- This Iwata Asks feature includes Pokemon Co. CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, Black & White director Junichi Masuda, and 2D art director Ken Sugimori…
- main city was designed in the style of New York City
- Masuda always wanted to make a second true Pokemon game for the DS
- this is because the system has become so [...]
#childofeden
There has been confusion about how multi-platform motion title Child of Eden is going to be released. The game's developer has cleared up that confusion. More »
Next week's Tokyo Game Show will be the site of many game unveilings, including Capcom's follow-up to Ace Attorney Investigations for Nintendo DS. No need to wait 'til then to get a peek at it, though, as the publisher has released the first few shots on its Japanese site. See 'em after the break.
#sega
How fitting that even on its birthday, nine years after its demise, the Sega Dreamcast is still being overshadowed by Sony's PlayStation 2. More »
Over the Top Games won't say exactly when, but sometime this month NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits will become available for Mac and PC users. No pricing information is listed on the game's Steam page, but we imagine it'll fall close to the WiiWare asking price of $10.
In case you never became acquainted with Nyx and her ... uh ... quest on the Wii earlier this year, it's a very pretty action-platformer steeped in Greek mythology. If your PC or Mac is hankering for a spiritual successor to Kid Icarus, you may want to check out NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits later this month.
#review
Mirror's Edge on iPhone may be a completely different game to its console and PC sibling, but it still shares all of its joys (and all of its flaws). More »
We're learning more about what Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune is cooking up with his latest project, the downloadable Mega Man Universe for PSN and XBLA. In advance of next week's Tokyo Game Show, Capcom has delivered new screens and -- more importantly -- details, specifically where the ability to create your own Mega Man and stages is concerned.
According to Capcom, "you can create your own original Mega Man by assembling parts you like," indicating that "your abilities will change depending on the parts you choose." There will be "a wide variety" of these parts, leading us to believe that the "Ryu Man" featured at the end of the recent gameplay videos is one of these custom creations.
Sounding a bit like LittleBigPlanet, Mega Man Universe will also feature a full level editor for building your own stages, which can then be shared with others online. Of course, this means you can download and play through others' creations -- but it's a final bit of info dropped by the game's developer that we find most intriguing. "Aside from Mega Man themed stages, there are a variety of custom stage parts that will be revealed soon," Capcom says. Ryu Man running through a Ghosts 'N Goblins themed level with Mega Man gameplay, perhaps? Sure seems like something the original teaser hinted at.
Mega Man Universe will be playable at TGS, where we'll put together a juicy hands-on preview of it for all the loyal Mega-fans in the audience.
#marvelvscapcom
This lovely new cinematic trailer for Marvel vs Capcom 3 has Captain America, Chun-Li, Viewtiful Joe, Amaterasu, Iron Man, Felicia and....oh, hello, someone new. More »
This post has been conveniently broken into two sections, each serving a different part of Joystiq's demographic. Please read whichever is most relevant to you.
For the Young:
We try to keep the curmudgeonly "lessons for the youth" to a minimum here at Joystiq -- we don't like being reminded of how old we are anymore than you do -- but you really should check out these screens of Atari's Haunted House reboot to see what gamers of yore used to call "fun." Each screen shows a scene from the ancient Atari 2600 title side-by-side with the new version for PC, Wii and Xbox Live Arcade.
For the Cantankerous:
Atari has released new screens of its bastardization of the Atari 2600 classic, Haunted House. This entry in the franchise -- soon to be available on PCs and those consoles you refuse to buy -- takes place 30 years after the original. It seems that Samuel Silverspring disappeared on his trek through Graves Mansion all those years ago, and now it's up to his grandchildren to find out what happened. You can see this new abomination side-by-side with the original in the gallery below.
#pax
Frobot is a WiiWare game that mixes Robotron shooting with gameplay riffing on the dungeon design of the original Legend of Zelda. It adds an afro-wearing robot and is tough enough that you'll start on normal difficulty with 30 lives. More »
#pax
One of the minor mysteries of the 2010 video game year is why Ubisoft showed the world screenshots of the newly-revealed Outland last week, but didn't show the game's bullets. It's a bullet-hell platformer. It looks better with bullets. More »
Alright, alright -- that's not the only thing that we gleaned from this latest Shaun White Skateboarding trailer. Unfortunately, the clip front-loads the smelly snow boot situation on us. There's some Wii gameplay too, we promise!
"Will you die a pawn or reign as king?" the latest Battle vs. Chess trailer asks. We have an even easier question to ask: will you watch this new trailer? It's as simple as clicking past the break.
A study by the Nielsen Company found that the glasses required for the 3D television experience -- which includes 3D gaming -- appear to be the tech's greatest hurdle. About half of those surveyed said the glasses were uncomfortable or a hassle, while 89 percent said the specs made it harder to do other things while watching TV (we assume the inability to multitask is less of a problem when playing 3D games). There's also the issue of no standardization -- your Sony glasses wouldn't work on your friend's Samsung TV, for instance.
The study noted that "active TV shoppers" who were considering a 3D TV purchase dropped from 25 percent to 12 percent after trying out the tech and considering the higher cost and limited available content. Still, half of the respondents were impressed by the 3D picture quality.
Nintendo's glasses-free 3DS tech could be a potential option for consumers wanting a 3D experience, albeit on a much smaller screen. Speaking of Nintendo's portable marvel, we're expecting the release date and pricing on September 29.
Bankrupt studio Realtime Worlds may have found a buyer. Develop reports that the firm in charge of Realtime's administration proceedings has found a buyer for the company, with proceedings to be complete by the end of next week unless something goes really wrong. The buyer would become the owner of the Dundee studio, a US office and the APB IP. The bundle will not include Realtime Worlds' Project MyWorld, which was recently sold to an "anonymous American company."
No word yet if the buyer receives APB's human avatar as part of the deal.
Gamasutra has posted its Xbox Live Arcade sales analysis for August, and the results appear mixed for the final three Summer of Arcadetitles. While the piece notes that every 2009 Summer of Arcade title managed to garner 80,000 players in their respective first weeks, this year's batch is less consistent. Based on leaderboard data, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair had only 44,601 players in its first week, with sales declining each following week to close out the month with just over 75,000 players. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light -- perhaps due to the lack of online co-op -- befell a similar fate, acquiring 44,733 players in its first week and adding 22,498 more the following week to cap off August with 67,231 players.
Meanwhile, Monday Night Combat -- which launched between Castlevania and Lara Croft -- debuted with over 86,000 players, followed by strong additions the next two weeks for a total of nearly 172,000 in August. Granted, these numbers are all culled from leaderboards and don't necessarily translate directly to sales, it seems like this year's Summer of Arcade failed to drum up the same interest as last year's event, which packed in the likes of Shadow Complex, 'Splosion Man, and Trials HD. Check out the full article on Gamasutra for more stats than you can shake a slice of bacon at.
I just know that Wii Party is going to become the go-to drinking game at a ton of colleges. Nintendo’s most family-friendly game of the year is going to be turned into the catalyst for some of the drunkest crowds yet. Perhaps Nintendo knows this secret, and that’s part of their madness!
