Blog5 Games

Filed under: PC, Microsoft Xbox 360, Peripherals

The post-consumermas deals just keep pouring in. Joystiq readers in Los Angeles might want to check out GAME PLAY stores for a promised $99.00 Xbox 360 HD-DVD add on that was advertised in this flyer (page one, page two).

Readers who aren’t in LA might be able to print a copy of the flyer and ask their local retailer to price-match. At just $99, the HD-DVD player is a steal. Chances are, this is a typo, so price-matching might be the only way to score this one. That’s why we provided you with the two humongous images. Let us know if you get lucky!

[Via FatWallet]

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eBay seller hellokitty11111111111 (yeah, that’s right) is auctioning off a number of hand painted, custom NES consoles, including the pictured Metroid version, as well as ones based on Mega Man 2, Kid Icarus, Dragon Warrior, Bubble Bobble, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros. 3. At starting prices ranging from $120 and $150, these one-of-a-kind items aren’t cheap, but they look surprisingly nice. Okay, that Kid Icarus looks half-assed at best, but many of them look quite lovely.

From the oddly capitalized item description:

The System Has been Custom Hand Painted With Acrylic Paints and then Sprayed down with 3 to 4 Coats of Clear Acrylic Sealer to protect your Painting from being Scratched or Ruined. It also Gives your Painted Nintendo a Wicked Awesome Shine to it that really does the artwork Justice. Over 10 Hours of Painting Went into this Nintendo! This Hand Painted Nintendo’s is 1 of a Kind. No One on Ebay is Doing anything like this and The Painted Nintendo Is in Absolute Center Piece To your Video Gaming Collection.

At those prices, I won’t be biting, but those with deeper pockets should check out the whole line. Michael McWhertor

Custom Painted Nintendo Nes Game System Metroid Samus [eBay via Insert Credit]

Last week I was stunned by the number of Nintendo DS Lites shifted during a single week in Japan (319,708), but this past week, Japanese gamers bested that by another 65,000. They also absorbed close to another 300,000 Wiis. Impressive.

Here are the full hardware sales, courtesy of Media Create, for the week of December 18-24.

- Nintendo DS Lite - 485,584
- Wii - 279,277
- PSP - 138,588
- PlayStation 3 - 76,882
- PlayStation 2 - 46,209
- Xbox 360 - 17,213

Along with hardware sales, the full top fifty show that next-gen game sales are decidedly lacking. Only one game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 cracked the charts, Capcom’s Lost Planet and From Software’s Armored Core 4. The new gen Wii, on the other hand, saw five titles make the list. Michael McWhertor

DS Rules Japanese Hardware Sales, Too [Kotaku]

The PlayStation 3 analyst hate train just keeps on rollin’ with research analyst Michael Comeau’s latest piece for TheStreet.com. It’s the typical fare, dogging Sony for their pricey inclusion of the PS3’s Blu-ray drive and taking Sony to task for losing precious third-party exclusives (including the former time-exclusive Grand Theft Auto) like Guitar Hero and Virtua Fighter 5.

But Comeau’s warning that Sony will lose market share combined with the fact that the PlayStation business has “provided more than 60% of Sony’s operating profit despite hovering around 10% of overall Sony revenue” should give shareholders and Sony execs cause for concern.

I happen to love my PS3, but even my software attach rate is a meager 1:1. Michael McWhertor

Sony’s PS3: High-Scorer No More [The Street]

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

Thanks to a promotion by Sony Style (Sony’s retail operation), folks who sign up for a Sony-branded credit card by January 4, 2007 and who purchase stuff with said card by March 31, 2007, will receive $150 off of their first credit card statement.

If you’re feeling charitable towards Sony as a result of their generosity, you could apply the $150 bonanza to your purchase of a PlayStation 3, bringing the price of that budget-busting beast into blue-collar range.

On the other hand, if you’re the Billy Joe-Bobby Sue type, take the Sony card and run to your preferred online retailer who’ll be more than happy to sell you an Xbox 360 or a Wii, either of which — at $150 off — would be a very nice deal.

[Update 1: lots of questions appearing in the comments … check out this Fatwallet thread for answers.]

[Thanks, Mike!]

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Following the success of the two released Resident Evil films and a new Street Fighter flick featuring Chun Li in the works, Capcom is looking to its other franchises to expand its presence in Hollywood. The Hollywood Reporter talked to new senior VP of licensing Germaine Gioia about where Capcom will look to expand on its movie licensing.

She reveals that both Onimusha and Devil May Cry have been optioned as film properties but that we shouldn’t expect to see either IP hit theaters or see a direct to DVD release any time soon. Capcom may also be beefing up the company’s stateside executive presence to speed up the approval process. Michael McWhertor

Capcom seeks more playtime in Hollywood [The Hollywood Reporter]
New Street Fighter Film Coming - Starring Chun-Li [Kotaku]

The above image, uncovered by our Gizmodo brothers, is from a Samsung presentation showcasing the company’s 60GB 1.8-inch hard drives. While this isn’t exactly confirmation that such a device currently exists, the continuing rumors and unlikely situation that such a slide would be shown without such a product in the works lead us (me) to believe we’ll see an announcement soon.

But, as the tag suggests, we’re calling it rumor for now. As Giz said, with CES just around the corner, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the PSP v2 shown off alongside a PSP price drop. Michael McWhertor

Samsung 60GB Disk Destined for Next Sony PSP? [Gizmodo]
Sony PSP Movie Downloads Coming [Kotaku]

Filed under: Culture, Hacks, PC, Online, MMO

Today’s most-watched YouTube game video shows more Wiimote-as-PC-input-device goodness; the simple hack drives World of Warcraft with the Bluetooth Wiimote-and-Nunchuk combination. Yes, by visiting wiili.org, you, too can become an uber-dork. (The controller hack is rooted in geekdom, but using it for WoW pushes it far into dork territory). Or try using the Wiimote to drive R.C. cars, Roombas, or a home entertainment system if that’s more your style.

See the video after the break.

Continue reading Today’s hottest game video: World of Wiimote

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Flickr user B Tal is asking you to insert your own favorite Mega Man villain in the space on the right — make us proud. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Happy ducks on the NES music day
Japanese hardware sales, 18 Dec - 24 Dec: shameless recap edition
Raffle: A Bone bundle, with signed books and game
The Political Game: The 2006 Political Mix
Today’s weirdest game video: Gears of War secret man on toilet

News
South Korea loosens game censorship
Catfight: Adrienne Curry vs. Lara Croft
SEC filing reveals 3mil Take Two shares unloaded
Capcom’s makin’ movies
Using games as specialized learning
HD DVD decrypted using 360 drive
Chess player banned 10 years for cheating
Wired trains its brain
WarioWare multiplayer video
Wii has health potential

Rumors & Speculation
Rumorang: PSP2 rocking 60GB hard drive
Analyst: PS3 dragging down Sony

Culture
Saint’s Row the musical
Artistic NES up for sale

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After a harrowing holiday travel experience that left me momentarily stranded in the San Francisco airport, I’ve returned to LA. Following a generous amount of hugging and kissing of my consoles, then spending far too much time updating my PlayStation 3 firmware, I got some hands-on time with the Gran Turismo HD Concept demo. Somehow, my enjoyment of the Gran Turismo series has skyrocketed, which I’ll chalk up to the free download. My roommate and I have spent hours trying to best eachother’s lap times, a heated battle that will last throughout the weekend.

I’m also planning to fired up Marvel Ultimate Alliance for some in-house multiplayer action, some Guitar Hero II expert level play and a few hours with the Sega Ages Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box. I’m trying my best to be a well-rounded gamer.

So what’s on your agenda this New Year’s Eve weekend? Don’t be shy about dropping us info on your NYE plans, too. I will probably be hitting up the Flaming Lips/Gnarls Barkely show on the 31st, followed by some heavy drinking to ring in 2007. Michael McWhertor

While it’s still hard to locate PS3s and Wiis in Japan, otaku site AkibaOS delved in to see how hard. Sure Amazon Japan is selling Sony’s new console with somewhat regularly. But, what about bricks-and-mortar shops? Retailers like Ishimaru and Yamagiwa Soft both are sold out of the PS3 and the Wii. Most stores, AkibaOS claims, state the same thing. For customers hoping to score either system, best bet is to hit retailers Friday or Saturday morning. The 20GB PS3 sticker prices at 49,980 yen, the 60GB is “open,” but can be purchased new for around 59,900 yen. The Wii books at 25,000 yen.

