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Bah Humbug: Nintendo's Reggie Totally Mehs Halo 3 Sales
Halo 3 sales? We're impressedNintendo of America honcho Reggie Fils-Aime, he's not. Like really, really not. According to Reggie:Will they sell a lot of software? Certainly. Will it sell hardware? I think it's an open question... I think that the Halo 3 consumer already has the hardware, because they're playing BioShock and Crackdown and a variety of games that are, in the end, quite similar: first-person shooter experience, multiplayer capable online. Tell me what's new?We guess mini-games and little online support? Reggie Interview [Mercury News via CVG

Weekend Note: Weekend Note: No Place Like Home
To: AshFrom: FlynnSubject: Tattoos and a Long SnoozeSo I'm finally back from Tokyo, got in last night and the jet lag is just starting to get to me. I also got tattooed this afternoon so the mixture of endorphin rush and jet lag is quite a bizarre feeling. That being said I'm going to get to the weekend recap before I fall face first into the keyboard. Master Chief gets sex-ay! David Hayter's voicing Snake again for SSBB.Is Grasshopper working on Fatal Frame or not? We demand confirmation!Alright then, I am going to try and sleep off some of this oncoming jet lag and nurse the poor bleeding pin up girl on my arm. Have a great week and don't forget to trim that mustache (or moustache if you prefer)!

Korea: A Personal View of Nintendo In Korea
Cubed's Adam Riley has a great personal piece up on gaming in Korea - specifically, how is Nintendo doing? What's selling well - and why? From the sounds of it, the DS Lite is a relatively hot item (at least among the younger set). It's an interesting piece and well worth a read through:At last, a nice indication of the youth getting into playing with the DS, and the ages ranged from as low as six to as high as fifteen that day. Revitalised in my mission to learn more, I decided to ask my six-year-old niece to go on a mission the next day, asking people at her school if they 1.) Knew about DS and 2.) What games they played. Being the thorough girl that she is, she went around and asked everyone in her class. The general consensus was that basically everyone had a DS Lite, with it being the hot playground item right now and nobody bothering with other game systems. The boys all played various Mario games the most, with Super Mario 64 DS and New Super Mario Bros. being the...

Ghostly Visage: Update: New Fatal Frame Headed For The Wii
What with TGS and a week in Tokyo, this one seemed to slip by me, but hearing it now is very exciting. According to 1Up, Tecmo has hired Grasshopper Manufacture to work on the next Fatal Frame game which will apparently be made for the Wii. Once Grasshopper is done with No More Heroes, they will start full steam on the as yet untitled Fatal Frame. I am a huge fan of this series, especially Crimson Butterfly and the prospect of having it on the Wii is intriguing. Seeing how much I enjoyed the point and shoot aspects of Wii remote with RE4, controlling a camera with it seems like a perfect fit. And with Grasshopper Manufacture on board, it's bound to be a title worth checking out.Editor's Note: So, It seems that this story is a bit contradictory to what Suda himself told our own Luke Plunkett at TGS which was that his next project was going to be for the 360. Perhaps a portion of Grasshopper is working on the project but not Suda himself? An email missive has gone out to Suda...

Week In Games: Week in Games: Phantom Hourglass Edition
I'm so behind on games right now after Tokyo that I really shouldn't be buying anything new, but I fear that the siren call of Phantom Hourglass will be too strong to resist. What's on your game purchasing horizon this week?The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)Control Link with your stylus as he sets sail for a new adventure in this follow up to Wind Waker.Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PC)Take out the Strogg online.NBA Live 08 (X360, PS3, PS2, WII, PSP)The latest NBA game from EA.NBA 2K8 (X360, PS3, PS2)Ever notice these things always come in pairs?Project Gotham Racing 4 (X360)PGR returns for a fourth round of racing action.RACE 07 - The WTCC Game (PC) A racing game for the PC. See, I told you they come in pairs.MLB Power Pros (WII, PS2)Little big headed people playing baseball imported from Japan.Spider-Man: Friend or Foe (X360, PC, PS2, WII, PSP, DS)The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Crash of the Titans (X360, PS2, WII, DS)Crash Bandicoot spins his way on to the 360...

Beta: Battle of Shadows Open Beta Starting Today
CDC, a Chinese company who has a number of wildly popular games in their lineup, is bringing the online RTS/RPG Battle of Shadows (developed by Korean company N-Log, Inc. and known as Darkness and Light in Asia) to the US, and the open beta is going up today. The general manager of CDC's American operations says CDC "believe[s] Battle of Shadows will be a well-received game in the U.S. market because it combines the appeal of an easy-to-use and quick to play online game with the depth and intensity of RPG and the fun of MMO games." Full press release after the jump.CDC Games Launches First Online Game in the U.S.CDC Games USA to Start Open Beta Test of Battle of Shadows on September 30BEIJING & ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CDC Games, a business unit of CDC Corporation and pioneer of the "free-to-play, pay for merchandise" model for online games in China, announced today that its CDC Games USA unit will launch the open beta program on September 30 for Battle of Shadows,...

All Is Not Well: Korea's NCSoft at Crossroads?
There's been some mixed press for NCSoft as of late: their European arm has just gotten a hefty grant from a British foundation, but profits are sagging and employees in the Korean office have been jumping ship on a fairly regular basis. The Korea Times has an article talking to NCSoft's CEO, Kim Taek-jin. With a pretty high turnover rate for employees and profits stagnating, it would seem that the company needs to do something different - and soon.Other than the financial overload, the "Tabula Rasa'' project was one of the big reasons many employees of NCsoft lost their confidence in CEO Kim. He hired Richard Garriott and his brother Robert Garriott in 2001 by allegedly paying 16 billion won ($17 million) in cash and 1.5 million shares in stock options, worth 50 billion won. But the brothers failed to deliver the product as promised, and the project has been protracted for six years."One of our annual events is to listen to Kim saying: `This year, we will finally release...

