06.29.06
Posted in Japanese, News at 5:15 pm by yuka
Until 9th July, on the ground floor of the Sony building in Ginza (Tokyo, of course), people are welcome to play LocoRoco on one of the eight PSPs within. Other upcoming titles are also on show, including Talkman Euro – the one for tourists visiting Europe, attempting to speak an American and Japanese accented English for example (yes, I’ll be ridiculing anyone I see using it).
FF XII is to be released in North America on Hallowe’en (31st Oct.). That’s not an excuse to wear cosplay items from the FF series, but I suspect some people might try… Anyway, that should mean it’s not too far off for Europe release.
New colour for the DSLite is now available in Japan, possibly targeting female players. It’s pink. C’mon, no self respecting male gamer will go for pink, will they? Noble Pink it’s called too. Same price as the rest, out from 20th July.
Oh, and apparently someone’s come with an idea to make DSLites look more Japanesey, via covers. Yes, you can use these and play a game at the same time, no worries there. Available from GameTech Direct, each costs approx. £20, and is made from handwoven cotton, with traditional motifs (seasonal). From top: Nadeshiko, Clover, Uchiwa (kind of a fan, for summer), Kingyo (goldfish), Mizutama (dew drop), Sakura (cherry blossom), Asagao (Morning Glory), Mimasu, Kamezoukomon, Kamawanu. (Mind, they seem to be out of stock on all, at time of writing.)
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06.23.06
Posted in Japanese, News at 11:35 am by yuka
From this article, courtesy of +D Games.
Konami’s Wii game, Elebits is one of the talked about games that appeared briefly at E3 this year. The developers say it wouldn’t have been made were it not for Wii and it’s innovative controller mechanism.
First off, let’s explain how the game’s played. It’s set in our normal world, not some far flung fantasy realm. The only difference is, that we can see Elebits (fairies of electricity). They are the only entities that power our machines, and so no petrol, gas or the like exists in this world. The object of the game is to capture these beings (how much time you’ve left and how many watts you’ve captured so far is displayed). Simple, huh? Depending on how many watts you have, you can switch on the light, use the microwave, and so on.
The player can move with the nunchaku control stick, stretch with the C button, duck with the Z button. By moving the Wii remote, you can scan the area, and with either the A or B buttons, you can release a beam with which to capture these pesky critters. This beam can also be used to lift things (even your next door neighbour’s house), turn taps, open drawers, open doors… you get the idea. (There are many picture books in-game that tells the story of Elebits and humans, apparently.)
The producer says that because of the Wii remote, they came up with this idea for a game in the first place. “Normal controllers just can’t do these subtle moves that this game requires.”
How did they come up with the name? – “Electronics + bits = Elebits. We also asked about 50 people to come up with designs for them, and we then winnowed it down from about a 100.”
Concept of characters? – “We wanted anyone to be able to play this game (in line with Nintendo policy), even women, so we made these characters cute in a slightly cheeky way. They also each have certain personalities and behaviour patterns. For example, the blue ones are ‘normal’, but the red ones are shy and will run quickly unless captured. They sing, they cry, they chat to each other… we feel it’s important to not lose focus on these subtle things.”
Story? – There is a story, and a purpose. There are stages too, but at this point, we are still fine-tuning things, so…
Simultaneous release as Wii? – “We would like to think that by autumn, this game will be available for play. Wii’s a machine that makes you want to play just by looking at it, so in that spirit, we would like to do that.”
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06.22.06
Posted in Japanese, News, Online gaming, UK at 3:34 pm by yuka
No offence to the Blizzard team who’ve worked so hard on this last patch, but who thought it was a good idea to make the LFG channels worldwide (and not restricted to cities, as before)? The general sentiments amongst my fellow players seem to be negative, as regards this issue, and most of us have turned it off in annoyance. And no, not all of us players uses cosmos and such, so please make it the way it was. Certain flightpaths previously unavailable are a good idea however – especially in Un’goro Crater (no more running from Silithus or Tanaris, hooray!). As the whole list is way too big to be pasted here, try this link instead.
On the DS front, こどものための読み聞かせ えほんであそぼう series (Play with Picture Books for Children, is the closest I can get to translating it) will be out from 6th July. The first three titles to be released are Cinderella, Three Little Pigs and Momotaro (Peach Boy) sets and features moveable animation via the pen or voice, and also can be read/heard in English. Suitable for even toddlers, it might just be the stuff you’re looking for, to learn better Japanese. It’ll cost approx. £15 each (for three stories each).
23.50, server goes down. This time Kalimdor has shut down completely. Nice one, Blizz. I realise patching a game that size must be a huge task – the 3.5hours I spent yesterday downloading the patch itself is testimony enough – but honestly… and you players, talking on channel 4 incessantly – Stop the racket now! Just because it’s WoW-global doesn’t give you or anyone else the right to chatter like a friendless imbecile.
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06.15.06
Posted in Online gaming, UK at 10:56 am by yuka
For the first time in a good while, I decide to visit the WoW front page where lo and behold, a great post was spotted. As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I feel violent when some random person in the game decides on the ‘chat-up’ route. (I’m sure there are single female players out there who wouldn’t mind having a relationship with you, but don’t push your luck. Remember, us females in real life do have sharp claws in great condition, ready to scratch your eyes out if you come any nearer.) Other points in this genius of a post got me nodding throughout.
