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Disney comes up with novel way of expanding Spectrobes
We here at Joystiq do our part to shield the nation's youth from the dangers of reading (Mein Kampf was a book, people, think about it), but when it's unavoidable, we always encourage the reading of video game-related literature. Now that F.X. Nine has hung up his keyboard, we're glad that companies such as Disney are stepping in to fill the gap with books like four new novels based on the Spectrobes series. Look for the first two, First Contact and Rise of the Ancient, on shelves this week. Also, do you get the headline now? Hilarious, right? Thanks, thanks, you're too kind.
DS releases for the week of October 6th
An interesting week for releases around the globe, though the news will, of course, be dwarfed in the wake of all things DSi. Among this week's noteworthy titles are Prey the Stars (at last!), and Korg DS-10 for Europe. Bleach: Dark Souls Crash: Mind Over Mutant Imagine: Babysitters Imagine: Fashion Designer New York Kage Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2 Pop Cutie: Street Fashion Simulation Prey the Stars Spectrobes: Beyond The Portals
Disney announces DS sequel to Spectrobes
After vowing to triple spending on game development in 2007, Disney has announced Spectrobes: Beyond The Portals, a follow up to last year's Pokemon-inspired RPG that's expected to ship for the Nintendo DS this fall. In the same breath, Disney also confirmed that the original title has shipped more than a million units globally and was the best-selling third-party DS game in North America last year, no doubt making the return trip to the well a no-brainer for the animation powerhouse.Like the original, Beyond the Portals is being handled by Japanese developer Jupiter, and will include a number of additions including a new "three-dimensional perspective" and an online battle system. As surprised as might be otherwise, some of the new game announcement's thunder was stolen by Disney CFO Tom Staggs, who last summer casually mentioned that Spectrobes "warrants a sequel in the games business." Still, be careful what you wish for, as Disney marketing guru Craig Relyea calls the game "part of our plan to expand the series in the coming years."
What is the Spectrobes Collector's Edition?
Tucked away stealthily among this week's releases was Spectrobes Collector's Edition. We thought it was pretty baffling that Disney would decide to rerelease an eight-month-old DS game now, and we also wondered what exactly was in this edition to collect. Siliconera reports that it's the game plus all 38 of the Code Input punch card things. The original game came with a few, but the rest seem to have only been given away at various events and promotions. In other words, they're a total pain to acquire in any other way. If you want to play Spectrobes, you may as well pony up the extra $10 (the original package is down to $20 now, and the CE is $30) and get the cards. The official press release (after the break) mentions that the package includes two exclusive Geo cards and a mini-guide. Seems like a good deal for people who were previously on the fence about Spectrobes. Or you could just wait for the sequel!
GameStop Spectrobes giveaway
Here's something cool for Spectrobes owners: every week from now until the 17th, you can go down to your local GameStop and pick up a free collectible card that will unlock a new Spectrobe. No preorders, no Game Informer subscriptions, just free. Here's something cool for everyone else: you can get three free things from GameStop. You may be able to sell them on eBay or something in a couple of years. Whatever the reason, we know you want this free stuff even if you've never heard of Spectrobes.
Is that a humorous Spectrobes commercial? Why yes, it is!
Maybe it's the male-pattern baldness or the clever use of the microphone mechanic in the game, but this commercial cracks us up every time, even if it is totally unbelievable that a couple of kids would pay to get into a movie, just so they could play Spectrobes. There's also another, less-funny commercial that takes place in Study Hall. Both commercials have had the usual treatment and been embedded past the post break for your viewing convenience.[via Go Nintendo]
Sony promoting DS games
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Sony_promoting_DS_games'; We have a shameful confession: sometimes we play games on other systems. Yes, there is a Playstation 2 in our stately Fanboy Manor, and it occasionally has a game in it. But our DS Fanboy Power is such that even the least Nintendo-like task we can think of-- buying a PS2 game-- becomes more Nintendo-centric in our presence. We recently ordered a copy of Soul Calibur III from Sony's own online store, and were surprised by what we received today. The game was in there as expected, but there was a large glossy piece of paper in the package with it. Upon unfolding the paper, we found ... a Spectrobes poster? Why on Earth would Sony send people promotional posters for a DS game? Have they given up on their own little project? Just in case there was some Spectrobes-Sony connection in the companies involved or something, we checked the fine print on the poster, and found only Disney and Nintendo copyright information-- nothing about Sony.
Spectrobes and Sega just don't mix
Spectrobes, Disney Interactive Studios' answer to Pokemon, seems to harbor a secret grudge against software developer Sega. When naming your captured creatures the "naughty words list" prevents you from using the company's name. Other development studios are fair-game, so why pick on Sega? Relax. While the word "Sega" conjures images of blue hedgehogs in our minds, the word brings up a very different set of images for Italians. It appears Disney Interactive is taking their word censorship efforts above and beyond the English language. Siliconera tried entering a few French swear words and received the same response. The moral of the story: if you want to name your Spectrobes with dirty words, consider using 1337 5p34k. [Via DS Fanboy]
The Spectrobes ain't got no love for Sega
We have to thank Spencer Yip of Siliconera for doing an interesting bit of investigative reporting on the subject of what is and isn't acceptable in Spectrobes. So, there are a lot of things you can't name your Spectrobes ... mostly things you probably wouldn't say in front of your mother unless there were major extenuating circumstances. And we all tend to agree on a working list of what those words are, right? Well, apparently, someone at Jupiter has a mother who reaches for the soap for things we wouldn't even consider minor infractions, like "Sega."Yes, Sega. In Spectrobes, you can't name any of the critters "Sega," though other developers are fair game. We have a theory about this Sega hate. We're guessing it just may be due to those commercials. You know -- pretty much all of them, and particularly the EXTREME!! Sega shout. We're guessing that someone heard that one too many times, and after Blast Processing, it was just the last straw.
