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TV Ad Sakura Is Way Younger Than In-Game Sakura

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:00:00 +0000

That’s female Japanese “talent” Hikari Takada. She’s doing the ads for SFIV. “It’s was my first TV commercial shoot, and it was tough, but also fun. I really hope everyone enjoys the ad.”

If you think she looks like she’s 12, that’s because she actually is 12 — making her four years younger than the game’s 16-year-old Sakura. Click through the gallery below, which includes a pic with producer Yoshinori Ono. Now there’s someone who doesn’t look 12.

カプコン、「ストリートファイターIV」CM収録現場を公開 [Game Watch]

Now Nintendo Are Going After Used Games

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Well, not games per se. Hardware. The Wii Speak peripheral, which is due to hit shelves any day now, is the latest item to take the fight to used games. How? Included with the microphone is a download coupon for the Wii Speak Channel, which you’ll need if you want to use the device outside of games. That coupon is the only way you can get the channel. You can’t download it from the Shop Channel, you can’t pay for it then download it, you can’t even beg Nintendo for a copy. So if you buy a Wii Speak mic used, you won’t get the coupon, you won’t be able to use the Wii Speak Channel. Savvy shot across the bow of used-game retailers, or dick move for budget-minded consumers? It’s probably both.

Wii Speak Channel Only For Wii Speak Purchasers, Don’t Buy It Used [MTV]

Booth Companion Showcase: Konami Keep Things Understated

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Those Tecmo girls? Sure, they were easy on the eye, but flashing skin is so cheap. And cheap is something Konami are just not interested in. At least when it comes to booth companions. Instead, the company that wishes they could release Metal Gear Solid 4 every year kept things a little classier, opting for this classic number that sits somewhere between naughty nurse and 50’s flight attendant.

Look Kids, It’s The Cast Of The Guild

Mike Fahey — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:00:00 +0000

Look kids, it’s the cast of the hit internet series The Guild! In case you’ve not heard of The Guild, it’s a hysterically funny look at a group of MMO players and how they react when things get a bit too real. The lovely red-haired woman there is Felicia Day, who Buffy fans may remember as someone only Buffy fans would remember. She plays the guild’s healer, Codex, who one day gets a surprise visit from Sandeep Parikh, the warlock who assumes the two have hit it off and decides to move in with her. If you’ve ever been in an MMO guild you know these people, from the inattentive mother Clara (far left) to the young, “spirited” player Bladezz, played by Vincent Caso there on the far right. Vincent…I am so sorry I called you a dick today. I really meant your character, I swear. You’re a lovely man. Anyway, check out the show’s website and find out what happens when a guild stops being real and starts getting…really real.

LittleBigPlanet: To Wipe, Or Not To Wipe

Mike Fahey — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 05:40:00 +0000

We’ve seen some pretty amazing things come out of the LittleBigPlanet beta test so far, including yesterday’s amazing calculating sack boy squad. Wouldn’t it be a pity to lose all of that goodness in the name of making sure everyone was on level footing for launch? Right now the LittleBigPlanet news site is hosting a poll asking players both in and out of beta whether or not the user created content created so far should be completely flushed down the toilet once the game launches.

The answer of course is no. We don’t want that. It would be a tremendous waste of the work all the beta testers have put in, and would rob so many people of the inspiration the works so far provide. This isn’t an MMO, we don’t have to worry about anyone having an advantage over us in PVP (Planet versus Planet). Vote no on Operation Tiny Wipe, just like the majority of respondents already are.

LittleBigPlanet Beta Created Levels – You decide [LittleBigPlanet News]

Dude Huge: Switching Devs Mid-Series A Little ‘Soulless’

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:00:00 +0000

There are only two Gears of War games. And Epic have done both. That’s continuity. But, for example, Call Of Duty? It’s split between two developers. Infinity Ward and Treyarch. What does Mr. Gears of War – Dude “Clifford Bleszinski” Huge – think of such arrangements? Let’s find out:

We’ve got a lot of ideas about where the franchise will go. But sometimes I feel a franchise loses something when it’s shifted off to another shop. You get the primary studio that really understands about the franchise, and sometimes the other studio that takes it over can do well, but there’s something lost in translation, like the game’s soul has gone.

All fine and good now, but what happens when you’re offloading Gears of War 6 and Gears Of War Wars to other developers?

Call of Duty-style development is ’soulless’ says Bleszinski [Develop]