Kotaku

Dyack vs. NeoGAF, Part II

Oh, the drama. In the latest 1Up Yours podcast, Too Human creator Denis Dyack explains just why he went after the NeoGAF Too Human haters. In his own words, Denis Dyack:

I was basically calling out people who had no way of assessing the game... All I wanted to point out to people is that this is so ridiculous... I went through all of this for two reasons.... If you're going to look at the NeoGAF forum as a non-profit organization, if it does not reform itself, it's eventually going to crumble. There's going to be a point where they step over the line where someone's going to shut them down. That would be a loss for everyone.... The question I have to ask the moderators of GAF: Are you going to follow your own rules? With people making GIFs of myself that are, I would say, attacking me.... Why haven't 180 people been banned now? If I wanted to move in and shut that place down, do I have grounds under their own forum policy?

There's more. Oh, yes. More. Hit the jump for more excitement!

360 Rock Band Guitars Work With GH: Aerosmith [Update]

Not that this will matter to any of you on a practical level, since we pray you won't actually pick up a copy of Guitar Hero Aerosmith, but it's good news on principle. Seems that Rock Band controllers will work with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, with the G4TV team testing the 360 version and finding that all functions - including the whammy bar and star power - are up and running. Seeing as the problem was always at Activision's end (GH controllers would work with Harmonix's Rock Band), have they swallowed their pride and opened up the music controller market? Appears so, at least for 360 owners. Let's just hope this carries on into Guitar Hero World Tour, where it might actually matter.

'Rock Band' Guitar Work With 'GH: Aerosmith' [G4TV]

UPDATE - Thanks to all the readers who let us know, after testing, that this only applies to the 360 version. Sorry PS3 owners.

DualShock 3 And Xbox 360 Frankencontrollers

The Xbox 360 DualShock? The PS3 Xbox 360 Controller? Over at Xbox-Scene Forums, moderator RDC has modded an Xbox 360 controller into a PS3 controller, writing: "The D-pad, Select, PS, Start, Square, Triangle, Circle, Cross, L1/R1 and L3/R3 buttons are all wired up right now and working, as are the LEDs for showing which controller it is." So, yes, this Frankencontroller will work with a PS3. And if that wasn't enough, RDC did the same in reverse by modding a DualShock 3 into an Xbox 360 controller. Take a look after the jump.

There Will Be No More Brain Training

For a game built upon endless repetition, Brain Training's certainly making an impression on some people, because years on from release, the two games are still selling like fancy, heated cakes. So Nintendo are surely working on more, yes? Itprintsmoney.gif and all that? No. Having most likely noticed the fact people can't tell the two games apart, and still buy more of the original than the sequel, it's been announced by Nintendo (grain of salt notice: Nintendo Europe) that two will do, and they'll just keep on selling them for millennia until our sun expands, killing us all in a blinding flash of white.

More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima [TVG, via Go Nintendo]

PSN Staying Free, Kids

The more people buy PS3s, the more people sign up to the the PSN. The more people sign up to the PSN, the more it costs Sony to keep the thing running. So will there come a time when Sony start charging you for the use of the PSN? Maybe! You can never rule that kinda thing out. But if they are, they're not doing it soon, with PSN boss (and man of the moment) Eric Lempel saying:

We’re happy with what we’re doing right now and we’re going to stick with it. I think being free is always an advantage. The fact that it’s free is nice for consumers who want to try out the online experience, those who may be new to it and may not be ready to commit to spending dollars, and that’s a really good message for us.

Course, Eric then says that leaves you with money free for game subscriptions (and he doesn't mention Qore), but his basic point remains valid! Free stuff is nice.

INTERVIEW: Sony on PSN’s “Big Leap Forward” [Next-Gen]

If you're in the mood to spend your Independence Day with some Battlefield: Bad Company trailers, this update has your name written all over it. It's also got Top Gun and FREE written all over it, as Guitar Hero III owners get a track for nothin'. Rock Band owners, you get a freebie, too. There's little that's playable this week, but the PlayStation Store is just stuffed with trailers. Pity then that two of them are for the PlayStation 3 port of Vampire Rain. Move along for the full update.

