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Sony’s Motion Controller Explained — The Sequel
In a 7-minute video chat, Anton Mikhailov of Sony Computer Entertainment America takes us on another tour of the PlayStation Motion Controller, whose prototype he reveals was assembled from some spare parts bought up at a Home Depot. If he seems familiar, Mikhailov, of SCEA’s Research & Development unit, was part of the controller’s original…
By Owen Good Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sony Divides Up MAG Factions for Pre-Order Bonuses
MAG’s rolling out some exclusive in-game character models should you be of a mind to pre-order the game. GameStop and Game Crazy get two of them, the third is TBD. Amazon’s confirmed for … meh … access to a PlayStation Home space. The exclusive S.V.E.R. character is yours if you lay your $5 down at…
By Owen Good Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Obama Namechecks Xbox Once Again In Speech To Kids
President Barack Obama is once again tossing the old Xbox under the bus, naming Microsoft’s console in a speech to schoolchildren today, implying it might interfere with their education. Or maybe this is just smart product placement… In a peppy speech that focused on promoting education and personal responsibility, Obama made brief mention of Microsoft’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Nostalgia Preview: The Winds Of Staying The Same
Nostalgia is a DS role playing game that hearkens back not only to when Final Fantasy VII’s graphics were next-generation, but to an era of steam and airships that never quite existed. That’s right – that thing I’m always going on about is the main selling point of this game: steampunk. Normally, this would be…
By AJ Glasser Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Tokyo Game Show
To: Bash From: Crecente Re: With Penny Arcade Expo wrapped up, and our stories from the show wrapping up this week, it’s on to Tokyo Game Show planning. We should probably talk tomorrow to see how the schhhhhhheduling is going. Don’t tell the TGS folks that PAX had a touch of Swine Flu, I don’t…
By Brian Crecente Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Axel & Pixel Preview: It Looks Like Nothing Else
We’ve got a guy. A dog. An art style I’ve never seen on an Xbox 360. A point-and-click adventure. And side-scrolling driving. What Is It? At the Penny Arcade Expo, about halfway between where you could buy nachos or watch a comics artist sketch on his DS, there was a kiosk running two forthcoming Xbox…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Report: Nigerian Gov’t Upset Over New PlayStation Ads [Update]
While news of the PlayStation 3 price drop to $299 USD appeared to have been met with universal praise, it appears that one group isn’t so thrilled with Sony. That would be the entire country of Nigeria, apparently. According to reports citing a statement from Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Communication, Prof. Dora Akunyili, the…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Someone At Square-Enix Likes Star Trek?
Not being a font expert, but having a memory that stretches back to the 80s, I saw something on this very site today that made me think of the font you can see in the image on the left. In the midst of Brian Ashcraft’s superb coverage of all things Final Fantasy XIII, I saw…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Contra Rebirth, Super Return of the Jedi Scroll Onto Nintendo Weekly Downloads
This week’s batch of newly downloadable titles for WiiWare, DSiWare and Nintendo’s Virtual Console is a 16-bit paradise, as Konami’s Contra Rebirth and LucasArts’ Super Return of the Jedi overload the Wii with side-scrolling action. Other less spritely items are also available, including the colorful arcade shooter ColorZ for WiiWare and the bite-size DSiWare offering…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
How And Why Halo 3: ODST Was Made In 14 Months
Is your Peter Jackson Halo project not coming together on schedule? Got a year to make something else Halo-ish? Then construct a creative plan B, spelled ODST. During my visit to Bungie last week I got a chance to learn more about the origins of Halo 3: ODST a game that has all the makings…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Enter to Win a Copy of Darkest of Days
What historical military leader would you bring back from history a la Bill & Ted to play backup keyboards in your Wyld Stallyns tribute band? Agamemnon? Mussolini? The best choice wins a copy of Darkest of Days. Send your entry to [email protected] and register to win a chance to alter the course of history. Well,…
By Chrissie Lamond Published September 8, 2009 -
UncategorizedSony’s High-Res Image Enlargement Tech Could Make PlayStation Store Awesome
Sony’s “High-Resolution Image Enlargement Technology” may not have the coolest name, but the PlayStation 3 and PSP software could make for a much more interesting, zoom-tastic PlayStation Store. Shown at the recent CEDEC conference in Tokyo, the high-res image tech makes for a sweet looking calendar, smoothly scaled images and embedded web pages, but not…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
A Reward For Doing Good Xbox Work
Here is the Xbox “Playmaker Award”/Lamp as seen by Koaku at the Microsoft Xbox offices in Redmond, Washington. You can’t buy this. It’ll be passed around to exceptional employees. There were other oddities that I saw during my quick tour of the offices. The lamp was one of my favorites. The Playmaker Award is kind…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
PAX Organizers Report “Confirmed Swine Flu Case” From Show
Communication from official PAX sources indicate that the show may have been home to an infestation of the H1N1 flu virus, more commonly known as the Swine Flu, with Penny Arcade reps urging attendees to monitor symptoms. The official PAX Twitter account wrote today “Just heard of our first test-confirmed swine flu case at the…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Commodore 64, No Longer On iPhone
iPhone owners with a retro enthusiast streak got some good news this weekend — an approved Commodore 64 emulator was now available for the Apple platform via the iTunes Store. Today, the bad news hits. That C64 app has since been removed, due to the accessibility of the emulator’s built-in BASIC system, according to Pocket…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Reviews
Defense Grid Micro-Review: Mmmmm… Raspberries
Defense Grid: The Awakening is now out on Xbox Live Arcade. But it’s been out for a while on PC, where it’s got a reputation as, well, the best tower defense game there is. Like most tower defense games, Defense Grid asks the player to strategically place defensive towers to prevent something bad from happening.…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Beatles: Rock Band Frankenreview
What happens when what many consider to be the ultimate band game teams up with what many consider to be the ultimate band? The Beatles: Rock Band. While several bands have gotten their own standalone music titles, none have gotten nearly the sort of treatment Harmonix has given The Beatles: Rock Band. Not only is…
By Mike Fahey Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Tony Hawk Ride Impressions: Tony’s Way
Forgive me if I get some skateboarding terminology wrong in this post. I’ll do my best to relate what happened when I turned my board sideways and hit the Vert ramp in Tony Hawk: Ride last week. I’m the kind of person who has to double-check what “Vert ramp” means before I type it, to…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009