What about the used market? For example, second-hand seller TRADER is selling the 60GB PS3 for 64,800 yen, and the 20GB model for 54,800 yen. “Used” Wiis, however, command 34,800 yen. Another second-hand shop, Liberty, sells 60GB PS3s for 69,800 yen and Wiis for 39,800 yen. Lesson learned: Things appear to be cooling somewhat in Japan. Brian Ashcraft

Eds Note: One US dollar equals 118 Japanese yen.

How Difficult Is It To Get a PS3, Wii [AkibaOS]

Filed under: Joyswag

One final charity raffle to finish off ‘06 in style. We’re going to be raffling a bundle including a copy of the IGF-nominated Bone: The Great Cow Race signed by the game’s developers, copies of Jeff Smith’s first two Bone books, Out From Boneville and The Great Cow Race signed by Mr. Smith himself, and downloadable codes for the Director’s Cuts of both of Telltale’s Bone episodes!

The rules: each dollar in donations purchased using this link earns you one comment. Think of each comment as a raffle ticket. In three days (11:59pm EST this Monday), we’ll choose our winner using random.org and verify their donation. More on the rules here.

We’d like to thank both Telltale for the great prizes (and for being an official Child’s Play sponsor in the first place!) and Jeff Smith for the autographed books!

Continue reading Raffle: A Bone bundle, with signed books and game

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For me, nothing quite spices up gameplay like a little mood music. I’m not talking symphonic soundtracks, but something with vocals, lyrics, and a beat that compliments the game I am playing. Take a game like The Way of the Warrior for the 3DO. An unambitious Mortal Kombat clone made playable solely because they used an entire White Zombie album as BGM. This year was great for game songs, and here’s a list of my top five favorites to prove it.

5. Guitar Hero II

Starting things off with a given. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t have a favorite song on GHII. Feel free to substitute your own song for Girlfriend here. This one holds special high school backseat memories.

4. Elite Beat Agents

Elite Beat Agent easily takes the prize for best use of a Village People song in a video game, though I am still confused as to why they didn’t use “In The Navy” instead for this pirate-themed stage.

3. Grandia III

Months after beating the game I still find myself loading up Grandia III to catch the opening cinema. Japanese songbird Miz completely nails the spirit of the game with her song, “In The Sky,” and the whomever was in charge of cutting together the sequence was bloody brilliant. Gives me chills. Happy chills!

2. Kingdom Hearts 2

Utada Hikaru’s music is as much a part of the Kingdom Hearts franchise as Sora, Donald, and Cloud. It wouldn’t be a console KH game without her. I’ve listened to some of her other music and haven’t been impressed, but combine her song “Sanctuary” with anthropomorphic animals and spiky-haired heroes and you’ve got my attention. Incidentally Kingdom Hearts II also contains 2006’s worst gaming music moment. “Swim this way / We’ll dance and we’ll play, now / It’s very easy, come on in / Just take a chance and shake a fin!” Uhg.

1. Prey - Don’t Fear the Reaper

You’ll have to wait for the whole video to load in order to catch the moment I am referring to, but it’s worth it. Of all the songs I’ve heard in games this year, nothing sticks with me quite like “Don’t Fear the Reaper” playing on the jukebox as Tommy’s world is torn apart. Haunting, and unbelievably cool. It’s a pity the rest of the game didn’t live up to the promise of that moment, aside from the battle in the reconstructed bar a bit later on, but for those moments alone it’s worth a play through. That’s the power of a well placed song.

So that’s my list of the best gaming songs of 2006, complete with visual aids to help you along. Completely arbitrary of course, so feel free to add your own to the list. Share your favorites with us! I’ll be sure to check them out if I manage to survive this weekend’s festivities. Until then, Happy New Year! Michael Fahey

I give to you the year’s most popular stories, as voted on by you our many, many, many readers and those hundreds of thousands of pageviews each story received:

20. Fatal1ty Loses Challenge at CES
19. Now This is a Zelda Revolution Controller
18. Battlefield 2142 with a Dash of Spyware
17. Free Downloadable PSP Demos at TGS
16. Bad Man Plays Emulators on His Wii
15. PS3 Campers Removed From Burbank Best Buy
14. One Man’s PS3 HDMI Issues
13. Best Wii Auction Ever
12. Halo Theme Performed At a High School Talent Show
11. E306 Clips: E3 Morning Stampede

