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One Of The Oldest Logos In Gaming Is No More
In this day and age, logos are a fickle thing, companies going through them like clean underwear in the constant search for “reinvention”. This week, one of the oldest developers in the industry has broken down and joined in. Rare Software, known for GoldenEye, Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark and the Xbox 360’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Foxconn Employee Dies After 34-Hour Shift
Another Foxconn employee has died. However, it was not by suicide. A 28-year-old man, who married his wife (pictured) three months ago, died from exhaustion in Shenzhen in his rental house after working a 34-hour shift his family claims. No official statement has been issued regarding the man’s death. Yan Li was apparently suffering from…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Japanese Man Arrested For Fake…Stickers
Daisuke Yamashita, 33 years-old, has been arrested for two counterfeit stickers in an online auction for ¥3,160 (US$36). That’s right two He was also charged with possession of 13 more stickers that depict art from Studio Ghibli anime films, like My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Police seized approximately…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Starcraft “Boot Camp” Doesn’t Sound Fun At All
Being locked in a room to play Starcraft all day might sound like fun, but for those interned in South Korea’s gaming “Chicken Coops”, it’s far from it. Starcraft expert Kim Jeong-geon spoke last week of these “coops”, which are used by the Starcraft industry to create a conveyor belt of sorts for the nation’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
How To Lure 3D TV Customers?
Not with video games. Not with the World Cup. But with that long standing killer app: pornography. This summer Sony is bringing 3D games to the PlayStation 3, and Nintendo is introducing its “glasses-free” portable gaming device. But as the Japanese 3D television market begins to heat up, the country’s porn industry is hoping to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
What A Development Studio Looks Like In Pieces
If you’ve ever wondered how much crap it takes to fill a game development studio, wonder no more, as LittleBigPlanet developers Media Molecule are more than happy to show you. Because the team just moved to a new office – conveniently down the street from their old office – everything had to be packed up,…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
DSi XL Plus Schoolgirls
Love Plus+ plus Nintendo’s DSi XL plus schoolgirls. Keyword: plus Going on sale June 24 and priced ¥24,000 (US$264), the bundle comes in three different designs, each of the three Love Plus girls: Manaka, Rinko and Nene. Love Plus is a popular dating sim in Japan.
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
The $300 Prince Of Persia Statue
Sideshow has gone mad for Prince of Persia, revealing a statue based on the movie that’s not $100. Not $200. It’s $300 worth of plastic Chesty Jake. He goes on sale on Sideshow’s website on June 3, and that $300 will get you a statue that stands around 18″ tall and has interchangeable arms, so…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Solid Snake’s Voice Actor On Collapse of Metal Gear Movie
The Metal Gear Solid movie isn’t happening. Solid Snake voice actor and Hollywood screenwriter David Hayter dishes what he’s heard went down. “A couple of years ago, a producer friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in doing the adaptation,” Hayter, who wrote the big screen version of X-Men, tells MTV. “I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
How Many Of You Have A Nintendo On You At All Times?
Photographer Jason Travis has a neat idea: grab people off the streets of Atlanta and take photos of whatever’s inside their handbags or backpacks. Items found include pens, keys, wallets and…Nintendo handhelds, as evidenced by these two ladies, one rocking the same stylish shade of Pink DS as our own Michael Fahey, the other a…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Pick A Card, A Mario Card
Nintendo started out as a card maker, making hanafuda playing cards. Nintendo still makes playing cards. Video games, too. This July, the company will be releasing three sets of Mario branded playing cards. These are “premium” cards, and are priced at ¥1,050 (US$11) each set. I like the “dot” cards the most. They’re classy. Mario…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010 -
UncategorizedWhen World Of Warcraft And The Real World Come Together
This is a charming short film about everyday people and their World of Warcraft avatars, interviewing a few players while their characters stroll around in the real world. It’s only four minutes long, but in that four minutes you get to meet a number of Irish players who give honest, enjoyable stories of just why…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Steve Jobs Addresses Foxconn Suicides
This year, eleven Foxconn employees have fallen to their deaths at the company’s Shenzhen factory. Sony and Nintendo are investigating the issue. What does Apple’s Steve Jobs think? According to Reuters, Jobs says the rash of suicides is “troubling”, but that the Foxconn factory “is not a sweatshop”. It is important to note that the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Portables Getting New Colors, Lower Prices in Japan
Nintendo plans to drop the price of the DSi and DSi XL in Japan the weekend following E3. They will also be releasing three new colors for the DSi XL: Yellow, Blue and Green. That’s it! No fancy names like Wine or Cheese Wine or Puce. Just Yellow, Blue and Green. Reminds me both of…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010 - Reviews
Bowmaster Micro Review: Shootin’ Arrows or Shootin’ Errors?
Honestly, if you are going to master something, you might as well master the bow and arrow. Worked for Robin Hood! Bowmaster for the iPhone and iPod Touch has players battle compete with A.I. archers with names like Wilbur the Novice and Albert the Accurate in a shooting range. Using a bow and arrow, the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Hulu Coming To Xbox 360?
According to “a very reliable source”, gadget site Gear Live is reporting that Microsoft is set to unveil a nice little surprise during its E3 press conference: the addition of TV streaming service Hulu to Xbox Live. Requiring a separate subscription fee – just like Netflix – Hulu would let Xbox 360 users watch (most…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010 - Uncategorized
Sony Remembers The PS3 Is A HD System
Despite flogging the PS3 as a high definition system, Sony has long been content to ship the device with composite cables. As in, one the worst quality standard definition cables you can get. What this means is that for millions of people who may not take this stuff as seriously as you or I might,…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 2, 2010