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Cave's Akai Katana now available for home arcades
Allow us to dispel any casual thought of picking up an arcade cabinet and populating it with new games. Cave has put the circuit board for its latest arcade release, Akai Katana, up for sale on its international online shop. The price? 220,000 yen, or $2,597.73. Rather a lot of money for a single game -- one that requires you to already have a JAMMA-compatible cabinet, and one that's already been announced for a much cheaper home release. However, there are some important mitigating factors to consider: for that $2,600, you also get a poster and a screwdriver shaped like a red sword (or ... akai katana, in Japanese), for use with the volume adjustment setting on the board. The board available through the website is a special version of the game, intended for home use. It only supports free play, so owners can't charge quarters or tokens, and it has balance tweaks and an optional higher difficulty level, which weren't found in the arcade version.
Fruit Ninja becomes life-size using CAVE technology
The same encapsulating virtual reality display that led to the memorable Kinect hack from last week now has an altogether new and exciting purpose. A group of students from FH-Wedel Germany have turned the CAVE hardware and a Wiimote into a gigantic, all-encompassing version of Fruit Ninja.
German students make life-sized VR Fruit Ninja, declare war on digital produce (video)
Do you enjoy the produce-slashing action that Fruit Ninja affords, but feel constrained by the meager display capabilities of handheld devices? Well, some German students from FH Wedel University of Applied Sciences have created a VR version of the game to make your dreams of having more massive melons fly at your face come true. Using a CAVE four-walled virtual environment to display the hurtling fruit and a modified Wiimote to do the slicing and dicing, players can exorcise their cantaloupe and kumquat demons in a life-sized fruit cleaving frenzy -- with none of the Gallagher-style mess. See it in action after the break, just be sure to don your Kikou first.
Kinect Hacks: Navigating your virtual apartment
Some Kinect Hacks seems to have some practical applications to us tech-savvy folks who don't have access to our own mad scientist laboratories. This ain't one of them: Researchers at the Dundalk Institute of Technology have hooked a Kinect up to a virtual apartment, as seen in the video below.
Cave porting Deathsmiles to iPhone for spring release
Along with its big Xbox 360 release announcement, shooter company Cave had some good news for iPhone fans at its event over the weekend. Deathsmiles, the flying-magical-girl shooter released on Xbox 360 last year, is coming to iPhone and iPod Touch. "From arcade to Xbox 360," the trailer reads; "and then, from Xbox 360 to iPhone." Deathsmiles will be released in spring. Unlike packaged games, Cave can self-publish on iOS, and it's been good about localizing its games in a timely manner. So the insane shooting action in the trailer after the break need not be tinged with sadness.
Cave shmup Akai Katana coming to 360 in region-locked Japan release
Akai Katana ("Red Katana," or, we suppose, "Red Sword," depending on how much translation you need) is a horizontal scrolling shooter released in arcades last year by shmup master Cave. During an event last week, the developer announced that the game is coming to the Xbox 360 in an upgraded version called Akai Katana Shin. Shin adds redone graphics, an unspecified new gameplay system, a new stage, and a 16x9 mode that redesigns enemy and bullet patterns to fit better on a widescreen display. The original version will also be available on the disc, which is due in Japan on May 26 in both standard and limited editions. Unlike some other Cave Xbox games, the company announced that Akai Katana Shin will be region-locked when it arrives in Japan. "Hopefully one of our publisher friends will be interested as it looks grand." Aksys Games published Cave's Deathsmiles last year, so Cave does have at least one "publisher friend."
Cave's 'Nin2-Jump' makes a play for XBLA
Cave has announced Nin2-Jump (as in "Nin Nin Jump"), a distinctly styled action game coming to Xbox Live Arcade later this year. The developer, known for creating eccentric shooters like Deathsmiles and Guwange, unveiled the new game at an event in Akihabara, Japan. Nin2-Jump sees an agile little ninja jumping and swinging through a seemingly hand-illustrated shadow play, viewed by a young audience (depicted as silhouettes in the foreground) that visibly delights in his actions. The two-dimensional hero, dubbed "Nin Ja," can hook his chain onto objects to propel himself through the air or damage enemies, and can gather scrolls throughout the game's 50 stages to empower a destructive dash. According to Andriasang's preview, the game will offer leaderboard support for both the arcade mode (which values level completion times) and a separate score attack mode. As with N+, it's nice to be reminded that ninjas are never above asynchronous competition. Update: Siliconera reports that Cave does plan to release Nin2-Jump internationally.
