Via DSfanboy

We aren't experts in the fine art that is speaking Japanese, if you hadn't already noticed. On top of that, translated pages aren't exactly the best place to get info either. If you've ever doubted that a sentence in English could not make sense, spend five minutes trying to read one of Google's translated pages. They could make Winnie The Pooh look like a perverted old bear.

From what we gathered, this is the intro to Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. There's lots of ass kicking and no monster gets spared. We were surprised to not hear any voice acting but we are hoping to see that get worked on in the extra months Konami has taken to improve the game.

As always, the video is after the break unless you want to wait and see the intro for yourself when the game is released like a sissy. Enjoy!


Video Here ...

News from patater :

The fourth version of Introduction to Nintendo DS Programming contains not only an updated layout, but a brand new exhaustive VRAM exploration in its new appendix. Designing your 2D graphics engine has never been easier.

Enjoy!

http://www.patatersoft.info/manual.html ...

The Nikkei Keizai Shimbun morning edition reports today that due to component shortages, Sony will have only 80,000 units ready for the PS3’s November 11th Japanese launch. This cuts back by a fifth the initial launch target of 100,000.

IGN mentions that minor number is even more staggering when you consider that the PS2 sold out of nearly one million units when it launched back in March of 2000.

The big question now is if these PlayStation 3 production problems will stop their influence at the Japanese allocation, Sony’s homeland of all places, or if they will also cut down the North American launch day availability with a fifth from 400,000 to 320,000 PS3’s? ...

Via IGN

few new details have come our way on Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings, the DS spinoff of Final Fantasy XII. Dengeki DS Style (a new magazine focusing on the DS and Wii) has an interview with director and scenario writer Motomu Toriyama and co-producer Eisuke Yokoyama, in which the two offered some hints on the game's battle system and storyline.

The game's story takes place following Final Fantasy XII, although Toriyama said that a specific time hasn't been set. Vaan, a pirate, is in search of a treasure, and has just arrived on the floating continent of Puruvama. The game will take place both on this floating continent and on the ground below.

It would be impossible to put in all of Ivalice (the FFXII world), said Yokoyama, but you'll be able to go to the main locations. You'll also be able to see how the characters have gone on to live following the events of Final Fantasy XII, so those who've played the PS2 RPG (it's almost out in America!) will have some bonuses to look forward to.

Due to the portable nature of the DS, the game is being made to be playable in a short bursts. You'll progress through the story speedily, said Toriyama. The story will be comprised of episodes, building up to a large storyline which promises to maintain the Final Fantasy style drama.

Asked if the game would use FFXII's ADB system, Yokoyama said that the battle system is mostly new. However, in order to keep FFXII players from getting confused, there will be a number of shared elements. The Gambit system will be a part of this title, although it will be simplified in order to accommodate beginner players. Also, the battle system will be fully playable with the stylus.

Dengeki asked a question about the number of party members capable of joining your group. To this, Yokoyama responded that Fran and Balthier will definitely join in as party members (they were shown in the Tokyo Game Show trailer, after all). Due to the new game systems, Yokoyama expects there to be more party members than in FFXII.

Summon beasts will apparently play a big role in the game. Toriyama expects Revenant Wings to have the most summon beasts of any Final Fantasy game ever. The summon beasts will be the key to battles, said Toriyama, and their use will be different from that of previous titles.

Revenant Wings will make use of all those nifty features that make the DS so special. In addition to full stylus control, Toriyama hopes to make full use of the dual screens not just for events, but for battles and all game systems as well. The only area being left in the dark at this point is Wi-Fi compatibility. Toriyama feels that the battle system is good for competitive play, but the game won't feature Wi-Fi support unless lag can be eliminated.

Even with all these details, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding Revenant Wings. Screenshots have yet to be shown, for instance. With FFXII set for US release shortly, expect details on this followup to slowly begin trickling out. ...

Majesco announced today that it will be publishing Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii in early 2007.

Developed by OfficeCreate and licensed from Taito, Cook Off is a follow-up to the quirky kitchen adventure for the DS, Cooking Mama. Cook Off will make special use of the Wii Remote to let gamers mash, chop, slice, stir, and cook more that 300 real-world recipes from around the world. Cook Off will attempt to offer aspiring sim-chefs realistic graphics and real-time cooking effects to help keep you from burnin' your biscuits. Cook Off will also offer 2-player kitchen competitions, also known as a "cook off", to help find the Iron Chef in your family. ...

