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Breath Holding: Shane Kim Says If No Halo 3 Profit, Then When?
For as much as Microsoft has spent on its gaming division, it hasn't really seen anything back profit-wise. From what I last heard, it had received exactly nothing. Good thing all the kids are snapping up that Halo 3! The console maker just *might* eek out a profit. Even Microsoft Game Studios corporate vice president Shane Kim is optimistic! Well, sorta. He recently told the BBC: It's far too early to say what the financial return will be for our investment... If we can't make a profit in the year Halo 3 comes out, then when will we? Um, never? No worries, Microsoft, just have Bungie make Halo 4, 5 and 6, and you're good as gold. Finish the franchise. Halo 3 Sales [BBC]

New Things: Nine New Things Hit US PlayStation Store
That's right. Nine! Of which two are useful (ie demos), one is cheap (a new MotorStorm car for 99 cents), one is fast (Ninja Gaiden Sigma Speed Pack), one is worthless (NBA08 tutorial), one is interesting (Eye of Judgement overview clip), two are mildly entertaining (Rock Band & We Own The Night trailers) and one is simply amazing (Iron Man movie trailer).PlayStation Store Update [PlayStation.Blog]

Confirmed: Japanese Halo 3 Works In US Xbox 360
Finally! I literally just picked up a copy of Halo 3. I got the Japanese version, because, well, I've actually only played Halo in Japanese. So Master Chief's voice would sound pretty goofy to me in English! Kinda worried about getting The Land of the Rising Sun version, because I'm using an American console. Good news: The Japanese version works like a charm on US systems. The menus are all in English as well — as opposed to Halo, which only has Japanese menus. Just popped it in, but I've heard the voice track is subtitled in English. So, those in the market for Japanese language games, there ya go!

Securing The 18-35 Vote: Master Chief Becomes Embroiled In Australian Politics
Opportune happy snap, or marketing gone mad? You, reader, be the judge. The large green man on the left is Master Chief. The short, old man on the right? Less popular. He's Australian Prime Minister John Howard, looking decidedly undersized (and a little apprehensive) stacked next to humankind's saviour. The pics were taken at a youth centre in Epping, Sydney, where the PM had just donated a 360 bundle to the kids there. Then proceeded to hog the controller all night as he whupped them on Halo 3, calling one unfortunate 11 year-old a "cockface" before being led away by concerned minders.

Contest: TGS Schwag Writing Contest Reminder
Just a friendly reminder than tomorrow is the last day to enter our TGS schwag contest. We've got a bag full of TGS stuff to give away. To you, perhaps! (Or you or you or you.) What are we giving away? A fistful of TGS fans -- including a Flynn used Metal Gear Solid 4 fan. What's more, we're throwing in a Japanese Halo 3 t-shirt, an Adventure Island shirt signed by Takahashi Meijin and a program on which he scribbled a pyramid describing the current market. There's a bunch of VERY RANDOM things as well. How do you win this? Send us an email at kotakucontestATgmail.com, pick a TGS post you like (include the URL) and write a paragraph on why it stood out. Look at what reader Nick B. wrote about Itagaki Unmasked:Ah Itagaki unmasked you say? I would sooner expect to see clear photographic evidence of the Tibetan Mountain Yeti's child fathered by the elusive Chupacabra (she doesn't care what you think, she loves him anyway). What do the linked images reveal? Nothing but a deliciously...

Short Sighted: Xbox UK Boss Says Wii Has "Definite Limit"
Interesting little machine, that Nintendo Wii. Doing better than the PS3 and the Xbox 360, the console is selling like hot cakes. No, it is selling better than hot cakes. No wonder UK Xbox head Neil Thompson thinks Wii fever won't last. Specifically, he says:Nintendo are doing very well and they've done a great job at expanding the market in certain areas, but there is a limit in terms of what you can do with Wii and there is a very definite limit on the expandability of that product.And right after that, Thompson calls Microsoft "the innovative force" in next gen console. Wii360? Whatever! Wii Won't Last [MCV via Games|Life]

Only In Japan: Simple 2000: The Japanese Hardware Chart
Well would you look at that. New colours and a new Final Fantasy VII game, and the PSP doesn't just shoot to #1 on the sales charts, it goes ahead and sells more than twice as many units as everything else combined. Who could possibly have guessed it? Well...us! Last week you couldn't shift your feet (awkwardly, and uncomfortably) on a Japanese train without bumping into somebody playing Crisis Core on their PSP. Or somebody watching the Crisis Core advertisements playing around the clock on their little subway TV displays. Or somebody trying to do both.PSP - 277,794DS Lite - 70,523Wii - 24,992PS2 - 11,373PS3 - 10,732Xbox360 - 1,687Game Boy Micro- 243GBA SP - 106GameCube - 68GBA - 33DS - 15