Mushihimesama Bug Panic breaks out on iPhone Nov. 18
Cave's iPhone bug-smashing action-adventure spinoff, Mushihimesama Bug Panic, will incite insect-related hysteria on November 18, when it will launch on the App Store. If you're panicked about spending too much on a non-shmup Cave game, you'll be happy to know that for the first four days of release, it'll be available for $4, a buck off its regular price. Check out some new screenshots of Princess Reco's quest to save the insect kingdom (by destroying insects) in our gallery, and then head past the break to see the trailer, which isn't new -- but we can't stop watching it again anyway, because the music is so damn catchy.%Gallery-107074%
iPhone's Mushihimesama Bug Panic! features former Castlevania composer
We haven't heard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (and subsequent 'Vanias) composer Michiru Yamane since she left Konami early this year. Good news for those of you wondering what she's been up to: we found her in a Cave! ... game. A Cave game. For iPhone. The trailer for Mushihimesama Bug Panic, after the break, reveals that Yamane provided the music for the iPhone original, alongside Mica Nozawa. Judging by the trailer and its energetic pop theme, Yamane's work is very different from her Castlevania style. As for the game, it's also a departure. It's not a shmup (for once) -- it's an action-adventure game starring Princess Reco from the shooter Mushihimesama.
Guwange coming to XBLA on Nov. 10 for $10
Cave, creator of bizarrely titled shooters EspGaluda 2 and DeathSmiles, has announced that its next bizarrely titled shooter, Guwange, will land on Xbox Live Arcade November 10. Guwange, first released in arcades in 1999, is a vertically scrolling shooter set in Japan's Muromachi period and will mark Cave's XBLA debut. The game includes the original Arcade mode, an easier Arrange Mode and the somewhat mysterious "Blue" version, a remixed mode that increases difficulty. %Gallery-105000%
Deathsmiles standard edition available next week from GameStop
If you want to play Cave's Xbox 360 shmup Deathsmiles, but don't need a big box or a faceplate, you'll be able to pick it up cheaply next week. A listing on GameStop.com revealed a standard version of Deathsmiles, coming out for Xbox 360 on September 28 for $29.99. A representative of Aksys Games confirmed the release to Joystiq, saying that "the Deathsmiles Standard Edition will be $29.99 at GameStop for now." If you buy this and then something falls on your Xbox 360, cracking your current faceplate ... be sure to tell us. We'll do our best to be sympathetic while marveling at this unlikely, ironic happenstance.
Cave adds three more shooters to the Xbox pile
We'd say Cave is putting more bullet-hell shmups on the Xbox 360 than we can handle, but that's hardly descriptive, since one is more than we can handle. The developer has announced ports of three more of its classic shooters for Xbox, including one two-game collection. Dodonpachi Resurrection will be released in Japan on November 25, with new graphics and new gameplay modes, and will include a voucher for Dodonpachi Resurrection 1.51, the latest version released to arcades. In 2011, Cave is planning to release a two-pack of exceptionally weird games: Pink Sweets and the all-pig-girl Muchi Muchi Pork.
Cave announces two more shmups
Now that Cave shooters like Deathsmiles on Xbox 360, the upcoming XBLA release of Guwange and the iPhone's EspGaluda 2 are being made available to gamers worldwide, the announcement of a new Cave game is less depressing and more exciting -- because no longer do shmup fans have to assume they'll be paying $100+ to import them. The next slice of bullet hell from the developer is Akai Katana ("Akai" meaning "red," and "katana" meaning ... "katana"). The teaser trailer doesn't do much to teach us about the game, instead showing anime characters looking pained. It's safe to assume that some of those characters will be able to fly and fire upgradeable weapons while dodging screen-filling bullet patterns. Cave will hold location tests for the arcade game in Akihabara next week, so there will be more information (and probably off-screen footage) then. The company also announced (PDF) an iPhone port of DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu for this summer. You can see an intense trailer for that after the break, as well.
Cave shmup Guwange to be released worldwide on XBLA
Cave, famous for its insane bullet hell shmups, is taking full advantage of the reduced risk of self-publishing downloadable games. Following the worldwide iPhone release of Espgaluda II, Cave's Makoto Asada announced that the company is planning to release the 1999 shmup Guwange on Xbox Live Arcade worldwide. In a separate post, Asada showed some work-in-progress screens. "The release date and price are not yet decided," Asada said, but the game will receive an English localization for the XBLA version. In the meantime, if you crave Cave, Deathsmiles is in American stores now, published (and put into a really big box) by Aksys. [Thanks, dirtybeefz!]
