mega-Man’s Producer Is Making a Nintendo 3DS Game
Keiji Inafune, former Mega-Man producer and Dead Rising designer, is hard at work on a new title. It’s called Kaio: King of Pirates and it’s for the Nintendo 3DS. It stars a penguin pirate. Inafune will be taking director duties. King of Pirates is a mix of pirates and Sangokushi. It’s an action role-playing game,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
It’s Parks and Recreation, Not Parks and Buy Yourself an Xbox 360
An employee of the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department used a city credit card to purchase a little recreation for himself—namely, an Xbox 360. That’s not all the gaming recreation that the employee, Naikia Howard, indulged in: he also took a copy of Wii Sports and a Wii home from a Seattle teen center. An…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
Finally! A Song about Co-Op Gaming
The Nghiems is an indie rock band fronted by David Nghiem and his brother James. The group’s single “Dum Dum Dah Dah” is about co-op gaming. The tune’s video features a slew of stop motion photography, arcade gaming, and the members of The Nghiems. Making the video took four months and used 8,000 individual photos…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011
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