Ah, Fearless, Jet Li's final Martial Arts Epic film , which is a great shame since his role in films like Hero, Once Upon a Time films, Fong Sai Yuk etc.. films are some of his best work in memory. Of course, with this being his final epic film, he has to go out in a bang, and what a way.
Fearless comprises of everything that i want in a martial arts film, plentiful of action, a very simple plot, nice pacing and kick-ass moves. Fearless delivers in all fronts, with about a decent selection of action sequences that will wet the tongues of many cinema go-ers, from the weapon fights at the start, down to the bare-handed combat on top of a scaffold.
The film story itself is no slouch either, in some respetcs, its portrays a political and social message towards us Chinese people in how the western governments are changing us and manipulating the environment with their will with few considerations for the Chinese folk themselves. But this story, could also portray the career change that Jet Li wanted, and with the suddene ending, it really shows both messages in their light.. however, in some respects, the messages put across are really in your face and they do emphasise the first message really clearly and lingers on through the movie.
Jet Li himself said that he wanted to do a more drama role in his movies after this, and this movie tries desperately to show what he can do, with the middle part of the movie emphasising on the calm-nature of the some Chinese, while also finding the calmness within himself. Though the romantic part of the story is kind of one-off and tongue in cheek in some parts, its hardly romantic, no real chemistry was made and it ended somewhat poorly and tasteless , but then again, this part does show that Jet Li can try to do a dramatic role and it can work depending on some circumstances, though not in this movie.
Overall, a solid A-class Action flick that salutes Jet Li's martial arts skills and really a desperate reminder how some films can portray messages far more important than you would think.
8.5/10
Grade: A-
Friday, June 30, 2006
Media Create Software/Hardware sales (June 19th-25th)
Hardware
1. DSL - 157,022 (2,486,643)
2. PS2 - 25,467 (737,113)
3. PSP - 24,737 (895,004)
4. NDS - 10,132 (902,788)
5. GBASP - 3,784 (163,776)
6. GBM - 1,502 (101,937)
7. NGC - 1,197 (54,534)
8. 360 - 1,169 (55,514)
9. GBA - 25 (1,634)
10. XBX - 10 (2,792)
Software
1. PS2 - Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria - Square Enix - 281,510
2. NDS - New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo - 170,168 (1,848,813)
3. NDS - Brain Training 2 - Nintendo - 57,752 (2,594,989)
4. PS2 - World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 - Konami - 49,926 (863,457)
5. NDS - Brain Training for Adults - Nintendo - 38,766 (2,437,374)
6. PS2 - King of Fighters XI - SNK Playmore - 28,015
7. NDS - Animal Crossing: Wild World - Nintendo - 27,780 (2,857,990)
8. NDS - English Training - Nintendo - 24,978 (1,193,324)
9. PSP - Sony Computer Science Kenkyuusho Kenmogi Kenichirou Hakase Kanshuu - Nou ni Kaikan: Aha Taiken - Sony - 23,548
10. NDS - Digimon Story - Bandai/Namco - 21,520 (62,655)
Overall: A fairly standard list for both software and hardware, Nintendo dominates both with som PS2 games to balance it all out. An odd little Brain-training copy game for the PSP debuts at 9th and does nothing to hamper the sales of Brain Training thats currently in its 59th week!!
1. DSL - 157,022 (2,486,643)
2. PS2 - 25,467 (737,113)
3. PSP - 24,737 (895,004)
4. NDS - 10,132 (902,788)
5. GBASP - 3,784 (163,776)
6. GBM - 1,502 (101,937)
7. NGC - 1,197 (54,534)
8. 360 - 1,169 (55,514)
9. GBA - 25 (1,634)
10. XBX - 10 (2,792)
Software
1. PS2 - Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria - Square Enix - 281,510
2. NDS - New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo - 170,168 (1,848,813)
3. NDS - Brain Training 2 - Nintendo - 57,752 (2,594,989)
4. PS2 - World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 - Konami - 49,926 (863,457)
5. NDS - Brain Training for Adults - Nintendo - 38,766 (2,437,374)
6. PS2 - King of Fighters XI - SNK Playmore - 28,015
7. NDS - Animal Crossing: Wild World - Nintendo - 27,780 (2,857,990)
8. NDS - English Training - Nintendo - 24,978 (1,193,324)
9. PSP - Sony Computer Science Kenkyuusho Kenmogi Kenichirou Hakase Kanshuu - Nou ni Kaikan: Aha Taiken - Sony - 23,548
10. NDS - Digimon Story - Bandai/Namco - 21,520 (62,655)
Overall: A fairly standard list for both software and hardware, Nintendo dominates both with som PS2 games to balance it all out. An odd little Brain-training copy game for the PSP debuts at 9th and does nothing to hamper the sales of Brain Training thats currently in its 59th week!!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Nintendo DS to star in Stormbreaker
27 June 2006 - Experience espionage at its most thrilling as Nintendo announces a partnership with new teen spy movie, Stormbreaker.
Set to be the must-see summer blockbuster, Stormbreaker uses a Nintendo DS at the heart of the storyline, turning it into a gadget any super spy would be proud of.
Stormbreaker, taken from the first book in the best-selling adventure series by novelist Anthony Horowitz, features Alex Rider, a normal 14 year old teenager who lives with his uncle, a nondescript bank manager, or so it seems.
However when Uncle Ian Rider dies in mysterious circumstances, Alex discovers his uncle was in fact a spy who has been murdered by one of the most dangerous assassins in the world. Alex finds himself recruited by the Special Operations Division of MI6, and realises that by encouraging his hobbies his uncle has thoroughly prepared him for a career in espionage.
Linguist, scuba diver, mountaineer, crack shot and martial arts expert, Alex has all the attributes to make the perfect teenage spy. Armed with these skills and his own set of special gadgets, including a modified red Nintendo DS, Alex embarks on his first mission.
Featuring the cream of Hollywood and British talent, the Nintendo DS takes a starring role alongside big names including Robbie Coltrane, Damian Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Sophie Okonedo, Alex Pettyfer debuting as Alex Rider, Andy Serkis, Alicia Silverstone, and Micky Rourke.
Stormbreaker also stars Stephen Fry (“The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy”, “Wilde”), filling the role of top gadgeteer ‘Smithers’ who converts the already innovative Nintendo DS into an all encompassing tool to aid Alex in fulfilling his assignments.
See a whole new side to the Nintendo DS and hold on tight as Stormbreaker comes to a cinema near you across Europe in the summer of 2006.
http://www.nintendo-europe.com/NOE/en/GB/news/article.do?elementId=tuB6z9hhUXJ_fbUOJOzrElyPLK-CLdzt
Alright Nintendo! ^5 *sigh*
Set to be the must-see summer blockbuster, Stormbreaker uses a Nintendo DS at the heart of the storyline, turning it into a gadget any super spy would be proud of.
Stormbreaker, taken from the first book in the best-selling adventure series by novelist Anthony Horowitz, features Alex Rider, a normal 14 year old teenager who lives with his uncle, a nondescript bank manager, or so it seems.
However when Uncle Ian Rider dies in mysterious circumstances, Alex discovers his uncle was in fact a spy who has been murdered by one of the most dangerous assassins in the world. Alex finds himself recruited by the Special Operations Division of MI6, and realises that by encouraging his hobbies his uncle has thoroughly prepared him for a career in espionage.
Linguist, scuba diver, mountaineer, crack shot and martial arts expert, Alex has all the attributes to make the perfect teenage spy. Armed with these skills and his own set of special gadgets, including a modified red Nintendo DS, Alex embarks on his first mission.
Featuring the cream of Hollywood and British talent, the Nintendo DS takes a starring role alongside big names including Robbie Coltrane, Damian Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Sophie Okonedo, Alex Pettyfer debuting as Alex Rider, Andy Serkis, Alicia Silverstone, and Micky Rourke.
Stormbreaker also stars Stephen Fry (“The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy”, “Wilde”), filling the role of top gadgeteer ‘Smithers’ who converts the already innovative Nintendo DS into an all encompassing tool to aid Alex in fulfilling his assignments.
See a whole new side to the Nintendo DS and hold on tight as Stormbreaker comes to a cinema near you across Europe in the summer of 2006.
http://www.nintendo-europe.com/NOE/en/GB/news/article.do?elementId=tuB6z9hhUXJ_fbUOJOzrElyPLK-CLdzt
Alright Nintendo! ^5 *sigh*
Game Review: Tetris DS
"Hmmm" I thought to myself. "How would a game with an old-age gameplay last up to modern day standards, what with all these complicated, graphics+physics expandings games these days, what is the point of having a Tetris game.. especially for the DS with some much potential?"