Two More Tales Games Coming, Both For Handhelds

How many Tales games are already on their way? Dunno. We've lost count. Especially now that we know there are two more coming, one for the PSP, one for the DS. The PSP one's called Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, which will feature the same main character as the upcoming Tales of Vesperia for the 360. The DS one's called Tales of The Heart (pictured). Both will be out in Japan by the end of the year, no word yet on Western dates.

[via Shonen Jump]

64 Percent of Those Polled Gave Up Wii Fit

Wii Fit has done big business in Japan — and pretty much everywhere, for that matter. The peripheral and game went on sale late last year in The Land of the Rising Sun, and Japanese website IT Media poses the question: Do Wii Fit owners actually still play Wii Fit everyday? Short answer: Nope. According to the thousand IT Media readers polled (for whatever that's worth), the majority of them do not play their copies of Wii Fit (ditto). Here's the breakdown:

Do you use Wii Fit faithfully everyday?
• 22 percent — I record my progress faithfully everyday
• 6 percent — Maybe once every two or three days
• 6 percent — Once a week
• 64 percent — Stopped using after purchase

Like any exercise program, most people quit early on. Guess it's good that even 22 percent are sticking with it, but still. Any Wii Fit owners out there? Do you use Wii Fit faithfully everyday?

装着率に見る「Wii Fit」 [IT Media Thanks, cpt!] [Pic]

Just because Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G sales are waning (finally) doesn't mean that the urge to buy PSP hardware is becoming any less intense. And even though the PSP doesn't have any software showing in the top ten for the week doesn't mean that it can't continue to rule the roost on the Media Create weekly sales charts. Nintendo hardware continues to nip at its lead and we imagine fortunes will change soon.

Somewhat more surprising is the big boost that the Xbox 360 got during the week of June 23 to 29. The release of Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy certainly seems to have helped Microsoft move some hardware. They really should just rebrand the thing the Xbox RX-78-2 locally. Can't hurt.

• PSP - 58,861
• Nintendo DS - 48,884
• Wii - 48,480
• PlayStation 3 - 17,973
• PlayStation 2 - 7,673

Media Create Weekly Sales

Well, would you? Seriously. Reason we're asking is that last week Atari sought to have their name trademarked in association with “internet protocol phones” and “residential telephone apparatus composing telephones and telephone connecting units”. Before you ask, yes, that's the gaming Atari doing the trademarking, not some random, other Atari. This would be the part where we try and find a good reason the company would be bothering with this, but really, there's little salvation to be found amongst the thought of an Atari phone.

Atari [Trademork]

Hey, You've Got MGS4 In My Spore Creature Creator!

Microsoft Keen On 3D Gaming, Have Performed Experiments

If you care to remember, Jim Cameron has said that the game adaptation of his upcoming sci-fi flick - Avatar - is already running in 3D, and running in 3D on a 360. Ubisoft are the guys behind that game, but they're not the only ones looking at the tech. XNA boss Chris Satchell has said Microsoft have also been "experimenting" with stereoscopic gaming, although he's quick to stress that, as it stands, the requirement that gamers wear glasses makes the technology's widespread acceptance a thing of the future, not the present.

Microsoft has experimented with 3D games, reveals Satchell [GI.biz]

Free Halo 3 Map "Cold Storage", Other Stuff Hits On "Bungie Monday"

This Monday, July 7 is Bungie Day on Xbox Live Marketplace. What does that mean to you? Free stuff! The kind of free stuff that absolutely requires an exclamation point. While free gamerpics and a gratis theme will be available that day and that day only, it's the new map, Cold Storage, that will probably put the biggest strain on Live's servers.

The Bungie Weekly Update also points out that the Legendary Map Pack will see prices slashed, with the regularly 800 MS Points pack dropping to 600 MS Points. Community tough guy Luke Smith has all the details on what's goin' down this manic Monday, so do check out the newest update... and the "viddoc" above.

