Miyamoto sees benefit in going HD with Pikmin; talks about his cat

You never know what Shigeru Miyamoto is going to say when he steps in front of the mic … seriously. At a meeting today, Miyamoto discussed his cat; that’s right, his cast. Unlike previous real life influences (gardening led to Pikmin, for example), don’t expect a Nintencats to happen because it ain’t happening.

Besides, it doesn’t flow like Nintendogs, does it?

Miyamoto did mention a few titles he is currently overseeing, including the much talked about Zelda Wii that we know practically nothing about. He’s also working on a “DS game to play at home,” whatever that means.

Shigeru touched on HD, perhaps the biggest feature the Wii lacks. Miyamoto said Nintendo isn’t anti-HD, as they’ve mentioned numerous times in the past. That’s all fine and well, but how about actually going HD then?

While he says games like Wii Fit wouldn’t benefit much from upping the resolution, a game like Pikmin would.

Don’t you tease; don’t you dare tease.

If Pikmin would benefit from HD graphics, give me a damn system that can play an HD Pikmin 3.

Set sails to disappoint.

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Not so puzzling: Layton sequel finds success outside Japan

I never understood why it took so long to get Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box outside of Japan. It released more than two frickin’ years ago, and we only just got it.

Since its release outside of Japan, the Layton sequel has sold more than 1.26 million units – it’s a success, imagine that.

The only thing surprising about this whole ordeal is how long it took to get here. Whatever the case, this solidifies that the rest of the series will inevitably make it our way.

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Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond defies logic, looks decent

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is an atrocious game. It offends on all levels; it’s poorly designed, it looks like crap and it falls victim to every sloppy game mechanic it parodies. Even the concept, which sounds funny enough on paper, is poorly performed in the game.

So what reason would there ever be for another Matt Hazard title? Nobody can answer that question. Nobody.

Like it or not though, there is another coming out. There’s a lot of ill will I harbor toward the franchise, but I’m always willing to give things a second chance and this one looks like it could be on to something. READ MORE

Dead Space 2 coming in 2010; people like Resident Evil

We’ve been clued in on numerous occasions that Dead Space 2 is coming and given its moderate success on HD consoles (we’ll ignore that Wii blunder), there’s good reason for EA to return for at least one more go.

Reuters gives us yet another confirmation of the title, claiming it’ll be in stores in 2010. It’s hardly surprising considering 2010 is going to be the year where every single game ever hits, leaving the gaming landscape for 2011 boring and lifeless.

The article is based around horror games, but oddly enough African safari simulator Resident Evil 5 is mentioned. To date Capcom has pushed 1.94 million copies into the homes of gamers. Between Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5, I’m guessing Capcom is quite happy with their 2009 results.

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Modern Warfare 2 begins its global domination

I’ll admit it, I chuckled at this Modern Warfare 2 commercial. The small and petty trash talk between the two commonfolk males, or as I call them suburban peasants, tickled me. Watch it through to the end, there’s another humorous bit before it’s all over.

The only part that bugs me is that it’s not realistic as there’s a distinct lack of racism and homophobia in their trash talk.

I’ve got a good feeling the world is about to be taken by storm with a Modern Warfare 2 ad blitz. I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but nearly every living soul fell in love with Call of Duty and more specifically, Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare series.

It’s actually pretty amazing stuff and reaches far beyond the informed gamer demographic. I work in an office full of non-gamers that not only won’t shut up about Modern Warfare 2, but pre-ordered the $17 million Prestige Edition. I tried to tell them it was a rip off, but they just wouldn’t listen – the night vision goggles are too precious an item to resist, apparently. READ MORE

Insomniac to gamers: We’re done with 60 frames per second

The latest Ratchet & Clank will likely be Insomniac’s last 60 frames per second game, and they’ve tried to justify it with boring graphs and charts. Thanks for all the fancy stats Insomniac, but try not to act as if you’ve had an epiphany for the way all games should be created in the future.

This is no play on words; Insomniac’s Mike Acton is literally telling us that they’ll “probably” never release another 60 fps game.

“…Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time will probably be Insomniac’s last 60fps game.”

The major reasoning is that it doesn’t affect sales or review scores, and that people don’t care enough. Instead, they’d rather push a few more enemies on screen at the expense of a chugging frame rate. And yes, Acton even defends a dipping frame rate, saying it’s seen as a “reward” for a lot of things going on the screen at once. READ MORE

Capture the creepy looking Sister in BioShock 2′s multiplayer

The first footage BioShock 2 multiplayer released with most sites coupling it with impressions. Here are my impressions: I didn’t get to play it so look somewhere else.

2K is showing off the Capture the [Themed Object] here mode where you can fill in “themed object” with Sister. It plays like nearly every other capture mode, you simply snag the sister and run. The minor difference here is that you’ll have to shove the evil little bastards into the holes they crawl from as they stare menacingly at your face. I think I’m going to be half-tempted to let them free solely because their glowing yellow eyes freak me the shit out.

It looks like it could be a fun diversion, but don’t expect it to dethrone Modern Warfare 2 (and who would do that?). BioShock is all about the solo campaign and I’m crossing my fingers 2K Marin manages to meet expectations with the highly anticipated sequel.

We’ll know soon enough, BioShock 2 launches February 9.

Tomena Sannar leaves Japan

Thanks to the rise of downloadable games, our industry is feeling a bit more global these days, isn’t it? Odd Japanese titles that would never see release anywhere else ten years ago are suddenly being localized in rapid succession.

That weird ass Japanese WiiWare game I talked about a while back called Tomena Sanner is now heading our way, eyeing an early 2010 release date.

I went on record and said that this game, like Muscle March, “will likely never see the light of day in America.” I was wrong. Does that inadvertently confirm Muscle March for the US?

I’m not here to sing the game’s praises, mind you; for all I know the game is complete shit. I just think it’s awesome to see a game like this step out of Japan.

Bayonetta release date official, coming sooner than expected

As it turns out, the wait for Bayonetta isn’t going to be so bad after all so you might want to hold on to those import dollars. Platinum has ensured that they will have yet another sales disappointment on their hands by announcing a January 5 launch in the US, and a January 8 launch in Europe.

That seems dangerously close to Christmas for a game that isn’t releasing before the big day. It’s not hard to imagine millions of gamers too busy with their latest set of holiday gaming goods to worry about buying yet another title to tackle.

Maybe I’m overlooking the brilliance of launching on January 5, but I just can’t see anything good coming from it and I certainly can’t see Bayonetta finally getting Platinum (ex-Clover) the success they deserve.

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Spector sees Epic Mickey as a franchise, looking beyond gaming

Warren Spector is taking Epic Mickey seriously. In the span of around two months, he’s managed to make Junction Point’s upcoming game the Wii game to talk about – a feat made even more impressive when it’s a third party Wii title we’re talking about.

But in Spector’s mind Epic Mickey goes beyond one game; he already sees it as a franchise. His goals are big, and he’s gunning for gaming’s biggest franchises; in a single sentence he threw out Mario, Zelda and Ratchet & Clank as products he’s competing with.

“In my mind it’s already a franchise [and] I really can’t abide the thought that it will be OK or mediocre,” Spector said. “We are going after Mario and Zelda, Ratchet & Clank, we all aspire to that. READ MORE