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Like Muppet Babies, Only For Street Fighter
There was a key hook for classic TV series Muppet Babies. They were Muppets, but they were babies. Can the same formula work for Street Fighter? I’d say yes. Because there’s something strangely adorable about Akuma throwing a tanty. The painting’s by Kei Acedera (who has done art & design work for, among others, Disney)…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 4, 2009 -
Galaga, Now On Your iPhone
Namco Bandai should, over the next few days, be releasing an iPhone version of classic shooter Galaga. Hurray? I mean, we should be happy. It’s Galaga, in your pocket. Actually, it’s two Galagas: the original, and an updated version that runs in landscape mode. But then, as with most iPhone ports, that control scheme looks…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 4, 2009 -
EA: Wii MotionPlus So Accurate It Can Be *Too* Accurate
Hoping the new MotionPlus tech for the Wii will bring some added realism to console’s controls? You’ll like hearing what EA’s Grand Slam Tennis team have to say, then. The producer of the upcoming EA tennis game – which will be one of the first titles available to make use of the peripheral – has…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
Microsoft, Lionhead Settle Gay Discrimination Claim
Jamie Durrant, an ex-Lionhead employee suing Microsoft for £45,000 on the grounds he was harassed in the workplace for being gay, has settled the case out of court. Terms were agreed upon earlier this week in a court in London, but as is usually the case with these things, terms of the deal were not…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
Hudson Button Masher Comes To The iPhone
I don’t use “button masher” as a cheap label for an antiquated genre. I use it in the most literal sense, because this is an iPhone port of Hudson’s famous Shooting Watches. History lesson: Hudson talisman Takahashi Meijin (aka Master Higgins) got kinda famous in the 80’s for being able to press a button 16…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
Game & Watch Clones Yanked From iPhone Store
We told you to get those bootleg Game & Watch iPhone games before lawyers took ’em down. Hope you heeded our advice. Because lawyers have taken them down. Yes, “developers” Mobile 1UP have been forced by Nintendo to remove their copyright-infringing Game & Watch clones. All of them. In their place are now two games…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
Biggest Street Fighter Tourney EVER: The Finals
Like we said, the Street Fighter IV National Tournament is the biggest SFIV tournament ever (not hard, seeing as its sponsored by GameStop). And this month, it reaches the business end, with the finals. On April 18 in San Francisco, the 16 best Street Fighters in the United States will converge on the Fort Mason…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
MMO Games Grew By 22% In 2008
Was at the pub the other night, and got into a fight over subscription-based MMO growth. Some bloke said the market wasn’t growing, I said it was. Researchers Screen Digest have proven me the winner. Having conducted a study on the finances of the (*breath*) subscription-based massively multiplayer online gaming market (which excludes games reliant…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
360 Arcade Stick Cuts The Cord
We know. You’re a fighting game pro. Can’t spare the time to blink while fighting, let alone juggle cords. Which is why you may want to take a look at Dream Arcades’ wireless 360 stick. It’s a chunky, sturdy arcade stick, with the addition of being, well, cordless. The fact it’s wireless is a pro.…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
Namco Bandai Holding Up The Return Of Hellgate
MMO Hellgate died. Then it was bought out, and is back (in Asia). In the West, however, it remains dead, despite the best efforts of new franchise owners HanbitSoft. See, HanbitSoft want to bring the game back to the West. But while HanbitSoft own the rights to the IP itself, Namco Bandai own the publishing…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
Final Fantasy: Dissidia Debut Trailer
Cheesy orchestral score? Check. OTT landscapes and set design? Check. Enormous swords? Check. Yup. It’s definitely Square Enix. Definitely Final Fantasy. The PSP fighting game, first released in Japan late last year, will be out in the US this Summer and in Europe in September. Why it needs a trailer, I don’t know. Maybe one…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
PC Sales Charts
Empire: Total War is still selling. Dawn of War II is still selling. Left 4 Dead is still selling. Know what else is still selling? Bet you can guess the rest. Start with Blizzard. Then work your way round to Maxis, via Valve, and you’ll have covered nearly half the games across all three PC…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
The “Premium Edition” Ace Attorney DSi
Capcom and Nintendo have announced a new, “Premium Edition” DSi console, to be released in conjunction with upcoming Ace Attorney title Gyakuten Kenji. It’s out in Japan on May 28, and a bundle including a special DSi – well, a regular DSi with Ace Attorney stuff on it – along with a copy of Gyakuten…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
PAL Virtual Console Gets Majora’s Mask
I must admit, it’s been a while since I downloaded a game from the Virtual Console. Then again, it’s been a while since a Nintendo 64 Zelda game was released on the Virtual console. As a special treat for long-suffering European and Australian Nintendo fans, Nintendo will be releasing (or have already released, depending where…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009 -
Happy 20th Birthday, Nintendo Game Boy
In April 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy. How time flies when you’re having fun, because it’s now April 2009, so a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday” is in order for the venerable little machine. Having sold around 120 million units in its 14-year production run (that’s including sales of the Game Boy Color), the…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009 -
More Brutal Legend Wii Rumours
In February, Go Nintendo reported that Brutal Legend was coming to the Wii. Since it looked like leaked retailer info, it seemed pretty solid! Now The Cut Scene say the same thing. According to the blog, Electronic Arts are indeed publishing a Wii version of the heavy metal adventure. Catch being it’s not being developed…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009 -
Which Would You Prefer: New Games Or Sex?
Silly science alert! British online store PS3PriceCompare (so, no, not exactly Nielsen) has polled 1,130 “men in relationships”, asking about games and sex. Their answers? As depressing as they are expected. Question 1: “Which would you prefer; sex with your partner or an evening playing video games?” Results: 32% of men (and these are men…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009 -
The Anatomy Of A Sackboy
What’s inside a Sackboy? Fluff, cotton and love? No. Try bones, organs and other squishy, icky things. Least, that’s what’s inside them according to these brilliant illustrations from NY artist and toy designer Jason Freeney, which in a continuation of his series of similar pics for Lego minifigs and Gummi Bears show terribly scientific cut-outs…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009 -
Getting Those Achievements *Just* Right
Forget HD graphics. The one really new thing the 360 (and now the PS3) have brought to this generation of gaming is achievements. But how do you design them? What makes ’em tick? Gamasutra asked a number of prominent developers, from Infinity Ward (Call of Duty) to EA (Skate) through Naughty Dog (Uncharted), just that…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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