Archive for September 3rd, 2006
Resident Evil Stamps
How do they celebrate a ten year anniversary in Japan? With stamps of course!
Capcom and Visions Inc. are releasing a set of ten 80 yen stamps to commemorate a decade of zombie killing and Umbrella Corp thwarting. They’ll be available for purchase for two months for a fee of 3150 yen which not only nets you some very collectible stamps, but a specially made booklet in which to store them.
Yes, store them, never use them. Look at them and brag about your purchase. In fact, don’t even touch ‘em. They’re that precious!
10th Anniversary Biohazard Stamps
Retail Employee Reduced To Tingle Cosplay
Why is it that I can barely get a “Hello” out my local EB Games employee, but this guy can go the extra mile to shill a couple more copies of Tingle’s newly released RPG? This is either loving your job or hating your parents. Or maybe it’s just wacky Japanese retail.
Games of the Week: Yakuza!!!
Now that I’ve got some free time on my hands, I’ll be able to put on my comfy PJ’s, pour myself a tall glass of red wine, and beat the life out of some Japanese gangster thugs. That’s in Yakuza of course. My choice for purchase of the week. Here’s what’s shipping this Tuesday.
Yakuza (PS2)
Sega’s brawler adventure puts you in control of yakuza tough Kiryu Kazuma. Lotsa punching, lotsa swearing.
LocoRoco (PSP)
You are a yellow blob in the happiest game ever! I just wanna pinch its blobby cheeks!
Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run (PS2, Xbox)
It’s like the last Spy Hunter but with The Rock. Whatever happened to that movie anyway, Rock?
Test Drive Unlimited (Xbox 360)
Pretty looking driving game that takes you all over Hawaii.
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Vol. 1 (Xbox 360)
Play those great Live Arcade games (like Geometry Wars) without an internet connection.
You kids snapping up anything this week?
Nintendo DS MP3 Player Hitting Europe
Sister gadget site Gizmodo has snaps from the Leipzig Nintendo DS brochure showing off the MP3 player that will go on sale later this year. In what looks like a rebranded Play-Yan Micro cart, the player will take up the GBA cartridge slot, use SD memory cards up to 2GB and will feature its own headphone jack.
The Japanese version of the Play-Yan not only played media files, but a baker’s dozen of simple, freely downloadable games from Nintendo with clever names like “Nose”, “Avoid” and “Jump”. Check out Gizmodo for more details and check out this review of the Play-Yan Micro to learn more.
The Mysterious Nintendo DS MP3 Player [Gizmodo]
No HDMI Cables Included With $600 PS3
Crap. Not that anyone should be surprised, and maybe I should’ve noticed this sooner, but the official US PlayStation 3 site confirms that if you want to use your $600 PlayStation 3 via its fancy-pants HDMI port, you better be prepared to shell out a little bit more. Okay, a lot more.
HDMI cables, like the PS3 aren’t cheap. They can run from around $20 to $300, depending on what you’re going for (but you certainly needn’t pay that much!). I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sony selling their own PlayStation 3 branded cable, just to squeeze a little more revenue out of the thing.
Maybe that $500 option is looking more like the one I’ll be going for.
Update: Thanks for pointing out that you can get cables for less than $90, angry internet mob. The price info has been corrected.
Confirmed: PS3 shipping without HDMI cable
High-end PS3 shipping without HDMI cable
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Peripherals, Business
The über version of the PlayStation 3 evidently isn’t shipping with the HDMI cable needed to take advantage of 1080p Blu-ray sweetness that has been promised by Sony ever since the PS3’s high-def qualities have been hyped up. According to a recently updated FAQ on the official PS3 site, it says the following: “Copy-protected Blu-ray video discs can only output at 1080p using an HDMI cable connected to a device that is compatible with the HDCP standard.”
The only problem is that the HDMI cable needed to do this won’t be included with your $600 PS3. That means, according to prices on places like Amazon, you’ll have to shell out an extra $40 or more for the needed HD hook up. While it certainly may not be a big deal for someone who has the dough to spend $600 on a game console in the first place, for those who have been fillin’ up the ol’ piggy bank a penny at a time to buy this thing, it could just add to the stress and anger that’s been building ever since the price was announced in May.
