Gamertell

I, like many gamers, am particularly fond of the Dreamcast. I still have mine hooked up to a VGA monitor in the corner of my pseudo-office. So you can understand why I had a big smile across my face when I saw that someone had the ambition to convert the Dreamcast into a PC mod. Sheer awesome.

What makes things even more interesting as that the enthusiasts of Akiba PC in Japan, the people who put this thing together, actually kitted this machine with some fairly impressive specs, including…

MORE »

In some production lab deep within the mountains of Japan, Japanese peripheral company Hori spliced together a Nintendo GameCube controller, Nintendo Wii functionality and a whole lot of auto-firing.

The result on that stormy night was the Hori Classic Controller. Hori’s take on the “classic controller” offers two auto-fire settings (double and triple from the looks of it) for every button via a switch. It also looks like it’s mainly for use with…

MORE »

North American Nintendo fans got a real treat last month when Nintendo announced that they would finally be bringing over what the rest of the world already got to enjoy, Club Nintendo.

The Club allows customers to gain rewards for purchasing Nintendo products. In return for spending real world cash, club members will gain points or stars to redeem for actual items or even Wii and (soon) DS points.

Unfortunately, the initial announcement left us a little dry on the details, so during an interview with Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo’s executive VP of sales and marketing, MTV Multiplayer decided to dig a little further into the upcoming program’s details. Here’s what they uncovered…

MORE »

When gamers think of electronics and video game shopping in Japan, most people name Tokyo’s Akihabara as its epitome. However, not many may know that Osaka, Japan, has an Akihabara equivalent named Den-Den Town.

Much like Akihabara, Den-Den Town is chock full of otaku goodness. Just a few years ago, one could actually count the number of video game and figure specialty shops on one hand but now it seems to have experienced a growth explosion.

Den-Den Town (Nipponbashi) is short for Denki no Machi (which means Electric Town in Japanese) and as a place that was once famous for its variety of…

MORE »

Well, it’s happened. Important Importables has reached a hallmark - 50 columns. After running for almost a year, I decided a bit of a celebration was in order. So I asked Gamertell’s editor what would be a good way to celebrate the occasion. His answer was simple - compile a list of 50 reasons why gamers love Japan.

I’ve been poring over everything I know about Japanese culture. The result is a massive list of 50 things gamers love about Japan. I’m certian you’ll find a few things on here you love. If you think I’ve missed something, be sure to hit the “comments” link below and let us know.

Without further ado, 50 reasons gamers love Japan…

MORE »

It’s not concrete but Kotaku picked up a report from Japanese gaming goodness Famitsu, that Chrono Trigger DS will come with one additional ending as well as the all new “Character Mode.“

What could the newest ending to the smash hit RPG behold? No one yet knows as there weren’t any details but would you…

MORE »

Title: Pet Shop Monogatari DS
Price: $48.90
System: Nintendo DS
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Taito (Dream Age Collection)
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Pros: Simple controls, huge selection of pets to discover, variety of items to accessorize pets, many locations to explore, not having to clean any pet dander
Cons: Simple game play may become repetitive, trial and error pet catching can become frustrating, lack of ability to actually pet animals
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 88/100; B+; ***1/2 out of five

With Taito’s infamous Mama making the leap from cooking (Cooking Mama) into gardening (Gardening Mama), it was only a matter of time before Mama would spread her bountiful cheerfulness and optimism into yet another game. Pet Shop Monogatari DS (PSMDS) revolves around the newly opened pet shop in Greentown where you, the player, and Mama are in charge.

Click through for the full review…

MORE »

Happy Halloween everyone! In honor of the spookiest holiday of the year and the fortunate (or is it misfortunate) coincidence that my column would land on this date, I decided that it would be a good day to honor some particularly spooky Japanese video games.

All of the games below have never been released in the US, so hopefully you’ll learn about something scary and new that would delight while possibly frightening you. Then tonight, go out and trick or treat, party, watch a spooky movie or play a spooky game in honor of the holiday. I’m having two wisdom teeth removed today, so I know I’m in for a fright…

MORE »

As the DSi’s Japanese release date of November 1, 2008, draws near, Nintendo has decided to release a trailer which details the system’s functions. The trailer features an announcer describing the Nintendo DSi’s various features and comparing its size to the original DS Lite. While I think that the DSi’s new features will impress players who desire to see Nintendo follow Sony’s lead of adding ‘additional features,’ it will seem out of place for gamers who expect the system to maintain Nintendo’s ‘games-first’ mentality.

Click through to view the trailer…

MORE »

As one of the Playstation 3’s defining exclusive titles, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has long been the subject of multiplatform rumors that its creator, Konami’s Hideo Kojima, has consistently sought to deny by pointing to the game’s reliance on the PS3’s hardware and the Blu-ray disc format. And yet, the rumors continue.

Speaking with Japanese stock investment research firm Morningstar, a Konami public relations representative named Yoshitaka Arai has reportedly confirmed that the company is “looking into” an Xbox 360 port of the game due to…

MORE »