To: Crecente
From: Ashcraft

Remember a while back when clothing retailer UNIQLO didn't have enough spaces for people with line names to enter in the computer?

Today I got an email from UNIQLO. They have changed their online store's data entry system. It's now possible to enter 24 characters instead of the previous w/e. So, good for people with long names like "Ashcraft." Somewhat of a nice feeling, seeing this changed and all. It's small and perhaps meaningless, but it's progress.

What you missed last night
My Xbox died. Again
Spidey, Simpsons PSPs
Crisis Core Crushes Balls

Next best thing about a new PGR game after the driving? The Geometry Wars. Here's a clip for Geometry Wars Waves, PGR4's accompanying diversion, and it's looking...well, everything appears to be in order. As you can see, the enemies approach in waves.

Last day! This is it!! Those hoping to enter our Heavenly Sword contest have until midnight EST tonight to enter. The entries we've been getting so far are knock-outs and choosing finalists is going to be damn hard. Check out what Kotakuite Bururian sent in, writing:

Can't remember how buzzed I was actually doing it though. I did drink most of that beer though.

We've got one copy of Heavenly Sword with fiery sword-swinger Nariko to give away. But, we're not just going to give it away. You've got to win it! Here's the contest: Red. Lots and lots of red. Take a picture with as many red things as you can squeeze in. Remember, be creative. Don't be afraid to leave your house to take the pics! It doesn't have to be just a bunch of products. Just think red! Because the most interesting/creative ones will be selected by the mean Kotaku staff as finalists. The best one will then be selected by Kotakuland. Deadlines for entries is next Thursday at midnight EST. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmail.com and be sure to include a "Kotaku" sign in your picture. You need a Kotaku sign. Good luck!
Heavenly Sword [Official Site]

How's this for a shocker? Today, the limited edition Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core bundle went on sale in Japan. There are 77,777 of these packs which include a FFVII CC PSP, the game and some other stuff. Anyway! It went on sale, loads of people lined up (like over 300), and it "sold out." Boy, Japan sure likes its FF, just like those Americans like their Madden. And that new PSP? Sexy! Blah, blah, blah.

Though, foreign people like FF, too! See that guy in the above Famitsu pic? I've met him! He seems like an alright dude, and there he is on the Famitsu front page. Almost as exciting as the time Fahey was in Famitsu. See, that's somewhat interesting even if some Final Fantasy PSP game selling out in Japan isn't.

FFCC on sale [Famitsu]

As Kojima Productions' Ryan Payton revealed in today's podcast, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Online will both be playable at TGS. The MGS4 demo bit shows close to the game's start, and there will be a special "briefing area" to explain the controllers. There will be a new trailer as well which Payton says might be revealing "too much." So, if you don't want things spoiled, don't watch. Excited? The line starts here!
Listen Here [KP Productions Report]

Why, this, of course. Best menu screen of all-time? Certainly comes close. Shame the inclusion of the HL2/TF2-themed Peggle Extreme has been overshadowed by the Orange Box's "other" inclusions, because it's great to see Valve completely taking the piss with two of their strongest intellectual properties.
Peggle Extreme Intro Screen [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Joining the ranks of World of Warcraft, Viva Piñata can now also claim its first wedding. PinataIsland.info Forum member PINATAcast posts:

To a few of my friends on here, you know i just bought a 360 and VP for the soul reason of getting my Girl addicted to VP and on her own system.

Well, i decided to propose to her this evening, so i sent the only diamond my digger has ever found, with a note attached asking her to marry me. When she got it (Across the room on the other TV) she giggled and said i was silly. Then i pulled out the real deal, got on a knee and started getting cried upon. She said yes, so next spring we are getting married!

