Don't mind me, just being the best game ever.

Scuse' me while I change my shorts.

PSPGo - wat.

The PSPGo is supposed to be Sony's big unveil Tuesday at this year's e3 conference. However, a GCN leak article has an interview with a Sony rep going over the new features of the hand-held "upgrade."

The new system is supposed to feature a slide screen while maintaining its single d-nub and single r and l bumpers. Rumored also is a lack of UMD compatibility, though this is not confirmed.

Size seems to be the emphasis with the new model, which now looks a lot more like a phone than anything else.

Also highlighted is the use of downloaded content for the new system, which features 16 gigs of memory for downloadable content. This includes downloading or renting movies through the PS Network, exchanging content to and from your PS3 and downloading or updating games. Much talk has also been given to the new Metal Gear title, which may be on the PSP rather than PS3 (bear in mind that content from Metal Gear and other games have been referenced).

/v/, never the one to give much praise to Sony post-PS3, had much ire for the lack of additional directional nub and lack of UMD slot (the latter of which is not confirmed and only rumored based on the 16 gigs of memory and emphasis on downloadable content). While I don't agree adding another nub would do much for the system (as games previously designed for the PSP were made without the use of 2 d-nubs), a potential lack of UMD support erases the portable console's previous gaming library and old UMD movies for those who happened to buy into that sort of nonsense.

Another question left open is the PSP battery life. As is the use of a touch-screen while closed and ease of scratched screens. Hopefully we'll hear more Tuesday.

MGS5: Around the net

In case you don't have the patience to sit through ambiguous letters and lightning, I've done the sit work for you (and scanned the net really quickly!).

MGS5 looks like it'll be another prequel about Big Boss (or a very young Solid Snake who just happens to look about MGS2 old... I SMELL A METAL GEAR REMAKE [no]). If you're new to the Metal Gear world, Big Boss is the original Snake - the greatest soldier whose genetic material was used to create clones Solid, Liquid and Solidus Snake, major players throughout the Metal Gear series. He was also the "Snake" you play as in Metal Gear Solid 3.

Since 3 and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, rumors have been abound that the future of the series would be a look back, following the father figure turned "Vader" of Metal Gear through his rise and fall. Portable Ops left the "past" of the series rather ambiguous, with the then Ocelot (before gaining his Revolver name) had killed members of the CIA to gain more of the Philosopher's Legacy and Big Boss having just started up the Foxhound unit.

Since Old Snake's saga has pretty much been bled dry and wrapped up, the only facets of the Metal Gear world left to explore are: the period of change between 2 and 4 (where the world moves from Arsenal Gear crashing into New York and into the age of ID control, etc) and the period leading up to the first Metal Gear game, when we first meet Solid Snake. When will this game be set, then? Will Solid Snake be a fetus? A recruit in Foxhound? Will 5 return to Portable Ops' recruitment mechanic?

Updates will come when the timer runs out, I suppose!

Image grab courtesy of perezstart.

Bet no one could have seen this one coming!

http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/next/index.html

ffffffffffffffffff I.
Don't.
Even.

MGS5. Coming to some video gaming console at some point ever. Maybe when the countdown's up. Maybe not.

DO HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHOH

Video Games out-entertaining Movies

A recent NPD group, a research firm, survey says video games have outstripped movies as a form of entertainment in the US.

63% of those surveyed had played a video game in the past 6 months, while only 53% had done the same with movies.

So what does this tell us? Well, these are just percentages and numbers based off of about 11,000 people. So. Maybe not much. Both the games industry and movie industry (arguably) are in slumps, with no "major titles" coming in the immediate future for any consoles, while it seems the summer's capping off this weekend with Terminator, while Wolverine received less than stellar reviews (and, let's not mix words, the movie was awful) and... not a whole lot else on the blockbuster front.

The video games industry is coming off from a boom, but sales are on the decline, the industry is firing a lot more than it's hiring and the aforementioned lack of new hot titles seem to be cooling down the industry. Maybe we'll see some heat come Christmas, but this summer is pretty arid on blockbusters for both entertainment industries.

What's going on in the world today?

So now that I've graduated (shower me with praise, please), I'm free to POST ON MY BLOG more. And boy, howdy, do I have some retreading to do.

An IDG article provides commentary on the subject of the canceled Konami title "Six Days in Fallujah," what would have been the first game to recreate scenes from Operation Iraqi Freedom within the context of a first person shooter. As the article points out, it isn't the first title to "tackle" the conflicts going on in the Middle East but it is the first one to try to remain "true" to actual events, people and places from the scuffle.

However, the article presents the game as fodder for derision rather than a true step forward in games as both communication and entertainment medium. Think about it: movies, the news, TV shows, music, all popular forms of media in our culture are "allowed" to provide timely interpretations of current events, much of them rewarded for "speaking out" on a subject. A video game is still not held to this standard, is scoffed and canceled for being "too controversial a topic." I can garrote sociopaths in any number of ways, shoot insurgants as 50cent over concert payment, but an attempt at (what I assume is) tasteful digital recreation of a real conflict is too much? Even under the guidance of actual marines who'd faught? What kind of homage is that to their sacrifice, both of the living and dead? Is it because it's a game that it's unsuitable and too controversial a topic?

In other news, the DSi is the shining star amid a dregscape in current gen gaming. The new DS helped boost system sales for Nintendo during a season of poor economy and lacking titles, while other companies and their respective systems did not experience any similar windfall.

