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video games (Page 141)

Word of a brand new Wii U Zelda not so far away?

Philip Kendall
Jul 24, 2013
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While many critics are pointing to the underwhelming performance of Nintendo’s Wii U platform as yet another sign that the video game giant should beat a hasty retreat from the hardware industry and instead become a multi-platform publisher, recent news from the house of Mario suggests that there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet.

With dozens of new first-party titles arriving in the next 12 months, the Wii U is gradually beginning to pick up steam. But when President and CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata made reference to a brand new The Legend of Zelda title for Wii U in a recent interview with Britain’s The Guardian, people really started paying attention.

Global
(Iwata • nintendo • video games • Wii U • Zelda)

Capcom Japan offering limited edition ‘blood pillow’ prize to Phoenix Wright fans

Philip Kendall
Jul 23, 2013

Upcoming Nintendo 3DS title Gyakuten Saiban 5 (known in the English-speaking world as Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies) may still be a couple of months away from release in the West, but gamers in Japan are already charging their portable consoles in preparation for its launch this Thursday.

Developer Capcom, too, is helping fans get back into detective mode after their brief hiatus by asking visitors to the official Phoenix Wright website to investigate a crime scene and spot the contradictions in three witness statements. Those who can successfully solve the puzzle will be entered into a prize draw to win one of 50 ‘blood pillows’ designed to transform any sleeping gamer into the victim of a grizzly cartoon murder.

Japan
(Ace Attorney • contest • goods • Phoenix Wright 5 • pillow • video games)

Chopsticks: why every gamer should know how to use them

Philip Kendall
Jul 23, 2013

In an age when we do the majority of our multiplayer gaming online, sometimes separated by entire oceans and continents, there’s nothing quite like a bit of couch co-op or split-screen multiplayer. I refer, of course, to the act of playing games together in the same room using a single screen; something that until the arrival of cheap, reliable internet was the only form of multiplayer video gaming there was. Make a night of it with a few chilled drinks, snacks and a couple of pizzas, and you and your gamer pals are in for a great time.

But with this infinitely more sociable form of gaming there also comes great danger: the risk of gross, greasy controllers. I’m sure many of you can recall taking a controller from a friend or sibling during a long afternoon playing Street Fighter II only to find it positively dripping with perspiration. What’s even worse is when said hand sweat is mixed up with pizza grease and cheesy powder from the endless bags of Doritos and Cheetos you and your friends have been working your way though.

It is time, my gamer friends, to learn to use chopsticks.

Japan
(manners • video games)

Dozens of new Nintendo games available to play for free at Comic-Con 2013!

Philip Kendall
Jul 18, 2013

Nintendo has announced that it will be giving visitors to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con event the chance to get their hands on a number of as-yet-unreleased Nintendo games for Wii U and 3DS.

Being based in Japan, the spiritual home of video games, we’re used to feeling smug about getting our sticky fingers on most of Nintendo’s titles before many in the West, so you can be sure this news has left us greener than Luigi’s cap with envy!

USA
(comic con • nintendo • play • video games)

Sony coughs up US$375,000 to British authorities for security breach

John Stuart Translations
Jul 16, 2013

Withdrawing its previous objection, Sony Corporation has agreed to pay a civil fine of 37.5 million yen (about US$375,000) to British authorities after the 2011 security breach of its online gaming network resulted in the leakage of millions of users’ personal information.

Japan
(hacker • playstation 3 • Playstation network • playstation portable • Security • Sony • technology • video games)

Calling all retro gamers! 1,000 Nintendo consoles up for grabs on Yahoo! Auctions

Philip Kendall
Jul 13, 2013

Launched in 1983 in Japan, Nintendo’s Family Computer, or Famicom as it is more fondly known, quickly became a household name thanks to titles like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. Strikingly different in design to its Western counterpart, the NES, the Famicom’s low profile with its multitude of buttons and ridges and docking slots for a pair of gold and burgundy controllers is now considered to be an iconic piece of video game hardware, frequently bought and sold at auction or at used game stores.

While many gamers would no doubt quite like the idea of picking a Famicom up for themselves and reliving a few 8-bit classics, we’re not entirely sure how many people would be in the market to buy 1,000 of the things all at once…

Internet, Japan
(auction • cool • famicom • NES • tech • video games)

Gamers revolt after Nintendo prohibits the streaming of Smash Bros at fighting game tournament

Philip Kendall
Jul 10, 2013

Ladies and gentlemen, the internet has a voice, and it will be heard.

