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High Scores And Egos: There's Always A Bigger Doodle Metal Gear Solid 4 hasn’t even been out a month and a half, but according to Japanese sites, it’s hitting the Sofmap “wagon sale” bargain bins where it joins the likes of Virtua Fighter 5 and SEGA’s PSP brain trainer. The Konami stealth game was originally released for ¥8,800 ($US 82), making it one of the pricier PS3 titles. (Expensive third party PS3 titles tend to book for around ¥7,800 or $US 72.) Here, what seem to be new copies of MGS4 are going for ¥3,980 ($US 37). We’re not sure if this is an isolated Sofmap store or if other shops in the Sofmap chain are picking up on this price slashing or if this is just a Sofmap summer sale thingy. Amazon Japan has new copies going for slightly above ¥7,000, while the Special Edition is going for ¥5,980. Who knows.
What we do know is that the game sold a ton when released, already placing it in the top sellers of 2008. And it got great reviews in Japan. And it is a great game. So don’t think of this as a bad thing! Even if Konami is losing money on these remaining copies, Japanese gamers have less of an excuse to pick up the title. Could help the game sell a million copies eventually. So this is all good, really.
Hit the jump for a wider pic.
More Capcom sequel hostage-taking. Last time it was Phoenix Wright fans in Capcom’s blackmailing sights, this time, it’s Okami fans. Responding to questions bugging them over a new brush-shaded adventure on Capcom’s boards, Christian “Sven” Svensson said “I think we need a lot more people buying the current version before we seriously consider a sequel”. A harsh statement on the game’s combined sales figures, perhaps, but also probably an accurate one. Still, we can dream, no?
The Question That Was Inevitably Coming [Capcom, via GoNintendo]
Back in 2006, Ubisoft was one of the first companies to release a Wii-mote title with Red Steel. Now the company is saying that it will take advantage of the upcoming Wii Motion Plus. Explains Ubisoft’s Alain Corre:
Red Steel 2 has been in development for many months now, and this new device will help us be even more precise in what we do with the product. The Red Steel brand is strong — I think we released it on year one, and that people understood that it was a first try on new technology, technology that wasn’t completely finished.
And our game tried to grab the best out of it, and was a bit rushed to be sure to offer something in year one to Wii consumers. But Red Steel is still selling well — at a lower price of course, but still it’s in the top 30 or 40 in every country on Wii.
So Red Steel is a brand, and as with every brand we have, we now have to reach the top quality possible. What was missing was the preciseness of the sabre — and with this new device I think it will change the experience.
By “change the experience”, Corre must mean “make Red Steel not sucky”.
Alain Corre – Part One [Games Industry]
We’re bored with our Wiis. They sit there, don’t get played, just flash blue at us every now and again. Know what would get us very interested in Wiis again? Wiis that come in different colours. Colours to match our moods, our decor, our favourite summertime hats. It’s a shame, then, that Nintendo still aren’t thinking about making good on their 2006 tease, with Cammie Dunaway telling IGN “when you’ve got something that’s still selling out about as fast as we can put it into the market, we’re not thinking about further colours at this point”. All well and good, Nintendo, but you won’t be selling any more around here, until we see a Wii in lime green.
Here’s your chance to own a piece of internet “celebrity”! eBay seller ii22ac is auctioning off a Wii Fit signed by The Wii Fit Girl. You remember her? That marketing lady who did Wii Fit in her underoos for her marketing guy boyfriend, but then claimed it wasn’t a viral ad for Nintendo — the company has denied any connection at all. The eBay seller writes:
Here is a rare, limited, unopened Nintendo Wii Fit signed by the viral video celebrity ‘Wii Fit Girl’.At a recent visit to EB Games here in Miami, I unexpectedly recognised and approached her and asked if she would kindly sign my Wii Fit. She was extremely friendly and had no problem signing it.
Wow. That’s great. This online retailer just happened to recognise The Wii Fit Girl who just happened to be a his local Miami EB Games. That’s amazing, because we’re pretty sure the last thing The Wii Fit Girl is recognised for is her pearly smile.
