via kotaku

It's absolutely ridiculous to think that a person living in Japan still has to go through the following if he wants to get his hands on a stinkin' Nintendo DS lite — that's over 2 years after the initial DS launch, and close to a year for the DS lite — but this is what I had to go through today in order to score a Crystal White Nintendo DS lite (and let it be known that I have an original DS, which I got at launch).

My wife had heard that you needed to call the stores to find out if they were getting some stock, and then rush there to wait in line, and she'd also been told by some friends that Bic Camera got their shipments in on Friday (they also sometimes get some on Mondays and Wednesdays, but Friday are for the big orders). So she called this morning, and sure enough, they had gotten a shipment, but wouldn't reveal when they would go on sale, or where they would make people line up. The wife had gone through the same thing 2 weeks ago — when she scored a pink DS lite — so she told me to head there around noon, and to try and find out what would be happening.

I got there at 12, asked some staff behind the counter in the games section (insisting I had called, because they were just about to say that they didn't know anything before that — the filthy liars), and was told that I had to "hang out" for a while, as they didn't know when they were going to go on sale. Maybe 40 minutes later, two staff with bright green Bic vests ran out from behind the counter with signs that said that DS lites were about to go on sale, and then started forming a line along the staircases (the game section at the main Bic Camera store in Ikebukuro is on the 3rd floor). I was the fifth in line — some guys got there quicker than me — and a few minutes later they started handing out tickets for the color you wanted (I was the first to ask for a Crystal White). Then, 10 minutes later, they started guiding us to the sales counter, and... DS lite GET! ...

via kotaku

Simon over on Game Set Watch points out that New York-based game importer NCSX is raving about DS guitar "game" Utaeru DS Guitar M-06

With 16 chords to use at any time from a library of 120, users may strum out a song relatively easily if you're familiar with basic guitar playing. We were able to play the Main Riff I for "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman and "Torn" from Natalie Imbruglia this morning by following guitar tabs found on the web. In addition to its function as a guitar, the software also includes a library of 20 songs and a listening-then-repeating exercise."
"On the touch screen, a thick crop of vertical lines represent the guitar string. It's pasted against a black background so that the focus is the line itself. To play, strum the line with your touch pen or finger and you'll hear a twang. Change chords with the D-pad by moving it in the direction of the chords shown on the top screen and the tone of the twang changes every time you move the D-pad to another chord."
I'm not so sure about changing chords with the D-pad, but I'm loving the rest of this.



Buy at Play Asia ...

via insert credit

A few places are listing the possibility of a Western release for G.Rev's Senko no Ronde Rev.X (now being billed as Senko no Rondo). This being the 360 port of the eclectic arcade versus shmup. Apparently, Ubisoft is responsible for taking the publishing torch on this one but no official announcement has been made as yet to clarify that fact (the game isn't listed on their respective sites). I have my robot fingers crossed on this (despite already owning the Japanese limited edition release, which I have played rather obsessively anyway). ...

via insertcredit

Spectral Force 3 ~Innocent Rage~ was Idea Factory's first next-gen SRPG, and it came out for the Xbox 360 back in June. Now the company is preparing two more releases for the 360, both of which are remakes of two of their most successful PS2 titles. Diario: Rebirth Moon Legend, a remake of Rebirth Moon Legend, is due out on the 8th of this month, and Absolute Blazing Infinity, a remake of Blazing Souls, set in the Neverland universe, is scheduled for the 29th of March.

Strange, isn't it? Spectral Force 3 sold a paltry number of copies, and yet the Idea's factory keeps churning them out[/cheap pun]. Of course they are merely remakes, and I doubt whether the slightly enhanced graphics or the extra content (some of which will be downloadable) will persuade anyone to replay these games, but will they manage to attract new players? It's all highly doubtful, and for a company as calculating as this I can only assume that MS is somehow making this worth their while. Meanwhile, Mist of Chaos is coming out on the PS3 about a month later than expected (so the street date is now the 22nd of March), and, as a brand-new title and the console's first SRPG, it will certainly attract most of the attention. ...

It looks like the PlayStation 3 isn't the only major piece of console hardware that will be released in Australia in March. Microsoft has announced it is finally bringing the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player into Australia on March 29, one week after the PS3 makes its local debut.

