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Clip: No More Heroes Introducing Exciting New Wii Remote Integration?
If the actual rubbing of said oil is done via the Wii Remote, we're looking at game of the year here folks.

Contest: Last Day To Write for TGS Schwag
Today 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. Just look at what reader April has done with Sony's Booth Babe Human Wave:Everyone seems to have missed the real point of this exercise, which is a shame since it's such a video game cliche. So here's the strategy guide: One of these women is the REAL booth babe. She's the only one that's vulnerable to your attacks. Defeat her, and you will have beaten TGS...

Phil Harrison Says: No, We Did Not Force Rubbish Controls On Lair
It's a shame that, as nice as Lair looks, it's going to be remembered for one thing: how awful its controls are. Trying to fly a dragon using the sixaxis is like trying to wrestle a teflon bull that's been basted in cooking grease. Which begs the question: with no old-fashioned control scheme to revert to, did Sony force Factor 5 to make it Sixaxis-only? Phil Harrison says no: [It] was definitely not mandated by us. We've always said all along that the use of the Sixaxis is something that should be decided by the developer in tune with their creative vision for the game, so it's not something we would mandate. Pretty clear message from big Phil, that. Wasn't Sony's fault! It was Factor 5's.TGS 07 Phil Harrison Interview [Gametrailers]

Multi-tap: A Week In Comments (With Nomination/Ban Info)
Halo 3 Disc Read Errors RampantComment by mossbergmaybe they should have spent a little less on the ad campaign and a little more on the manufacturing of the disksSo...Why Exactly Is the DualShock 3 Coming Next Year?Comment by GraveIt's absolutely ridiculous that they'd announce this so far in advance and not make good on it til next year in the rest of the world. I only have the Sixaxis my system came with, and money is tight at the moment. A friend of mine was going to get his own so we could at least go back to playing Tekken and SF, but after this, he doesn't want to pick up one, and neither do I.Of course, being a PS3 owner, I'm always wondering what kind of wacky shit Sony's going to try to get us to put up with next. Lair and Heavenly Sword were both crushing disappointments, the PS Store is lacking a real selection of PS1 games outside of Japan, and demos still land weeks to months after they do on XBL. Oh, and Home is delayed til 2008. I heard that they cancelled Christmas,...

Player Hater: Gabe Newell Explains Why Valve Hates The Mac
Valve are super-big on PCs. They've made their name on the platform, and they love it to bits. But what about the Mac? Unlike other big PC names like Blizzard and EA, Valve's titles never see official Mac releases. The reason? Apple can't seem to get their shit together: ...they seem to think that they want to do gaming, but there's never any follow through on any of the things they say they're going to do. That makes it hard to be excited about doing games for their platforms. I bet it would! Mac fans, as hard as this may be for you, you're going to have to blame great mother Apple for your platform's Half-Life deficiency.Gabe Newell Valve Interview - Orange Box [Kikizo]

Attempting To Control Excitement Levels: Advance Wars 2 Real, Playable In France
The 2007 Micromania Games Show is going down in Paris right now. Most of the stuff on-hand is old-ish, but one game there, it's brand new. So new we'd previously only heard its very name, and knew nothing of its details or appearance. That game: Advance Wars 2 for the DS, sequel to, oh, only the best game to ever grace the system. GAF resident Sad_Panda was lucky enough to get his hands on it: AW DS 2 did receive a compelte overhaul in terms of design. Gone are Max, Andy and the others, replaced by a whole new crew. IS went with a whole new, more realistic, miltary look, and quite frankly, it seemed like a pretty wise move. Graphically-wise, the look went with the new design, though it looked pretty much the same. New combat animations were pretty low-quality though, blurry and badly animated. Surely that's gonna be fixed by the time it comes out. Had time to notice a new unit - bike infantry unit - and that pretty much sums it up. A new look? New characters? It's not like I...

Contest: Halo 3 Contest Reminder!
Don't forget to enter our Halo 3 schwag contest and win, well, Halo 3 schwag. Imagine that! All you have to do is answer questions about Fahey. Regular readers, you should know this stuff! The questions are:1. What was the nickname of the blond football player who was on hand at the launch to play Halo 3 against his teammates?2. Who does Fahey's body take orders from?3. What did the upper classmen in Fahey's high school use as an excuse to repeatedly kick the lower classmen "in the junk?"4. Which of Snake's special moves in Super Smash Brothers Brawl is Fahey's favorite?5. Whose phone number does Fahey ask for after hearing of a Wii remote mishap in Colorado?6. What video game movie opened this past weekend and how much did it take in at the Box office?7. What did Fahey ask us to bring him back from Japan after the night of the Kotaku Japan party?8.What kind of fingers does Fahey have?9. How many calculation a second would everyone in the world need to do to achieve the petaflop...

