After Burner? Shocking Back in February, a series of SEGA mini deluxe cabinets was announced: Thunder Blade, Space Harrier, Out Run, Hang On and a hidden “SECRET” cabinet. That oh-so-mysterious cabinet is on display at Japan’s Shizuoka Hobby Show — along with the others. These classic cabinet models will be out this August in The…
Later this week, Microsoft is due to host a big press conference in London. What’s on the table? Oh, full integration of satellite television with the Xbox 360. British site Rapid TV News claims that BSkyB (or Sky, as it’s more commonly known), the UK’s biggest pay TV provider, will announce tomorrow a deal linking…
Making big time video games is expensive. Really, really, really expensive. It needs big time money. Double the big time money from the last generation, actually. Robert Walsh heads up Krome Studios, one of the biggest indie studios on this blue planet we call Earth, and points out the very obvious: Game budgets are way…
The monthly NPD charts are handy for retail sales, but for digital sales? Useless! They’re not covered. No, for that stuff, we rely on PR mailouts, like this one from Sony. Provided to the Gamasutra network, this list shows the ten best-selling PlayStation Network titles for April 2009. Rag-Doll Kung Fu is at #1, and…
Every year a new slogan is announced for the Tokyo Game Show, held in Chiba, Japan. After that, a poster is unveiled. This is this year’s. The official translation of this year’s slogan is “Game, it’s so energetic!” (The Japanese word “genki” has various meanings — plug in whichever you like.) TGS 2009 runs from…
High Voltage are working on The Conduit. And Gladiator AD. And now they’ve just revealed a third game, only a day after revealing Gladiator. Slow down, guys! This third title is called The Grinder, and is a four-player co-op shooter for the Wii, where players must battle waves of vampires, werewolves and the undead. So,…
This week’s issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu features an interview with Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima about his new project. Make that a censored interview with Hideo Kojima. Can you decipher it? When speaking with Famitsu Editor-in-Chief Hirokazu Hamamura, Kojima apparently revealed more than he originally intended about his new title. Hamamura asked Kojima if…
Truly iron fists for The King of the Iron Fists Tournament. There isn’t one Jack, but a series of these Russian robots: Jack, Jack-2, Jack-4, Jack-5, Jack-6, Gun Jack and Prototype Jack. A package deal! So why do we love him? His blood is plutonium* and his eye glow. What’s not to love? He’s a…
On the 7th of April this year, Nintendo registered trademark #2009-026024 with the Japanese Patent Office. For something called “Wii Fit Plus“. Hrm. What ever could it be? The mind boggles. While companies trademark stuff all the time that means bupkis, we’re a little more interested in this because it has a nice, formal logo…
Epic Games, the folks behind Gears of War, know a lot about how games are made now. So there’s a good chance Epic has a good handle on the future. The company’s Unreal Engine 3 powers a good chunk of this generation’s titles. The ensuing generations are likely to have photorealism — and Epic’s Tim…
With Empire: Total War nowhere to be seen on Direct2Drive’s charts, there’s only a single game that made the top 10 across all three outlets over the past few weeks. And it was Fallout 3! Yes, Bethesda’s RPG soldiers on, with more and more gamers each week drawn into its tale of post-apocalyptic intrigue and…
Gaming’s Citizen Kane Moment. Don’t roll your eyes just yet! Director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Cronos) is here to tell us how its going to happen: convergence. And it’s starting now with gaming’s Model T. “In the next 10 years, we’re going to see all the forms of entertainment-film, television, video, games, and print-melding into…
Oh look. Another new product announcement just days before E3. In this instance, for a big, proper game based on Pirates Of The Caribbean. Why, exactly, do we have the show again? Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned is an “action RPG”, being developed by Propaganda Games and to be published by, who…
Activision have unveiled a new website for Guitar Hero 5, in the process confirming not only that the game is returning to a numbered title, but that it has a ballsy new release date. And that date is September 1. Cocky! You may have heard, a certain other music title is due out in early…
Former Team Ninja lead Tomonobu Itagaki is in the catbird’s seat, having moved on from Tecmo and on to things not Ninja Gaiden or Dead Or Alive related. It’s even better for us. That’s because Itagaki can now trashtalk Tekken and whatever happens next in the Dead or Alive series, given his new position at…
Leaked scans from the upcoming Famitsu show what looks like another familiar Metal Gear character: Raiden. Raiden means “thunder and lightning” in Japanese — fitting as the teaser site has mostly been thunder and lighting. Oh, rain, there has been rain. (Who knows though if this character is actually Raiden, maybe it’s Gray Fox?) Those…
The last Kojima Productions countdown clock wasn’t exactly climatic. This one will hopefully make up for it. The lighting and rain return, but the letters “R” and “P” flash on the screen…along with? What looks like a close-up of Big Boss. It is unconfirmed, however, whether this actually is Big Boss. The lighting and rain…
Sony Computer Entertainment and Rhino Studios’ safari and photography sim Afrika is finally coming to North America, publisher Natsume has announced, giving PlayStation 3 owners a chance to experience the gorgeous game on Western shores. According to IGN, Natsume has picked up publishing duties where National Geographic Games and Sony Computer Entertainment America appear to…
MTV Games‘ Rock Band series shrinks down and drops the plastic instruments for the PlayStation Portable release Rock Band Unplugged, which turns the band video game series into a break out solo effort. There’s no singing or plastic drum controller to smack in Rock Band Unplugged, as players use the PSP’s default controls to beat…
Speaking with The Guardian, Microsoft’s Chris Stevenson has announced that the Zune Marketplace – and everything available on it – is to be made available to Xbox 360 owners. The move is part of a growing effort by Microsoft to bring their two “entertainment” devices closer together, and is one which will no doubt heighten…
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