Harley Quinn's Revenge Is Batman: Arkham City's Bad New Ending 
High Scores And Egos: There's Always A Bigger Doodle 
The Last Moments Of GAME 
How Bad User Interfaces Are Ruining Video Games And Other Wonderful Things 
She Tried To Make Good Video Games For Girls, Whatever That Meant 
The Story Of Doodle Jump: Brotherly Love And Digital Snacks Nintendo has tons of good ideas. This isn’t one of them. With many Japanese cell phones already sporting crystal clear displays and digital 1seg TV tuners (and smaller) antennas, why would anyone want this? Can you imagine pulling this out on the train? You’d put someone’s eye out!
Yup, more Halo toys. But this one’s special. See, while it looks like just another Spartan, this one’s actually raw steel. Presumably because he’s fresh off the factory floor, for that new-Spartan smell. Anyways, you can also remove some of his bits (helmet, chest plate, shoulder plates) and stick them on other McFarlane Halo figures, in case some need some extra coverage. Or to mix-and-match accessories before the big UNSC ball. He’ll be available from GameStop in March 2008.
Last year was all about the Brain Age. That title took Japan by storm and drove DS sales in the region. Consumers wanted to exercise their brains. Math problems and saying the word “blue” seemed like the answer. Or is it? An opinion piece over in The New York Times points out that those types of games are “inspired by science” and not actually proven by it. Brain Age and the like train users to be go at very specific tasks. Instead, brain power is actually improved by exercise. From the article:
In humans, exercise improves what scientists call “executive function,” the set of abilities that allows you to select behaviour that’s appropriate to the situation, inhibit inappropriate behaviour and focus on the job at hand in spite of distractions. Executive function includes basic functions like processing speed, response speed and working memory, the type used to remember a house number while walking from the car to a party.
And for seniors, exercise also helps reduce things like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. As NeoGAF poster Target points out: This is where Wii Fit comes in. Exercise on the Brain [NY Times via NeoGAF]
Goodbye Halo 3. You did good, kid, but it’s someone else’s time to shine. Like Crash Bandicoot, who Australian kids just cannot get enough of. As for the rest, well, SingStar, DS games, blah blah blah, you know how the Aussie charts go, you’ve seen enough of them by now to know how we roll down here.
1. Crash of the Titans 2. Halo 3 3. FIFA 08 (PS2) 4. SingStar RnB 5. Spyro Eternal Nights 6. More Brain Training 7. Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz (PS2) 8. Brain Training 9. SingStar RnB Bundle 10. Nintendogs Labrador
[charts courtesy of GfK]
What a better way for the Atari 2600 to celebrate its birthday than induction into the Strong National Museum of Play‘s toy “Hall of Fame.” Museum curator Patricia Hogan says:
It may look primitive compared to the advanced video game systems available today, but it helped make these possible.
Insightful. The Atari 2600 was induced along with doll Raggedy Andy and the kite. I was kind of hoping that the radio controlled car would be get in — there’s always next year!
Toy Museum [Games Industry]
It was assumed that Monster Hunter 3 was going to be a PS3 title. Then something happened, and the eagerly awaited game ended up as a Wii title. That we know. Kotaku reader and Kotaku Tokyo Party attendee Matt points out something interesting: MH 3 was ranked higher on Famitsu‘s Most Wanted charts as a PS3 title. (The “Most Wanted” chart tracks upcoming games that are, well, wanted by gamers.) The PS3 version was listed as the sixth most desirable upcoming game. This data was collected between September 4th and October 4th. The Wii version was announced and for the next two issues, Monster Hunter 3 was not charted. The game then popped up again based on data collected between October 19th and October 25th. MH3 for the Wii came in at twenty-first place. But don’t worry! Monster Hunter will totally do great on the Wii. The question is: Would it have done better on the PS3?
And here you were thinking $US 60 was expensive. The delightful Rare Video Game Auctions have a list up of what they (and they should know) reckon are the ten most expensive videogames, at auction, in the world. The cheapest, Blockbuster World Video Game Championships II on the Genesis/Mega Drive, starts at $US 2000. Things only get pricier from there.
10. Blockbuster World Video Game Championships II (Sega Genesis) $US 2000+ 9. Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash (Vic-20) $US 2500+ 8. Air Raid (Atari 2600) $US 3000+ 7. Mr Boston (Vectrex) $US 3000+ 6. Nintendo World Championship (Nintendo NES) $US 5000+ 5. Kizuna Encounter (PAL Neo Geo) $US 10,000+ 4. Nintendo Campus Challenge (Super Nintendo) $US 10,000+ 3. Nintendo Campus Challenge (Nintendo NES) $US 10,000+ 2. Nintendo Powerfest 94 (Super Nintendo) $US 10,000+ 1. 1990 Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition (Nintnedo NES) est $US 20,000
$US 20k? The Virtual Console’s for suckers. Collecting the real thing, that’s some serious business.
Unreal Tournament III? Can’t wait. The PC version is out this month, while the Xbox 360 version hits next year. And the PS3 version? That was slated for the holidays, but might slip to early 2008. In a recent interview at the San Francsico UT III launch event, Epic VP Mark Rein answers concerns about the PS3 release:
We’re getting awfully close. This version we had here today was [gestures]this close to being a release candidate, so hopefully we’ll be done with it really soon. If we get it done at just the right time, there’s a good chance it’ll be out in stores just before Christmas.
The day after Christmas is fine too, Mark. I’ve got the day off.
Mark Rein Interview [Dtoid]
Say what you will about BioWare’s PG-friendly policy on naughty bits, at least they’re being consistent. If girl-on-alien-girl sex wasn’t going to show much, then gyrating alien stripper girls won’t either. Remember, lads, before you get too disappointed: suggestive can be sexy too.
We don’t have a few Japanese Wii Fit promotional clips, we have a lot. And we mean a lot. After the jump, demonstration clips show how to do things like check your balance, hula hoop, ski jump, block soccer balls, do yoga and walk in air. So, if people start injuring themselves while using Wii Fit, does that mean Nintendo will send everyone giant rubber suits to encase our bodies in?
