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Tokyo Game Explosion Day 4: From Massive Crowds to Plentiful Play
The Tokyo Game Show smashed all (TGS) records again this year, bringing a whopping 222,600 people to the massive convention center to play games, dress up and check out the PS Vita. Our own Brian Ashcraft and Luke Plunkett were there from the first day to the last (yes, even the on the weekend) to…
By Brian Crecente Published September 19, 2011 -
UncategorizedRadballs Is, Like, A Totally Rad Rhythm Puzzle Game for iOS
A little bit of Lumines influence, a touch of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo design and an audiovisual presentation thick with ’80s nostalgia make Radballs stand out from the iPhone and iPad puzzle game crowd. Glow Play’s Radballs for iOS may rest somewhat uncomfortably on its totally rad presentation, invoking memories of ’80s album art,…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 19, 2011 - Uncategorized
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 - Uncategorized
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 -
UncategorizedThis 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 - Uncategorized
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 - Culture
What do Rez and Space Channel 5 Have In Common? This Guy.
Artist Jake Kazdal has been working in the video game industry for around 15 years now, for companies like Electronic Arts, Zombie VR and Big Boss. Perhaps of more interest to readers of this site, though, is that between 1999 and 2003 he worked at Sega. In Tokyo. Where he got to design stuff for…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011 - Uncategorized
Metal Gear 3D, Zone of the Enders Coming In 2012
Soaking up the adoration of the masses at a Tokyo Game Show stage presentation over the weekend, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima dished out some release information regarding two of his company’s upcoming remakes. First, Metal Gear Snake Eater 3D. It’ll be out in early 2012, dashing the hopes of those who thought the game’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011 - Uncategorized
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 -
Uncategorized“New” BioShock Infinite Trailer Makes a Mockery of the Monorail
I’m not a scientist, so I can’t tell you exactly how much of this new BioShock Infinite trailer (commission for the Tokyo Game Show) is actually new. So let’s just guess and say “some”. There’s a can-opening sequence that looks new (at least compared to the very similar E3 clip). And some new gameplay stuff.…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011 -
UncategorizedLet’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 -
UncategorizedThe History of Video Game Consoles (Brought to you by TGS)
Tucked away in a deserted corner of the Tokyo Game Show was this enormous timeline, charting the history of both video game hardware and of TGS. You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011 - Uncategorized
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 - Uncategorized
How PSP Games Will Get a Second Lease of Life On the Vita
A big problem with PSP games like the Grand Theft Auto titles was the fact the old handheld only had one thumbstick. Now that the Vita has two, and can play old PSP games, Sony is looking at a backwards fix for that. “Downloadable PSP games will play on the Vita”, Sony Worldwide Studios boss…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011 - Uncategorized
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 -
UncategorizedThis World of Warcraft Family is a bad Sitcom In the Making
The family that games together stays together. Or so the Santellana family believes, having traded in family outings for nights spent roaming Azeroth on their matching mounts. They’re part of a guild that includes…the parents and two sons, and have setup a World of Warcraft command station in their living room so that all four…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011 -
UncategorizedNetflix Adding Video Game Rentals, Spawning Spin-off Qwikster
Big changes are afoot at video streaming and DVD-by-mail service Netflix. It’s splitting the business in two, with the Netflix half focusing solely on internet video streaming and a new company, Qwikster, handling the old school shipment of DVDs and Blu-ray discs by mail. It’s also about to start renting video games. Netflix will do…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 19, 2011 - Uncategorized
Congratulations On Your New Game! Please Don’t Play It.
Reddit user jinoxide lucked out and got his mail-order copy of Gears of War 3 a little early. Perhaps to cover their asses – or perhaps just sensing we need to start the working week with a chuckle – GameStop included a friendly little message. I guess they expect me to organise my own midnight…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011 - Uncategorized
Ico HD Looks Like the Game’s Third, and Best, Release
With the games to be released internationally over the next two weeks, the Tokyo Game Show was our last chance to check out both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus in HD before they hit the shelves. Sadly, I didn’t have time to get to Shadow of the Colossus (it was a little busy in…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011