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They’re Big. They’re Nerdy. They’re Papier-Mâché.
Every year, the Asagaya Tanabata festival is held at a covered shopping arcade near JR Asagaya Station. At this festival, large papier-mâché characters cover the shopping arcade. Characters from anime, video games, and popular culture appear along side colorful orbs. Last year, there was even the Twitter whale. In the past, there’s been Sponge Bob…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 8, 2011 -
UncategorizedSaved by the Bell: The Video Game Is the Best Thing That Never Happened
You know, it was one of the great tragedies of the 1990s that we never got a Saved by the Bell video game on the SNES. One heavily inspired by the Earthbound series, in which you had to help Zack do whatever he did for 23 minutes an episode. This clip, by the team of…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2011 - Uncategorized
This Year’s Hardest Game Has Been Delayed (Briefly!)
Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls, was supposed to be out on September 15. It won’t be. Instead, the game will be delayed a week to September 22. From Software, the game’s developer, stated that the game is being delayed “due to various circumstances”. From Software did not go into greater depth than…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 8, 2011 -
UncategorizedOwl Boy Takes his First Flight This Month
There are two indie games I’m looking forward to above all others. One is Fez, but Lord knows when that will ever be released. The other is Owl Boy, which will be playable later this month. The platformer, which we’ve covered a few times here before, won’t be out for a little while yet, but…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2011 - Uncategorized
More Nintendo 3DS Dpad Woes
Soon after the Nintendo 3DS, photos surfaced of wrinkled 3DS buttons. The paint on the buttons and the Dpad seemed “warped”. The issue appeared isolated, but was related to the paint used on the 3DS. More photos have now surfaced showing how another 3DS had a warped D-pad that, over time, has started flaking and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 8, 2011 -
UncategorizedGood Morning! Here’s Almost 40 Minutes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
If the extended demonstration of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim at Quakecon was good enough to fend off the onset of child birth to watch, then maybe you should grab a snack and settle in with it as well. Captured via shakycam™, the clip has some footage you’ve seen before, but then since it’s forty…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2011 - Uncategorized
Goodbye Hyper Sexy Cosplay!
Comic Market, or Comiket, is a twice yearly event that showcases self-published comics. In the past, it’s also showcased obscene amounts of flesh. Real flesh. Like most nerd events, Comiket is a cosplay magnet. Cosplayers, like Ushijima Good Meat, not only pose for pictures, but they also sell their own CD-ROMs filled with sexy photos.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 8, 2011 -
UncategorizedDungeons & Dragons Has Rarely Been This Sentimental
Performed by Allie Goertz, this little ditty about Dungeons & Dragons is just the thing to get your working week started with a big smile on your face. It’s like the theme song to a charming 2006 indie flick. Only, instead of a young man in tight jeans from a country town struggling to find…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2011 -
UncategorizedNintendo’s Ambassador Program Ad Reads Like a Product Recall
Nintendo is slashing the price of the 3DS and giving away a ton of free games to early adopters. While I’m sure that’s grim news for those who actually work at Nintendo, the marketing for the move doesn’t have to follow suit! The first ad up top is for the British 3DS-owning public. It’s sombre…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallHappy 25th Birthday, Metroid!
In 1986, a number of Nintendo’s biggest franchises made their debut on the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System. Zelda was one, and now this month, we celebrate another: Metroid Both have something in common, something that makes them stand out among other company icons like Mario or Donkey Kong, and that something is a more “hardcore” slant.…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2011 -
UncategorizedSamus’ Silver Anniversary
Metroid Turns 25 | Yesterday, Aug. 6, marked the 25th anniversary of Metroid’s debut. Although Nintendo has yet to formally observe the anniversary, that hasn’t stopped lifelong fans of the series, who pay tribute in this 10-minute video by Shinesparkers Hooray! Now We Know Why Bobby Kotick is in that Brad Pitt Movie Bobby Kotick’s…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
South African Cops Make First-Ever Raid of PS3 Jailbreak Operation
In what is believed to be the world’s first-ever arrest in connection with circumventing a video game console’s security, South African authorities raided a jailbreaking operation in Johannesburg, sending one man to jail and confiscating all kinds of hardware and software the outfit used. The Commercial Crime Unit of the South African Police Service carried…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 - Culture
One and Done
Fruit Ninja Kinect? Fruit Ninja Kinect. And folks, that is it for the week. Well, EDGE, another well received (and controversial) iPhone game, hits for PC and Mac. But the dog days of August have nothing for retail shelves this week. Wednesday • Fruit Ninja Kinect (XBLA) — An entry in Xbox Live’s Summer of…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Pregnant Mom Fends Off Labor Long Enough to See Skyrim Demo [Updated]
About six months ago, Bethesda Softworks’ Pete Hines figured Feb. 18 was the perfect day to conceive a child, as the baby would be due on Nov. 11, the ship date for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. One couple conceived well early of that, but their baby’s birth will still forever be associated with the…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Deadly Games
Each week throws off several new video game lists ranging from the humorous to the trivial. What’s better? A list of those. Here’s a roundup of the rundowns out there. •Eight People Who Died Playing Video Games [Ranker] I’ll assume Polybius isn’t on the list because if the game’s true existence can’t be confirmed, then…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 -
UncategorizedHow Did We Miss the Best Cosplay of Comic-Con?
Mike and I saw a ton of cosplay, much of it game-themed, two weeks ago at Comic-Con 2011. In all of our time at the San Diego Convention Center, however, we never, ahem, stumbled across this guy, cosplaying as the QWOP runner. You can’t stop QWOP. [via Rooster Teeth] You can contact Owen Good, the…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Hans Brix Might Want to Send Inspectors to Kim Jong-il’s Gold Farm
An awesome tale from Friday’s New York Times alleges that Mister Fun himself, Kim Jong-il, finances his nookular ambitions with the proceeds of an MMO-gold farming operation. Cops in Seoul on Thursday arrested five persons who engaged a team of North Korean hackers to breach the servers for South Korean MMOs Lineage and Dungeon and…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 - CultureShop Contest
Northern Overexposure
Nolan North appearing in a video game is not exactly news. It’s more newsworthy when he doesn’t. But voicing The Penguin, with a canon-defying cockney accent even, is treading the limits of overexposure even for him. One reason North can get away with this is because, in addition to having great vocal range, we never…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
Good morning. It’s Sunday. I’m here to ask you, how is your relationship with your fellow commenter. If you were to die right now, would you feel secure that the everlasting soul of your comments will find their eternal reward? Maybe it’s time you had a talk, amongst yourselves. Once againKyosen is your big winner…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011 - Culture
Sunday Comics
Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Aug 1. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Aug 3. – Read more of Nerf…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2011