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This Bad Game Had a Bad Commercial
You love it, you know it, it’s crap. The Cheetahmen appeared on the dreadful Action 52 cartridge, and it was supposed to be like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It wasn’t. Above is a commercial with all three of the Cheetahmen—Hercules, Aries, and Apollo—that supposedly aired on television. While the game is bad, its music…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
Meet the Retro Game Master
Star of Retro Game Master, Shinya Arino will be in Los Angeles this week, providing U.S. fans a rare opportunity to meet The Kacho. Arino, who is big time comedian in Japan, will be appearing at the Little Tokyo Galleria this Friday, September 9. The event starts at 7pm. Be sure to tell ‘im Kotaku…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
There’s More To Learn about Nintendo’s Ugly 3DS Add-on
It’s dubbed the “3DS Kakuchou Slide Pad” or “3DS Expansion Slide Pad”. It’s real. And it’s truly an ugly product—the ugliest since the original Nintendo DS. The lackluster looks are a shame because the 3DS is so pretty. There’s more than looks to this, though. The 3DS Expansion Slide Pad is less a simple add-on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
When a Japanese Gamer Girl Speaks Her Mind
Haruna Anno is a retro gaming idol—the young girl who loves old games. She also speaks her mind, and that’s always good for an idol. When Dragon Quest X was revealed yesterday, some gamers were excited. Many, when they learned about the required online and subscription fees, groaned. Like many people, Anno took to Twitter…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
3DS Boob Game Offers More Than Boobs. There’s an Awkward Pillow Case, Too.
When the designer of Senran Kagaura was thinking about what kind of 3D game he wanted to make for the Nintendo 3DS, one thing came to mind. Well, two. The result is ninja game Senran Kagura. The chief appeal here ain’t the ninjas! It’s NSFW imagery. Like most games of its ilk, Senran Kagura has…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
A Handful of New PS Vita Games Leak Out
At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, there will be around 40 PS Vita games. Forty. And the machine isn’t even out! Some of the games have already been revealed. Some haven’t. Leaks from this week’s forthcoming issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu shed light on some of the new titles. Here’s a list of what’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
Is This a Sign of Microsoft’s Japanese Retreat?
After spending millions upon millions of dollars promoting the Xbox 360 in Japan, Microsoft still only sells about 2,000 or so consoles every week. Last sales week, the Xbox 360 was outsold by the PS2. The PS2! After all these years, it looks like Microsoft might finally be tossing in the towel and calling it…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
Pretty Lady. Dead Fish. Nerds.
When Japanese people travel, they often take tours. Travel agents offer an array of packages from simple all-inclusive air-plus-hotel to bus guided tours complete with bus lady. This tour is a little different. No, it’s a lot of different. It’s a fishing tour (okay, normal) for otaku (huh?) with a famous voice actress (bwah?). The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
Angry Birds Pops Up at Burning Man
Angry Burner | BLACK ROCK DESERT, NV – Spotted by reader Kenji. (Photo: Reader Kenji) This Is the Arcade, Totally Re-Invented In the past decade, retro game bars have popped up across Japan. Part of the appeal is that these water holes have game consoles you can play while getting shitfaced. More » Halo Creative Director…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
Godfather of Game Journalism Passed Away
This weekend, Bill Kunkel passed away. He was 61. Considered by many to be the “Father of Game Journalism”, Kunkel co-founded Electronic Games Magazine in 1981. It was America’s first gaming magazine sold on newsstands. As GameSetWatch explained, Kunkel penned his “Game Doctor” column for several magazines, such as EGM Kunkel penned Confessions of the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
What Is Holding Up Deus Ex in Japan?
Deus Ex: Human Revolution was supposed to be out Sept. 8 in Japan, but it’s now slated for sometime in Oct. The reason for the delay is that “prohibited images” were found in one place in the game. In its official statement, Square Enix did not clarify what the offending content was. In early August,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
Watch Out Hackers! Sony Hired a Homeland Security Official
This spring, a cyber attack resulted in a 23 day outage of the PSN and the theft of personal details from over 77 million accounts. Sony is strengthening its online network and stepping up its security. Sony created a new chief information security officer post, reported Reuters, and selected former U.S. Department of Homeland Security…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
Have a Baby. Get Some Money!
Japan’s population is graying. The population is shrinking. Until the country can either open up immigration or mass produce robot citizens, there’s only one thing left to do: Screw. One of the culprits always blamed for the country’s low birth rate is corporate Japan. Namco Bandai is looking to change that with generous bonuses. Namco…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
Halo Creative Director Leaving Halo 4 [Update]
Halo 4 is the first title in a new trilogy of Halo games. The previous three titles were developed by Bungie, but the next three are being made in-house by Microsoft’s own Halo studio. Halo 4 won’t be out until late 2012, and today, one of the game’s creative directors, Ryan Payton, is not only…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
Dragon Quest X Needs the Internet And Extra Money, Too
Dragon Quest IX was the deal of the century. It had something like seventy hours of single player gameplay, checking off two things that Japanese gamers love: meaty RPGs and playing solo. DQX is a different beast. An official Square Enix FAQ regarding the game noted that while DQX can be played alone, it can…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
This Is the Arcade, Totally Re-Invented
In the past decade, retro game bars have popped up across Japan. Part of the appeal is that these water holes have game consoles you can play while getting shitfaced. There are other places where you can game with maids or talk with game voice actors who serve you alcohol. But what about a place…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
Uwe Boll’s Latest Game Movie Fodder
Uwe Boll,who’s not as bad as you think, is making a new video game movie, Zombie Massacre Zombie Massacre is a 1998 Amiga title also known as Gloom 4. If you think Gloom sounds like “Doom”, that’s no accident. It was a Doom clone. Boll won’t be helming the project, but producing. Marco Ristori and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 5, 2011 -
Dragon Quest Spin-Off Rocketing onto the Nintendo 3DS
The Rocket Slime spin-off was an enjoyable Nintendo DS outing. Its 3DS sequel aims to be the same, but for the 3DS. The second entry in the Dragon Quest Heroes was localized as Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime back in 2006 when it was released in North America. The third entry, which I guess could…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 5, 2011
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