Clip: Rock Band's Character Customisation
Yes, I'm looking forward to Rock Band's DLC. And its drum kit. But strangely, the thing I'm looking forward to most is its character creation utility. See, I didn't like Guitar Hero's band (with the exception of the beardy bass player), because they weren't my people. Were Brothel Fire a real band, no man in tight leather pants would be anywhere near the microphone. With this, though? We're all good.

Launch Day: New York Phantom Hourglass Launch Spectacular
Halo 3 isn't the only game that gets a fancy shmancy New York City launch event. Nintendo is kicking off the release of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass with a party on Sunday the 30th at the Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Plaza. Fans will be able to get their picture taken with a Link facsimile, participate in costume contests and trivia quizzes, and from 2-4PM they'll be able to buy the game a day before release! The event runs from 1-4PM, with the costume contest taking place during the last hour, so you have extra time to squeeze into those tights. The only reason I didn't stay after the Halo event for this launch is that I am pretty damn exhausted. I'll be there in spirit though, even if I end up sleeping past 4PM.

Third Party Is No Party: Nintendo Says Get to the Back of the Box [Update]
Nintendo knows it. People buy Nintendo consoles to play Nintendo games. So no wonder third parties don't get much respect! Mike Wilson from developer GameCock explains the situation:...we discovered that it's actually the letter of the law with Nintendo to put the publisher's name on the front of the box and the spine, and the developer only on the back. Obviously, this flies in the face of our philosophy of who deserves the credit, and how gamers can actually see who made the game they love or hate, and thereby develop a relationship with their favorite artists, just like authors, musicians, directors, and so on. Nintendo of America says it's a customer service issue, and they believe people might try to call the developer if they have a problem with the game, and they want them to call the publisher, who is the licensee of NOA.Sure, it's a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval thing, but c'mon. Seems like unnecessary branding on Nintendo's part — like they're taking...

Tgs07: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles Hands-On Again
From the get go, I've had my doubts about Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. This past weekend's Tokyo Game Show represented my third chance at going hands-on with the survival horror spin-off, with my impression of the game changing very little. Now, with the exception of Wario Ware Smooth Moves and Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, I'm not a motion control convert. And the Wii Zapper? I'd rather just not discuss it. At TGS, I finally got to experience the game with the third control scheme, using the nunchuk and Wii-mote sans Zapper.Game Developer Magazine editor Brandon Sheffield was kind enough to be my goth sidekick, braving a long walk through sunlight to act as the Rebecca to my Carlos. We worked our way through the majority of the zombie infested train level from Resident Evil 0, ultimately losing to the end-of-level boss, a giant scorpion with a sensitive stinger.Along the way, we unceremoniously shot stuff, often confusing one another's reticles for...

Machinima: That Was Daniel
From Robert Stoneman and Lit Fuse Films comes the second video in the Rusty Whispers series, Daniel. You may remember the first film, Rusty Whispers - Dennis, which I enjoyed terribly. Something of the Dennis charm is lost in this second video I fear. It features a similar character...a loner who lives in a remote place as the war is going on...but the feel is a bit off. The whole thing has an air of foreboding somehow. Very well crafted and narrated, just not Dennis.

The Impressions: Silent Hill: The Arcade Hands-On Impressions
Konami's psychological horror adventure series Silent Hill may seem like an odd choice for an arcade port. Combat and gunplay in the Silent Hill games generally runs from suck to medium suck. Silent Hill: The Arcade is little more than blowing the heads off of dozens of knife-wielding nurses, bugs, slugs and bandaged demon dogs... and that's okay. The arcade-only journey to Silent Hill smacks very much of The House of the Dead 2 with it's rapid fire and reload action, rivaling that game for worst voice acting ever.The story set up that no one cares about is that our male lead Eric has been having nightmares about a girl falling off of a steam boat, drowning in the rivers of Silent Hill. He wakes up in the hotel that's made a number of appearances in the series, only to be thoroughly confused by the newly creeping fog. Some of his shitty friends gone missing and the only way to remedy the situation is to shoot stuff. The obligatory little girl who looks just like some dead kid...

