Either you've already played the Japanese demo or you're about to play the American one, doesn't matter, Echocrome's teaser levels make things look easy. Pedestrian. As though the dev team came up with a neat concept, but couldn't think of ways to really push it. Yeah, no, that's WRONG. Look at these new screens. These later, harder levels are built for one purpose: to take your mental arse, wine it, dine it, then kick it.

For those who cannot be away from their PSPs for even a moment, there's this: A plastic bag you can put your PlayStation Portable in. Once sealed, it makes your handheld portable waterproof, so you can watch digital TV or something. Products like this for cell phones have been around for ages in Japan (like at least since 2004!), so it's not surprising to see this. Not surprising at all.
CYBER GADGET Bag [Game Watch Impress via PSP Fanboy]

Capcom is rolling in money — Monster Hunter money. The most recent iteration in the PSP franchise Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G has shipped over two million copies in Japan. Wowzers! The game just went on sale March 27th and has really helped power the crap outta PSP sales.
Monster Sales [Famitsu]

You know James Gunn? Hollywood writer. Has some hits (Dawn of the Dead remake), and some misses (both Scooby-Doo movies). I bring him up not to torture you with memories of Freddie Prinze Jr in tight pants, but to tell you that he's currently looking for actors to star in some content he's putting together for the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. Maybe he's working with Peter Safran's company, maybe this is all-new content, we don't know. What I do know (I have visions, you see) is that the show will be about the "wacky adventures of a group of friends". And that this will not end well.
Original Xbox Live show after actors [Eurogamer]

Well, looks like Konami's site was right. (Funny how that works!) Konami's Gradius plus boobs side scroller shooter Otomedius is bound for the Xbox 360. Called Otomedius G, there's no release date set as of yet, and we're pretty sure it won't cost US$645,316.71, tax not included. So what we didn't know? The "G" stands for "gorgeous" — a word Japanese folks typically use to describe luxurious things. If you live in Japan and haven't seen Otomedius, you really should. It's a pretty game that uses a touch screen and is packed with important shmup elements like, well, shooting and, um, touch-screen boob touching. Wonder how Konami will work that in on the Xbox 360 version... DS port anyone?
Otomedius G Confirmed [My Game News Flash]

Whaddya know, PAL PS3 owners aren't happy. The source of today's displeasure? Blogs. For too long have they seen how great a source of info the PlayStation.Blog is, only to then gaze upon their own pathetic, ad agency-run equivalent (Three Speech) and weep. Oh, how they've wept. Maybe it was the river of tears, maybe it was the collective sobbing, but Sony have actually taken notice, with SCEA's Jeff Rubenstein commenting (where else) on the PlayStation.Blog:

Demand for the Wii has been huge. Heck, according to Nintendo of America honcho Reggie Fils-Aime, Wii consoles sit on US shelves for only an hour before being snapped up. But, Nintendo of America's parent company Nintendo Co., Ltd. is playing things safe. Insiders tell us that it's planning to ramp up production, but only a little. Currently, Nintendo has the worldwide production of Wiis set at 1.8 million a month. Starting this summer, it will crawl up to 2.4 million per month. For those keeping score, the last time Nintendo hiked its output was in April 2007 and then later that summer. Seems that Nintendo's trying to play it safe, managing its risk as the American economy continues its downward slide. So 2.4 million a month seems about right. Because, you know, the moment there's Wiis stacking up on store shelves, it means one thing: Fad's over.

Sorry, that was a little alarming. You, of course, knew that already. It's not as if games PR types sit around in ivory towers getting their information from carrier pigeons and whispers on the wind. They find out what you like, don't like and go "eh" about their games by, yes, trawling through your favourite forum, and reading up on what you - Average Joe - thinks about their games. Same goes for developers as well. Keen to hear more about how it all works? Please, hit the link below for the full 1UP feature, which features chats with, among others, PR reps from 2K & Capcom, as well as NeoGAF owner Tyler Malka.
Chairman of the Boards [1UP] [Pic]

Sing. And rejoice. For Europe, you long wait is over. Nintendo Europe have published their Q2 release schedule, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl is pencilled in for a June 27 launch. No, really. Also dated are the Everyone's Nintendo Channel (May 30), as well as the WiiWare service, which will launch - as (sorta) expected - on May 20. Oh, pick that mouth up off the floor. It had to come out eventually, didn't it?
[Nintendo Europe]

Yes, it's got the name Spielberg attached to it, but is that really why you're interested in Boom Blox? Course not. It's because it's another cuddly, colourful Wii game that - thanks to its physics and level of polish - may actually be OK. Thing is, it might not be a Wii game for long, because the way the game's senior producer Amir Rahimi is talking, ports should be expected come Christmas time:

Once it's over the sky's the limit. There's definitely the possibility of going to other consoles.