So, i sat down and played it, for 2 hours straight, OMG! The Tetris curse still lingers within me, Tetris has always been my fave Puzzle game for a long time and Tetris DS proves my addiction to the puzzle genre with the simple mechanic that everyone knows and loves, in fact, though my brother bought it on the cheap (£15), i say its definetely worth the price that i paid for it.
For me though, Tetris DS only has one great featre in it and thats the endless marathon, which is undoubtedly the bread and butter of this game, i couldn't bring myself down to play Catch, or Puzzle, or whatever exta features the game threw at me, it was just Marathon upon marathon upon marathon for me, trying to beat my own high score while also trying to survive and figuring out new tactics. Hence, this is the reason why this game fails, primarily its a Tetris game at heart, it doesn't need the other mdoes to be successful, and those extra modes prove to be just a distraction from the main game itself, with no lasting playable value or in terest that Marathon has. In fact, the game makes very bad use of the dual screen/touch screen features of the DS, this game cold be done on the GBA SP and would likely receive a much better mark for me.
There is one feature which is great though, the Online/Wifi mode which proves to be a fascinating insight in how skillful some players really are in a game like Tetris, guaranteed fun for hours, but also guaranteed fustration from many gamers, but you can't help but go dig at it again for another go to beat that high score.
Overall, 7.5/10
Grade: B
So, i sat down and played it, for 2 hours straight, OMG! The Tetris curse still lingers within me, Tetris has always been my fave Puzzle game for a long time and Tetris DS proves my addiction to the puzzle genre with the simple mechanic that everyone knows and loves, in fact, though my brother bought it on the cheap (£15), i say its definetely worth the price that i paid for it.
For me though, Tetris DS only has one great featre in it and thats the endless marathon, which is undoubtedly the bread and butter of this game, i couldn't bring myself down to play Catch, or Puzzle, or whatever exta features the game threw at me, it was just Marathon upon marathon upon marathon for me, trying to beat my own high score while also trying to survive and figuring out new tactics. Hence, this is the reason why this game fails, primarily its a Tetris game at heart, it doesn't need the other mdoes to be successful, and those extra modes prove to be just a distraction from the main game itself, with no lasting playable value or in terest that Marathon has. In fact, the game makes very bad use of the dual screen/touch screen features of the DS, this game cold be done on the GBA SP and would likely receive a much better mark for me.
There is one feature which is great though, the Online/Wifi mode which proves to be a fascinating insight in how skillful some players really are in a game like Tetris, guaranteed fun for hours, but also guaranteed fustration from many gamers, but you can't help but go dig at it again for another go to beat that high score.
Overall, 7.5/10
Grade: B
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Book Review: Is it me or is Everything Shit?
Oh boy! A book with the same title with what everyone's thinking with their daily lives, its got to be good.. Wrong!
Upon reading the first chapter (the chapters are catergorised alphabetically), it had a good few jokes here and there, then it dragged on.. then it hit me, everything about this book is basically shit, a good portion of this book is very political with talk about Labour, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Policies etc... Its fair to say, the Government at the moment is not the greatest in the world but i didn't really need a book to tell me that, especially when most of the things talked about are unfunny.
Aside from that, the rest of the book contained generally unfunny catergories, which fails to convince me why they are shit, and i really question whether the book is there to mock me because i spent £7 on it or they tried way too hard on the comedy side of things. Its not a good read, took me a week to read as the book is really easy to digest with generally short chapters.
Overall, not a happy read, i think i add this to my list of why everythign is shit.
Upon reading the first chapter (the chapters are catergorised alphabetically), it had a good few jokes here and there, then it dragged on.. then it hit me, everything about this book is basically shit, a good portion of this book is very political with talk about Labour, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Policies etc... Its fair to say, the Government at the moment is not the greatest in the world but i didn't really need a book to tell me that, especially when most of the things talked about are unfunny.
Aside from that, the rest of the book contained generally unfunny catergories, which fails to convince me why they are shit, and i really question whether the book is there to mock me because i spent £7 on it or they tried way too hard on the comedy side of things. Its not a good read, took me a week to read as the book is really easy to digest with generally short chapters.
Overall, not a happy read, i think i add this to my list of why everythign is shit.
DS Lite Review
DS Lite Review:
To get things straight, the Nitnendo DS was launched just under 2 years ago in Japan at 2004, it has done spectacular, excelling all predictions from nay-sayers and has destroyed the PSP (in Japan at least). Now, with the DS Lite, Nintendo aims to capitalize on oen of the PSP's strengths, its sexy, cool looking aesthetics.
Portability
The first thing i noticed with the DS Lite when i picked it up was the size of it, i knew it was small, but damn, it is damn small, compared with the DS and the PSP which aren't really 'portable' systems for different reasons, the DS Lite goes a long way in acheiving the high portability status that really only the GBA SP has cheived imo. Certainly, the size (only 2/3 the orignal DS) gives it marks, now able to fit in many people's trouser pockets with ease and its flip-top design gives it extra portability and durability.
Of course, connected with portability is the...
Battery Life
Much much better, i've had it for a few days and i've been playing various games on it wiht the hgihest brightness setting, Nintendo claims that a good 8 +-2 hours battery life is acheivable with the highest brightness setting. Which doesn't sound THAT good, but considering the wide range of brightness levels avaialble, the player can diverse if the battery happens to run low and go for a lower brightness setting which is still playable! Of course, a much more intensive play tets is needed to test the true battery life but so far, no complaints.
Durability
Very important for a handheld becuas its likely to get dropped around if not careful, and this would be one of the DS Lite's weak points, its small size and very fragile weight (lighter than DS) makes its almost on par with the PSP in terms of durability. Of coruse, with the flip top design, it can save the screens, but i can see lots of innards taking a huge impact from the drop and making the system terrible. But this is Nitnendo we're talking about, honoured with a high reputation on system build quality, im sure that the DS Lite can hold up for a while, but practically, i dont want to try to find out.
Design Interface
Thsi is concerned with the buttons and stuff, admiteedly, i fell in love with the buttons, perfect clickable buttons which actually feel fien for any gamer. Now the D-pad o nthe other hand, small is the word to use here, the original DS's D-pad was fine imo, it looked ugly and tacky but worked well, now the DSL's D-pad felt really small and flimsy, include clickable D-pad directions and it felt really tacked up.. hopefully the Wii D-pad isn't like this at all. The Dual-screen and Touch-screen interface ar ethe same as usual, though it does seem that the touch-screen feels much harder than before. Good plus for me. The mic placement has now changed and it now in the middle of the console, a much better position than on the bottom. One bad point which i may have to get used to is the Start and Select buttons, far too small and im more comfortable with these buttons on the original DS.
The GBA cartridge has to be mentioned, with a GBA game in it.. it looks UGLY! Now, this is a problem if i want to play a game of Warioware Inc on the DS Lite because now it makes the system un-sexy. On the DS, it worked wodners as it in line with the whole DS shape, unfortunately, the cost of reducing the size of the DS is now that a GBA cartridge may make it look ugly. Bad Nintendo.. actually, bad Battery pack at the back!
Overall:
DSL - 8/10
Comparison:
PSP - 7/10
DS - 7/10
To get things straight, the Nitnendo DS was launched just under 2 years ago in Japan at 2004, it has done spectacular, excelling all predictions from nay-sayers and has destroyed the PSP (in Japan at least). Now, with the DS Lite, Nintendo aims to capitalize on oen of the PSP's strengths, its sexy, cool looking aesthetics.
Portability
The first thing i noticed with the DS Lite when i picked it up was the size of it, i knew it was small, but damn, it is damn small, compared with the DS and the PSP which aren't really 'portable' systems for different reasons, the DS Lite goes a long way in acheiving the high portability status that really only the GBA SP has cheived imo. Certainly, the size (only 2/3 the orignal DS) gives it marks, now able to fit in many people's trouser pockets with ease and its flip-top design gives it extra portability and durability.
Of course, connected with portability is the...
Battery Life
Much much better, i've had it for a few days and i've been playing various games on it wiht the hgihest brightness setting, Nintendo claims that a good 8 +-2 hours battery life is acheivable with the highest brightness setting. Which doesn't sound THAT good, but considering the wide range of brightness levels avaialble, the player can diverse if the battery happens to run low and go for a lower brightness setting which is still playable! Of course, a much more intensive play tets is needed to test the true battery life but so far, no complaints.
Durability
Very important for a handheld becuas its likely to get dropped around if not careful, and this would be one of the DS Lite's weak points, its small size and very fragile weight (lighter than DS) makes its almost on par with the PSP in terms of durability. Of coruse, with the flip top design, it can save the screens, but i can see lots of innards taking a huge impact from the drop and making the system terrible. But this is Nitnendo we're talking about, honoured with a high reputation on system build quality, im sure that the DS Lite can hold up for a while, but practically, i dont want to try to find out.