Why Halo Works: The Rocky Explores Halo's Appeal
It's obvious from reading the comments posted after every Halo 3 story that some of us don't understand the appeal of the series - after all, it's just an FPS, isn't it? Over at The Rocky Mountain News, some guy named Brian Crecente discusses the broad appeal of the franchise with Bungie's Frank O'Connor, breaking the whole thing down into five, easy to understand categories. The article explores how story, character, AI, gadgets, and approachability combine to form Captain Planet make Halo the huge hit it is with fans across the globe. Keep in mind that Crecente is a freelance contributor to The Rocky Mountain News, so the article might not be up to the publication's high standards. I suggest he stick to his day job. FIVE WAYS HALO HAS REDEFINED GAMING - [The Rocky Mountain News]

Sales Plus: Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart
While in Japan this week, we saw four times as many commuters sporting PSPs as we did ones rocking the Nintendo DS. Must be that half million strong group of gamers hooked on Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Or maybe it was due to a strong debut from Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus, which snuck in just behind Square-Enix's PSP hit. Plenty of new debuts this week, including Mario Strikers Charged which had a solid, if unspectacular first week. Top ten before the jump, twenty more after.Here are the weekly sales for September 17th through the 23rd, courtesy of Media Create.01. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) - 109,000 / 595,00002. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (PSP) - 93,000 / NEW03. Pokmon Fushigi no Dungeon: Toki no Tankentai (DS) - 85,000 / 385,00004. Pokmon Fushigi no Dungeon: Yami no Tankentai (DS) - 75,000 / 344,00005. Katekyoo Hitman Reborn!! DS Flame Rumble Kaien Ring Soudatsuen! - (DS) - 31,000 / NEW06. Mario Strikers Charged (Wii) - 28,000 / NEW07. Kiniro...

RPG DLC: Blue Dragon Gets Harder
I had wondered how RPGs would capitilize on today's consoles' ability to provide downloadable content. Microsoft has provided an interesting answer, adding three new difficulty levels to Blue Dragon in the form of free downloadable content. The three new levels are:Game Plus - Allows players to start their game over using a saved game from near the end of "Blue Dragon"Hard game - Allows players to play at a difficulty level that is twice as high as the originalImpossible game - The ultimate in difficulty, meant to be played starting at level 50 or higherQuite a nifty way to extend the life of a game without making the player pay for extra, isn't it? Almost gives me the will to try struggling through it once more.

Hairy Brawls: Dojo Dump: Double Final Smash With A Triple
Plenty of variety in this week's edition of the Dojo Dump, but much of it's seemingly "inside baseball." No new characters, but the more recent reveals get some fresh new details. Plus, the Mr. Resetti gag makes it a must see. It may turn out to be one of those "you had to be there" kind of things, but it adds an extra layer of laudable weirdness to the game.On with the Dump!Monday: Nintendo ups the ante with an even deeper Trophies mode. Hey, it's Tingle!Tuesday: Diddy Kong's Final Smash shows he's a handful with a peanut popgun and some rocket barrels.Wednesday: Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing is added to the list of Assist Trophies. He lectures apparently.Thursday: The Pokmon Trainer's Final Smash calls in Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard for a devastating blow. Yup.Friday: The Tourney mode is teased and it looks extra special.

Rule Britainnia: Lord British Heading For Outer Space
While it's been talked about for quite some time, industry legend and slightly eccentric rich guy Richard "Lord British" Garriott is heading into space. Through space experiences company Space Adventures, Garriott is scheduled to take off on the world's first private spaceflight to the International Space Station in October of 2008. "I am dedicating my spaceflight to science," said Mr. Garriott. "It is my goal to devote a significant amount of my time aboard the space station to science, engineering and educational projects. I understand the necessity for conducting research in extreme environments whether it is collecting microorganisms from deep sea hydrothermal vents to carrying out experiments in the continuous micro-gravity of Earth orbit."Whatever dude, you're going into outer space! Rock! Garriott's father Owen is a former NASA astronaut himself, and is understandably proud of his offspring. "I am so pleased that he is able to embrace this himself and that he is dedicating...

