Archive for January 3rd, 2007
Those PS3s Sales Look Sluggish In Japan!
Well, the PLAYSTATION 3 is selling. And we’d be bullshitting you if we said it wasn’t. Thing is, the PS3 ain’t exactly flying off the shelf. Sony hit Japan with a huge year-end shipment (one of the biggest since launch apparently). The Wii was nowhere to be seen and sold out at multiple location. And the PS3? Both 20GB and 60GB units remained unsold. Hit the jump for more pics of pricey Sony consoles looking for a good home.
Eds Note: The tags with red writing say “Sold Out.”
Eds Note: The PS3 sales tickets are in the middle of the PS3 display.
“Non-selling Hardware” [Akiba Blog]
DS Lite: Sold Out. Wii: Sold Out. PS3: In Stock. [Gazo File Navigater]
Previous: Plenty O PS3s But No Takers [Kotaku]
Previous: Japan Starting To See More PS3s [Kotaku]
Rumor: Gamestop Buys Rhino
The Cheap Ass Gamer forums are running wild with unconfirmed reports that specialty retailer Gamestop has welcomed a new member into the corporate family, Rhino Video Games. The chain of 70-plus retail video game stores based out of Gainesville, Florida is currently owned by Blockbuster, Inc.
The original poster started the discussion with the following:
I found out this afternoon that Rhino has been bought out by Gamestop. It was announced to the Store Managers this afternoon. Starting January 14th, Rhino’s will be converted to Gamestops. [...] There is a meeting in Chattanooga tomorrow for all the Rhino Store Managers to let them know how the transition will take place.
Another poster later followed up with:
As an ex-Rhino assistant manager, I can confirm that the stores did a somewhat-unnecessary overhaul of fixtures and layouts a few months back that mimicked the GS/EB setup. Price stickers went to the same format as well. The buyout makes perfect sense all around.
With no formal announcement currently available from either company, we’ll call it rumor for now, but expect to hear more clarification soon.
Major Bad News for Rhino Shoppers - Rhino Bought by GameStop [Cheap Ass Gamer Forums]
New Halo hoodie at the Bungie Store
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters, Fashion
Bungie just added this $40 Halo hoodie to the official Bungie Store in a variety of sizes and colors brown. Featuring an image of an understandably Master Chief-y looking soldier rocking the United Nations Space Command’s Mark VI Mjolnir armor (totally better than that Mark V garbage), this hoodie takes a decidedly less branded approach to Halo 3 merch than some other Halo hoodies. While we’re not ones to turn down video game themed threads we’ll admit, we have a soft spot for the homemade varietals. Anyone know of a DIY-ed Mister Chief hoodie?
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Vivendi Denies Battlestar Galactica Game, But We Know Better
The kids at 1UP posted info about a rumored Battlestar Galactica MMO having a listing on specialty retailer EBGames yesterday, which was quickly pulled down. They later received a denial from Vivendi about the existence of the game, in the form of this statement.
EBGames has removed the information because it was not accurate. Vivendi Games has not announced a Battlestar Galactica game. We cannot comment any further as it is our policy to not comment on industry rumors.
But Vivendi has (pretty much) announced a Battlestar Galactica game. In their presentation to investors from June 2006, they list Battlestar Galactica as a 2007 release for both the PC and Xbox Live Arcade. It’s described as a “short-session” game which implies that it’s not an MMO (World of Warcraft is referred to as “long-session” at one point in the report), but clear that some BSG game will see release.
Like 1UP says, expect an announcement soon.
Vivendi Denies Battlestar Galactica MMO [1UP]
Okami Art Book Comes Stateside
Just last month we wrote briefly about the collected art works of Clover Studios’ Okami, then lamented that it was a Japanese only release, making an import of the book an expensive ordeal.
Now, thanks to the eagle eyed shoppers at NeoGAF, we know that Capcom and Udon Entertainment will be publishing it stateside, translated into English. From the Amazon product description:
Okami is one of the newest Capcom action games boasting a very unique art style, heavily inspired by Japanese watercolor painting. The Okami Official Complete Works art book will take you behind the scenes to the amazing artwork that defines the wonderful world of this beautiful video game! The 288 full color pages are filled with character and location designs, concept sketches and production notes from the creators giving you an in-depth look at the fantasy world of Okami! A truly inspiring book, translated into English for the first time!
And only $40! Cheap!
Okami Official Complete Works (Paperback) [via NeoGAF]
Okami Art Collected For Your Benefit [Kotaku]
Clips: Moral Kombat, The Video Game Violence Documentary
That’s not a typo, but the title of the upcoming film (at one point expected to see release in 2005) on video game violence from Spencer Halpin, brother of the Entertainment Consumers Association’s Hal Halpin. Despite featuring some very alarmist soundbites—as well as giving The Silver Fox another outlet to deliver his anti-Rockstar speech promising a “Columbine on the factor of 10″—the documentary appears to have very high production values and looks to be a must-watch for those interested in the topic of violence in games.
