Three Words I Said To The Man I Defeated In Gears Of War That I'll Never Say Again 
New Doom 3 For Xbox 360 And PlayStation 3 Supports Head-Mounted Displays 
Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land 
Why Robin Makes Batman Better 
Resistance: Burning Skies: The Kotaku Review 
Harley Quinn's Revenge Is Batman: Arkham City's Bad New Ending There seems to be a misconception among some people that everyone in Japan is into video games and anime. Not so. Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki is not into video games. Check out this exchange between an interviewer asking questions and Miyazaki, well, answering them:
Question: So do you use internet? Answer: No. I don’t have a computer or fax. I don’t have a DVD player either and I forgot how to use a video recorder. I even seldom watch television. Question: How about the use of e-mail? Answer: No. I write letters when I need. Question: And video games? Answer: No. I once played Shogi (note: a Japanese kind of chess) with a computer and lost. The PC checks all approaches. That’s not fair. Question: …sigh… Answer: He is sighing… (laughing).
WELL THANK GOD MIYAZAKI IS INTO ANIME. Still haven’t seen Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. What the hell am I doing with myself…
Ponyo and Hayao Miyazaki [Kirainet]
When Sony announced the PSP-3000 in Japan, they also announced three bundle deals. One of those was for a Gundam bundle, which would cost ¥24,840 ($230), and feature Gundam vs Gundam and a limited edition Gundam PSP. Anyway, here’s the PSP! Hardcore fans and those standing right next to the unit will see that those darker bits are a bunch of giant robots. Everyone else, though? They’ll think you’re a clutz, can’t stop dropping the thing, have scratched the crap out of the paintjob.
新型PSP（PSP-3000）とセットになった『ガンダムVS.ガンダム』プレミアムパックの詳細が判明 [Famitsu]
Back when Wii Motion Plus was announced at E3, many developers seemed surprised. Nintendo likes to keep things close to its chest, and developers like Lucasarts were apparently kept in the dark. Not happy campers! Leave it to Ubisoft honcho Yves Guillemot to stride in and utter “We knew that”. According to Guillemot:
Nintendo has been working on that for a long time, trying to see how they could improve the precision. We knew for a long time they were working on that, so it’s not a big surprise for us. We’ll start seeing something in September/October. We already have games that can take advantage of it.
Got any questions about what Nintendo is up to, who’s going to win the World Series or where babies come from? Ask Yves. Dude’s a Gallic soothsayer.
Interview: Ubisoft CEO [Game Daily via Go Nintendo]
Don’t snigger. Unlike most Wii patent lawsuits, this one sounds a little more serious. Following a complaint filed in August, the U.S. International Trade Commission have agreed to investigate claims made by Hillcrest Laboratories that the Nintendo Wii infringes on four patents they hold for motion-controlled devices. If you’re interested, you can check out Hillcrest’s tech here. While the ITC clearly state that this does not signal any decision on the merits of the case, it does mean their judges will be taking a good, long look at it, and if they think Hillcrest have a case to make, will kick things up a notch. For the record, goods that violate Section 337 of the Tariff Act (which is what Nintendo are being accused of by Hillcrest) can, if found guilty, be withdrawn from sale in the US, since the law was established to prevent foreign imports from infringing upon American patents.
Sony has just released Life With PlayStation. The Sony service shows the Earth, and users can access current news and weather for locations around the world. It’s possible to even pull up the full article from the headline. This comes as yesterday the service was available for a short time to some PS3 users. Hit the jump for the full press release and info for how it interacts with Folding@Home.
…to the Arcade Mania Tokyo launch event, book signing and drinking fun fun. The event takes place Saturday, September 27 (19:00-23:00) at Cafe Pause in Ikebukuro. Drinks are ¥500 a pop, and there will be free munchies to munch on. Fez composer Jason DeGroot (6955) selected the music, and the event will also kick off an exhibition of photos taken by Yuki Nakano for the book. The show will run until October 5th. The party won’t.
Also, today the book’s official website has gone live, complete with HIGHLY INTERACTIVE CRANE GAME. It was designed by Andrew Lee, who also designed the book’s layout. He’s a wizard, you know.
Hope to see you in Tokyo on the 27th!
Arcade Mania! [Official Site]
Ubisoft’s current lineup on the Wii is…regrettable. Could do with a few more “proper” games. Like the Tom Clancy ones, most of those are pretty decent. Here’s what Ubisoft boss, the delightfully-named Yves Guillemot, has to say on the matter: Tom Clancy will appear [on the Wii]at one point. We need to make sure they [look good] . We have engines that were created for the next-generation consoles. We had to re-engineer a certain number of engines to be sure we could use the quality of the machine. Even without the [high-end]graphics, the experience can still be very interesting. … To make sure we can create good enough products [on Wii]or products better than Nintendo’s takes time. That’s why you don’t see many products, but you will see more and more in the future.
Yves, screw the new games, just re-release the GameCube version of Chaos Theory (with MP intact), we’ll forgive the wait.
Interview: Ubisoft CEO on Games and Hollywood, Tom Clancy, Casual Growth and More [GameDaily]
That’s Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd. He’s got opinions on many things. Hideo Kojima, for example, Ben Judd has an opinion on Hideo Kojima. About the Metal Gear Solid creator, Judd offers:
I liked Metal Gear Solid 4, with the exception of the story. I like Kojima’s stories, but they keep getting longer and longer. He needs to put the clamps on himself and only give himself 30 minutes. If he did that I’m sure they’d be fantastic.
So it seems Judd thinks Kojima needs either an editor or the ability to show self-restraint. Agree? Disagree? Oh! Judd also weighs in on that “easy as hell” game BioShock. That, after the jump:
Little bit of confusion yesterday over reports that id’s upcoming shooter Rage had seen parts of the game cut – across all platforms – due to the 360′s limited storage space. A 1UP report said cuts had been made, id said “nunh unh”. Confusing! id have today attempted to settle the matter, with Tim Willits telling Shacknews “As far as game content, I will swear on the lives of my children that nothing was cut”. So…nothing was literally cut, they just designed the entire game around the limitations of one of the target platforms? It’s taking a different road (Semantics Ave), but don’t we still end up at the same place?
id’s Tim Willits on Rage, Xbox 360 Disc Controversy: Microsoft ‘Not Being Dickheads’ [Shacknews]
Two more TV quickies, if you’re eager to see all your faves on the small screen. Along with the Harmonix appearance, Richard Garriott is schedule to appear on The Colbert Report on Wednesday night (so today our time). Colbert is apparently now participating in Garriott’s Operation Immortality, so no doubt that will be a feature of the discussion. Meanwhile, fan favourite Jack Thompson is set to appear one place he won’t be walking away a winner: Penn & Teller’s Bullshit! Of all the places you can go to get your ass handed to you in an interview situation, that must be the worst. Doesn’t stop self-righteous wankers from continuing to appear… they always think they have ironclad arguments that even Bullshit! can’t dispel. No exact timing on when that one will air. Richard Garriott to appear on The Colbert Report [Massively] Jack Thompson to Appear on Showtime’s Penn & Teller: Bullshit! [Game Politics]
