To: Crecente
From: Ashcraft
RE: Rock Band Practice

So the packing has started! Mrs. Bashcraft spent half the day packing her suitcase. (I still need to pack mine.) At least one fourth of her suitcase is instant ramen and udon. I told her she could get that in America, and she said it's just easier if she brings her own. She does like the food in Texas, but starts craving noodles after a few days. They're not so healthy, but I guess they remind her of Japan.

We got new suitcases. All of us. Matching, too. Mrs. Bashcraft decided she'd put our initials on it. Since I am an America, I have a middle name, which is "Eugene". (Yeah, I know.) Thanks to dual citizenship, Mini-Bash is also an American and has a middle name: "Atom". (Named after Astro Boy!) That leaves Mrs. Bashcraft, who is neither an American nor has a middle name. (By law, Japanese people can only have first and last names. From what I understand, this has to do with how the government groups families and the readability of names.) So all the suitcases have three initials on them but hers. All my life I've thought most people pretty much hate (and hide) their middle names, but here she was actually wishing she had her own. When I saw her suitcase after dinner, I noticed a big "C" between her first and last initial. She had decided to give herself a middle name — "Catherine".

What you missed last night
Xbox Live Pisses Off Japan
Reader feels bad for Suda
Why only 100 friends
Dying comic
Hello Kitty Xbox

Dr. Kawashima has been very, very good to Nintendo. With his polygonal mug offering the kind of sanguine advice that's as useful for housewives as it is old folks, the Brain Training DS games have sold about a billion and one games over the past few years. Which explains why Namco Bandai would want to get hold of the good doctor's licence for their upcoming mobile phone game Brain Coach with Dr Kawashima. A Namco Bandai Europe rep:

The formula of this application has already proven successful by establishing a base of millions of Nintendo DS players worldwide, and with Dr Kawashima's approval we are pleased to bring this official mobile game to the larger mass of mobile phone users.

[Pocket Gamer]

This post has a spoiler. Thus, we're putting it behind the jump. Here is a picture of a giraffe.

Sony CEO Howard Stringer gave a press conference today in Tokyo. He said that the PS3 is on the rebound with strong Black Friday sales in the US and the console outselling the Wii in Japan. Now that Sony is on the upswing, String hinted at what's next: "The next cycle is actual innovation", Stringer said. Perhaps this quote was taken out of context, but what does that mean the last cycle was? Farting around? Still, we'd really like to see a full transcript (hasn't popped up online as of posting), because that's an odd thing to say!

Regarding that next cycle, Sony plans to expand the PlayStation Network, which is now used for downloading games and demos. Stringer did not give details or any word as to when this expansion will happen. Just know: It will. One day.

Stringer Presser [Mainichi]

More Rock Band DLC has shown up for 360 owners. PS3 owners? Tsk tsk, not Thursday yet, is it? For now, then, this is a 360-only show. On offer is "I Fought the Law" by The Clash, "Rockaway Beach" by The Ramones and a cover version of Buzzcock's "Ever Fallen in Love". As per, the tracks are 160 points each or 440 for the three.

[Microsoft]

These aren't "new" screens as they look like they're from the same code that made up the game trailer. Rather, they are "fresh" screens that we haven't seen before. We're not just excited about the multi-platform Ghostbusters game, we're also nervous. Very, very nervous. These screens are nice, but please don't make it suck. Please. We're dealing with fragile childhood memories here. Handle with caution.

Full Gallery of Screens [Action Trip]

HMV can see the writing on the wall. Nobody buys CDs now. Nobody. But everyone buys games! Putting the two together, the British retail giant has announced that as CD revenues drop by an estimated 10% per year, they'll be replacing them on the shelves with more games. But they'd best get a move on; Britain's specialist "high street" retailers have been dropping like flies over the past year or two as the market for store-bought CDs and DVDs falls through the floor, and if HMV can't win the punters over with games then they'll soon be following.

[The Telegraph]

In the recent fall update, Microsoft expanded player profiles to include things like where we live. In Japan, if players tried to enter the Japanese kanji for Takeshima ("Bamboo Island"), a group of small islands in the Sea of Japan, the characters were not recognized. Both Japan and Korea claim ownership of the islands: Japan says its part of Shimane Prefecture, while Korea claims its part of North Gyeongsang Province.

