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Sega lighters: smoking will never be cool again
Lighters are more often than not outside the scope of our coverage here at Engadget, and while we don't condone smoking or lighting anything on fire... well, these are just awesome. Banpresto's launched a pre-order of these two beautiful Zippo-style lighters, a Sega Mega Drive and a Sega Saturn which runs through November 6th, with a shipping date sometime in December. Each lighter runs ¥10,500 (around $115). We'll definitely keep our eyes peeled for more of these smokers.[Via Joystiq]
Jump out of your seats for old game commercials
We've seen many of the classic video game console commercials in this GamePlayer feature before, but never all in series like this. The site has compiled one ad each, in roughly chronological order, for game consoles from the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation 3, revealing a lot of actors who are very excited about video games.That seems to be the common thread throughout most of these ads: since realistic enjoyment of video games doesn't play well on television, these commercials exaggerate the excitement of games to the point of personal injury. The Saturn commercial after the break, for example, makes some pretty terrifying suggestions about what playing Sega Saturn does for your body. At least it doesn't make your head detach from your body like the 3D0 does.
Top 5: Christmastime in Gaming
Ahh, Christmastime. Every year, we look forward to cherished traditions such as fighting traffic, stressing out over finding gifts, and even the occasional Black Friday trampling. Yet one would be surprised to learn that December 25th has a history which shares very little with frivolous lawsuits and Bill O'Reilly frothing at the mouth. Indeed, aside from its litigatious and hostile depiction on the news, Christmas is largely an excuse to shower our loved ones with food, presents, and joy. It's also an easy inspiration for a stressed columnist trying to finish his Christmas shopping to create a Top 5 list. As such examples of religious-based holidays are rare in gaming, this list will not be Nintendo-specific. For those who celebrate the date, I wish you a Merry Christmas. For those who don't, I wish you well just the same. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Deceased Sega Saturn donates skin, peripherals to Atom PC
It's mighty trendy around these parts to say how much you lament the day when Sega caved to the PS2 and pulled the plug on the Dreamcast, but which side were you on when the Saturn was getting tag-teamed by the OG PlayStation and N64? That poor thing never come close to the sales of even its failed successor, yet still sits fondly in the hearts of a dedicated few arcade-minded gamers. Perhaps that's why Japanese modders at an Akihabara shop decided to bring one back to life, ripping its 32-bit guts out and replacing them with those required to support a dual-core Atom 330, including 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM and a 160GB HDD. Even the peripherals have been overhauled, the memory cartridge turned into an over-sized USB stick and the four-button Shuttle mouse receiving a laser transplant. If it could still play Virtual On: Cyber Troopers we'd be getting out our passports.[Via lebloggadget]
WRUP takes a trip to (Sega) Saturn
While most people hail the Dreamcast as Sega's swan song, we want to go back one generation and remember the Saturn, which gave birth to person favorites NiGHTS Into Dreams, Dragon Force and ... um ... Christmas NIGHTS. We know there are other classics, so tell us your experiences with the console. Note how the special NIGHTS controller (mid left) looks conspicuously like the Sega Dreamcast pad. Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time! Alexander Sliwinski: I'll be at a wedding in New Rochelle, NY this weekend, so it's DS time for me. The plan is to keep my Civilization Revolution addiction going with the DS version. Also, hoping to be back in time on Sunday to make some more money with the Fable II pub games. Need to learn and play the table better on Keystone (a variation of Craps -- yes giggling youths out there, that's the name of a real casino game). Andrew Yoon: I'm only a small handful of Trophies away from getting 100% in PixelJunk Eden. This weekend, I'll be going through the latest Ratchet & Clank adventure, Quest for Booty, and then some demo time with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Christopher Grant is the leader and doesn't have to answer for himself. Griffin McElroy won't hear our Roll of Thunder call until the weekend begins. Kevin Kelly: The Fable II pub games will be occurring, with several liftings of ale. I'll also be playing in my D&D campaign (hello, nerdom!) and trying out this new card game called Pecking Order. It's crazy, I tells ya. Plus some of my family is in town, so there will be some board game happenings going on as well. Kyle Orland is a bunny rabbit. James Ransom-Wiley: For the first time -- ever! -- I went with a PS3 version; in this case: Bionic Commando Rearmed. I also plan to spend some time psyching myself up for Too Human's imminent release. (Oh, and Amazon, where is my Pub Games code?!) Jason Dobson: After grinding this week through the Netherworld, I'm going to be spending the weekend mastering the subtleties of the Xbox 360's terrible d-pad in Bionic Commando Rearmed, most likely falling to my death in the process. Justin McElroy: I'm playing Space Siege as we speak, and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm also going to be listening to the Joystiq Podcast, because it's so funny and good and right. [Ed. - Justin later told me to add "Too Human" to the list because he wanted to flaunt it over the peons.] Ludwig Kietzmann: I'm taking my copy of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (cry more, purists!) to a friend's place and introducing him to the world of cardboard boxes and heavy handed exposition. When I'm back home, I'll be hacking away at Crisis Core's never-ending side missions, fumbling my way through Alone in the Dark and slashing wildly at scantily clad sword mistresses in Soul Calibur IV. Randy Nelson: My brief stint behind the handlebars of Burnout Paradises' motorcycles has once again revved the throttle of my addiction to the game, so you'll no doubt see me Freeburning on PSN this weekend. I'm also aching to get into the swing of Bionic Commando: Rearmed (I opted for the XBLA route) and should probably brush up on my Soul Calibur IV skillz if I ever hope to go toe-to-toe with Ludwig online. Ross Miller: XBLOverload with Braid, Bionic Commando and Pub Games. I'm still going through Rock Band drums on left-handed hard mode to try and get the other half of my body more in sync.
