According to developer Neverland Company, the story will be based on Lufia 2, though it’s “not a remake”. It will be an action RPG for the DS. Believe it or not, it’s being made by most of the staff who originally made Lufia 2 on the SNES! Go to Canned Dogs for a translation of the interview and a full rundown on what is known about the game. No news on an English release, but it seems likely, as the producer is Square-Enix.

Capcom Unity is taking a poll to figure out which free lithograph they should print. You can check out more detailed shots of the pieces here.

http://www.capcom-unity.com/snow_infernus/blog/2009/11/19/pick_the_new_street_fighter_lithographs

I personally fancy option 11!

Konami of Japan has announced a location test for the Arcade version of DanceDanceRevolution X2. The location test will take place at Tokyo Leisure Land in Akihabara, Tokyo. The hours are 10AM to 1AM from November 25th to December 3rd. As with most music game location tests, this means we’ll get info about new songs being included in the release in addition to just getting to see the games new interface.

http://www.konami.jp/am/locationtest/ddrx2/

Source: Bemanistyle

A press release from Susan Lusty, the PR from Valcon Games, describes a new game and peripheral for the DS system called Easy Piano. Check it out for yourself.

Easy Piano is a new piano music product that anyone, as young as 6 and as old at 100+, would enjoy playing and/or learning how to play the piano.   With an 13-note, full-octave external keyboard peripheral (see photo), Easy Piano makes it easy to learn the piano or simply have fun playing quick “Guitar Hero”-like games.  With schools cutting music programs right and left, this is a great introduction to music for any age child 6+, and it is working with a mode they they can relate to, are drawn to and understand.

A picture can’t do it justice.  It is very addictive to play and the external keyboard helps a lot.

Valcon Games is bringing this product to North America in early 2010.

Here is a video to highlight some of the features of the game:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Recently provided via Siliconera and Joystiq, Sony has filed a patent for a system that can detect laughter, yawning, or tears. Kinda scary when you think about it. Where is all this metadata going and for what?

Article provided from tech.yahoo.com:

” “Dead Space” giving you the creeps? Bored by the latest version of “Madden”? Chortling your way (or not) through “The Hangover”? A proposed “laughter detection” system devised by Sony would feel your fright, sadness, or delight, and pass your emotions on to your PS3. Cool, or creepy?Siliconera (by way of Joystiq and others) unearthed Sony’s patent application for a laughter, sadness, and/or boredom detector, which would use a microphone and video cam mounted on your TV to scrutinize your expression and listen to your voice, then pass your “metadata” onto a gaming console (such as the PS3, which is depicted in the patent filing).

And as Siliconera notes, Sony’s proposed “laughter detection” system wouldn’t be limited to games; theoretically, it could work with TV shows and movies as well, perhaps to gauge whether you’re enjoying (or bored stiff by) the latest “Transformers” epic. Come to think of it … advertising firms testing their latest commercials would probably love this thing, too.”

-Asura

According to the New York Times, Sam Raimi is set to direct a film based on World of Warcraft.  Or at least based on the Warcraft franchise, since there were other games in the series besides WoW.

The success of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies has caused Warner Brothers to look for more money in fantasy film genre.  Of course, this is the first post-LotR fantasy film to come out based on a video game series rather than a book series.  With Sam Raimi at the helm, there’s a good chance this will be a fun film.  Unless the studio gets too involved, then we could have another Spider-Man 3.

Source: New York Times

Edit: the pic was fake. The game actually features badly drawn anime-esque girls. A step up, admittedly, but still!

What do we know about Sexy Poker for Wiiware? The name would imply sexiness, which I have never been opposed to. There is also talk of it including poker, which while several notches less exciting than sexiness, is not something I can complain about. Oh wait, hold on *rumage rumage* here’s a picture:

Hmmm, looks like not content with the quick cash they get allowing terrible cell phone games on Wiiware, Nintendo has expanded their family-friendly image to allow terrible cellphone strip poker games as well. Nothing sexy about that!

The crying shame here is that if Nintendo is gonna be a hypocrite and allow this (remember, these are the people that said “beer pong” was an unacceptable Wiiware name), the least they can do is put some actual sexy games up for download. Cho Aniki was a good first start in the sexiness department, but I need to see some good ol’ Japanese eroge to help counter that ugly, ugly sexy poker picture above.

Of course eroge involves actual nudity (amongst many, many other things), which Sexy Poker apparently does not. Damn, Sexy Poker is sounding less and less sexy all the time. I played this one eroge called Sexy Beach – and say what you want about it -  it at least had the decency to deliver on its promise of sexiness… and beaches for that matter.

Thanks, Nintendo Life

http://wiiware.nintendolife.com/news/2009/07/sexy_poker_esrb_rated_sans_nudity

Recently, Penny-Arcade and Flash-Fire Communications announced the upcoming PAX 10 games to be shown at this years convention.  And once again, there looks to be a lot of gems.

SEATTLE – July 16, 2009 - After sifting through over 150 submissions from a gaggle of gameplay types and a plethora of platforms, a panel of game industry experts have selected the ten best submissions to be recognized as The PAX 10.

Penny Arcade was pleased to announce today that The PAX 10 for 2009 are (in alphabetical order):

• CarneyVale: Showtime by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Games Lab (Xbox 360)

• Closure by Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe (PC)

• Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios (iPhone/iPod touch)

• Liight by Studio Walljump (Wii)

• Machinarium by Amanita Design (PC)

• Osmos by Hemisphere Games (PC)

• Puzzle Bloom by Team Shotgun (PC)

• Tag: The Power of Paint by Tag Team (PC)

• Trino by Trinoteam (Xbox 360)

• What is Bothering Carl? by Story Fort (PC)

Now in its second year, The PAX 10 is a games showcase open to independent developers worldwide. Winners of The PAX 10 are invited to display their efforts at the sixth annual PAX gaming festival to be held Sept. 4 – 6 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. PAX’s Exhibit Hall will feature The PAX 10 booth alongside over 70 other exhibitors – including top publishers like Microsoft, Nintendo and Ubisoft – allowing those publishers, attendees and media to view their breakout potential.

“The judges were absolutely blown away by the polished and robust experiences offered by the 2009 submissions,” said Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade. “We’re impressed yet again by the amazing games that indie developers are creating and know that, when you stop by The PAX 10 booth at the show, you will be, too.”

It looks as if Lego Rock Band trailers are starting to hit youtube. This trailer features the song “So What” by Pink. Heres hoping the tracks are exportable to the main game!

Click here to view the embedded video.

It looks like some gameplay footage for Activisions upcoming game DJ Hero has hit the internet. Below you can check out a few of the games mashup songs. The first feature is set on expert difficulty, the second con hard.

Jack of Spades (DJ Shadow Mix) vs David Bowie Lets Dance

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tears for Fears Shout vs Eric Prydz Pjanoo

Click here to view the embedded video.