Design Interface
Thsi is concerned with the buttons and stuff, admiteedly, i fell in love with the buttons, perfect clickable buttons which actually feel fien for any gamer. Now the D-pad o nthe other hand, small is the word to use here, the original DS's D-pad was fine imo, it looked ugly and tacky but worked well, now the DSL's D-pad felt really small and flimsy, include clickable D-pad directions and it felt really tacked up.. hopefully the Wii D-pad isn't like this at all. The Dual-screen and Touch-screen interface ar ethe same as usual, though it does seem that the touch-screen feels much harder than before. Good plus for me. The mic placement has now changed and it now in the middle of the console, a much better position than on the bottom. One bad point which i may have to get used to is the Start and Select buttons, far too small and im more comfortable with these buttons on the original DS.
The GBA cartridge has to be mentioned, with a GBA game in it.. it looks UGLY! Now, this is a problem if i want to play a game of Warioware Inc on the DS Lite because now it makes the system un-sexy. On the DS, it worked wodners as it in line with the whole DS shape, unfortunately, the cost of reducing the size of the DS is now that a GBA cartridge may make it look ugly. Bad Nintendo.. actually, bad Battery pack at the back!
Overall:
DSL - 8/10
Comparison:
PSP - 7/10
DS - 7/10
Friday, June 23, 2006
Media Create Software/Hardware sales (June 12th-18th)
Hardware
Nintendo DS Lite - 141,487
PSP - 24,653
Nintendo DS - 22,748
PS2 - 20,737
GBA SP - 4,642
Xbox 360 - 1,407
Gameboy Micro 1,294
Gamecube - 1,002
GBA - 20
Xbox - 15
DSL domination, nothing new here really.. except for the fact that DS sales went up from its disastrous 1,000~ sales last week, Nintendo must have restocked ther original DS i nJapan for a bit.
Software
1. (DS, Nintendo) New Super Mario Brothers - 200,037 / 1,678,646
2. (DS, Nintendo) More Brain Age - 60,463 / 2,537,238
3. (PS2, Konami) World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 - 52,124 / 813,531
4. (DS, Bandai Namco) Digimon Story - 41,135 / new
5. (DS, Nintendo) Brain Age - 40,878 / 2,398,608
6. (DS, Nintendo) Animal Crossing Wild World - 30,206 / 2,830,211
7. (DS, Nintendo) English Training DS - 26,723 / 1,168,346
8. (DS, Nintendo) Tetris DS - 23,762 / 620,348
9. (PS2, D3) Pachislot Vol. 5 Shinseiki - 23,587 / 124,554
10. (PSP, SCE) Doko Demi* Issho Let's Gakkou! - 16,852 / new
Nothing exciting, good stuff as usual from Nintendo!
Nintendo DS Lite - 141,487
PSP - 24,653
Nintendo DS - 22,748
PS2 - 20,737
GBA SP - 4,642
Xbox 360 - 1,407
Gameboy Micro 1,294
Gamecube - 1,002
GBA - 20
Xbox - 15
DSL domination, nothing new here really.. except for the fact that DS sales went up from its disastrous 1,000~ sales last week, Nintendo must have restocked ther original DS i nJapan for a bit.
Software
1. (DS, Nintendo) New Super Mario Brothers - 200,037 / 1,678,646
2. (DS, Nintendo) More Brain Age - 60,463 / 2,537,238
3. (PS2, Konami) World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 - 52,124 / 813,531
4. (DS, Bandai Namco) Digimon Story - 41,135 / new
5. (DS, Nintendo) Brain Age - 40,878 / 2,398,608
6. (DS, Nintendo) Animal Crossing Wild World - 30,206 / 2,830,211
7. (DS, Nintendo) English Training DS - 26,723 / 1,168,346
8. (DS, Nintendo) Tetris DS - 23,762 / 620,348
9. (PS2, D3) Pachislot Vol. 5 Shinseiki - 23,587 / 124,554
10. (PSP, SCE) Doko Demi* Issho Let's Gakkou! - 16,852 / new
Nothing exciting, good stuff as usual from Nintendo!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
GTAIV Screen fake!
Rockstar has confirmed that the above 'GTAIV' screen is fake. Though the screen had some nice ideas, in particular the weeing dog, female lead, 3D map etc, this is all too fake to be believable.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Random interesting game stuff (Tales, Trusty Bell, Famitsu scores etc)
Tales of series for Sony consoles
Namco held a conferenc eyesterday detailing the next games for their hugely popular 'Tales of' series, and the detail are as follows.
Tales of Destiny(PS2)
Tales of Destiny 2(PSP)
Tales of the World Radiant Mythology(PSP)
Tales of Phantasia Full Voice Edition(PSP)
Tales of the World
Overall, a bunch of remakes/ports for PS2/PSP with Tales of the World becoming the only interesting title from the batch! Love to see Lloyd, Raine and Kratos kick ass again!
Source: Gamefront.de, namco
-------
Trusty Bell (X-box 360)
See, even with my hated X-box ways, i still have room for some X-box news (abeit only the ones that interets me) This rpg is from Namco, which was heavily rumoured to appear on the X-360 some day, but Famitsu have managed to get screenies of it. It actually looks pretty decent, X-360 is really shaping up to be a good console (finally)Below are the pics:
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Famitsu Scores
Chromehounds (Xbox 360, Sega): 9 / 7 / 8 / 9 - (33/40)
Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage (Xbox 360, Idea Factory): 7 / 6 / 6 / 7 - (26/40)
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Xbox 360, Ubisoft): 9 / 8 / 8 / 9 - (34/40)
Parfait: Chocolat Second Style (PS2, Alchemist): 8 / 8 / 7 / 7 - (30/40)
Tamayura (PS2, Yeti): 6 / 6 / 5 / 6 - (23/40)
SoulLink Extension (PS2, Interchannel): 7 / 7 / 6 / 6 - (26/40)
Metal Slug (PS2, SNK Playmore): 7 / 7 / 7 / 7 - (28/40)
FIFA Street 2 (PS2, EA): 8 / 7 / 6 / 7 - (28/40)
Iris no Atelier: Gran Phantasm (PS2, Gust): 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 - (32/40)
Festa!! Hyper Girls Party (PS2, Kid): 6 / 7 / 5 / 6 - (24/40)
Winback 2: Project Poseidon (PS2, Koei): 7 / 7 / 7 / 7 - (28/40)
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (PS2, Konami): 8 / 8 / 7 / 8 - (31/40)
Simple 2000 Series Vol. 100 The Otokotachi no Kijyuu Houza (PS2, D3): 6 / 4 / 3 / 4 - (17/40)
Chou Dragon Ball Z (PS2, Banpresto): 8 / 8 / 7 / 8 -(31/40)
Lisa to Isshoni Dairoku Oudan: AI Ressha de Gyoukou (PSP, Idea Factory): 8 / 7 / 6 / 6 - (27/40)
Find Love: Hara Fumina - Fuari no Futaride... (PSP, Capcom): 6 / 5 / 7 / 6 - (24/40)
Gurumin (PSP, Falcom): 8 / 8 / 8 / 7 - (31/40)
Finding Nemo: Touch de Nemo (NDS, Sega): 6 / 7 / 7 / 5 - (25/40)
Atama wo Kitaete Asobu Taisen Yajirushi Puzzle: Puppynu Vector One (NDS, Megacyber): 7 / 4 / 4 / 6 - (21/40)
Source: Gamefront.de
-------
More new games for the Wii
Ignition Entertainment is said to be bringing 2 new Mercury games for the Wii (Mercury is the under-hyped, puzzle game which received well reviews) as well as the Metal Slug Anthology which was announced awhile back. Its full lineup is this:
Metal Slug Antology (PSP) - November
Metal Slug Anthology (Wii) - November
Mercury Meltdown (PS2) - November
Mercury Meltdown (Wii) - November
Mercury Meltdown Remix (PS2) - Q4 2006
Mercury Type R (Wii) - Q4 2006
KoFMI 2.5 (XBOX 360) - Q4 2006
Thats all i have for now.. i could have added other bits liek Super Paper Mario video but never mind the small details.
Namco held a conferenc eyesterday detailing the next games for their hugely popular 'Tales of' series, and the detail are as follows.
Tales of Destiny(PS2)
Tales of Destiny 2(PSP)
Tales of the World Radiant Mythology(PSP)
Tales of Phantasia Full Voice Edition(PSP)
Tales of the World
Overall, a bunch of remakes/ports for PS2/PSP with Tales of the World becoming the only interesting title from the batch! Love to see Lloyd, Raine and Kratos kick ass again!