Bungie Weekly Update: 7/03/08 [Bungie.net]

UK Retailer GAME To... Publish Games?

UK retailer GAME told MCV that while it might not be planning a huge pipeline of holiday titles, it plans to selectively use its distribution channels to publish undiscovered titles under its own brand name.

GAME was quick to reiterate it planned no threat to game publishers at all, and would instead seek out smaller-scale opportunities that were good fits:

“If it works commercially for GAME and helps a smaller publisher get off the ground by GAME sharing some of the risk, then we would look at it – we have a distribution channel and we can offer a service.

It's a bit of a touchy subject, because according to MCV, publishers are already none too pleased that they get absolutely zero percent of the revenues from game trade-ins at retail. The tricky circumstances are probably the reason why GAME elucidated their entire policy up-front:

Led Zeppelin Uncomfortable With Licensing Songs To Rock Band, Guitar Hero

There's little doubt that the artist line-up for Rock Band 2 is shaping up nicely. Guitar Hero is getting some nice exclusives as well. With Journey, Boston, Metallica, The Who and other top tier acts lending their tunes to the dominant rhythm games, there aren't many superstars left to cross off the list.

One of the artists that continues to elude both Activision and Harmonix is Led Zeppelin. It's been chalked up to a lengthy licensing process, but a recent write-up from the Wall Street Journal helps shed more light on the British band's absence.

The House Of The Dead EX Is All About Zombie Love And Mini-Games

Zombie romance, zombie bowling, zombie rock and roll — all key components of the next The House of the Dead. At least, that's what we can glean from Sega's whacked out promo flyer for The House of the Dead EX, a more comedic, more casual spin-off for the light gun series that brings with a foot pedal a la Time Crisis and a whole mess of crazy. Looks like some of the games in The House of the Dead EX will require just the gun, with others, like bat-thing riding requiring the use of the pedal.

Honestly, we have no idea what's going on here yet, but we like Sega has tossed on an off-kilter anime style to the whole thing. We actually liked the cel-shaded The House of the Dead III and were crushed when Sega nixed it for a more photorealistic look.

Sega is showing off the new arcade light-gun shooter at the Sega Private Show in Japan and we're anxiously awaiting more details.

House of the Dead EX [AM-net]

Playfire Launches PS3 Trophies Gamercard Service

I feel, as a culture, we've gotten really joyfully achievement-obsessed. We check our point scores as compulsively as we do our bank accounts, we demand to know what achievements will be available in games that aren't even out yet, and we have anticipated the launch of PS3 trophies with fervor. Fervor, I tell you.

A big part of this is so that we can show our play habits and our performance off to our buddies; seeing a My Gamercard on someone's website is like an instant badge of recognition. So it's unsurprising that a company called Playfire has rushed to be the first to create a Gamercard service for PS3 trophies (hopefully 2.4 squares away soon). It's currently in beta, and here it is!

The... trophycards? support themes, too letting you skin the cards with Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet or SuperStardust HD.

Happy Third!

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Computer Getting Hot, Me Melting

Have you ever wondered how holiday's creep? Like the Fourth of July isn't until tomorrow, of course, but people tend to try and leave a bit early from work the day before. Some people don't go in at all. Stores close early. I keep expecting that one day all of the holidays are going to meld together and no one will ever have to work again... until we run out of, like, everything.

Do you ever celebrate the Fourth in Japan? Like freak out the neighbors by setting off firecrackers on a seemingly random day, calling up all of the stories in the region asking for watermelon. Trying to find a place to roast marshmallows? Me? I've never been a big fan of the Fourth. Fireworks just don't do it for me and I the only good watermelon is a dead watermelon in my book. We are going up to the cabin for a long weekend to get away from the heat. While my house is a bt more than a mile above sea level, my parent's cabin is more than 9,000 feet above sea level! Crazy. Even though I'm adjusted to high altitude living I still tend to get headaches for the first day or so. Must be the lack of oxygen.

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