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Do Video Games Really Need To Be Immersive?
Do we need to be drawn into our games, or can we just play and enjoy? That’s the question pondered by commenter RAMeyer19 in today’s installment of Speak-Up on Kotaku. Why in video games is “immersion” so often quoted as an important factor that a game has or lacks? Can I not love playing Pac-Man…
By Mike Fahey Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
What Ever Happened To The Christmas Video Game?
Christmas. It’s not only a holiday, but a mood, a memory. Movies ranging from It’s A Wonderful Life to Home Alone capture that festive feeling. Video games, do not. The fall season is typically when the gaming industry releases its most anticipated titles. Halo, Gears of War games and Uncharted games all get marquee fall…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 22, 2010 -
UncategorizedThis Classic RPG Series Revels In Its Hair Metal Roots
In 1987 Japanese developer Falcom released a role-playing game so metal it needed its own in-house band to create the soundtrack. This February XSEED celebrates with the Ys I & II Chronicles Hair Metal Pack for the PSP. Ys I & II Chronicles is a re-imagining of the first two games in the oft-mispronounced Ys…
By Mike Fahey Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow Whips Up A Double Dose Of DLC
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow left many unanswered questions lingering after the credits rolled, and Konami plans on answering them with a double dose of downloadable content coming next year to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The ending to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was…let’s just say it was interesting and leave it at that. Hopefully…
By Mike Fahey Published December 22, 2010 -
UncategorizedDungeons & Dragons Does Digital Download With Daggerdale
The battle for the Forgotten Realms goes digital with Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale, a downloadable multiplayer dungeon crawler coming to Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and PC this Spring from Atari and Bedlam Games. Dungeons & Dragons Online is lovely, but I’ve always had a different vision for an online version of Dungeons &…
By Mike Fahey Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Call of Duty Publisher’s Accusations Are ‘Deliberate Misdirection,” Rival Says
Yesterday, Activision accused rival games giant EA of all sort of skullduggery while suing them for $400 million for allegedly trying to “hijack” the Call of Duty franchise. Today, EA fired back. “This is a PR play filled with pettiness and deliberate misdirection,” EA’s head of communications Jeff Brown told Kotaku. “Activision wants to hide…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 22, 2010 -
UncategorizedThe Year’s Biggest News In One Short Video Game
Oil in the Gulf. A cat thrown in a garbage bin. Chilean miners rescued. Prince William engaged. Top Gear driver unmasked. This is a very British view of the 10 biggest news stories of the year, turned into video games. The people at NGamer made this interactive montage in Nintendo’s WarioWare D.I.Y. I get most…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 22, 2010 -
UncategorizedMmmm…Airplane Food
To: Totilo From: Bash RE: No Lost Zelda Here Happy to be in Texas. Happy to no longer be eating airplane food. What you missed last night The Modern Warfare Fight: Your Guide to Activision Vs. Infinity Ward PlayStation Ad Banned For Being Too Violent Why There Are Coins In Super Mario Bros. Call Of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
2010 Is Very Good For The PS3
This year is apparently being pretty good for Sony. That means more folks are taking the plunge and picking up PS3s. What does that mean? According to Kaz Hirai, who heads up Sony Computer Entertainment, the Tokyo-based game company looks to be on target to sell 15 million PS3 consoles this year. The recently released…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Wii Fit Helped This Woman Do More Than Exercise
Eighteen months ago, Jo Collinge was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, which attacks the nervous system. Collinge had difficulty walking. And then, she started playing Wii Fit. For 45 minutes a day, the business analyst played Wii Fit boxing, did step aerobics and the hula hoop mini-game. She tells The Sun that she saw a “massive…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Sad, But True
As seen on I Love Charts, via Infinite Lives
By Luke Plunkett Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
PlayStation Ad Banned For Being Too Violent
A British print advertisement for the PlayStation Move controller is banned in the United Kingdom, after a whopping eight people issued formal complaints. The ad, which shows a man about to punch another man he has in a headlock, was deemed by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority to be too much for public consumption, on the…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 22, 2010 -
UncategorizedFinal Fantasy Illustrator Finally Making Feature Film Debut
There is one man who best represents the look of the entire Final Fantasy franchise and that man is Yoshitaka Amano. Whether it be character design, art or logos, Amano’s left his mark on the series. Next up, his own anime. Amano is helming his debut anime, called Deva Zan. This isn’t his first fortray…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Why Some People Don’t Make Games Based On Real Wars
Sion Lenton, a developer who worked on the latest Operation: Flashpoint game, gives us a “food for thought” moment in the debate over whether video games should depict real-world conflicts or not.
By Luke Plunkett Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Now You See Chinese Gundam, Now You Don’t
Well, that was quick. After being constructed earlier this month, the large 15-meter mecha constructed at China’s Floraland Park came under fire for looking a little too much like the life-sized RX-78 Gundam first erected in Japan in 2009. The Chinese theme park denied those claims, saying the statue was based on an original design.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
What Really Motivates Master Chief
Artist Matthew Davis did this while studying at Middle Tennessee State University, as part of a range of pieces “[focusing] on desensitization from different forms of media we are subjected to on a regular basis”. It’s a catchy slogan, one that could work as well for an official endorsement of the game (or the product)…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Why There Are Coins In Super Mario Bros.
One of gaming’s most iconic in-game items are Super Mario Bros’ coins. But why coins? Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto admits that fruits were also a good choice, but tells Nintendo president Satoru Iwata that other items might confuse players, causing them to run away. “Thus, when we were thinking about something that anybody would look…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 22, 2010