And the shameful Dead or Alive toys continue! This Tina figure is totally bra swimming. But look at her face. She could be waiting for a bus for all we know. And what about her hair? That's not swimming hair. We are disappointed to say that this Tina figure just isn't very realistic.

More pics of this Tina sample over at Akiba Hobby if you like.
Venus on the Beach! [Akiba Hobby]

As the title says. It's a (mostly) new Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer. Lots of new footage of Metal Gears and lady-robots with tentacles, lots of footage of men being whacked over the noggin with guns, only some footage of monkeys wearing pants. I must say, while the graveyard scenes were brief, it's awful nice seeing green grass and flowers in a MGS4 trailer. That desert town was getting boring.
[Thanks everyone!]

PS3 sound novel Imabikisou is getting a Wii port. Not quite sure why as sound novels are pretty much choose your own adventure style films told through sound, text and images. For the PS3 version, the visual effects were handled by the team behind Siren 2. So we guess this will be Imabikisou plus waggle? Scary.
Imabikisou Gets Wii Version [Canned Dogs] [Pic]

48 hours? You're not giving yourselves enough credit. Less than a day after the PAL copy of the game was leaked, NTSC copies of Grand Theft Auto IV have begun popping up on torrent sites, courtesy of a group calling themselves 101. We're still unable to verify whether this is the real thing or not, but regardless, the files are already pushing 20,000 leechers. Shame. We're still waiting on Rockstar for comment.

Time for another installment of "Games Are Evil." In today's episode, British tabloid Daily Mail points out they prevent children from falling out of trees, making the "Xbox Generation" weaker than, we assume, the "NES Generation" or the "Atari 2600 Generation". According to recent, hard hitting data:

Unreal Tournament III on PS3 is mod-heaven. People are going bananas! But what about the Xbox 360? Microsoft previously stated it wasn't up for allowing mods. Where do they stand now, pre-release? Let's ask Mark Rein. Mark?

So the rumour's been SMASHED. Activision Underground, who were supposedly working on a third-person Call of Duty game, weren't closed down because of a non-existent "exclusivity" deal Infinity Ward signed with Activision. And yet, closed down they were. Why? Maybe for reasons a little less eye-catching. Somebody "close" to Activision Underground has got in touch with us, and let us know that the studio was indeed at work on a third-person action-adventure CoD, which would have been based on special ops forces and would feature "very different kinds of gameplay". Only problem was, the game turned out to be, well, a big ol' pile of crap.

If you're looking for someone to thank, don't look at us. Send your cakes to Anthony over at the Economical Gamer.

Get Mario Kart Wii for $50: This is a some what risky and unethical approach, but Rayman: Raving Rabbids and Surf's Up are both a part of EB Games' 2 for $50 sale but not JB Hi-Fi's exclusion list. So it might be possible to buy those two for $50 at EB and then trade them for Mario Kart Wii at JB. It is risky though because JBs exclusion list quotes "This list is subject to change at any time at JB Hi-Fi's discretion" and they may have already anticipated the abuse.

The full tip is included after the jump, and includes stores where Mario Kart Wii is being sold below its RRP.

Please don't comment below saying "OMG no digital downloads list = fail" or something. You'll look like an idiot. We know these charts aren't the truest indication of what PC gamers actually paid money for a couple weeks back. But they're all we've got. And hey, you might even enjoy these ones, since for once they're dominated by real, proper PC games!

The Australian GTA IV not the full deal? Neither is the NZ version? Why not just import it then?

Looks like Rockstar thought of that. According to an email many readers have received from Rockstar in the States, the game is "region locked for [its] specific territories". Which consoles this includes and whether it applies to the multiplayer we're not sure.

The email goes on to reinforce Rockstar Oz's earlier statement regarding the changes to our version of the game being minor. Kotaku AU's attempts to get an answer from Rockstar Oz regarding the region locking have been met with failure, but this looks official to me.