Budget Rock: Rock Band Officially Priced & Dated
The rumors of Rock Band's $200 price tag have been greatly... over estimated. While retailers like Amazon and Gamestop were listing the game with a tentative price of two Benjamins plus tax, MTV has now made it official. Rock Band for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 will retail for a more affordable $169.99, a price that includes the game, a drum kit, the microphone and a guitar controller. MTV games blogger Stephen Totilo broke the news earlier today of the final price, also tossing us a release date bone of November 23rd, making for an extra painful Black Friday shopping experience.PlayStation 2 owners get a lick of good news, too, with Rock Band for that last-gen console bumped up to December 10th of 2007 for $159.99. Me? I'll be rocking out with the taste of turkey sandwiches and cranberry sauce the day after Thanksgiving on my PS3. Finally, something to be thankful for."Rock Band" PS3/Xbox360 Price Set, PS2 Release Moved Up To 2007 [MTV Multiplayer]

Rock Band: Rock Band Officialy Priced & Dated
The rumors of Rock Band's $200 price tag have been greatly... over estimated. While retailers like Amazon and Gamestop were listing the game with a tentative price of two Benjamins plus tax, MTV has now made it official. Rock Band for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 will retail for a more affordable $169.99, a price that includes the game, a drum kit, the microphone and a guitar controller. MTV games blogger Stephen Totilo broke the news earlier today of the final price, also tossing us a release date bone of November 23rd, making for an extra painful Black Friday shopping experience.PlayStation 2 owners get a lick of good news, too, with Rock Band for that last-gen console bumped up to December 10th of 2007 for $159.99. Me? I'll be rocking out with the taste of turkey sandwiches and cranberry sauce the day after Thanksgiving on my PS3. Finally, something to be thankful for."Rock Band" PS3/Xbox360 Price Set, PS2 Release Moved Up To 2007 [MTV Multiplayer]

Get Ready: What Are You Playing This Weekend?
It's gonna be a hell of a weekend. While my body adjusts to Pacific Daylight Time—curse you Japan Time!—I'm sure to have bouts of insomnia. I suppose I could complain, but I'm sure it will afford me the opportunity to squeeze in some gaming while the better half is zonked out. I only picked up a handful of things while in Japan—Parodius Portable and Sega Ages: Space Harrier Collection—but I'm fully caught up in Jeanne D'Arc and, of course, Picross DS. Plus I have Tokyo Bananas to eat!Console time sounds unlikely, despite my wishes to wrap up Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, but exciting new developments may be brewing in that regard. Could my second HDMI port finally find a mate in an Xbox 360 Elite? Maybe! Since I'll be checking the comments on the post around 4 AM my time as my body goes "WTF?", I'd love to know what you're playing this weekend.

2D Fighting: SNK Brings 2 To North American PS2
While King of Fighters XII is coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 in a few years, for the time being SNK is continuing to dole out the PS2 love. Today they announce that King of Fighters XI and NEOGEO Battle Coliseum are both head to North American PlayStation 2 consoles. KOF XI is the 11th title in the main King of Fighters series (duh), sticking to the 2D we all know and love while adding in new factors like the Quick Shift, Saving Shift, and the Dream Cancel, which takes Super Cancels to a whole new level. Battle Coliseum is a NEOGEO fan's wet dream, featuring 2 on 2 battles with characters from World Heroes, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Samurai Showdown, Last Blade, Metal Slug, Kizuna Encounter, and my personal favorite SNK fighter, Garou: Mark of the Wolves. The game boasts 40 characters across 13 games for a truly awesome roster of fighters. The game was already released in Japan and Europe, so this Fall it's finally our turn. About damn time. SNK PLAYMORE USA Announces THE...

Tgs07: Tokyo Game Show Booth Run
galleryPost('tgsboothrun', 8); Apparently these photos were so prohibited they ate my hard drive, hence the delay in getting them up. For a public show, they were pretty anal about snapping shots of the booths. Even Jaleco gave us huff. But we pretended we didn't understand Japanese (or English) and kept shooting anyway. So here's Kotaku's TGS Booth Tour. It's just like being there, minus the misery of crushing crowds and moist, foul air.galleryPost('capcombr', 4, 'Capcom');galleryPost('konamibr', 4, 'Konami');galleryPost('koeibr', 4, 'Koei');galleryPost('namcobr', 4, 'Namco Bandai');galleryPost('segabr', 4, 'Sega');galleryPost('arcbr', 4, 'Arc Systems');galleryPost('jalecobr', 4, 'Jaleco');galleryPost('softbankbr', 4, 'SoftBank');galleryPost('sonybr', 4, 'Sony');galleryPost('snkbr', 4, 'SNK Playmore');galleryPost('tecmobr', 4, 'Tecmo');galleryPost('microsoftbr', 4, 'Microsoft');galleryPost('squarebr', 4, 'Square');

