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    Purchase Let's Tap at Best Buy and get an exclusive peripheral

    June 17, 2009 - 5:15pm

    In Japan, Let's Tap comes in a large cardboard box containing two smaller cardboard boxes for use as tapping surfaces. In Europe, Sega is releasing a similar set as a "limited edition." In North America, the game comes with no boxes except the standard white plastic Wii game case. You're forced to find your own cardboard box.Giant Bomb discovered that, if you buy the game at Best Buy, you get an exclusive "tapping pad" inside, which, as it reveals in its unboxing video, is basically a thick sheet of paperboard -- or, if you prefer, one-sixth of a box. We've embedded the video after the break, so you can see their impressions of this small card.[Via GameSetWatch]

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    So who are these 'Tatsunoko' characters anyway?

    June 17, 2009 - 2:40pm

    One major issue with marketing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom in North America is that nobody but old-school otaku knows who the hell half of the characters are. It took a few months of watching matches on YouTube to realize that all the Tatsunoko characters looked really fun in gameplay, but the name recognition wasn't there for us like it is in Japan, where Tatsunoko Production anime is an institution.Seemingly in an attempt to combat that handicap, at least among the hardcore blog-reading audience, Capcom Unity has started a series of posts introducing the characters. The first, "Dragon vs. Eagle," provides a fairly detailed bio of Gatchaman's Ken the Eagle, with background about the character and the Gatchaman show, and supplementary video clips. There's also a bio of Ryu, but everyone knows Ryu: torn sleeves, headband, likes fighting.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Game Developer Research lists 'Top 50 Developers' of 2009

    June 17, 2009 - 2:15pm


    Game Developer magazine (and its brainy Game Developer Research division) recently published its second annual enumerated accolades for the fine folks who make the games that you crudely jam into your home entertainment consoles -- or, in layman's terms, the "Top 50 Developers 2009" report. The rankings are based on how many games a studio created, the sales for those games, and their metacritic ratings. Quality of box art and amount of 'tude possessed by the games' protagonists, however, were not taken into consideration.The results are utterly shocking -- for the second year in a row, Nintendo took top honors, with fellow money-printing organization Blizzard taking second place. Ubisoft Montreal skyrocketed from 12th place in the '08 report to third place in the most recent rankings. Regardless of your fanboyism for a certain developer, we think we can all agree -- in such a financially (and employmentmentally) challenging time, we're just glad to hear there's at least 50 game developers that haven't been forced to shut down.The full list is posted after the jump.[Thanks, Braz!]

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    DodoGo rolls up LocoRoco with something egg-stra

    June 17, 2009 - 2:15pm


    France's Weezard Interactive is hoping to prove there's room in this world for one more "guide a pack of cute, round characters to the exit" style game with DodoGo. The game, set for release later this year, immediately calls to mind the likes of Rolando and LocoRoco, but offers up some novel new touch interaction ideas.In getting the dodo eggs -- which are, of course, all smiley and bouncy -- through each level, players will need to perform some basic actions (drawing lines to connect pulleys, placing springy launchpads) in addition to a couple of really stand-out gameplay mechanics. Namely, the ability to change the level's topography so the little guys/girls can roll to safety or avoid predators. There also appears to be a decent-sized focus on devising clever plans to do away with said baddies using the various tools and items offered up. (Oh, and we totally love the idea of a "crash test egg" that can be deployed to test a puzzle solution so no "real" dodos are harmed.)Check the trailer after the break and tell us: are you egg-cited?