Source: Gamefront.de, namco
-------
Trusty Bell (X-box 360)
See, even with my hated X-box ways, i still have room for some X-box news (abeit only the ones that interets me) This rpg is from Namco, which was heavily rumoured to appear on the X-360 some day, but Famitsu have managed to get screenies of it. It actually looks pretty decent, X-360 is really shaping up to be a good console (finally)Below are the pics:
------
Famitsu Scores
Chromehounds (Xbox 360, Sega): 9 / 7 / 8 / 9 - (33/40)
Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage (Xbox 360, Idea Factory): 7 / 6 / 6 / 7 - (26/40)
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Xbox 360, Ubisoft): 9 / 8 / 8 / 9 - (34/40)
Parfait: Chocolat Second Style (PS2, Alchemist): 8 / 8 / 7 / 7 - (30/40)
Tamayura (PS2, Yeti): 6 / 6 / 5 / 6 - (23/40)
SoulLink Extension (PS2, Interchannel): 7 / 7 / 6 / 6 - (26/40)
Metal Slug (PS2, SNK Playmore): 7 / 7 / 7 / 7 - (28/40)
FIFA Street 2 (PS2, EA): 8 / 7 / 6 / 7 - (28/40)
Iris no Atelier: Gran Phantasm (PS2, Gust): 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 - (32/40)
Festa!! Hyper Girls Party (PS2, Kid): 6 / 7 / 5 / 6 - (24/40)
Winback 2: Project Poseidon (PS2, Koei): 7 / 7 / 7 / 7 - (28/40)
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (PS2, Konami): 8 / 8 / 7 / 8 - (31/40)
Simple 2000 Series Vol. 100 The Otokotachi no Kijyuu Houza (PS2, D3): 6 / 4 / 3 / 4 - (17/40)
Chou Dragon Ball Z (PS2, Banpresto): 8 / 8 / 7 / 8 -(31/40)
Lisa to Isshoni Dairoku Oudan: AI Ressha de Gyoukou (PSP, Idea Factory): 8 / 7 / 6 / 6 - (27/40)
Find Love: Hara Fumina - Fuari no Futaride... (PSP, Capcom): 6 / 5 / 7 / 6 - (24/40)
Gurumin (PSP, Falcom): 8 / 8 / 8 / 7 - (31/40)
Finding Nemo: Touch de Nemo (NDS, Sega): 6 / 7 / 7 / 5 - (25/40)
Atama wo Kitaete Asobu Taisen Yajirushi Puzzle: Puppynu Vector One (NDS, Megacyber): 7 / 4 / 4 / 6 - (21/40)
Source: Gamefront.de
-------
More new games for the Wii
Ignition Entertainment is said to be bringing 2 new Mercury games for the Wii (Mercury is the under-hyped, puzzle game which received well reviews) as well as the Metal Slug Anthology which was announced awhile back. Its full lineup is this:
Metal Slug Antology (PSP) - November
Metal Slug Anthology (Wii) - November
Mercury Meltdown (PS2) - November
Mercury Meltdown (Wii) - November
Mercury Meltdown Remix (PS2) - Q4 2006
Mercury Type R (Wii) - Q4 2006
KoFMI 2.5 (XBOX 360) - Q4 2006
Thats all i have for now.. i could have added other bits liek Super Paper Mario video but never mind the small details.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Anime Review: Suzuka
Oh ok, Suzuka, a romance/sport show that fails to hit its goal at many levels.
Lets get pass the good things about this anime show first since there are many negatives things about this:
1- Character designs, all of them are cutely designed with a nice 'realistic' feeling as well, also the school uniforms were nice looking as well.
2 - The 'premise' of the story was ok, though cliched, its certainly not a bad one.
3 - The side characters, in particular Hashiba and Yamato's friend
Ok, bad things:
1 - Suzuka and Yamato: Suzuka is officially my worst female protagonist in a romance anime, she is god-awful in every single aspect i can think of. One day, she likes Yamato, the other day she hates him, the other day she acts crazy and stupid, this is one stupid character who can't stick with one consistency and really muddled up the romance aspect of this show. Yamato is a bit dense sometimes but he improved later on, he knew how to deal with things smartly and know how to deal with that so called woman called Suzuka. Sure, Suzuka may have mixed emotions due to her past friend's accident but it stays inconsistent, the days when she enjoys being with Yamato neglects the fact that she still has feelings for Tsuda. Inconcsistency, crappy personality for Suzuka and really a totally unspectacular romance. Full of angst and so much confusion, it was literally a terrible romance from both sides, with Yamato being the better side of it and Suzuka being the totally angsty other side.
2 - Far.. too.. many..episodes!! 26 dammit, with the whole story, i could easily use 12 episodes and still produce the same effect, there were far too many useless episodes in this show and it stayed the same slow,progressive pace which totally ruiend the show.
3 - Sports aspect.. was it needed???!! Aside form the fact it connects Suzuka and Yamato, there really was no need for the whole track and field aspect aside form a little plot device that serves very little in the whole main story of thigns. It could have been much better, if thigns concentrated on the sports abit more than things might be better, but no, i guess a concentration of the romance might be what they were aiming for, but unfortunately it wasn't that good honest.
Overall, 3 good points, 3 bad points, with many more bad points that i could have listed. In fact, Suzuka wa s awaste of time for me, there are much better romantic 'real-life' animes out there, Suzuka is really not one that fits that bill.
4.5/10
Grade: E
Anime Review: Fate/Stay Night
Ah, Fate/Stay Night (FSN), Type Moon's first commercial project (Tsukihime doesn't really count but is still a Type Moon product) . With all the hype surrounding it and with a very strong fanbase behind the whole thing, how does it weigh?
Well, first things first, the characters, they are important to the whole show, though sometimes cliched in some parts, they are a joy to watch, from the tomboyish Rin to the 'manly' Saber, they are instantly enjoyable. The number of characters are pretty hgih as well, include the fact theres 7 servants + 7 masters + other side characters, FSN has it work cut out in trying to apply equal number of showtime for all.
Hence, that is its weak point, despite being 24 episodes more, it really *really* needed more episodes, a 52 episode series would be fine in my books if its done to actually provide mroe character development between the characters, for instance, instead of just a half episode summary of Rin and Sakura's connection, why not go for a whole episode or two. Heck, with so much screentime on Saber and Shirou, the other 'main' characters felt lacking, Rin and Sakura for instance. The extra episodes could be done on explaining the story more, and by the last few episodes, you know they rushed it when things went haywire and made very little sense.
That saying, the story isn't bad, just badly told, the premise is very good, its original and unique, it wasn't that great when they presented it though.
FSN is strong with its abundance of characters, entertainment, original story and strong fanbase support, unfortunately, unlike Tsukihime, it lacks the urgency in the atmosphere and also it lacks great action scenes, aside from maybe Archer vs Berserker, most of them are generic sword-swinging, then talk for 5 minutes, then sword-swing again. This happens quite alot, and really is needed to be more substance than stylish.
Overall, FSN could have been better with more episodes but liek Tsukihime, its not as good as whole story in its H-game which it is based off.
8/10
Grade: B+
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Need for Speed: Carbon Wii Magazine Scans
Source: ngcfrance.com (dont know which magazine it is from, likely GameInformer)
Overall, maybe its just the quality of the scans or something but it doesn't look too bad actually. Of course a simple X-box/GC can produce graphics like those, but im more interested in how the game will make full use of the Wiimote.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Japan sales: Media Create Hardware Sales (June 5th- June 11th)
Nintendo DS Lite - 132,027
PSP - 21,656
PS2 - 18,981
GBA SP - 4,116
Gameboy Micro - 1,654
Nintendo DS - 1,371
Xbox 360 - 1,100
Gamecube - 961
GBA - 36
Xbox - 20
Any surprises? No.. not really... aside form the fact that DS sales are at an all time low.. pretty standard stuff per usual. DS Lite.. ftw..!
PSP - 21,656
PS2 - 18,981
GBA SP - 4,116
Gameboy Micro - 1,654
Nintendo DS - 1,371
Xbox 360 - 1,100
Gamecube - 961
GBA - 36
Xbox - 20
Any surprises? No.. not really... aside form the fact that DS sales are at an all time low.. pretty standard stuff per usual. DS Lite.. ftw..!
Wiimote not finalised yet.. and Sony vending machines...
Wiimote not finalised
Source from IGN:
"The Wii and its controller may have been the big talk of E3, but recent comments by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto suggest that what we saw at the show was not the final thing. Speaking with Japan's Famitsu, the Nintendo spokesperson and father of Mario and Zelda said, "We're still debating on the area of how many buttons to use.""
With a few months to launch, Nintendo really should have decided the final design by E3, but heck, more buttons.. the more complex it would be i guess.
---
Sony PSP Vending Machines
Hmm..., naturally, this is a bad idea to get your Sony PSP or its game. What if it breaks when it falls from its vicious 5 foot drop? What about refunds? What about people who will break into these machines like they do with the candy/soda machines?