In news that is sure to be met with cheers from all around the globe, multinational video game company Nintendo has reversed its earlier decision not to allow the streaming of footage of popular brawler Super Smash Bros. Melee at the upcoming Evo Championship Series fighting game tournament in Las Vegas. And it’s all thanks to the power of the people.

Internet
(Evo 2013 • nintendo • Smash Bros • video games)

Buy, play, quit – 10 videogames Japanese players gave up on

Philip Kendall
Jul 4, 2013

With hundreds of game sites and magazines at our disposal, and with more amateur reviewers banging away at keyboards than ever before, making an uninformed purchase is now, thankfully, an extremely rare occurrence for any gamer. Gone are the days when we stood in the store nursing our pocket-money, studying the backs of Commodore 64 cassette cases and basing purchasing decisions entirely on cover art and postage stamp-sized screenshots; we have more information at our disposal than ever, and have only ourselves to blame if we slip up.

Even so, there are times when even the most informed gamer picks up a title that just isn’t their cup of tea. Be it the pacing of the game, an unorthodox control scheme or a steep learning curve, there are some games that we simply give up on and either trade in or shove in a drawer. Of course, Japanese gamers are no exception, with more than 15 percent of those asked in a recent survey admitting that they had unceremoniously dumped a game despite barely starting it. More than just a list of shame, though, the results of the survey turned up some great video game blasts from the past, not to mention a few titles so obscure that we’d almost forgotten they existed…

Internet, Japan
(difficult • Dreamcast • nintendo • playstation • quit • survey • video games)

We learn the terrifying secret of Silent Hill ramen

Casey Baseel
Jul 2, 2013

Since 1999, Konami’s Silent Hill horror series has been spooking gamers with its mysterious, reality-bending setting and plotlines, not to mention its collection of grotesque, otherworldly creatures like the appropriately-named Pyramid Head, a giant with a large, triangular head who stalks the game’s protagonist while carrying an enormous blade.

Konami has recently formed a partnership with a number of ramen restaurants across Japan to serve Silent Hill ramen. But just what exactly happens when you use a horror story that’s dripping with gore as the inspiration for food? We headed to Hajime, a Tokyo restaurant that offers the terrifying noodles, to find out.

Japan
(food • ramen • video games • weird)

Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX screeching into game centres across Japan this month

Philip Kendall
Jul 1, 2013

Start your engines, boys and girls! Long-running racing series Mario Kart is making its third entry into the arcade scene, with Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX launching this July in Japanese video arcades!

Japan
(arcade • Mario Kart • new • tech • video games)

The restaurant that powered the team behind one of Nintendo’s biggest hits

Casey Baseel
Jul 1, 2013

Kyoto has a long-standing reputation as a center of traditional culture, justified by its numerous significant temples and shrines, not to mention the artwork they house and their surrounding gardens. However, the city is also home to a site of great importance to modern pop culture: the headquarters of video game maker Nintendo, responsible for many of the titles that shaped modern gaming.

There’s a saying in Japan, though, that you can’t win a battle on an empty stomach, and that goes for designing great games, too. We recently visited the restaurant that powered the development team of one of Nintendo’s biggest hits ever.

Japan
(cool • food • Kyoto • nintendo • video games)

Dragon Quest slime salt and pepper shakers ironically perfect for keeping your spices dry

Casey Baseel
Jun 28, 2013

Despite “dragon” being right there in the title, the Dragon Quest video game series doesn’t really have an iconic dragon. Japan’s most widely-loved role-playing franchise doesn’t feature a particularly popular protagonist either, as each installment features a new, mostly mute hero.

Instead, mascot duties fall to the weakest enemy in each of the games, the lowly slime. Because of its cuteness and the almost complete lack of threat it poses to the player, the slime has become a fan favorite, with a shape as instantly recognizable as a Coca Cola bottle.

The franchise’s numerous titles for home and handheld consoles allow gamers to get their fix from the sofa or on the train, but now there’s even a way to enjoy Dagon Quest at your kitchen table.

Japan
(cool • food • toys • video games)

Nintendo Direct broadcast focuses on Pikmin 3, includes a moment of minor awkwardness

Philip Kendall
Jun 27, 2013

Yesterday at 8 p.m. Japan Standard Time, Kyoto-based video game giant Nintendo broadcast a brand new episode of its unique Nintendo Direct online presentation series, which the company uses to showcase new games and bring fans news on upcoming releases. Last night’s broadcast was somewhat unusual, however, in that popular Japanese comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto joined industry legend and creator of Super Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, to play a little of the highly anticipated upcoming Wii U title Pikmin 3. Today, as well as with discussion of the beautiful new Pikmin outing, online bulletin boards are abuzz after the conversation between the two men both raised eyebrows and got a surprising amount of laughs from viewers at home.