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    The Conduit delayed in Europe, Australia [update]

    June 17, 2009 - 12:00pm

    [Update: Sega has confirmed that the US release date remains June 23.]Sega has announced that the European release of The Conduit has been delayed from its original June 26 date to July 10. According to CVG, unspecified issues with the game's multi-language European localization are responsible for the holdup. VOOKS has also confirmed a delay for the Australian release of High Voltage's FPS. Once given a June 25 release date, the game has been pushed back to July 16. Neither Sega nor VOOKS offered any reason for this version's delay, and the Australian release shouldn't be affected by the same localization problems. At this point, your best shot at playing The Conduit next week remains the "living in North America" strategy, or the slightly less drastic "importing from North America" strategy.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Mad Dog McCree blasts his way to Wii with the Gunslinger Pack

    June 16, 2009 - 9:40pm


    That Gamefly listing for Mad Dog McCree was spot on, apparently, as the title has shipped to retail. Majesco just sent us a press release revealing the company will be bringing a few of Digital Leisure's live-action light-gun classics to a Wii near you, pricing this compilation at a very reasonable $19.99 MSRP. Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack features three classics: Mad Dog McCree; Mad Dog 2: The Lost Gold; and The Last Bounty Hunter.You won't be forced to go it alone in each of these adventures either, as this compilation also adds a bit of multiplayer flair. There will be both Posse and Rebel modes, the former allowing up to four players to work side-by-side for a high score, and the latter allows up to four players to work independently, shooting things to gain the highest score of the bunch.Permalink | Email this | Comments

    5th Cell had five people research words for six months for Scribblenauts

    June 16, 2009 - 7:40pm

    In Scribblenauts, you can manifest basically anything. Whether it's a skateboarding god fighting Cthulhu, or hilarious internet memes involving cats, it seems like this game has endless potential. We're anxiously anticipating the game's arrival, with a gigantic notebook full of ideas that we can't wait to try out. As confident as we are that we'll be able to best the game, it's tough when developer 5th Cell admits to G4 that it had five people reading just about everything for six months. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and Wikipedias are just a few of the sources these folks scoured for juicy words to add to the game's enormous lexicon. Check out the video past the break, where 5th Cell's Jeremiah Slaczka and Matt Cox detail how much work went into building this game's robust vocabulary.

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    Games Critics Awards pick Best of E3 nominees

    June 16, 2009 - 7:10pm


    Behind the jump, you'll find a lengthy list of nominees for the Games Critics Awards organization's Best of E3 accolades. This list is compiled by representatives from 29 different publications and gaming blogs who will ultimately decide the winners on Tuesday, June 23. As you can see, our name is included in the organization's roll call image above, surrounded on all but its starboard side by utter mediocrity. (Kidding!) (Kind of.) (No, seriously, we're just joking.)Therefore, as you glance through the list below, try to keep in mind that we're not solely responsible for its composition. The lack of Scribblenauts in the "Best of Show" category, for instance, is almost as preposterous as a robotic dinosaur traveling back through time to fight robotic zombies. Almost.

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    Let's catch some new footage and screens from Let's Catch

    June 16, 2009 - 6:45pm

    Before we even start this post, let's try to explain the elaborate premise of Yuji Naka's WiiWare title, Let's Catch. Okay, so, in Let's Catch, the object of the game is to both throw and catch things. In essence, it is a virtual game of catch. Wait, that's not elaborate at all. Never mind then.With that out of the way, we suggest you check out the Let's Catch trailer above and peruse the screens below.Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Majesco revenues up 60% for second quarter (Thanks, Jillian Michaels, Cooking Mama ... again)

    June 16, 2009 - 6:40pm


    Majesco announced gloated yesterday about its earnings for the second quarter of 2009 (ending April 30, 2009). The company reported net revenues increased 60.8% to $20.5 million over the $12.8 million earned in the same period last year. Majesco attributes the massive increase of revenue to strong software sales for Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009, Cooking Mama titles and Gardening Mama, which hit retailers in March.Last quarter, Majesco's revenues kicked up 75% with its good fortunes also attributed to the same games with Jillian Michaels' Ultimatum selling more than half a million copies. It's then not surprising that Majesco is expanding the brand, bringing out Ultimatum 2010 for Wii and Jillian Michaels Pocket Trainer 2010 on DS next year.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments