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  DS Lite Timer Prevents Close Screen Staring

  Know what little kids love more than playing the Nintendo DS Lite? Playing the DS Lite for long periods of time and holding it close to their face. To prevent that, there this: the Health Control Game Timer. The ¥3,990 (US$40) doohickey has a timer with settings for 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  And On The Third Day, FileFront Was Risen

  OK, it’s been a bit longer than three days. But with Easter around the corner, it’s somewhat apt, because just as everyone was done saying goodybe to FileFront, it’s now back from the dead. The popular PC file download service was closed late last month after its owners, Ziff Davis Media (who were trying to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  Atlus Leaves Sticker Picture Business

  In 1995, video game Atlus maker changed game centers forever when its first sticker picture (called “purikura” in Japanese) machine Print Club exploded onto the arcade scene. When Space Invaders hit big in Japan in 1978, both men and women played the game; however, by the 1990s, male-dominated fighting games were in vogue. Girls didn’t…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  THQ: There Will Be More Red Faction, More…Darksiders

  Things aren’t looking so rosy at publishers THQ at the moment. But they shall persevere! And they shall do so by pushing original IP, pledging to release more Red Faction and Darksiders titles. By more, we don’t mean Red Faction 3. That one’s already coming. THQ are referring to another Red Faction, and a sequel…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  A Game Magazine Outsells Time, Playboy & Sports Illustrated

  Most game magazines are dying a death. One, though, is not. It’s the one that’s owned by GameStop. Yes, it’s Game Informer, and more people read Game Informer than you probably thought. According to data released by BurrellesLuce, the mag has a monthly readership of 3,517,598. Which makes it the 12th most read magazine in…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  What Do You Notice About These DS Screenshots?

  Platinum Games, the developers behind Wii title MadWorld, has teamed up with Nude Maker, a developer with added erotic game experience, for upcoming Nintendo DS title Infinite Space. The dialogue heavy game features loads of 2D character chit-chat and multiple, branching storylines to go along with it. This new batch of screenshots so that the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  Mass Effect 2 Has Shorter Elevator Rides

  Mass Effect was pretty great, wasn’t it? Oh, except for those elevator rides masquerading as load screens. Those weren’t great. Which is probably why Bioware have remembered to fix them for Mass Effect 2. Speaking with MTV, Bioware’s Ray Muzyka said: We have a completely new system to handle transitions between areas that speeds the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Devil May Cry 4 The Comic Book Now On Sale

  Devil May Cry 4 has been novelized! Starting today, Devil May Cry 4 -Deadly Fortune-1, the first of two volumes, goes on sale in Japan for ¥600 (US$6). The second volume hits retailers this summer on July 1. THORES Shibamoto is handling the book’s illustration. Devil May Cry -Deadly Fortune-1 is available at book retailers…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  High or Low? Fantasy in Dragon Age

  Dragon Age: Origins Lead Writer David Gaider and BioWare heads Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have different ideas about what high and low fantasy is; which may foretell a genre crisis for the game. Ideally, Origins is supposed to be a “new” kind of fantasy that does away with Zeschuk’s dreaded “elves sashaying through the…

  By AJ Glasser Published April 1, 2009
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  New PS3 Firmware Adds 16-Person In-Game Chat, Video Back Up

  PlayStation 3 firmware version 2.70 is due to be released “soon”—which often translates to “within hours”—bringing with it new text chat functions that can be used in-game. But wait, there’s more! The new text chat supports up to 16 users in up to 3 chat rooms, both in-game and out-of-game, making it that much easier…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 1, 2009
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  Killzone Becomes, Of All Things, A Love Story

  Bravo, IGN. Bravo. Having set a high standard last April 1st with their Zelda movie trailer, this year, attention shifts to Killzone. And how it’s not a story about killing. It’s a story about love. More Videos at IGN.com

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Dexter iPhone Preview: Dexter Does Interesting Things

  Dexter is a Showtime series about a forensics expert that secretly murders guilty suspects and collects samples of their blood. This is the game of that show made by a clothing designer. Yes, Marc Ecko – that Marc Ecko – has expanded his efforts from rhinoceros-branded jackets and hats into iPhone games. Dexter for the…

  By AJ Glasser Published April 1, 2009
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  Kratos’ Companion Cube Gets Unchained

  Did you know that there’s an extremely well-hidden cameo in God of War: Chains of Olympus? It’s the much deadlier, more ancient Companion Cube, the omega of all cubeforms, capable of kicking serious ass. Ready At Dawn writes today that the developer, known for its PSP expertise, was “surprised no one has found this one…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 1, 2009
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  PlayStation Store Lets You Import PSP Shooters At Half The Price

  The recent release of Rei Cho Aniki—a remake of the original homoerotic side-scrolling shooter for the PSP—wasn’t cheap. But thanks to the PlayStation Store, cash-strapped importers can have it for a song. As Siliconera points out today, the digital download of Rei Cho Aniki, via the Hong Kong version of the PlayStation Store, is selling…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 1, 2009
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  OnLive Founder Defends Game Changing Service: It “Will Work”

  Steve Perlman, one of the founders of the OnLive streaming video game service unveiled at last week’s GDC, has defended the innovations powering the PC gaming service, dismissing articles calling the technology “unworkable” as “ignorant.” While Perlman used that term specifically in regard to a Eurogamer editorial—”Why OnLive Can’t Possibly Work”—the outlet isn’t the only…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 1, 2009
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  Explodemon! Brings Mega(ton) Man Platforming To PSN, WiiWare, PC

  Curve Studios Explodemon! sure looks a hell of a lot like Mega Man—but with a gameplay twist. The 2.5D action platformer stars a robotic hero with a knack for blowing himself up. Intentionally. Curve’s SNES-era throwback title, coming to PlayStation Network, WiiWare and PCs, uses an interesting mechanic—lots of explosions—to fight enemies, reach new areas…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 1, 2009
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  Snow Lightning

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: So, Yeah, I Did It, I Bought A Piece Of Japan It’s a total white out right now outside my window. I can’t see a thing but the trees a foot or two away from the glass. I can see occasional flashes of light and hear the ominous roll of…

  By Brian Crecente Published April 1, 2009
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  Sega’s Project RINGO Is… Another Puyo Pop Game

  The weeks-long series of teasers for Sega’s Project RINGO have turned out to be what many had speculated—the game is another entry in the long-running Puyo Puyo puzzle-game series. According to the latest issue of Famitsu Weekly, by way of 1UP, Sega will bring the color-matching puzzle stylings of Puyo Puyo 7 to the Wii,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 1, 2009
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  Valve Takes The Piss With Team Fortress 2 Sniper Class Update

  Valve’s Team Fortress 2 team pranksters have joined in on the April Fool’s Day fun, issuing what is (thankfully) not the Sniper class’ first unlockable, the jar of urine known as the Jarate. No shit. First seen in the “Meet the Sniper” promo video, the Jarate, if it were real, would let enemies “taste your…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 1, 2009
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  Take-Two Trademarks Irrational Boston

  Could Take-Two be giving 2K Boston back their unique identity? A trademark application for Irrational Boston seems to point in that direction. Irrational Games was purchased by Take-Two back in early 2006, and then were “rewarded” with a name change to 2K Boston and 2K Australia in November of 2007, following the success of the…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 1, 2009