Congrats! Don't be fooled. Viva Piñata isn't only a game, but a conduit for nerds to marry. Let's hope these love birds can put aside Viva Piñata on their wedding night. No gaming and consummating, k?
VP Marriage [Pinata Island]

That's right. The EU isn't just lending money to developers. It's giving it to them. Giving them millions. It's been announced that the European Commission have created a kitty of around €1,500,000 which is to be handed out to European developers to help spur the industry on. Individual developers can claim up to €100,000 to start a new project, while games already under development can claim between €10,000 and €60,000. Only catch? 60% of the fund is being reserved for games that "focus on the cultural heritage and diversity of Europe". I read that to mean "obscure medieval German trading simulators". That or Singstar: Eurovision.
European Commission creates €1.5m game fund [Develop]

Ack! That's popular anime character Haruhi Suzumiya. Bandai is bringing popular series to the PSP as an adventure title, and the game's official website shows off a 3D polygon model that actually responds to movement of your computer mouse. For example, move it right, and her eyes dart right. Move it up, and she looks up. For real fun fun, move it in circle and quickly. Proof that giant faces are way creepier when they move.
Play WIth Giant Haruhi Face Here [Bandai]

Project H.A.M.M.E.R. isn't on hold. It's been cancelled. Finished. So say Famitsu in their latest issue, which feels like the Coast Guard announcing they've given up the search for a man (with a giant hammer) lost at sea. I for one liked the basic premise, mainly because it reminded me of old Capcom side-scrollers, but I guess some things just can't be saved. Rest in Peace, big fella.
Project H.A.M.M.E.R. erscheint nicht mehr in Japan [Gamefront.de]

Don't let the silly head gear and the goofy whip fool you. Koji "IGA" Igarashi is a serious man. He's dedicated his life to Castlevania. Just take a look at his business card! Kotakuite Torokun was in attendance and brings word that folks started lining up at around 2:00PM for a signing last night. The cover for upcoming PSP title Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles was passed at as well for IGA to sign. That after the jump.

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Unlike our colonial forebears, Australian gamers have resisted the urge to drop BioShock from the #1 spot and have instead...kept it there. That's the 360 version, the PC one's long gone. Also busting into the top 10 is, surprisingly, Two Worlds, making this the first time two 360 games have been in the top 10 since, oh, a very long time ago.

1. BioShock (360)
2. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
3. SingStar '90s
4. Mario Party 8
5. Pokémon Diamond
6. New Super Mario Bros
7. Two Worlds
8. Pokémon Pearl
9. Ratatouille (PS2)
10. Boogie

[charts courtesy of GfK]

Testing of a 3D version of Ridge Racer 7 at Namco's Wonderpark HeroesBase in Kawasaki City. The 3D used in the PS3 racing title was developed by NHK and supposedly does not make one's eyes tired. Called "Xpol," two images are processed for each eye by blending the scanning lines on LCD TVs. Since images are made from polygons, they are relatively easy to convert to 3D, since the only changes need to be so that base image displays for each eye. According to Game Watch Impress, frame rates have slipped slightly. Free location test runs until the 14th of this month. Hey, that's tomorrow!

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Videogame companies have plenty of mascots. Plenty of nice logos, too, but there's one thing they're short on. Theme songs. And no, "Say...gah.." so does not count. In fact only one company was smart enough, no, brave enough to pay for their own corporate ditty. Infogrames. And it is fantastic. Hit the link below to hear a woman make a release schedule sound a million times more entertaining than it has any right to be.
Infogrames Company Anthem < Paris Hilton's Singing [GayGamer]

Former Akihabara idol Shoko Nakagawa has fully transformed into a mainstream celeb. While just a year ago, Shoko-tan was doing Akihabara Ninety-Nine Nights cosplay events for Microsoft, now she's selling shampoo and appearing in fashion mags. Sure, she still has nerd cred with the otaku horde. Hence, this: an adult video with a costume-playing Shoko Nakagawa look-alike. There's a screenshot of the film after the jump, which involves a PSP, canned ramen and a 12 inch Powerbook. So kinky!

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Look at that calendar there on your (awfully untidy) desk. Know what today is? It's September 13. Yes, Australia, that means the PSP Slim is now in the retail channel, ready for you to purchase for the recommended retail price of $279.95. Or not. It's up to you, really. It's slim, it's lite, it still runs out of charge too quickly and it's still a devil to keep clean. On the bright side it plays all the old PSP games, is thinner, lighter and...newer.