Less Of A Rumor: Best Buy Sort Of Confirm New 360 Bundle
So yesterday, a rumour pops up about a new 360 bundle (with Forza 2 & Marvel Ultimate Alliance) and a new 360 Core unit (with HDMI, 256MB card, wireless controller and five XBLA games). Both felt pretty solid. Mainly because we'd heard about the bundle one before. And the Core one, too. Today, a listing turns up on Best Buy's website for the bundle deal, the Elite going for $450 and the Premium for $350. They've since been taken down, but they were there, and short of Microsoft ever getting around to formally announcing them that's as good a confirmation as any that the 360's getting all bundled up this Christmas.New 360 Bundles For Christmas? [Next-Gen]

Nerd In Paradise: Flynn's Akihabara Adventure: Part Two
While the rest of my Kotaku brethren have returned to the respective homes, I am still here in Tokyo eking out the last bit of fun I can from this amazing city. You may remember last week I trolled the streets of Akihabara, ignoring all the "No Photos" signs and snapping pictures right and left at Super Potato. Well this installment of the adventure takes us to AsoBit City. Five floors of games, toys, action figures, costumes and gashapon machines. While this isn't quite the massive size of the Super Potato gallery, there's still some great game related toys and things to tickle your fancy. Keep an eye out for my Wolverine like head rising above some of the displays as I try to take a photo into a mirror without blinding myself. (Sometimes Flickr doesn't play nice with our galleries so I apologize for any sideways photos)galleryPost('asobitcity2', 4, 'AsoBit City');

Not Balrog: God Of War PSP Demo Done, Shipping Out
Cory Barlog has just posted on Sony's PlayStation blog that the God of War PSP demo is done. Finished. And not just done, it's shipping out. And not just shipping, but shipping out in collectors edition cases, the cover which you can see above. Course Cory's so excited he neglects to mention just where these are being shipped to and what's going on with a "normal" edition, but let's all guess and figure he means you should be able to pick this up at your local games retailer in the not-too-distant future.God of War: Chains of Olympus - Special Edition Demo Disc [PlayStation.Blog]

Day Note: Flu
To: AshFrom: CrecenteRe: Ore vs. Boku FIGHT!!Just like clockwork: I get back from a trip overseas and I get sick. I thought for sure it wouldn't happen this time because I was fine On Monday and Tuesday. But come Wednesday, and a day off, and I woke up sick. Trish and I were going to bike to Denver and back (about 32 miles round trip), but instead I spent the day trying not to fall asleep and sort of moping around the house.Oh, Tristan LOVED the stuffed Pokemon I brought back from Japan for him. You weren't there when we hit up the Kiddyland in Tokyo, but they had this mammoth Pokemon display set up with a bunch of oversized stuffed Pokemon that I've never seen for sale in the U.S. I ended up buying him a big Diagala (I've only seen the small ones here) after consulting Mark. Not sure why I consulted Mark since he neither has children nor plays Pokemon, but Tristan hasn't let go of his Diagala since I gave it to him.Of course I lied and said it was my idea to get it for him....

Pet Fight: Kitty and Puppy Love Explosion
Forget the Covenant. Forget the Flood. There is a war going on right here, right now. A war that has been waged for hundreds of years. It's time to choose where your allegience lies. Do you love puppoes, or kitties? You can't sit on the fence like Tri Synergy, who are releasing I LOVE Puppies and I LOVE Kittens on the PC at the end of this month. Both games feature young animals you must train, groom, and play games with. Both offer a treasure chest of rewards to the successful animal lover. The only difference? Cats and dogs. Visit TriSynergy.com and choose your side. Now it is time to finish the fight. galleryPost('pupkit', 4, 'Feel The Love');

Achievement Whore: Star Wars: The Complete Achievements
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga has got to be the most outrageous milking of a solid franchise I've ever seen. I mean they essentially took two of the games they already made and turned it into a third game and are charging full price for it. Of course I want the shit out of this game, even if they are taking advantage of my twin lusts: LEGO and Star Wars.In their defense (and mine), the game will feature things like Wii lightsaber fights SIXAXIS motion sensing and such. Of course there's also a chance to earn 1,000 achievement points on the 360. Hit the jump for the full list.

Clip: Mario & Sonic Trailer Features Mario, Sonic, Over-Acting
Look, this all seems innocent and fun enough, but makers of Wii games, if you're going to get people in to do these lifestyle shots you all think are so hot, do them properly. This is not doing it "properly". These people are lying. It's not fun to furiously waggle the Wii Remote and nunchuk to make a character run. It's tedious.