Sega: No plans to release NiGHTS PS2 outside of Japan
Those hoping that the PS2 port of the Sega Saturn classic NiGHTS would be released outside of Japan may be out of luck. Takashi Iizuka -- producer, director, and lead game designer on the Wii-sclusive NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams -- recently spoke with Sega Nerds about all things NiGHTS.When asked about the PS2 enhanced port of the original NiGHTS Into Dreams, Iizuka commented that at present, the title is only scheduled for release in Japan, and that there are no plans to bring the title to other regions, or, for that matter, to the Nintendo Wii.Iizuka also commented that the PS2 port was the direct result of a high demand for the game in Japan. Given that, it's still possible that solid sales of the NiGHTS sequel might inspire releases of the original in more regions. Let's keep the hope alive.
Virtually Overlooked Week: Eric's picks
Virtually Overlooked has taken over Wii Fanboy! All this week, members of the staff will be outlining their personal picks for future Virtual Console releases.It was 1994 when Ahmad poignantly rapped, "Back in the days, when I was young; I'm not a kid anymore, but some days, I sit and wish I was a kid again." If scientists could only harness the wasted enthusiasm of our nostalgia, our cities would never want for electricity.Remember the peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunches? Or the summer swims with the sun on your back, tanning your skin golden brown? The days you could set your heart on a girl you hardly knew at any moment, whether it be a winsome classmate or the clear-skinned brunette from Noxzema's hokey commercials? The nights when TGIF meant new episodes of Full House and Family Matters, and not after-work casual dining?Each weekly batch of Virtual Console releases is a reminder of my idle youth. Some games I recognize only from magazine previews I read with eager eyes over a decade ago, and others are familiar friends -- titles I've been meaning to catch up with to recount years past. The whole gang hasn't quite made it to the reunion yet, but that doesn't mean we can't trade old stories about them in the meantime. "Sometimes, I still sit and reminisce ..."
Sega planning to cut remaining Dreamcast and Saturn support
Where were you on 9/9/99? It's been almost 8 years since the Sega Dreamcast was launched in the United States, ushering in the "next" (and now previous) generation of gaming with the likes of Sonic Adventure, Power Stone and Soul "Is that intro in real-time?" Calibur. Despite a strong lineup, online gameplay (thanks, 56K modem!) and quirky memory unit minigames, the Dreamcast's momentum wasn't strong enough to halt the PS2's avalanche of hype. A few years into the system's lifetime saw Sega running out of steam and, more importantly, out of money. Those still clinging to their Dreamcasts are advised to take good care of them now, with Sega's Japanese website announcing that malfunctioning systems will no longer be accepted for repair after 28 September 2007. The hilarious machine translation of the page also points out that the Sega Saturn will suffer a similar fate, shortly before spewing forth an incomprehensible "understanding it receives, the fish you say to ask." Fish? Is that like a "fix a man's system and he plays for a day, but teach him how to fix it and he'll play for years" sort of thing? Though it's tempting to lapse into eulogy at this point, the Dreamcast will be around (and thinking) for as long as people still enjoy it. Sega might be hammering the final nail into the coffin, but the system inside is still alive and kicking... and screaming. [Via CVG]
Wii Warm Up: Sega Saturn, shiro!
