Thursday, October 4, 2007
Live in Tokyo? Forget It.
11:40PM Brian Ashcraft | To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Cells Tomorrow, gotta catch the bulletin train bound for Tokyo tomorrow. Again! In the last two months, I have been to Tokyo a total of something like five or six times. Tokyo is the country’s capital and a lot is concentrated there work-wise. Sure, there is a lot in Kansai — there’s just more in Tokyo. Thing is, I just don’t want to live there. Like, at all. No offence to Tokyo or the fine people who inhabit the city. It is a truly great metropolitan city and has so much to offer. Saying that, living there would cause me to go mental. Forget that I prefer the food, the dialect and the people in Osaka, so much has happened to me here personally that I can’t fathom living anywhere else in Japan or outside it. Even when I go to Kyoto or Kobe, both cities which closely neighbour Osaka, they feel like other planets. Tokyo’s can be like another universe at times, especially how the people act and whatnot. Osaka is the city where I fell in love, became a father and began my writing career. This is where I came of age, really. So much has happened here, and the city’s been really good to me. I gotta be good to it. Can see why some people commute between Tokyo (for work) and Osaka (for home) every week, working in Tokyo Monda-Friday and returning to Kansai on the weekend. Selfish and silly of me maybe, and I’m sure it’s not exactly cheap to put my arse on a bullet train to cover stuff. Though, I really appreciate that Gawker (as well as Wired Mag, among others) are willing to do that! Many things to be thankful for. Living where you want to is certainly one of those, isn’t it? What you missed last night: UMD problem? Team Ico sequel Halo 3 is tops in Japan Consoles in one sentence PSP big in Japan More »
MGS4 Has Two Control Schemes, The Monkey Has Pants
11:20PM Luke Plunkett | According to Kojima Production’s Ryan Payton (and really, the guy should know), Metal Gear Solid 4’s going to ship with two completely different control schemes to choose from, one for “Japan”, one for the “West”. Why the difference? Payton says while the Japanese are used to more complex control schemes, they can’t shoot. Which is kinda necessary in a game that’s one pixellated money shot away from being gun porn. He also explains why there’s a monkey in pants (PANTS, not diapers), so this is definitely worth a few minutes. More »
Wii Covered in Bloody Stickers
11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Soooooooooo scary. With all that Manhunt 2 controversy, it’s nice to see Rockstar focus on the important things — like giving away a Wii covered in blood splattered stickers. (That’s not all, the company is also giving away a 50 inch plasma TV.) The toned down and M-rated reworked Manhunt 2 is out in the U.S. on Halloween. Click below to enter Rockstar’s contest. Win a Wii with Bloody Stickers [Rockstar via Games Radar] More »
Valve Promise You Won’t Be Paying For Steam
10:20PM Luke Plunkett | Right now, Steam is free. Which is lucky, since for all its benefits, it can still be a pain in the ass! Luckier still, Valve have committed to keeping it that way (the free part, not the pain/ass part), stating that not only are they planning on keeping Steam free, they’ve got a perfectly valid reason for doing so: We will not charge for The Steam Community and its features. Never even entered our mind. Part of it is to address the fact that when folks first bought Half-Life 2, Steam didn’t offer many reasons to stick around. It didn’t do enough for customers, and it didn’t justify itself. So I suppose we’re paying off a debt now. Awfully big of them to admit that. Well played, Valve. Valve ‘Will Not Charge’ for Community Features [1UP] More »
Square Enix Branches Out to Yoga
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Square Enix doesn’t *just* do Final Fantasy re-makes and spin-offs. It also does Dragon Quest remakes and Kingdom Hearts spin-offs. And, erm, yoga games. Even though Konami has moved on from yoga to Pilates, Square Enix is offering DS de Hajimeru Tipness no Yoga, which was developed in connection with Japanese health club Tipness. Sadly, the in-game characters look decidedly normal. Frosted hair, leather capes and yoga posing could’ve really worked! Square Enix Yoga? [Game Watch Impress] More »
Mario, Luigi Keep Your Air Fresh
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | My “office” doesn’t smell. OK, it does, but depending on the season it smells of potpourri, sandalwood or vanilla bean. Not stinky feet. And between…well, the tons of crap strewn across my house I’ve got more than enough Mario merch. Let’s say for a moment, though, that neither of those things were true. In that case, these would be perfect! Mario, Luigi and fresh, clean air? That, readers, is a win. The Fresh, Invigorating Scent Of Mario And Luigi [Uber-Review, via Giz] More »
PSP Slim Inches Close to 600,000 Sold
9:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Japan has PSP Slim and Lite fever! In its first two weeks on sale, the redesigned portable sold 500,000 units. That’s a lot! The total count as of October 3rd is 580,000. Likewise, a lot! The PSP Slim is even outselling the original PSP when it was launched back in 2004. And with Hot Shots Golf Portable 2 hitting the PSP this December, the Slim and Lite juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down. Yup, year’s later, the PSP is gaming’s comeback kid. PSP Sales [Famitsu] More »WoW Brewfest Trailer
8:30PM Luke Plunkett | Attentive readers may already be aware of this, but I don’t like WoW. Don’t like MMOs at all, actually. This, though, this is the kind of thing they need to start getting me onboard: Oktoberfest-themed celebrations. Because while monthly subscriptions may irk me, there’s something about orcs in lederhosen that’s just irresistible. More »
McDonalds Luring Japanese Children Into Blue Dragon Honey Pot
7:30PM Luke Plunkett | Normally, a McDonalds Happy Meal is designed to lure children to McDonalds. Cash in on a popular brand name, sell some burgers, make some kids happy. Not this one. McDonalds Japan are running Blue Dragon Happy Meals, where kids can pony up their parent’s hard-earned yen in exchange for a burger, fries, drink and… Blue Dragon card. Seems odd, since Japan hates the 360 (and thus by extension almost every game it touches), but hey, if shifting some burgers and cards onto unsuspecting kids gets them thinking 360 I’m sure it’ll be mission accomplished for Microsoft. Blue Dragon invades McDonalds [Siliconera] More »
