bandai
Latest
Tamagotchi celebrates its 17th birthday with new, more social virtual pets
Here's a thought to make you feel old today: if the first batch of Tamagotchis were human, they'd be almost through with high school. In fact, the egg-shaped virtual pet has just turned 17 (17!), and to celebrate, Bandai is revamping the brand (again) and launching a new line called Tamagotchi Friends. While you still need to feed your virtual pet and pick up its digital poop, this modern-day remake comes with new characters to raise. Also, when two owners bump their Tamagotchi Friends against each other, their pets can go on play dates, and they can interact in-game. We wish Bandai added other modern features, like a full-color screen, but at least American aficionados can get units with a color background starting fall 2014. Those in Europe will have to make do with the black-and-white version upon launch in December 2013. For now, you can see more info and watch animated shorts on the official Tamagotchi Friends website, or practice your pet-rearing skills on Android.
Mega Man's Bass and Treble in figure form this summer
Capcom is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Mega Man in every way it can think of outside of video games. Next up is a US release of Bandai's D-Arts Bass and Treble figures, based on the sorta evil robot and his dog from Mega Man & Bass and Mega Man 8, coming this summer as a two-pack for $42.99.They look pretty cool, for the Mega Man universe "giant-footed anime robots" definition of cool. They join a D-Arts Mega Man/Rush set released in January.
Tamagotchi breathes new 'L.i.f.e.' into Android today
No, it's not your personal Tamagotchi – that poor critter is still a ghost haunting the silicon chip inside your keychain, locked away in a box somewhere in the attic of your childhood home. Today, a new Android app called Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. is available as a free ad-supported download, emulating all of the same functionality found in that digital creature craze of the 90s.Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. is only available on Android (running 2.3 and up) thus far, but developer Sync Beatz promises it's coming to Apple devices too, according to a report on Techland. Aside from taking care of a Tamagotchi, the app also has plenty of unlockables: wallpapers, new Tamagotchi, different cosmetic options for your shell and different backgrounds. There's also a mode in which you can directly interact with your Tamagotchi and play a game of rock, paper, scissors using touch-screen controls.
Tamagotchi coming back as an iOS app
Truth be told, I was just a little too old to land in the middle of the Tamagotchi craze: My childhood was more full of Trapper Keepers and Game Boys than the famous Japanese virtual pets. But of course I saw them all over the place back in the '90s, as did everyone, really. And now the original toy is returning on iOS, as an upcoming app called Tamagotchi l.i.f.e. Now, there already is an official Tamagotchi app on the App Store, but it's more of a remake, with newer graphics and a little more social spin. This new app is designed to look more like the old version, presumably, playing a little bit more off of the now-retro vibe of the old craze. It's supposed to be on the App Store soon, so we'll keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, as you might imagine, there's no shortage of virtual pets apps on the App Store, including the very Tamagotchi-like Pet Monster, and even a virtual puppy. But Tamagotchi is the original creature you could kill by not feeding it enough -- hopefully Namco Bandai nails the feel of the old toy with this new app. [via AppAdvice]
Augmented reality makes Thundercats packaging way cooler than the toys themselves
What happens when the toy packaging becomes more exciting than the toy itself? It's an interesting experiment that's now seeing the light of day courtesy of Bandai's new Thundercats and Ben 10 toys, which come to life through a smartphone screen via Aurasma's augmented reality. The company promises that the packages help kids "examine every part of the toy before purchase." That's important. And hey, so's setting them up for a lifetime of disappointment. Video after the break.
New SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online trailer shows off gameplay
If you're a fan of the Gundam franchise, you can definitely argue that the heart of the franchise has nothing to do with giant robots blowing one another up -- it focuses instead on the human impact of large-scale war. But if you're playing SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online, then yeah, it's all about giant robots blowing one another up. And the new gameplay trailer embedded just past the break is meant to show off that focus to full effect. The game is quite fittingly action-based, and the trailer shows off several of the franchise's more iconic mecha in their SD form. Also shown off in full detail are the many, many ways for players to unleash rocket-powered death upon the poor cannon fodder Zakus wandering through the map, which is somewhere between endearing and almost mean. If you're looking forward to the game when it fully launches later this month, click on past the break to check out the trailer. [Source: OGPlanet press release]
Tamagotchi turns 15, wonders why you haven't fed it in a decade
Remember that little Tamagotchi you promised to always love and care for? When was the last time you fed the thing? Twelve years ago? The little guy's probably starving. Bandai's line of pocket pets turns 15 today -- the first Tamagotchi on sale November 23rd, 1996, becoming a downright phenomenon that proceeded to baffle parents everywhere. Since then, the attention demanding key chains have spawned several video games, a TV series and an animated movie. So go, break your Tamagotchi out of shoebox it's been living in for the past decade and treat it to a birthday meal and a driver's permit.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky flying high after shipping 200,000 units
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky was first released on PSP for Japan in October 2006, and for North America in March of this year, and has since steadily soared to 200,000 units shipped. Trails in the Sky began with a humble shipment of only 30,000, solidifying the game's status as an unexpected hit. Not to be outdone, the upcoming sequel, titled Trails of Blue, has passed 200,000 pre-orders in advance of its September release in Japan.
