- Uncategorized
NEW YEARS HERE I COME
To: Crecente From: Bashcraft Looking forward to heading back to Japan — really enjoy the New Year’s holidays there, much more than in America where New Year’s simply feels like a denouement to the December holidays. What you missed last night Something Modern Warfare 2 Got Wrong About Pakistan Call Him “Xbox 360 Kid” South…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Terror at 30,000 Feet: Game-Free Transcontinental Flights?
I found myself doing something strange as I prepared for a 14 hour flight back to the United States this week: Buying games. While games have long been my time-waster of choice for the frequent international flights I take, it’s usually video games I stock up on. Not so for my Sydney to San Francisco…
By Brian Crecente Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Something Modern Warfare 2 Got Wrong About Pakistan
Pakistani reader Saad was thrilled when he heard that Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was getting a multiplayer map set in the city he calls home, Karachi. That is, until he played it. “I, being a Pakistani, was so excited at seeing a Karachi map and then immediately so disappointed when I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
A Bayonetta You Can Touch And Pose
Well, not quite yet. The unpainted prototype for Square Enix‘s Play Arts branded Bayonetta figurine was revealed at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. At the Jump Festa this month, a painted version was finally shown. Here you go. The fully poseable figurine, along with character Jeanne, has not yet been dated. One day, it just…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
What Are Japan’s Top Xbox LIVE Arcade Games of 2009?
Another top whatever list — this time the top XBLA games in Japan. They are… …drumroll please… 10. Mega Man 9 9. The King of Fighters ’98: Ultimate Match 8. Ikaruga 7. Shadow Complex 6. R-Type Dimensions 5. Trials HD 4. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 3. Castle Crashers 2. Battlefield 1943 1. Virtual On: Oratorio…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Underwear To Shoot ‘Em Up In
Another Cave matsuri (festival), more Cave underpants. The event this past August brought sexy gothic lolita drawers. The recent December event? Dodonpachi final boss underoos. Danger, indeed. Yours for ¥4,800 — large size is already sold out! Other Cave goods were available as well, including keychains, cell phone straps and the like. Garage kit of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
What Japanese Erotic Game Voice Actresses Look Like, Part 2
It’s their voices that players fall in love with, but here is a look at the some of the biggest names in the eroge voice business. This is what they look like. Voice actresses have dedicated fan bases in Japan — and some are so well known among players that their voice acting is used…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Year I Appeared In A Comiket Doujinshi With Hideo Kojima
As 2009 draws to a close, it’s time to look back and reflect. A lot has happened, and a lot has not. Funny, that. But it’s not over yet, and there’s still things left to be done. Like appearing in a doujinshi at this year’s Comic Market — something I didn’t even know about until…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Top Thirty Games in Japan of 2009
The year is almost over. Almost, but not quite. Still, that hasn’t stopped the number crunchers at ASCII Media Works from listing the top thirty titles of the year. Let’s have a look: 30. SD Gundam G Generation Wars Launch: 8/6/09 2009 Sales: 306,985 Life-to-date: 306,985 29. Gyakuten Kenji 5/28/09 313,891 313,891 28. Wagamama Fashion…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 -
UncategorizedCall Him “Xbox 360 Kid”
The Nintendo 64 Kid has found his modern replacement: the Xbox 360 Kid. But pawing at the box has been replaced with “air running” and some box humping. Squealing, too. Kids, today! As sister site Gizmodo pointed out, if he’s this excited right now, just image him if he gets the Red Ring of Death.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
South Korean Criticism of Super Street Fighter IV Korean Stage
For the first time in a Street Fighter title, there is a South Korean character: Juri. Not everyone is happy with the way South Korean is depicted in the SSFIV stage. According to South Korean newspaper The Dong-a IIbo, South Korean gamers who have seen Super Street Fighter IV’s South Korea stage feel disappointed and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
New Fist of The North Star Screens/Art Already Dead
In March 2010, Tecmo Koei is bringing post-apocalyptic martial arts manga Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken) to the PS3 and the Xbox 360 in Japan. The game has been titled Hokuto Musou, and is part of Koei’s popular “Musou” series of games. Besides new screens, there is new art of characters like…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Geometry Wars Meets Project Natal?
This is supposedly video of somebody playing Geometry Wars on Project Natal. Emphasis on the supposedly, in case you missed the italics first time around. A Destructoid reader reckons this was shot at a “Christmas Party”, though that’s where the information dries up. On the “could be” side of things, there’s lag at several points,…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Zelda Producer Wanted More Crossbow Training, “More, Better FPS” From Nintendo
Eiji Aonuma, master of all things Zelda at Nintendo, was a big fan of Link’s Crossbow Training. So big, in fact, he wanted to make a sequel to the Wii Zapper launch title. “To tell you the truth, I actually wanted to create Link’s Crossbow Training 2,” he told gamesTM in an interview. “I thought…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Paul McCartney Live Tracks On The Run Towards Rock Band
MTV have announced that next week a collection of live Paul McCartney tracks will be made available for download in the Rock Band store. Called the “New York City” pack, it will include three songs from a recent live performance in NYC: Jet, Band on the Run and Sing the Changes. Or, as per usual,…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sony Trimming More Costs
2009 wasn’t the best year for Sony, at least financially. So the Japanese company is looking to trim a little more of its overheads, specifically with the way PlayStation games are distributed. Previously, Sony Computer Entertainment’s distribution arm and that of the rest of the company were entirely separate operations. In 2010, though, they’ll be…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Exploder
To: Kotakuland From: Owen Re: What Do You Want From Santa? Mine is a family raised on bad puns and inscrutable inside jokes. We deliberately corrupt words and then use them in conversation without batting an eye. For example, dinner might be “country-style snake.” Or, salmon is “slalom,” (and a big portion is “giant slalom.”)…
By Owen Good Published December 27, 2009 -
UncategorizedFinal Fantasy Classic, with Lyrics: Soak It In, Mofo
Brentalfloss is back to camp out in our corpus callosum or medulla oblongata or wherever it is songs of this type embed themselves. If Styx were members of my church growing up, this would sound like 4/5ths of the hymnal. Final Fantasy Classic WITH LYRICS [YouTube, Thanks Lyndon R. L.]
By Owen Good Published December 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Week in Games: We Don’t Need Another Hero
The second package of DLC for Borderlands – Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot – comes to Xbox Live on Tuesday. But why are you looking for new games this week anyway? This week’s count: three for Xbox 360; two for Wii and DS; one for PC. Monday (Dec. 28) Four Player Tangerine Fight (360) The Magic…
By Owen Good Published December 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Kotaku’s Top 5 List of Top 10 Lists
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 Games That Should Never Become Movies [The Kartel] I think the fundamental problem with this genre is that no one has ever written or…
By Owen Good Published December 27, 2009