WARNING: Not suitable for human eyes. Not suitable for human ears. If game comes into contact with eyes or ears, please seek medical attention immediately. Not to be taken internally. [via Y2Kev @ NeoGAF]
Speaking with RPGFan, Marvelous Interactive boss Yasuhiro Wada was asked whether the Japanese publisher of Harvest Moon, No More Heroes and Project O was thinking of opening a US branch (they currently farm out publishing duties: NMH, for example, is being published in the US by Ubisoft). Wait, thinking? Oh, they’re doing more than thinking. They’re doing: Of course. We have already set up MMV USA in North America. At present stage it is not functioning as a publisher, but it will begin its activities in the near future.
Expect Marvelous games to be released more often and on time once MMV USA opens its doors. And that’s about the best late Christmas present a lot of you are going to get this year. RPGFan Exclusive Interview #5: Yasuhiro Wada [RPGFan, via GSW]
Forbes, who for the record are normally very sensible when it comes to things like this, have in their January 2008 issue gone and named a gaming-related business as their “company of the year, 2007″. Thing is, it’s not, as you’d be forgiven for believing, Nintendo. It’s not Sony, either. Not even Mad Catz. No, it’s…Nvidia. Forbes point to their dominance of the graphics card market and company growth as the main factors in the decision. We point to some financial types who might just be total graphics card fanboys. Nvidia Named Forbes’ Company of the Year [Shacknews]
Last week’s Mario Party DS sales were no fluke. While the 180,000 copies it sold for the week ending December 16 were it’s previous best, in the week ending December 23 it set a new record. 330,000. For a rubbish DS game released in early November, those are good, good numbers. Wii Fit continues to sell well, moving another 214,000 units on the way past three quarters of a million sold, while Final Fantasy IV on DS (sadly) reinforced Square’s rehash policy by selling 288,000 copies. As for Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, which last week debuted at #3, well…it’s a little lower this week.
When the PS3′s 2.10 firmware launched a few weeks ago, I totally missed something. A new music visualiser! Probably because, thanks to Sony’s lack of iPod support, my 360′s the one pulling stereo duty. What my 360 doesn’t do, however, is play a soothing, decidedly sci-fi planetscape like that included in the 2.10 update. Gamasutra have a nice interview with the visualiser’s creators: Q-Games, of Pixeljunk fame, who it turns out also did the PS3′s intro screen. Worth reading if you’re behind on your “learn something new for the day” quota. Special: Q-Games On PS3′s ‘Gaia’ Music Visualizer [Gamasutra]
Joseph Hargett’s Casual Contrarian, a regular video series examining hot stocks on the US exchange, has just taken a look at Nintendo. Hargett, an analyst with Schaeffers, wonders why only two analysts in the US are covering the stock (Prediction: NOBODY cuts in on Pachter’s turf), before giving it his own personal thumbs up. Which is all well and good, but the real joy here is in getting to the 1:40 mark then trying to make sense of a single thing he says. [Sadly, Schaeffers aren't up on embeddable vids, so you'll have to visit the link below to watch] The Casual Contrarian [Schaeffers]
Battlefield 2142? No, thanks, we’ll pass. In weeks gone by we’d have even booed to your face at the suggestion, but this week, the game gets a reprieve from all the booing. Because of this. This inspired piece of modding genius. [via Planet Battlefield]
1UP, continuing their recent feast on all things SFIV, have posted some more info on the game, as well as some quick, early impressions. How’s it play? Well, according to them, fast. The first thing we noticed upon grabbing the joysticks, selecting our characters, and pressing ‘start’ is that the game is fast.
It may, and probably will be scaled back as development progresses, but for now, it’s fast. Also detailed by 1UP is the game’s “saving” (the replacement for SFIII’s parry) system as well as info on “super combos”, which are like regular combos, just more super. Oh, and some new screenshots, one of which is above, and has Ryu about to…well, get his cock punched in. Classy, Ken. Previews: Street Fighter IV [1UP]