Clip: NES Power Pad Commercial
Back before the ubiquitous DDR dance pad, there was the NES Power Pad. The Power Pad was so awesome that it transported you to a jungle gym style kids neon Thunderdome where you can battle your friends by running crazily in place. It was the ideal accessory made for such non-popular titles as Athletic World, Dance Aerobics, Short Order & Eggsplode, Street Cop, Super Team Games, and World Class Track Meet. Those all sound like great games to play after ingesting copious amounts of sugary Fruity Pebbles. Apparently, the kids in the commercial agree.

India: Indian Game Portal Gunning For Global Launch
Not content to let East Asia alone make a play for global domination, an Indian company called Zapak is getting in on the act: the online games portal is starting a wide-ranging plan of investment and development, aimed at opening portals in China, Europe, and the rest of the world, as well as development and opening more internet cafes:Rohit Sharma, the chief operating officer of Zapak Digital Entertainment, told DNA Money the company is also looking at investing in content developers for gaming, from countries like US and Korea, and has a kitty of $5 million to $10 million for the same.The ADAG-promoted venture is expected to invest $100 million in Zapak's three verticals -- gaming portals, gaming cafes and content creation -- over the next 3-5 years."We are launching a European site and a Chinese site and are looking to be a global brand very soon. We may also invest in some studios because software creation and ownership are key in gaming," Sharma added.It's nice to see...

Ghostly Visage: New Fatal Frame Headed For The Wii
What with TGS and a week in Tokyo, this one seemed to slip by me, but hearing it now is very exciting. According to 1Up, Tecmo has hired Grasshopper Manufacture to work on the next Fatal Frame game which will apparently be made for the Wii. Once Grasshopper is done with No More Heroes, they will start full steam on the as yet untitled Fatal Frame. I am a huge fan of this series, especially Crimson Butterfly and the prospect of having it on the Wii is intriguing. Seeing how much I enjoyed the point and shoot aspects of Wii remote with RE4, controlling a camera with it seems like a perfect fit. And with Grasshopper Manufacture on board, it's bound to be a title worth checking out.Tecmo Planning Next Fatal Frame for Wii [1Up][Graphic courtesy Asterick]

Lots And Lots Of Money: ZTgame Gets $100 Million in Venture Capital
ZTgame, China's third-largest online gaming company, has gotten $100 million in venture capital and is preparing to offer shares in their company to overseas investors who want to get in on the Mainland gaming action. ZTgame's most popular (and debut) offering is Zheng Tu, released last April - ZTgame declined to discuss the deal and what they will be doing with the money, but mounting a challenge to Shanda, the big dog in the domestic market, doesn't seem to be out of the question:ZTgame, China's third-largest online-gaming company, has secured US$100 million from venture capitalists, taking it one step closer to offering shares to overseas investors by the end of the year, sources said."Several venture capitalists and individual investors bought into this company through private placements in August," said Bao Fan, chief executive officer of China Renaissance. "ZTgame has filed its listing application to US securities regulatory authorities and could hold the share offering...

Voice Over: David Hayter Confirms He Will Voice Snake in SSBB
Koyakuite and avid YouTube comment reader Hunter, found this little juicy tidbit within the comments on Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter's YouTube page. A few months back, Hayter put together a rather funny video to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Metal Gear Solid and posted it on YouTube. Hayter seems to do a good job of answering back to his fans and buried beneath the "OMG are you really David Hayter?!?!" and "Will you sign my covers if I send them to you" comments, ArchdukeChocula01 posed this question: Hello David Hayter! I have to say that you are one of the greatest voice actors ever, and you do a great job as snake. I was wondering, are you going to voice Snake in Super smash bros. brawl?To which Hayter eagerly replied:Archduke Chocula,I am indeed voicing Snake in "Smash Bros." I've recorded it already, and I believe that fans of both games are going to be extremely happy. It's very cool. That's all I can say.DH And before you ask, yes, I have confirmed that this...

Only In China: Regulating China: 'Crackdown or Censorship'?
It's been a tough year for China's gaming world: intellectual property disputes, internet addiction boot camps, new government regulations, cafes and companies ignoring those new regulations, all punctuated by the occasional death-by-marathon-gaming. NBC has a roundup of this year's events, and brings up the broader issue of government censorship under the guise of keeping tempting materials out of the hands of minors and/or people who are going to game for 3 days straight, then drop dead of a heart attack:Though the rule is often ignored, Chinese gamers who want to play video games at Internet cafes are expected to register using their state-issued identity cards. These and other restrictions over the years have been part of what critics describe as a larger plan to censor the dissemination of materials deemed too racy or controversial by the government.The larger etchings of this supposed campaign were further revealed just last week when an article in the government-owned...

Coming Soon: Blu-Ray Savings Page Lists New PS3 Model
When it was revealed that Sony had filed a new PS3 model number with the FCC there has been speculation about exactly what that model would be like. Most clues point to it being a smaller, more reasonably priced version but there still haven't been any solid details. So, when exactly will we see said model?Website BluraySavings.com is currently listing the mysterious model # CECHG01 on its website as one of the players you can buy to qualify for their offer of five free Blu-ray movies. The printable coupon on the site states that the player purchase must be made between October 1, 2007 and January 31, 2008. Perhaps we will be hearing about this new model sooner than we think.