Impressions: Jericho Sucks Less Than I Expected
So I got a chance to play the demo for Clive Barker's Jericho earlier on my Xbox 360, and I have to say it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it might be. It wasn't anywhere near as scary as I had hoped, but it was still much better than Hexen. As an FPS it is pretty mediocre, with each character having two weapons to choose from on top of their various supernatural powers, and no jump button, which just made me sad. I just like jumping, okay? The graphics fall into the shiny school of next-gen, with everything glistening in the light of your weak flashlight. Enemies seemed pretty dumb, but they are reanimated corpses, so you can't expect much there. My favorite part of the whole demo was when one character, the female ninja Church, had to crawl through a series of tunnels alone to open a door, though the sequence was marred by the game's darkness; even with gamma up full I could barely see anything. While I'm not exactly impressed, I am certainly interested. I'll probably pick...

Pokemon: Snag Manaphy At Toys R Us Saturday
Those of you who follow Pokemon fanatically know what a bitch it is to get your hands on a Manaphy, the legendary water Pokemon who can only be found via an egg transferred from Pokemon Ranger. Well kotakuite Agies has informed us that this Saturday from 12-3PM, Toys R Us stores around the country are offering the rare critter via in-store download, along with $5 off any DS game you buy when you stop by to continue your catching of them all. Otherwise you either have to trade or suffer through Pokemon Ranger, which is considered in some countries an advanced form of torture.

Clips: The Almost Greatest Game Launch Ever
September 24th. One company gears up for the biggest game launch in the history of video gaming. A party of thousands is expected to celebrate this momentous occasion. The greatest FPS ever created was about to be released, and then Bungie had to go and screw the whole thing up. Sorry Cabela. We feel your pain.

Gallery: Orcs and Elves Screens
Electronic Arts just sent over new screens for their upcoming DS role-playing game Orcs & Elves. The id Software game was developed by Fountainhead Entertainment based on the uber popular cell phone game. While it looks like it has some potential, it didn't exactly float my boat at Leipzig when I tried it. Hit the jump for the fact sheet.galleryPost('orcsandelves', 4, '');Orcs & ElvesProduct DescriptionEnter an ancient and magical world where good and evil collide in an epic adventure with Orcs & Elves for Nintendo DS. The award-winning fantasy RPG mobile game, created by id Software and developed by Fountainhead Entertainment comes to the Nintendo DS, with more levels, weapons and fierce foes.Orcs & Elves offers a breathtaking dungeon-crawling experience for any fantasy RPG gamer, featuring an Award-winning storyline spanning twelve sprawling levels within an ancient Dwarven kingdom.As a young half-elf, a player will explore the ancient mountain-citadel of Zharrhara...

Defective: Halo 3 Disc Read Errors Rampant
A storm is brewing in both the Xbox and Bungie forums, where over a hundred posters have now verified that their copies of Halo 3 are causing disc read errors. lockups, and even the dreaded RRoD on their Xbox 360 consoles. From what I can glean from skimming through the 22 pages of replies to the original poster's problem, most of the people affected purchased the standard edition, though a few are reporting having the problem on both the standard and the LE version of the game. Some believe the discs are corrupting the data on the hard disc itself, as some have had their game discs replaced twice or more now with similar results, and removing the hard disc seems to keep the error from occurring with some posters. Some can load the game fine and play it for short bursts before the problem occurs, while others are finding the issue limited to certain game modes. Check out the forum threads for more info on the problems had, and hopefully some official response will be given...

Stats Feed: Today's most popular headlines are Halo 3 ...
Today's most popular headlines are Halo 3 Japanese Store Sell Out Shocker (19,142 views today), Sumimasen, Is *This* The Halo 3 Line? (16,043) and So...Why Exactly Is The DualShock 3 Coming Next Year? (11,082).

Crafts: N64 Controller Repurposed
When I was a little boy of 8 or 9, a sibling of mine who shall remain nameless bought me a kit that let me make and bake a Smurf statue for Christmas, under the condition that I make him what I now know to be a 'toker' with the leftover clay. Had I continued down that route, I would have eventually created the N64 controller pipe pictured above, obviously used to partake of natural tobacco products, only years before this. No, this week would be set aside for the revealing of my life-sized Master Chief bong, complete with blue translucent mouthpiece on the back of his neck with Cortana etched on it and a bullet hole in the chest that smokes when you light up. I think I missed my calling. The Controller Bong [Aeropause]

Gallery: The Simpson's Magical Powers
Electronic Arts has released a plethora of new screenshots of The Simpsons Game for the Xbox 360, showing off some of the special powers America's most beloved family will be using as they navigate the various dangers of the world of Springfield and beyond. So far I think Lisa has the coolest power. When I was a kid and my friends would have the, "What superpower would you have?" discussion, I was always in the stunning dolphins with a saxophone camp. galleryPost('simpsons927', 4, 'Looking For Their Place');

PC: Unreal 3 Collector's Edition Detailed
I have long not been a fan of collector's editions, but in general it doesn't really hurt anyone. Typically the collector's edition of a game comes with a better case, maybe a little figurine or poster or somesuch. The only time I'm really annoyed by the concept of multiple versions of a game is when one version comes with more bits of the game than the other, like extra maps or such.Fortunately, the Collector's Edition of Unreal Tournament 3 for the PC doesn't fall into that category. Their CE version comes with a ten hour video tutorial about game mods, a history of Unreal Tournament and behind the scenes stuff for the game. The history and behind the scenes stuff don't really interest me, but it's really quite clever of them to pack in a tutorial for modding, since that's what usually keeps their latest version of the franchise alive for so long.The PC LE version will sell for $60 starting in November in the US, Europe, South Africa, Australia and most other territories.