Moral Kombat: Spencer Halpin’s Documentary On Game Violence [Mercury News]
GameSpot editor-in-chief resigns, now a developer
Filed under: Culture, Online, Business
Greg Kasavin, GameSpot’s editor-in-chief, has announced his resignation from game journalism to work for the enemy, an as-of-yet-unnamed game developer, “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get my foot in the door and contribute to one of my favorite gaming franchises.”
Kasavin, born 1977 in Moscow, joined the website in 1996. Regardless of what you may think of GameSpot and their review system (2-point inflation, anyone?), the gaming news site is a powerhouse in the industry that carries a lot of weight. We wish Kasavin the best of luck and hope, for sake of curiosity, that we find out soon what studio (and in what aspect) he has found himself a part of.
[Thanks, Einhanderkiller]
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Showtime to launch On Broadband gaming network
Subscription cable network Showtime has announced plans to launch On Broadband, an online gaming service, in second quarter 2007. Although a subscription model will be available, games will be available for purchase a la carte to download for your PC.
The service will be sold to cable TV and DSL companies to function under their name, although all the work will be done by On Broadband. No details have been given as to what games will be offered or what prices will be set (and whether that will be up to Showtime or the individual providers).
Any comparisons to GameTap might be unfair as this service is not working under an unified name. However, if their intention is to compete with Turner’s subscription gaming network, then their next few announcements better be partnerships with some major publishers.
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Gamespot EIC Leaves Company For Game Developer
Ten year Gamespot vet and editor-in-chief Greg Kasavin has announced that he’s leaving the helm of the long-running Cnet owned online publication to pursue a career at an unnamed video game developer. Known for his generally harsh but fair reviews, including an in-depth set of review guidelines, Kasavin calls his career move a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to “contribute to one of my favorite gaming franchises.”
Since I don’t stalk Greg and haven’t kept up with his favorite gaming franchises (outside of his affinity for Ninja Gaiden and Planescape: Torment), we’ll just have to wait a little while longer to get the full dirt on where the former editor-in-chief is headed.
Personally, I’ll miss Greg’s reviewing style and wish him success wherever he goes.
Greg Kasavin bids GameSpot farewell [Gamespot]
Phoenix Wright Finger Schwag Returns For Sequel
If you missed out on the hot fingering action from the Phoenix Wright Nintendo DS stylus when the first game was up for pre-order, fret not. You can once again secure the ace attorney’s proudly erect digit for all of your menu choice confirming needs. The bonus also includes a handy “HOLD IT!” screen cleaning pad, perfect for spittle wiping.
The game hits ships to stores on the 16th of this month, so head over the Gamestop or EB and get your stylish stylus before they’re all gone!
Phoenix Wright: Justice For All with Bonus! [Gamestop]
Kotaku Pantsu: A Chat With Wii Panty Girl
So today I thought I would give some of the readers a treat and post the Wii panty girl video, giving both the perverts and the curmudgeons something to comment on during a quiet Wednesday afternoon. Soon after I posted it, the video went private, the panties now replaced with a video of her playing the Wii in spandex. Why? I tracked her down via YouTube and Yahoo and asked.
Note that this is not her real Yahoo handle. Duh.
Mike Fahey: Mike from Kotaku here, and curious!
PantyGirl: hi
MF: Howdy, as they say down south. So what happened with the video?
PG: to be honest I’m worried that my friends or family might see
MF: I can understand that completely. You’d be an overnight internet sensation.
PG: aww
PG: do you like the spandex ones?
MF: As I am happily attached, I cannot comment as to whether I like them or not.
MF: Definitely.
MF: Oops. Stupid keyboard, answering for me.
PG: lol
MF: Well thank you for clearing the whole thing up. Many lonely gamers will cry themselves to sleep tonight, but I suppose pretending to be a good girl is an important part of being evil.
PG: I am a good girl
MF: Possibly, but the real question here is good at what?
PG: well getting attention for one
MF: You win this round, Wii panty girl.
PG: you want me
MF: Is that why you posted the video in the first place? To make men (and women) want you? (Note my artful dodging)
PG: maybe
MF: An exhibitionist, enjoying when people you don’t know watch you…
PG: i like attention
MF: I do too. I just look horrible in a bra and panties, or so I’ve been told.
PG: hahaha
MF: Perhaps you could post another wearing a mask, so your family can’t tell who you are.
MF: And possibly kitty ears.
MF: Ignore that last bit. Someone else typed that, probably.
PG: hmm
PG: I wish I could block by location
PG: then just my area couldn’t see it
MF: And everyone else could see your area!