Yes, yes. Michael Jackson made his own SEGA game Moonwalker. Yes, yes, we all know. Though Japanese celebs like variety host Tamori and former Morning Musume idol Mari Yaguchi sure seem surprised. Here's an episode from Hey! Spring of Trivia detailing the Jackson SEGA Genesis game. For those who haven't seen the show, here's what's going on: Five celebs have a buzzer that they hit when an amazing piece of trivia is revealed. The buzzer makes a "hey" noise, which is the sound in Japanese people make when they are surprised to hear something. The max number of buzzer hits (or heys) per person is 20. These are then combined for a total score that can max out at 100. This bit of info got 78 "heys".

The interesting part isn't that Japanese celebs didn't know this (even if the game was released in Japan!), but when the host (Norito Yashima) says the show connected The Gloved One's people about using the clip to which they asked how much would be paid for TV usage. Hey! Spring of Trivia replied it would pay up to $US5,000 for usage. Two weeks passed with no reply. A staffer sent Jacko's camp an email saying they weren't paying and wouldn't use the game footage. A reply from The King of Pop's team was sent soon after giving them the ok!
Jackson Game [Japan Probe]

See that? It says "Welcome to the world of Xbox 360" and asks me to select my language. About thirty minutes ago, I plugged in my "fixed" Xbox 360. Back in August, my Japan launch 360 Red Ringed. Twenty-two days passed, and I received my "fixed" Xbox 360 via airmail. That was on September 11th. As I had to go to Tokyo yesterday, I took it out the box and put it under my TV. Today was the first time I could plug in the machine, and when I did, my new black wireless controller didn't sync with the console. Neither did my old controller.

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Back at Leipzig, SCEE announced that to coincide with the PSP Slim's launch in Europe it'd be releasing two limited edition variants of the handheld. One, a Simpsons PSP, would be yellow and come bundled with the new Simpsons PSP game. The other, a Spider-Man bundle, would include Spider-Man 2 (the PSP game) and Spider-Man 3 (on Blu-Ray). Anyways, at launch there were no pictures of either model. Here, then, are the first pictures of both.

Another week of Japanese software sales, Another Century's Episode 3 takes the top spot. Only a handful of new entries this week as the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Kidou Gekidan Haro Ichiza Gundam Mahjong + Z— proving Gundam + Nintendo DS + mahjong = profit—debut in the top ten.

Expect next week to be rather huge, however, as a pair Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon titles for the DS and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for PSP should have strong showings. Here are the top ten for the week of September 3rd to the 9th. The rest, after the break.

01. Another Century's Episode 3 THE FINAL (PS2) - 186,000 / NEW
02. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (DS) - 36,000 / 292,000
03. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 28,000 / 732,000
04. Sengoku Musou 2: Moushouden (PS2) - 25,000 / 260,000
05. Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (PS3) - 17,000 / 76,000
06. Kidou Gekidan Haro Ichiza Gundam Mahjong + Z: Sara ni Deki Ruyouni Nattana! (DS) - 17,000 / NEW
07. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PS2) - 16,000 / NEW
08. My Housekeeping Diary (DS) - 15,000 / 181,000
09. Wii Play (Wii) - 14,000 / 1,689,000
10. Wii Sports (Wii) - 13,000 / 2,083,000

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Well, maybe not eat. More like....lick. Lick the individual beads of water off the fast car's bonnet as it purrs on the starting line like a big cat. Or something. Point is, it looks real nice.

According to game forum PS3Forums, the newest edition of UK lad mag Nuts [NSFW] has an interview with Batman Begins actor Christian Bale who apparently says he's in the running to play Solid Snake in the 2009 movie Metal Gear Solid. Not sure how valid this info i, because PS3Forums didn't have a link, and I can't find anything over than "Assess My Breasts" on the Nuts site. Which were spectacular. There's no mention of an interview with him, either. Still, Bale would be a good choice for Solid Snake as Kojima makes quirky games, and Bale's a quirky actor. And have you seen his facial hair? SOLID.
Bale as Solid Snake [PS3Forums via N4G via Destructoid]

BrandIntel are analysts. Nerd analysts. They don't hit the streets or call random strangers to get data, though, they trawl blogs and forums looking for what's hot and, conversely, what is not hot. In this case they've taken a look at the Wii, PS3 and 360, and have made a lovely graph which purports to display how the internet feels about each. In particular, how likely someone would be to purchase one of the three. The Wii comes out on top, followed by the 360 then the PS3. No idea how scientific this is, I'm just enjoying the concept of transforming fanboy rants into hard data. Well...that and the colours.
How the Wii's Winning the 'Net [Next-Gen]