Liveblogging: The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass
Alrighty, I'm going to try liveblogging some Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass play on my DS Lite. No clue how well this is going to work since it's such a tiny screen and I haven't landed a capture device from Nintendo yet.OK, I'm going to get started now. Hit the jump to comment and ask questions, I'll try to keep an eye on the site and the comments to see what questions you might be asking. As always, don't watch if you don't want spoilers. This is my first time playing this part of the game, so I have no idea if there will be plot spoilers.

Contest: The Great Halo 3 Giveaway
We've got tons of Halo 3 schwag to give out. Instead of parceling it out over the next month or so, we decided to just dump it into one big box and give it away to one lucky fan of the series.Here's a breakdown of what you win if you're the lucky gamer selected:Halo 3-themed Xbox 360Two Halo 3-themed McFarlane Xbox 360 controllersA Halo 3-themed wireless headsetA Legendary Edition of Halo 3A Master Chief duffel bagMaster Chief dog tags3200 Microsoft pointsThree unused Halo 3 Slurpee cupsA coupon for a free SlurpeeA limited edition bottle of Halo 3 Game FuelA Halo 3 Game Fuel T-ShirtAn Xbox 360 notepadA first aid kitRationsTo enter you need to email the answers to the ten questions listed below. They come from the coverage that Fahey provided during and straight after TGS while abandoned at Kotaku Tower by the staff. Send your answers to kotakucontestATgmail.com with the words "Halo Schwag" in the subject field. Only one entry per a gamer. You have until Oct. 5 to enter the contest....

Exclusive: New Eternity's Child Character Revealed
In a world ravaged by global flooding, where the winged are hunted and killed by the wingless and murderous mechanical animals roam the land, who can an orphan with amputated wings look to for companionship as he journeys to find others like himself? Luc Bernard has revealed a new playable character for Eternity's Child, currently in development for the Wii. Angel will be joined on his quest by Rani, pictured above in the sketch sent to us by the artist himself. Rani is a boy who wants to be a girl, who joins up with the game's main protagonist Angel, helping each other reach their respective goals. Definitely a risky move on Bernard's part, but in a way it makes a certain thematic sense. A boy feeling out of place in the world and one feeling out of place in his body, both seeking a place to belong. Besides it's still relatively tame compared to his other project, The Rose Princess. Check out the gallery below for a larger view of the sketch, as well as a couple of new screens...

Clips: Squawk Box Talks Shit About Halo Players
newVideoPlayer("Squawk_Box_Halo3_Record.flv", 475, 376);Ah to be an underpaid talking head at CNBC, then I too could mock Halo players, derisively calling them first a "small group of geeks", then a "big group of geeks" and finally just geeks. Take that Halo players... burn!

Laugholympics: Mario and Sonic Events Detailed
Sega has revealed details on the game modes and Olympic events included in the upcoming Mario and Sonic At The Olympic Games, the historic meeting of the mascots. Six field events, three track events, and two each of aquatics and gymnastics around rounded out with skeet shooting, archery, table tennis, rowing, and Crecente's personal favorite, epe fencing. Omissions that make me sad include diving, weightlifting, and synchronized swimming, which would have made for an excellent Simon says style minigame. Speaking of minigames, players will be able to compete in said tiny games along with trivia and quizzes in order to unlock Olympic facts in the gallery. Exciting, I know, but you need something to do once you completed the challenges of Mission Mode, run yourself through Circuit Mode, and exhausted your favorite events in Single Match Mode. Hit the jump for more details. SEGA Unveils Details For Mario & Sonic At The Olympic GamesTMLONDON (September. 26, 2007) - SEGA Europe...

