Gadgets and Video Games

Oh, Sonic fans. Every time a new Sonic is announced, you joke about not getting fooled again and you promise that, this time, you won’t be taken in.

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Sonic fans remix Sonic 4 intro, get way too excited

The title of Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka’s GDC panel was “As long as the audio is fun, the game will be too.” Kind of a perplexing title, especially if you’ve enjoyed Yamaoka’s work in horror genre. Don’t get us wrong, it’s good , we’re just not sure fun is the word for it. Yamaoka used the panel to explain precisely why his music and sound effects are so disturbing, and it’s more technical than you might think. “Sound is very close to stimulating emotions in your brain,” said Yamaoka via an interpreter. “What do humans fear?” He asked.

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GDC: Akira Yamaoka on the disturbing power of audio

Sweet Shiva, the Final Fantasy XIII reviews are all over the place . What has been clear over the past couple years is that the Japanese RPG has been going through some seriously violent flux. The genre is trying to find a new path, and even as Japanese developers seem to search for a balance that’ll please several markets, they’re freaking out western reviewers and audiences, who have a certain expectation going into these games — a fault of fans, as much as decades of ingrained convention by those developers

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Metareview: Final Fantasy XIII

And now, 10 Questions from the Academy: A weekly feature from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences wherein significant figures in the video game industry provide their input on past trends, current events, and future challenges and goals for the entertainment software community. Dan Connors is a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

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Dan Connors answers 10 Questions from the Academy

Valve has announced that THQ’s Metro 2033 will join the growing list of titles that support Steamworks. The PC version of the game will offer a number of Steamworks features, including Achievements, updates and DLC. So, you can look forward to earning some sweet, sweet cheevos while exploring the creepy environs of the Russian metro system. And trust us, it is creepy . It’s worth noting that with Steamworks support now official, it’s likely that Metro 2033 will also be joining the ranks of downloadable titles that won’t be offered by competing services like Impulse and Direct2Drive.

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Valve announces Metro 2033 will use Steamworks

Here’s the thing about the StarCraft II beta: you’ve played this game before. In the time I’ve spent with the beta over the past 24-plus hours, I’ve been Zerg rushed, I’ve had my buildings annihilated by a group of Reapers that snuck through the back of my fortified area, and I’ve had Protoss ships lay waste to countless heavy Thor units — which looked like they could have taken on anything and survived. And here’s the other thing: I absolutely loved every minute of it, as familiar as it was.

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Hands-on: StarCraft II beta

Gearbox head Randy Pitchford delivered some claptrap at DICE today, saying that Borderlands has sold 3 million units globally. A good sign for 2009’s fastest-selling original IP , which may not have generated the most revenue , but it’s apparently starting off 2010 with good momentum . And with a third DLC pack on the way, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx , it appears Borderlands may welcome even more travelers. As DICE is a business conference, Pitchford was also quite open about what’s important to Gearbox as a studio — he also shared his Gamertag (“DuvalMagic”)

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Borderlands sells 3 million units; Pitchford discusses Gearbox hiring policy, Gamertag

When Warren Spector’s first Junction Point Studios title, Disney Epic Mickey , was revealed, many gamers were miffed to learn that the game was exclusive to the Wii — especially after being inundated with some spectacular concept art for the game. It looks like there is still some hope that the game will hit the Xbox 360 and PS3, according to Disney’s Graham Hopper. Hopper tells Gamasutra that one of the game’s core concepts is its “ink and paint mechanic”, making it ideal for the Wii. However, now that both Xbox 360 and PS3 will soon support motion controls of their own, things might be different

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Disney won’t rule out Epic Mickey on 360, PS3

Nintendo’s march against the R4 mod cartridge for the DS rolls on this week, as the company has won a lawsuit against an Australian distributor of the now-illegal device, according to iTNews . RSJ IT Solutions, which sold the R4 through gadgetgear.com.au , was ordered to stop selling the device and fined $520,000 ($466,752 USD) in damages payable to Nintendo. Two other respondents named by Nintendo in the suit, Patrick Li and James Li, were also ordered to stop selling the R4 in Australia and fined $100,000 ($89,760 USD)

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Nintendo wins R4 piracy suit in Australia: Pay up, pirates!

If, like us, you were surprised by how much fun Dragon Ball: Origins for DS was, prepare to be delighted once again. Namco Bandai announced that it is publishing Dragon Ball: Origins 2 in North America, with a summer release in mind. The sequel features the same kind of Phantom Hourglass -esque, stylus-controlled action, with the option to switch to buttons. This time, a two-player co-op mode is included, so Goku and a non-Goku friend can beat up the Red Ribbon Army over local wireless. The Japanese release also includes an emulated version of what we know as the NES’s Dragon Power — there’s currently no word if that awful game will be a bonus in the American version.

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Dragon Ball Origins 2 flying to DS on a cloud this summer