Darkstalkers Resurrection Launch Trailer: I Bet Capcom’s Conducting A Little Fighting Experiment…

 

As in “put up or shut up, Darkstalkers fans!” Yeah, you’ve been whining and wanting for years to see these characters again, but Capcom is smarter than you are. So, instead of an expensive to produce *NEW* game starring these guys and gals, they HD-gussied up the old ones for PSN and XBLA users to download at a great price and are probably going to be counting those purchases and review scores verrrry carefully. Sure, I’d LOVE a new game in the vein of the Street Fighter IV reboot (and I think we’ll see one at some point). But I’m betting this reissue is an interest gauge disguised as an impulse purchase, so those “fans” still complaining now about the game or Capcom in general who don’t buy this will be shooting themselves in the foot if they don’t shell out the shekels.

Capcom Arcade Trivia: “Did You Know…” You Don’t Need A Coin Drop On Your TV To Play These?

 

No big prizes for knowing this stuff already, folks… BUT if you hadn’t a clue before, now you know AND there’s the whole side benefit of looking and sounding REALLY cool to your geek buddies who think you need to play more games. Or something like that. Video game history is pretty awesome at the end of the day no matter how you look at it, I say. Capcom Arcade Cabinet is out NOW for the PS3 (via PSN) and Xbox 360 (via XBLA). It’s possibly coming to other platforms, but you didn’t hear it here. Yet.

Applied Design @MoMA: Playing Games in Public Reveals Some Issues…

 

Well, that darned “ringer” Pac-Man machine with the funky joystick was ONE problem and bad enough for an old gaming salt like me to come up against, grrrr. But I’ll have to kick myself harder for being SO supremely lame at vib-ribbon when I have it here and used to play it quite a lot. Granted, it HAS been a few years since I picked up that PSOne import, but still… I think someone messed with the controller, as the card next to the exhibit was off a bit. Well, the good thing was everyone who played it had problems as well. I at least managed to make it to the end of the second area on one attempt… and of course, I wasn’t filming or being films when it happened… bleh.

 

Capcom Arcade Cabinet 1985 Game Pack #1: Three More Classics To Keep You Twitching The Night Away…

 

Let’s see now… Ghosts ‘n Goblins, GunSmoke, and Section Z, all true classics and all now popping up on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade for you Capcom Arcade Cabinet users in North America (European PlayStation Store users get theirs tomorrow) for a very reasonable $9.99€/9.99/£7.99/800MSP. For those of you PSN users who missed last week’s intro 1987 pack or just want the two classics Avenger and/or 1943: The Battle of Midway by themselves, they’re both for sale individually on PSN for $3.99/€3.99/£3.19 each. Capcom hasn’t said a thing about 360 users in regards to these two titles getting single purchase deals, but I’m guessing 360 owners will need to take that up with Microsoft and not Capcom if it’s an issue about individual games being sold or whatever. Anyway, enough reading – go drop some virtual quarters already!

Applied Design @MoMA: fLow (PS3) “Dancing Bacteria?” Well, OK…

Well, I did hear someone say that’s what the game looked like at the event, so I guess that’s how it will seem to a few people who haven’t played it. I was going to title the post “Waiter,There’s a fLow in My Soup!”, but that would mean I’d need to stop writing and go eat something, as food references sometimes make me hungry. Good thing I’m at the library here “stealing” free wi-fi time or I’d be passed out at the pizza place nearby on a cheap (but REALLY good) pie, not getting any work done and feeling not too guilty about it later on.

VGA 101: On Kenji Eno: A Loss Isn’t A Complete Loss If Something Is Gained In the Process…

D2_signedOne of my favorite game creators, Kenji Eno, passed away on February 20th and I’d planned to write up something memorial-esque last week, but couldn’t for a few reasons. The main one was it’s actually quite hard to write something brief about what playing through some of the games he and his studio WARP created during their brief run meant to me without actually going through the library here and taking time to do so. That’s going to get done in about a month or so, barring incident. The other was I wanted to read what some of his close friends wrote about him in order to get a better insight on the man and his work. There was also a little bit of unfinished business to take care of in getting a certain something back to a certain someone, so that had to come first… Continue reading

Pac-Man Is Harder Than It Should be @MoMA’s Applied Design Show…

 

Yes, it’s the Namco arcade classic, but the version at the show is a bit lame because the joystick isn’t too responsive. Er, tilt your head or watch this on a mobile phone for best results. Anyway, I kept sucking hard at the game but it wasn’t ALL my fault. Right after I got my paws on this machine with the funky as hell joystick that made for QUICK losing battles against Pinky, Blinky, Inky and Clyde, Local NY1 News Tech Beat reporter Adam Balkin stepped up and… proceeded to be as bad as I was at the game. Well, everyone I saw play this didn’t last long, but I think that’s planned in the exhibit in order to keep that ONE guy or gal really good at the game from being a total jerk and play for hours on those free credits…

 

 

Hmmm… I should have given Adam my business card, but eh, we’ll meet again at some point…

NEOGEO X Classics Coming In April With Another Cool Bonus

NeoGeo_X

And so it begins (or continues, actually). In case you were wondering when and how SNK/Playmore was going to be getting new NEOGEO X games out, well the mystery has been solved. In late April, selected game retailers will stock the upcoming 3-game card NEOGEO X Classics: Volume I, which is the first of five three-game card compilations on the way. This next series of game cards will feature the following arcade hits from the company’s huge library:

ART OF FIGHTING 3
BLAZING STAR
BREAKERS REVENGE
FATAL FURY: MARK OF THE WOLVES
KIZUNA ENCOUNTER
THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’96
THE LAST BLADE 2
METAL SLUG 2
SAMURAI SHODOWN 3
SAVAGE REIGN
SENGOKU
SHOCK TROOPERS
SUPER SIDEKICKS 3 – THE NEXT GLORY
TOP HUNTER
WORLD HEROES JET

In addition, each card will ship with the “ROCKET” High-speed Data Transfer and Charging Travel Cable, at no additional cost. There’s also a system update on the way as well as a travel case for the handheld. More details will drop soon, so stay tuned for more. I’m quite happy with my X, so seeing it get more support is making me a happy camper indeed…

VGA 101: Evolution of PlayStation: Gaming (The Missing Link LIVES)…

 

Oops. I should have guessed Sony would be trumpeting its first party studios and their assorted innovations in the game space in this “final” nostalgia trip before the new era they’re about to step out and be a part of begins. So silly of me to NOT think they’d have nothing to say about THAT part of their history, given it’s so important). Still, it’s too bad some offbeat titles are missing that didn’t get the love and sales they needed at the time (Omega Boost, for one). And it’s also too bad we never got to see certain other expensive to produce titles localized for the US such as Kowloon’s Gate (an amazing 4-disc game that might have done really well thanks to it being so fresh and visually stunning for an early PSOne release), Panekit and many others…

Oh well… it looks like tomorrow we’ll be seeing the future on a few fronts and like many of you Sony fans (and yes, the haters peering over the fence, tomatoes at the ready) good, bad or otherwise, I can’t wait…

 

 

Update! Here’s the Japanese version (of course, it goes up after I’m offline. Ah well…)

Video Game Appreciation 101: PlayStation Evolution Part 2 (US/Japanese): The Plot Thickens!

 

OK, I’m too busy to comment on this cool bit of educational game history, so you get a bad poem instead – er, enjoy?

Well, part two means a clue to the future, it’s clear.
A new Sony console – no news when or where.
I’m betting not ’til mid-next year at best
as it gives time to put PS3 to rest.

We’ll find out on Wednesday, I’d say that’s for sure,
but I’ll guess not all is revealed or pure.
Hopefully, games will be shown at the event
and any new system won’t cost two month’s rent.

A price cut for the PS3 might drop too,
but I doubt that, as there’s still titles new
first party, third party, all for this year
So much going on (there’s no time for beer!)

(Hey, I never said I was good at this poetry stuff!)