PG: good one
MF: I’m actually reading them from a “How to speak to a half naked gamer girl” handbook.
MF: So, should I just tell our readers to try for a friend request on YouTube?
PG: I have like 500 to go through
PG: I don’t want to accept everyone
MF: No one wants to accept everyone. It’s the concept this country is founded on.
MF: I suppose they’ll have to be happy with the spandex. Just curious…what’s under the leggings?
PG: guess
MF: I was thinking thong myself, being somewhat of a thong connoisseur.
PG: nope
PG: I wear them as underwear
MF: So just the sheer leggings and what you came packaged with then?
PG: what?
MF: Meaning nothing underneath but what you were born with.
PG: right
PG: its uncomfortable with anything under spandex
MF: Don’t I know it. Well on that note I’m going to have to go find a quiet place to watch the spandex video another 10-15 times. Just to verify.
PG: haha
PG: what should I do next?
MF: That is the most dangerous question a girl has ever asked me.
PG: uh oh
MF: I think you were going in the right direction with the whole panties thing, but that direction only leads to one thing.
PG: ?
MF: Dressing up in a penguin costume.
MF: I mean, I can’t just tell a random internet girl to get naked and play video games. Penguin is the next closest answer.
PG: as I’m talking to you I’m getting hundreds of messages and subscriptions
MF: Well of course you are. You’ve inflamed the gaming community with your sinful gyrations. You’re like a modern day Elvis, only hotter.
MF: *looks at a picture of Elvis* Okay, way hotter.
PG: oh wow I just got a comment on my new years vid
MF: Oh yes. Once the internet latches on to one vid they’ll hungrily devour anything they can find about you.
MF: Like long conversations on a gaming website.
MF: For instance.
PG: oh if you find that I would love to see it
MF: I’ll let you know if I see anything. One last question…which probably should have been the first question. Over 18?
PG: by far
MF: *breathes a sigh of relief*
MF: You enjoy your attention now, young lady…and let me know if anything else comes up. Probably a bad choice of words, but nonetheless.
PG: 
Winking emote indeed! So there you have it, folks. She’s an attention hungry woman with unfortunate limits. She wants to be bad, but doesn’t want her family to know, and I am pretty sure that with the right answers I could have steered the conversation towards steamy cyber. Luckily I am a good and virtuous man, for all you know.
The Oldest Known Duck Hunt
It was called the Seeburg Ray-O-Lite and dates back to 1936, an era when humans had yet to discover “fun.” From the description at Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum:
Seeburg was a company with an engineering departments focused on the design of vacuum tube amplifiers and gearing systems for jukeboxes. It was no surprise then that when the electric eye light sensing vacuum tube was introduced in the early 1930s that the Seeburg design teams would introduce a light ray game. [...] This game featured a flying duck with a light sensing tube that would drop the duck when you shot it with the rifle, which produced a beam of light when the trigger was pulled.
The graphics and animation just sound horrible!
1936 Seeburg Ray-O-Lite [via BoingBoing]
Clips: First Person Wii Injury Caught On Film
Frankly, I’m scared to click on most links on the internet. I find myself frightened that I’ll somehow land on some scatalogical fetish web site or I’ll be forced to rewatch some vicious beheading and vomit across my laptop. This internet fear has now creeped into my viewing of Wii-centric clips. I’ve become such a wimp that I get sweaty palms while watching what I’m sure will contain HDTV screen destruction. Fortunately, this amusing clips contains no such electronics snuff. Enjoy with confidence.
Today’s hottest game video: Live-action Pac-Man
Filed under: Arcade, Culture, Retro, Video
Today’s most-watched YouTube game video is a live-action recreation of Pac-Man. A skit on a Japanese comedy show, some of the jokes are missed in translation; however, the international languages of physical comedy, crazy costumes, and that yellow puck character speak to any gamer. There’s even Pac-Man violence, something we all understand, regardless of nationality.
Watch the video after the break.
