1. From over at Penny Arcade, it seems word has come that the Japanese are rather unhappy that the MMO RPG based on the sacred Dragon Ball franchise is being developed by Koreans.

   Funny, I don’t remember hearing about outrage when Atari began developing good fighting games based on it.

   I guess a fair comparison would be if another country made a game based on… um… hmm.

   You know, it kind of feels like most any American license has passed through Japanese fingers at least once, you know? If you think of an apt comparison, feel free to reply below.

   The real irony behind all of this is the simple fact that Dragon Ball was based on a Chinese legend to start with, so a sense of entitlement is at least a little questionable.

2. Ever wanted to race a TransFormer? If you have Flatout 2, then pretty soon, you can.

   In other TransFormers happenings, Kup gets a MySpace page, Furman talks Furry ‘Formers, and new pics of movie toys Swindle and Bonecrusher are available.

3. Hmm, this would’ve been a good thing to be talking about more about a month ago.

   If you dig the TMNT movie, and want more, then you might want to take a look at these previews of the comic prequels to the movie.

4. Nintendo has updated their Super Paper Mario site, complete with videos and such goodness.

   Go. Play. Have fun!

   If you crave more videos, GameTrailers has you covered with a new batch.

   STILL not enough? Fine. Then you can go to GameSpot’s 4-hour marathon today at 1pm PST. I kind of have to side with Kotaku on this one.

   And thanks a lot, NOA Matt. Now you make me want to find a pizza parlor with 20-year old arcade games in it.

5. What do you consider some of the most engaging Nintendo games where visuals are concerned?

   Press the Buttons has a list that’s hard to argue with.

6. You’ve probably played every version of Street Fighter II, III, EX, and the Alpha series. And you think that makes you hardcore, right?

   But.

   Have you ever played the original?

   I was lucky enough to give it some tries at a video game machine at the gym where I was training for wrestling some years ago, and it’s quite a change from the SF norm. I’m glad it finally saw release in Capcom Classics, but it seriously should have been in Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, and I think its exclusion was an embarassment.

7. GameSpot reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES.

   GameSpot hates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES.

   Wussies.

8. They also check out Star Fox 64 on Virtual Console.

   Sounds like it’s lost something in the conversion, controller-wise.

9. 8 minutes.

   How much of the Nintendo Museum can one see in 8 minutes?

   Only one way to find out.

   In addition, Kotaku says the same guy broke into Nintendo’s old Kyoto HQ, and got a tour for his troubles.

10. GamePro goes hands-on with Mortal Kombat: Armageddon for the Wii.
11. If you download a game from the Wii Virtual Console, there’s a neat downloading sequence which features Mario or Luigi doing some running and jumping and collecting coins.

    But, there’s more…

12. How do we improve the Wii? Some suggestions.

    On a related note, as pertains to the Virtual Console, I fully agree. I’ve been calling for arcade versions since Day 1.

13. “Video Games Offer Fun New Violence”

    While I won’t dispute anything they have here, I do ask how they can dare to leave off the rolling of people, places, and things into giant balls before sending them into the sky to go supernova?

14. A hand-drawn Super Smash Bros. Brawl video with a lesson:

    Don’t f*** with Flint.

15. To bring you all the hot secrets from behind the counter, game store clerks will risk their ass. But don’t worry, they’ve got plenty to spare.

    I kid, though. Seriously, when I think about it, most game store clerks seem to be in better condition than one might think.

16. Wii: “Revolution,” or “Evolution?”
17. Want to play Mario Kart Arcade GP, but don’t know where to look for this rare game?

    Found one.

18. What do you get when you mix Akira Toriyama’s Blue Dragon and the artist of Death Note?

    Something rather different-looking from the anime, at any rate.

19. 1up.com adds EGM‘s ever-controversial article BattleStation! The PlayStation 3 Is Under Attack! to their website.

    It was a bit of a hot topic a little while ago, and now you can read it for yourself.

20. So while you wait for the Diamond and Pearl games to come out, you can turn back time with Retronauts’ look back at the Pocket Monsters.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Came across this bit of Sony shamelessness over on Toastyfrog’s forum.

   Long story short, George Harrison stole the show at a Marillion concert and tried to auction off a PS3 pre-release.

   Classy.

