Thursday, November 1, 2007

Don’t Drink Cake Soda. Really, Don’t.

11:40PM Brian Ashcraft | To: Crecente From: Bashcraft Had a bottle of “Cake Soda.” The bottle says Taste of Wonder, Vanilla Flavor. Mrs. Bashcraft picked it up at the supermarket — not sure if it’s a Japanese product or foreign. How did it taste? Like cake mix. Vanilla cake mix. I drank the entire bottle, which was given me heartburn. Bad, bad heartburn. The verdict: Real cakes are great. Cake soda stinks. What you missed last night Biggest Sony hardware campaign Dirt cheap Japanese Wii Mark Rein is smooth Retail Super Mario Galaxy impressions Super Mario Galaxy booklet More »

EA Want Mass Effect Dialogue System For Other Titles

11:20PM Luke Plunkett | With EA snapping up BioWare, they get more than just the men and women behind BioWare’s desks. They get their tech, too. In particular, they get their hands on the snazzy new dialogue system that’s been developed for Mass Effect. Which they like the looks of, EA Games’ Frank Gibeau saying: The dialogue engine is something we will almost immediately look at as an asset for other teams. Can’t see how this is a bad thing. We haven’t laid hands nor eyes on the final product yet, but the dialogue system’s meant to be one of Mass Effect’s real strengths. Which can only be a good thing for EA devs. Especially the Madden team. Game’s been missing something for years now, and a “get all lippy with coach” feature could well be it. Electronic Arts 2.0 [Business Week] More »

Guide Gives Gamer Girls Handholding

10:40PM Brian Ashcraft | Book time! British publisher Black Dog Media is releasing The Girl’s Guide to Gaming, which is apparently a girl’s guide to gaming. And because the book is a girl’s guide, it is pink! Didn’t you know that girls like pink? They do! And the DS Lite on the cover? So pink. Black Dog’s James Gale explains: Nintendo didn’t want to fight over the same demographic as Sony, so they created a complete new one, a market in which it wasn’t only boys that played games… It’s hats off to Nintendo. Without their bravery to push the market away from the old boys’ club, I doubt we would now be part of a fresh marketplace, where female gamers have been given a long overdue voice. Yeah, because before the DS, girls just sat around, stared at the wall and ate rocks, too. No way they could play something as complex as the PS2! Good thing there’s this guide — otherwise, we’re sure they’d be totally at a loss. Hey, we haven’t read this book and don’t want judge this literary work by its cover. But damn, it’s sure as shit hard not to. Girl’s Guide to Gaming [Digital Spy, Thanks shu!] More »

Sony Launches “Largest” Hardware Ad Campaign

10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Sony is serious. About advertising. How serious? Just look at senior marketing v.p. Peter Dille’s sneer. The company has launched its “largest ever” hardware campaign, which is being launched in conjunction with the 40GB PS3 that goes on sale today. Over at the PlayStation.Blog, Dille writes: The games are here, the price point is now $US 399 and we wanted to make the news loud and clear. But we need to deliver that in a way that befits the PlayStation brand. And so, beyond the brilliant HD games that the PS3 delivers, you’ll also see a big focus behind the PS3’s Blu-ray movie capability and, for the first time, you’ll see a major focus behind the PLAYSTATION Network (did I mention online gaming is free on PS3??) and the exclusive gaming content available on the PLAYSTATION Store, as well as breakthrough services like Home. Great, Peter! You blog like a press release. What about MGS4? With the delay and all, we’re all dying for any choice quotes about the game… I recall seeing some comments on this blog recently lamenting why we weren’t making a bigger deal out of Metal Gear. Well, get ready for a steady diet, because Metal Gear Solid is the mother of all exclusives and we can’t wait for its release. You will. What, you didn’t hear? Still, it’s good to see Sony digging in for the long, hard Christmas battle in front of them. It’s going to be a tough fight. Sony’s Biggest Hardware Campaign [PlayStation.Blog] More »

Buy A Japanese Wii for $US 2.17

9:30PM Brian Ashcraft | The Wii is really popular in Japan. Heck, the Wii is popular pretty much everywhere. Selling them? Piece of pie. No wonder Nintendo isn’t dropping the price anytime soon. So retailers would have to be nutty to sell them under MSRP. And selling them at a 99 percent discount? BAT SHIT INSANE. Rakuten Ichiban online retail shop GMAX is doing just that. Between November 9th and December 9th, the retailer is apparently selling five (yes, five) for ¥250 ($US 2.17) — one per customer. If this is just a publicity stunt, then it’s totally working! Wii on Sale [Rakuten] More »

Shameful DVD Compilation

9:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Relax, it’s Kotaku After Dark. You know, when the questionable posts appear among hushed whispers and raised eyebrows. Some of the questionable game/anime influenced adult videos we’ve previously covered here are getting a 2 hour DVD release. Yes, that’s right, hot tears of shame versions of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star and Faith/stay Knight. Since Faith/stay Night was already an erotic computer game, we prefer to think of that as a film adaptation. The DVD will out early next year, but our embarrassment will continue long after. New Videos [NSFW via Canned Dogs] More »

7-Eleven’s Offers Good Bargain Xbox 360 Bundle

8:30PM Brian Ashcraft | First: Yes, 7-Eleven in Japan sells video game consoles. Onward! This December, Lost Odyssey is getting its December 6th Japanese release, and the convenience store is offering this Lost Odyssey. Reservations will be accepted until December 4th for the &39,880 ($US 346) bundle that includes an Xbox 360, 20GB HDD, wireless controller, Forza 2, Viva Piñata and Lost Odyssey. Hey Japan, this is a good deal — even if Viva Piñata is like $US 10 in the Akihabara bargain bins! Bundle [7-Elevan via Famitsu] More »

Japan Fears New, Risky IPs

8:00PM Brian Ashcraft | New ideas are hard. Old ones aren’t! No wonder there are so many sequels. You’ve already got brand recognition and a built-in audience. According to Ajay Chadha at Mercury Meltdown publisher Ignition Entertainment, Japan is totally afraid of creating new IPs. They are risky! Chadha says: A lot of Japanese publishers are commenting about coming into and developing in the Western market, but I don’t think that a lot of Japanese companies are taking as many risks as they used to… You’ve got Devil May Cry 4, Metal Gear Solid 4. No one’s really taking the risks with original IP. They think the answer is to come to the US or come to Europe and found development studios which would appeal to the West. I don’t think that’s the answer. People are just not taking that creative risk anymore. He does think that Suda51’s No More Heroes is a risk that will pay off. Though, I don’t think the unwillingness to make new, risky IPs is unique to Japan. Do you? Japanese Game Makers Fear [Next-Gen] More »