Amazon’s Weekly DS Deals

Amazon’s Weekly DS Deals

Hey, you crazy portable gamers! Check out this week’s list of the sweetest DS deals from Amazon: Popularity: unranked...

3DS Games Get the Square Enix Tax

3DS Games Get the Square Enix Tax

Those unfamiliar with the Square Enix tax probably aren’t purchasing titles on the DS from the Japanese publisher. Square Enix tends to “value” their games above other releases on the handheld, and thus prices them accordingly between 34.99 and 39.99 as opposed to...

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Review (DS)

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Review (DS)

2005 – a banner year if there ever was one – laid a solid footing for Nintendo’s so called “Third Pillar” to go on and become the most successful video game handheld of all time, and as some would argue the best video game device ever made. The number of system defining games that were...

Square Enix: Our New Games Have Even Crazier Names

Square Enix: Our New Games Have Even Crazier Names

A Square Enix press event held today in Japan has opened up a floodgate of new information concerning the high profile publisher/developer’s upcoming lineup of titles. Although a recent trend has seen SE put a focus on their newest (and largest) subsidiary THQ, this press event was pretty much...

3DS and PSP2 vs. iPhone: Relevance in a New Mobile Market

3DS and PSP2 vs. iPhone: Relevance in a New Mobile Market

It took me a long time, as a fan of Japanese games, to accept the direction of the industry away from consoles and towards the portable space. Both Sony and Nintendo have their next-gen portables in the works, with the 3DS launching next month in Japan and the PSP2 rumored to be available at retail by the...

3DS Will Probably Be Region Locked

3DS Will Probably Be Region Locked

Based on an email sent from Nintendo Japan’s support, which was later re-posted on ruliweb, it seems that the 3DS will be region locked. For all those who planned on enjoying imported games, this no doubt throws a wrench in their plans. While the DS and DS Lite had no region coding, the DSi did...

“Tales of” a Lost Franchise

“Tales of” a Lost Franchise

Last week marked the release of a high-profile Japanese RPG on the PS3: Tales of Graces F.  But like most console games in the series (and the genre, for that matter), we’ll most likely never see the game translated into English and released on this side of the pond.  In Japan, the Tales franchise...

The Sonic Cycle: 2010 Edition

The Sonic Cycle: 2010 Edition

The Sonic Cycle. Sega fans are all too familiar with the roller coaster of expectations and disappointments that are an inevitable part of each new Sonic the Hedgehog game release.  For those unfamiliar with this formula of failure, it can be summarized as follows: A Sonic game announcement will initially...

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective headed to your DS on January 11th

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective headed to your DS on January 11th

A week or so ago I brought news of Shu Takumi’s (Ace Attorney series creator) involvement in writing the Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton crossover title that is currently being developed for the 3DS by Level-5, but today we finally have a solid release date for Takumi’s own original...

You Don’t Know Jack Returning Early Next Year

You Don’t Know Jack Returning Early Next Year

In the early days of CD-ROM based interactive entertainment, You Don’t Know Jack was unique for providing an experience that wasn’t reliant on full-motion video and CG sequences. Instead, it presented an excellent adult trivia experience, complete with a host which regularly poked fun at the...