Of course, Sony are only going to put 10 throughout the US of A, but with the demand now steadying and no sell outs or such, i dont see the point really. This is a bad move from Sony in all respects, i cant see it being beneficial.. to anyone
Source from IGN:
"The Wii and its controller may have been the big talk of E3, but recent comments by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto suggest that what we saw at the show was not the final thing. Speaking with Japan's Famitsu, the Nintendo spokesperson and father of Mario and Zelda said, "We're still debating on the area of how many buttons to use.""
With a few months to launch, Nintendo really should have decided the final design by E3, but heck, more buttons.. the more complex it would be i guess.
---
Sony PSP Vending Machines
Hmm..., naturally, this is a bad idea to get your Sony PSP or its game. What if it breaks when it falls from its vicious 5 foot drop? What about refunds? What about people who will break into these machines like they do with the candy/soda machines?Of course, Sony are only going to put 10 throughout the US of A, but with the demand now steadying and no sell outs or such, i dont see the point really. This is a bad move from Sony in all respects, i cant see it being beneficial.. to anyone
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Anime Review: Bincho-tan
Bincho-tan is a strange one really, the main selling point of this anime is the cute factor, with characters such as Bincho-tan making the airwaves in Japan throughout history, its not really a strong selling point now.However, Bincho-tan is NOT a bad anime really, its really light-hearted and though the cute factor gets tiresome after a while, the show is really about everyday life things of sorts.. which may make this anime seem as though its nothing more than a boring show about nothing.
This is not the case though, despite the atrocious first episode, from 2nd episode onwards, it starts to introduce the far superior side-characters like Ren, Chiku and Aloe who are the real stars of the show . In some respects, this show should be called Chiku-tan because she is funny, cute and everything Bincho-tan should be but isn't!.
You know theres a problem when the first episodes show how inconsistent the size of Bincho-tan really is, one point she is as small as a bottle, the next, she is as big as a door. Eventually, Bincho-tan had more consistency as the show went on but this is still a bad point.
Overall, Bincho-tan is nothing more than a light-hearted look at the daily life of Bincho-tan (which is a bit repetitive) and really aside from the first episode, everything else is watchable to a degree when Chikutan comes along.
6/10
Grade: C
Japan, Media Create Software sales (June 6th - 11th)
1. NSMB - 244,882 / 1,478,608
2. Pachislot - 100967 / NEW
3. Brain Age 2 - 52,876 / 2,476,775
4. Winning Eleven - 34,880 / 761,407
5. Brain Age - 34,760 / 2,357,730
6. Animal Crossing - 25,355 / 2,800,004
7. English Training - 23,130 / 1,141,623
8. Tetris DS - 21,710 / 596,585
9. Mario Kart DS - 11,880 / 1,424,882
10. Pokemon Ranger - 11,646 / 574,231
Basically, DS Wins.. again. 8 of the top 10 are DS software, the other 2 are PS2 stuff, and even Pachislot Eva (2 very popular franchises in Japan) couldn't stop the almighty NSMB!
Hardware sales tomorrow
2. Pachislot - 100967 / NEW
3. Brain Age 2 - 52,876 / 2,476,775
4. Winning Eleven - 34,880 / 761,407
5. Brain Age - 34,760 / 2,357,730
6. Animal Crossing - 25,355 / 2,800,004
7. English Training - 23,130 / 1,141,623
8. Tetris DS - 21,710 / 596,585
9. Mario Kart DS - 11,880 / 1,424,882
10. Pokemon Ranger - 11,646 / 574,231
Basically, DS Wins.. again. 8 of the top 10 are DS software, the other 2 are PS2 stuff, and even Pachislot Eva (2 very popular franchises in Japan) couldn't stop the almighty NSMB!
Hardware sales tomorrow
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Random tidbits... of sorts
First off, the new Tales game which is supposed to be announced next week, Famitsu has said that it will come out on a Sony console (so either a PS2, PSP or PS3), so thats all done and dusted.
Next, i am almost finished with Bincho-tan, 2 more episodes to go and a review of it will come really soon (today or tomorrow perhaps)
Lastly, ooh, since im new to blogging i may have not found the option yet, but unlike my xanga, the entries are rather short in terms of the length of the column, is there a way to increase that length? (Im assumign some html code is required..:S)
Oh well, not much today.
BREAKING NEWS
http://www.play-gadgets.com/2006/06/14/232-million-of-black-nintendo-ds-lite-gone-missing/
Major shipment of black DS Lites missing..a large shipment of black DS Lites bound for Europe, along with a stockpile of DS games, has gone missing in Hong Kong. The estimated value of the merchandise, which was sealed in a cargo container, is 18,000,000 Hong Kong dollars (roughly $2.3 million).Some reports suggest that black DS Lites have recently entered Hong Kong's 'black' market, prompting police to suspect that the missing cargo container has indeed been stolen. Police are offering a 1,000,000 HKD (almost $129,000) reward for information about the lost goods.
My DS Lite Black better not be delayed ffs! Argh!!
Next, i am almost finished with Bincho-tan, 2 more episodes to go and a review of it will come really soon (today or tomorrow perhaps)
Lastly, ooh, since im new to blogging i may have not found the option yet, but unlike my xanga, the entries are rather short in terms of the length of the column, is there a way to increase that length? (Im assumign some html code is required..:S)
Oh well, not much today.
BREAKING NEWS
http://www.play-gadgets.com/2006/06/14/232-million-of-black-nintendo-ds-lite-gone-missing/
Major shipment of black DS Lites missing..a large shipment of black DS Lites bound for Europe, along with a stockpile of DS games, has gone missing in Hong Kong. The estimated value of the merchandise, which was sealed in a cargo container, is 18,000,000 Hong Kong dollars (roughly $2.3 million).Some reports suggest that black DS Lites have recently entered Hong Kong's 'black' market, prompting police to suspect that the missing cargo container has indeed been stolen. Police are offering a 1,000,000 HKD (almost $129,000) reward for information about the lost goods.
My DS Lite Black better not be delayed ffs! Argh!!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Some random game news
EGM (electronic gaming magazine) has graded the E3 showings, hopefully much better than the ones last year (since they favoured the PSP lineup more than the DS's one.. which everyone disagreed)
PS3 - B-
Wii - B+
Xbox 360 - B+
Nintendo DS - A
PSP - C+
GBA - See Me After Class
PlayStation 2 - B+
Xbox - D
GameCube - D-
Overall, fair enough results though the PSP had a lame showing (again) this year and the PS3 was badly received by many of the media. Great to see OUR the Nintendo DS get an A. Superbness!
---
Other news: Call of Duty 3 Wii scans!
Source from GAF and JF. It looks 'decent' i suppose but the quality of the scan isn't good. Hopefully a fully function multiplayer mode is available which equals the intenseness of COD2's multiplayer.
---
Super Smash Brothers Brawl update
well, it looks as though Sakurai (developer/creator of SSB) is going to dedicate most of his 2006 time developing the highly anticipated fighting party game, therefore, no real updates until 2007 is the likely scenario.
PS3 - B-
Wii - B+
Xbox 360 - B+
Nintendo DS - A
PSP - C+
GBA - See Me After Class
PlayStation 2 - B+
Xbox - D
GameCube - D-
Overall, fair enough results though the PSP had a lame showing (again) this year and the PS3 was badly received by many of the media. Great to see OUR the Nintendo DS get an A. Superbness!
---
Other news: Call of Duty 3 Wii scans!
Source from GAF and JF. It looks 'decent' i suppose but the quality of the scan isn't good. Hopefully a fully function multiplayer mode is available which equals the intenseness of COD2's multiplayer.
---
Super Smash Brothers Brawl update
well, it looks as though Sakurai (developer/creator of SSB) is going to dedicate most of his 2006 time developing the highly anticipated fighting party game, therefore, no real updates until 2007 is the likely scenario.
New Tales announcement next week!
Alright! As a self-respecting RPG fanatic and huge 'Tales of' fan, news like this is bound to get me excited! Namco will announce something regarding the 'Tales of' series next week, hopefully something on the next-gen consoles perhaps, possibly a PS3 game (very likely)
http://namco-ch.net/taleschannel/index.html
In other news, i started Utawaremono today, first episode was cute and funny! Im loving Eruruu's character and im only on the first episode! Damn, i've got high hoeps for this anime since i saw trhe trailer last year and it seems as though it won't disappoint but its far too early to say. In other news, Suzuka is officially the worst female anime lead i've ever come across! Her angsty ways in the popular anime Suzuka got my teeth grinding and i really hope that all real women aren't like this stupid character! Im very close to finishing that so hopefully, i got a review by next week hopefully at the latest!