The island only has like twenty or so permanent Japanese residents. There are more Korean residents. So maybe Microsoft is just hoping to side-step a very, very controversial issue of which country actually owns the islands by not letting anyone register the Japanese "Takeshima". Well, no. If you typed the Japanese kanji for "Dokdo," the Korean word for the islands, Xbox Live would accept it. That's right, Xbox Live Japan wouldn't accept the Japanese name for this area, but would accept the Korean name for it. And that inadvertently indicates which country Microsoft thinks owns the islands! The internet flipped out with comments over at popular site Nico Video hitting a thousand. Commenters called this "horrible" and "awful." Microsoft has since said it was a mistake in the new update and is correcting the error. The funny part? In the news clip after the jump, the caster continually refers to the Xbox 360 as the "popular" Xbox. "Popular" in America, that is!

Both EA and Blizzard are moving boldly into the wild, untamed markets of Eastern Europe, with the publishers announcing two moves that will see their games tap into two of the continent's fastest-growing markets. First up is EA, who have signed a deal with Pan Vision that will see the Nordic company distribute EA's games in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Blizzard, meanwhile, have revealed they're working on a Russian-language version of World of Warcraft, which will launch in Europe sometime early next year.

[GI.biz & CVG]

Somewhat off topic: As far as days go, today has been pretty amazing. Mini-Bash came home from school and said (out of his own volition) that he wanted to watch Empire Strikes Back. When he finished that, he said he wanted to watch Star Wars. I told him that was the first one and that Return of the Jedi of the next one in the series. He still said he wanted to watch Star Wars instead. Perhaps he's watching them in order of quality?

Most plug and plays we don't really want to play or plug even. This, this is different. The Plug and Play Retro Gaming Millennium Falcon Joystick is packed with four Star Wars games: Lightsaber Dual, Assault on Hoth, Red Leader and Battle of Endor. Like all plug and plays, the games are housed in the controller. But what a controller! Truly spectacular. This is the standard from hence forth all plug and plays will be judged. Forever.

Star Wars Plug and Play [TFTS via Uber-Review via Geekologie via Alice]

Afrika sure looks nice! Pity we haven't heard a thing about the game for, oh, nearly nine months now. And even then have no idea what the game's about, or what you're supposed to do in it. So if you're of the feeling the project's either vapourware or has been canned, it's OK, that's totally understandable. Understandable, but wrong, because composer Wataru Hokoyama has just been tapped to lead a 104-piece orchestra in scoring the game. No, we haven't heard of him either (seems he's worked with 30 Seconds to Mars, Joss Whedon and on a bunch of short films), but since we've heard next to nothing of the game either that would make the two a perfect fit.

Sony's Afrika Still Alive, Enlists Composer [1UP]

Game Christmas trees are the new game pumpkins which were the new game cake. Previously, we've seen the D.I.Y. Halo tree and jaw dropping Pac-Man tree. Now, Gay Gamer brings us the 8-bit tree. Decorated with Perler bead creations that include Bubble Bobble, Pac-Man, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros. and Castlevania among others. If that wasn't enough, just check out that wall!

8-bit Christmas [Gay Gamer]

Johnny Lee's a smart kid. First he shows us how we can use our Wiis to track finger movements ala Minority Report, now he's showing us something even more exciting: how to use the Wii Remote as a whiteboard marker. OK, it doesn't sound that exciting, but free up a few minutes from your busy modern lifestyles to watch this clip and you'll see it actually has some serious potential.

[via Giz]

So, Suda51's No More Heroes doesn't look like it's a breakout Japanese hit. That fact alone has made many people quite blue — glum, even! Reader Frank sends this:

I felt sad that NMH ain't doing good in Japan, I decided to show some love to Suda by asking you to post my Wii which is not finished yet but to show support and respect to Suda for making what I know to be a great game, already pre-ordered it but no keychain or toilet paper Damn It! Well thanks for listening!

Get that smirk off your face. While you might think that 2D graphics, being old and mouldy, are easier to cobble together than fancy new 3D graphics, you're missing an important point. One Marvellous Interactive's Yoshifumi Hashimoto is only to happy to point out to you:

It's harder now to make 2D-graphics games. Before, everything was 2D, so you had enough people who were actually specialised in making 2D characters. But now, everything is 3D. So now, to find a good team that can make 2D games, even if you have better technology and more RAM or whatever, it's really hard now.

