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 Don’t speak the lingo? First time visitors to Japan might find the experience overwhelming. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone guide you around? Someone in a maid outfit? For the past year or two, information counters like this have popped up in Akihabara. This particular one appeared during the New Year’s holidays for the foot traffic crowds. Typically, info counters like this have pamphlets and maps of the area. I know the information counter in Den-Den has English maps, so I’d imagine that this one does as well! Don’t count on fluent English directions though. Still, helpful.
Know: From what I remember, there’s a maid counter near retailer Gamers in Akihabara. Swing by, pick up a map, but be aware that photography is prohibited. Maid Guides [Akibamap via Danny Choo]
PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai has had just about enough of the PS3 posting a loss. He’s sick of it! So sick that he’s hoping to have the console turning a profit soonish. And by soonish, he means during the next financial year: We want to get to the positive side of the equation as quickly as possible…The next fiscal year starts in April and if we can try to achieve that in the next fiscal year that would be a great thing. We are going through the budgets right now. That (profitability) is not a definite commitment, but that is what I would like to try to shoot for.
So, no promises then. They’ll see what they can do. Pffft. Do or do not, Kaz. You know the galaxy’s stance on “trying”. Doesn’t cut it. Sony’s Hirai eyes PS3 profit as costs decline [Reuters][Image: AP]
Holy mackerel! Look. At. That. Alienware’s showing off this eye-catcher at CES. It’s a 2880×900 curved monitor backlit by LEDs and boasts a .02ms response time. It’ll be out in the second half of this year. Price will be somewhere between “very expensive” and “really fuckin’ expensive.” Watch a Vid Here [Gizmodo]
Tired of deleting all your old episodes of Battlestar Galactica just to make room for new ones? Wishing you could move your entire porn collection over to your PSP instead of just alphabetised chunks? Sing and rejoice, then, for your prayers, well, they have been answered. Sony have announced a new 16GB MS Duo, which when combined with a longer battery life may finally make the PSP your first and only multimedia companion for long-distance flights. Or…it will be if you think spending $US 300 on a memory stick is acceptable behaviour. If you do, this baby’s out in March.
Famitsu publisher Enterbrain has released its latest data, a 2007 hardware and software sales round-up. According to Enterbrain’s sales data and estimation, the domestic Japan market was worth ¥687.66 billion ($US 6 billion). That 25 percent increase is an a record high for the domestic market. Here’s the breakdown for those who are into numbers and money:
• 2006 (December 26, 2005 ~ December 31, 2006) Hardware: Approximately 261.9 billion yen Software: Approx. 363.89 billion yen Total: Approx. 625.79 billion yen
• 2007 (January 1, 2007 ~ December 30, 2007) Hardware: Approximately 327.41 billion yen Software: Approx. 360.25 billion yen Total: Approx. 687.66 billion yen
Hit the jump for the breakdown of individual hardware and software top spots:
Games journo Dean Takahashi was included in an internal Microsft mailing list late yesterday, to which was sent an email expanding on the games-related stuff covered during Microsoft’s CES address. It’s signed off by Don Mattrick, from Microsoft Game Studios, and is if nothing else an insight into how Microsoft rally their corporate troops when blue face-paint and sword-waving just aren’t practical options. While most of the stuff was already covered by Gates and Robbie Bach during the address, other tidbits are revealed amidst the chest-beating, such as Games For Windows titles accounting for 20% of 2007′s PC software sales market, the promise of “several exciting yet-to-be-announced titles” and assurances that “many of 2007′s biggest hits [will be]coming back in 2008 with additional downloadable content through Xbox LIVE”. Meanwhile, this Xbox 360 memo showed up in my inbox [Tech Talk, via Game|Life]
Square Enix and Japanese beverage maker Suntory teamed up twice to release Final Fantasy Potion, which is nothing more than a rebranding of Suntory’s energy drinks. Most Westerns who tried the Final Fantasy Potions found them rather unsavory. But, that’s how all Japanese energy drinks taste: Unsavory! A Japanese dude in a horse mask decided to do one better and use the Final Fantasy Potion as a key ingredient in an energy potion of his own, complete with a hundred bucks worth of energy drinks and various supplements — and even chopped garlic! (Yum.) The concoction was cooked and then poured into a single glass. The guy apparently drinks it and apparently throws up a few times. “Apparently”, because he is wearing a horse mask. This clip ain’t for the squeamish!
In addition to trumpeting their Disney/ABC deal, Microsoft have also announced that there are now ten million paying subscribers signed up to their Xbox Live service. They claim they reached this milestone a full six months ahead of schedule, but since we don’t ever remember seeing that schedule, we’re just going to have to take their word for it. A big number, then, but with 17.7 million consoles sold worldwide (and no numbers on the number of Silver subscribers) there’s clearly a lot of people out there in need of some convincing as to the merits of a paid online gaming service.
That Japan only GPS add-on for the PSP doesn’t look so Japan only anymore. Sony’s CES page lists the GPS system, leading most to believe the peripheral, already out in Japan, will get a Western release. Here’s how the Sony site describes it:
Explore the world with GPS on your PSP. Utlising the GPS peripheral and the latest mapping software on UMD, your PSP will provide 2D/3D locations, driving directions, POI’s, and even downloadable city guides. With an easy search feature and customisable settings, GPS on PSP is the easiest way to navigate new areas and cities.
Nice that Sony seems to be bringing its Japan only stuff to everyone else. Who’s interested in picking this up? Sony’s CES Page [Sony via PSP Fanboy]
Bill Gates final CES keynote wasn’t the most action-packed, megaton-heavy affair, but there was one startling revelation. It wasn’t so much an announcement as it was an implication, but it would seem that Slash is ready to join another supergroup, one that’s unnamed, but we’re calling Merino Wool Revolver for now. The band looks to feature two toy guitarists—Bill and Robbie—and one real guitarist, a clear indicator into which of the three independently wealthy men will pull the most groupie arse. Hopefully, the three will feature as bosses in Guitar Hero Encore: Non-threatening Pastel Sweater Edition. Hey, it couldn’t be any worse than Rocks the 80s.