Dead Internet: Dead Island Website Lives
Techland dropped us a line to let us know that the official website for Dead Island just went live. Sure to be your number one source for Dead Island info, the site contains links to press stories, screenshots, videos, and community forums so you can politely discuss the game with like-minded fellows, or call them asshats. You can sign up for the newsletter via the site as well to stay up to date on important Dead Island news, such as website openings. Dead Island Official Website [Techland]

Rumor: Xbox 360 Core Discontinued
GameStop should just go ahead and put our tips email in their distribution list, because as soon as something interesting pops up on their POS system, we get a good four or five emails regarding it. The latest? Apparently an email has come down informing store managers to pull down any signage regarding the Xbox 360 core system, because once their current stock is gone there isn't going to be anymore. Seems like stores are preparing for the rumored new Core system, that comes with the 256MB memory card and wireless controllers. There are rumors upon rumors, but this one rings true.

Cosplay: The Japanese Cosplay Better Than You
I might never be able to go to a U.S. anime convention again. The cosplayers in Japan are making fools of you people here. It's embarrassing. Check out this Sephiroth, taken from GayGamer.net's TGS cosplay gallery. Look at how that outfit sits on this girl. Hell, even the wig looks halfway decent, which is extremely hard to do with silver hair. Are her eyebrows powdered silver as well? Damn. You just don't get that level of dedication around these parts. Most American cosplay makes me giggle. Japanese cosplay makes me begin to understand this whole Cloud and Sephiroth kissing thing the girls seem to like so much. TGS 07: Cosplay Gallery [GayGamer.net]

Clip: Beowulf Teases With Swords and Skin
newVideoPlayer("BWLF_teaser_trailer_gawker.flv", 475, 376); Talk about your teaser trailers. This one for Ubisoft's Beowulf, based on the upcoming movie, intersperses scenes of a slow-motion sword dropping in water, a sword being forged, and a naked woman with gameplay clips. The end result is far too choppy for my tastes, with clips switching too fast for me to be left with any real lasting opinion of it, other than wondering why digitally enhanced Angelina Jolie tummies with water running down them aren't a standard feature in all video games yet. Check out the official movie site to see how they've managed to delve into uncanny valley while using actual actors. Spooky.

Night Note: Yes, I Actually Like My In-Laws
To: CrecenteFrom: AshcraftRE: FluBummer about the colds over there in casa Crecente. Hope you guys feel better soon!Right now, I am at the in-laws place. We went to dinner at some fancy hotel. I really like my in-laws. Like really, really like them. My father-in-law is a photographer and has an office full of the latest Macs — I type this in that office! I think because he doesn't have a "normal" job that my why was able to accept me not having a normal job (sitting on my ass all day, writing about video games).What's more, her mother, who is fifty, is still really attractive. And not in a fifty year old woman still trying to be attractive sort of way. She's aged well. That was one piece of advice from my dad: Look at their mothers. The future looks bright for Mrs. Bashcraft! What you missed last night Street Fighter SpritesHP prototypeDudes in dresses doing Lucky StarShane Kim wonders about Microsoft Halo 3 profitsAh, John Howard...

Folklore: Sony Europe Wants Your Folk Design
If you live in Europe or the UK and have a knack for creating fantastical creatures of joy and wonder, then Sony wants your designs for Folklore. Simply create a creature that looks like it would be at home in one of those goofy fairies books you find in the hardcover fantasy section of your local bookseller, name it, and describe what special attack you would grant your creation by October 22nd. After that a panel of judges from Game Republic that includes Resident Evil and Devil May Cry executive producer Yoshiki Okamoto will determine whether or not your little monster thing has what it takes to be included in the game. Download the demo on PSN today to see what sort of things they find interesting. Just don't pause it and trace. I'm sure they're watching for that. Visit PlayStation Europe for more details. Wanted: Designs for a new Folklore characterOnline competition winner will see their design become an in-game character for the supernatural PLAYSTATION3 (PS3) thrillero...

Sponsors: Sponsors Thanks
We're late for dinner! We're about to head out the door, right now, putting on our mini tuxedos in the elevator and everything. See, we've got a hot date with our hot Sponsors. They've been hanging around all week waiting for this moment, and for that, we thank them! This week, Kotaku was wined and dined by Comedy Central, Energizer, TiVo, Touch Detective, Verizon, VW and World in Conflict.Interested in advertising with Kotaku? Click here to find out how.