   The story itself was pulled from Edge magazine, and I agree with Evil Avatar on this, that pulling it was a load of bull.

   Kotaku has their take, too.

2. Takara’s new Megatron is truly a masterpiece.

   As such, it deserves its own gallery.

   Thankfully, top-notch TransFormers photographer Remy Rodis captures the almighty Decepticon leader in all his glory.

   If you think this is ironic…

   …try wrapping your head around this!

3. For the otaku in you, check out these Japanese auctions for Japanese TransFormers movie posters and a gift box.
4. I’ve never even heard of the Cybertron Phillippines website before, but I’m glad I have now, as they have a spiffy interview with IDW’s editor-in-chief, Chris Ryall, an all-around cool guy from my handful of experience with him.
5. Double strike! The Angry Video Game Nerd unleashes his wrath in the final part of his Ghostbusters game slam-a-thon.

   PLUS… oh god. He also digs into the new TMNT movie.

   Will anyone be spared? Watch and find out.

   And it seems to be pretty much spoiler-free, about as much as any trailer, at least.

6. o/~ Blue streak… speeds by… Press the Buttons!

   Ok, so it doesn’t quite synch (“Pressing the Buttons,” maybe?), but regardless, G-Matt has braved the fires and the furs to bring to you a review of SatAM Sonic on DVD. That is, the DVD collection of ABC and DiC’s “Saturday*” morning cartoon, Sonic the Hedgehog.

   One might also be interested to know that this is the cartoon that would eventually give Archie’s comic the shape it has today.

   * “Saturday” morning, my ass. ABC only ever showed it Sunday mornings before sunrise and a megaton of local news programming when it was on. That is the kind of thing that lead to its ratings dropping, not because of damn Power Rangers, regardless of what you may hear.

7. Evil Avatar points out this cool ad for Guitar Hero II on XBox 360 that I’ve seen the past couple of days. Very nice.

   God Mode Online also mentions that there should be a pedal add-on in the future.

   If the game interests you, then maybe so too will these celebrity-customized GHII controller auctions.

8. Super Mario Bros.

   Super Paper Mario.

   Compare and contrast in GameTrailers’ latest video.

   However, as they venture through a recreated 1-2, they leave one question remaining. Does the Minus World trick still work?

9. If you’re not like me and dedicated to buying the game already (actually, I’m more hopeful of it as a birthday gift, but I digress), Go Nintendo and Game|Life are offering up impressions.
10. GameDaily digs up more interview with Reggie, this time talking about how important the likes of EA and Take Two/Rockstar are, as well as their interest in Little Big Planet– which Sony beat them to the punch on.

    Plus, more about getting Metroid Prime 3 “perfect,” after Metroid Prime 2 didn’t quite meet expectations.

    “It’s coming. And it will be great.”

11. THQ holds their 2007 WWE video game Challenge, and invites the superstars to compete. Looks like a fun time.

    “According to THQ PR, some (fans) cried after being denied entry.”

    Wow.

    GD also checks out the Top 5 WWE Divas in a countdown.

    #1 surprised me– because I’d forgotten about her (in the present sense).

12. THEY WISH.
13. Via Slashdot, Mr. Miyamoto offers words of advice to the game developers of tomorrow.
14. NES games so bad, even Nintendo won’t release them on Virtual Console? These are the voyages of Game|Life…

    Fox’s Peter Pan and the Pirates sounds about right, there.

15. Castlevania music, as played on a 100-year old pipe organ at Video Games Live.

    Can we call this art?

16. So, why did Bomberman: Act Zero not do so hot? Here’s a guess.
17. Joystiq rips Subway’s video game ad a new one.

    But I’ll still eat there anyway. Unless there’s a Mr. Sub or Quizno’s nearby.

18. Living Game Worlds III takes a look at how reality might be impeding creativity in developing games, something I’ve been concerned with lately as well.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Over on BWTF.com, TF-master Ben Yee reviews the first issue of the prequel comic for the TransFormers movie, including pictures.
2. Racketboy brings some more cheap classics our way, this time on SEGA Genesis.
3. In addition, he’s also on top of NiGHTS on Wii, complete with screenshots and an interview.
4. This year marks 20 years of Mega Man, and to get a head-start on celebrating, Toastyfrog and Retronauts takes a look back at the classic NES series in this week’s Retronauts Bonus Stage.
5. It’s been said that third-parties are afraid to develop games for Nintendo’s systems due to the quality of Nintendo’s own first-party software.