If you pick up Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, play it, beat it, then play it and beat it again, you're treated to a secret trailer. One that gives us a glimpse of a shinier, smoother Midgar and Cloud's great big adorable baby blue eyes. Proof of a FFVII re-release? Oh, God, no, quit being so desperate. But it's nice seeing old friends tarted up, isn't it? Especially when you don't have to suffer through Advent Children to do it.
[courtesy of NeoGAF]

The Gamebryo engine is a pretty one. It's been used in Oblivion, and is also being employed for Fallout 3 and Warhammer Online. Which you'd think would make it totally unsuitable for Wii, right? Right! Poor little thing just couldn't handle it. The duct tape would burst into flames! It can handle an "adapted" version of the engine, though, which engine creators Emergent Game Technologies have just announced. Don't expect miracles, but you should expect graphics nicer than what we've seen on the console (Mario Galaxy excepted) thus far. You can begin with the Oblivion-for-Wii rumours....now.
Emergent Adds Wii Support To Gamebryo Engine [Gamasutra]

Yup, the post title is self-explanatory. That is a black Xbox 360 wireless controller on a bullet train seat. You perhaps have these in other countries, but just not on Japanese high speed train seats. Just look how the black blends into the dark blue velvety seat. Amazing! Microsoft gave those who attended its briefing a free controller. Pink and light blue ones were handed out as well! I didn't get one of those. If I had, I certainly would've given it away in a contest. Shucks!

Capcom has pumped out some twenty new screens of its Zapper-ific Wii shooter Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. It's looking better than ever and my cranky disdain for the game may be slowly eroding, revealing a shiny, smooth interest just under the hard curmudgeon exterior. On the one hand, the gameplay has seemed a bit clunky when I've had hands on time, but on the other, zombies.

Great, we can quit with all the rumours! Well. Almost. Sony Ericsson President Miles Flint has confirmed that, yes, they're looking long and hard at bringing in a gaming phone. He pulls up shy of confirming one is actually in development, but does discuss that if/when one does come along, it may not carry the PlayStation brand name:

We need to make sure that it is a credible phone, and be sure we are justified in putting that identity on it.

Come on, can't be that hard! Put Vib-Ribbon on one of those Sony Walkman phones (custom soundtracks, you see) and we are all set.
Sony Ericsson eyes PlayStation brand [Financial Times]

To: Ash
From: Fahey
RE: Random Strangers Practicing English

With Crecente sequestered in a room somewhere and forced to play Halo 3 until his brain explodes, I've been pretty much left to my own devices here. Filling his shoes isn't an easy job, let me tell you. Once the fourteenth or fifteenth groupie showed up on my doorstep asking to stroke the long, luxurious locks that I obviously do not have I started getting a bit annoyed...mainly because my digital camera was running out of batteries. It's amazing how many people came to me for advice and decisions while he has been away. If I inadvertently ordered anyone's death I am terribly sorry. It is my first time - naturally people are going to die.

What you missed:
Eternal Sonata Coming To PS3 - No really
FASA Goes Bye Bye
Virtual Console Getting NeoGeo Games

Nintendo Takes The Lead
The Halo 3 Teaser Teaser

With my flu symptoms kicking into high gear, I'm off to do the responsible thing - play more Dynasty Warriors: Gundam. Have a good night!

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's conversation with the Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun—author and Earthbound and Mother creator Shigesato Itoi's semi-daily blog—continue, with today's update confirming that Nintendo has no plans to "do the easy." And by "doing the easy" Iwata essentially means that Nintendo has no plans to rest on its laurels and release incremental, expected sequels. And he's right, parts of Wii Fit are hard.

Iwata tells Itoi "Our mission is to surprise people in a good way, and this became very clear as we made Nintendo DS and Wii. You can't open up a new market of customers if you can't surprise them." That may be good news for fans of originality, but Iwata brings a scrap of bad news for gamers salivating for Wii Sports II. A sequel, he says, is "definitely not coming out soon."

More of the Iwata versus Itoi rap session at Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun.

Don't Do The Easy [Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun]