Author Archives: Steven

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About Steven

Editor-In-Chief of The Wired Fish since 2010. Suggestions, praise, and hate mail can be sent to steven@thewiredfishnetwork.com

Howard Calls Nester A Little Shit In This Unreleased Howard & Nester Comic

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If Nintendo was never going to put another severed head on the cover, there was no way in hell this comic was going to be printed. Howard Philips (via Tiny Cartridge) uploaded to Facebook a comic he received when he left Nintendo to join Lucasfilm Games (now LucasArts). Howard & Nester was a series of comics featured in Nintendo Power featuring Howard Philips’ namesake and the little troublemaker Nester (named after the NES). It looks harmless at first glance, then you read what’s being said by the characters. In one panel, Nester says “Space Bastards,” then Howard calls Nester a “little shit”. Then Nester proceeds to remind Howard that he was “a junky for years and years.” Nothing being in our adult eyes, and pretty obvious is was just for the enjoyment of the NP team and Howard. The comic even references Howard leaving to join LucasFilm Games. It probably kicked ass working at Nintendo Power back then, what with the laid-back writing and humor in this comic. Still, it’s sad that the ol’ comic’s going down by then end the year.

You can see the full comic after the break.

Howard And Nester Comic [Facebook, via Tiny Cartridge]

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G4 Is Dead, To Be Rebranded Early Next Year

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We knew this day would come. We saw the beginning of the end with Adam Sessler And Kevin Pereira leaving the network earlier this year. We of course recounted the beginnings of the network in our recent podcast episode. According to a report from Variety, parent company NBC Universal is going to rebrand the network early next year to appeal to the “modern male.” According to the report, G4 is “undergoing a rebranding.. that could involve a name change and take G4 in a direction reminiscent of GQ.” In other words, it wants to go the route of Spike TV, but be more sophisticated about it. Not sure about the sophisticated part, but the guy route looks more plausible since… well go watch it now (if you have it) and see for yourself. It’s been going in that route since it decided to show more Cops and Cheaters and less games.

As we explained in the podcast, G4’s been in the middle of a massive identity crisis as of late with no good ending in sight. G4’s demise is rather reminiscent of the current struggles of print publications like GamePro and Nintendo Power since most gamers are getting their news and reviews online. While a videogame network like G4 would have a better time in getting more immediate news, it also had to compete with the gamers themselves since they’re most likely playing their games on the very TVs they watch G4 on. Couple this with much executive meddling on NBC Universal’s part when it bought the network, and this was just one big recipe for disaster. No word yet on what the fate of some of the hosts of G4’s own shows will be. They’ll probably be retained, but will stick out even more like a sore thumb once the rebranding is in effect. Some will remember G4 (and its compatriot Tech TV) as a time when the videogame medium was finally hitting the mainstream and becoming more legitimate. But with the network not being what it once was, some will see this as long time coming.

So long G4. So long. Here’s some Youtube Channels to remember them by.

NBCU eyes upscale makeover for G4 [Variety, via Kotaku]

Capcom Wants Shorter Development Time And Smaller Teams To Pump Out More Games

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You know that scene in Moonstruck when Cher slaps a guy and yells “Snap out of it!” I want to do that right now with Capcom. According to a report from Gamasutra, to recoup lost revenue and profits this year, they plan to restructure the company to allow for smaller teams to work on games and to also make these games faster. Their reasoning is that, “the company admitted that the decline was down to it releasing ‘only a few major titles‘ over the course of the year.” I’m having a hard time believing this because here we have a game that is a crossover of two big fighting game franchises, another game with a demo of a hotly anticipated game, and said hotly anticipated game coming out later this year. And yet they don’t realize that the regular consumer is starting to become privy to the business practices behind Capcom (thanks in part to us, the internet-going gamers telling them this). And also, Dragon’s Dogma only sold because it was going to have a demo of Resident Evil 6 (think Zone of the Enders with the MGS2 demo). Rather than admit that they are at fault for screwing the average Joe over (and themselves as well), they answer with “well, we just need more games out there.”

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SEGA Heritage Collection Announced, Contains Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS Into Dreams, and Sonic Adventure 2

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Looks like Jet Set Radio ain’t dead after all! SEGA has announced a new collection of games under the SEGA Heritage moniker. Think SEGA Vintage, but for more recent games. The first wave of this collection will include Jet Set Radio HD and will be available to on September 18th and 19th on PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively. PS Plus subscribers will get JSR one week early. Sega Saturn classic NiGHTS Into Dreams then makes loops and link in October. No specific date for that yet, but at least we know it’ll be within that month. Same goes for Sonic Adventure 2, the game some considered to be the last great 3D Sonic game before its decline (and somewhat revival with Sonic Generations). All three games will cost you $9.99 each. No word if they’re will be some sort of bundle price once SA2 is released, but there ya go.