Next week is the release of the DS Lite for the UK as well as Jet Li's final action flick, Fearless. Well, hopefully thats not the last because Jet Li wants to do something else (more drama stuff) but his primary role as an action man is hard to shake off and it will be weird to see him in a movie like the Titanic or Shawshank Redemption.
http://namco-ch.net/taleschannel/index.html
In other news, i started Utawaremono today, first episode was cute and funny! Im loving Eruruu's character and im only on the first episode! Damn, i've got high hoeps for this anime since i saw trhe trailer last year and it seems as though it won't disappoint but its far too early to say. In other news, Suzuka is officially the worst female anime lead i've ever come across! Her angsty ways in the popular anime Suzuka got my teeth grinding and i really hope that all real women aren't like this stupid character! Im very close to finishing that so hopefully, i got a review by next week hopefully at the latest!
Next week is the release of the DS Lite for the UK as well as Jet Li's final action flick, Fearless. Well, hopefully thats not the last because Jet Li wants to do something else (more drama stuff) but his primary role as an action man is hard to shake off and it will be weird to see him in a movie like the Titanic or Shawshank Redemption.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Current Anime status
Watching now
Fate Stay Night: 23 episodes, 1 episode to finish.
Suzuka: 20 episodes, 6 episodes to finish
Mai Otome: 1st episode
School Rumble 2: 3 episodes
Naruto: pending until filler stops
Bleach: 82 episodes, filler is hurting me.
Well, atm, im not a huge anime watching craze at the moment, been playing too many games lately like Maple Story, Dragon Quest VIII and Call of Duty 2. But heres a small summary of what i think of them so far. Suzuka - Mediocre romance/sports show, needs more on everything really to be any good and i cant see that happening with the last episodes its got left.
Mai Otome - Too early to say anythign really. School Rumble 2 - Great first episodes, similar to the amazing first season. Need to start re-watching it though. Naruto - Gave up after 151 episodes, Scent Bug filler arc hurt me alot.. tell me when fillers are finished. Bleach - Crap filler ac at the moment, slowly becoming the worst Shonen series i've seen.
I will post my full reviews on anime series when i fnish with them, the last one i finished was REC which was surprisingly good! But since i watched that before the blog was made, i decided not to post it here. But i recommend watching that show !
Going to start soon
Gantz 2
Black Cat
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Kanon remake
Honey and Clover 2
Utawaremono
High School Girls
Soul Link
yes, i've been delaying Gantz 2 for awhile and i wil lstart watchign it after i finished Suzuka, as for the other series, im planning to start either Soul Link (Top right picture) or Utawaremono after i fnished with Fate Stay Night. The others i will go into them when i have the time. Especially for Honey and Clover 2, in which the first series became the top aniem of 2005 and is in my top 5 anime of all time! Watch it! Its fucking good!
Fate Stay Night: 23 episodes, 1 episode to finish.
Suzuka: 20 episodes, 6 episodes to finish
Mai Otome: 1st episode
School Rumble 2: 3 episodes
Naruto: pending until filler stops
Bleach: 82 episodes, filler is hurting me.
Well, atm, im not a huge anime watching craze at the moment, been playing too many games lately like Maple Story, Dragon Quest VIII and Call of Duty 2. But heres a small summary of what i think of them so far. Suzuka - Mediocre romance/sports show, needs more on everything really to be any good and i cant see that happening with the last episodes its got left.
Mai Otome - Too early to say anythign really. School Rumble 2 - Great first episodes, similar to the amazing first season. Need to start re-watching it though. Naruto - Gave up after 151 episodes, Scent Bug filler arc hurt me alot.. tell me when fillers are finished. Bleach - Crap filler ac at the moment, slowly becoming the worst Shonen series i've seen.
I will post my full reviews on anime series when i fnish with them, the last one i finished was REC which was surprisingly good! But since i watched that before the blog was made, i decided not to post it here. But i recommend watching that show !
Going to start soon
Gantz 2
Black Cat
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Kanon remake
Honey and Clover 2
Utawaremono
High School Girls
Soul Link
yes, i've been delaying Gantz 2 for awhile and i wil lstart watchign it after i finished Suzuka, as for the other series, im planning to start either Soul Link (Top right picture) or Utawaremono after i fnished with Fate Stay Night. The others i will go into them when i have the time. Especially for Honey and Clover 2, in which the first series became the top aniem of 2005 and is in my top 5 anime of all time! Watch it! Its fucking good!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Nintendo Do's and Don'ts
hehe, an interesting article from AOL on the good and bad of Nintendo's gaming history ranging from the downright cool (Wii) to the downright bad (Mario movie)
Sauce: http://videogames.aol.com/canvases/articles/_a/nintendos-and-donts/20060607161909990001
And i n oticed that this blog needs mroe than just Nintendo gaming stuff, i will try adding in more anime stuff atm, im almost finished with Suzuka, and i started off Binchou Tan and Mai Otome recently, so i can do one tomorrow or something.
Sauce: http://videogames.aol.com/canvases/articles/_a/nintendos-and-donts/20060607161909990001
And i n oticed that this blog needs mroe than just Nintendo gaming stuff, i will try adding in more anime stuff atm, im almost finished with Suzuka, and i started off Binchou Tan and Mai Otome recently, so i can do one tomorrow or something.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Japan Sales: Media Create Hardware Sales (May 29th - june 4th)
DSL 135,614
PSP 24,595
PS2 18,513
GBASP 4,364
GBM 1,270
Xbox360 1,245
DS 1,159
GC 798
Xbox 43
GBA 30
OMG! X-box beat GBA sales this week! while everything else is pretty much the same, the continued sell outs of the DS/DSL consoles in the land of the rising sun is having an impact of course, DS sales are at a low (i remmeber the times it can match up to the current DSL sales and even more!) while DSL sales dropped from 300,000 to about 130,000.
Famitsu also created a graph showing the sales of last week:
This looks impressive, but notice the 200,000 gap in the graph and X-axis.. a more accurate representation is here, (thx to Gaffer Rlan) . HOLY SHIT indeed.
PSP 24,595
PS2 18,513
GBASP 4,364
GBM 1,270
Xbox360 1,245
DS 1,159
GC 798
Xbox 43
GBA 30
OMG! X-box beat GBA sales this week! while everything else is pretty much the same, the continued sell outs of the DS/DSL consoles in the land of the rising sun is having an impact of course, DS sales are at a low (i remmeber the times it can match up to the current DSL sales and even more!) while DSL sales dropped from 300,000 to about 130,000.
Famitsu also created a graph showing the sales of last week:
This looks impressive, but notice the 200,000 gap in the graph and X-axis.. a more accurate representation is here, (thx to Gaffer Rlan) . HOLY SHIT indeed.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Japan Sales: Media Create Software sales (29th May - 4th June)
01 NDS New Super Mario Bros - 334208 / 1233726
02 NDS Brain Age 2 - 56470 / 2423898
03 NDS Brain Age - 40211 / 2322970
04 NDS Metroid Prime hunters - 32467 / 32467
05 PS2 Winning Eleven 10 - 31600 / 726527
06 NDS Tetris DS - 29209 / 574875
07 NDS Animal Crossing - 28552 / 2774649
08 NDS English Training - 25997 / 1118493
09 PS2 Powerful Major League - 20852/ 176408
10 PSP DQ & FF in Itadaki Street Portable - 15640 / 63982
Oh look, another million seller for the DS, the DS is really dominating Japan.. again!
The most surprising thing here is the Metroid prime entry, since Japanese people tend not to like FPSs.. hmm..
PSP am cry again, even the combination of DQ and FF characters in a game can't save it!
02 NDS Brain Age 2 - 56470 / 2423898
03 NDS Brain Age - 40211 / 2322970
04 NDS Metroid Prime hunters - 32467 / 32467
05 PS2 Winning Eleven 10 - 31600 / 726527
06 NDS Tetris DS - 29209 / 574875
07 NDS Animal Crossing - 28552 / 2774649
08 NDS English Training - 25997 / 1118493
09 PS2 Powerful Major League - 20852/ 176408
10 PSP DQ & FF in Itadaki Street Portable - 15640 / 63982
Oh look, another million seller for the DS, the DS is really dominating Japan.. again!
The most surprising thing here is the Metroid prime entry, since Japanese people tend not to like FPSs.. hmm..
PSP am cry again, even the combination of DQ and FF characters in a game can't save it!
Nintendo's small conference yesterday
Source from JonnyRam from (neo)GAF
OK, it was more management direction this week - as opposed to the retailer stuff last week.
DS part:http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/200...54485,0,0.html
Stats (for Japan):32% of DS owners bought Animal Crossing
23% Mario Kart
14% Tetris
20% New Super Mario Bros
10 titles have shipped a million now, quite a feat.
Opera will be delayed a month... coming out in July now.
The Oneseg TV tuner will go on sale in Autumn and will cost "approximately half the price of the DS hardware" = ~8400 yen.
Nintendo aims to continue the Touch Generations series, with the balance between "non-games" and games being very important to them. Seems they want to get more non-gamers into games gradually - the above stats seem to indicate such a motion.
