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  Bear McCreary Wants To Make Dark Void Players Uncomfortable

  See Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary discussing his unique strategy for creating the musical score for Capcom’s Dark Void. Bear is quite obviously a gamer as well as a composer, so he knows game music and how it generally works. In order to keep his music from fading into the background, he’s splitting his music…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 3, 2009
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  Do You Love Kotaku? Prove It!

  You say you love Kotaku, but do you really mean it? I mean, mean it enough to provide video evidence of said love? Down with it and live in New York? Video king Richard Blakeley is putting together a video of unabashed Kotaku lovin.. the platonic kind, so if you’re interested you should email him…

  By Brian Crecente Published April 3, 2009
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  When Your Last Name Is First, Where Is Your Middle Name?

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Bipolar Weather Had to file out some housing papers this morning to finalize everything. Ran into a bit of confusion regarding the order of my name. Japanese last names go first, followed by, well, first names. For example, in Japan, Shigeru Miyamoto is actually Miyamoto Shigeru. Hideo Kojima is Kojima…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  Hudson Button Masher Comes To The iPhone

  I don’t use “button masher” as a cheap label for an antiquated genre. I use it in the most literal sense, because this is an iPhone port of Hudson’s famous Shooting Watches. History lesson: Hudson talisman Takahashi Meijin (aka Master Higgins) got kinda famous in the 80’s for being able to press a button 16…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009
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  Game & Watch Clones Yanked From iPhone Store

  We told you to get those bootleg Game & Watch iPhone games before lawyers took ’em down. Hope you heeded our advice. Because lawyers have taken them down. Yes, “developers” Mobile 1UP have been forced by Nintendo to remove their copyright-infringing Game & Watch clones. All of them. In their place are now two games…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009
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  Konami PS3 Baseball Game Goes Offline (The End)

  Professional Baseball Spirits 5, Konami’s PS3 baseball title, was released last May in Japan. The game features teams and stars of Japanese pro ball, and let’s players battle it out online. That is, until April 15. A notice from Konami reads: “On April 15, 2009 at 11:59pm, Professional Baseball Spirits 5‘s online play will end.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  Biggest Street Fighter Tourney EVER: The Finals

  Like we said, the Street Fighter IV National Tournament is the biggest SFIV tournament ever (not hard, seeing as its sponsored by GameStop). And this month, it reaches the business end, with the finals. On April 18 in San Francisco, the 16 best Street Fighters in the United States will converge on the Fort Mason…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009
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  French Quebec Cracks Down On English Games [Update]

  Hey French Canadians, want to play English only video games? Forget it! New legislation in Quebec now prohibits the sale of English-only video games if a French version is available. The store cannot carry only the English language version if a French version is available. The catch traditionally has been for Quebec is that game…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  This Is How You Enhance Cute Shooter Triggerheart Exelica

  Last week, Japan got a limited edition Triggerheart Exelica bundle for the PS2 port Triggerheart Exelica -Enhanced-. But what makes it "enhanced"? Well, this animated opening by P.A. Works, for starters. Previously, P.A. Works has helped out on the game animation for the Professor Layton games. The song is “Gravity Error” by pop singer Ayane.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  MMO Games Grew By 22% In 2008

  Was at the pub the other night, and got into a fight over subscription-based MMO growth. Some bloke said the market wasn’t growing, I said it was. Researchers Screen Digest have proven me the winner. Having conducted a study on the finances of the (*breath*) subscription-based massively multiplayer online gaming market (which excludes games reliant…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009
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  Ace Attorney In Weekly Manga Form

  Not only is new Ace Attorney title Gyakuten Kenji getting a DSi bundle, the game is also getting a serialized manga. The Gyakuten Kenji comic will be debuting in weekly manga Shuukan Young Magazine, hitting newsstands on April 13. StarringAce Attorney characters Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe, the first serialized volume is 51 pages long.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  Nintendo DSi Shows Smack Talks How Ugly You Are

  Here’s the North American launch ad for the Nintendo DSi. Yes, we’ll admit it, the trash talk in this commercial made us giggle. Then again, so did your face. OH SNAP! Nintendo DSi – launch commercial [GoNintendo]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  360 Arcade Stick Cuts The Cord

  We know. You’re a fighting game pro. Can’t spare the time to blink while fighting, let alone juggle cords. Which is why you may want to take a look at Dream Arcades’ wireless 360 stick. It’s a chunky, sturdy arcade stick, with the addition of being, well, cordless. The fact it’s wireless is a pro.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009
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  Namco Bandai Holding Up The Return Of Hellgate

  MMO Hellgate died. Then it was bought out, and is back (in Asia). In the West, however, it remains dead, despite the best efforts of new franchise owners HanbitSoft. See, HanbitSoft want to bring the game back to the West. But while HanbitSoft own the rights to the IP itself, Namco Bandai own the publishing…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009
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  Final Fantasy: Dissidia Debut Trailer

  Cheesy orchestral score? Check. OTT landscapes and set design? Check. Enormous swords? Check. Yup. It’s definitely Square Enix. Definitely Final Fantasy. The PSP fighting game, first released in Japan late last year, will be out in the US this Summer and in Europe in September. Why it needs a trailer, I don’t know. Maybe one…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009
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  Sony Cutting New Recruits By Nearly Half

  Times are hard. In an effort to cut costs, Sony is going to reduce its number of new recruits — by a lot. From next spring, the number of recruits has been cut to 280 new employees, which is 48 percent lower than last year. “The environment surrounding our company has changed so we will…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  Spring Sale Turns Up Curious White Knight Chronicles Pricing

  Osaka game retailer Ojamakan (there’s one near my house!) was running a special spring sale with very special pricing. Some used games (like DS title ASH -Archaic Sealed Heat-) were as low as ten yen, which is the US dollar equivalent of 10 cents! Ojamakan typically has a few good deals, but during this sale…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  PC Sales Charts

  Empire: Total War is still selling. Dawn of War II is still selling. Left 4 Dead is still selling. Know what else is still selling? Bet you can guess the rest. Start with Blizzard. Then work your way round to Maxis, via Valve, and you’ll have covered nearly half the games across all three PC…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009
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  DSiWare Brain Age Makes Beautiful Woman Laugh Maniacally

  Actress Miho Kanno appears in the DSiWare Brain Age ads. She’s asked to make a face like she’s seen something that she shouldn’t have seen. She does and lets out a frightening laugh. DSi Brain Age makes use of the camera and even has users make funny faces. Why? Because stuff like that makes you…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2009
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  The “Premium Edition” Ace Attorney DSi

  Capcom and Nintendo have announced a new, “Premium Edition” DSi console, to be released in conjunction with upcoming Ace Attorney title Gyakuten Kenji. It’s out in Japan on May 28, and a bundle including a special DSi – well, a regular DSi with Ace Attorney stuff on it – along with a copy of Gyakuten…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009