(Page 101) Tag: video games | SoraNews24 -Japan News-

Featured

video games (Page 101)

Retro freak: the new system that lets you play cartridges from 11 different classic game consoles

Casey Baseel
Mar 11, 2015
Tweet

It’s a great time to be a retro gamer. The video game industry has reached a level of maturity that means there’re now decades worth of polished, legitimately enjoyable titles out there, often selling for just a fraction of the prices they commanded when new.

However, there’s one big hassle with working through an almost 30-year backlog of great games, and that’s having to hook up the half-dozen or so pieces of hardware that library is spread across. One Japanese company is proposing a solution, though, with a single console that’ll play just about any cartridge made in the 16-bit era.

Artist helps “entrepreneurial” Pokemon with clever business logos and concepts

Audrey Akcasu
Mar 7, 2015

Have you ever wondered what comes next for Pokémon after they’ve evolved to their final stage? Some of them, according to one graphic designer, have ventured away from their Poké-world and entered the small business world.

Pictogram, a graphic design company headed by Sebastiaan de With, created business logos for a variety of Pokémon. Each Pokémon’s “company” is also somehow related to its abilities and comes with a back story. Aside from the amusing concept, the logos themselves are top-notch, so along with us and check them out!.

New game lets you save the world with your vacuum and toaster…who are also beautiful anime girls!

Casey Baseel
Mar 5, 2015

Released a little less than two months ago, smartphone game Touken Ranbu, with a cast of characters made up of famous swords from history transformed into handsome young men, has proven itself to be a solid hit. It’s just the latest success story, though, in the established video game genre of “many attractive people who’re actually anthropomorphized [something].”

Still, samurai swords seem like a pretty good well to draw from in creating heroic video game characters. But can you replicate that kind of enthusiastic response with household appliances and consumer electronics though? We’re about to find out, with the upcoming title Kaden Shojo, which has you saving the world with a the help of a toaster, washing machine, and refrigerator, all of whom, of course, take the form of cute anime girls.

Is Metal Gear Solid V finally getting a release date? Mysterious countdown appears on website

Casey Baseel
Mar 3, 2015

Instant gratification and quick answers aren’t exactly the hallmarks of the Metal Gear video game franchise. Not only does its stealth-based gameplay reward patience over diving head-first into combat, but the events set in motion in 1998’s Metal Gear Solid, most modern gamers entry point into the series, didn’t get any sort of conclusion until the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, a full 10 years later.

There’s been a similarly slowly paced trickle of information about the series’ newest chapter, the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which has been featured in trade show videos for years, and even had its own commercially released, extended-length preview game, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Now, the next tidbit seems to be coming soon, as a mysterious countdown clock has appeared on the official Metal Gear V website.

Store your Hastune Miku game in a Hatsune Miku pouch!

Hayashi 'Fang' Hougi
Mar 2, 2015

Fans of Hatsune Miku, are you looking forward to the upcoming game Hatsune Miku Project Mirai Deluxe for the Nintendo 3DS? The latest Miku game by Sega will be released on May 28 this year and lots of hype has built up around the game among dedicated Vocaloid fans.

And now, Sega has just announced an adorable Miku-shaped pouch for Nintendo 3DS, so you can have Miku both in and out!

Still got Club Nintendo points? New Zelda and Mario shirts, pouches, and more available in Japan

Casey Baseel
Feb 26, 2015

In January, video game giant Nintendo, which usually sleeps atop a well-padded mattress stuffed with the customer goodwill it’s earned over three decades of providing quality titles, sadly announced it would be discontinuing its Club Nintendo loyalty program. With only months to go before Club Nintendo points (also called “coins” or “stars” depending on the region) become worthless, gamers have been scouring the catalog to see what prizes they want to redeem theirs for.

To help loosen their virtual purse strings, Nintendo has just announced a huge new batch of rewards, including some very stylish T-shirts and pouches based on its legendary library of games.

From kicked to the curb to stylish kicks, here come Mega Man sneakers!

Casey Baseel
Feb 23, 2015

While some video game characters have settled into more or less permanent relationships with their publishers, like Nintendo’s Mario or Bandai Namco’s Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima, not every digital hero gets to enjoy a never-ending string of sequel appearances. For example, it’s been five years since the release of Mega Man 10, which so far serves as the final installment in the action platforming series.

But the Blue Bomber’s memory lives on in the hearts and minds of the many fans he acquired during his salad days following his 1987 debut. So even if publisher Capcom has kicked Mega Man to the curb, you can still show your love for the character with these retro-cool Mega Man kicks.

Godzilla PS3/PS4 game’s release set for July

Anime News Network
Feb 20, 2015

Bandai Namco Games announced it will release the new Godzilla game on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe in July.

The real story of Nintendo’s Mario

Hayashi 'Fang' Hougi
Feb 17, 2015

Ever since Mario first appeared in Nintendo’s Donkey Kong in 1981, he has been a fan favorite in the world of video games. Over the past three decades, Mario has appeared in over a hundred titles on numerous platforms as fans grew up alongside their favorite bearded (well, most of the time) Italian plumber.

For many casual Mario players, it seems like each game is an independent story filled with action and adventure. However, the hardcore players at Scorpigator Films have put together a Super Mario Timeline using clues from the various games to tell the full biography of Mario, the hero of Mushroom Kingdom.