Pokemon will have wi-fi worldwide voicechat.
Wii part:http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/200...54492,0,0.html
Shipping 4 million by the end of the calendar year (worldwide)Pokemon Battle Revolution will be out a few months after Pearl/Diamond and will link with the DS game.
New games (not just the emulated stuff) on Virtual Console could also be 500-1000 yen.
Main DS-Wii connectivity will be:- touch-screen controller- Wii = DS station, like the shop kiosks- DS games can be expanded via Wii
Screenshot of the Pokemon Battle Revolution
Youtube video of Pokemon Wii
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apHSA8iQizI&search=Pokemon%20Wii
OK, it was more management direction this week - as opposed to the retailer stuff last week.
DS part:http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/200...54485,0,0.html
Stats (for Japan):32% of DS owners bought Animal Crossing
23% Mario Kart
14% Tetris
20% New Super Mario Bros
10 titles have shipped a million now, quite a feat.
Opera will be delayed a month... coming out in July now.
The Oneseg TV tuner will go on sale in Autumn and will cost "approximately half the price of the DS hardware" = ~8400 yen.
Nintendo aims to continue the Touch Generations series, with the balance between "non-games" and games being very important to them. Seems they want to get more non-gamers into games gradually - the above stats seem to indicate such a motion.
Pokemon will have wi-fi worldwide voicechat.
Wii part:http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/200...54492,0,0.html
Shipping 4 million by the end of the calendar year (worldwide)Pokemon Battle Revolution will be out a few months after Pearl/Diamond and will link with the DS game.
New games (not just the emulated stuff) on Virtual Console could also be 500-1000 yen.
Main DS-Wii connectivity will be:- touch-screen controller- Wii = DS station, like the shop kiosks- DS games can be expanded via Wii
Screenshot of the Pokemon Battle Revolution
Youtube video of Pokemon Wii
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apHSA8iQizI&search=Pokemon%20Wii
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Japanese Gamers still prefer the Wii
"Sauce: http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3162&Itemid=2
Gamaga = A Japanese multi-platform magazine.
Which of the 3 next generation consoles do you want to buy?
65.09%: Wii
19.53%: PS3
13.61%: Xbox 360 (including import)
1.78%: None
Are you going to buy a Wii?
57%: Yes
33%: I’m thinking about it
10%: No
Is the 62,790 yen price tag for the basic version of the PS3 expensive?
87.57%: This is not a price for a game console.
10.06%: It is not surprising when you look at the features.
2.37%: It is actually less expensive than I feared.
Should the PS3 have great games for the launch, would this push to buy the console even if it is expensive?
46.75%: No
37.87%: I need time to think
15.38%: Yes
Will you buy an Xbox 360?
44.97%: No
33.14%: Maybe
17.75%: Thinking about it
4.14%: Yes
"
What can i say? Nintendo has got Japanese gamers in their grasps, and if Nintendo is still trying to aim the non-gaming audience, the whole of Japan will be a safe haven for Nintendophiles! And i'll be there as well ;)
Gamaga = A Japanese multi-platform magazine.
Which of the 3 next generation consoles do you want to buy?
65.09%: Wii
19.53%: PS3
13.61%: Xbox 360 (including import)
1.78%: None
Are you going to buy a Wii?
57%: Yes
33%: I’m thinking about it
10%: No
Is the 62,790 yen price tag for the basic version of the PS3 expensive?
87.57%: This is not a price for a game console.
10.06%: It is not surprising when you look at the features.
2.37%: It is actually less expensive than I feared.
Should the PS3 have great games for the launch, would this push to buy the console even if it is expensive?
46.75%: No
37.87%: I need time to think
15.38%: Yes
Will you buy an Xbox 360?
44.97%: No
33.14%: Maybe
17.75%: Thinking about it
4.14%: Yes
"
What can i say? Nintendo has got Japanese gamers in their grasps, and if Nintendo is still trying to aim the non-gaming audience, the whole of Japan will be a safe haven for Nintendophiles! And i'll be there as well ;)
Sunday, June 04, 2006
My (not-so-important) view on next gen consoles
Unfortnately, since this is a new blog, i was unable to comment extensively on the E3 event that happened last month, (blame on exams). So to give some nice afterthoughts on the whole matter, i give a view on the big 3.
Playstation 3: $599! MASSIVE DAMAGE! GIANT ENEMY CRAB! RIIIIDGE RACER!! ETC! Ok, everyone's heard the jokes already, but that sums up how everyone felt about the Sony Pre-E3 conference and even to this day, Sony is still taking hits from the public about this.
To be honest, Sony brought it upon themselves, their whole conference smelt of arrogance, it was boring, every single demo they showed felt as though they're the kings even if they produced crap. Genji 2 was crap, GT:HD was crap, Resistance was crap, their PSP lineup was crap. In fact, form their whole conference, the only games of interest (which may make the PS3 worth purchasing.. eventually) were Heavenly Sword and MGS4 (FFXIII is also good). Next gen games better shape up for the PS3.
As for the ideas, lets take the lesser of the stolen ideas, its 'X-box Live' style feature. Ok, fair dues, X-box pretty much guided the console into an online gaming world (though Dreamcast though of it first), so a logical step would be a (free) online service, great stuff, though hardly new or exciting.
Now, its daddy, the motion-sensing controller, notice in the conference, Kutaragi looked very smug about the whole thing, notice how Harrison tried to look excited, notice how ridiculous that guy looked when playing Warhawk? This is the half-assed product from Sony to combat Nintendo's Wiimote. Audience members booed Harrison, people were unexcited, Sony fanboys who dissed the Wiimote began swallowing their own words, Oh Sony, you think this is innovative? Stealing other people's 'general' idea (not an exact copy of the Wiimote mind you), Sony, hang your head in shame.
With all that said, Playstation 3 does have a chance of winning the next gen war (thoguh almost guaranteed a massive lost in market share), 2 factors come into play here, the Playstation brand and Casuals. The playstation brand is worth 100s of millions of dollars, that alone makes it more powerful than the X-360 or Wii, importantly, its the casuals who may make or break Sony. Casuals, generally do not care about the price (especially in the UK), they will view the PS3 as the next coolest thing to have, they will buy it, enjoy it and ignore the rest of the competition because its the playstation brand. In the end though, could Playstation3 become a by-product of its 'success' with the PSP, gaining sales but ultimately lost because of much better compeittion?
Wii: Hey look! Its the Wee! ROFL! Nintendo is taking the piss right? *sigh* ok, everyone made fun of Nintendo when they announced the name, but now everythign is calm now and everyone says 'Wii' without a chuckle or smirk now. Wow, Nintendo did something right, 'Wii' stuck through days and weeks of constant bashing and everyone matured up to it and accepts it. Well done.
Now its E3 presence, 4-6 hours of waiting in line to have a chance (i.e. extra 1-2 hours to actually touch the Wiimote) says a lot of things. People are actually willing to wait almost 6 hours or so just to play the new-generation in gaming? People are excited, they want to play to believe and the general consensus, the 'Wii' works. Games like Mario Galaxy, Metroid prime, Red Steel, Wii Sports, Warioware and Zelda showed variety on different genres of gaming as well as giving a demo on how the Wiimote could actually be implemented in current day games. Great stuff Nintendo, you're on the right track now despite playing a different beat to everybody else.
Very little to complain about Nintendo nowadays, their DS sales are through the roof (constantly sold out in Japan) and their E3 presence made a massive ripple in the gaming world. In some respects, the Wii is almost emulating the DS i nterms of coverage its getting, despite inital thoughs of a 'touch screen' being gimmicky and pointless in gaming, gamers have changed their way. The Wii can change things (and looks as though they have by 'forcing' Sony to use a motion-sensing controller) and Nintendo can only look at good times ahead.
Keep at it Nintendo!
X-360: What a crap launch lineup! *yawn* X-box 1.5! This game can be on the X-box etc! Yes, X-360 didn't have a great launch lineup (Call of Duty 2, PDZ and Kameo being the main games for me.. and im stretching it) but that didn't stop the console from selling out (Sony can emulate that + more stock).
At the moment, X-360 can look at good times, their E3 presence was showered with praises from media outlets across the inter-web, Gears of War winning action game award, Bioshock ganing its deserved recognition, Mass Effect becoming more well known, Dead Rising and Lost Planet are superb fun games etc...
Due to their one year head-start with the competition, they have a chance of winning, also the X-360's capabilities are 'almost' similar to the PS3, so there really is no reason to get both because alot of the games aren't exclusive (similar to what PS2->X-box games are like). To make the X-360 worth while from the PS3, you have to look at exclusives, and each have their own batch.. except X-360's batch are more fpsy-action style games, so many shooters, wheres the variety.. and that is where the PS3 may be able to produce gold from.