"Sega Saturn, shiro!" means "Play Sega Saturn!" and is the catchphrase of the Saturn's Japanese mascot, the very burly and heroic Segata Sanshiro. It's also what we've been daydreaming about since we heard all the Saturn-related rumors. We love that Sega and Nintendo are pals now, but we wish we could get a little bit more of the good Sega, and a little bit less of the Shadow the Hedgehog era Sega. The Saturn is chock full of classic Sega awesomeness, and we want to know what part of that ... uh, full, uh, chock of awesomeness you'd plop your Wii Points down for first. We're in total speculation land here, so Japanese games are okay to suggest. Our pick? Segata Sanshiro Shinken Yuugi, which we are desperate to play despite hearing that it's not very good. Listen to that theme song!
Rumor: NiGHTS remake/sequel for Wii? [update 2]
[Update: decided to go ahead and actually post the images.][Update 2: changed the title, which was by coincidence identical to Game|Life's.]Another Sega Saturn-related rumor! Maybe Segata Sanshiro is hitting the press circuit, drumming up renewed interest in his favorite console.The latest rumor comes from the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine, who placed a teaser image in the back page of their March issue, advertising that a revived classic would be revealed in the next issue. The image consisted of a field of stars with an outline of some kind of shape.NeoGAFfers did some detective work and found the image that had been outlined: a character portrait of Sega's NiGHTS character. NiGHTS more than counts as a classic game! The implication here is that a new game in the series might be headed to the Wii.We're still skeptical for a few reasons: first, the next edition of ONM will be the April issue, and it's imprudent to trust any news item that comes out in a game magazine in April. Second, the "revival" might be the original game on Virtual Console ... which would actually still be great. Finally, there's always the possibility that the NiGHTS picture was a deliberate misdirection, and the new game could turn out to be Dizzy or something. We hope that isn't the case-- Sega fans have been put through a lot, and many of us could snap at any moment.We've posted both the original teaser image and the NiGHTS-added version after the break.
Remembering Segata Sanshiro, Sega Saturn's dutiful mascot
SEGAForce.net remembers Segata Sanshiro, the outspoken hermit who trained with a giant Sega Saturn on his back. "Sega Saturn shiro!" he would shout, exploding grown men with a single toss; mercilessly beating club goers; and strangling little leaguers. But Sanshiro's violence was bound to honor (see the video of his death below) -- and for that he was praised.Sanshiro's character is significant because it did not evolve from (or into) an actual game franchise. Developed solely for a span of roughly twenty commercials aired in Japan from 1997 through 1998 for Sega Saturn, Sanshiro would never truly transcend his TV roots; and would be limited to a few game cameos and a popular theme song turned music video. Nevertheless, this parody of legendary judo master Sanshiro Sugata continues to live on through YouTube and the like; a marketing device begging to be recycled.
360 D-pad sucking? Use a Saturn gamepad
The honeymoon's over. We were in love. Our shotgun wedding with the Xbox 360 gamepad and subsequent months of marital bliss have come crashing down. We've had our first fight ... err, 2D fighting game that is.Anyone who's been playing the recently released Street Fighter II on XBLA has undoubtedly noticed the Xbox 360's D-pad seriously cramps your combos. Fear not DIY-friendly gamers, there is a solution: Don't use the Xbox 360 gamepad. Remember the Sega Saturn, geared for 2D in a world of 3D consoles? The good news is the Saturn's gamepad has a well respected D-pad and, with some soldering skills, you can start rocking it on Xbox Live. Here's how it works: Saturn controller gets plugged into a breadboard connected to a gutted Xbox 360 controller, so the whole thing is wireless (sort of). Fine, so this isn't the most attractive hack, but it illustrates a demand for an alternative gamepad. How long before some enterprising peripheral company makes a wireless Xbox Live Arcade pad?[Via b&b&p&s]
You got Sega Saturn in my 360!
Twistedsypmphony, head moderator guy over at Xbox-Scene, tipped us off to his Frankensteinian project, the Sat-2-360 Controller Adapter. The adapter allows players to use a Sega Saturn control on the 360. Considered by many to have the best d-pad and button layout ever, the Saturn controller is perfect for Street Fighter II or the upcoming Mortal Kombat. The adapter is still a prototype -- and ugly as sin -- but the functionality is promising. The unit is (technically) wireless, though I'd pay for the same thing with a USB adapter.If you'd like to learn more about it -- or make one yourself -- check out the forums at Xbox-Scene. For some X-tra credit, who wants to build me one? Anybody?Now, if SEGA would get cracking on the Live Arcade version of Virtua Fighter 2...
