#arenanet
Now that I've posted my impressions of playing one at Gamescom, ArenaNet has gone ahead and posted the official reveal of the next Guild Wars 2 class, the Necromancer. More »
In case yesterday's announcement of two Naruto Shippuden games wasn't sufficient Naruto news for you, Namco Bandai announced the release date for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 for Xbox 360 and PS3. Fans will be able to take control of Naruto and, um, all those other characters on October 19.
If you'd like to experience a sample of the Ultimate Ninja Storm -- an Ultimate Ninja Drizzle, perhaps, or Scattered Ultimate Ninja Showers -- Namco Bandai also announced that a demo for the CyberConnect2-developed fighting game is available now on both PSN and Xbox Live.
#mma
Recently, the CEO of MMA promotion Strikeforce mentioned he'd visited Cowboys Stadium. As Strikeforce is a licensing partner of the upcoming EA Sports MMA, some took that to mean the site might show up in the game. They're right. More »
Playboy, otherwise known as "that stack of mags you hide from your mom under the mattress," is stretching out beyond the flesh game and into the online gaming game. A press release (past the break) announces intentions to offer online games through a new games label, which Playboy will formally announce later on this year.
In the meantime, Playboy is teaming up with Bigpoint, which is currently working on Battlestar Galactica Online yet offers other free-to-play games via its own web portal -- which Playboy will now also distribute through its domain. The first game to get the red carpet treatment is Poisonville (link is probably NSFW) with "select titles" available in the future. Playboy also mentions other "development partnerships" in the coming months."
"Gaming is a growing, mainstream area. And part of our plan is to extend Playboy's brand into the mainstream," Paul H. Lee, Playboy's managing director for new digital ventures, told PaidContent. "Previously, Playboy's gaming interests included a few licensing deals and some editorial in the form of gaming reviews. But there was no clear, over-arching strategy in place. With Bigpoint, we've established a clear path in terms of where we want to go." Apparently, the 18-35 male audience Playboy has is also into gaming. Hey, we're just as surprised as you guys!
Jokes aside, Lee said that Playboy is investing a "significant" amount in this new venture. Here's hoping it works out for 'em, because we're not really sure what they could fall back on if things go south -- oh, right.
#capcom
Found over on the e-Capcom online store for Capcom Japan, this adorable little soft book cover includes a button, picture of Chibiterasu's cub face and a bookmark that looks like his tail. More »
ND Cube, the developer behind the Nintendo-published Wii release Wii Party, has been brought into the Big N's fold, according to a new "Iwata Asks" feature on the console-maker's Japanese site. In it, it's revealed that Nintendo has purchased a 96 percent stake in ND Cube, effectively becoming its new owner. (We're counting the days until Nintendo renames it "ND Wii.")
The purchase comes after brisk sales of Wii Party, to the tune of 320k copies sold in its first week on shelves. The game was announced for North American release during E3 and is scheduled to arrive on these shores October 3.
#clips
Two new all-gameplay videos from Valve show a couple of tools you'll be using in Portal 2, both of which launch you through the air. Some creative use, in conjunction with the portal gun, is required. Isn't it always? More »
Your task isn't nearly as daunting as the one facing Bizarre's Bond in Blood Stone. The iconic spy is sent to Istanbul to intercept the sale of "mission-critical biotechnology," and is granted inevitably catastrophic permission to do so "by any means necessary." The only thing in Istanbul we don't feel sorry for is the drill on loan from Total Recall.
#podcast
Crecente and I hosted the latest Kotaku Talk Radio podcast today, and now you can download the one-hour show to hear us talk Gamescom, Halo Reach and both the future and noisiness of jetpacks. More »
If Square Enix is going to get Parasite Eve and its sequel onto PSN as PSOne Classics before the third game in the series ships, in only has a few months left to do so. The 3rd Birthday producer Yoshinori Kitase has confirmed that his game will release on PSP in Japan "winter this year."