X-360 only has good times ahead, a strong lineup in E3 can produce strong sales in the future! Keep going Microsoft!
Overall: My inital prediction (before the X-360 came out) was that Microsoft will be market leader, the Wii second and PS3 third. And from the E3 event, my mind's not changed, The general feeling from everybody is that PS3 will lose market share, Nintendo will gain, Microsoft will also gain. No, im not a Microsoft fanboy, in fact i *loathe* X-box, but X-360 has a strong lineup and the two games like Dead Rising and Lost Planet on offer, thats 2 more games than what i wanted o nthe X-box. Im more of a Nintendo fanboy that favours Sony as well, but tides are changing and this cold be the most interesting console war we've had since.. well ever i suppose.
Playstation 3: $599! MASSIVE DAMAGE! GIANT ENEMY CRAB! RIIIIDGE RACER!! ETC! Ok, everyone's heard the jokes already, but that sums up how everyone felt about the Sony Pre-E3 conference and even to this day, Sony is still taking hits from the public about this.
To be honest, Sony brought it upon themselves, their whole conference smelt of arrogance, it was boring, every single demo they showed felt as though they're the kings even if they produced crap. Genji 2 was crap, GT:HD was crap, Resistance was crap, their PSP lineup was crap. In fact, form their whole conference, the only games of interest (which may make the PS3 worth purchasing.. eventually) were Heavenly Sword and MGS4 (FFXIII is also good). Next gen games better shape up for the PS3.
As for the ideas, lets take the lesser of the stolen ideas, its 'X-box Live' style feature. Ok, fair dues, X-box pretty much guided the console into an online gaming world (though Dreamcast though of it first), so a logical step would be a (free) online service, great stuff, though hardly new or exciting.
Now, its daddy, the motion-sensing controller, notice in the conference, Kutaragi looked very smug about the whole thing, notice how Harrison tried to look excited, notice how ridiculous that guy looked when playing Warhawk? This is the half-assed product from Sony to combat Nintendo's Wiimote. Audience members booed Harrison, people were unexcited, Sony fanboys who dissed the Wiimote began swallowing their own words, Oh Sony, you think this is innovative? Stealing other people's 'general' idea (not an exact copy of the Wiimote mind you), Sony, hang your head in shame.
With all that said, Playstation 3 does have a chance of winning the next gen war (thoguh almost guaranteed a massive lost in market share), 2 factors come into play here, the Playstation brand and Casuals. The playstation brand is worth 100s of millions of dollars, that alone makes it more powerful than the X-360 or Wii, importantly, its the casuals who may make or break Sony. Casuals, generally do not care about the price (especially in the UK), they will view the PS3 as the next coolest thing to have, they will buy it, enjoy it and ignore the rest of the competition because its the playstation brand. In the end though, could Playstation3 become a by-product of its 'success' with the PSP, gaining sales but ultimately lost because of much better compeittion?
Wii: Hey look! Its the Wee! ROFL! Nintendo is taking the piss right? *sigh* ok, everyone made fun of Nintendo when they announced the name, but now everythign is calm now and everyone says 'Wii' without a chuckle or smirk now. Wow, Nintendo did something right, 'Wii' stuck through days and weeks of constant bashing and everyone matured up to it and accepts it. Well done.
Now its E3 presence, 4-6 hours of waiting in line to have a chance (i.e. extra 1-2 hours to actually touch the Wiimote) says a lot of things. People are actually willing to wait almost 6 hours or so just to play the new-generation in gaming? People are excited, they want to play to believe and the general consensus, the 'Wii' works. Games like Mario Galaxy, Metroid prime, Red Steel, Wii Sports, Warioware and Zelda showed variety on different genres of gaming as well as giving a demo on how the Wiimote could actually be implemented in current day games. Great stuff Nintendo, you're on the right track now despite playing a different beat to everybody else.
Very little to complain about Nintendo nowadays, their DS sales are through the roof (constantly sold out in Japan) and their E3 presence made a massive ripple in the gaming world. In some respects, the Wii is almost emulating the DS i nterms of coverage its getting, despite inital thoughs of a 'touch screen' being gimmicky and pointless in gaming, gamers have changed their way. The Wii can change things (and looks as though they have by 'forcing' Sony to use a motion-sensing controller) and Nintendo can only look at good times ahead.
Keep at it Nintendo!
X-360: What a crap launch lineup! *yawn* X-box 1.5! This game can be on the X-box etc! Yes, X-360 didn't have a great launch lineup (Call of Duty 2, PDZ and Kameo being the main games for me.. and im stretching it) but that didn't stop the console from selling out (Sony can emulate that + more stock).
At the moment, X-360 can look at good times, their E3 presence was showered with praises from media outlets across the inter-web, Gears of War winning action game award, Bioshock ganing its deserved recognition, Mass Effect becoming more well known, Dead Rising and Lost Planet are superb fun games etc...
Due to their one year head-start with the competition, they have a chance of winning, also the X-360's capabilities are 'almost' similar to the PS3, so there really is no reason to get both because alot of the games aren't exclusive (similar to what PS2->X-box games are like). To make the X-360 worth while from the PS3, you have to look at exclusives, and each have their own batch.. except X-360's batch are more fpsy-action style games, so many shooters, wheres the variety.. and that is where the PS3 may be able to produce gold from.
X-360 only has good times ahead, a strong lineup in E3 can produce strong sales in the future! Keep going Microsoft!
Overall: My inital prediction (before the X-360 came out) was that Microsoft will be market leader, the Wii second and PS3 third. And from the E3 event, my mind's not changed, The general feeling from everybody is that PS3 will lose market share, Nintendo will gain, Microsoft will also gain. No, im not a Microsoft fanboy, in fact i *loathe* X-box, but X-360 has a strong lineup and the two games like Dead Rising and Lost Planet on offer, thats 2 more games than what i wanted o nthe X-box. Im more of a Nintendo fanboy that favours Sony as well, but tides are changing and this cold be the most interesting console war we've had since.. well ever i suppose.
X3: The Last Stand.. hopefully not the last
Ho hum, me, Peter, Louis and JD saw the latest movie from the hit Marvel comic, X-men and, generally we all had different opinions. Me and Peter thought it wasn't as good as the previous movies, while JD and Louis loved it.
First off, the movie was good, the fact being it had lots characters with cool super-human powers, great stuff, jumping around slashing people in a speedy, non-mericiless way while disintergrating everybody within a 20 foot radius around me.. except for one character.. yeah.. that fact alone makes this movie cool. Who wouldn't love super-powers, heck, I watched enough anime to desire super-human powers.
The action scenes were done 'decently' enough but unlike the last two movies, there weren't any good one-on-one fights (i.e. Wolverine vs Sabrewulf/Deathstrike), the movie did have somethign with Pyro vs Iceman, but then, that fizzled out into a crappy DBZ-style carnage, where each is trying to prove their power with a powerful fire/ice blast. .which ended poorly. Otherwise, the action scenes were nice though alot of them were fodder-like, 100s of random mutants attacking 6 known mutants wasn't as exciting as a proper fight between well-known characters.
Unfortunately, X3 stutters because of its overly-complicated story, the story makes sense but the direction was very very poor, it was all over the place and the movie didn't know where to stick with one sub-story or not. Sucky-ass story was the poor thing for this, they over-complicated it for a movie which is made for simplicity.
That said, i do hope for a new X-men movie, though they killed off major characters, there's still a slim chance of a revivial for this franchise.
Overall: 6.5/10
Grade: C+
PS: That bridge scene rocked!
First off, the movie was good, the fact being it had lots characters with cool super-human powers, great stuff, jumping around slashing people in a speedy, non-mericiless way while disintergrating everybody within a 20 foot radius around me.. except for one character.. yeah.. that fact alone makes this movie cool. Who wouldn't love super-powers, heck, I watched enough anime to desire super-human powers.
The action scenes were done 'decently' enough but unlike the last two movies, there weren't any good one-on-one fights (i.e. Wolverine vs Sabrewulf/Deathstrike), the movie did have somethign with Pyro vs Iceman, but then, that fizzled out into a crappy DBZ-style carnage, where each is trying to prove their power with a powerful fire/ice blast. .which ended poorly. Otherwise, the action scenes were nice though alot of them were fodder-like, 100s of random mutants attacking 6 known mutants wasn't as exciting as a proper fight between well-known characters.
Unfortunately, X3 stutters because of its overly-complicated story, the story makes sense but the direction was very very poor, it was all over the place and the movie didn't know where to stick with one sub-story or not. Sucky-ass story was the poor thing for this, they over-complicated it for a movie which is made for simplicity.
That said, i do hope for a new X-men movie, though they killed off major characters, there's still a slim chance of a revivial for this franchise.
Overall: 6.5/10
Grade: C+
PS: That bridge scene rocked!
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