Sony said the $600 PS3 would play our content in 1080p. Maybe they should have made it clear we’d need an extra cable not included in the box to do so.
[Thanks, Chris Larson]
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The Doraemon Beanie Controller Lets You Play With Your Head
That lovable, blue, time travelling cat from the future is branching out into the plug and play television game field. Millions of Japanese boys and girls will now be able to slap on the famous “take-copter” beanie and virtually fly around just like Doraemon.
All you need to do is lean forward, backward, right or left, and Doraemon will obey your wireless commands. Just like this!
The game features a story mode, a “free” mode and 10 minigames. All this slapped together crap software that will surely contain no more than 15 minutes worth of fun for only 7854 yen? Sign me up!
Japan Getting Another Pokemon DS
Will the nation of Japan sink under the weight of all the Nintendo DSes the public will buy (again and again and again)? When this Pokemon Diamond and Pearl edition DS hits, we’ll know for sure.
Nintendo is releasing yet another DS lite and this one is for the children. Yes, children. You grown ups should be over playing this sort of silliness by now. The limited edition DS features Pokemon Diamond and Pearl coverbeasts Dialga and Palkia as well as a “metallic black” interior, only slightly different from the Jet Black version just released.
Sorry, but this bad boy is only available at Pokemon Center shops in Japan. It hits September 28th (alongside the game, obviously) for a low low 16800 yen (the regular price).
Handheld Importing: Not Just For Nerds
As some of Japan’s (and Korea’s) best games never make it stateside, those of us who enjoy the finer things in life are forced to import. It can be scary for those of us who don’t know a lick of Japanese, but with no region protection in place on either the PSP, the Game Boy Advance or the Nintendo DS, it’s just too easy not to import.
Fortunately for us, handheld specialists Modojo have put together their list of the best (currently) import-only titles that you are missing out on. While I personally feel that the list is lacking some bit Generations Dotstream and Rhythm Tengoku, it has rekindled my interest in snagging a copy of DJ Max Portable.
Besides, any list that caps off with Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan at #1 is definitely right.
Japan in My Hand: Best Handheld Imports
This Day in Gaming, September 3rd VOTE
1998: Konami releases Metal Gear Solid for PS in Japan. From here until the end of time, big guns and killing a bajillion enemies would be far less impressive than sneaking around said enemies. It’s amazing that Commando star Schwarzenegger is governor after the influence of Solid Snake. Because who are you going to pick in a fight? You’ve got to see Snake to shoot Snake, and I think that red eye is just for show, Terminator. Plus, Snake smokes, which gives him an edge in terms of attitude. Who do you guys think? Solid Snake or any of Schwarzenegger’s weaklings?
2002: EA releases The Sims: Unleashed expansion for PC in the US. Commonly misconceived as a game about buying a puppy, Unleashed is actually short for Ebola Unleashed. “This time, The Sims go plague! Avoid monkeys, interact with other Sims in your quarantine zone, or start a family doomed for a bloody coughing death.”
Have gaming history, trivia, or famous birthdays you’d like to see in TDIG? Drop us a line at tdig@kotaku.com
Fight Night Round 3: This Is Next Gen
I haven’t played a boxing game since I picked up a used copy of Super Punch Out!! a few years back (James “Buster” Douglas Knockout Boxing touched me in a bad way), but I’m seriously considering investing in a $60 copy of Fight Night Round 3 for the PlayStation 3. It has awakened the bloodthirsty graphics whore within, plus, the first person boxing mode just sounds bad ass.
The kids at IGN got a scoop from the team at EA Chicago who dropped details on Fight Night Round 3 for PS3:
What makes it so powerful and exciting is that the experience changes as the boxer’s health deteriorates. We’ve captured the sensation and feel of taking punches by implementing a number of different effects such as ear ringing, simulated loss of hearing, and restricted vision that mimics the effects of eye swelling and damage as well as flashes of bright light, color shifts and blur to give players that sense and feeling of getting punched.
Amazing. I’ve been punched before and this all sounds very familiar. IGN has tons of pics from the PS3 version, which is looking hot. $600 hot? That’s up to you!
Fight Night Round 3: The PS3 Interview