Halo 3: MIT Pranks Harvard With a Bit of Halo Lovin'
In the great tradition of decades of "hacks" (us, non-collegiate types call them pranks), the folks at MIT snuck into Harvard Yard on the day of the Halo 3 launch and dressed book-donor John Harvard up as the Master Chief, complete with a fancy Spartan Helmet and Battle rifle. What amazes me is how they manages to make the additions look like they were made of the same material as the statue.Halo 3 John Harvard [Thanks Jeremy and everyone else who sent in tips]

Playstation3: FCC Filing Reveals New PS3 Model
Several weeks ago we reported on the rumor that Sony would release a new model of the PS3 in time for the holidays, with a smaller, 40GB hard drive and a price point of $399.99. Now an FCC filing has been discovered for a new PlayStation model number, the CECHG01. While technical details and pictures are not present, the FCC report shows a diagram on pages 8 and 9, showing what had been tested on the system. As DailyTech has pointed out, the unit shows only two USB ports instead of the normal form, and no card reader is present, which could certainly indicate a trimmed down system for a trimmed down price point. We still don't have a hard disk size, though 40GB sounds like a reasonable bet. Personally I liked it better back when you bought a console and it was the same one everyone else had, but that's just me. FCC Filing Provides Peek at New PlayStation 3 Model [DailyTech - Thanks Nick!]

Industry: More Tomb Raider Bidders Appear
SCi Entertainment, now officially going down in flames as they confirm a net loss of GBP 29.1 million in the past fiscal year, say that Ubisoft isn't the only company interesting in snatching up the company and their rights to the Tomb Raider series.Electronic Arts, an unnamed Chinese company and Time Warner are all rumored to also be preparing bids for the company.Analysts blame, in part, the slow build up for the PS3 install base as part of the reason SCi is hemorrhaging so much cash."The larger-than-expected provision against capitalised development costs reflects the fact that the installed base for Sony's PS3 has taken longer to build than expected," said Panmure Gordon analyst Richard Newboult, maintaining a buy rating. "If a significant price reduction for the console boosts sales, then there is a good chance that at least some of this provision will prove to be unnecessary."Yes, thats entirely why SCi is going down in flames... the PS3.3rd UPDATE: SCi Receives More Bid...

Demo: Clive Barker's Jericho Demos Up
I can't remember a game in recently memory I've been conflicted about as much as Clive Barker's Jericho. I want it to be amazing and terrifying, but from what I've seen so far it could wind up amusing and terrible. Well now's the time to find out, as the demo for the game has gone up on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network (in Europe on Oct. 4th), and also for the PC via Codemasters' Website. The 360 demo runs around 885MB and has the Jericho team infiltrating the sewers and catacombs beneath an ancient fortress. Apparently you'll have to take full advantage of your squad's special talents in order to survive. I've got the demo downloading as we speak, so I will more than likely be back later today with impressions. This is it Jericho...it's go time.

Tgs07: Justify Your Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
newVideoPlayer("JustifyItagakiNew_gawker.flv", 475, 376);After a long Kotaku interview session, Team Ninja's commander and chief Tomonobu Itagaki justified his upcoming Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for DS. And somewhere along the line, if you study the video very closely, we make complete assholes of ourselves. It's a first, we know.

Unfucking Believable: Halo 3 Japanese Store Sell Out Shocker
Stupid, stupid me. With all that crazy Halo 3 hype in Tokyo, I thought I could just waltz into a store at 6PM tonight and walk out with a copy of Halo 3. Know: My neighborhood is wall-to-wall rad game stores. From my house, I can skip (yes, skip) to a Super Potato. But Super Potato doesn't sell Xbox 360 games, so I had to go elsewhere. Feeling confident, I didn't think it was necessary to get on a train and go to either Den-Den Town or Umeda. Surely, I could pick up a copy in my neighborhood. Who owns an Xbox 360? Me, and that's about it.Wrong.See those little white cards with blue writing on those Halo 3 copies? That means "sold out." You can check the copy of Fatal Inertia below it with red writing. That game, sadly, is not sold out. (Sorry Koei!) I actually was so not expecting this that it did not dawn on me that I should've asked the clerk how many copies were sold until I was driving home. Unwilling to admit defeat (c'mon this is Halo 3 in Japan!), I stopped by another...

Brain Training: Brain Age 2 Goes On Tour
You people aren't buying enough copies of Brain Age 2, so now Nintendo has to go and send the game on a publicity tour. Not only are they going the Tiffany route with a 50-city mall tour, now they've deployed Brain Age 2 to a Nelson J Salon in Beverly Hills, where I assume they've also provide someone to play the game for the customers as they get their hair done. They'll have booths set up at Alzheimer's Association Memory walks in Chicago, Austin, New York, Washington, and Los Angeles as well. You guys really need to start buying the game before...oh crap, it's too late. They've unleashed the Nintendo Street Team. Oh good, they're only going to the Long Island Fall Home Show this weekend and...the Atlanta Home Show. That's here, this weekend! See what you've done? Why didn't you buy it? Hit the jump to survey the pain you've caused. NINTENDO'S POPULAR BRAIN AGE 2 POPS UP IN UNLIKELY PLACESPeople Everywhere Find the Brain-Training Game EngagingREDMOND, Wash., Sept. 27, 2007...