Hit the jump for the top ten among readers. Brian Crecente

10. Terrorist Guild Holds WoW Server Hostage
9. WoW Profile: This Year’s Leeroy Jenkins
8. Clips: Uwe Boll Pushing Lowtaxs Face In
7. OMG Playstation 3 Controller Spelling Mistake
6. Playstation Pornable Plucking Hussies Out of Thin Air
5. Blood Elves Declared Too Femme, Put on Steroids
4. Tekken With Actual Humans
3. Foreigners and Fights: PS3 Japan Launch’s Dark Side
2. The Japanese Super Safe Wii Safety Manual
1. World of Warcraft Meets South Park: The Complete Episode

A creative code restructurer named Muslix64 claims to have created an application that strips encryption from HD DVD discs. The program is called BackupHDDVD, and if Muslix’s claims are true, it breaks the unbreakable AACS content protection system used by both next-gen DVD formats. What’s the gaming angle? With Blu-ray have more than just AACS on it, it’s a step, just not that big of one.

Basically the program circumvents the checking of the software code on the disc. The kicker is that in order for it to bypass the software code, you have to first know the software code, making an extra step necessary. An extra step Muslix hasn’t provided yet. In his video brag below he advises us to keep watch for source code in January.

This is one of those stories where I really wish I had some extensive programming under my belt so I could go to the Doom9 forums where this was announced, have myself a look, and know exactly what to say. As a man relatively ignorant when it comes to code, I can only say well then. Good for him. We’ll keep an eye out for further developments should they appear. Michael Fahey

BackupHDDVD, a tool to decrypt AACS protected movies [Doom9 Forums, via Ars Technica]

To get my fill of Americana (and fat people), I hit Disneyworld with the fam while I was recently back in the States. Grabbed lunch with Alice, who spotted this in the Animal Kingdom parking lot: Someone advertising 20GB and 60GB PLAYSTATION 3s for sale and trying to make the happiest place on earth that much happier. Or something like that.

The “Not In Car” bit is classic! Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Animal Kingdom Ad [Wonderland Blog]

Two things are necessary to ring in the New Year: Top hats and Sponsors. We’ve spent all morning rummaging around Kotaku Tower for our top hats (they were under our coat-tails and next to our walking canes!), so now we can spend all afternoon thanking our Sponsors. This week, we tip our lids to AOL Music, Casio, Fox Soccer Channel, Gamefly, Genji, HD-DVD, Intel, LG VX8600, PlayStation and Sprint. Happy 2007! Now, we must find spats for our dress shoes.

Interested in advertising with Kotaku? Click here to find out more.

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Exergaming

New York Times columnist, David Pogue discusses the Wii’s fitness potential in an online post. After witnessing his family burn calories while gaming, he thinks the Wii is one of the best possible indoor activities for kids. Pogue also has no sympathy for the “nerds who haven’t moved their bodies in years” who claim muscle aches and broken furniture.

We like this one-two punch from the mainstream press — albeit, not in print — exploring the health benefits of the system and dismissing the over-hyped Wii injuries. We look forward to fitness being a byproduct of active games like DDR; where’s the Wii version of Samba De Amigo? Exercise games may have less appeal, but they may also work well; will we see Wiimote ankle holders to measure footwork?

[Via digg]

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1998: The 3DO Company releases BattleTanx for N64 in the US. “What should we call the game?” “Let’s call it BattleTanks.” “What? You’re fired, idiot. We’ll call it BattleTanx.”

1998: Acclaim releases South Park for N64 in the US. Of all the clever things developers could have done with a show that has broken so many rules, South Park is instead made into a disappointing FPS. Yeah, great idea there - since so much of South Park is told from the first person perspective while satirizing the great social topic of snowball throwing. Mark Wilson

Have gaming history, trivia, or famous birthdays you’d like to see in TDIG? Drop us a line at tdig@kotaku.com

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Puzzle

Siliconera breaks down the 12-person gameplay of WarioWare: Smooth Moves on the Wii, including a video of the various games. The main multiplayer matchup requires players to pass a controller between the up-to-12 players when it’s the next person’s turn. (That seems to make more sense than trying to divide four controllers.)

The video shows the process in action, with quick glimpses into hula-hooping, whack-a-mole, grabbing fish, and many other mini-games. WarioWare could be a fun party game, but we’re holding our applause until we try the game at home; we can’t always predict which games will keep our gamer and non-gamer friends engaged.

See the video after the break.

[Via Aeropause]

Continue reading WarioWare multiplayer video

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