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When Japanese chart numbers attack!
Okay, now this is just getting ridiculous. It seems that I spend at least half of my time each day writing paragraphs that poignantly explain the results of another sales chart (where do they all come from?) that involves the DS. They all go something like this:This week in Japan, the DS sold a million pentatillion gazillion* units, crushing all competition and laughing maniacally before tossing their twisted bodies onto a pile of humiliated silicone chips and deceased pixels. The immense display of strength can largely be attributed to the addictive properties of Mario Kart DS, which sold a trillion** units, and a steady diet of the fofofillion*** unit selling Animal Crossing: Wild World. Though the top-selling game (with 10 omomillion**** sold) in Japan was the PS2's Rogue Galaxy (a delectable cel-shaded RPG romp), the DS was the ultimate hardware victor.* Actual figure: 299,000** Actual figure: 219,000*** Actual figure: 121,000**** Actual figure
New Tales of Tempest video available
Okay, so we originally guessed the title incorrectly, but the fact of the matter is that Tales of Tempest is blowing towards the DS, something which is sure to excite fans of Namco's flagship RPG series. Games Are Fun have scored the first video of the game in action, although it is clear that the video was either taken by an extremely nervous fellow or during an unexpected earthquake. Regardless, you can still gather quite a few things from it. There are spiky-haired kids in it, happily wielding dangerous weapons as they unusually get roped into saving the world from an ancient evil. Probably. And as is common with RPGs, taking a stroll down the road has you being attacked by every single creature in the nearby vicinity, the consolation of which is the copious amounts of gold you can loot from their cold, dead bodies afterwards. The battle system seems similar to Tales of Symphonia in that it's confined to a 3D plane and that the actions take place in real-time. The cel-shaded graphics look quite appealing too, though the series has always presented some great character designs as well. The top screen displays your status and the map (I know, I'm just as shocked as you are) and the bottom displays your party and the world they inhabit. It's unclear how the touch screen is involved, but I'd expect some sort of slashing motions would be required at some point. You can't expect to defeat ancient evil without stylus driven slashing motions, now can you? Some friends would also be beneficial, especially if they were playing co-op with you via Wi-Fi.
NY Times on Animal Crossing's jab at music industry
You may remember a little game for the DS going by the name of Animal Crossing: Wild World. You may also remember a story we posted last week about one of the game's free-spirited characters subvertly commenting on the state of the music industry. Clearly, your memory is filled with trivia that's largely useless....except when it comes to understanding the context of this article published on the New York Times website.The author, Tom Zeller Jr., asks whether Nintendo was actually sharing some real social commentary or whether they really just intended it as a winking, tongue-in-cheek joke (which makes the joke look like it's having a seizure). Surely it could be both? Nintendo's marketing robot, Perri Kaplan, says "no real social commentary was intended" and that by "free music", the character really meant "freed from his guitar, free from any constraints." In fact, Ms. Kaplan was quite keen on pointing out that the comment was made by a musically inclined cartoon dog in reference to overweight cartoon cats. See, it's a cats and dogs thing, not a music piracy thing!Or maybe she's just downplaying the fact that some see this move as Nintendo holding up a sign that says "Hey, we totally support piracy." Yeah, the same Nintendo that stuck with cartridges for millions of years and cranked out limiting proprietary optical discs in order to prevent piracy? That seems unlikely. My take on this is that Nintendo is making fun of the reaction record companies have had to people sharing music online, with the RIAA in particular suing old ladies and kidnapping children left and right because they downloaded music. Don't get me wrong - music piracy isn't acceptable, but with the dubious prices on CDs and the draconian measures adopted by the industry in enforcing their rules, it's funny that they seem to be encouraging piracy more than anything else.
Did you miss us?
Mind you, that's a rhetorical question. As of today, we're back on track and headed to the quaint old town of Regular Daily Posting About Your Favorite Portable Gaming System...ville. Unfortunately, the comments system was left behind on the platform, parting with the rest of the blog in an overly dramatic manner, running after the train, blowing fond electronic kisses from its palm and spluttering out "I love you!" at several points. The blog returned nothing but a sad and forlorn gaze out the window. It was an emotionally powerful scene, to be sure, but it leaves you at the disadvantage of being unable to speak your mind about our gripping and altogether life-affirming stories. Fret not, for this is a temporary situation. A very temporary situation. More temporary than a Hollywood marriage and slightly less temporary than the Chia pet craze. That should give you a good idea of just how temporary it is. Please continue reading our musings (in silence) and check on the comments section now and then to see if it's reached Regular Daily Posting About Your Favorite Portable Gaming System Ville yet. We'll be waiting to hear from you. (You'll no doubt have something to say about this ridiculous metaphor.)