SEGA Heritage Collection Trailer [Youtube]

A Pair Of Trademarks Renewed: The Last Guardian and Skies Of Arcadia

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Two trademarks, from two companies, for two hard to grasp games got renewed. First was The Last Guardian from Sony. The ever-tardy game from Team ICO had its trademark expire, making everyone fearful that the game was going to be cancelled. The fear was made worse when reports arose that Kenji Kaido, a Producer at Team ICO, had left Sony and the team. It the midst of all the fear and speculation, Sony reports that they had actually renewed their trademark the same day it expired. So there’s still hope yet for the game’s release.

The other trademark that got renewed was Skies of Arcadia. NeoGAF user Jcgamer60 unearthed a trademark renewal form from Trademarkia. The trademark was renewed on July 11, 2012. One would think that this would mark a Summer release. But today’s Labor Day, and nothing’s come out of it. Fall release perhaps? This high-flying sky-pirate RPG was first released on the Dreamcast to rave reviews and gamer praise. When the Dreamcast fell, it was was ported to the Gamecube as Skies of Arcadia Legends. Both times the game had a limited release (former because of the console’s abrupt end, latter because… well who knows). So many never really had a chance to play this game the two times it was released. I almost had a chance myself back then. The closest anyone had to play the game was in Valkyria Chronicles where Vyse and Aika were available to recruit into Squad 7. This might become the best chance for many (including me) for finally play this game and see what all the hubbub was about.

Panic Not, SCEA Filed Another “The Last Guardian” Trademark [TheSixthAxis]

Skies of Arcadia Trademark Renewed. Sega’s next HD release? [NeoGAF, via RPGSite]

Project X Zone Might Get Localized If It Does Well In Japan

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Project X Zone, the big crossover SRPG/Fighter between Capcom, Namco, and Sega, is close to release in Japan. Some of us at TWF want to see the game released here. However Namco never showed signs of bringing the game over to the West. That is, until now. According to 100,000 Strong To Localize Project X Zone, someone in the community was able to talk to someone from Namco Bandai (the developers of the game)  during the GameStop Expo in Texas this week, and the rep said that they’re waiting to see if the game sells well first. On their Facebook page, they say that they’re “waiting to see how PXZ sells in japan first before they start getting the license again from Sega and Capcom.” It goes on to state that if it does come over, it’ll be in late 2013/early 2014. 100,000 Strong does stress that an earlier rumor of some characters being nixed if it was localized is completely wrong.

Remember though that this is still all speculation. Even if the game sells well in Japan, there’s still the possibility of the game not making it over. But hey, at least they’re saying something and are aware now instead of staying silent like they’ve doing since the game’s reveal.

[via 100,000 Strong To Localize PXZ]

Night-Time Listenings Wrap-Up: Week of 8/27/12

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And here we are in the end of Composers’ Month where we detailed Nobuo Uematsu. We had a triple dose of Final Fantasy with Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy IV, and Final Fantasy VI. We lived 1000 years with Lost Odyssey. And finally, we told a story with The Last Story.

If you want to see the music as it goes up (and not wait every Saturday for these wrap-ups), remember to go to our Tumblr page and follow it. Music for Night-Time Listenings goes up every weekday at 10PM

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Atlus Re-Does Shin Megami Tensei IV Website, Adds Kickass Music

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Fresh off the leak of the the Shin Megami Tensei IV trailer, Atlus updated the website for the game. Instead of a shot of the city and somber music, we now have black and white background with an outlined silhouette of what could be the main character. As Siliconera points out, the bottom of the image says, in Japanese, that Devil Summoner Soul Hackers will contain the first trailer for SMT IV, with then concludes with “And then…” What could this point out to? More info on the game when the 3DS port/remake Soul Hackers is released? Maybe a direct link to Soul Hackers and SMT IV?

Who knows. but for now, let’s enjoy that awesome music on the website now. I wanna say it’s Shouji Meguro (since he took over all composing duties for the MegaTen franchise since Nocturne), but this doesn’t sound like the band/soundset he usually works with. One thing’s for sure, if this game’s gonna have music like this, it’s gonna be a hardhitting and atmospheric soundtrack.

Shin Megami Tensei IV Website Says: “And Then…” [Siliconera]

Shin Megami Tensei IV Website

Sir Daniel and Nariko Formally Introduced Into Playstation All-Stars

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Okay, now we can do this a little more properly. Sir Daniel Fortesque from MediEvil and Nariko from Heavenly Sword have been formally revealed as the next new characters in Playstation All-Stars. To see how they play, you can go to the previous reveal article to get an idea (the video is live again). That’s Sir Daniel up there. Nariko is after the jump.

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Project Giana Kickstarter Successful, Aiming For Steam Release

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Art by Pikomi.

Last week I informed you that a new Giana Sisters game was being made by Black Forest Games and they needed a successful Kickstarter to release on time. Well, with 6 hours left to got, I’m pleased to announce that the Kickstarter is successful! As of this report, they’ve accumulated $175, 330. That’s over $25,000 beyond their initial goal of $150,000. Now that that hurdle is cleared, there’s extra incentives in place should they reach any milestones. If they get $200,000, they’ll add additional levels and a hardcore more. $250,000 adds more new enemies and a Ninja/Pirate Owl Boss. And finally $300,000 preps it for release on the Ouya. Regardless of how much they get, they game’s coming out on time. And it’s nice to see a bunch of Giana Sisters fans out there.