   Miyamoto calls them out on this.

   It makes sense. Don’t expect to compete in the big leagues if all you’re bringing is your B-game.

6. More gameplay comes from the GameTrailers way for Super Paper Mario, coming to you any day…

   And not to be outdone, GameSpot brings more fun, movies for a game that’s sure to be number one!

   Game|Life also has their own impressions, which… um… oh, screw it. Kotaku’s got ‘em, too.

7. Screw Attack goes back to the vault for another look at the classic Bubble Bobble.
8. GameSpot has new pics and info for the DS entry into the Ninja Gaiden series, Dragon Sword, while Go Nintendo features a video.
9. N-Philes has a neat pair of SEGA interviews: Takashi Iizuka on NiGHTS, and Yojiro Ogawa (of Sonic and the Secret Rings) talks about Wii.
10. Go Nintendo provides a link to a CVG interview about Mario & Sonic.

    Which, if you didn’t know, is seeing heavy involvement from Miyamoto.

11. Yet more interviews, now Reggie and Newsweek’s N?Gai Croal about Wii, DS, third-party support, and more.
12. Miyamoto. GamePro. Interview. “Wii enhancements to draw in hardcore gamers.”
13. One way to score a Wii for $20.

    Warning, some naughty language (albeit completely justifiable) within.

14. There’s a good chance you’ve probably seen the “magical” Viva Pinata commercial.

    But, unless I miss my guess, there’s a decent chance you haven’t seen it like this.

    Too funny.

15. Well, my plan to gather up day-after April Fool’s gags seems to have been foiled, but that hasn’t stopped the top five hoax game consoles from being collected.
16. And speaking of hoaxes, over at Rockman Perfect Memories, they had a persuasive hoax going in the form of Rockman DASH DS.

    Personally, I’d rather have a 2-D DASH with isometric-styled towns, and Metroid: Zero Mission-like ruins to explore.

17. Pfft, video game collectibles are scary?

    I had frickin’ POWER RANGERS on full display in my room, and I still got hitched!

    Seriously, it’s all a matter of finding the right woman.

18. This is the kind of tie I need.
19. Napoleon Dynamite = Nintendo fan

    Awesome.

20. Since I know a few artists (who hopefully read this thing), I figure I ought to pass along that American McGee is looking for concept artists.

    Send in your portfolio today!

21. Not your thing? Then how about trying for a spot in the “I Am 8-Bit” art show?
22. This one seems to be making the rounds… Mega Man and friends doing the Haruhi dance!

    …I’m still not sure how to react to this.

23. Japan’s latest in mecha-technology: the Bling-Bling Gundam!
24. Yet another interview, this time with Team Ninja’s Tomonobu Itagaki on why he decided to make a game for the Nintendo DS… before he even saw the machine.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. I admit it, this made me laugh.

   On a related note, IGN UK conducted an interview with SEGA and Nintendo Europe staff regarding Sonic & Mario.

   Um, I know there’s at least one part that’s probably going to upset a lot of people, even though I’m uncertain how reliable this is. At least GameSpot’s interview with the US side keeps a more optimistic look.

   Love that last exchange, too.

   Over Joystiq’s way, they look into SEGA’s talk of revitalizing the Sonic franchise part of which includes… releasing no new games for awhile? Huh?

   Then again, “release” doesn’t necessarily mean “develop.”

2. Seems that the Green Machine is set to debut in Japan, complete with new theme song.
3. Hmm, I wonder what this could mean…

Thanks to shortpacked for that one.

4. The most powerful art show in the universe, and I didn’t know a damn thing about it until now.
5. For the record, I heard that line from 300 one time too many, and my brain forced me to make this.

   Now I can rest.

6. So, now that the movie TMNT is out and kickin’ shell at the box office, what are director Kevin Munroe’s thoughts?

   He speaks a little about the upcoming Gatchaman project as well.

7. BWTF.com reviews Transformers Ghosts of Yesterday, the prequel novel to the upcoming TransFormers film.

   Sounds good, but not great, for the price.

8. ScrewAttack.com’s Video Game Vault takes a look back at Inspector Gadget for the PlayStation.
9. I just couldn’t resist.