Christie creates baffling 3D HD CAVE 'visual environment,' or your average Halo display in 2020
Whenever the word "Christie" is involved, you can generally count on two things: 1) you can't afford it and 2) you'll want to afford it. The high-end projection company is at it once again, this time installing a truly insane visual environment at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. The 3D HD CAVE is intended to help researchers find breakthroughs in biomedical studies, and while CAVE itself has been around for years, this particular version easily trumps prior iterations. For starters, it relies on eight Christie Mirage 3-chip DLP projectors, all of which have active stereo capabilities and can deliver a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,920. Yeah, that's 3.68 megapixels per wall. The idea here is to provide mad scientists with a ridiculous amount of pixel density in an immersive world, but all we can think about is hooking Kinect and the next installment of Bungie's famed franchise up to this thing. Can we get an "amen?"
Experience EspGaluda 2's 'unbelievable bullet density' on iPhone April 10
Cave, developer of niche shooters like Deathsmiles and Dodonpachi, is not only releasing a new game in North America, it's self-publishing. How is this possible for a small company and a relatively obscure genre? It's an iPhone game! Cave's Yukihiro Masaki announced that the iPhone port of EspGaluda II will be available worldwide on the App Store on April 10, for a promotional $4.99/3.99 Euro/￡2.99 price. If you're not sure about playing a hardcore shooter on the phone, there will also be a "Lite" version available for free. EspGaluda II is the same game whose Xbox 360 version was released region-free as an experiment. It would appear the company is still experimenting! See a trailer after the break.
Wanna play EspGaluda 2? Import the standard edition
It's been nearly half a year since we first reported that the Cave-developed shooter EspGaluda II wasn't likely to see a release outside of Japan. It looks like that's all but assured now, as Cave producer Makoto Asada gives Kotaku some importing advice. According to Asada, of the two versions of the game, only the standard edition will be region-free, meaning it will play on any Xbox 360. Meanwhile, the Limited Edition of EspGaluda II remains region locked, as Cave "didn't have enough time to get the application in before pressing," thus making the disc playable only in Japanese consoles. So, importers beware and stay away from that Limited Edition come EspGaluda II's February 25 release. Beyond that, you could always wait to satisfy your shmup craving until the North American release of Cave's Deathsmiles instead.
Cave's Deathsmiles bringing bullet hell to North America via Aksys
click to horizontally scroll through our gallery Japanese developer CAVE is famous for its hardcore "bullet hell" shooters -- at least among importers, because the console versions of those shooters have never been localized. Nobody's been crazy enough to put the time and money into one of the super-hard niche shoot-em-ups, until today, when Aksys Games (the company crazy enough to localize Cho Aniki Zero) announced that it will publish Deathsmiles on the Xbox 360. While this is going to be incredible news to shmup devotees, Deathsmiles may be a hard sell to general audiences, with its "gothic lolita" aesthetic and punishing difficulty. Those who do check out Deathsmiles for whatever reason will find a horizontal shooter with branching paths, online co-op play, and, in the words of Aksys's Cherie Baker, "little girls flying through a gothic otherworld to destroy the horrific, necrotic Imperator Tyrannosatan." Aksys has yet to announce a release date for Deathsmiles. %Gallery-83388%
New details on upcoming Cave shmups
After revealing plans to release more of its shoot-em-ups to the Japanese market, Cave has released new details on some of its upcoming ports. First up is Mushihime-Sama Futari 1.5, a 2006 arcade game. Mushihime-Sama Furtari 1.5 will receive a limited edition, which includes a two-disc soundtrack and a download code for Mushihime-Sama Futari 1.1. The game will release on November 26 in Japan. Next is EspGaluda II, a 2005 arcade game, which will release on 360 in Spring 2010. If you're hoping to see these shmups head overseas, don't hold your breath. Cave's previous Xbox 360 effort, DeathSmiles, has yet to see release outside of Japan, making a stateside release less than likely for Mushihime-Sama Futari 1.5 and EspGaluda II. [Via Andriasang.com] %Gallery-70252% %Gallery-70253%
Cave sees success on Xbox 360, planning more shmups
During a recent earnings report (via andriasang), Cave has shown that its foray into the Xbox 360 with its shmup series, Death Smiles, was not an ill-fated plan. Cave cites the Xbox 360 version as being the most successful, as it sold 30,000 units since its April release; a figure Cave says is three times higher than it expected.Cave plans to follow this success with more shmups, with an emphasis on updating older hits such as Death Smiles II, Espagaluda II, and Mushihimesama Futari mentioned. Though no specific console plans were detailed, it would be hard for Cave to ignore the Xbox 360. Japanese gamers can likely expect more blistered thumbs and enemy waves soon.
