-
Hot Shots Golf Food Looks Cute, Round.
Fore! | TOKYO, JAPAN – Snacks were served at a recent Sony event for its Move golfing game. (Photo: マクセル | チラシの裏でゲーム鈍報) Cosplay at the Tokyo Game Show is a Sweaty, Dangerous Mess Saturday was hell. The Tokyo Game Show convention halls overflowed with 86,000 people. Not everyone was there to game. Many had something…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2011 -
Only the Brave and Lovely Endured the Tokyo Game Show
The 2011 Tokyo Game Show wasn’t even supposed to happen this year. During the spring, as the country was starting to put itself back together after the earthquake, the show looked like it was a no-go. Then, there were the blackouts, power consumption concerns, and a general feeling among many Japanese that they should refrain…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2011 -
This Game Knocked My Socks Off at the Tokyo Game Show
Sumioni, aka “Ink Demon”, is a stunner. Looks can be deceiving, and looks aren’t everything. Thankfully, Sumioni‘s beauty is more than skin deep. At its heart, Sumioni is an old school 2D platformer. The catch is that you can draw the platforms. Players have different brushes at their disposable, such as a “Road Brush” to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2011 -
Good Meat Sets the Tokyo Game Show Ablaze
At the Arc System Works booth, Tokyo Game Show attendees could do more than watch players duke it out in Persona 4 The Ultimate In Mayonaka Arena. They could also watch Ushijima Ii Niku (aka Ushijima “Good Meat”), one of the country’s most famous cosplayers, duke it out with cameras. Cosplaying as Noel Vermillion, Good…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2011 -
Get Ready To Fall in Love with Lumines All Over Again
Monster Hunter is now synonymous with the PSP. Back in late 2004 and early 2005, that wasn’t the case. Monster Hunter was a PS2 game, and Sony was still convinced that the PSP was its new Walkman. Puzzle game Lumines, which launched in Japan in December 2004, was the PSP’s killer app. It took advantage…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2011 -
Let’s Watch the Most Beautiful PS Vita Game of the Tokyo Game Show
Sumioni is one of the most striking and arresting games I’ve seen in a long, long time. Last week during the Tokyo Game Show, Acquire’s Luke Rideout showed me the game. In the above video, Rideout provides an overview for the title. Sumioni is still early—hence, the load times. The game has been called Okami…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2011 -
This Year’s Tokyo Game Show Smashed Attendance Records
Not only was the first public day of TGS the biggest ever, the entire show’s attendance was, too. Over TGS 2011’s four days 222,600 people attended the show, which is about twenty thousand more than last year. [Mantan Web]
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2011 -
Cosplay at the Tokyo Game Show is a Sweaty, Dangerous Mess
Saturday was hell. The Tokyo Game Show convention halls overflowed with 86,000 people. Not everyone was there to game. Many had something else in mind: Taking pictures of cosplayers. Tokyo Game Show’s cosplay alley is a walkway between convention center halls. Cosplayers agree that the lighting and even the stone structure and frosted glass backgrounds…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2011 -
I Can See Myself Playing Ridge Racer on the PS Vita
Back in December 2004, I bought two things. One was a PSP. The other was Ridge Racer Ridge Racer was a PSP launch title, and I played the crap out of that game. I haven’t played a Ridge Racer before or since as much. As time passed, my interested in Ridge Racer waned, and I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 -
Japan’s Wildest Gaming Designer Wanted To Be in America’s Wildest Game
If Tomonobu Itagaki, the hard drinking cigarette smoking game designer behind Devil’s Third, were a video game, he’d be Saints Row: The Third. No wonder he wanted to lend his voice to the game. At a Tokyo Game Show press event, Itagaki professed his love for Saints Row character Phillipe Loren, who leads the Syndicate…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 -
Tokyo Game Show Is Also about Chinese Arcade Games
Chinese arcade games with characters named “Lancelot” or with sharks that can drive and are dressed like pirates with some sort of Native American headdress. The game’s dedicated cabinet moves and blinks its light. A good time is conceivably had by all. You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 -
Why Japan Never Got Rock Band
A few years back, Rock Band exploded in North America. In Europe. In Australia. It didn’t in Japan. There must be a reason for that. There is. The game was never released in Japan. There must be a reason for that. There are—several. According to Harmonix Music Systems’ boss Alex Rigopulos, there was interest in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 -
Booth Companions Make Gaming Easier in a Glass Box
Those hoping to check out Sega’s Binary Domain at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, got the opportunity to play the game in small rooms with large windows overlooking the show floor. Standing in a small room with a window, gaming alone is no fun! So Sega threw in a booth companion for some good old…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 -
It’s Steel Battalion, Minus What Made It Bananas
The original Steel Battalion is remembered for two things: It was an Xbox exclusive, and it had a batty controller. The latest Steel Battalion gets the Xbox part (well, Xbox 360) right, but something is sorely missing. That is an enormous controller. With Kinect, players become the controller. Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor does not use…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2011 -
The PS Vita’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Looks Marvelous
Not only does Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 do fighting games just fine on the PS Vita, it also looks great. Here, Kotaku films some random dude as he play through the Vita version. You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2011 -
Yesterday Was the Biggest Tokyo Game Show Day. Ever!
Some of the booths are smaller, sure. Some companies weren’t even there. Right now, they’re probably having regrets, because the first public day of the 2011 Tokyo Game Show was the biggest ever On the first day, over 86,200 people attended TGS, compared to 81,469 people last year and 61,138 people the year before. The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2011 -
Tokyo Game Show Explosion Day 3: Dress-Ups, Butts, and Long Lines
The Tokyo Game Show’s first public day brought rainy skies and a flood of gamers. Those who braved the crap weather were greeted with long lines, overwhelming crowds, and cosplayers. Here’s a complete round up of Kotaku‘s coverage from Day 3: Dress Up The Cosplaying Ladies of the Tokyo Game Show Saturday is the day…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2011 -
Small or Not, People Showed Up at Microsoft’s TGS Booth
At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft’s booth was smaller. Smaller doesn’t mean empty. There’s been an assumption that because Microsoft has a smaller booth, the company is in retreat. Microsoft still sells only a couple thousand Xbox 360s a month. It’s not going to be this console that helps Microsoft break though, but it…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2011
Brian Ashcraft
Brian Ashcraft's posts