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How an Angelic Game Changed over the Years
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron wasn’t always called that. It was once called Angelic: Ascension of the Metatron, with “once” being a few years ago. Compare the above 2007 trailer with the E3 gaming expo 2010 trailer The voice acting is certainly better! And gone is the Jude Law-inspired face modeling. Not sure which…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 2, 2011 -
Sony Shows That Saying “I’m Sorry” Isn’t Enough in Japan
This Sunday, as the Golden Week holidays began in Japan, Sony execs Kazuo Hirai, Shinji Hasejima and Shiro Kambe answered reporters’ questions about the PSN breach that put the private details of over 70 million gamers at risk. The execs didn’t just apologize for the breach, but bowed for seven seconds. In the world of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 2, 2011 -
What is America’s Fetish This Week? Japan
It’s a country with 120 million people, with a deep and long history, with a complex and beautiful language. Yet, for Americans, Japan often offers something else entirely—a place to project its fears, fantasies, and, yes, even neurosis. So much of Japan is familiar for Americans. There’s baseball, rock music, junk and fast food culture,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
In Japan, He Speaks for the Duke
ALL HAIL THE KING | JAPAN: Veteran voice actor Fumihiko Tachiki will be bringing Duke Nukem Forever alive in Japan. (Photo by Game Watch Impress) PS3 Hacker George Hotz Denies He’s Behind the PSN Breach PS3 rapper hacker George Hotz got sued by Sony. He made an rap video that drew comparisons between getting fucked…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
PS3 Hacker George Hotz Denies He’s Behind the PSN Breach
PS3 rapper hacker George Hotz got sued by Sony. He made an rap video that drew comparisons between getting fucked up the ass and the lawsuit. Hotz reached an agreement with Sony, but there’s speculation that the famed hacker is still bitter, that he’s behind the PSN breach. “And to anyone who thinks I was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
Answering Questions About Vibrators Is so Embarrassing
Making video games that support them, however, is totally awesome. In 2002, game designer Testuya Mizuguchi made a “trance vibrator” for his synethesia shooter Rez. The trance vibrator even came in a washable “protective glove”. You could rub it against your vagina if you liked—something website gamegirladvance found out first hand (NSFW review here). Website…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
Not Everyone Can Smoothly Finger the Wii Vitality Sensor
The Wii Vitality Sensor, which supposedly sensors your vitals, debuted at the 2009 E3 gaming expo. Then, it was too mellow for E3 in 2010. What about this year? Don’t hold your breath! At a recent meeting, an analyst asked Nintendo president Satoru Iwata about life-science doohickey, and the exec replied that the release date…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
Nintendo Likes Buttons and Won’t Ditch Them
Nintendo is making a new video game console. Rumors state that the console has a touch screen—something Kotaku has confirmed with its own industry sources. During a recent meeting, an analyst asked Iwata for his opinion of tablets. Iwata acknowledged their appeal, drawing comparisons between the Nintendo DS’s touch interactivity. “Whenever we make a new…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
How the Japanese Media Dragged Nintendo into the PSN Breach
The PSN breach is a Sony issue. But when the evening news in Japan wanted to explain how credit cards can possibly leak in a situation like this, it didn’t use the PlayStation. It used the Nintendo DS. PSN users and gamers will immediately spot the discrepancy, but with non-gamers? Japanese parents might think the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
PSN Security Breach Is Stealing Game Developer Money
In some crazy fantasy world, the PlayStation Network breach could carry a US$24 million price tag. In the real world, inhabited by real game developers, the price tag is lower, but that doesn’t mean its impact is diminished. One UK game studio tells website Develop that the PSN shutdown left the dev with “absolutely no…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
What the Hell Is This? A Squid Cable?
Holy crap, this is bananas. Thanko, purveyor of odd electronics, is back with a USB cable that branches off into ten different cables. Each is able to connect to a specific device, such as a PSP, a Nintendo DSi, an iPad, Japanese cell phones and more. It’s priced at ¥1,260 (US$15), which is what madness…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
The Most Heroic Restaurant in Japan
Kamen Rider is an ass-kickin’ Japanese hero. Adults and kids alike enjoy the long-running character’s latest incarnation Kamen Rider 000 The TV show is smart and well-written. No wonder Kamen Rider goods drew longer lines than Kinect in Japan. Kamen Rider is so fucking cool&mndash;not only that, delicious too! This week, “Kamen Rider The Diner”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2011 -
“Illegal And Unauthorized Intrusion”
FOUND IN TRANSLATION | JAPAN: TV news pours over the PlayStation blog, pointing out the possibility of leaked credit cards. (Photo by 2ch) “Nintendo Shock” Shocks Japan “Lehman Shock” is how Japan described the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. “Shock” (ショック) is en vogue in Japan, and a quick way to describe the impact of something…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2011 -
Cat-Eared Girls Wear Bug-Induced Toupées
The latest downloadable content for bar girl game Dream Club Zero has a bizarro bug that makes it seem like the girls are wearing wigs. The cat ears? Not a bug, totally part of the game! ドリクラZEROのデュエット機能を試したら、ホストガールがカツラであることが判明！ [読みゲー]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2011 -
Did The Japanese Media Select This PSN Game By Accident?
All the major Japanese news networks are covering the PSN breach. In one TV Tokyo segment, the manager of famed Tokyo game shop Game Ma-ya explained how the outage was impacting coverage. That isn’t getting the most attention online in Japan; rather, it’s the PSN game TV Tokyo selected for the segment. Known as Trash…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2011 -
When Game Box Art Encourages A Country
Yakuza: of the End is Sega’s zombie parody game that was originally slated for a March release. Then the earthquake hit, and the game was delayed to June. Yakuza producer Toshihiro Nagoshi said the June delay was the result of numerous reasons: “Cash flow, correcting the poster, buying new ad time, and the manual labor…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2011 -
Two New RPGs from The Star Ocean Folks
Japanese developers Tri-ace of Star Ocean fame are teaming up with Konami for two games. Two! One of the games is a turn-based, multi-player role-playing PSP title called Frontier Gate that supports up to three players. The second game is a dungeon-crawler for the 3DS called Across The Labyrinth. [via Remoon]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2011 -
High Ranking Japanese Politician Comments on PSN Breach
The PSN breach is national news in Japan, where Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, one of the government’s highest ranking officials, has chimed in about leaked player info. “As for the prevailing view, it’s necessary for private businesses must safeguard the personal information they have with the maximum care possible,” said Edano. This information is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2011
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