Well… this news is certainly surprising. But hey, at least it’s news that FUNimation is picking up at least some of the shows that are starting this anime season. Today FUNimation announced that they will be simulcasting the Puchimas! -Petit Idolm@ster- web anime.
Considering Puchimas! has a new episode every weekday, new episodes will be provided Monday through Friday at Noon EST starting on January 4th. These episodes are only two or three minutes long and they put a new spin on the Idolm@ster world as the 765Pro idols start to live with miniature versions of themselves called “Puchidoru.” A Japanese promo for the show can be seen below and trust me, if you enjoyed the original IDOLM@STER series, this one is for you. If it isn’t however, don’t worry, FUNimation also hinted that they would be announcing more simulcasts tomorrow and next week.
Today marks the announcement for the Xbox 360 Tomb Raider Limited Edition Wireless Controller. Major Nelson has created a special video just to display the newly created controller that will be unleashed alongside the game this March for the price of $59.99 (US).
Upon purchasing the controller, the user will acquire a Xbox Live token to unlock an unique Tomb Raider character for the title’s mutliplayer. Check out Major Nelson’s display video below and give us feedback on the look of this limited edition controller.
CONTEST – For a limited time only, Major Nelson is giving away five of these Tomb Raider controllers. Check out the giveaway details (here).
Grinding Gear Games is pleased to announce that Path of Exile will be opening their beta indefinitely to the public on January 23rd, 2013. While in the closed beta, the title has garnered $1.8 million through user-funded support. Such figure is quite remarkable for an indie company based out of New Zealand.
More content will be unleashed as the beta arrives. Act 3 is being made available in the next build and will include exploration of abandoned docks, sewers, temples, and the ruined city of Sarn. The story continues to build as you learn the truth behind your exile. Chris Wilson – producer at Grinding Gear Games – had the following to say regarding the open beta:
We’re excited to have reached the point where we can finally throw open the doors and invite everyone in. We have one of the best and most supportive communities on the Internet, and their input has been invaluable in making Path of Exile what it is. We hope they’ll be delighted with all the new content.
If you haven’t heard of this Diablo clone, find yourself gazing at Path of Exile content (here). This action role playing game will be open to the public on January 23rd while also being free-to-play upon its launch.
The largest ever roster in a WWE game just got bigger with the release of the ‘You’re Welcome in Five Languages Pack’. For all the details on content and pricing, check out the list below.
‘You’re Welcome in Five Languages Pack’
Playable WWE Superstars: Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso (each costing 80 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360 or $1.30 via PlayStation Network)
Playable WWE Diva: Layla (available free of charge)
Playable WWE Legends: Brian Pillman and Chainsaw Charlie (see WWE Superstars pricing)
Moves Pack: 20 new moves, including the Chris Jericho’s ‘Lionsault’ and Brock Lesnar’s ‘Kimura Lock’ (costs 160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360 or $2.45 via PlayStation Network)
The ‘You’re Welcome in Five Languages Pack’ is also available to gamers through the WWE ’13 Fan Axxess Program. This season pass nets you all of the following downloadable content for a one-time purchase cost of 1600 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360 or $23.95 USD via PlayStation Network (a saving of more than 10 percent versus individual content purchases):
Fan Axxess Program Exclusive: Legendary WWE Superstars Diamond Dallas Page and Goldust
“Attitude Era” Superstars Pack
Playable “Attitude Era” Superstars: Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, Grand Master Sexay, Gangrel and Val Venis
Accelerator: Enables players to unlock all in-game items, as well as customize individual WWE Superstar attributes
WWE Superstars Pack
Playable WWE Superstars: Ryback™, Tensai™, Drew McIntyre™ and Yoshi Tatsu®
Playable WWE Divas: AJ Lee™ and Natalya™
Undertaker® “Ministry of Darkness” alternate attire
Championship Title Pack: 10 new championships from WWE, WCW®, ECW® and AWA®
You’re Welcome in Five Languages Pack
‘Like’ the official WWE Games Facebook page and follow WWE Games on Twitter to stay social in your virtual wrestling career. Soyez le bienvenu; Sie sind herzlich willkommen; Siete i benvenuti; Gärngscheh; You’re Welcome!
Perfect World Entertainment have just revealed an all new class for their upcoming MMORPG Neverwinter; the Great Weapon Fighter. This class is most proficient when wielding massive two-handed swords and are a hard hitting melee class with tons of health. Usually found in the midst of the battle, Great Weapon Fighters have high survivability and deal high amounts of damage, combining two different roles usually found in MMORPG’s and hopefully streamlining the process.
These brave warriors use abilities such as Wicked Strike, Reaping Strike, Reaver and Spinning Strike (all of which can be watched in the trailer down below). Always the first into the fray and always the last to leave, Great Weapon Fighters are just one of the many classes that will be available in Neverwinter.