Hit the jump to re-see (but not unsee) what made this marketing lady famous.
Games classification in Australia is in a bad place at the moment. It’d be in a better position if someone gave Michael Atkinson a reality check, but failing that, having even one informed politician throwing their weight around would ease our pain. Well, if you live in the ACT, Greg Tannahill could provide you with that opportunity. Tannahill is the Democrats’ electoral candidate for the seat of Molonglo in the ACT. It’s not exactly the seat of Croydon, but it’s better than nothing.
From the release:
“There’s good reason for people to be angry about the way games are treated by our parliaments, our media, and our classification board. I think gamers want to see leaders who have real respect for what they are passionate about, both as a pastime engaged in by millions of Australians from all walks of life, and as a multi-billion dollar industry which our governments should be attracting and nurturing”.
The full announcement, which you find after the jump, includes a link to Tannahill’s blog, if you’d like to have a read and form your own opinion. Most recently, he posted about the gigantic failure that was the ABC’s Q&A panel on the topic of games classification.
EA’s release of the Spore Creature Creator was an odd one; the publisher made the program available to most of the world… except Australia. When asked why this was the case, we were told to brace ourselves for an exciting announcement. It was eventually discovered that Australians could indeed buy the program, as long as they were willing to go to the NZ EA Store.
Now, I hope this isn’t the exciting announcement EA was talking about, but it appears readers of the Saturday Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun will be able to get their hands on the full version of the Spore Creature Creator on August 2. It will be free with the former, while the latter will “give it way” for $2 and a coupon.
That’s all we know for now. You can check out the offers yourself using the links below (thanks Parabol).
Get your free video game [The Daily Telegraph] Spore [Herald Sun]
Metal Gear Online sure hasn’t gone as smoothly as Konami (or anyone else for that matter) had hoped. And it’s even worse if you live in one of the countries on Konami’s list. Kotaku reader Nasser explains:
I am a Metal Gear solid diehard fan & was so happy to play MGO… I’d tried to purchase the gene expansion of Metal Gear Online but first…the server was ‘down’ (as usual)…then when they ‘fixed’ it…u can only purchase the expansion from only selected countries…I live in the Middle-east, & they don’t except any online credit purchase in their site from my country…
I tried to create an American Konami ID use so I can purchase the expansion…and…doesn’t work… I tried to contact Konami for help.. But I couldn’t find any. I mean… why can’t they just put it on the PSN… it’s much easier & we will not face any server issues like we usually see in on MGO servers
After Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Online disaster on the PS3… And these MGO problems… I began to believe that Konami sucks when it comes to online play. So guys… if there any way to purchase the gene expansion… any trick any thing… please… tell me…I am so desperate
Apparently, there are thirty countries that Konami will not accept credit card purchases from. Hit the jump for those:
Steam currently has 2K Games’ BioShock going at a discounted price – about half its original. In the US, this puts it at a tidy $US 14.99. In Australia, however, it’s $US 24.99. After you’ve suppressed a groan, consider the fact it’s not such a bad price for BioShock and, if you haven’t picked it up yet, now would be a good time.
BioShock™ on Steam [Steam]
It looks like most, if not all, traces of the game have been removed from the retailer’s website. Typing “fallout 3″ into the provided search box returns no results, and trawling through its online catalogue turns up nada also. Direct links to the product go straight to the home page, though the banner advertising the limited edition exclusive can still be found.
It’s not entirely unexpected, considering Fallout 3 was refused classification earlier this month because of its portrayal of real-world drugs. My guess is EB doesn’t want to take any more orders until it’s sure the game will actually be sold here.
Bethesda and Red Ant continue to remain silent on the issue, as well as their next course of action, but I’m confident they’ll find a way to get the game into the country, be it by appeal, editing or that intercontinental cannon from Secret of Mana.
FYI, GAME still has the title and the preorder bundle up on its site.