Gundam robot statue returns to Japan, looking worse for wear
After a brief hiatus, that giant Gundam statue we spotted a couple years ago has once again returned home to Tokyo -- though he clearly didn't make the voyage in one piece. Rather than reconstruct the 60-foot robot in its entirety, Bandai, the company behind the Gundam franchise, has decided to scatter its limbs, weapons and machinery all over an artificial island. For about $6.50, anime fans and Derrida enthusiasts can view the deconstructed mecha in all its glory, sit in the palm of his hand, or even use a fixed bicycle to make his head glow. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Storm past the break for an extra pic of the exhibit.
Former Atari VP moves to Trion Worlds
Trion Worlds has a new star quarterback for its European branch today, as former Atari general manager John Burns joined the team. Burns is now senior vice president and general manager of Trion's European branch. Trion's David Reid feels that Burns is a major catch for the company: "John joins Trion with almost two decades of gaming experience with him, and will be essential in our continued success throughout Europe. With the launch of RIFT earlier this year, we began laying the groundwork for a strong presence in Europe, which will grow as we bring premium, connected games to gamers around the world." Burns has a lengthy track record in the industry, boasting over 20 years of experience at various companies. Prior to Atari, John Burns worked at Electronic Arts, Bandai, Acclaim and Sega.
Namco Bandai sale this weekend on the App Store
If you want to score a deal on some classic games for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, Namco Bandai is celebrating spring (and, coincidentally, Mother's Day) with a sale on some of its best-selling titles this weekend. From now through May 9, you can grab games like Star Trigon for US$0.99, Tamagotchi: 'Round the World for $0.99, Lost in Time: The Clockwork Tower for $2.99, and PAC-MAN for $1.99. According to 148Apps.com, which offers a complete list of all the discounted games, the sale may be limited to the US store only.
So, uh, what's an 'Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel' anyway?
As you know, our primary goal here at Joystiq is to provide you with a thorough, clear, and contextualized picture of video game news. It's with that in mind that we asked NIS America to explain the ... somewhat bizarre name of its forthcoming RPG, Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel. We've been ribbing the game's title internally for some time now. And hey, can you blame us? It's nigh indecipherable! A NIS representative described the title as a "jumble of seemingly random letters," so we're not exactly alone in this. Anyway, NIS America reps kindly provided us with the breakdown of name that you see below, presented unedited: "Break down for Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel: 'Qoga' means "finale" or 'termination.' 'Knell' is like a chime that signals the passing of someone or something. 'Ar Ciel' is a name of a world. 'Ar Tonelico' is an artificial world tree (Yggdrasill). We wanted to use 'Knell' to indicate that this is the finale of the series because 'chime the signals the passing of something' is [the] perfect way of expressing the finale of [the] Ar Tonelico series." Still confused? We were too. Thankfully, NIS reps escalated their efforts several steps further, offering a detailed explanation -- as well as a bit of sympathy to confused readers -- directly from script writer Steven Carlton. "Many people may look at the title Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel and wonder what that jumble of seemingly random letters means," Carlton told us. "There are a few key terms from the game in the title, mainly Ar Tonelico and Ar Ciel."%Gallery-114535%
Hong Kong gadget flea market: a blast from the past
If you've seen our Hong Kong feature from awhile back, then you would've already heard about my favorite gadget hangout Sham Shui Po. By chance, my post-flight stroll in said district yesterday coincided with Apliu Street's Chinese New Year flea market, which featured many vintage items like jade figurines, paintings, jewelry, video tapes, vinyl records, etc. Naturally, what really caught my attention were the old gadgets that were literally piled up along the street, and from just HK$30 (US$3.85), you could easily pick up an old classic such as a Sony Clié, an HP iPaq, a WonderSwan Color, an original GameBoy, a MiniDisc player, or even a proper old school laptop or camera. Hell, some guy even had a couple of Nintendo Micro VS Systems (Donkey Kong Hockey and Boxing)! The catch? Well, there was obviously no warranty for these old timers, plus the broken screens or the lack of compatible batteries for some meant that most were more suitable as collectibles. Regardless, we took a $6 gamble with a Sony Clié PEG-NR70 Palm PDA with docking station and boom! It works! Well, except for the battery that only lasts for an hour, but I'll figure something out. %Gallery-115754%
Bandai is in charge of all video game box art from now on
We're not sure if it's too soon to name our 2011 Game of the Year, but we're awfully tempted to just go ahead and give it to Bandai's DS soon-to-be-classic, Fly Mr. Science. Based solely on the box art alone (the full version of which is posted below), we can tell it's going to be ... important.
