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Kogan 'not aware' of sketchy Agora clone
Only in the bizarro world of KIRF can canceled, nonexistent handsets be cloned and released in quantities of 100 for just $240 a pop, and by all accounts, that's what has happened -- already -- to poor Ruslan Kogan and his doomed Agora. The Aussie with an admirable desire to get one of the first Android devices on the market recently had to delay his pet project indefinitely over compatibility concerns, but knockoffs running knockoff OSes have no such concerns, which is where the lovely Shining phone comes into play. After seeing the all-too-familiar render, Kogan contacted iTWire to say that "I am not aware of this manufacturer and I have doubts that it runs Android OS. It is certainly not what the Agora was going to be or in anyway related to it." 'Course, all it'd take is a couple chats over dinner between Chinese ODMs for Kogan's design to get recycled running something less than Android -- and granted, the Shining isn't identical to the Agora, but the similarities are striking, are they not?
"Shining" phone steals a little Agora magic
Okay, we don't really know what's going on here, but a "Shining" phone that looks almost exactly like the original version of the Kogan Agora Android phone just popped up on Alibaba with a three-day delivery time and a 100-unit wholesale price of $240. Of course, the Agora was just delayed indefinitely, so this could just be nothing; contracting design and development out to faceless Chinese manufacturers like Kogan's doing is pretty much a deal with the KIRF devil, and those are definitely renders on the site, not actual pictures. Still, we're dying to see a flood of non-G1 Android handsets shake up the mobile market, and if getting stoked over sketchy Asian copies of semi-vaporware Australian phones is how we have to get our kicks, well, we're looking for new friends with an extra 24 grand and a healthy sense of forgiveness.[Thanks, Raymanism]
VC Tuesday: Singles week
No new multiplayer games on Japan's Virtual Console this week. It's a perfect week to sit in your apartment alone all day playing role-playing games. Now, if only that apartment didn't have to be located in Japan for us to take advantage.Normally, when an RPG shows up on the Virtual Console, it's big news. This week, Japan gets three, one of which is very big news indeed as the confluence of a good N64 game, an RPG, and a Mario game. Makai Hakkenden SHADA (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) Shining Force (Mega Drive, 1 player, 700 Wii Points) Militia (Super Famicom, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Mario Story (Nintendo 64, 1 player, 1000 Wii Points)
Ryu Hayabusa apparently enjoys the Virtual Console
Our sleeveless-ninja-suit-wearing friend from Tecmo is already planning his return, according to new listings found on the ESRB's site. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos was released in 1990 in the U.S., just one year after Tecmo presented the first game. It features the same kind of side-scrolling action as the original, with the addition of shadow-ninja clones like the ones found in Ninja Spirit. The box warns that the game is "hard to beat!!" and we can in fact confirm this. Also newly rated is Sega's Shining in the Darkness, the first game in the Shining series. Don't be discouraged by the fact that the series has been thoroughly ruined by countless mediocre spinoffs and sequels-- while Shining in the Darkness isn't as well-regarded as the Shining Force games, it can still be fun for people who are into hardcore dungeon crawling. [Via GoNintendo]
Sega confirms four more for NA Virtual Console
Sega has confirmed four more Genesis classics en route to the Virtual Console in the next ... well ... they'll be here eventually, anyway. The titles? Wellll .... Toe Jam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron Shining in the Darkness Kid Chameleon Streets of Rage 2 Sega seems absolutely committed to the Virtual Console, even moreso than Nintendo ... but aren't they going to run out of high-profile titles at some point? Alas. Streets of Rage 2 is an excellent addition, and we've heard great things about Shining in the Darkness. Do you guys have some expert opinions? We never were big Genesis gamers.Titles will cost the standard 800 points for Genesis games, of course. As our sister site Joystiq points out, the only two titles to break standard pricing were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES, 600 points) and R-Type (TG-16, 800 points). May that list stay ever short!