Thats Quite Enough For You: Japan Losing GTHD Once GT5 Prologue Hits
Hey, Japan. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Sony have announced that when Gran Turismo 5 Prologue hits later this year, the free Gran Turismo HD concept download will be done. On September 30. Gone. Finished. No way you're going to be playing some GT for free when you could be paying to play a bit more! Sucks for Japan, then, but what about the rest of us? We haven't heard from SCEA, but an SCE Europe rep told us they "have no plans at the moment to remove the demo from [their] network". [Official Site, via Game|Life]

Double-Letter Bonus: DS Scrabble Offers Naughty Help Suggstion To Stuck User
Hasbro's DS version of Scrabble contains a help function. If you're stuck for a word, the system can check your remaining letters, check open spaces on the board and, only after consulting the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary, give you a word. That's just what Belfast resident Zachary McAdam did the other day, when he was stuck with five letters and no idea how to use them. The game's suggestion? "Lesbo". For real. Seems the term can actually be found in the official dictionary the game uses, offensive or not, so with the dictionary copied wholesale, "Lesbo" came with it. Not particularly scandalous, then, just...interesting. I had no idea naughty words were in the official dictionary. If I had, I'd play a lot more Scrabble.Slang word shock on Scrabble video game [Belfast Telegraph, via Next-Gen]

Humming: PSP Haruhi Game Invites Stalker-like Stares
Bandai Namco has posted a clip of its upcoming Haruhi PSP game Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku. The game boasts an original story with multiple endings, a volleyball mini-game and motion portraits that allow players to stare (yes, stare) at Haruhi character as they blink. There are two words for this and they are "fucking" and "creepy."Haruhi Game [Siliconera]

Listen Carefully: Sam & Max Season Two Dates, Details
Best part of Sam & Max: the fact it proved episodic gaming can work. Get a game finished, get it out in a timely manner, make it cheap, people appreciate it. The fact it was an adventure game, starring Sam & Max, was the icing on the cake. All of that means there were a ot of you big on the series, so Telltale would like you to know the details for Season Two. It will commence on November 8 for GameTap subscribers, and will be available on November 9 on Telltale's site. Following that, each episode will launch on the second Thursday of each month, first on GameTap then on Telltale's site a day later. Except episode 2. It launches on January 10/11, and it's after that the monthly schedule kicks in. The series will run until April, and include five games in all. Got all that? Oh, wonderful. It's too nice a day here to go repeating press releases.

Horrible: Seeds Gets Craptastic New Name
Clover Studios was Capcom's boutique team behind game innovative games like Okami and God Hand. What's more, Clover is a pretty nice name! When things soured with Capcom, the studio was shuttered and producer Atsushi Inaba, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya formed SEEDS. It was Clover reborn, and likewise it also had a cool name. The emphasis here is had. Over on the SEEDS official website, there is a notice that Seeds is apparently merging with IT company ODD Solutions ODD Corporation to form, brace yourself, Platinum Games. Yes, PLATINUM GAMES. The website says something like:On October 1, 2007, SEEDS Corporation will merge with ODD Corporation to create "Platinum Games," which will be a fresh step forward. More like a step backwards, amirite? Clover went from SEEDS to what sounds like a shitty PC game maker. And merging with a company called "ODD"? Strange! Any name would be better than Platinum Games — hell, they should've...

Courtroom Fracas: The Epic vs Silicon Knights Soap Opera Continues
While chatting with Mark Rein at Sony's TGS party, the dude asked us how long we'd be writing about Epic's legal stoush with Silicon Knights. We promptly answered: forever, Mark. Why? Because like any good courtroom drama, it's good reading. Take this latest development, with Epic seeking to have the entire case dismissed on the grounds that SK's argument is a load of old codswallop: SK's brief does not overcome the multiple legal defects in the Complaint. SK's arguments are factually misplaced and at odds with the law. The Court should grant Epic's motion to dismiss. Love it. Let's hope they can keep this up for the whole eight years.Latest Salvo Fired in Epic UE3 Case [Next-Gen]

DualShock 2 Pwned: Dual Shock 3 Is Better, Yo
It's nice to have the rumble back. Really, really nice. The SIXAXIS feels very, I dunno, empty?But now that we know the DS3 is coming and some of us have even gotten hands on, how does it compare with the DualShock 2? Is the DS3 rumble better? According to Metal Gear Solid 4 producer Ryan Payton:Absolutely, yeah. It feels better...And Payton knows his controls — he's one of the guys responsible for making MGS4's more intuitive. All the games I played at TGS with the DualShock 3 added what the French call I-don't-know-what to games. Not a fan of the SIXAXIS, not a fan at all. DS3 Is Good [1Up]

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.

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: 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!

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: 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...

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:...

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]

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.

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...

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,...