   Behold, the basic story premise for Super Paper Mario in action!

   And if you need more for your Paper fix in the meantime, check out Paper Bowser World, as brought to my attention by Frash.

10. A GameSpot chat with Solid Snake’s voice actor, David Hayter, reveals some interesting tidbits regarding the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4.
11. More and more and more of Gyakuten Saiban 4.

    Not too much to speak of there, except for a nice view of the boxart depicting Ema, along with the rest.

12. If egg didn’t write this, then it could only have been his soul mate.
13. Know how the PlayStation 3 logo uses the same font as the Spider-man movie logos?

    Thank Kutaragi.

    Someone should really trick out a PS3 with chrome webs, like the black costume from the next movie…

14. Joystiq asks, “are random battles more annoying than useful?”

    To which I respond with a resounding “YES!”

    I much prefer the way it is in Mario RPGs, or even Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

15. Super Mario Bros. 2! In percussion!
16. 1up looks at 15 of the worst box covers ever.

    What, again? Hasn’t this been done to DEATH? How about spicing it up a bit?

    I think that from now on, these features should only be done on an annual or semi-annual basis. That is to say, something like “the worst game boxes of the year,” rather than all-time.

    I haven’t read this yet, just about to. Betting Phalanx and at least one Mega Man box (most likely the first) are on there.

    Oh well, it’s by Sharkey, so it ought to be a fun read, even if the subject is more worn-out than my coat.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. What’s all this “we” crap? I’m pretty sure that there are those at MS who dig the Wii. I know Peter Moore has spoken highly of it.

   As for the rest…

2. IGN goes a little more in-depth on Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.

   I’m amazed it’s on the DS, frankly. Typically, Itagaki seems to go for whatever’s the best on the market in terms of graphical power.

   Then again, he has been doing more 360 games despite the PS3′s release…

3. So, amidst all the Mario & Sonic headlines, where’s Yuji Naka?
4. Go Nintendo found this neat little Japanese ad for Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis.
5. Wired has a neat piece up, titled “The Road To Ruin: How Grand Theft Auto Hit The Skids.” It was made for an upcoming Wired magazine issue, but since the CEO is probably going to be shitting the bricks today, they decided on an early run.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Newsarama goes behind the scenes with Marvel Spider-man artist Ron Garney about why the Web Slinger is back in black (besides being a nice tie-in to the movie and all).
2. Wario, Wario… what have they done to you, Wario?

   I’m inclined to agree here, though. While I don’t mind the odd bit of toilet humor, I think Wario can do just fine without it.

3. Over at Racketboy’s crib, we find that he’s established a delightful Nintendo DS Wish List, featuring the likes of Snatcher/Policenauts, Mario, a Wario Land collection, and Metroid 2.

   All good stuff.

4. GameSpot looks over Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits for the Nintendo DS. Is it really a hit? Or a miss?
5. If you’re curious as to how the GBA version of the movie-based TMNT game plays, check out this video.

   Really, though, that vid only touches the tip of the iceberg.

6. Super Paper Mario = “shaping up nicely”, according to GameSpy.
7. Brian Hastings of Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank, Resistance: Fall of Man, and more) thinks that the PS3 will stand tall at the end of this generation. Click and see why.
8. Super Mario Bros., LEGOland style! And I don’t mean those computer-manipulated sprite animations, either.
9. Stephen Colbert: Leader of a Revolution.
10. Newspapers: No laughing matters.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Behold, and bear witness to yet another masterfully written analysis of the video game industry, as 1up.com’s woefully unpaid Nadia Oxford delves deep into the heart of the darkest part of the heart of video gaming, a hobby which attempts to emulate the feelings one gets when reading a book or watching a movie, but just does not get the job done.

   This… is the world of the Tragicomic.

2. The Angry Video Game Nerd has been quite busy while I’m away, producing videos covering the Atari 5200, as well as covering Ghostbusters… TWICE!
3. As if anyone cares any more (I kid, I kid), Inafune talks a bit about Mega Man, courtesy of GameWatch at GDC.

   “Screw ZX and Star Force,” you say? Well, you can direct your votes to Capcom as they conduct a poll to determine who is the strongest.

   My bets are on either X or EXE.

