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Virtual Golf Hookers
Seoul’s Metropolitan Police Agency have been targeting “screen golf” rooms that mix driving range golf with a virtual video-game-type screens. Some of these golf rooms sell alcohol and employ female entertainers in mini-skirts. The virtual golf rooms measure the distance the ball travels, and the newest golf rooms feature game systems that can reproduce famous…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sorry, No Car Damage In Gran Turismo PSP [Update]
While it appears car damage is finally on its way to the Gran Turismo series when GT5 is released, don’t expect the same attention to detail from the PSP version of the game. Answering fan questions on the official PlayStation blog, Polyphony’s Chris Hinojosa Miranda and Taku Imasaki have said in response to a fan…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
“Casual” Is No Way To Label Games, Argues Casual Developer
Get rid of the term “casual”! Do it! Dave Thomson of Scottish games developer Denki wants the word gone, banished, erased, deleted. At the Develop Conference in Brighton, UK, Thomson gave a session titled “A Game is a Game is a Game”. He calls the term casual pejorative. “We may not find a particular type…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Stuff Super Nintendo Nightmares Are Made Of
While most case mods are designed to improve the appearance of a games console – or at least tailor it to suit the whims of a more fickle owner – we don’t see many that will make small children cry. But, man, if I was four years old and saw this thing, it’d disturb me.…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Resident Evil Shirt Feasts On The Flesh Of The Living
The rule is this: convention t-shirts are awful, cheap things you see stuffed in swag bags then only again seen on large men at LAN parties. The exception to that rule is this Capcom shirt for Comic-Con. To be given away free to advertise Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, it appears at first glance to…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Famitsu Awards Dragon Quest IX Perfect Score
Amazon Japan may not love DS role-playing-game Dragon Quest IX. That’s a-okay. Know why? The country’s biggest game mag totally loves it. Famitsu has given DQIX a perfect 40/40 score. “This adventure is amazing!” Famitsu writes. “It’s so much fun.” The reviewers also praised the music and the multi-player, which Famitsu called “ground breaking”. The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Bar Girl Game Now Bar Girl Comic
D3 Publisher’s upcoming Xbox 360 title Dream C Club lets players booze it up with maid-uniform-wearing night club hostesses. The game is text heavy, perfect fodder for a comic book. The October issue of manga Comic Rush, on sale August 26, will see the first manga version of Dream C Club, called Dream Club Destiny.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rebellion Goes Bargain Shopping, Picks Up A Ton Of Great Old IP
Aliens vs Predator developers Rebellion have been picking through the remains of Vivendi’s old portfolio of intellectual property, discarded amidst the company’s merger with Activision, and have found a number of bargains. Among the unwanted, unloved IPs now obtained by the British developers (and 2000AD comics owners) are Ground Control, Evil Genius, Empire Earth, Lords…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Valkyria Chronicles 2 Is A PSP Game
Valkyria Chronicles was a PS3 game. Valkyria Chronicles 2 is not. It’s a PSP game, and here is its localized title: Valkyria Chronicles 2: The Gallia Royal Military Academy. Announced in the newest issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu, the game is set in 1937, two years after the first game. Cadets from the Gallia…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Xbox Taiwan Looking For Angelic Lady
Not content to have some middle-aged male exec in khakis talk gaming, Microsoft Taiwan is holding an open cattle call to find a model-type to represent the platform. Requirements: You must be a female, over 18 years old and play the Xbox 360 for at least 360 minutes per week. A panel of judges will…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Ubisoft Working On New Heroes Of Might & Magic Game?
While there’s a new Might & Magic game on the way for the DS, those looking for something more…substantial will be happy to hear that Ubisoft’s Shanghai studio are working on something called “Heroes of MM”. A listing for a job opening at the studio says that they’re developing “Heroes of MM”, which is described…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
Japanese Superstar Pitcher Needs Xbox 360 Internet Connecting Help
Nippon Ham Fighters ace baseball pitcher Yu Darvish got his Xbox 360 about a year ago. “I used it a little,” he blogs, “but then I ended up not using it at all.” Darvish, one of the country’s best ballplayers, has been practicing Street Fighter IV on the Microsoft console recently and asks his readers…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2009 - Uncategorized
PC Sales Charts: You Fight Like A Dairy Farmer
Any doubts over the commercial viability of reviving a classic Lucasarts adventure game series have been blown out of the water this week, with Telltale’s new Monkey Island game topping the Steam charts. It was also a good week for Capcom’s Street Fighter IV, with a strong performance on both charts repaying the company’s faith…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 14, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Witcher Director Cut With Nudity
You can take the boobs out of million selling computer title The Witcher, but can you take The Witcher out of the boobs? Polish developer CDProjekt has announced The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut for North American gamers as a free patch. This is basically the nudity-enhanced European version of the title. Back in March…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2009 - Uncategorized
Economist Says EA’s Madden Monopoly Has Cost Gamers Almost $1 Billion
The high-profile court case against EA Sport’s “monopoly” in the NFL market took an interesting turn this week, with an economist brought in to show how much the demise of 2K’s competing NFL franchise has cost sports gamers. Despite admitting his report is based on incomplete data, University of Michigan economics professor Dr. Jeffrey Mackie-Mason…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 14, 2009 - Uncategorized
Turning Summer Movies Into Games: Dos and Don’ts
The video game industry has longed enjoyed riding on the coattails of Hollywood, turning summer blockbuster films into what should be easily profitable video game adaptations. But things don’t always turn out as planned. One famously disastrous movie-to-video game adaptation was Atari’s hastily developed E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial based on the 1982 summer hit. Thrown together…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 14, 2009 - Uncategorized
A Friendly EVO Championship Reminder
EVO 2009! The spinning blue globe’s longest-running fighting game tourney is just around the corner — kicking off July 17 in Las Vegas. This year’s EVO will feature the likes of Daigo, Alex Valle, John Choi and Justin Wong and a special appearance by Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono. For those of you who…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2009 - Uncategorized
Nutso WoW Player Threatens To Hijack Plane, Kill As Many Americans As Possible
Warning! May contain traces of nuts! An 18 year-old kid from Greenwood, Indiana is under investigation by the FBI after issuing a number of “very serious” threats via World of Warcraft. On Monday morning, the boy said in-game that he “was going to board a plane at 7:30 to Chicago and that (he) was going…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 14, 2009 - Uncategorized
Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Part 2 Ups The S&M
The beat ’em up adventures of Nite Owl and Rorschach continue in Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Part 2, as seen in this debut clip from the downloadable game. Also seen, men in bondage gear. If the first episode featured the brand of sadism you crave in your downloadable video games, the second will give…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 14, 2009 - Uncategorized
Microsoft Showing “Exciting Unannounced Project” At Comic-Con
Comic-Con’s not typically an event one attends expecting to hear about the latest game announcements, but Microsoft is bringing with it something as yet unannounced, according to an invite from the Xbox 360 maker. Microsoft will be showcasing the already announced Halo 3: ODST, Alan Wake, The Beatles: Rock Band, Left 4 Dead 2 and…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 14, 2009