[Gamasutra]

It's a Game [PS3 Fanboy]

Come the Age of the Chosen update on December 14, players of Auran's hack'n'slash MMO Fury will be given the option to play the game minus the monthly subscription fee.

According to the release, the free mode, called "Chosen", will give players access to all game types, weapons and abilities. Chosen however will gain gold and essence at a reduced rate and will be unable to swap goods with other players.

If a player is willing to spend a bit of cash, an upgraded "Hero" mode is available that will increase the gold and essence gather rate. Players are also free to buy gold from Auran directly.

This news however is foreshadowed by this grim statement from Auran CEO Tony Hilliam, included with the release Kotaku Australia received from the company:

We will then have some bad news to follow (unless a miracle occurs), but there will be a very positive end to the week.

If you'd like to shape your own opinion of events (which I encourage you to do) check out the full release after the jump.

After months of pining, longing and (mostly justified) whining, the Xbox Live Video Marketplace has finally gone global. As of, oh, right now, Xbox 360 owners in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Canada can download a variety of SD and HD content, though be warned: prices vary between regions. If you're in the UK, they're not far off American prices, so you've done OK for once. Canada, though... well, let's just say that at 610 points for a new HD movie, Canada is getting crammed in the nether-regions and leave it at that.

[Microsoft]

Square Enix doesn't mess around. After a music video from Korean pop star Ivy looked too much like Final Fantasy VII, Square Enix dragged the video's maker Fantom Entertainment to court. The music vid's director claimed that it was merely a "parody" and that he "wanted to contact Square Enix to get permission, but couldn't find their contact info". Seoul Central District Court judge Gu Hoe-geun ruled that Fantom "illegally used 80 percent of the storyline, setting, characters and their styles of dress and their demeanors from video game Final Fantasy VII". Fantom was fined $US 10,900. The company's director and the video's director were both fined an additional $US 6,500 each. There is still a civil suit against the video's creators as well. If Square Enix won't even let people take snapshots of in-game demo kiosk footage, it certainly won't let something like this slide.

Final Fantasy Court [Hollywood Reporter, Thanks Evening Aura!]

Tony Hilliam, speaking exclusively to Kotaku Australia, has stated that the company will tomorrow announce further restructuring plans for Auran, along with a new business model for its MMO Fury.

Hilliam has said that he will reveal all to us tomorrow, so make sure you're here bright and early to hear the good (and not so good) news.

Auran has had its fair share of our attention lately. First there was the Angry Gamer story that boldy stated that the company had "run out of steam". Then, Tony Hilliam stepped forward to nip the rumour in the bud.

I should mention that this was off the back of a darker rumour Kotaku Australia caught wind of today, and one I won't mention here, as Hilliam assured me that is was "categorically false". What I can say is that regardless of the tale Auran will tell tomorrow, you'll read it here first.

The history of games based on Marvel characters is a patchy one at best, and that's only with Spiderman 2 saving their collective bacon. Perhaps because of this storied history of ineptitude on the part of outside developers, perhaps because the rumours surrounding Marvel Universe might just be true, the comics juggernaut are (according to Develop) about to get a lot more involved in the development of games based on their characters. Whether this comes in the form of in-house supervision of outside production by Marvel staff (the company have long-term deals with Activision, EA and Sega) or will see Marvel move directly into the development scene themselves is unclear. We're thinking the latter, if only because such a move has a precedent (the establishment of the Marvel Studios film division in 2004).

Marvel to increase game development presence? [Develop]

You know how I was talking about PR earlier today? Well, Microsoft has stepped up to the plate. I doubt it was because of the flashy Prototype promo, but I'm going to pretend it had something to do with it. Makes me feel all important and stuff (I'm not).

So, what's in the white box? It's not anthrax, I know that much. Hit the jump for an inside shot.

Patapon Ad [PSP Fanboy]

Continuing their "why are the shitty bits of Xbox Live so shitty" series of questions, 1UP have asked Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg why the service's friends list is capped at 100. His answer?