   Of course, if you want to know who’s the hardest, IGN will tell you it’s the very first Mega Man game on the NES, ranking second behind Contra on their Top 10 list of the hardest video games around.

4. Custom Robo DS is out, and has its own website now, too.

   I’ve been hearing good things, I can’t wait to try this one.

   For those who don’t know, if you’ve played Super Smash Bros. Melee and gotten some mech-like trophies named “Ray” among others… this is what they’re from.

5. Press The Buttons has kept busy while I’ve been away, and there are some nice articles up there now. Head on over for a mini-review of the Captain N DVD box set, and pretty cool idea for a New Super Mario Bros. 2, based on the turnip-tossing platformer of days gone by.

   And speaking of Super Mario Bros. 2, we all know that the game came from a Japanese non-Mario title known as Doki Doki Panic (you don’t? Go read up on it, then!), but how did things come to be that way? Check out this story about the long lost prototype some lucky soul managed to get on eBay.

6. Racketboy has some new Hidden Gems for you, from the SEGA Saturn, the NES, and the Dreamcast, and the cheapest GBA, SNES, and Saturn games worth your time.

   There are a few on that last list I could stand to get…

7. Also from Racketboy, if you’re into age-old video game magazines, here’s issue 5 of Nintendo Power, from Jan/Feb 1989.

   Yeah, that’s right. Back then, we had to wait TWO months for our fix.

8. Also, a neat game I never beat that was rather inspired by Zelda II (coming soon to Virtual Console) is Battle of Olympus.
9. This Sunday is WWE’s WrestleMania, and one of the big matches that’s making the mainstream this time is Donald Trump vs. Vince McMahon in a “Hair vs. Hair” match. Which simply means the loseWeight Exerciser gets shaved bald.

   Unfortunately, it won’t be Donald and Vince fighting each other, but instead, they’ve chosen representatives to fight in their stead. Sort of a pity, but great exposure for the two chosen, Umaga and Bobby Lashley.

   Doesn’t mean we can’t have our fun, though, as GameTrailers proves with their video of Trump and McMahon fighting from the XBox 360 Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 video game.

10. Sadly, Wario’s latest adventure just isn’t doing it for a lot of people. Find out why in GameTrailers’ video review.

    Unfortunately, I still want to play this, at least a little bit.

11. N-Philes has some new “extreme” art from Super Mario Strikers Charged.
12. Sounds like if you want to get your foot into gaming’s door, VMC Game Labs isn’t the place to do it.

    In fact, general consensus is that the place is either Hell, or should be in Hell.

13. …and here I thought Sony had bad advertising; I guess SEGA is looking to show them a thing or two.

    And what’s with that Beta-7 thing?

14. If you’re into Phoenix Wright/Gyakuten Saiban, then this ad featuring a famous Japanese lawyer is pretty cool.
15. I’d love to get my hands on one of these giant retail Marios. Preferably one of the better-looking ones, though.

    Of course, I’d much rather have the life-size Mario and/or his smaller counterpart. Or the one belonging to Kotaku Kommenter MrFuzzyPaws.

    That’s right, looks like the limited quantity of 30 was a falsehood.

    Also, be sure to read the links provided to the retailer by Kotaku, the descriptions are mildly amusing.

16. Kotaku’s also got a rather interesting look at Subway’s latest ad, aimed at parents whose kids bear the nickname of Chubby Checker.
17. Retronauts sets their sights on the Master System, the technically superior but fundamentally inferior* predecessor to SEGA’s Genesis.

    * Unless you live in, like, Brazil or Chile or something.

18. Quarterly online video game magazine The Gamer’s Quarter has added their 8th issue to the website, grab it while it’s hot.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Not sure I covered this prior, but after seeing yesterday’s “How to save Sonic” article, drneko found a piece from Racketboy describing how he got there in the first place, as well as his own idea of salvation.Either of which are better than some peoples’ idea of a solution:
   SEGA is very lucky that they have a character who is able to maintain his appeal outside of the video game circle, thanks to cartoons and comic books, but they shouldn’t rely on that, as the home base of the franchise will always be the video games.

   They can afford to stumble a little bit, but unfortunately, most would agree that the last several games have been a string of shortcomings.