Do these two things, a relative stagnance in video gamery coupled with a collective lack of taking gaming serious as an artistic medium (yeah, games aren't art, etc, etc, but bear with me; TV's farther from art than most games are and it's clearly taken infinitely more serious and has been taken more seriously), does this spell a downturn for gaming? Is this the retread of my first post and gameoverthinker ranting? We'll have to wait and see. In the mean time, try and support some real games.

Busy busy busy so I'm taking the easy way out!

Hey guys, you know you want to learn more about the Gold and Silver remakes, right? No? Sorry! Replace this text with some old timey piano music instead.

/v/'s recent ire over the change in female protagonist in G/S through the DS remake is apparent, as Crystal, the first playable female protagonist in a Pokemon game (introduced in Pokemon Crystal, the third game in the Gold/Silver/Crystal generation), has been replaced with a completely different looking character.

Gold, the game's male protagonist, seems to be unchanged. Cool story, as he was probably my favorite/second favorite protagonist design!

Also rumored on /v/ and elsewhere online is:
-Release date 11th Sept
-Preorders start on July 20th, same date as new movie, speculative preorder movie cross promotion
-From the Johto map, Kanto is hinted at
-Wifi Features Expanded
-Boy/Girl choice
-Skateboard
-Rival shown

The "preorder/movie" cross promotion refers to the notch eared Pichu you acquire from the latest Pokemon movie, which stars Arceus, God of the Pokemon universe. There is speculation that the special Pichu will trigger some in-game events in Heart Gold/Soul Silver.

Scans are courtesy of Corocoro magazine and /v/ with information from Pokebeach and rumor mongers.

Yeah, this could be a twitter update. What of it?

Something I've noticed in pretty much all American events: there are no Celebi in the U.S. I mean, there are some for trade over on Smogon, but legitimacy is really a big shoulder shrug and a lot of throat-based noises that just sound like you're about to throw up or are choking on something.

With remakes of Gold and Silver coming to DS, the number of legitimate Lugia, Ho-oh and legendary dog trio increase exponentially (particularly if the game works off a similar RNG to the DPP trilogy of games). But what about Celebi? The forgotten plot device of Pokemon: Jhoto, the GS Ball, was given away through special event in Japan, where you could use the GS ball to trigger one of the first in-game unlockable events (in so far as "mystery gifting" was concerened), meeting Celebi in the Illex Shrine.

At present, virtually every other legendary Pokemon is available through some fairly open source (Deoxys had two U.S. giveaways, Darkrai had one with a likely pending item Mystery Gift event... the same is true of Shaymin. Mew is available through Ranch, Jirachi has its own disc from the Pokemon Colloseum demo, FR/LG have Mewtwo, etc), but Celebi has had virtually no exposure in America (particularly since the Japanese equivalent of the Jirachi disc had Celebi... thanks Gamefreak).

Be on the lookout for Celebi rumors to start popping up as more is known about the Gold and Silver remakes, I am sure you will see them.

Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver

Confirmed on the Pokemon fan site Pokebeach by way of Yahoo! Japan, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are going to be released for the Nintendo DS.

The games are supposed to be remakes of the original Pokemon Gold and Silver, often argued to be the best games of the franchise (with and without nostalgia-goggles; personally, I think Platinum is the height of the franchise).

The games will be updates in the same vein as Fire Red and Leaf Green were updates to the original Red/Blue/Green/Yellow games, with improved graphics and sound and likely other new features, including aspects that take advantage of new handheld technology.

The game is set to be released in Fall in Japan. No word when American releases will occur.

I, for one, welcome our new Poke overlords.

Original article here.

Oh! Hi? Oh, gozaimasu!

Ever wanted to show off your love for anime, video games and Japan, period? But when you go outside, some gross neckbeard is wearing that same super-trendy shirt you got off some site that reuses Lolcats jokes and pairings from some erotic yaoi hentai doujinshi your girlfriend's friend downloaded and tried to share with you? You know, the one who smells like meat and ends your name with "-san" when she talks to you? Well, if you live in New York (and probably other places, I don't know or really care), you can worry a whole lot less, now it's fashionable to love really nerdy things and not have your trendy threads be open to everyone with access to a modem and a tripcode on 4chan!

Uniqlo, a Japanese clothing store with global stores, especially one in my local NYC area, has recently unleashed a new line of print t-shirts, now with more anime and video game references than you can shake a stick at! Do you really hate the fake "Objection!" shirts that purveyors at Anime Conventions sell for a premium in the dealers room? Now Capcom has licensed official ones through the Japanese clothing chain. Like Pac-man ghosts, Megaman and Dig-Dug? They got shirts for that! Detective Conan? Gundam? You're covered. Inu Yasha and Full Metal Alchemist? Drink bleach, you're unclean and should check your local Hot Topic for your nerd culture.

Oh, and here's the news angle: from now until my birthday (MAY 12, DOH HOHOHOHOHO), there's a sale going on at Uniqlo - normally $15.50 each, you get 2 shirts for $29.50, 3 for $39.50 and 4 for $49.50. Their stock is huge and goes well beyond just random nerd stuff, you also have a lot of pretentious hipster garbage from international artists as well!

My only regret is that I couldn't find any Parappa the Rapper swag while I was there, as he's featured on the bag and I'd heard rumors of him being on clothing from the new line. Also no word from personal favorite Metal Gear like at the Japanese Uniqlo stores last summer.

Uniqlo is located at 546 Broadway, NYC near the Prince St. station on the yellow line.

To conclude: me wearing hipster trash and looking like a major bell-end. You're welcome.