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A communications student is looking into the attitudes of Japanese gamers. Anyone interested in sharing their opinions and helping out, please follow the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zN8bIcLiJo_7fVSnmyJJxWI7fB7wRs5FhubyZNgRWJ0/viewform

Nintendo have just announced a flurry of games for the 3DS, including a sequel to Link to the Past and a new Yoshi’s Island game.

The Zelda game is set in the Link to the Past world and seems very close in gameplay terms, though it will feature new abilities including use of the system’s 3D capabilities.

Yoshi’s island will be a return to the classic series and will again update the original gameplay with 3D features.

Other announced titles include Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Mario and Luigi: Dream Team Bros, Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move.

There will also be a new hardware bundle featuring Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

You can view the whole presentation below:

The World Hobby Fair comes back to Osaka this Sunday. There are usually a few unreleased games on show so it is well worth a look if you are in the area. As well as video games there are also toys and card games on show.

Check out the official site here (Japanese)

If you love Japanese games then the chances are you’re not a huge fan of region locking. This anti-consumer practice has been going on for decades. It is a real hassle for gamers who are prevented from buying games they are perfectly willing to pay good money for.

With all the fuss software companies make about piracy you would think they would be doing everything in their power to enable customers to buy their games. Some console manufactures have made an effort to accommodate international gamers – Sony deserve recognition for making the PS3 almost entirely region free. Microsoft allow publishers to lock or not, and many choose not to. Nintendo however have their products totally locked down.

If you want to express your opposition to region locking, there is now a petition on the White House website. If the petition reaches 100,000 users by February 15th then there will be an official response.

Though we’re not sure exactly what the White House can do to fix the issue, we think it is great to raise awareness of this problem, and let publishers know that it is an issue that matters to their customers.

View the petition here.

At this time of year, with many of us eagerly waiting to see what new games or consoles Santa will bring us, it is easy to forget that not everyone is so fortunate. A year and a half after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Eastern Japan, many people are still struggling to rebuild their homes and communities.

A group of expat gamers have decided to do something to help and have set up Game For Japan, a 24 hour telethon to raise money and awareness for those that survived the disaster. During the telethon, they will be playing games on a selection of Japanese consoles. They will also be giving away free games, and codes for PSN and XBox Live.

You can support the campaign by liking them on facebook and donating through their website.

The event begins on December 26th at 3PM, Japan time.

For more details check out their website and facebook page.

Think you have to pay money to win money? This isn’t necessarily true. There are actually free games online that pay out in real cash if you know where to look.

The Benefits of Free Games Online

Those who are familiar with the world of online gambling and online games sites will know how beneficial it can be to take advantage of the many free games that the Internet offers. Not only do free games allow you to learn how the games work, but they also provide you with the chance to hone your skills without losing any of your hard-earned cash. By improving your gaming skills, free games help you win real money when you play for cash.

How to Play Free Games

When you log onto a gambling site you will find a selection of games from which you can choose. You can also decide whether you want to play for fun or for money. If you go ahead and take part in a few free games, it will give you the advantage of learning the game inside and out before you enter a live gambling game for cash. Of course, you might also choose to play the game in your leisure for some fun and entertainment. However, when you want to take the next step and bet for real money, you will find that what you have learned by playing for free will help you to win big when you place a bet.

What Does it Take to Win?

Winning at anything requires experience and skill, just like professional athletes must train for years in order to compete successfully, so too must gamblers practice before they can have the chance to win big. Choose a free game that you feel you will be good at. For example, if you enjoy television-themed games you will not be disappointed as there are games such as X Factor, Blankety Blank and many others. If you want to play Deal or No Deal online, a hugely popular choice, you’ll find both free play and real money options! These are just some of the many great options that online games sites such as Paddy Power have to offer. You can also play traditional casino games such as Blackjack, Texas Hold’em, and Roulette without paying any money at all.

This card reader from Taito is just the thing for Mario fans who can’t bear to be without their hero long enough to copy their photos onto a PC. The reader is a little on the bulky side but who cares – you can send Mario down the pipe and listen to the authentic sound effect as many times as you like.

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At the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco this month, Fez creator Phil Fish made a rather controversial statement. When taking questions after a screening of Indie Game: the Movie, Fish was asked his opinion on current Japanese game development. He quickly and bluntly replied that Japanese games nowadays “just suck.” This comment has sparked an Internet firestorm over the last few days, but is he justified in dismissing the entire country’s efforts? So, we ask, do today’s Japanese games really suck?

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to answer that question, and we certainly don’t have the resources to mount the kind of market research needed to get close to an answer. But we’ll look at some publicly available data and try to determine if any conclusions can be projected on this issue.

First, let’s look at research group NPD’s sales charts for the USA in 2011:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)
4. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
5. Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC)
7. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)
8. Gears of War 3 (360)
9. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
10. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)

Not one Japanese-developed title on the list. It seems Americans weren’t crazy about Japanese games last year. Let’s see how the Japanese chart looks:

1. Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
2. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
3. Monster Hunter Freedom 3 (PSP)
4. Monster Hunter Tri G (3DS)
5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, 360)
6. Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP)
7. Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii)
8. Tales of Xillia (PS3)
9. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
10. Wii Party (Wii)

Here we see the reverse of the US chart, Japanese gamers didn’t seem to care for anything not from Japan.

What’s to conclude from this data? Japanese and American gamers have vastly different ideas of what sucks, and what works in the US market may not go over so well in the Japanese market (just ask Microsoft about that).

Capcom have opened up a fantastic looking restaurant/bar in Shinjuku which features themed dishes based on some of their games. Our favorite has to be this Biohazard Zombie Brain Cake.

Other delights include Tyrant Spare Ribs, as well as dishes based on Monster Hunter, Sengoku Basara and Gyakuten.