• Uncategorized

  Sony Ramping Up PS3 Production For…Something

  According to Taiwan’s DigiTimes, Sony have recently “placed significant orders for key Sony PS3 components” from local manufacturers, waaaaay above the quantities they normally source. Interesting. They say it’s enough parts to produce one million PS3 consoles in the third quarter of 2009, which is apparently twice as many as were manufactured last quarter. DigiTimes’…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  What Games Did Japan Buy In July?

  July may be over, but it’s not forgotten. It lives on as the month that follows June, and at the same time the month that precedes August. July. Say it with me, July. The number crunchers at Famitsu publisher Enterbrain have crunched some numbers. Those numbers make up Japanese sales data for the month of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Sony Scraps WipeOut HD Loading Ad

  The people have spoken. Spoken angrily. And Sony have listened, removing the worst of the in-game advertising from WipeOut HD only 24 hours after it was first officially announced. “The ad has been removed from WipEout HD”, a Sony rep told Eurogamer, “and we are investigating the situation to ensure that any in-game advertising does…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Hitman Actor Returning For Hitman 2?

  The Hitman movie sequel is still very much in the early stages. Twentieth Century Fox has scribe Kyle Ward (Uncharted movie script, Kane & Lynch script) attached to the Hitman 2 script. But is actor Timothy Olyphant, who played lead Agent 47 in the first film, returning to reprise his role? “It’s not on my…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  LittleBigPlanet Does The Time Warp

  Media Molecule, we fully endorse this continued move away from game characters and national holidays towards making LBP content a little more unique. A little more interesting. Case in point: this "history kit". It combines “objects, decorations, music, sounds, materials and 140 (zomg!) stickers” from a number of historical styles/civilizations, including Roman, Egyptian, Arabic, Oriental,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Company Renames Rape Game Category

  As the fallout from the Rapelay controversy continues, one Japanese erotic game distributor has, for better or worse, figured out a work around. PC download site BGameBox has posted a notification that the categories “ryoujoku” (rape) and “choukyou” (sexual training) have been removed from the site as of July 31. A separate email newsletter informs…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Handmade SFIV Sticks Don’t Skimp On The Heavy Stuff

  Mekishiko916 likes Street Fighter, and is handy with circuits and a soldering iron. Combining those two, he’s come up with these amazing hand-made arcade sticks that aren’t just heavy-duty, they’re wireless as well. Being a patriot, he eschews Japanese components in favour of American HAPP parts (though you can ask for Seimetsu/Sanwa parts if you’re…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Tornado Outbreak Trailer Twists My Expectations

  I’ve been fascinated with tornadoes since I saw this video when I was a kid. But rather than go out and almost get killed myself trying to recreate those guys’ experience, I’d rather play a game about tornadoes. Sadly, I’m not sure Tornado Outbreak can sate my sick interest. Because rather than playing as the…

  By AJ Glasser Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Poor Old Leipzig Ain’t What It Used To Be

  Last year, Leipzig was host to Europe’s premier games industry expo, which attracted over 200,000 people. This year? Leipzig’s Games Convention Online could only attract 43,000 punters. Why the decline? Well, it’s all in the name. Last year’s Leipzig Games Convention was a showcase for all things gaming, from consoles to handhelds to the PC.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Persona 4, Explained In Pictures

  Persona has one of the most unique core mechanics in all of gaming. But the series’ finer points may be lost on newcomers, or those ignorant of its enduring appeal. For those people, then, there is this comic. Artist and Persona fan Hiimdaisy has penned this amazing, loooooong comic that does a great job of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  This Is Vegas Publishers: This Is Not Cancelled

  When you don’t hear about a game for months, you start to presume the worst. Like, that it’s been cancelled. We haven’t heard about This is Vegas for months, so has it been cancelled? Surprisingly, no, it has not. Despite being caught up in the implosion of Midway (the game’s former developer/publisher) and its own…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Pirate Bay Co-Founder Jumps Ship

  Another man overboard. Joining former Grokster exec Wayne Rosso, Pirate Bay’s Peter Sunde is abandoning the BitTorrent site he co-founded. “I have decided to not be the spokes person for The Pirate Bay anymore,” Sunde blogged this Monday. “The reasons are many but most importantly it takes too much of my time. I want to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Two More Added To PS3 Greatest Hits Line

  Times are tough, and money is tight. Who has $50-60 to spend on new games? Not as many people as there used to be, that’s for sure. Now $30, that’s more like it. Which brings us to the two latest titles in Sony’s Greatest Hits range for the PS3, Saints Row 2 and WWE Smackdown…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Resident Evil 5’s Sheva Has Cheeky Pin-Up Calender

  Voice and motion capture actress Karen Dyer doesn’t lend her voice to her online Sheva cosplay calendar. She lends other assets. Guns, for instance. The character of Sheva, however, was based on Australian model/TV actor Michelle Van Der Water. Sheva Calender [Official Site via Gaming Bits via Capcom]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Team Fortress 2 Gets New Closed Beta For Better Testing

  I’m a casual TF2 player. So the recent “random drop” system of awarding rare items was great for me! For high-end players, though, it wasn’t so great, and they got upset. If only Valve had seen that coming! In the future, hopefully they will, with the creation of a new “closed beta” for the game.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  80GB PLAYSTATION 3 To Be Discontinued In Japan

  The 20GB, 40GB and 60GB versions of the PS3 have been discontinued. According to this, it looks like the 80GB PLAYSTATION 3 is next. This notice is apparently from retailer 7-Eleven (7-Eleven sells video games in Japan) and states that pre-orders for the Black, White and Silver 80GB PS3 will cease on Sunday, August 9…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 4, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Final Fantasy XIV Video Interview

  This video is from E3, but is included in the latest issue of DVD-bundled magazine Famitsu Wave. It’s eight minutes long and subtitled. So you can learn about online title Final Fantasy XIV. Yes!

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 3, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Japanese Voice Actress Getting Her First Trading Cards

  When we were kids, we collected baseball cards. Jose Canseco, Mark Grace and Ken Griffey, Jr. In Japan, kids these days (hey, more like adults!) can collect voice actress cards. Vocal thespian Rie Tanaka (Phantasy Star Portable, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3) is releasing her first set of “trading cards” this September. One pack will…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 3, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Don’t Go Looking For A Wii Price Cut Just Yet

  The DS received a price drop — ages ago. But it happened. The Wii, however, is still selling for the price it had when it launched in late 2006. Wii sales are slowing down, and at the recent Nintendo investor’s meeting, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was asked this during the Q&A: “Tell me if you…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 3, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Sending Your DSi Pics to Facebook (No Pre-Teens Allowed)

  As of this evening DSi owners in North America can now directly upload the pictures they took using the portable to their Facebook account, with one caveat. While the uploading is fairly seamless, Facebook’s own terms of use prevent anyone under the age of 13 from using it because you’re not allowed to set up…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 3, 2009