Continue reading Today’s hottest game video: Live-action Pac-Man
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Today in Joystiq: January 3, 2007
Joystiquery
Today’s hottest game video: Wii roundtable
News
Trick Sony, download Tekken 5
Tribulation Knights, a Christian stealth game
Gasp: MGS Portable Ops may see sequel
Tom Clancy infiltrates Euro PS3 launch
Thompson threatens Microsoft over GTA4, ignores Sony
White PS3 maker expands line to red, silver
PS3 violence spreads to Hawaii
Rockstar appoints old friend as new COO
Promogames: another kind of advertising
Big Brother taps PSP, in UK
CG cutscenes and gaming culture
Comedian Jimmy Carr takes act into Second Life
GameTap VP of Content: Episodic games should reflect TV shows
Phil Harrison on Rare’s decline
Play Halo 2, get invited to Halo 3 beta
Human Head CEO quit in Nov, talks now
Emptiness fills the Xbox Live Arcade void
Wii optimized internet radio site surfaces
Strong lineup to boost PC gaming in ‘07
Rumors & Speculation
Katamari Damacy XBLA rumor is “total crap”
Rumorang: NiGHTS returning on the Wii
PS3 will win the console war, so say the stars
Culture
Typo: vibration function cited in PS3’s NBA 2K7 booklet
Art exhibit brings analog tech to digital games
DS doubles as tour guide
Make your own sprite coasters
Video game violence documentary trailer
This is what happens when you Photoshop a PSP and Game Boy
Top 5 fan-made game commercials
LEGO Halo: building an Elite
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Phil Harrison Speaks On Rare’s “Irrelevance”
Following 1UP’s revelation yesterday that Rare founders Chris and Tim Stamper had recently moved on from the company comes some insight into the “decline” of the developer, courtesy of, oddly enough, Phil Harrison. The Sony exec was questioned by Newsweek supereditor N’Gai Croal on what Phil thought about Rare’s inability to “regain its former glory.”
… I think that they became quite insular and quite inward-facing, and they missed some of the trends that were going on in the business generally. Now also, if you sell your company to Microsoft and get hundreds of millions of whatevers, currency in the bank, it does tend to defocus management a little bit. But Rare, and prior to Rare, Ultimate, are responsible for some of the best games ever made.
A very diplomatic, insightful answer, Mr. Harrison. Croal also takes time to wax realistically on the real reasons why the Stampers jumped ship. Maybe they just wanted to take some time to focus on their lighting of cigars with 50 pound notes.
Critical Hit: Playstation Studio Chief Phil Harrison’s Prescient Requiem For Rare [Newsweek]
Rare Founders Leave Company [Kotaku]
Strong lineup to boost PC gaming in ‘07
Filed under: PC, Action, Adventure, First Person Shooters, Online, RPGs, Simulations, Strategy, MMO
Here at Joystiq we don’t always pay proper attention to PC gaming. Luckily FiringSquad has picked up the slack. The site has issued its ‘Most Anticipated’ games of the year list, featuring twenty upcoming titles. Here’s a look at the top five:
- Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ) - spiritual successor to Total Annihilation; sci-fi RTS with dual-monitor support
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id Software/Activision) - prequel to Quake 2; two playable sides (Human and Strogg) are said to offer vastly different gameplay experiences
- World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Blizzard) - the expansion to end all expansions (‘cha-ching‘)
- Spore (Maxis/EA) - from single-celled to universe conqueror; the video game to end all video games
- Crysis (Crytek/EA) - it has the looks, can it live up to the hype?
Which games are you planning to upgrade your rig for?
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Katamari For Xbox Live Arcade? Total Crap.
That’s not a review. That’s the word on the existence of the rumored Katamari Damacy port for the Xbox Live Arcade platform. According to a poster (who just happens to be Xbox Live Arcade games portfolio manager Ross Erickson) on the unofficial XBLArcade forums, there is no basis to the rumor that we’ll see Keita Takahashi’s baby whored out for one more go.
Erickson put it bluntly just before the new year:
Total crap - not happening.
That sounds pretty damned definite to me. And maybe it’s for the best. How many more times can we play Katamari Damacy?
Katamari Damacy coming to XBLA [via BBPS]
Rumor: Katamari Coming To Wii, XBLA? [Kotaku]
Wii optimized internet radio site surfaces
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii
Finetune, a social streaming (read: internet radio) service, has launched in public beta offering a Wii-friendly interface with large, Fisher Price-like icons perfectly suited for the console’s standard definition output. Though lacking in features and while forcing users to listen to “like band” playlists rather than a straight session of say, Daft Punk, the service plays current songs as you navigate for new tuneage, includes a large selection of artists, and features nifty jukebox navigation a la iTunes 7. Get to feet tappin’!
[via Wii Fanboy]
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Animal Crossing Wii Hinted At
I’m the type of guy who likes to sit through movie credits, ignoring the desperate pleas of whomever I am with as I scan for names, funny bits, and important messages about cutesy cartoon animal video games. I would have been in luck after watching the Japanese Animal Crossing movie.
According to Nintendo-Inside.jp and the electronic version of Kyoto Shinbun after the credits have rolled on the new Animal Crossing a message comes up as follows:
“Let’s meet in Wii”
Unless that’s just a secret message from the projectionist about a truck stop rendezvous, I’d say that’s confirmation that the Wii version is on the way. When? Where? How? No clue when, but probably not till the end of this year, beginning of next. Where? Japan, where it will sit for months while we in the states writhe in agony. How? Magic Animal Crossing pixies.
Animal Crossing Wii maybe here sooner than we think? [NeoGAF Forums, via The Last Boss]
