– The remake of one of Genesis’ most popular titles that I’ve never played, Altered Beast, is sadly no longer slated to come to the United States. I know you’re heartbroken, but don’t fret too much that only the Japanese gamers are getting this one — you wouldn’t wanna play it anyway. The reason the game’s US release is being canceled is that “Sega is more particular about the titles it ships in the US”, implying that the game isn’t turning out so hot. Perhaps they should, you know, improve the game instead of limiting its release, but I guess thoughts like that are exactly why I write about video games instead of making them.
– Here’s a tip for all parents who might be reading this: don’t pay attention to what watchdog groups tell you about video games. Five different groups who think they know better than you recently came together to produce a list of the top ten violent video games that you shouldn’t be purchasing your kiddies for Christmas. Sounds like a noble task, right? The thing is, it took five of these groups to produce a list that includes: titles that came out years ago (Shadow Hearts, Postal 2, and Manhunt), titles that won’t come out until next year (Hitman: Blood Money), and titles that are only available in Japan (Gunslinger Girl Vol. 3). Now, perhaps these group know kids better than I do, but I’m not sure that too many grade-schoolers are consulting their Japanese release charts when determining what games to ask Santa for. It also seems as though the top two games on their list of games you should buy your kids are in fact one in the same, though I suppose it’s possible that both “Antigrav” and “EyeToy: Antigrav” are entirely separate titles. If you wish to view the laughable list, it’s available at the bottom of http://www.iccr.org/news/press_releases/pr_jtstatement112304.htm.
– I should’ve mentioned this a few months back when the voting started, but the voting is now complete for the “Walk of Game“, a gaming memorial to be placed on the floor of the Sony Metreon. Stars were awarded to developers Shigeru Miyamoto and Will Wright, and to video game characters Master Chief, Link, Mario, and Sonic, who will all be officially inducted into the Walk of Game early next year. If you wanna check out the awesomeness for yourself, the Metreon can be located on Fourth Street in San Francisco, California.
– Quirky “I-can’t-believe-it-was-released-here” PS2 puzzle game Katamari Damacy is set to receive a sequel some time in the fiscal year of 2005, which apparently is not at all like the actual year of 2005, but rather runs from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006. There’s not a whole lot more to that; though it amuses me that the game’s been out for like.. a month, and already a sequel is very much forth-coming.
– Much like Squaresoft tried several years back with Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within, there’s been talk around the Nintendo water cooler about producing an animated motion picture. If you’re like me, you read that and thought “hey, that’s pretty spiffy, I sure wouldn’t mind seeing a full-length version of the classic Super Mario cartoon.” If you’re like me, then, you’ll probably be confused about what Nintendo actually has in mind: a movie about Japanese poetry. That’s all that is known right now — that Nintendo is contemplating launching an in-house movie production studio in order to forge an animated feature presentation about Japanese poetry. Gotta give them points for creativity on that one.
