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The Michael Jackson Money Train Lives On
Two years ago, Michael Jackson unexpectedly passed away. According to NME, Jackson’s once debt-ridden estate is now making hundreds of millions ($300 million plus!) thanks to posthumous output like This Is It! and the game Michael Jackson: The Experience. [NME]
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2011 -
Armored Core V Closed Beta Delay. Guess Why?
Well, because the PSN Store is still offline in Japan. Thus, the Armored Core V closed PS3 beta is now being delayed. It was originally slated for July 1, but is now dependent on when the PSN Store goes back online in Japan. The Xbox 360 closed beta is schedule to start on July 19…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2011 -
Ready to Turn Down Idols Once More? But Now in Bikinis?
Last December, Namco Bandai released a PSP game with the goal of turning down the advances of over forty young Japanese idols. Dating simulator? Not quite, it was a dumping simulator, and you were supposed to settle on one of those girls. Now you can do that again! AKB48 1/48 returns with AKB48 1/48: When…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2011 -
Sega Legend All But Says Goodbye
Yu Suzuki, creator of games like Shenmue and Virtua Fighter, has been easing himself away from Sega ever since he opened his own studio, YS NET. He’s now revealed that come September he’ll be leaving his current job at Sega behind, remaining only as an “advisor”. [Gamasutra]
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
I’m So, So Sorry, Okami Fans
I normally try and keep this cosplay roundup free of furries. Because, well, I’m slightly afraid of them. But there were two instances this week that were simply too good to pass up sharing. One is a Digimon that’s terrifying for all the right reason. The other is this Okami picture that is, well…yes. The…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
Forza 4’s Fancy Edition Packs Extra Cars
The Limited Collector’s Edition of Forza 4 will ship with an art book (with content written by Top Gear magazine staff), metal case and a range of extra cars, including the 2012 BMW M5 and classic American muscle cars. More info at the link. [Jalopnik]
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
This “Console” is The Bastard Son of an Xbox 360 and a PS3
This is “Arcade Game Box”, model no. Nj-3802. While it may look like an unholy union of an Xbox 360 console and PlayStation 3 controllers, the truth is even stranger. You see, being a Chinese knock-off, this isn’t actually capable of playing Xbox 360 games. Or PS3 games. What it can do is play…Game Boy…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
Getting to the Bottom of an Ass Man’s Latest Handiwork
You may like feet. I might like the necks. But Kenichiro Yoshimura likes asses. No, he loves them. Back in 2009, Yoshimura, who worked on Bayonetta, said this about the character’s bottom: “I really wanted to get Bayonetta’s backside perfect. I guess I am into that sort of thing…” Is he ever! Yoshimura recently showed…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2011 -
Who Would Win: Darth Vader or Ryu?
With top-shelf cameras and editing software now in the hands of the masses, all it takes is a little vision to make it big on the internet. That said, it’s sometimes refreshing to see people dial it back on the special effects, and do things the old-fashioned way. If this battle between Ryu and Darth…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
When Game Console Gifts Were Yanked Out of Kids’ Hands
Following March 11’s earthquake and tsunami, kids left parentless and homeless piled into make-shift refuge shelters. As a much needed diversion, kids began asking for video games. “I want a PSP and Monster Hunter,” wrote one little girl whose grandmother and grandfather died during the quake. Japanese singer Masahiro Nakai from Smap visited Fukushima, passing…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2011 -
Nintendo, Americans Are Pissed Off You’re Not Giving Them RPGs
Xenoblade Chronicles is a Wii RPG that’s been out in Japan since 2010. It’ll be out in Europe in September. With no firm release date yet set for America, though, Yankee RPG fans have taken it upon themselves to convince Nintendo to take action. While last week there was a plan to write Nintendo a…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
Gran Turismo Creator Races at Famed 24 Hour Race
Kazunori Yamauchi doesn’t just make racing games, he races cars. Yamauchi and his GT-R team placed thirty-sixth at the grueling 24 hour Nurburgring race. It was the first time Nissan’s GT-R competed at Nurburgring. [DualShockers]
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2011 -
There Will Be a LEGO Star Wars “TV Special”
Which sounds a lot like a “movie”. Just that it’s headed straight to TV. Just in case you’re not instantly grasping the absurdity of this, we’re (probably) talking about a movie based on a video game that was based on a toy line that was based on a cartoon series that was based on a…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
Japan’s Nintendo Online Shop Carries the AWOL Bits You Need
Nintendo catches heat for being clueless about the internet. That’s not exactly fair, because Nintendo is doing cool stuff online—selling instruction booklets, for example. Joining Nintendo of America, Nintendo just launched its own online shop in Japan. While other game companies might try to sell you things you do not need, Nintendo is selling things…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2011 -
Is EVE Online’s Clothing Fiasco the “Sad Culmination of Vainness”? [Update]
In an interesting footnote to last week’s highly emotional and controversial EVE Online clothing release, the game’s senior producer Arnar Hrafn Gylfason wrote a blog post defending his company’s decision to have virtual clothing goods costing more than real-world equivalents. Or, at least he tried to defend it. And hey, maybe in his head, before…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
Popularity as Judged Through Edgy Porn and Fake Goods
Earlier this year, anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica took Japan’s otakudom by storm. Now that the series has finished, it’s time for the vultures to swoop in and make a profit. Besides the knock-off products, there’s already the inevitable porn parody, which is anything but vanilla. Premiering in January, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2011 -
Buy Your Own Portal 2 Propulsion Gel
What really set Portal 2 apart from the first game was its clever use of gels, each providing new ways to zip around a level (and occasionally stump the player). And now you can own some of your very own. OK, so this stuff won’t make you run faster, jump higher or open portals on…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
Report: PS3 Hacker George Hotz Lands Job at Facebook
George “GeoHot” Hotz, famed for his hacking of the iPhone and PlayStation 3 (and subsequent court dramas), has apparently found gainful employment. At social networking behemoth Facebook. A report on Tech Unwrapped, citing hackers who have been in contact with Hotz since his settlement with Sony, says Hotz has been turning down new hacking challenges/opportunities…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011 -
Good Vibrations
A cymbal flutters like a pancake after being struck in this video, taken at 1000 frames per second, by the Fluke Corporation, makers of sophisticated testing instruments. (via Neatorama) Stick Jockey: Don’t Hate the Game, Hate the Player Even as sports games implement more deterministic controls, more realistic ratings and more authentic player performances, little…
By Owen Good Published June 26, 2011 -
Some of Ocarina‘s Original Glitches Were Deliberately Kept in 3DS Version
In building the 3D remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the mandate for the developer Grezzo was to preserve fans’ memories of the original as much as possible. That meant, where possible, that bugs from the original Nintendo 64 game were intentionally left in. “As programmers, we wanted to get rid of…
By Owen Good Published June 26, 2011