The add-on player, which was released in the US last November, will retail for A$249, and will be packaged with a remote control and a copy of director Peter Jackson's King Kong. The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player can play movies in 720p, 1080i, and 1080p high-definition resolutions.

A Microsoft Australia spokesman said that close to 40 HD DVD titles would be available in Australia by the date of the 360 player's release.

via gamespot ...

via engadget

So, you're a man's man, and while you might very well enjoy a game of Wii Tennis now and then, or launching a plunger or three at those dagnab Rabbids, you're getting tired of looking like a spazmo kid while you're at it. We're not sure about the spazmo part, but it won't be hard for people to take you seriously when you start waving this Wiimote gun mod thing around. Due to the limitations of machine translation, we're not too sure on the details of this hack, other than the fact that the trigger has been indeed wired to the Wiimote's B button, and that the original gun is an alarmingly realistic BB number that most likely would not be legal in the States without some sort of orange paintjob, and even then, we don't really recommend doing anything stupid with your own version of this -- don't even try and deny it, we bet you're already ordering up the materials -- 'cause Jack Bauer might just have to take you down.

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Word that a new WipEout game is in development has come from an interview with Develop magazine with Clemens Wangerin, development director for Sony's Liverpool studio.

Wangerin wouldn't give away much at all (just the above) and there was no one around at Sony when we tried to contact them. All eyes on GDC next month for an announcement? We'll see.

via cvg ...

Following the publication of financial results which reveal Electronic Arts to be the number one publisher on Sony, Microsoft and PC platforms, the company has set its sights firmly on the Nintendo Wii and DS.

In its latest conference call, the publisher revealed it has 15 SKUs in development for Nintendo formats - including a DS version of Will Wright's new project, Spore, Sims spin-off My Sims and a selection of imarket-leading sports franchises.

"We have shifted and acquired resources and are attacking these successful platforms," commented CFO Warren Jenson. "In short, we're on it."

The bullish statements follow the announcement of record revenues totalling US $1.281 billion, and the revelation that EA is the number one publisher in North America and Europe on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC and PSP.

However, CEO Larry Probst conceded that EA would struggle to take Nintendo's place as the number one publisher on its own formats, making do with second place.

"On the Nintendo platforms, we think that we can be very a strong number two," he said.

"Clearly, Nintendo will always be number one on the Wii and DS, but we think we have a realistic goal of being number two, with a market share goal of 15-20 per cent," detailed Probst.

The recent purchase in December of Headgate Studios, which will be a Wii-exclusive developer, is one of the foundations behind the renewed focus, with Jensen noting the company will also be devoting additional resources to DS production.

"With regards to the Wii platform, at least initially, it seems like it's expanding the overall market and expanding the demographic of users and people that purchase software, and we think that's a good thing," said Probst.

via gibiz ...

Rockstar has proven that Western developed titles do have an audience in Japan, with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas making its debut at number one in the regional charts.

Published by Capcom in Japan, the PlayStation 2 title has sold over 227,000 units on the first week of release.

While last week saw the debut of Microsoft's Gears of War in the top ten, this week the game is entirely absent from the top fifty games in Japan.

Namco's The Idol Master is the only Xbox 360 title in the top twenty, while From Software's Enchanted Arms is the only PS3 game in the top fifty, at number 29.

The Nintendo DS continues to enjoy healthy sales in the region, shifting over 194,600 units in the past week, with Wii sales reaching over 83,750.

Sony has sold 35,700 PSP units in the past seven days, with the PlayStation 2 outselling the PlayStation 3, with 20,995 and 19,996 units, respectively. The Xbox 360 sold just over 7360 units.

The Japanese top twenty software titles are:

01. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)

02. Dragon Quest Monsters Joker (DS)

03. Sangokushi Taisen DS (DS)

04. Picross DS (DS)

05. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)

06. Wii Sports (Wii)

07. Wario: The Seven (DS)

08. Wii Play (Wii)

09. Pachinko Winter Sonata (PS2)

10. More Brain Age (DS)

11. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)

12. Common Knowledge Training (DS)

13. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)

14. Prince of Tennis: Doki-Doki Survival (DS)

15. The Idolm@ster (Xbox 360)

16. Mario Kart DS (DS)

17. Pokemon Diamond (DS)

18. English Training (DS)

19. Brain Training (DS)

20. Shining Force EXA (PS2)

via gibiz ...