Attack on Titan gets arcade game by Capcom

Anime News Network
Feb 14, 2015

CAPCOM announced at Japan Amusement Expo 2015 on Friday that it has an Attack on Titan arcade game project.

“In the name of the moon!” See the Sailor Senshi as ’90s video game sprites

ANDRES OLIVER
Feb 12, 2015

With over 30 million copies of the original manga sold, a popular anime adaptation (who can forget the lengthy, fabulous transformation sequences?), and even a lingerie brand, the Sailor Moon franchise has spread to every corner of the globe since its inception in 1991. The series is enjoying renewed popularity at the moment thanks to the reboot series Sailor Moon Crystal.

Given the prominence of the nineties anime Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon in the public consciousness, some might not be as familiar with a number of spin-off video games–understandably so, considering that most of them were never released outside of Japan. In the pictures below, see Sailor Moon and company in all their pixellated glory.

The Wonderful Cosplayers of Winter Wonder Festival 2015 【Photos】

Casey Baseel
Feb 11, 2015

Last weekend it was time for Wonder Festival, the garage kit and model extravaganza held in Chiba Prefecture’s Makuhari Messe. But while the plastic and resin replicas of anime and video game icons may be the ostensible reason for the event, there’s also plenty of flesh and blood (and cloth) passion for the industries’ hottest franchises as cosplayers converge on the convention to show off their costumes and pose for the cameras.

One of those cameras happened to be ours.

Tekken 7 intro movie released

Master Blaster
Feb 10, 2015

Ohhh I can feel it. It’s that time again: time to piss experienced players of the Tekken franchise off by mashing buttons wildly and winning! This will be the seventh time I have done it, and I’ve become exceedingly efficient at it.

That’s right Tekken 7 is about to hit game centers across Japan and to get people into the fighting spirit Bandai Namco Games has uploaded the game’s opening movie to YouTube. Let’s watch!

Friends too busy to go to the Pokémon Cafe? No problem! Pikachu himself will sit with you

Casey Baseel
Jan 31, 2015

If you’re a Pokémon fan who’s feeling blue over missing your chance to eat at the limited-time restaurants based on the series that previously appeared in Yokohama and Tokyo’s Roppongi neighborhood, cheer up. Until the end of February, the Pokémon Cafe is back again, this time in the trendy part of Tokyo called Shibuya, and looks to be cuter than ever.

Unfortunately, when you combine food and cuteness in one of the busiest cities on earth, you also get long lines. Helping to make the wait worth it, though, is the possibility of having a meal while sharing your table with a very special dining companion, Pikachu.

Which one’s your favourite Cid? The evolution of Final Fantasy’s constant character

Evie Nyan
Jan 30, 2015

What’s the first Final Fantasy game you played? I came somewhat late to the party, and my first experience of Final Fantasy was Final Fantasy VIII. After a childhood spent playing Sonic, suddenly finding myself in a semi-realistic world with massive potential for exploration really blew my tiny mind back then. In VIII, the headmaster of the military academy is a middle-aged, bespectacled dude with a paunch called Cid. But as Final Fantasy fans know, Cid is actually a character who appears in different forms in (pretty much) all of the Final Fantasy games. The dude’s been regenerated more times than the Doctor in Doctor Who! So we decided to take a look back at all of the Cids in chronological order to see how he’s changed over the years.

Japanese educators call for twice monthly No Video Game Days, recommend kids go fishing

Casey Baseel
Jan 28, 2015

Compared to some other countries, video games enjoy a fairly high standing in Japanese society. Nintendo’s Mario is seen by many as not only a symbol of wholesome fun, but an example of how innovation and craftsmanship can lead to sustained economic prosperity. The world of Final Fantasy isn’t just a great setting for an epic quest, but for lunch or dinner, and some particularly stylish game characters even go on to leave their mark on real-world fashion.

Still, not everyone in Japan is a fan of video gaming. The Hokkaido Board of Education would rather see kids with schoolbooks or fishing poles in their hands than game controllers, and to that end is calling for parents to institute twice monthly No Game Days, and not just for the kids in the family.

Bayonetta earrings a bewitching fashion statement, technically count as half a video game cosplay

Casey Baseel
Jan 27, 2015

Ever since her 2009 debut, debates have been swirling around video game character Bayonetta. Was her first, eponymous outing really worth the perfect score it got from notoriously strict video game magazine Famitsu? Is the character’s constantly provocative flaunting of her sexual and violent leanings empowering the character or pandering to juvenile gamers? Was making the sequel exclusive to Nintendo’s Wii U a wise choice? And does the gun-toting witch look better with her original beehive, or the shorter pixie cut she sports these days?

Just in case you’ve already decided which side of those discussions you’re on, here’s one more question to find your own personal answer to: Do you want to buy Bayonetta’s earrings?

PS4 20th Anniversary edition console sells at auction for jaw-dropping price

Oona McGee
Jan 27, 2015

When Sony released a special 20th Anniversary edition of the PlayStation 4, online pre-order slots were filled in minutes. Limited to a run of 12,300 consoles, gamers had to move quickly to secure a piece of gaming history.

The one thing missing from the December 2014 release, however, was the most important and prized possession of all: console number 00001/12300. That particular machine made its grand appearance at an online auction last weekend and sold for a price that is, frankly, jaw-dropping.