When Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released earlier this year, a small percentage of Wii consoles had problems reading the double-layer disc if there was grime caused by cigarette smoke on the lens of the disc drive. Back then, Nintendo issued this statement: “Nintendo has specialised cleaning equipment that can resolve this problem. (Please do NOT attempt to clean the lens yourself, as you may damage the system.)” Well, now you can clean it yourself thanks to Nintendo’s first party lens cleaner. The Wii Lens Cleaner Set runs ¥800 ($US7.80) and is out sometime this month. Cigarette smoke cleaning is dandy, but why isn’t there a stop smoking Wii game? Just think of the Wii-mote peripheral hi-jinx.
People came to this year’s Tokyo Game Show. In droves. The event’s organisers have released the final tallies, and they are: 194,288 attendees for TGS 2008 compared to 193,040 attendees for TGS 2007. Those interested in the breakdown, hit the jump. Those not, don’t.
For those of you who might’ve wondered just how popular Namco Bandai’s idol simulation title THE iDOLM@STER is, there’s this: THE iDOLM@STER Visa card. Originally an arcade game, iDOLM@STER follows a music producer who oversees up-and-coming popstars. The franchise has since spread to the Xbox 360 and the PSP. There are an anime series and toys, too. What better way to buy an iM@S Haruka Amami than with this Visa card. Buying other stuff, maybe not so great. Slightly embarrassing, even.
Notice something missing at this year’s TGS? Besides lack of major news, there was a noticeable lack of nerd stench. The best thing about this year’s Tokyo Game Show is that it was in October. The worst thing about last year’s Tokyo Game Show was that it was in September, a month that is still humid, sticky and generally gross and disgusting. So it was quite nice not turning into a sweat monster during the show. The thing that wasn’t so nice was the show’s timing if you’re a parent of small children.
Don’t look to video game Burnout Paradise for escapism from real life politics. Democratic candidate Barack Obama has in-game campaign billboard with a “Paid for Obama for President” tag on it. EA has confirmed that the advert was paid for by Obama:
Those brushstroke heavy Street Fighter IV trailers are going to get turned into an anime that will fill in the gaps between Street Fighter II and its spiritual sequel Street Fighter IV. Producer Yoshinori Ono stated at TGS that the new animated feature will run between 50 and 60 minutes and hopes to tie the flick with the game’s home console release. The company that churned out the original clips, Studio 4C, is working on the full-length version. The three minute trailer shown at TGS showed Cammy making her way through a wooded area with some troops, Ryu discovering his dark side, Sakura and Chun-Li battling goons, and Ryu and Crimson Viper fighting.
Yet another Japanese game developer getting all down on the Japanese game industry. This time it’s Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima bringing the negativity. In a talk at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Kojima said: “If you honestly compare Japanese games with Western ones, Japan has lost.”
Never mind that Metal Gear Solid 4 trailers have been popping up at the Tokyo Game Show for eons now. The game was first publicly shown at the 2005 TGS, and the ensuing years brought new trailers to boot. It all culminated in a hands-on MGS4 demo last year. This year there was still a MGS4 trailer — even though the game has been out for months. This year’s MGS4 promotion at TGS was more a thank you to fans and an attempt to garner more interest in Metal Gear Online.
While in Tokyo for TGS, game site Siliconera tried gauging lasting retail shop interest in MGS4: Shinjuku shop Tsutaya is offering ¥500 ($6.74). There’s one word for that and that is “ouch”. For comparison sake, the same store is paying ¥3,800 ($51.51) for Cross Edge, ¥1,200 ($16.27) for Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, and ¥2,500 ($33.90) for the almost three-year-old Animal Crossing: Wild World.
Image after the jump.
That’s Faith, lead character of first-person-parkour game Mirror’s Edge. The game is designed by Swedish dev D.I.C.E., and naturally, the character’s exotic looks certainly look skewed towards Western tastes. The game, out in North America and Europe next month, is getting a Japan release in mid-December.
The language will be localised in Japanese, but not the character design. As reader Torokun points out: “There is always a huge complain from Asian gamers whenever Western developers design Asian female characters…” As Torokun continues, this is mainly because many Westerners’ definition of what is considered as “Asian” beauty is very different from what Asians consider beautiful.” Hit the jump for a fan-created “doctoring” of Faith if she was created specifically for the East and not the West.
…this is what it would look like. Probably. Unsurprisingly, it’s Nintendo-themed. The “Miyamotorcycle” makes good use of the Virtual Boy, as well as the “Oh Shit!” handle from the Game Cube, which adds a bit of safety and protection. But you have to question the practical uses for the tires. I mean, a Warp Pipe won’t do you any good on slick roads, and the DK Barrel for the rear is just asking to break apart if you hit a bad pothole. Having problems identifying everything? The folks over at The Minus World made the list for you to check out after the jump.