In the mean time, Black Forest Games has put Project Giana up on Valve’s new Steam Greenlight polling system. Really quickly, Steam Greenlight is a system where you vote for games you want to see released on Steam. Black Forest states on their Faceboook page that getting the game released on Steam will bring in the option for backers to get Steam Keys. So get on there and rate this baby up! Oh, and vote on a final name for the game too! They just put that up as well.

Sir Daniel And Nariko Revealed In Playstation All-Stars [UPDATE: Video Restored]

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In a gameplay video by Gamespot, they show off two new characters for Sony’s upcoming mascot fighter Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale. First is Nariko from Ninja Theory’s Heavenly Sword. Nariko’s moveset looks similar to Kratos, which makes sense considering the weapons are what originally inspired her game’s creation. Her level 1 Super is pretty effective when everyone’s crowded around. With her is Sir Daniel Fortesque from the PS1 classic MediEvil. He looks to be the heavy hitter in the bunch and prefers close combat. His charge can really close the gap between him and his opponents.

I’ll let the guys in the video explain how they play. Nevermind that. They made the video private. So instead, I’ll show some screenshots from the video in question. It’s live again now that Sony has introduced them. But I’ll keep the pictures up. Hit the jump to see them.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale: Nariko, Sir Daniel [Youtube, via Gamespot]

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Could Type-0 DLC Song In Theatrhythm Spell A Future For Its Western Localization?

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Square Enix laid out its schedule of DLC for their 3DS rhythm game Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy. Among the list is a song from Final Fantasy Type-0, “What Becomes of Us.” This is an interesting addition to the game since Type-0 has yet to be localized for Western release. Many have been clamoring for this game to cross the Pacific since its release in Japan last year. The game was released for the PSP and was to be the start of a new series for just handhelds. Of the three Fabula Nova Crystalis games, this one, once light-hearted under the Agito XIII name, became the darkest of the three with its new Type-0 moniker. The market for the PSP is vastly different between Japan and the West, with the West’s market being a virtual ghost town. This might’ve been the deciding factor for Square Enix and their lack of interest in bringing the game over here.

But then there’s this. Now this can be interpreted as ramping up interest. But it could very much be them trying to keep a consistent release schedule between all territories. And with potential money involved, leaving this out because a game isn’t here yet is lost cash. And — to tangent a bit here — in both Dissidia and Duodecim, Type-0 icons (then still called Agito XIII) were unlockable. But I digress, here’s hoping something happens with Final Fantasy Type-0. Anything positive for this game is a positive for a future release on PSN (or elsewhere).

Theatrhythm DLC Schedule Has A Final Fantasy: Type-0 Song For U.S. [Siliconera]

Somehow, In Some Way, This Person Has A Wii U

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A member of the Fragdolls somehow managed to snag herself a Wii U according to her tweet. Not sure how exactly she got it nor which convention she attended to get it. From the tweets, it looks like PAX but then says something about a Gamestop Convention (didn’t even know they did those). She also seemed to be involved with Ubisoft (either as a rep or just hanging around the area, I’m leaning on the former). In some more good WiiU related news, one of her earlier tweets says that ZombiU did well at the crowd. Ubisoft might have an early hit on their hands with the Wii U. Let’s just hope it’s not another Red Steel moment.

[via KAT Twitter]

Phoenix Wright Trilogy Coming to iOS Devices

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While one fanbase gets disappointed and an iOS release, another is getting a kick in shin. Capcom has announced Phoenix Wright Trilogy HD, an iOS port of the first three Phoenix Wright games all packaged into one. For this release, the graphics are getting cleaned up the controls will be optimized for the iOS. Makes sense since the this is essentially and adventure game/visual novel, and the DS releases of course made heavy use of the touch screen. Hey, makes more sense than another game we found out about.

Of course, this isn’t the news that Phoenix Wright fans want to hear since they’re still waiting for Ace Attorney Investigations 2 to be localized. But like I said in the other iOS reveal, maybe this might gauge interest for that game to get localized. Phoenix Wright Trilogy HD is set to release on iOS devices and can be bought separately or all together. Release date and price is TBA.

No Objections Here: Capcom Announces ‘Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD’ For iOS [MTV Multiplayer]

Game Freak Making A New Game, And It’s Not Pokemon (Video Included!)

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Remember back then when Game Freak made Pulseman? This was before they were heavy into making Pokemon. Sure they had Drill Dozer, but that was in 2005, which was 7 years ago. But now they’re experimenting again, this time with Rhythm Hunter HarmoKnight. Revealed in this morning’s Nintendo Direct, It’s a hybrid Action Platformer/Rhythm Game. Think a mix between Theatrhythm meets Rhythm Heaven. A better comparison would be that Platform Hero stage from the upcoming Rayman Legends. I always like it when a company tries something a little different from what they usually do (especially the guys at Game Freak).

Rhythm Hunter HarmoKnight is set to release on the 3DS eShop sometime this year (I think). A U.S. release doesn’t look out of the picture since much of the commands are in English, so it may not cost much to bring over.

You can see a video of HarmoKnight it after the break.

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