Excessive usage of ‘lol’, ‘rofl’, ‘roflmao’ and the like does tend to set my teeth on edge, as does text-speak. It’s just not necessary. By Jove, the guild to which my lovely little gnome rogue Kera belongs was set up by a group of us who feel the same way about such things. We all know what our respective roles are (we have a good warrior who uses all his stances effectively, for example – and good warriors are really hard to come by!) and even after a few wipes, we grimly battle on without blaming the healer for not doing his/her job. One of our guild rules is to not participate in an almost abhorrent ‘ding/gratz’ cycle.
So… if you’re on Arathor realm (Alliance) and need a mature guild, feel free to apply via comments :)
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06.14.06
Posted in Japanese, News at 12:36 pm by yuka
Here I was thinking all interesting (of course, to me) news has gone dry, when I’ve managed to dig up a few. So before I go back to my lovely DSLite (Ice Blue one :)) and the Mana game…
No mention of price or exact date, but DQ Monsters Joker is set for a 2006 release for the DS. For the GC, Donkey Kong Barrel Jet Race will be released on 10th August for approx. £24, and Super Paper Mario on 3rd August for approx. £29. The latter game will have an ‘unusual twist’ – indicate with your Touch pen to reveal a 3D landscape… oh, and Bowser, for once will be on your side.
Between 3rd July and 31st August, Sakura Taisen stamps will be available from post offices across Japan, as a 10th anniversary commemoration. Just be warned that it can only be pre-ordered, and will cost £15.75 (+ £2.50 p&p), and will only be mailed early October.
Whilst browsing on the Famitsu site, I also came across this blog on WoW, as experienced by one of their staff. Read the entirety with some amusement. He mentions how a simple ‘Hi’ won’t open an invite to a group… duh! If some character I have no recollection of ever meeting comes up to me and says that, I’d be thinking whether he wants a group, or if he’s there to beg for some hard-earned cash or worse. This guy (fairly ok at English – he mentions having lived in the US a while back) also has a few other entries, and in a way, it made me realise how sheltered a Japanese life can be. It was the comments he made and this overriding need he described to make people like him. Sure, you need to be polite online (in Japan, politeness is highly valued, so even if one wants to be rude, it’s done in a backstabbing way), but not so that you stand around for 40mins waiting for your sole party member who’s swimming around far below your standing point of a cliff edge! Jeez… get a grip.
Talking of getting a grip… Japanophiles. I’m happy that they want to learn my mother tongue and culture. They like our games, our animes, kimonos, sushi… etc. Thanks for taking an interest. But could they please stop adding ‘chan’/’san’ to everyone’s names? That’s far from cool… in fact it’s downright creepy. Personal fantasies of geisha, I’d rather not know, but to be enamoured by that culture and deciding that’s what Japan is… please take that elsewhere. (I’m fairly sure if a person was interested enough in Japan’s culture, they’d have read up on its history too, to find that geisha was hardly romantic or tragic in a tearful female way, supported by Mills and Boons novels.)
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06.07.06
Posted in Japanese, News, Online gaming at 2:03 pm by yuka
Square Enix has announced it will be releasing 4CDs related to the Valkyrie Profile series in quick succession. First up is VP2 Silmeria Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 (12th July) for approx. £17.32, then VP2 Silmeria Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 (26th July) for approx. £16.80. VP2 Silmeria Arrange Album (9th August) £14.70 and VP2 Silmeria Voice Mix Album (23rd August) £14.70. The first two will be a 2CD set, and Vol. 1 will come with a collector’s box in which all of the collection can be stored (availability will be limited).
Been gaming a fair bit the last week (and hence my laxity in writing here can be explained away), and as ever, with all online games (and not just WoW), not all my experiences have been exactly what one would call pleasant. Obviously I’m not a moron to suggest all the in-game experiences be pleasant, but it does irk me somewhat that no care is given to how characters are treated – I assume that most players forget people exist behind those characters. If players want to call me ‘ghey’ for not wishing to duel with them, that’s fair, though I do wish that they manage to do so without the gay spelling. Those little things don’t concern me much.
WoW has risen so much in popularity, and so many different people do play it. I’ve heard of so many families playing together, probably healthier than all the family sitting down in front of a TV all night with not even a word to say to each other. And with it, comes the rising number of female players, whether willingly or coerced by their partners (I joined willingly, even going so far as to suggest my other half make me a computer fit for it). Games like Nintendogs and Animal Crossing also has substantially increased the number of female gamers.
I hasten to add that I’m no feminist (I just don’t believe women have more rights than men). C’mon let’s admit though, it’s actually quite easy spotting a female gamer in your party, because of the way they ’speak’. I understand that the majority of gamers will be male – it’s the gaming culture of this Western culture, I assume (if you get my meaning) – so here’s a thing. You males, don’t start acting stupid and go into ‘chatting up’ mode, just because you’ve suddenly realised there’s a real female behind that character you were talking to normally a minute ago. Please? Oh, and relentlessly pursuing your prey… you might have done that back when men dwelt in caves, but leave off when we tell you to, ok? Less embarassment for all concerned. That is, if you don’t want our boyfriends/fiancees/husbands to come pelting after you with a few corpse camping strategies…
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