Brian Ashcraft

Iwata: We Always Work On New Hardware

Nintendo does not rest, Nintendo does not stop. Even with the success of the Wii and the DS, Nintendo keeps going. “We do not think that Nintendo DS and Wii will last forever,” Iwata told investors in a recent financial briefing. “Our internal hardware teams are always researching and working on new hardware so that…

Chun-Li In A Spectacular Outfit

No, no, not Street Fighter character Chun-Li’s standard blue duds. Classic, but typical! The outfit that Japanese figure maker MERSA dresses her in is anything but That, after the jump. Spotted at big-time figure event Hobboy Complex 07 earlier this month in Tokyo. All kinds of fantastic. ホビーコンプレックス07東京 様々なブースの様子 [Moeyo]

Blood of Bahamut Dated For Japan

Square Enix‘s latest effort to expand its role-playing-game horizons Blood of Bahamut has a release date. That is August 6. Blood of Bahamut is an action RPG set in a city constructed on the back of a giant creature called Gigant. Featuring 2D sprites fighting in a 3D environment, the game sees protagonists Ibuki and…

Chiptune’s 8-Bit Profit

Ah, yes, 8-bit chiptune. It’s music that is performed and composed by using retro game hardware like the Famicom and the Gameboy as instruments. Love it, great stuff. And as far as Japanese indie chiptune record labels go, Vorc Records is right up there. Vorc was chiptune-centeric website originally launched way back in 2001, and…

John McEnroe Is “Pretty Good” At Playing Himself

Three things we have never done: Won seven Grand Slam tennis titles, married Tatum O’Neal or played a video game version of ourselves. John McEnroe has done all three. (Though, we have played tennis once, watched Paper Moon and do enjoy video games.) When Electronic Arts interviewed John McEnroe — yeah, we know — about…

Snake Gets A New Job Selling Cell Phones

As seen on 2ch.net.

No More Heroes On Other Platforms Would Be “Great”

No More Heroes is a Wii game. Rumors have swirled for some time that the title was originally planned as an Xbox 360 title, but it ended up on the Wii instead. Game site 1UP asked Goichi Suda, the game’s designer, whether No More Heroes could ever appear on another platform in the future. “Actually,…

Square Enix Restricts E3 Travel Over Swine Flu

Joining the likes of Koei and Capcom, Square Enix is the latest Japanese developer to restrict employee travel to E3 because of Swine Flu. “Due to the recent worldwide spread of H1N1 flu, a limited number of executives and development team members from Square Enix’s headquarters in Japan will be attending E3 this year,” Sonia…

Paul McCartney’s Ex-Wife vs. Capcom

Heather Mills, the one-legged ex-wife of Paul McCartney, was apparently approached by Capcom to appear in Bionic Commando. Mills, prime UK tabloid fodder, reportedly asked for a six-figure-sum and demanded to be the game’s star. The star of Bionic Commando, that is. Heather Mills. Yeah. The action game follows the adventures of one-armed hero Nathan…

Smells Won’t Stink Up Consoles For Decades

Sight, sound and smell. Gaming has the first two covered — and maybe soon the third as well. Then again, maybe not. In the UK, the Ministry of Defense is part-funding a project that releases foul smells during training vids so soldiers can learn to smell trouble. According to the MailOnline, this tech “is expected…

What Happens If You Don’t Pay Your Speeding Ticket In Japan

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Swine Flue Two Hope Tristan is feeling better… Previously, I got a speeding ticket for speeding. It was a trap, a set-up so to speak. And for one reason or another, I didn’t pay it by the deadline the cops had set. _> Anyway! The police sent me a new…

Official Pokemon Camping Gear (Sure, Why Not?)

If there are Pokémon planes, Pokémon X-ray machines and Pokémon beverages, then damn skippy there should be camping goods. There are. Later next month, a line “Pikanicamp” outdoor goods go on sale. There are Pokémon Diamond/Pearl themed camping gear that includes chairs, mini-tables, flashlights, sunshades and leisure seats. 『ポケモン』がアウトドアグッズになった [GPara]

China’s Take On Monster Hunter

What better way than to pay Capcom a compliment for its hugely popular Monster Hunter franchise than ripping it off? Chinese game developers bring the world this: Hunter Blade. You can watch game footage and marvel at the ballsiness of the game — and font, even. It’s not Monster Hunter. Oh, no. This is different.…

This Is A PSP Survey On Download Rental Services

An online survey from market research firm TNS Interactive quizzed folks not only about game purchasing habits, but also a proposed PSP rental service with subscription option. So… Who’s up for renting PSP games via download service? Thanks NoBullet for the tip!

Hey Foreigners! Tell Famitsu About Your Otaku-ness

The always delightful Otaku USA has hooked up with Japanese game mag Famitsu in hopes of finding out what is going on in your nerdy, foreigner head. Oh goodie. Otaku USA bossman Patrick Macias blogs, “We want all foreign otaku to rise forth and fill out our ‘Foreign Otaku’ survey below. The results will be…

Pokemon Might Get More Action

Pokémon has been around for a while now — since 1996. Maybe it’s time to spice up the franchise with a little more action to the hugely successful role-playing-game franchise. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl game director Junichi Masuda is very keen on trying out new elements. “This is just an idea but…as you know, Pokémon…

Japanese Politicians Contend Adult Game Cause Sex Crimes

The recent Western crackdown on the legally-released-three-years-ago game Rapelay has inspired Japanese politicians swoop onto the bandwagon. Surprised? The New Komeito Party is fingering erotic games as a negative influence on the rate of Japanese sex crimes. As website Sankaku Complex points out, Japan has an extremely low sex crime rate: UN Rape Rates per…

But What About Japan’s Swine Flu Travel Restrictions? Do They Exist?

Several Japanese game companies have restricted employee travel to the United States for this year’s E3. For Osaka-based game maker Capcom, the basis for this decision was “travel restrictions”. The cause: H1N1 Influenza 09, aka Swine Flu. “Our Capcom guys are not coming to E3 because of the Japanese government restrictions,” said Capcom’s Chris Kramer,…

Why Kojima Productions Copied A Grindhouse Movie Site

When Kojima Productions launched a web teaser, many noticed “April 2007” written at the bottom of the page. People wondered what it referred to and if it was code for something. It’s not. That date, Konami now confirms, was an accident. “April 2007” referred to the release date for Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse.…

Hideo Kojima: There Is “Pressure” To Make Metal Gear

Hideo Kojima is best known for creating Metal Gear Solid. That’s not to say he’s pigeonholed as “The Metal Gear Guy”, but at this point in his career, the stealth series equals Kojima. When the game was released, there was talk from the designer about leaving the franchise — like there is every time he…