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South Korea’s Pikachu Rides Are Truly Frightening
In Japan, coin-operated Pikachu buggy rides are a common sight in front of arcades or suburban shopping centers. Children love them. In South Korea, they must scare the crap out of kiddos. These South Korean takes on Pikachu were spotted by blog Koya Log Everyday in South Korea. The Pikachu buggy ride below is the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 26, 2010 -
Pokémon Weren’t Originally In Pokémon Snap
What do you call Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap with no Pokémon? Snap? “Originally, Pokémon Snap for the Nintendo 64 system wasn’t a Pokémon game,” recalls Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, “but rather a normal game in which you took photos, but the motivation for playing the game wasn’t clear.” With the Pocket Monsters got-to-collect-them-all craze…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 26, 2010 -
Nintendo’s Biggest Characters In Board Game Form
In Japan, video games are called “TV games” (terebi geemu). Here’s a look at video games that have been turned into tabletop entertainment. Think TV games, but minus the TV. The vast majority of the games are Nintendo-related, showing the strong cultural impact Nintendo has in The Land of the Rising Sun. When kids aren’t…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 22, 2010 -
Why Are These Pokemon Words Offensive?
Yesterday, a list of naughty words that can be entered in Pokemon: Black and White surfaced. Some of the words might be easy for Westerners to understand why they are considered offensive. Other words, less so. Like with most languages, Japanese has an array of colorful terms for bodily functions and genitalia. That doesn’t mean…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 19, 2010 -
NSFW Report: These Bad Words Are Okay In Pokemon: Black And White
Words might be words, but some people are offended by certain words. That’s why game makers — especially those making games for younger players — block certain words. Apparently, Pokemon: Black and White does not. WARNING: OFFENSIVE WORDS AHEAD. A Japanese blog has gone through and attempted to enter a wide variety of questionable words…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 18, 2010 -
Pokemon Black And White Rampage Continues In Japan
On September 18, Pokemon: Black and White went on sale in Japan. Even in October, the game continues to barrel through the sales charts. Hot cakes, folks, hot cakes! In the past four weeks, the game has sold over 4 million copies in The Land of the Rising Sun. This is the fastest-selling Pocket Monster…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 14, 2010 -
Would You Like LOTS Of Pokemon Music?
Like, not some, a lot. More Pocket Monster: Black and White music than you would know what to do with. All Pokemon music, all the time. An upcoming four disc music set titled “Nintendo DS Pokemon Black White Super Music Collection” is going on sale this month. It features over 170 songs from the game.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 13, 2010 -
Pokemon Animated With 3D Computer Graphics Looks Like This
The weekly Pocket Monsters anime program is typically a 2D affair. But the opening credits for the latest series, Pokemon: Best Wishes!, shows off some fancy computer-generated 3D graphics. For comparison’s sake, this is what the opening for the previous Pokemon series looked like. Below is the current opening for the new Pokemon: Best Wishes!…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010 -
I Choose You…Jigglypuff, For This Giant Tattoo
You hear someone has a Jigglypuff tattoo on their arm, you begin to think horrible, horrible thoughts, but Danielle White’s forearm piece looks…well, it works As seen on ALBOTAS Gameface is a photographic celebration of the people who make, play and love video games.
By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2010 -
There Isn’t One Pokemon DSi
There are two. On November 20, a pair of Pokemon: Black and White Nintendo DSi handhelds will go on sale in Japan. One is black. The other? White. Priced at ¥19,800 (US$239), each console will be bundled with a copy of the game.
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2010 -
Yes, There’s Another Pokemon Movie
There have been new Pokemon movies every summer since 1998. And in 2011, there will be a new Pokemon movie. The anime will be out next summer and tied into Pokemon: Best Wish!, the current Pokemon anime running on Japanese television. The embedded link below has some footage of the upcoming flick. Last year’s Pokemon…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2010 -
Pokémon As Self-Portrait
A bunch of webcomic artists have got together and drawn up some self-portraits. Well, they’d be self-portraits if the artists were Pokémon, instead of humans. You can find them over on the Portrait-Dex, with some of the artists including Octopus Pie’s Meredith Gran and Dresden Codak’s Aaron Diaz. I love how the majority of them…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 1, 2010 -
There Is A Pokemon Typing Game
Next year, get ready to clack on a keyboard! Pokemon is ready to have players battle it out with their typing skills. Dubbed “Battle & Get: Pokemon Typing DS”, the game is a typing-based battle game. This makes sense as many children in Japan learn to read with Pokemon. Why not learn to type? The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2010 -
Pokémon Black And White, Already Beaten
America might be Halo and Civ obsessed now, but there’s a brand new Pokémon out in Japan. It’s already been beaten, the ending uploaded for all to see. That’s the last clip here. Earlier, less spoilery-y gameplay in the others. Do you not want major spoilers? Then check out this YouTube user’s capture of the…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 22, 2010 -
Japan Goes Bananas For Pokémon: Black And White
On September 18, Pokémon: Black and White went on sale in Japan. It probably did pretty good, right? No, no it didn’t. It did amazing In its first two days on sale in Japan, Black and White sold 2.63 million copies. By comparison, 2006’s Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl sold 1.58 million in its first week…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2010 -
The Pokémon Movie For Grown-Ups
That short, blurry, fan-made trailer for a live-action Pokémon movie didn’t do the thing justice. So let’s watch the thing, in full, in its original form. While the blurry shots from the first trailer helped hide the cracks in the special effects, it also robbed this fan project – called Pokémon Apokélypse – of much…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2010 -
Report: Nintendo Threatens Pokémon Website For Showing Pictures Of Pokémon [UPDATE]
Nintendo, never afraid to go after the little guy, has sent a letter over the weekend to a Pokémon fan site, threatening them over their posting of pictures from the upcoming Pokémon Black & White. Fan site PokéBeach, which obtained some copies of the game on September 17, was sent a letter on September 18…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2010 -
A Live-Action Pokemon Movie Would Never Be This Great
Someone has gone to the trouble of concocting a fake trailer for a live-action Pokemon movie, complete with in-progress watermarks and surprisingly decent special effects. We love it. The moody music, the dramatic over-acting, the impressive evolving effects; as an exercise in fan fantasy, it’s a blast. A real movie like this, today, would of…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 15, 2010