Metareview: Spectrobes
We've had our eye on Spectrobes for awhile now, hoping that the game would bring some variety to the monster-collecting genre. Between all of the presentations the game's producer has attended, as well as the idea of utilizing punch cards, Spectrobes very much looked like it would bring that variety we so desired. According to the majority of critics, the game isn't that great, however. Let's see what they had to say: Nintendo Power (80/100) says the game has enough to make it stand out in the crowd: "The game definitely has its roots in the Pokemon world, but provides enough new features to give it its own identity." [Apr 2007, p.86] IGN (70/100) thinks the game is just too much to handle: "Spectrobes is way more game than is really necessary. Jupiter has some great concepts and tried to jam them all into one game." Game Informer (65/100) sees a lot of the game as being a chore: "The slowly paced story turns the fossil digging into a chore, and the real-time battle system starts to feel the same not long after that." GamePro (60/100) thinks the title is too gimmicky: "As it is, Spectrobes is little more than a dull game of collecting fossils with a momentarily enjoyable gimmick attached to it." Any of you out there picked up the game yet? What do you think about it so far?
Spectrobes takes over Nintendo World Store this Saturday
The Nintendo World Store in NYC doesn't have parties too often, so when one happens, you have to take note. Disney's Spectrobes will be taking over the store: you'll get a chance to meet Kentaro Hisai, Spectrobes' producer, play in a Spectrobes tournament and try to win a custom DS.The party begins at 11AM this Saturday.
First look at a Spectrobes "punch card"
This is one of the cards that comes packed in with Spectrobes. Notice the little holes for the stylus to poke through when the card is placed on the touchscreen. We must say, we like this idea better than passwords! And involving physical artifacts in gameplay makes the whole experience a little more special.Still, something is nagging at us. It's a card used to input data into a computer. How can it seem so innovative? It's basically 18th-century technology.
Kentaro Hisai talks about how he thinks Spectrobes will beat Pokemon
During a recent interview with Pocket Gamer, Spectrobes producer Kentaro Hisai talks up the game's inspiration, as well as how he thinks his game will set itself apart from the competition. In talking about the competition, Hisai says "there are other creature collection games, but the excavation element and the real-time battle action are all new. We feel those two elements, along with a host of others, will definitely set this game apart from the two you mentioned." The interview goes on to reveal that the game will feature a 500 different spectrobes, however as with most collection-based games of this type, in order to unlock all of the spectrobes, you'll need to unlock some via cards and WiFi download.See also: Spectrobes producer introduces game at event New Japanese Spectrobes commercial
Spectrobes Producer introduces game at event
Kentaro Hirai, producer on the upcoming Spectrobes, recently flew over from Japan to introduce the game to a bunch of lucky students from Gauer Elementary school. These kids were taken to Disney Land where Hirai showed off the card-based system of unlocking new monsters, along with some gameplay. Hirai then goes on to discuss why they decided to go with the hole-punch card system (player places the card over the touch screen then taps the corresponding holes on the card), as well as the inspiration in character design.You can view the footage here.
New Japanese Spectrobes commercial
The more we see on Spectrobes, the better it looks. And this latest Japanese trailer for the gamer is no exception. Although, like most Japanese commercials, it is very brisk, it gives us a glimpse into some of the game's cutscenes, as well as combat. We've done our duty and embedded the video past the post break, for your viewing pleasure.See also: Spectrobes trailer shows some battle goodness The first Spectrobes webisode
Spectrobes trailer shows some battle goodness
A new trailer for Spectrobes has hit the interweb, depicting some of the upcoming title's gameplay during battle. The video comes in at about three-and-a-half minutes, revealing plenty of attacks and spanning several battles. As always, the video has been embedded past the post break.
Pair of boxes from the land of could-be
Over at Go Nintendo, it looks like someone tipped them off on new boxes that turned up on the EB Games site. These could be the real deal here for Lunar Knights (and after the jump, Spectrobes). How do they look to you? If that's the box for Lunar Knights, we give it a tentative stamp of approval. It seems to capture the campy feel that's come across in the trailers and ads.
The first Spectrobes webisode
IGN's first Spectrobes webisode is here, complete with all sorts of space monster drama. Oh no! A guy with an attitude! A cut-off transmission! A cliffhanger! Whatever will happen to them? Guess we'll just have to wait for the next one ....Check the video out after the jump.
Spectrobes webisodes to back up DS release
We know you're in pain. There are so few Nintendo games dedicated to collecting and training monsters that you're all in severe withdrawals. After all, it's been at least ... oh ... six seconds or so since another such title was announced!Okay, so maybe we're being a tad sarcastic, but these days, you can't walk into a gaming store without tripping over monster-farming titles. In such a market, what's a company like Buena Vista to do that will make their new game, Spectrobes, stand out? It's not enough these days to have a kick ass developer -- and they do -- and the intergalactic setting might not do it, either. So what's left? Webisodes, of course! Six webisodes, designed to grant a little insight into the characters and their place in the world, will hit the game's official website over the next half year. Wow, maybe they could even put one of them "telly-vision shows" on the magical picture box! Now that would be something really new and fresh.
Spectrobes trailer is hot
These Interplanetary Patrol officers, Rallen and Jeena, are ready to train ancient creatures (Spectrobes) to battle against the evil forces known as the Krawl. The Krawl want to (take a guess) destroy the galaxy but Rallen and Jeena aren't going to let that happen. In the game players can train up to 500 Pokemon Spectrobes who each have unique powers. We can hear you saying "Really? No way!" but yes, it is true. You train monsters to fight. May seem like a dream but it isn't, dear reader. It is a dream come true in the form of Pikachu.
