Here’s an interesting video coverage of the Tokyo Game Show 2009 event. Would love to be able to attend one in the future if time and money permits. The video featured quite a few interesting products, such as Microsoft’s Project Natal for the XBox 360, Sony PS3’s motion controller, as well as the PSP GO. There’s also news coverage on Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception which uses the iPhone’s accelerometer and touch screen to control the in-game fighter planes, and the much-anticipated Final Fantasy XIII on the PS3. The video is definitely worth a watch even if you don’t understand Japanese.
From the looks of it, it seems like game companies are increasingly moving towards a more interactive game environment as there seemed to be an emphasis on non-traditional interactive and control methods with hand gestures, body movements, and motion controls. This to me is a welcome move as I’m a fan of Nintendo Wii’s controller, which pretty much changed the way we game on a console. I also find myself spending the most time on my Wii (ok, this came out wrong) than any other console I own.
Popular Vocaloid character Miku Hatsune is now getting the robot treatment. This robotic version of Miku will be showcased at the CEATEC JAPAN 2009 show. I’ve only recently found out who(or what) Miku Hatsune was after trying out Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA on PSP. I thought it was a pretty decent game if you’re into music-themed games like DJ Max, Rock Band or Beatmania.
This robotic Miku seems both cute and a little scary at the same time. Maybe it’s just me, but robots with human likenesses and facial expressions always seem a little disturbing.
Alright, I really love Final Fantasy VII. It’s without a doubt the best game I’ve ever played. Heck, I don’t even consider it a game..more like a life event everyone needs to experience, like having sex for the first time, getting married…yeah, I think you pretty much get the idea by now.
But it kinda annoys me sometimes when I see the amount of “pointless” merchandise Square Enix throws out to die-hard fans suckers like us. This here is a Final Fantasy VII Cloud Perfume which was sold during Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2009. I’m finding it hard to imagine how Cloud would smell like if he was real flesh and blood. Ummm..probably kind of like everyone else (ie. sweaty and smelly after a long day carrying that Buster Sword which probably weighs more than he does).
I don’t know, as stupid as a Cloud perfume sounds, I’m actually quite curious as to how it’ll smell. Should I scour Yahoo! Japan for one…or should I wise up and not fall for Square Enix’s marketing ploys? Decisions decisions.
Haven’t done a review in what seemed like eons now, so I thought I’d do a quick report on one of my more exciting recent acquisitions. This is of course the Metroid Prime Samus Aran Resin Kit from Japanese garage kit maker Dimension Diver. This beautifully cast kit was a Wonder Festival 2009 Summer Event Exclusive and a hot one at that. It did cost me quite a fair bit of change to acquire but I’m really happy with it.
I like how the kit comes with individually colored-cast parts, so you could pretty much build it without having to lift a paintbrush (or airbrush). The kit is a little small for the price though, and IMHO it would’ve been perfect if it was done in a slightly larger scale. It comes with just a single sheet of printed instruction in color. The kit itself looks fairly straightforward to build though. I have yet to build it since I have a tonne of other kits sitting around so this’ll have to wait.
Since it was such a highly coveted kit, supplies of the kit has pretty much dried up even on the secondary market. My search on Yahoo! Japan came up with nothing, but ironically there’s one up for auction on eBay with 5 days to go. The price is already at $188, wonder how much it’ll finally sell for.
So this is it for my short review of the Dimension Diver Metroid Prime Samus Kit. Be sure to check out the photos.
STOMP: Beautiful clean casting, Colored parts, Very Limited
CHOMP: Expensive, Would have been perfect if it was in a larger scale
There’s a major upcoming Gundam competition in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Gundam. Anime Festival Asia (AFA) and Danny Choo will be collaborating with Bandai to introduce the Bandai World Gunpla Competition. This competition is a little different because it is an online competition that will allow participants from ANYWHERE ON EARTH to submit their entries via photos. This sounds like a truly exciting event because if it’s promoted correctly and reaches a wide enough audience, will bring together the best Gunpla modelers from every corner of the world, not just a specific region.
I’m already trying to finish up my as-yet unfinished custom 1/100 MG Gouf before the November 1st cutoff entry date. Most of us would probably never win anything but I think it’ll be really interesting to be a part of such an exciting event.
For those of you who would be interested in participating, head over to figure.fm for competition rules & regulations. Here’s hoping there’ll be lots of entries for this wonderful event.
For those of us who weren’t quite as lucky, there are lots of pictures which were taken by various individuals and sites. Do check out the following links below for coverage of the Chara Hobby 2009 event.
Here’s another extremely well done costume. I think cosplayers in the US are finally catching up to their counterparts in the far east in terms of creativity and quality. And I’ve got a theory to share as well..I think most of the top-quality cosplaying that we’ve been seeing has something in common, and that’s most of them have costumes which completely cover the cosplayers’ face and body. So I guess the lesson to be learnt is to put on something that doesn’t give your identity (or body measurements) away. Ironic ain’t it, considering how cosplaying originated from animes and most animes have scantily clad brtues & babes.
This here has my vote as the single most impressive collectible for SDCC 09. Everything about it shouts “Look At Me!”. It’ll be produced by Legacy Effects (formerly known as Stan Winston Studios). It’s massive at 1 meter tall, and the light-up chest and eyes just make it look like a slightly miniaturized version of the real thing. I want!
Video below has footage of the maquette towards the end of it.
The Serenity ship that’s been in the works by Quantum Mechanix (QMx) has finally been completed, and it made its maiden debut at SDCC 09. And what a piece of work it is! I absolutely loved the Firefly TV series, and together with Twenty Four (24) the series, are IMHO two of the best series of all time. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw pictures and videos of the ship in its full glory.
My only concern now is how much it’ll cost. I hope it won’t be ridiculously expensive as I would really love to add this girl to my collection.
For up-to-date news and coverage of the Serenity ship, head over to its official page here.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6a008712-3689-4fd8-9ca8-f4b0b520adfc)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=dfd8057e-5a1e-4362-b10d-1553f8ae513c)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=408c8e5b-b70b-410e-b35a-7f9ef7e95ecc)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5583e3b9-f786-4f01-b9cf-c79dbed7ef34)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e16b972a-b4f3-42c3-8ca2-e9c8fda219ce)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=39a420b7-60ec-4e2f-8c60-2d39905e850c)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8e98d472-f531-4de4-acd4-0d535d935b7c)