Night Note: Ore vs. Boku FIGHT!!
To: CrecenteFrom: AshcraftRE:Know this about Japanese: There are many ways one can refer to oneself. In English, we've got "I." Save for the royal "we" or the third person, that's about it really. But in Japanese, there are buckets of ways to say "I," some more formal than others, some female-only, some male-only. It's fascinating stuff! Until recently, Mini Bash has been referring to himself as "boku" when he says "I." It's male-only and fitting for little boys. In comic books and cartoons directed at young boys, the characters usually refer to themselves as "ore." Thus, little boys think that saying "ore" is cooler than saying "boku." And they're right! Saying "boku" when you want to say "I" in Japanese is not nearly as bad ass as "ore." Though, coming from a four year old, it sounds, well, odd. (Coming from 40 year-old construction workers drinking vending machine sake, it sounds perfect.)Tonight at dinner, Mini Bash started referring to himself as "ore." Mrs. Bashcraft stopped...

Unfucking Believable: Halo 3 Japan Sell Out Shocker
Stupid, stupid me. With all that crazy Halo 3 hype in Tokyo, I thought I could just waltz into a store at 6PM tonight and walk out with a copy of Halo 3. Know: My neighborhood is wall-to-wall rad game stores. From my house, I can skip (yes, skip) to a Super Potato. But Super Potato doesn't sell Xbox 360 games, so I had to go elsewhere. Feeling confident, I didn't think it was necessary to get on a train and go to either Den-Den Town or Umeda. Surely, I could pick up a copy in my neighborhood. Who owns an Xbox 360? Me, and that's about it.Wrong.See those little white cards with blue writing on those Halo 3 copies? That means "sold out." You can check the copy of Fatal Inertia below it with red writing. That game, sadly, is not sold out. (Sorry Koei!) I actually was so not expecting this that it did not dawn on me that I should've asked the clerk how many copies were sold until I was driving home. Unwilling to admit defeat (c'mon this is Halo 3 in Japan!), I stopped by another...

Rumor: Mole Reports New 360 Bundle, New Core System
Ars Technica's gaming site, Opposable Thumbs, has a mole. A somewhat reliable one, too, unlike ours, which just digs half-finished holes in the yard and drinks itself into a stupor every day. Its latest report: that there'll be two new 360s for the Christmas holidays. The first is a somewhat uninspiring bundle, featuring Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance in a single box (like the old Jet Set/GT bundle on the first Xbox). Both the Premium and Elite will see this bundle. The second is a brand new Core model, which features HDMI, a wireless controller, 256MB memory card and five XBLA arcade games (Boom-Boom Rocket, Pac-man, Uno, Feeding Frenzy, and Luxor 2) on a disc. That second one sound familiar? That's because we've heard the exact same thing. So keep a grain of salt or two handy for the first one, but the second, I'd say it's inching very close to confirmation/announcement time.Mole report: Xbox 360 to get Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance pack-in [Opposable Thumbs]

Changed: Giant "S" Means Samus Wii Mod?
Wowzers! That's a Metroid Wii mod from modder Ramon. It's been painted Samus Varia Suit colors (red, orange and green) and even has a Wii-mote battery charger built-in. How's that for fancy? It's on the eBay auction block, but a portion of the proceeds goes to Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity. Sounds good, and all, but what's up with that giant "S"?Metroid Wii [Gizmodo]

Japan Halo 3 Launch: Xbox 360? Would You Like A Wii With That?
One of the more curious trends we saw at Yodobashi Akiba this morning for the Halo 3 launch was the attach rate... for Wiis. We weren't looking that hard, but we saw at least three people "jumping in" to the "HD era" while at the same time swimming in the "blue ocean" of "new gen." I couldn't tell you how many middle age gamers—or gamer parents—decided to go Wii60 today, but it was more than I had expected.Maybe Microsoft should focus more on the 40-year old Japanese housewife market. They seem to be into it. Want more proof? Minor anecdotal evidence (our favorite kind!) right after this.Looks like some lucky Japanese teen has mom wrapped around his finger. Too bad I was so focused on my mission of finding a Revoltech action figure of Dante for Flynn or I'd have begun a proper survey of Wii60 buyers.By the way, Wii was in great supply wherever we went. At the duty free version of Sofmap, we must have seen some two dozen stacked up behind the counter. Now...