2. He’s back, and he has expanded his horizons.Nintendo isn’t the only target any more.

   GameTrailers has added the latest Angry Video Game Nerd video, wherein he sets his sights on the Atari 5200.

   Oh yes. Beer will be drank, obscenities sworn, and something may even get broken. Lots of cursing, lots of laughs.

3. RMC at Go Nintendo says to take him down to the Donkey Kong Country, where the grass is green and full of monkeys……oh won’t you please take me hoooome! o/~

   Sorry. But I digress, I agree. Donkey Kong Country is one of my favorite parts of the Nintendoverse, and I’d definitely love to see more of it happen, by hook or by crook…

   …just please, not by way of Donkey Kong 64.

4. Pfft, breaking the sound barrier is old news.In Excite Truck, you can go so fast you can break reality itself.

   …or just make the system freeze up.

5. My favorite aspect of Wii Play: it’s only 10 dollars, once you subtract the remote.That, and I’ve become something of a minigame whore these days.
6. Hoo-boy.Maybe Wii Tennis will encourage my children to play real tennis. But what if, when they pick up a real tennis racket, they’re so delusional about their ability that they walk away in frustration? The Wii is to sports what grade inflation is to academic achievement: it makes it so easy that everyone can play.

   She’s absolutely right. It’s better that they don’t gain interest in anything and try it at all than possibly risk the chance they may not like it or do well at it.

   I strongly suspect that Mrs. McBride is in fact an ostrich, and if faced with the above, would likely hide her head in the ground until you went away.

   And since that can be considered a possibility, I won’t even bother with it.

7. An interesting revelation.Lord only knows what this could mean or lead to, though. My prediction involves less liquoring up of ladies by men, and instead engaging them in Wii Sports for a few hours, and saving the booze for themselves.

   Then again, maybe this is just geek chemistry.

8. Ok, so I get most of my news from other sites.What’s their excuse?
9. Paper Mario, Super Smash Bros., and the first six Mario Parties, to name a few.I could name many more. Damn this expensive hobby. Maybe I’ll write a feature, “Games I’ve Never Played and Why I Want To.”

   Sound good?

10. Hotel Dusk: Good game, or good novel?
11. I want this on my bed.No, it’s not a woman.

    No, it’s not a man, either!

12. This is retarded. And that’s not a word I tend to take lightly.But seriously, cutting a rant like that? Newsflash, brainiac, games provide a series of challenges for the player. If the player has overcome, or “beaten” all the challenges, then it means he beat the game.

    Any tool can “play” a game for a minute and accomplish absolutely nothing.

    No wonder no one takes us seriously.

13. You just know your movie based on a game sucks when you need a diagram to tell fans what’s what.No wonder no one takes game movies seriously.
14. Banpresto, I love you.The question block seems like the most ideal way to cure stress; you can punch it. And just imagine if coins came out! I bet that’d relieve your stress as well.

    That is, until you realized you just hit a block full of coins and your hand hurts like hell. But no one said the cure would be easy.

    On a side note, one of those mushrooms would go dandy with my planned Otakon costume this year.

    Speaking of Otakon, I saw these Super Mario Bros. computer mice being sold there last year. Actually, I think they were Series 1, with a Goomba.

15. God help me, SOMEONE at Otakon this year is going to get plastered on this stuff, and I want to be there when it happens.*to security* “You can’tell me wha ta’ do! Ah’m CLOUD, dammit! I gots the sword, and the Materiashh… and YOU. You killed th’ Aerish… but jush yew wait… wait’ll I level up some more… *drinks*”

    Yeah, fun times to be had…

16. Because pictures are fun.

And as they say, that is a wrap! I hope I’ll get the chance to return to regular updates soon, thanks again for the support, and keep an eye out, because I hope to return soon.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Over on the Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse movie blog, they ask the question of “why have movies based on video games been so bad?”
2. Penny Arcade pwnz Sony. Yeah. They pwn them so bad..

   I bet if Sony hired these guys to be their mouthpiece, Nintendo would be clobbered.

   Well, maybe not. All the same, it sounds like pretty basic marketing tact. Shouldn’t Sony guys know this stuff?

3. Daniel Radcliffe talks a bit about the future of Harry Potter.

   Radcliffe was asked during an interview with The Guardian whether he is committed to appearing in the seventh and final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Producer David Heyman told the paper that the film will be completed by 2010, at which point Radcliffe will be 20 years-old.