More Japanese game commercials: so plausible, I can't believe it
Not content with brutalizing your brain the last time, Bits & Bytes & Pixels & Sprites have deemed it necessary to post another collection of bizarre Japanese video game commercials. This batch makes it very difficult to believe that the people who made them could possibly exist in the same reality as you, implying that all of this comes from an alternate dimension where disembodied heads, bunny-eared women and homoerotically charged controllers are very much de rigueur. You'll find our favorite clip embedded in the second part of the post, chosen based on its high content of post-apocalyptic wastelands, Bomberman plushies, inhuman voices and Segata Sanshiro's patented man-flinging techniques. Watching it may cause you to explode. Come to think of it, there's an exploding man in there too.[Thanks Daniel!]
IGN Dreamcast: Week 1
Do not be alarmed; the above image came directly from IGN Dreamcast, showing how they might use sex to sell the website*. The website is now up and running at full speed, having made 3 Top Ten lists (that's over 30 selections!), Dreamcast pr0n, retro Dreamcast 2 rumors (gotta love those), and a new game reviewed: Radilgy. They have even updated the master list of game rankings with 4 new entries. 089. Bang! Gunship Elite 170. Razor Freestyle Scooter 199. Sonic Shuffe 230. Chef's Luv Shack At this rate, the Dreamcast site will be updated for at least another 50-60 weeks, allowing editors to easily keep their jobs keep providing new content until well past E3 2007. We love seeing our beloved console revisited, and we love how tongue-in-cheek the site can be. We'll check back next week to give you an update on IGN's latest retro-loving project. * If you find Cartman's plumber's crack sexy, please seek medical attention. Immediately.
NiGHTS Into Dreams, onto Revolution?
Could this beloved Saturn title float its way onto the Revolution? According to the latest Famitsu, there is a possibility Sega could bring NiGHTS Into Dreams to Nintendo's next-generation offering, either via its Virtual Console or as a sequel. The original game's controls would be a perfect fit for the RevMote: a flick of the wrist to point what direction you want your featherweight protagonist to fly in a pseudo-3D world (the game was in 3D but you moved your character very much like a side scroller). As recent as 2000, NiGHTS creator Yuji Naka went on the record saying he would not make a sequel to the game, since the original is so perfect: "Like the way Spielberg likes E.T. so much he won't remake it, I don't want to make another NiGHTS." However, in 2003, Naka expressed interest in making a sequel to NiGHTS as a way to "reinforce Sega's identity." We would love to see another NiGHTS and, given Sega's close relationship with Nintendo, we are very hopeful this rumor becomes a reality -- if not as a sequel, then at least as a Virtual Console download modified to utilize Nintendo's RevMote.[Via Infendo]
(Classic) Bomberman coming to XBLA?
Of the games guaranteed not to bomb if they get dropped onto Xbox Live Arcade, Bomberman scored a respectable number ten. Now some bigwig (read: "online marketer") at Hudson is saying that bringing Bomberman to XBLA is "under evaluation" and that the Saturn version would be a prime candidate. Saturn Bomberman is often cited as the pinnacle of the series (feel free to disagree) and itself featured online play via the Saturn's "Netlink Playable" service. Throw in Live support, eight-player multiplayer, all on a console that people are actually buying (fanboy trivia: how many units did the Saturn sell versus the 360?), you have yourselves a hit of planetary proportions. What does this say about the chances of the totally angst-ridden, badass Bomberman throwing a tantrum on western 360s? Furthermore, of course it's "under evaluation." The entire internet has been asking for it! If Hudson hadn't put two and two together by now, we'd be disappointed. [Via Joystiq]
Saturn Bomberman being evaluated for XBL Arcade
According to comments made by a Hudson online marketing manager to 1UP, Saturn Bomberman — considered by many to be the best version of Bomberman and one of the greatest multiplayer titles of all time — is "under evaluation" for Xbox Live Arcade. The original Sega Saturn game featured a frantic 10-player Battle mode that would likely be a huge draw for 360 owners looking for a simple, but addictive multiplayer experience. Let's hope the evaluation process comes to that same conclusion.
Mammoth Saturn controller takes custom console crown
There are larger gaming enclosures out there in arcades, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a controller this big for a console game at home.