There's some interdependences. Some things like original Xbox games have friends lists hard coded in, so there's things we gotta work through, but we'll get it figured out, it's something we want to do. Still, the majority of Live users don't even have 30 friends. But, I agree, my list is full. [laughs]

[1UP] [Image]

No, it's not happening, but Nina Kristensen sure wouldn't mind seeing it on either Microsoft or Sony's download services, according to a recent interview with Lesbian Gamers:

Kung Fu Chaos would be awesome as an XBLA or PSN game! I think we're going to be seeing more and more interesting and diverse games coming along in the next few years as online & downloadables become increasingly mainstream.

Speaking of Heavenly Sword, Nina reiterates in the interview that the game is just the first in a trilogy. Here's the quote verbatim, in case you missed it:

We haven't announced anything as yet but I can confirm that when we wrote the original story we did write it as a trilogy...

The Nina Kristensen Interview With the LG [Lesbian Gamers, thanks Lesbolicious]

There are perks to being a corporate big-shot. Free parking spaces, for one. Executive bathrooms are another. As are sexy assistants, immunity from prosecution for possession of cocaine and (hopefully) an understanding wife. Oh, and MASSIVE CORPORATE PAYOUTS. As part of the merger deal between their company and Vivendi Games, Activision execs Bobby Kotick and Brian Kelly will receive between them around $US 40 million in cash, shares and benefits. That's just between the two of them. Well, them and their understanding wives.

[Gamesindustry.biz]

This is not a joke. The Hello Kitty Xbox is apparently so rare that it was only thought to be an April Fool's joke. Turns out it's very real. Limited to 500 units, the console was available only to customers who purchased a $US 5000 television at one specific retailer in Singapore. The console came with a Crystal coloured Xbox controller and a copy of Hello Kitty Mission Rescue. If Hello Kitty is good enough for her own Dreamcast console, guess an Xbox one doesn't seem too far off. Hit the jump for the unboxing!

FUNimation's recent disagreement with publisher Atari cast doubt on future Atari-branded Dragon Ball Z games. I know, it would've just been gutting if we couldn't see yet another Dragon Ball Z fighter packed to the brim with horribly designed characters from Mr. Akira Toriyama. Today, we have "good" news to pass on, as IGN is reporting that FUNimation and Atari have agreed to terms that will allow for the continued stream of DBZ licensed software to continue through 2010.

According to IGN the terms of the agreement see Atari issuing a $US 2.7 million cash payment and $US 800,000 in "royalty payment reductions". In even better news for Atari, the publisher is said to have a new candle at its headquarters, giving much needed light to employees following a series of electric bills that have gone unpaid. Rumours point to executives also having found a previously unclaimed crust of bread.

Atari Hangs On To Dragon Ball Z License [IGN]

This fat bastard is Ralphie May. I've never heard of him, but I'm assured by my American cohorts that he's a comedian. Here's a clip of Ralphie performing at the Spike VGAs, where he strolls onto the stage, whips the crowd into a frenzy with his poignant, biting remarks on the 360's reliability then strolls off to a thunderous round of applause.

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Immigration Fun Fun Day

Did you notice the design tweak that hit the site today? I kinda like how the top looks now, though I miss our top story thumbnails that used to be up there. I'm told they may make there way back in the nightly round-up that shows the most popular and commented on stories. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Of course, in lieu of the thumbnails, you can just click on the top tag for those stories. I've also asked them to keep original and feature tags up there all the time as well, for easy reference. Oh, also they've officially named Denver as the secret location of Kotaku Tower. I guess we're going to have to fill the moat back up now.

I just realised, now just two days away from Funde Razor Hall of the Mountain Gods here in Denver, that despite the fact that I will be hosting a little Rock Band party, I haven't really played the game that much. The thing is I played the heck out of it in the week before I left for Australia, but haven't touched it since. In other words, I haven't played Rock Band in nearly a month and a half and I'm going to be playing it, at least once, up on a stage in front of a bunch of drunk strangers. SHIT! I better practice.

What you missed:
Virtual Console Gifting Comes To U.S.
PaRappa Creators Re-Team For Wii Exclusive
Rockstar's UK Manhunt 2 Appeal Succeeds
"Chuck's" Josh Gomez Talks Games
Presidential Candidates Talk Video Game Censorship
Hudson Planning iPhone Development