Via Gamepro

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Via Gamepro:

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The Nintendo DS is very popular in Japan and taking full advantage of its popularity is the Nation Western Fine Arts Musuem. From the musuem counter you can borrow a DS which comes with a special catridge preloaded with the musuem details. Each room in the musuem has an access point so once you enter a room the screen automatically displays information relevant to the room. Browsing through the menus is very easy using the touchscreen. If you find a painting interesting just browse to the painting on the DS choose print and using Wi-Fi the picture is printed which you can collect upon leaving the musuem.

More Info ...

Turn on your TV this week and you may see a striking commercial: An animated baby doll sits in a white room looking at a small black box. It coos with delight. It laughs with an adult's demented cackle. Tears flow down its cheeks - and back up again.

And just for an instant, an image from the PS3 game "Resistance: Fall of Man" flashes in its eyes. Will anybody notice it? Of course they will. The spot is one of the first commercials for the PS3, Sony's next-generation videogame console, whose rabid fans will surely scrutinize it. "We know people will be taping these commercials and freeze-framing them," says Brett Craig, a creative director at the Los Angeles office of TBWA/Chiat/Day, the agency that made the ad.

No kidding. The launch of the PS3 will be one of the most closely watched new-product rollouts of all time. Sony (Charts) is spending $150 million on the ad campaign by TBWA, which has done all the ads in the U.S. for the videogame console since the launch of the first PlayStation in 1995.

For the past year it has been working on the ad campaign for the Nov. 17 launch of the third-generation platform - giving the Los Angeles office a chance to demonstrate once again that it is one of the world's coolest creative shops.

In early October, Sony and TBWA gave me an advance look at the PS3 ad campaign, which made its debut the week of Oct. 30. The television commercials were still being cleaned up, but provocative billboards had gone up in four major cities, and the agency had begun an intriguing viral campaign that was resonating with hard-core gamers.

But coolness can be fleeting, as Sony has learned the hard way. Once, the company's name was synonymous with cutting-edge consumer electronics products. But Sony's image has taken a beating in recent years - along with its stock price.

The company has been trounced by Apple (Charts) in portable music players. Rivals like Sharp moved more swiftly to make flat-screen TVs. Sony recently had to recall 9.6 million laptop battery packs it had sold to manufacturers like Dell and Apple because some of them overheated and burst into flames. Its net quarterly profit plunged 94 percent.

Sony's bread and butter
Sony's PlayStation division has been one of its few bright spots. But Sony may be vulnerable on that front too. The PS3 was supposed to come out last spring, but was delayed in the U.S. and Japan because Sony couldn't manufacture the consoles fast enough. Europeans will have to wait until March.

Sony executives say the launch of the PS2 in 2000 had similar problems, but the console went on to sell 106 million units worldwide, becoming the most popular videogame platform on the market. Then again, Sony didn't need a hit new product at the time as desperately as it does today.

The company has also taken heat from fans for the PS3's price. A fully loaded unit will sell for $599. Sony executives say the console is worth it. "If it was all about price, then we'd all be driving Hyundais and we'd all be watching $199 TVs," shrugs Jack Tretton, executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Still, the high price could be a boon to Sony's chief gaming competitors, Microsoft (Charts) and Nintendo (Charts). Microsoft points out that for the price of the PS3, you could almost buy the most expensive Microsoft Xbox 360 ($399) plus the Nintendo Wii ($249), which hits the stores two days after Sony's new console.

That presents a huge challenge for TBWA going into the Christmas season. The goal isn't to sell the PS3 on the first day of the launch - PlayStation fans will probably grab every one of the 400,000 units off the shelves.

The agency's job is to persuade those who leave the store empty-handed to wait - to not buy Xbox or Wii - even if it means holding off until after Christmas before Sony can ramp up its manufacturing enough to satisfy the demand.

Hinging on advertising
TBWA's reputation is also on the line. Ad agencies are a lot like fashion designers. Marc Jacobs uses his catwalk fare to sell jeans. TBWA/Chiat/Day, a division of Omnicom (Charts), uses the Los Angeles office's showcase work for PlayStation (and Apple, another signature client) to attract clients at its 257 other offices around the world.

So the bar is high indeed. If the Los Angeles office doesn't clear it with the PS3 launch, Sony may not be the only client that heads for the exit.

Nobody understands that better than Rob Schwartz, who oversees the Los Angeles office's creative staff, a job he compares to managing the 1927 Yankees. He made sure TBWA pulled out all the stops last January when it met with Sony executives to discuss the PS3 campaign. TBWA rented out the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art for the occasion. Executives from TBWA and Sony spent the morning touring Ecstasy, an exhibition celebrating the sort of visions brought on by hallucinogenic drugs.

The field trip wasn't as frivolous as it sounds. TBWA wanted to inspire its art directors and copywriters to come up with something fantastic. After lunch the group retired to the exhibition's centerpiece: a room full of rotating sculptures of giant topsy-turvy ...