   So is Radcliffe going to return for Deathly Hallows? “Um, nnnnot for cer … sure,” the Guardian quotes the actor as saying. “But if I did the sixth one, which I probably will, I think it’ll be really weird not to do the last one. If you’ve come that far you might as well finish them.”

   I know a lot of people will scoff at the notion of a 20-year old playing a high-school aged wizard, but I’ll throw out that Austin St. John, Jason of the original Power Rangers, was the youngest of the group at age 19. So it’s not too surreal. Especially if they use a lot of make-up.

4. IGN has their verdict on PS3′s Sonic the Hedgehog, and it’s–wow!!! A 4.2? That’s—wait, what do you mean, “their scale goes to 10?”

   Oh well. Secret Rings, anyone?

5. IGN PC also takes a look at TransFormers: The Game.
6. At DICE, GameSpy makes nice with Nintendo’s Perrin Kaplan in an interview.
7. Ever wonder what it’d be like to live in a country without Nintendo? As it happens, Go Nintendo provides a tale of Singapore, whose Nintendo distribution is handled by a third-party.
8. Poor Yoshi…
9. When Wiis die… uh… stuff happens.

   And the moral of this story is… um… I’m not sure of that, either.

10. Ever wonder what Star Fox 2 would be like?

    Well, wonder no more!

    Given the game is essentially complete, I really, truly hope Nintendo makes a VC release of this at some point.

11. This homemade music video is a real “thriller,” featuring such personalities as Mario, Lara Croft, X, NiGHTS, a blue Spartan and… er… a Bionicle?

    Hate to nitpick, but Mario and X are only three inches different in height.

12. Not that I care much about Final Fantasy, but I do find the localization process interesting, hence why I bring to you why translating Final Fantasy is tough work.
13. Slashdot presents a very thorough script and analysis of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

    Btw, spoilers.

14. Save Boston!

    …wait, why?

15. Segata Sanshiro.

    Never forget.

16. When marketing goes wrong.

    A sad thing, Psychonauts…

17. Now this is one Chinese restaurant I’ve just got to eat at.

    o/~ To be a dragon, you’ve got to eat lots… eat all that you can eat… o/~

    …if any of you remember the Double Dragon cartoon theme, that’s the tune the above goes to. Just so you know.

18. In case you were unaware: Princess Peach is Cortana.

    The MS-Nintendo bond grows…

19. Wii… Zeldafied.
20. I don’t really remember the commercial, but it does make me wish that Capcom would port Street Fighter Alpha Anthology to the Wii.
21. 1up.com’s Jeremy Parish hits reset, and looks at how SEGA can save Sonic.

And that’s it for tonight. Sorry the anchoring wasn’t a little more lively, but I’ll try and make up for it on tomorrow’s update.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Thanks to kandyneko, I know that the internet still moves as swiftly as ever, as there is now a place to pay your… er… “respects” to Anna Nichole Smith, http://annanicolesmithdies.com/

   “The Internet: It’s Never Too Soon.”

2. With retro being the “in” thing now, it’s only natural that GameDaily adds their two cents as to what are the greatest retro games of all time.

   Unlike a lot of these features, however, this one actually lets you play the games!

   I wonder what the sequel to Burger Time would’ve been like…

3. …did somebody say “Sonic?”

   …

   Well, regardless of whether you did or not, IGN’s got some new videos up for Secret Rings.

   I love the sense of speed I get from watching the videos…

   GameVideos has some new fare as well, while 1up.com goes hands-on with the multiplayer mode.

4. Let inspiration ring, as Go Nintendo reports the story of a woman who’s recovering from breast cancer and using the Wii to rebuild strength.
5. Even though I don’t really give a crap about Madden, it is good to see that the Wii version is receiving praise.

   Better, though, is the promise of Fight Night on the system.

6. Go Nintendo looks at the new experiences old games are bringing to gamers.
7. Funny, despite all that Keiji Inafune has done for Capcom, it feels like they don’t trust the guy sometimes. They didn’t even want to give Dead Rising and Lost Planet a chance. But in the end, he won out, and now we can expect to see more original IPs from Capcom.

   At the rate things are going now, I guess that means we can wave bye-bye to a lot of classics we might want to see more of…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”