Clip: Shoot Pikachu GTA-Style
Ah, yes. Lucky Star. Fairly innocuous stuff! Perfect fodder for an unsettling mod that puts characters from the popular anime in Grand Theft Auto. If that wasn't enough, how about adding Pikachu, Doraemon and Metal Gear. That tune from F-Zero is pretty jazzy as well. GTA with Anime Twist

Hi: Geometry Wars Resorting To Lolcats To Shift Units
Lolcats? May have had their day, but when they feature in official advertising for a Geometry Wars game, we can muster one last chuckle. Or two! This, and others at the link below, are part of Bizarre's Geometry Wars: Galaxies ad campaign. If they bring back fond memories of bukkits and cheezburgers, know they're accepting reader submissions.GWGcats [Geometry Wars: Galaxies Official Site]

Japan Halo 3 Launch: Tempered Halo 3 Japanese Mid-Morning Launch Madness
After cruising up and down the main drag of Akihabara and finding little in the way of lines, we hoofed it back to Yodobashi Akiba to catch up with the manageable crowd. The TV games occupy the sixth floor of the building, so we where wheezing and sweating after a series of intense escalator rides. Surprisingly enough, there was a bit of a morning rush. Throngs? No, but we weren't expecting throngs. Just the presence of hardcore Japanese gamers who have a taste for first person shooters and reject the national opinion of the Xbox.Yen and Halo 3 limited edition Xbox 360s exchanged hands at a moderate pace, with a handful of gamers simply opting for the game and the Halo 3 branded controllers.In Japan, the Halo 3 Limited Edition version was the way to go. For an affordable 6270 yen (approximately $55 USD), Japanese gamers get the nice packaging and fan service bonuses with their Japanese voice acted Master Chief. That's a pretty good deal, I'd say.Most of the transactions, however,...

British Gongs: BAFTA Games Nominees Announced
Nominations are in for the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Video Games Awards. I like these: the BAFTAs are proper awards, kind of like the Oscars, but more credible. So imagine if...well, not the Oscars, the Golden Globes gave out videogame awards, and that's what these are. Except in Britain. Anyway. Enough stage-setting, and on with the nominees. Might wanna grab a cup of joe, though, this is going to take a while.Action and AdventureCrackdown (Xbox 360)Gears of War (Xbox 360)God of War 2 (PS2)Orange Box (PC)Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (PS3)The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)Artistic AchievementBioshock (Xbox 360)Heavenly Sword (PS3)Okami (PS2)Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (PS3)Skate (PS3)Viva Piata (Xbox 360)Best GameBioshock (Xbox 360)Crysis (PC)Gears of War (Xbox 360)Guitar Hero II (PS2)Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Xbox 360)Wii Sports (Wii)CasualBig Brain Academy for Wii (Wii)Cake Mania (DS)Guitar Hero II (PS2)More Brain...

Clip: Boob Pillow, The Video
Remember this? Hell, how could you forget! That is a boob pillow for PC dating sim D.C. II -Da Capo II-, and those are women hands squeezing fake jubblies. But, it's just a picture, and pictures are so static — not giving you much of an idea of how these cushions really work. Well! Good thing we've got a clip! And it just *might* be NSFW depending on what your workplace thinks of boob pillows. My boss, no problem!The clip, dear reader, after the jump.

They Will Fight Them On The Beaches: Codemasters Won't Edit Jericho After German "Ban"
So Germany's USK have refused Jericho classification, which effectively kills the game there since it can't be advertised (at all) or sold to anyone under the age of 18. Think Codemasters mind? They couldn't give a toss. A statement issued yesterday reads: Following a review by the USK ratings board, which declined to give an official rating, Codemasters has decided not to change the artistic vision of the renowned author and filmmaker Clive Barker though cuts and extensive changes. Codemasters respects Mr Barker's creative ideas, despite the German distribution and marketing consequences for the title. Therefore Codemasters will release the PC version of Clive Barker's Jericho in its original form on the 26th of October for adult gamers and Clive Barker fans. Good on them. Overseeing appropriate content is one thing, but the USK are mad as hatters, so it's nice seeing a publisher telling them where they can cram it.Jericho Horrifies German Ratings Board [Next-Gen]

Ferrari Driver Says: Gran Turismo Ferrari "Too Difficult"
That mop of hair is Brunno Senna, professional Ferrari race car driver. So if anyone knows and understands what it's like to take the wheel of a real Ferrari, it's this dude. And while the rest of us, sit by and marvel at Gran Turismo's "realistic" Ferrari physics, Senna says "hang on there!" His opinion about GT?It's a good game but the biggest misrepresentation in GT HD is the Ferrari 599. It's overly difficult to drive, even if you put racing tyres on. It's almost as if the car has far more power than it does in real life. And the controller is really sensitive so it's not so easy to input the exact amount of power you want out of the car. It becomes a bit too hard to be fun. I love Gran Turismo — I have the fourth game and I've play it loads, and some of the cars are really good in the game. I think one of the most realistic re-creations of a car in the game is the Golf GTi and one of the Audis. They have the exact amount of oversteer as on the real car. Disclosure:...