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]

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

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 maybe 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. You may have heard. Delayed launches, ridiculous price-tags and a dearth of quality games mean the PS3 hasn't exactly flown off the shelf. And still really isn't: because Sony's been reluctant to settle on things like a HDD size, on a feature list, on backwards...

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...

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]

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 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...

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.

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.

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...

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!]

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]

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...

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!

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...

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....

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.All done, but you can go back to Justin TV and watch the recording of my gameplay.

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.

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, '');

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]

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...

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...

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.

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.

Third Party Is No Party: Nintendo Says Get to the Back of the Box
Nintendo knows it. People buy Nintendo consoles to play Nintendo games. So no wonder third parties don't get much respect! Mike Wilson from developer GameCock explains the situation:...we discovered that it's actually the letter of the law with Nintendo to put the publisher's name on the front of the box and the spine, and the developer only on the back. Obviously, this flies in the face of our philosophy of who deserves the credit, and how gamers can actually see who made the game they love or hate, and thereby develop a relationship with their favorite artists, just like authors, musicians, directors, and so on. Nintendo of America says it's a customer service issue, and they believe people might try to call the developer if they have a problem with the game, and they want them to call the publisher, who is the licensee of NOA.Sure, it's a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval thing, but c'mon. Seems like unnecessary branding on Nintendo's part — like they're taking...

Shiny Happy Fighters: Baddest, Britishest SSFIITHD Sprites Unveiled
Can't get enough of these. Somehow Capcom are completely overhauling their Street Fighter II character designs, while at the same time keeping everything you grew so attached to in the originals. In this case, like Bison's cape. Or Cammy's ...biceps. I'd have liked a better shot of M. Bison, show his hat and scowl in all their HD glory, but maybe they're saving that for a later day. A special day. Cammy's above, Bison's after the click.Post details: Flying Dictators and their Clones (New Art Inside!!!!) [Capcom]

Mouth's Writing Cheques: Activision Talking Up Bizarre's New Racer
They don't mess around. No sooner is the ink dry on Activisions purchase of Project Gotham creator Bizarre than they're out talking it up. As you'd expect, Bizarre are going to be put to work on a racing game. How good a racing game? Why, a damn good one, of course. Activision's Robin Kaminsky: We believe Bizarre's development capabilities coupled with Activision's world class marketing and distribution resources should enable us to take the racing genre beyond where it is today. Let's hope she really means it, and doesn't just mean they'll take the genre from where it is and...add a few wet roads and some bikes.Activision: 'We'll drive rivals crazy' [MCV]

Sad: How Akihabara Lost Its True Otakuness
Akihabara isn't really all that, anymore. It's like post-Giuliani Times Square with fat girls in knee-highs. Nerds have been replaced with tourists, yuppies and couples on *get this* dates. Big business like chain stores have moved in, closing Mom 'n' Pop shops and adding a layer of gloss that didn't exist before. Hit book/movie/TV show Train Man made otaku cool, and Akiba culture mainstream. Journo Patrick Macias tackles in the issue in The Japan Times, writing:...what you can't find is what it was that made Akihabara buzz in the first place. It wasn't just anime, manga, and video games that built it, or continue to sustain it even today. Instead, Akihabara was the side effect of collective fantasy and private desire desperate to find expression through technology, through commerce, molded plastic, pixel, and drawing paper. Now, those dreams are threatened by a dull and dreary reality.Bummer. At least Osaka's Den Den Town still has its nerd cred. Otakool [The Japan Times]

Role-playing: Badass MGS4 Figures
Yup. Badassery abounds with these two. From Medicom, these are 1/6 scale and, like real toys, are fully articulated. Due to ship early next year, you can choose from Grandpa Snake or Raiden-with-the-killer-heels, but don't expect them to come cheap. Just...don't. In fact, expect them to cost you around USD$150-200, depending on how nice your local toy store and/or friendly online importer are.1/6 rah raiden and solid snake from medicom [TOYSREVIL]

Disclosure: (Early) Rogue Galaxy Impressions
I know, this came out in the US in January and in Japan last year, but here in PAL land? Only a few days ago. Which is why I got back from TGS to find Sony had sent me a copy of Rogue Galaxy. Good news? I'd been looking forward to this game! Bad news? It couldn't have come at a worse time, since I won't have a spare 100-odd hours until, oh, next year. Nevertheless, so far I've managed to plough through about 10-12 hours of it, and I like what I see. The localisation is pretty good considering the profile of the title. Voice-acting is great, text translation is also great. The cel-shaded graphics are nice as well, as they really help tart up the ageing PS2 and give the game a slightly more...I don't know, timeless look. Best part, though, is the fisticuffs, which keeps traditional JRPG turns, timings etc to a minimum, instead favouring an almost beat-em-up, arcade style of combat. Which for the impatient and twitchy like me is a god-send in a game like this.I'll be honest: I'm...

