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Would I Like This Voltron USB Drive? Yes, I Would
To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: From Snakes to Scorpions Not sure if you remember Matt Alt. He’s a game localizer, author and all around nice guy, and I wrote about him in a feature I did on the meaning of ninjy. (He’s actually co-written a book on ninjas!) Anyway, he love robots and has created…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 2, 2010 -
How A Japanese Political Party Used A Virtual Singer
Democratic Party of Japan member Kenzo Fujisue apparently has a “secret plan” to tap into the country’s youth for the upcoming July election. Does that plan involve a virtual idol? Miku Hatsune is a popular computerized singer that was originally just software for the Yamaha Vocaloid, which allows people to synthesize singing by typing in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 2, 2010 -
Is Japan Interested In 3D TVs? Survey Says…
In The Land of the Rising Sun, electronics manufacturers like Sony and Panasonic are rolling out 3D televisions. Sony, in particular, shows great interest in 3D with its TVs and 3D-ready PlayStation 3. Japan, however, does not. According to Kakaku.com survey that polled 8,957 individuals, 70 percent said they were turned off by wearing 3D…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 2, 2010 -
Crackdown 2 Meets Perfect Dark
You know, I was playing Perfect Dark the other day, and thought to myself, “Man, you know what this game needs? More Crackdown cameos”. And whaddya know. Here we are. With a Crackdown unlockable now available within Perfect Dark XBLA. Now if only I’d actually thought that, instead of using it to set the scene!…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
How The Xbox Helps John Deere Supply Vehicles To The US Army
Well, there’s a headline I never thought I’d have to write. But behold! John Deere, masters of agricultural vehicles, have made the R-Gator, a small “utility” vehicle for the US Army that looks like a golf cart in olive green. It’s like a regular Gator, only this time the “R” stands for “Remote”, as it…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
Can You Spot Monster Hunter?
Capcom’s Monster Hunter is proving to be not just one of the most successful PSP titles, but one of the most influential. Monster Hunter has players carry giant weapons to hunt, wait for it, monsters. Namco Bandai has released PSP game God Eater, a game in which players carry giant weapons to hunt monsters. Square…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 2, 2010 -
Did Your Parents Buy A Dell PC A Few Years Ago? Your Boss? Your School?
We know you wouldn’t buy an off-the-shelf Dell PC. You have gaming needs. But others aren’t as savvy as you. They bought off-the-shelf Dell PCs. And many of those people got shafted. Some documents related to a lawsuit against Dell have recently been unsealed, and reveal the company may have knowingly shipped faulty computers to…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
An iPhone Is So Easy, A One-Year Child Can Unlock It
This is my son, Micro-Bash. He is one year and several months old. And he can unlock an iPhone. For the past couple of days whenever he finds Mrs. Bashcraft’s iPhone, he switches it on and slides the slider, unlocking the phone. Nobody told him how to do this, he just knows. Kinda like how…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 2, 2010 -
How I Accidentally Bought The Soundtrack To Nintendo’s 2006
It’s a story that involves good intentions, booze and DJ Krush. Having had one too many drinks last weekend, I found myself at a friend’s place watching a DJ Krush DVD. Not the worst way to end a boozey evening, as I like DJ Krush! Anyway, that reminded me I’d been on the lookout for…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
Dress Up Like Love Plus Schoolgirls
Konami’s love simulator Love Plus is causing select Japanese men to go gaga for its in-game schoolgirls. Now, they can go gaga over these uniforms. This Konami-approved Love Plus schoolgirl summer uniform might do the trick! Priced at ¥12,600 for the skirt and ¥21,000 for the jacket and scarf, the uniform comes in sizes S/M/L/XL.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 2, 2010 -
This Means Beard War
Yesterday, I had the audacity to say that former Ubisoft man Patrice Désilets had the most beautiful beard in the video game industry. Other developers, however, disagree. I got a few emails overnight from bearded industry professionals, but my favourite was one from Matt MacLean, lead systems designer at Obsidian (Fallout: New Vegas, Dungeon Siege…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
The NBA Jam That Could Have Been
The upcoming NBA Jam reboot wasn’t always an NBA Jam game. It was originally called NBA Bounce, and looked very different. 1UP has a gallery of concept art for the title, showing the long creative road the game took from its days as an ad-filled Bounce to the classy NBA Jam remake it is today.…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
Will There Ever Be A Nintendo Theme Park?
Just imagine it: Like Disneyland, but with video games and Nintendo characters. During a recent meeting with investors, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata discussed the topic. “Countless times, the idea of a theme park has been debated and discussed, and there have been rumors in various forms,” Iwata said. “But at the present moment, there are…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 2, 2010 -
Watch Some Guy Complete A Lap Of Top Gear’s Test Track
The highlight (for me, anyways) of upcoming racer Gran Turismo 5 will be racing a full lap of the Top Gear Test Track. Until it’s out, I’ll have to make do watching this guy complete a circuit instead. It looks as amazing as you’d expect, even via shaky cam, but there’s something nagging at me.…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
The New Pokemon Series’ Name Takes Some Liberties
The current Pocket Monster animated series is called “Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl”. That makes sense as that’s what the games based on it are called. The name of the new series? Later this year, Nintendo will release the next generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon: Black & White. A new generation of Pokemon means a new…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 2, 2010 -
Street Fighter Sneakers Keep It Classy
Some sneakers based on video games can be tasteful! Others, less so. These Street Fighter Dunks, rumoured to be part of an official collaboration between Capcom and Nike, are thankfully the former. Resisting the urge to plaster the shoes with character likenesses and tacky logos, the two pairs – based on Chun-Li and Ryu –…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
Team BioShock Meets Team Oblivion, Shares Tea & Biscuits
Irrational Games, the studio behind BioShock and System Shock 2, has kicked off what looks to be a great series of podcasts in which they interview other top developers. To get things started, Ken Levine interviews Todd Howard. Who needs the media when developers can just interview each other? Not these guys, it seems, as…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010 -
Intel’s “Project Offset” Game Cancelled
For years, developers from computing giant Intel had been working on a game, called Project Offset. Note the use of past tense in that sentence. Intel has cancelled the game and scattered the development team to the winds, releasing the following statement to Big Download: Intel purchased Offset Software to improve our game development knowledge-base…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010