[Thanks everyone!]

Can't be long. And according to Reggie, it's not long at all. Speaking with Wired, the NoA boss has said that despite North America receiving 40% of the global allocation of Wii consoles, the average console is sitting on a retail shelf for around an hour before it's swooped up, thrown into a basket with Wii Play, and carried out of the store. To Nintendo, that's a success story, but if you're still waiting for a Wii 17 months after launch, it's a pain in the arse. Will knowing Reggie is "passionately upset about the lack of product relative to demand" help ease your pain?
Nintendo: Average Wii Sits on Shelf for Just an Hour [Game|Life]

C'mon, Yoda in Soul Calibur IV? Not exactly fair. He's a Jedi Master and short. Really, really short. How can bigger characters compete? Says the game's director Katsutoshi Sasaki:

Ah street dates. Retailers are as likely to stick to them as a 90-year old driver is to the road. Minus the whole potential to crash, maim and destroy.

Despite being a massive release, GTA IV hasn't escaped the clutches of a number of eager storeowners - Xbox World Australia is reporting that Rockstar's epic is being sold days before its official street date. The site has been careful not to name the retailer(s), which I'm sure they approve of. Rockstar Australia, on the other hand, isn't so pleased.

GTA IV Release Date Broken [Xbox World Australia, thanks Jose Perdomo]

Ibuki from Street Fighter III and R. Mika from Street Fighter Alpha 3 may not be the most household of household names, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be immortalised in sculpted polyvinyl chloride. Capcomaniax scoops up two sculpts from the Street Fighter character barrel, readying them for a summer release in Japan. They're perfect additions to the T&A figure collector shelf, with Ibuki's thigh-revealing costume sure to be the focus of a many, many macro digital photos on Japanese blogs. R. Mika? We're scared to think of what will be done with her.

We haven't seen anyone offering these figures up for import yet, but if you've got the display case space, they're retailing for 5775 yen (about $US 55).

CAPCOMANIAX [Mega Hobby]

Nintendo has confirmed what we knew was in the pipeline after discovering a membership card in our review copy of Mario Kart Wii - Club Nintendo is coming to Australia.

Essentially, Club Nintendo will reward you for buying Nintendo games. Games that are part of the system will come with a unique PIN that can be entered into the Club Nintendo site. You'll then be given Star points, which can be used to purchase "goodies" from a catalogue available on the Club Nintendo site.

This would all be awesome, if the official site wasn't under construction. The release says more info will be provided once it goes live.

From the sounds of it, other games will include membership details for Club Nintendo. For now, it's limited to Mario Kart Wii.

Full release after the jump.

So Capcom's artists swiped (swiped back?) some IGN-watermarked art and it made it onto the game's cover. Whoops. Oh well, everyone makes mistakes, right Capcom? What's important is not the mistake, but the fact the company are going out of their way to make amends. If you've already picked up a copy of the game that features the IGN watermark, and would like a replacement cover, visit this website and Capcom will send you a new one, free of charge. You even get a choice of covers: you can pick from the original, or from two snappy pieces of art (shown after the jump) cut and polished into "high quality" game covers.

Well this is certainly a new look for Ubisoft's official Prince of Persia website. Clicking on the link below takes you to a flash animation of glowing blue glyphs (words?) that slowly get engulf by a mass of oozing black goo. Could this have something to do with the recently trademarked Prince of Persia Prodigy, or is this something completely different? Will we finally see what happens when the Prince comes up again Spider-Man's archenemy, Venom? Probably not. Trying to believably mix established gaming icons with comic book heroes and villains is a silly idea. I suppose we'll just have to wait until either the big reveal, or they morph the slime into some sort of damned countdown clock.

Official Prince of Persia Website [Ubisoft - Thanks ES!]

Yesterday's news that Namco Bandai was reviving Splatterhouse for a next/now-gen release was met with greater enthusiasm than I'd expected. Suppose there's a reason why EGM opted to give the cover treatment. Thankfully, we have a tiny bit of new detail on the game, courtesy of 1UP.

As excited as the gaming community is about the impending release of GTA IV, sadly, a new Grand Theft Auto title tends to mean bracing ourselves for a new round of anti-gaming attacks from the uninformed. Fortunately, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board is more than prepared to head 'em off at the pass, joining with the Parent-Teacher Association for a series of parental education initiatives kicked off with a webcast tonight.