Author Archives: Prota

Undercover Survey Shows Video Game Retailers Are Good at Keeping Mature Games out of Children’s Hands

The Federal Trade Commission conducts a yearly undercover survey throughout the United States that monitors how often retailers prohibit the sale of mature products and tickets to minors. They sent 13-16 year old teenagers into stores and movie theaters across the country to see if they were able to purchase items for mature audiences, such as M-rated video games, R-rated movie tickets, Parental Advisory Labeled music CDs, R-rated DVDs, and even Unrated DVDs.

Now, I have some news for all those people who complain about mature video games easily falling into the hands of poor innocent children. Video game retailers proved to have the highest enforcement rate…by a long shot.

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Angry Birds actually NOT the most downloaded game on PSN

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Apparently Lazard Capital Markets’ Colin Sebastian has had to correct a previous statement of his. The analyst now says that Angry Birds “was the most downloaded paid game through the PSN for January and February 2011”.

Phew, I know I’m probably not the only one who may be a little relieved hearing this. It was quite mind-boggling to think that in only three months Angry Birds sold better than every other paid game available on the service, especially since many have been out for years. I know it’s generally bad for analysts to provide incorrect information, but in this instance I’m really glad they were wrong.

Via: Destructoid, Develop

Angry Birds is the most downloaded game on PSN

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This is the face of evil.

According to Colin Sebastian, an analyst for Lazard Capital Markets, Angry Birds is the the most downloaded game on PSN. Let’s reflect on that for a second…think of your favorite PSN/PSOne game. Angry Birds has outsold it, and in only three months at that.

Update: The analyst made an incorrect claim, his statement is clarified here.

There are plenty of reasons that could explain why Angry Birds, which arrived on PSN in January, has been purchased so much in such a short amount of time. The low price of $3.99 in a digital service where the common price points are usually $9.99 and $14.99 definitely didn’t hurt. Add in the hype that’s been spreading like wildfire, along with a recent sale bringing the game down to half the price, and it’s not surprising that the game has sold plenty. But Angry Birds becoming best selling game on PSN, especially with all the quality PSN and PSOne titles out there, really irks me.

This isn’t to say that Angry Birds is a bad game. While it’s not a game that I’m extremely fond of, I do recognize what it has managed to accomplish and can see why so many people like it. However, the developer’s recent egotistical views and comments have made it very hard to respect them. I understand that Rovio made a hugely successful game, but that’s still only one big success. The studio definitely needs to stop letting it go to their heads.

Via: Destructoid, IndustryGamer

Persona 4 Anime in the Works

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After the recent tease, it’s finally been confirmed…Persona 4: The Animation is happening. The official website is up with some information on the series, along with a trailer you can view further below.

Seiji Kishi, director of Angel Beats!, will be directing the anime with AIC ASTA behind the production. Shoji Meguro is credited for the anime’s music, but it’s unclear as to whether he’ll be providing new tracks or if the music from the game will be used. You can also see four of the main characters on the site if you’d like to familiarize yourself with the cast.

I can’t help but notice that the main character’s name is now listed as Yu Narukami on the website. I actually prefer the name he was given in the manga, Souji Seta, but maybe that’s just me. Nitpicking aside, I enjoyed Persona 4 very much and think it was a fantastic RPG for the PS2 era to end on. I’m just hoping the anime will do the game the justice it deserves.

Sources: Siliconera, Propelanime

Music of the Month: March

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Let me start off by saying that I’m no music expert, we already have someone like that on the site, but I can appreciate a good song. Video games can have some great soundtracks, and I’m sure fellow gamers have had certain game tracks stick out or even go as far as to leave an impact. So I figured, why not do a segment where I pick one or two songs I really enjoy from games I play that month. If others like, they can post their favorite songs of the month as well in the comments section and we’ll all have a nice playlist to listen to. But I think that’s enough of an introduction, let’s starting listening.

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Review: Pokemon Black and White (Black Version)

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If you know me, then you know how I feel about the Pokemon games. I’ve been playing Pokemon since Blue came out, and back then I loved every second of it. Battling with my friends, becoming the pokemon league champion, and catching every single pokemon were all parts of this great pokemon journey.

