Suck at music games? But still want to win tournaments to impress friends and relatives? Well, you might’ve just missed your chance. A Taito arcade in Tokyo’s Takadanobaba recently held a Pop’n Music competition. The event was canned, because nobody showed up. So sad! The tweet from Taito read: “Since there were zero participants at…
Before there was Macross, before there was Gundam, there was Yamato. Space Battleship Yamato (called Star Blazers in the West) is the original space opera anime and a cornerstone of anime popular culture in Japan. Now, nearly 40 years after its original television debut, a 26-episode remake of the original series is being aired in…
Card-based PS Vita game Monster Monpiece features monster girls and inappropriate gameplay. In Japan, the game appears to be a monster hit. I cannot understand why! Compile Heart, the folks behind the title, announced on January 26 that the game’s first run of 27,000 copies is already out of stock and that many stores in…
Space Battleship Yamato (Starblazers in the West) is one of the cornerstones of anime. Created by Yoshinobu Nishizaki and the legendary Leiji Matsumoto (Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock, Daft Punk’s Interstella 5555), it is the original space opera anime and has had a prominent place in Japanese popular culture for nearly 40 years. With the…
This is Naruto from…Naruto. He is a ramen-eating ninja with whisker marks on his face. What if he didn’t have those whisker marks? What would he look like? According to 2ch, Japan’s largest bulletin board, he’d look pretty damn handsome. Here are a handful of fan images of Naruto, sans whisker marks and head protector.…
Omi Gibson, the queen of Metal Gear cosplay, turned her talents towards classic adventure game Policenauts. And, wow, she nails it. Just look at how she brings Jonathan Ingram to life. Forget her costume, it’s those facial expressions that really sell this cosplay. Initially released in 1994, Policenauts was designed by Metal Gear creator, Hideo…
While playing his favorite online game at a local internet cafe, a gamer named “Zhao” repeatedly suffered internet disconnections. According to QQ Games (via Tech in Asia), Zhao apparently got incensed and went to the home of the net cafe owner. There, things reportedly escalated. And got awful. The net cafe owner, who was surnamed…
As many gamers can tell you, bugs can be a problem. No, like bugs—real bugs. Roaches. Gross, you say. That would be correct. But this is a friendly reminder that bug infested consoles are very much a thing This problem is not new. But during this console generation, there have been forum threads seeking advice…
I like Populous. I like Reprisal. I like pretty things, which means I also really like the polygonal art of Timothy J. Reynolds. He says his style evolved from “a healthy dose of legos and cartoons” he grew up on as a kid, but I see the isometric viewpoints and 3D structure and all I…
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, turns 30 this week. While it’s used across devices and mediums, for a long time it was crucial to your experience with video games, as it was a popular way of getting electronic music stored on game cartridges and discs, especially in the 1990s. Everyone will have their…
This clip, seemingly done for Spartan Ops, was done by Planet Jump animation studio for the launch of Halo 4 last year. Part-animated clip, part-motion comic, its got an anime style and helps explain, at least partially, why the Covenant are hanging around the game. Better than the game manages, anyway. The short was directed…
Sadly, this isn’t something you can buy. It’s a garage kit, which means it’s basically a home-made piece, so the astonishing detail you’re seeing here is a one-of-a-kind. As something so beautiful deserves to be. It’s Ultima, a summon from Final Fantasy XII, and the impressive statue stands an enormous 20″ tall. I’ve included some…
There are songs that work in video game trailers because they’re great. There are others that work because they’re ironic. This is neither. It’s a hilarious disaster.
Nintendo actually used to make stuff like this. I had an add-on for my GameCube, for example, that let me play Game Boy Advance titles through the console on my TV. They were good times, but sadly, times that have been short since the release of the Wii, which failed to receive a similar add-on…
From the guys who brought you that homemade version of the Man of Steel trailer comes this latest adventure in sweding, applied to the trailer for J.J. “TrekWars” Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness. Highlight for me: the guys trying to vocally re-create the Inception horn. I actually rewatched Abrams’ Star Trek yesterday. I think…
JXD S7300 HD Gamepad2. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it? But the name might be the only thing I can see wrong with this new handheld system, designed entirely around the idea of playing classic old video games. Based on Android 4.1, the JXD S7300 HD Gamepad2 comes with a range of…
This interesting article explores what happens when you apply real-world city planning to the new SimCity
Sony is teasing… something. What? Hard to say. Could be something terrible. Or something cool. What do you think?
If you, like me, recently dropped a couple hundred bucks on a 3DS XL, you probably have thought about picking up a case to keep it safe. The challenge is finding a case that is even remotely acceptable. For some reason, the majority of non-Nintendo-made 3DS accessories are poorly-made hunks of junk, a problem is…
It’s been years since I’ve heard this specific version of the trainer battle music in Pokémon—I had Red, back then—but hearing it now on violin and piano evokes old memories. This performance by krissalad is great and makes me wonder what other Pokémon songs would sound live. Pokémon Red & Blue – Trainer Battle Theme…
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