Enslaved DLC trailer explores Pigsy's motives
If it wasn't clear why everyone says Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has great voice acting, the latest trailer for its upcoming DLC, starring the game's playable sidekick Pigsy, shows it off at its best. Head past the break to see for yourself.
Dead to Rights: Retribution trailer enforces slow-mo justice
Namco's marketing department must have really gotten a kick out of that 300 movie, because the latest trailer for its upcoming Turner & Hooch adaptation, Dead to Rights: Retribution, is chock full of the slow-mo. It's not that we're complaining; a lady falling from the top of a skyscraper or beating the crap out of a group of similarly uniformed thugs is made infinitely better through the tactful use of slow-mo. That part's fine -- what we still have trouble with is protagonist (and police officer) Jack Slate's inability to value human life. Sure, these guys are criminals, but that doesn't mean you have to do some weird wrestling move that breaks their neck and kills them dead, right? Since when did a can of mace and the Miranda rights stop being standard procedure?
Bandai Rilakkuma netbook gets touchscreen and CPU boost, as precious as ever
We've heard some folks (we're not naming names) disparagingly refer to netbooks as "toys" from time to time. Of course, when a manufacturer like Bandai cranks the cute factor up to eleven we can't say that it's an altogether bad thing. Like its predecessor, the Rilakkuma SX features 1Seg TV, webcam, Bluetooth, and WiFi. Putting the "next" in "next-gen," this baby features an Atom Z520 processor, 1GB RAM, 60GB HDD, DVD Super Multi, and an 8.9-inch (1280 x 768) convertible touchscreen. Built by Kohjinsha, this one is reportedly coming to the Bandai Namco online store in June for ¥90,000 (about $995).
Clash of the Titans screens highlight multi-headed beasts
Click image to fetch some more screens If you think our last batch of screens depicted some ugly creatures from Namco Bandai's upcoming Clash of the Titans, then we guess this latest round of shots are par for the course. Featuring several screens of the multi-headed nasty you see above, our gallery below is a veritable playground of potential nightmare inducers. This beast is like a smaller, more nimble version of Cerberus from Devil May Cry 3. Maybe a bit less chilly, too. Anyway, feel free to hit up the gallery below for the new screens. %Gallery-87927%
Stadium Events auction hits an unbelievable $800K
[VGMuseum] First, a mom hit the jackpot when one of the random games she was selling with an old NES turned out to be Bandai's super-rare Stadium Events, which went on eBay for $13.105. Following the excitement about that auction, someone else sold their sealed copy of the NES exercise game (which you've most likely played under its other name, World Class Track Meet) for a staggering $41,300. And then it got ridiculous. Seller acuraboi12's sealed Stadium Events reached a high bid of $800,200. Unfortunately for acuraboi12, we doubt that's anything but a joke bid. We may be in the midst of an odd Stadium Events gold rush, but that is beyond excessive, considering that the previous $41,300 was the highest known price commanded by an NES game to date. Not even Bubble Bath Babes could command $800k, and it's got nudity. [Thanks, NiteOwl]
Tamagotchi renamed TamaTown Tama-Go, no change in amount of attention it requires
That's right, grab the tissues and take some time to mourn the death of the Tamagotchi as we knew it. The guys at Bandai have gone and totally revamped the beloved virtual pet, giving it the new name of TamaTown Tama-Go to match that of the already existing Tamatown.com virtual world. Though there have been very minimal changes to the purpose of the toy -- you still have to remember to keep your little character well fed and rested -- the $20 pocketable keychain has morphed into an Easter egg shaped device with a slightly larger and higher contrast four-grayscale display. Why make a portable device larger than before? Well to accommodate attachable collectible figures, of course! Obviously sold separately, the $7 TamaTown figures attach to the top of the Tama-Go and are preloaded with two character specific games and goods. We understand that these sorts of changes are better processed in images (and dreams), so hit the gallery below for more miniscule figures than you can (probably) handle. %Gallery-85485%