Then as the games kept coming, I slowly started to feel less and less enthusiastic with each new release. Eventually, it came to the point where I started to grow tired of the series, as it felt like more of the same. Sure, there were new pokemon and additions to the games, but ever since Gold, the magic was gone. I wasn’t going to play Pokemon Black/White, but a friend convinced me to give it a try and now here I am, after 50 in-game hours, about to talk about how Pokemon Black made me feel like that young boy who first embarked on his journey to become a pokemon master.

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Falcom supporting the NGP, teaser for next PSP Legend of Heroes game revealed

Devil Survivor 2 in the works, already 95% done

Kojima may be announcing new games at E3

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PSM3, a UK magazine that covers Sony’s gaming consoles, states that “MGS maestro Hideo Kojima’s got some big announcements for E3 in June: one a quasi-logical step for an existing game, the other…”

This excerpt only leaves us in suspense, but I’m sure everyone is already wondering which existing game the magazine is talking about. The Electronic Entertainment Expo is one of, if not the biggest, gaming events of the year. If Kojima’s saving these announcements for it, then you know the games are gonna be huge.

Personally, I’m hoping for a new Zone of the Enders game. Come on Kojima, it’s been a long enough wait.

Via: Destructoid

Ken Levine believes adding Move support to Bioshock would cheat gamers

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Wow, the Move makes me really feel like I'm falling! Wait...it doesn't?

Ken Levine, the man behind Bioshock, doesn’t want to add PlayStation Move support to the latest iteration of the popular series. As for why Levine isn’t behind the whole idea, “I’d never want to throw in Move support just because it’s going to make some first party happy or because some marketing department wants it on the box because, at the end of the day, gamers know,” he stated.

“If you don’t have anything special to say about that control device gamers are going to know. Do you want to play BioShock and it’s like, ‘okay, do you want to harvest or save Little Sister? Waggle left to harvest, waggle right to save!’ You can have Move support on your box but people are going to know you’re cheating them.”

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First Impressions: Gods Eater Burst

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With all the games coming out this month, now is as good a time as any to start up a “first impressions” section. This one is going to be about the game Gods Eater Burst, which is Namco Bandai’s recent take on a Monster Hunter type game. To be honest, I started the game without expecting very much, but I have to say I came out a little impressed.

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A Brief Look at the History of The Legend of Heroes

Ubisoft Ordered to Remove We Dare Ads From the Internet

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Umm...are we doing something wrong?

We Dare, Ubisoft’s risque title for the Wii, has been the center of controversy ever since its trailer debuted. This was mainly due to the ages 12 and up rating given by Pan Europe Game Information (PEGI), as the trailer suggested gameplay involving provocative actions such as spanking and showed the players of the game undressing. But if all the negative press the game has been getting wasn’t enough, now PEGI wants Ubisoft to pull its advertisement off the internet.

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Review: Radiant Historia

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Radiant Historia is Atlus’ latest role-playing game for the Nintendo DS. This time traveling adventure about the world’s grim future, a raging war for power, and the journey to set history on its true path, takes from the RPGs of the past and puts a new spin on them. The result is a deeply engaging story with fun and creative gameplay that may prove to stand the test of time.

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Troy Baker Revealed to be the Voice of Catherine’s Vincent

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Troy Baker has recently been hinting at this on his Facebook page and now it’s finally confirmed. Baker will be lending his voice talent to Atlus’ Catherine, voicing the protagonist Vincent Brooks.

You may know him as Tales of Vesperia’s Yuri Lowell, Snow Villiers from FFXIII, or Persona 4’s Kanji Tatsumi. Troy Baker will add Vincent Brooks to his already extensive list of voiced roles. Personally, I’m a fan of Baker’s work and think he’ll do the character justice. Atlus usually is spot on when it comes to voice work, and knowing Baker’s involvement in the game only gets me that much more excited for its release this summer.

As an added bonus for Soul Eater fans, here’s a clip of Baker singing the infamous Excalibur song.