Internet, Japan
(funny • nintendo • Pikmin 3 • video • video games)

‘An experience unlike any other’ – Japanese gamers heap praise on The Last of Us

Philip Kendall
Jun 25, 2013

Even in the age of worldwide launches, the Japanese releases of Western video games and movies are notoriously late, with some titles taking months longer to appear on shop shelves or movie theatre marquees than in other countries. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is no exception, although mercifully this time Japanese gamers only had to wait six days longer than the rest of the world to begin their digital adventure, which arrived with the addition of a Japanese voice track for those who abhor subtitles.

One of this year’s most anticipated titles, video game fans the world over have followed The Last of Us‘s development closely, falling on teaser trailers and screen shots like the ravenous mutated humans that populate the game’s devastated urban environments. Finally, some 18 months after its unveiling at 2011’s Spike Video Game Awards, The Last of Us is in gamers’ hands. And, despite its design being Western in almost every respect, Naughty Dog’s tale of survival and emotional turmoil is wowing gamers all over Japan.

The following does not contain spoilers, but those who wish to experience the game with no prior knowledge whatsoever may want to ask a friend to check it out first.

Japan
(impressions • playstation 3 • The Last of Us • video games)

Microsoft does complete U-turn on Xbox One used game restrictions, approach to net access

Philip Kendall
Jun 20, 2013

In a move that has at once shocked and thrilled gamers across the globe, Microsoft announced earlier today that it is to scrap controversial plans to inhibit the trading and sharing of games for its upcoming home system, Xbox One. The company also assures consumers that they will no longer be required to connect their console to the internet every 24 hours to validate their software.

Global
(cool • news • video games • Xbox One)

Designer of Gamecube oddity ‘Doshin the Giant’ wants your money, will put you in his new game

Philip Kendall
Jun 18, 2013

As a big fan of Doshin the Giant, one of the quirkier titles to appear on Nintendo’s 64DD and Gamecube platforms, I literally felt my ears prick up when a member of the RocketNews24 staff uttered its name earlier today. Although we haven’t heard much from the game’s designer, Kazutoshi Iida, in the past few years, his latest crowd-funded indie title Monken is attracting a lot of attention online, with the creator offering investors a ton of freebies as well as the chance to appear in the game itself.

Internet, Japan
(cool • Doshin the Giant • video games)

Nintendo’s two new Smash Bros games have one of the coolest trailers ever

Philip Kendall
Jun 14, 2013

For many fitness enthusiasts, exercising in front of a TV while perched a Nintendo Wii balance board might seem like a bit of a joke, and we’re sure that yoga is the last thing on many gamers’ minds when they power up their machine. So when we first caught sight of the following video from Nintendo we weren’t quite sure what to make of it. As it turns out, though, as well as introducing not one but two new Super Smash Bros games for Wii U and 3DS, with new characters to boot, the video itself is actually quite awesome.

Global
(cool • nintendo • Smash Bros • video • video games • yoga)

RocketNews24 at E3: So much merch!

Cara Clegg
Jun 13, 2013

Ever the video game fans and hungry for news of upcoming titles and hardware, we sent our reporter extraordinaire Kuzo over to L.A. to check out the games event of the year. It wasn’t long, though, before he became distracted by the swathes of official swag on sale.

Thankfully, before he found himself completely over encumbered Kuzo was able to get a few snaps from the trade show floor. Check this little lot out!

Global, USA
(E3 • video games)

Acclaimed action figure animator turns his hand to Zelda 【Video】

Philip Kendall
Jun 13, 2013

The man brought us the jaw-dropping stop motion videos of battles between iconic Dragon Ball and Street Fighter characters has done it again! This time, he’s brought The Legend of Zelda‘s sword-wielding hero Link to play, and he’s got a sexy gun-toting pal with him…

Taiwan
(cool • video • video games • Zelda)

Xbox One delayed in Asia until late 2014, no release date for Japan

Philip Kendall
Jun 12, 2013

Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox One console will not be released in Asia until late 2014, despite the fact that it will launch in the West in November this year, it was revealed last night.