Next week's Rock Band DLC pack from thrash metal rockers Megadeth may be called "Megadeth Pack 01," but they've been on the store before.. Previously available, full albums include "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?" and "Rust in Peace."

Continue Reading

Starting your morning with a murderous ninja (is there any other kind?) feels so right, especially when a giant flame dragon is involved. The five minutes of gameplay from Ninja Gaiden 3 seen above deliver on all of that and so, so much more. Bonus: We've dropped an extra Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus trailer just below.

Continue Reading

The Metal Gear Solid 3D demo arrives today, accompanied by relatively big news on the Virtual Console! The first NES Ambassador game for 3DS is now available for purchase by non-Ambassadors! Super Mario Bros. is on the eShop now for five bucks. And if you already have it through the Ambassador Program, you can get a free update to add multiplayer and save states!

There's also news for the Wii's Virtual Console: the Genesis version of Strider can be purchased today. We hadn't heard about a Genesis VC game in a while, so we looked into it. As far as we can tell, this is the first Genesis game on Wii in North America since Sonic & Knuckles, on February 15, 2010. It's been two years and a day since the last Genesis VC release.

In fact, this appears to be the first Wii Virtual Console release of any kind since The Ignition Factor six months ago. Enjoy it! This doesn't happen very often.

Continue Reading

The PlayStation Vita isn't even fully available worldwide yet, and Japan's Nikkei newspaper is already reporting its demise. Specifically, an anonymous source from the Japanese game industry told the paper that Japanese companies are abandoning their Vita projects in favor of developing for the 3DS. It's true that the 3DS has been routinely outselling the Vita in Japan (as has the aging PSP), but Sony's VP of Worldwide Studios Scott Rohde isn't buying into the panic.

Rohde told Gamasutra that "extremist quotes like that" aren't uncommon with a new product. Rohde believes the Nikkei story is exaggerated, noting that "there is no way anyone could stand in front of a camera and say that all developers are changing focus from one platform to another, no matter what it is." Indeed, it wasn't too long ago that many were writing eulogies for the 3DS, which has since gone on to sell 15 million units (although it wasn't able to prevent losses for Nintendo).

We're inclined to agree with Rohde, as it only makes sense that publishers would probably wait to judge the worldwide impact of the Vita before abandoning it entirely.

Bored with experiencing Hulu Plus through the same old ... interfaces? Get rid of that Hulu Plus ennui with Hulu Plus on Wii. Nintendo announced that the service is now available through the Wii in the US as of today.

Users can download the Hulu app through the Wii Shop Channel for free, and then subscribe for $7.99 a month to watch television shows and movies. Through the first month of the app's availability, new users can redeem a two-week free trial of the service.

A 3DS version is due "later this year." We apologize for the "Hulu Plus ennui" joke and the lengths to which we had to go to make it.

Continue Reading

This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs have to offer.

Continue Reading

Rayman Origins has been profitable for publisher Ubisoft and the company feels the title will be an evergreen success. Although the publisher didn't share sales figures or what the budget was for the title on today's investor call, Rayman Origins' apparent lack of sales success didn't make it a complete financial failure.

"Two successes more than compensated for the performance of Rayman: Origins, Tintin and the non-dance Kinect titles," said Alain Martinez, chief financial officer for Ubisoft on today's call. "We believe Rayman: Origins, which is rated 89 percent on Metacritic with enthusiast reviews and is already profitable, has the capacity to become a long-term seller for the company."

Rayman Origins, which has been a critical darling for combining classic platforming with lush visuals, is currently in process of being ported to every platform in existence. We keep hope alive for a sequel some day, but we'd be just as happy if UbiArt was widely available for indie designers to utilize.

Ace Attorney, feature-length film, is hitting North American shores this June at the AM2 (anime, manga and music) convention in Anaheim, California. Ace Attorney, directed by Ichi the Killer's Takashi Miike, debuted as a feature film in Japan earlier this month.

AM2 will hold two exclusive screenings at the Anaheim Convention Center, one for passport holders only and one with pass holders preferred and general audience as seating permits. The AM2 convention runs from June 15-17.

While this isn't exactly a widespread theatrical release for Ace Attorney, it does open the doors for US screenings. Keep your eyes on your local independent theaters for a chance to see all the cartoony flair (and hair) of Phoenix Wright in reality.

Continue Reading

Ubisoft announced big numbers for two of its major franchises in its latest earnings report -- two franchises that, dare we say it, are crying out for a crossover. The publisher reported a "near-30% increase" in dance game sales, including more than 13 million units shipped of its dance games -- a group including multiple Just Dances, and various celebrity "The Experience" games.

Assassin's Creed Revelations, the forty-third Assassin's Creed game starring Ezio, hit "close to 7 million sell-in units," exceeding internal forecasts and, according to Ubisoft, hitting the #7 spot in worldwide sales for the year.

That should provide a clue as to why Ubisoft is continuing the franchise with Assassin's Creed 3, in which Desmond has to prepare for a date by reliving Ezio's advanced dance lessons. Okay, that last part was just us dreaming of a crossover again.

We're intensely curious about how the 3DS port of Metal Gear Solid 3 turned out -- curious and worried -- and we're happy to have the chance to try it out without financial outlay. Nintendo is delivering on its promise of a Snake Eater 3D demo in North America this Thursday.

Players will get to experience the beginning of the "Virtuous Mission," in which Naked Snake sets out through the jungle on a rescue mission. If you have a Circle Pad Pro, you'll want to connect it for this.

Continue Reading