Neverwinter is coming to a store near you sometime in early 2013 exclusively for the PC, with a world designed from the ground up to enhance your MMO experience. Play with friends or adventure alone, the choice is yours.
It appears that the Steam Box gaming device from Valve is still going to be a thing that will exist at some point. For those of you that don’t know what the Steam Box is, it is essentially Valve’s way of making PC games available to the lower-class console plebeians that exist across the world. If you still don’t know what this means, it means that this device will make PC games as easy to access as console games.
In an interview with The Verge, Gabe Newell talks about the Steam Box and what it will be able to do. Make sure you head on over to their site for the full interview on the devices future.
Hanabee have just made 3 surprise announcements by way of hidden easter eggs on their official website www.hanabee.com.au. The 3 new titles were all well hidden but not well enough to slip past Hanabee’s dedicated facebook following.
The 3 easter egg announcements were that Hanabee has acquired the license for the following titles:
Inu x Boku – a 2012 romantic comedy anime series by David Production (April 2013, DVD & Blu-Ray, Dubbed)
Niseomonogatari – part of the popular monogatari series, aired in 2012 (Part 1 May 2013, Part 2 June 2013, DVD, Sub-Only)
Hiiro no Kakera – a 2012 anime adaptation of popular otome video-game (April 2013, DVD & Blu-Ray, Dubbed)
These certainly make for some great pick-ups from Hanabee, especially given the fact that they are all very recent anime series. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Sly Cooper is one sly fellow, so sly in fact that a new trailer for upcoming game Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time has snuck its way online. The new trailer focuses on the Thieves in Time’s gameplay primarily with some attention on Sly Cooper and his companions as well as they pull a heist.
You can check out the trailer for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time below. The trailer is is titled ‘Thieves in Time Pulling the Heist’ in reference to the heist that is the focal point of the video.
Be sure to take a look at the trailer and let us know what you think in the comments section.
Every time my boss suggests (aka “orders”) that I should write up some news bit on some new speculation of some new iDevice from Apple, I dig in my heels and try my best to avoid writing the piece. Why? Because speculating about new iDevices is a terrible waste of time. Here are some inescapable truths about life.
Taxes
Death
Apple will come out with a new iDevice
We really will not know anything with a relative amount of certainty about Apple’s new devices unless it is accidently left in a bar or the Chinese manufacturers start leaking pictures of parts on the internet. Cuppertino is a notoriously secretive workplace and that just drives people nuts. So instead we have to deal with constant speculation like thisarticle from the Wall Street Journal. They can almost always be summed up as the following:
An unnamed insider has disclosed to <news source> that Apple is working on a <new iDevice>. This <new iDevice> will be capable of <reasonable claim>. Apple has refused to comment.
Throw in some random facts about Apple and their past actions and suddenly we have an article with a ton of hits for a slow news day that is about as accurate as having a monkey fling poop at a wall with pieces of papers with possible predictions for new iDevices.
So why do we fall into this trap? Probably because what we can imagine about the new iDevice is a lot more interesting than reality. Even as a lover of iDevices, I have to admit the amount of innovation has not as been as flashy or ground breaking in the last few years. The iPad was a slow burn device that started as a big fat meh that turned into a game changer after some time in consumer hands. Lately the yearly iPhone releases have been incremental updates that provide more CPU power and some pretty boring tweaks and additions. Siri turned out to be more of an entertainment utility that left people outside of the USA in the dark, Apple Maps turned out to be a massive failure that required the Australian government to warn the public about using it, and the new iPhone 5’s widescreen is cool, but nothing nearly as game changing as the Retina displays. The public hasn’t gotten a wild holy hell moment since Steve Jobs strolled onto the floor with the iPhone 4. Maybe this speculation is an attempt to recapture the wild spirit of long gone days when the smartphone was a new toy that was quickly becoming a must have technology like the cellphone and the computer. Or maybe we tech writers really have nothing better to do on a slow news day.
Whether you want to call this the dying breaths of Apple or just a really jaded and spoiled public, can we all agree that most speculation on new iDevices is a wild waste of time? I promise if we stop speculating about devices then I won’t hire a monkey to provide all future speculations on iDevices.
Kickstarter has been the runaway hit of the year. Kickstarter probably deserves the Game of the Year nomination award over any game this year, but since its not actually a game, this small article will have to do. Kickstarter posted a Best of 2012 slideshow on their site today with interesting facts about their explosive year. Games raked in $83,144,565 dollars across 2796 projects thanks to 561,574 backers.
Old IPs like Giana Sisters, Elite, Wasteland, and Shadowrun were given second chances at life through Kickstarter. While big projects like Star Citizen, Project Eternity, and Double Fine’s Adventure game brought some extra star power to Kickstarter this year, the biggest gaming success story goes to the OUYA console. This miniature console aims to bring affordable console gaming to the living room with the help of the Android mobile OS.
Check out more about Kickstarter’s blockbuster year here.
