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Sakura Note, For The Nintendo DS
Marvelous Entertainment‘s creative experiments with Nintendo platforms just keep on keepin’ on, with the release later this year of Sakura Note, an adventure game for the DS. Not much is known about the game other than the fact it’s an adventure title and is set in a small town, where a young girl is being…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
King Of Games Does Tingle
Japanese game clothing specialists King of Games have been in a bit of a funk lately. Some bland, boring designs. But not this one! This one’s the opposite of both bland and boring. You can thank Tingle for that. This shirt is based on the upcoming DS game Tingle’s Love Balloon Trip, the sequel to…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Brings Shmup To DSiWare (Yes, Nintendo!)
Nintendo does make things besides brain games, fitness games and I-don’t-know-what type games. Want proof? Here’s proof. This is Aa Mujyou Setsuna (Ah Cruel Instant or Oh Heartless Moment, depending on your localization fancy). It’s a chaining-based bullet hell shooter. From Nintendo. In 2009. Yes. The game’s official page lists Nintendo as the "maker", but…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Early Halo: ODST Players Won’t Be Banned (So Long As They Bought A Copy)
Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, you’re French. And somehow, your local game store was selling copies of Halo: ODST weeks before it was meant to be out. Then Microsoft threatens action. You’d think “action” meant “XBL bans”, right? Gladly, that’s not the case. Well, provided you bought the game, at any rate. Xbox Live Chief of…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Dragon Quest IX Sells Less Than 100,000 (Oh Noes!)
According to the Japanese sales figures released last week, DS title Dragon Quest IX sold 127,000. According to the ones released this week, it did not. The game moved 79,000 copies — making it the first time it fell under 100,000. The game has already sold 3.7 million copies, so who cares, right? 3.7 million…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Muramasa T&A Hits The Big Time
Savvy marketing, this. For the September issue of play magazine, Ignition entertainment managed to get gorgeous Wii side-scroller Muramasa top billing on the front cover. Bottom billing, too. This amazing, dare we say sensual cover was drawn by Vanillaware’s George Kamitani, and yes, it’s a tip of the…hat to Hokusai’s sexy/creepy classic “The Dream of…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
United Nations Calls For Explicit Japanese Game Ban
In the wake of the Rapelay controversy, the United Nations‘s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is urging for the ban of explicit games and anime. The committee is suggesting Japan to ban “the sale of video games or cartoons involving rape and sexual violence against women which normalize and promote sexual violence…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
The PS3 “Ultimate Blu-Ray Movie Kit”
This is the “Ultimate Blu-Ray Movie Kit”, a special PS3 bundle that’s being offered at a major Australian retailer. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with games, but still, it’s an interesting retail proposition. There are two of them available, both of which bundle two Blu-Ray movies along with a PS3 remote control. One offers…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Fable II Gets A Game Of The Year Edition
Hot on the heels of a Gears of War 2 GOTY bundle comes the news that Fable II will also be repackaged, also in a “Game of the Year” edition. It’ll include both the game’s downloadable content packs (Knothole Island, See The Future), and while there’s no release date or US pricing available, we do…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
7-Eleven: Next Famitsu Will Contain “Okamiden”
That mysterious Capcom “Okamiden” trademark is set to get a little less mysterious next week. According to 7-11, the next issue of game mag Famitsu will be covering Okamiden. Okamiden is thought to be a sequel to PS2 game Okami. As game site Siliconera points out, 7-Eleven previously pointed out that Hideo Kojima’s cloud teaser…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Twitter, Facebook On 360 Might Be For Gold Subscribers Only [Update]
Buried at the foot of the press release announcing Microsoft’s 360 price cuts this morning was this little nugget: “Xbox Live Gold Membership will be required for Twitter and Facebook when they are available”. Seems a strange move, what with both Facebook and Twitter being 100% free on both PCs and phones. In defence, a…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
King of Fighters XII Figures Fight Fight Fight
When you think of SNK figures, you think of curvy Mai Shiranui figures. These are not Mai Shiranui figures! Rather, we’ve got 22cm statues of KOFXII‘s Elizabeth Blanctorche and Mature. Both are priced at ¥10,500 (US$112). Both are out September 20. Both are not Mai Shiranui. Volks KOFXII 1/6 Elizabeth Blanctorche resin kit and Volks…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Tearing The DJ Hero Controller To Pieces
Man, we’re on a streak with these this week, aren’t we? It’s like the internet’s out for flesh. Today, we’re going to see what the DJ Hero controller’s guts look like spread out all over the floor. Mmmm. Messy! Oh, if you’re wondering how these photos came to light, what with the game not due…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
New FFXIII Screens Show Different Angle of Glasses Lady
That’s Lieutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat, Final Fantasy XIII‘s icy queen commander of the Holy Army. Famitsu has new screens of her, silver-haired Yaag Rosch, FFXIII heroine and her summon Odin in horsey Gestalt form. Final Fantasy XIII is headed for the PS3 in Japan this winter.
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
How To Install The Homebrew Channel On Your Wii
Yes, yes, these days the Wii isn’t as useful as we’d hoped. As useful as it could be. Unless, that is, you’re running the Homebrew channel. Here’s how you install it. Previously, you needed a copy of Twilight Princess to get this working, but with a recent system update, Nintendo closed that loophole. Not to…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Scary Drawing Lady Sketches Her Room
Everybody remembers Yu Kobayashi, right? The game and anime voice actress who illustrated that nightmare drawing of the character she voiced in Wii title Arc Rise Fantasia. That drawing right up there? Yu Kobayashi did not draw that. Aki Toyosaki did. Besides lending her talents to anime K-On!, she did voice work for PS3 soul…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sit Awkwardly Through Kurt Cobain’s Guitar Hero 5 Performance
You put Slash in a Guitar Hero game, that’s understandable. He’s an inconic guitar player, and was happy to sign on the dotted line. But Kurt Cobain? You stay classy, Activision. Click to view Guitar Hero 5 at IGN.com
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
EA Exec: ‘PS 3.5’, ‘Xbox 560’ will Precede Next Gen
Electronic Arts’ Chief Creative Officer (pictured), in an interview, said that Sony and Microsoft, “nearly expired crossing the finish line as they launched their consoles,” and don’t want to build the next generation any time soon. “I expected we’ll see a PlayStation 3.5 before we see a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox 560 before we…
By Owen Good Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
America’s “Free” PSPgo Game Deal Is A Little Disappointing
In Europe, if you buy a PSPgo you get a free copy of Gran Turismo! Awesome. In the US, if you buy a PSPgo, you get a…demo (with benefits) of Rock Band Unplugged. Sony & MTV are calling it Rock Band Unplugged Lite, because (this is the stuff we didn’t already know) while it’ll begin…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2009