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  Live Arcade Galactrix Next Week, PlayStation Network This Spring

  The Xbox Live Arcade version of Puzzle Quest: Galactrix sees the light of day next week, with the PlayStation Network version coming later this spring. D3 Publisher has officially announced an April 8th release date for the Xbox Live Arcade version of Puzzle Quest Galactrix, their space-age sequel to the original Puzzle Quest. The Xbox…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 2, 2009
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  IT’S SNOWING?!

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Snow Lighting Wait. It’s snowing in Denver. Isn’t it APRIL?! Doesn’t long winters like that mess with you? I can’t imagine looking out the window in April and see snow. That’s kurazy. What you missed last night A Game Magazine Outsells Time, Playboy & Sports Illustrated New PS3 Firmware Adds…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  Which Would You Prefer: New Games Or Sex?

  Silly science alert! British online store PS3PriceCompare (so, no, not exactly Nielsen) has polled 1,130 “men in relationships”, asking about games and sex. Their answers? As depressing as they are expected. Question 1: “Which would you prefer; sex with your partner or an evening playing video games?” Results: 32% of men (and these are men…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  Nintendo Announces DSiWare Titles

  On April 5, the Nintendo DSi launches in North America. It is the third iteration of Nintendo’s DS platform. The handheld will offer players DSiWare games when the DSi Shop launches: • WarioWare: Snapped! — Using the built-in Nintendo DSi camera, this outrageous title puts players right at the center of fast-paced mini-games, challenging them…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  Japanese Game Industry Sales Dropped Last Year

  Comparing 2007 to 2008, the Japanese game market is shrinking. Enterbrain, publisher of game magazine Famitsu, has released the hard data for last year’s domestic sales. The total market place (hardware and software sales) was worth ¥552.42 billion in 2008, compared to ¥676.95 billion the year before. Hardware sales were ¥231.52 billion in 2008 and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  The Anatomy Of A Sackboy

  What’s inside a Sackboy? Fluff, cotton and love? No. Try bones, organs and other squishy, icky things. Least, that’s what’s inside them according to these brilliant illustrations from NY artist and toy designer Jason Freeney, which in a continuation of his series of similar pics for Lego minifigs and Gummi Bears show terribly scientific cut-outs…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  GameStop: “Keep Reserving DSi!”

  Whenever Nintendo hardware product launches, there’s usually chatter about shortages — because, well, usually it’s true. We’ve been hearing talk about DSi shortages, but this GameStop memo seems to indicate otherwise. While it does read that “many of you noticed that your initial allocation was low”, the employee memo adds, “the remainder of your product,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  Getting Those Achievements *Just* Right

  Forget HD graphics. The one really new thing the 360 (and now the PS3) have brought to this generation of gaming is achievements. But how do you design them? What makes ’em tick? Gamasutra asked a number of prominent developers, from Infinity Ward (Call of Duty) to EA (Skate) through Naughty Dog (Uncharted), just that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  Sony Expects 10-15 Percent Rise In PS3/PSP Sale Worldwide

  Sony has yet to announced its final results for PS3 and PSP sales during 2008. But that doesn’t mean the company won’t take educated guesses. According to Sony’s John Koller, “We’ve been very bullish on PSP,” said Koller. “We had our largest sales year ever last year, and we’d look to go about 10-15 percent…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  And The Top-Selling Games In Australia For 2008 Were…

  Yeah, it’s April 2009. So what, things move slowly down here. Which is why we’re only just getting our hands on the list of the ten best-selling games in Australia for 2008. And, surprise surprise, it’s dominated by Nintendo titles. Five of the ten are published by Nintendo, and two more involve Nintendo characters and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  Xbox 360 Update Offers “No New Features”

  A mandatory update has just hit the Xbox 360. According to Microsoft’s Larry Hryb, “This update addresses interruption issues that some Xbox LIVE users may have experienced when playing a limited number of Xbox 360 games.” Meaning? “There are no other changes or enhancements in this update…in other words no new features.” Xbox 360 System…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  GameTap Launches Redesigned Service

  GameTap has an all-new service! Completely redesigned, from the ground up. And while it stuttered, fell over and died for a little bit at launch, it’s now all good. Courtesy of a “technical outage”, users heading over to the site to check out the new digs last night were not greeted by a new GameTap.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  Katamari Makes Thrift Store Paintings Better

  Artist loudxmouse is sprucing up junk thrift store paintings with his own hand-painted katamari from Namco Bandai’s Katamari Damacy. “I have a repurposed painting (not a print, original painting) waiting for the addition of the prince of the cosmos in the colors and placement of your choosing,” writes loudxmouse. Brilliant, simply brilliant. custom katamari painting…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  King Of Kong Rematch Going Down At E3

  If you haven’t seen King of Kong, I won’t spoil it for you. Let’s just say that Steve Wiebe has a Donkey Kong record he’d like to claim. And at E3, he’s taking a crack. All the relevant authorities will be on-hand – including arcade score-keepers Twin Galaxies – as well as TV types G4,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  What’s The Next Nintendo Wii Game? It’s Takt of Magic

  Out May 21 in Japan, Takt of Magic was first announced by Nintendo last year and has players use the Wii-mote to draw magical runes. According to game site Siliconera, the Nintendo published title is being developed by Taito, who previously released a DS title called Lost Magic that looks similar to this. Nintendo’s Next…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  Your April Fool’s Day Roundup

  April Fool’s Day is ostensibly a day for fun and pranks, but for anyone looking for news on the internet, it’s a royal pain in the ass. So thank the maker it’s all over. Below, we’ve highlighted some of the best, worst and most painful attempts at humour on this international day of hijinx. The…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  Tetsuya Nomura’s Final Fantasy VII: ACC Commercial Needs More Tetsuya Nomura

  The recent PS3 ads shine the spotlight on the creators behind famous titles. Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 (Yakuza 3) designer Toshihiro Nagoshi, White Knight Chronicles dev Akihiro Hino and Gran Turismo mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi have all appeared in the TV spots. As expected, Square Enix‘s Tetsuya Nomura gets his own ad. As unexpected, he himself…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  DS Lite Timer Prevents Close Screen Staring

  Know what little kids love more than playing the Nintendo DS Lite? Playing the DS Lite for long periods of time and holding it close to their face. To prevent that, there this: the Health Control Game Timer. The ¥3,990 (US$40) doohickey has a timer with settings for 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009
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  And On The Third Day, FileFront Was Risen

  OK, it’s been a bit longer than three days. But with Easter around the corner, it’s somewhat apt, because just as everyone was done saying goodybe to FileFront, it’s now back from the dead. The popular PC file download service was closed late last month after its owners, Ziff Davis Media (who were trying to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2009
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  Atlus Leaves Sticker Picture Business

  In 1995, video game Atlus maker changed game centers forever when its first sticker picture (called “purikura” in Japanese) machine Print Club exploded onto the arcade scene. When Space Invaders hit big in Japan in 1978, both men and women played the game; however, by the 1990s, male-dominated fighting games were in vogue. Girls didn’t…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009