Japan Halo 3 Launch: Sumimasen, Is *This* The Halo 3 Line?
Okay, Japan, we get it. You don't like Halo anything. This group—about 8 in total—was declaring its presence outside a Taito branded game shop in the heart of Akihabara. We figured this was it. We'd hit the jackpot and that come 10 AM, when the store finally opened, we'd at least get some shots of Akiba nerds rushing the sales clerks and 10,000 yen notes flying. Instead we found out why they were waiting.The Neon Genesis Evangelion themed pachinko parlor was about to open and it was running some sort of special event that ended today. Crap.In the meantime, we decided to claim "First!" at a couple more stores.First! This was MesseVision. We had stopped by the other day, with me picking up copies of the Parodius Collection and Sega Ages: Space Harrier Collection. It had an impressive Halo 3 set up at the register so we'd assumed that would generate some interest. Turn out was low.First!! We have no idea what the name of this store was, but it was selling "R-Type...

No Comment: Retro Tries, Fails To Crush Metroid Dread Hopes
That Metroid Dread rumour? The one where Nintendo were meant to be working on a New Metroid handheld title? And which was supposedly alluded to in Metroid Prime 3? Yeah, no. No dice. Seems there was a cock-up in the game's creative process, and something that was dreadful but not in any way related to any possible Metroid handheld games made it into MP3. Game director Mark Pacini: We actually had a fictional element of something else in the game that by a large coincidence could be read that we were giving a hint about "Metroid Dread" which was not the case. It's a complete and utter coincidence. Glad that's sorted. Kind of. See, they go on to make a complete mess of that explanation, stumbling over all kinds of comments like "That's all I can say on it", which will no doubt serve as further fuel for the faithful's great fire of handheld hope.Retro Studios Answers The Dreaded "Metroid Dread" Question -- And Other "Prime" Exclusives [MTV]

Japan Halo 3 Launch: The Line For Halo 3 Starts Here
We got up at the crack of dawn this morning to make sure we didn't miss a beat for the Japanese launch of Halo 3. It's rare for Japanese game shops to host a midnight launch of almost anything, even for the big guns like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, so we felt pretty comfortable waiting until the day of to beat feet down to Akiba. After a stinky stroll through the Tsukiji fish market, we ambled on over to Electric Town to take the pulse of Japanese gamers.Rolling up to the giant Yodobashi Akiba, we were presented with this sign. It tells you where to start the line formation. So what did the line look like 30 minutes before launch?It looked a lot like me. First! I mean... First, bitches!Surely, there had to be some hotter action that Yodobashi, and the line was in no danger of swelling, so we decided to creep around a bit. We were also scolded for taking pictures of a metal door by Slouchy the Japanese Security Guard, so we left. Off to AsoBitCity!

Rant: So...Why Exactly Is The DualShock 3 Coming Next Year?
TGS. Last week. Sony finally get around to officially announcing a rumbling controller, and you did one of two things. One is that you accept the news. Graciously. You forget that this should have been there from day one, that it was only absent because Sony stubbornly refused to settle a lawsuit with Immersion and that they...well, they sold you a lie. Straight up. And you're happy! You've got rumble in your Sixaxis!The other thing you do is remember all those things, shrug and say "Hmpf, well it's about bloody time". Then you see the Western release date of 2008. Then you get a little upset. Especially if you've got anything to do with the business of trying to shift PS3s.See, the PS3 hasn't had the easiest of times. Delayed launches, ridiculous price-tags, a dearth of quality games, indecision and confusion around feature sets and, well, a controller that waggled but didn't rumble mean the PS3 isn't exactly flying off the shelf. This, though? This was a chance to set things...

No Dice: No PS3-PC Cross-Platform Play For UTIII
The prospect of PC users going toe-to-toe with PS3 gamers in a game of Unreal Tournament III was always a possibility, but never certain. So your knickers shouldn't get too twisted at the news the game won't support the feature when it launches. Mark Rein (posted from an IRC transcript, if you're wondering about his statement writing): The biggest challenge in doing cross platform play is syncronizing the builds such that the build on the PC is 100% compatible with the build on the PS3. Unfortunately (or fortunately) when you games on console you have a lengthy certification process to go through each time you release anything new... We looked at how this would impact our ability to respond quickly to things happening at internet speed on the PC side of the equation and realized that would not be in the best interests of our very loyal PC user base because we would constantly be holding on to updates to wait until they passed cert on the console platform. PC users, Rein and...

Japan Halo 3 Launch: Can You Find The Halo 3 Billboard In Akihabara?
Master Chief certainly doesn't have the same influence that other video game heroes do in Japan. He's just another hideously designed robo-man in sea of crappy mecha. This billboard for Halo 3—the only one we've seen in Akihabara during our moments passing from ecchi bookshop to ecchi hobby store—got the same tender loving care we've come to expect from Japan when it comes to the Xbox 360.This wasn't an intentionally poorly chosen shot, I promise. This is literally the best angle you get on the billboard outside Yodobashi-Akiba. You'd think that for the Japanese launch of Halo 3 that Microsoft could have thrown its weight around and had this pruned. Maybe for Halo 4.