Speaking to VG247, Kitase remarked that "The Japanese version's going to come out in winter this year," adding, "And we've already started localising the game for overseas versions. So we're hoping to release it sometime rather soon after the Japanese release, but we can't specify an exact time." He did, however, confirm that an international release will happen within 2011. Also, Kitase's comment regarding localization having already begun is pretty much in line with the faster turn-around Square-Enix has been targeting for global availability of its games in recent years.
We'll have a more specific -- hopefully international -- release date when it's announced, after which we fully expect GameStop to begin offering party hats and noisemakers as pre-order incentives.
#screengrab
The M8 Avenger rifle from Mass Effect, as constructed by Volpin Props and spied by reader Kai N. Check the link for many more images of its construction. More »
Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies fiends probably shouldn't get too excited just yet, but PopCap has filed a trademark for a new game entitled Vacation Quest. Now, this could be a game about bouncing balls off of brightly colored pegs in order to kill zombies on vacation or, as Superannuation points out, it could be a hidden object game. Hopefully it's something else entirely and just as horribly addictive as Popcap's other classics.
#madden
EA Sports has published an update to its free iPhone application allowing Madden players to manage their Online Franchises away from the console. More »
[Image: Game Watch]
Teiyu Goto is responsible for the design of the original PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 -- all very different-looking consoles, with one exception: the controller. This, too, was Goto's design, and in an interview with Famitsu (translated by 1UP) he shares some of its history, including the origin of its "handles" and the meaning behind the now-iconic symbols on its face buttons.
According to Goto, Sony management was initially resistant to the idea of the PS1's gamepad being too far removed from the design of Nintendo's SNES controller. "We wanted SNES gamers to upgrade to our system," Goto said of the corporate mindset at the time, "[management] said it had to be a standard type of design, or gamers wouldn't accept it." Goto disagreed, as did Sony's then-president, Norio Ohga. A pilot, Ohga liked Goto's prototype, which featured the now-standard handles, and made his feelings clear in an executive meeting. "They showed Ohga the flat controller again later and said that this is what they wanted, but Ohga was about to throw the model right back at them," Goto recalled, saying that Ohga's outrage let him know that the boss had his back -- and the handles stayed.
As for the button icons, Goto had an interesting explanation. While most people know -- or could guess -- that X and circle were meant to indicate "no" and "yes," respectively, Goto said that "the triangle refers to viewpoint; I had it represent one's head or direction," adding, "Square refers to a piece of paper; I had it represent menus or documents." These icons went on to represent the brand as a whole.
With used games still making up the lion's share of retailer GameStop's profits -- and the failure of big box competitors Best Buy and Walmart in the space -- the time seems right for someone else to give it a shot. Enter: Target. The red and white-themed yin to Walmart's yang has announced the creation of the "Target Electronics Trade-In" program which "encourages guests to be eco-friendly by trading in old electronics devices" in exchange for (what else?) store credit. Included in that list of "electronics devices" are iPhones, iPods, cell phones and ... video games.
While we have no idea what someone wants with an old cell phone (Oh snap! Is that a 2003 RAZR?) we do know that used video games are big business. For now, it sounds like Target is just in the business of buying used games; it's unclear what happens to those games and if they'll ever find their way back into Target stores.
Speaking of Target stores, this in-store program launched in Northern California yesterday and "will rollout to additional stores in September and will be available in approximately 850 stores by the end of the year." All you need to do is take your old games to a store (remember: NorCal only for now) that features a Target Mobile counter - there, they'll be appraised, you'll get paid in Target-bucks, and you pick up some more trash bags. Oh, and batteries! And don't forget you need some new socks.
If you've not experienced the robot combat of Plain Sight yet, there's never been a better time to hop aboard. First: It finally has top hats! Second: It's just $2 for the next two days on Steam. If you've ever spent $2 on something dumber than "robots fighting," you simply have no excuse.