Clothes: You Too Can Wear a Kojima Pro Shirt
The Tokyo Game Show is over, but the t-shirt offers live on! That, that is a Konami Metal Gear Solid 4 TGS booth shirt worn by the Kojima Productions staffers. Not bad, eh? It says "Nice style" in Japanese on the back and has the MGS 20th Anniversary logo on the front. The shirt is available on the Konami site from October 5th to November 16th for ¥3,465 (US $30). I agree. Nice style, indeed!MGS4 [KonamiStyle via Famitsu]

In The Future, There Will Be Handhelds: Hewlett-Packard Unveil New Prototype, Vid For Gaming Handheld
Hewlett-Packard have done a little more marketing work on their prototype gaming handheld, which we first heard about in April, and which still doesn't have a name (though as you can see above it has been given a facelift). It's been given the job of driving HP's Mscape software technology, which transforms real-world footage into a game via a combination of its own sensors, GPS, and...well, I don't really understand how it does it. I don't come from the future, where everyday people carry shit like this around in their back pocket. Sadly the device is very much in the prototype stage, and may not even be put into production...at least not until the year 2019, when people's minds will be ready for it. Slightly fanciful promo vid is after the jump.HP Mscape gaming handheld revealed [Sci-Fi, via Gamasutra]

Rogue Galaxy Impressions: I know, this came out in the US in January ...
I know, this came out in the US in January and in Japan last year, but here in PAL land? Only a few days ago. Which is why I got back from TGS to find Sony had sent me a copy of Rogue Galaxy. Good news? I'd been looking forward to this game! Bad news? It couldn't have come at a worse time, since I won't have a spare 100-odd hours until, oh, next year. Nevertheless, so far I've managed to plough through about 10-12 hours of it, and I like what I see. The localisation is pretty good considering the profile of the title. Voice-acting is great, text translation is also great. The cel-shaded graphics are nice as well, as they really help tart up the ageing PS2 and give the game a slightly more...I don't know, timeless look. Best part, though, is the fisticuffs, which keeps traditional JRPG turns, timings etc to a minimum, instead favouring an almost beat-em-up, arcade style of combat. Which for the impatient and twitchy like me is a god-send in a game like this.I'll be honest: I'm...

Contest: Halo 3 Contest Reminder
Don't forget! We're giving a bag full of Halo 3 stuff in our Fahey quiz contest. What's included? 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 kitRationsHow do you win this stuff? By stalking the crud outta Fahey! To enter you need to email the answers to the ten questions listed below. 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. The winner will be selected randomly from the people who correctly answer all ten questions.The Questions:1. What was the nickname of the blond football...

Clip: Lucky Star with Dudes in Dresses
Lucky Star anime openings are a dime a dozen. But, this, this is different. This is epic. Apparently, it was done by a bunch of high school physic club members for a school festival. What it has to do with physics, I have no clue. Who cares? It's totally awesome.

Big Bundle: Nintendo Australia Announce Big Brain Academy Bundle Deal
Nintendo know all kinds of people are crazy for the brain games. Old folks, older ladies, people that go to the kinds of parties where you play Donkey Konga all night...they can't get enough of it. No doubt seeing a chance for a bundle deal and the subsequent extra cash they can make off these folks, Nintendo Australia have announced a Big Brain Academy bundle deal, where you can get a Wii Remote and a copy of Big Brain Academy on the Wii for AUD$80. Considering Wii Remotes are AUD$70 on their own, you're saving yourself some cash right there.

Bff: Final Fantasy's Nomura Digging That PS3
Jewelry lover and Final Fantasy designer Tetsuya Nomura believes in the PS3. That, and good hair gel! In an interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu, Nomura mentions the TGS 2007 FFXIII trailers which had "For PLAYSTATION 3 ONLY" on it. Nomura believes that having one team focused on one platform is an advantage — even if some players are disappointed! According to Nomura, the PS3 is totally necessary, and by using the hardware "all visions come true." What's more, Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII are oodles better than the previous FF games and "close to perfection." Perfection like that takes time, so we're not expecting it out before, say, 2009 or 2010? FF XIII [PS3 Forums via PS3 Fanboy]