Le sigh: Tomodachi Collection isn't coming to the States

I'm sorry if this is old news to some of you; I was a) on vacation and b) laid up with a bad back when it "broke" (the news, not my back) a few days ago.

Anyway, during last week's E3 event 1up.com's Jeremy Parish asked Tomodachi Collection producer Yoshi Sakamoto whether or not the Animal-Crossing-meets-The-Sims title would be released stateside. Sakamoto's answer:

"Tomodachi Collection is something we're really interested in bringing to the U.S. The problem is that we only built Japanese language generation into the software, and that's a very important part of the game. We can't make it work with English, so we won't be able to release the game here."

A 1up.com commenter perfectly summed up my feelings on the matter when he posted the following in response to Parish's article: "Our stupid, cobbled-together language screws us again!"

(Via 1up.com)

Is Order Up! Move-ing to the PS3?

Late last year, one of Supervillain Studios' staffers mentioned on the developer's website that "a good amount of work" had been completed on a sequel to what I consider to be one of the most underrated Wii games, Order Up!

Well, it seems that said sequel may appear on the PS3 rather than the Wii. At least, that was my first thought after reading the following post on Supervillain Studios' site:

"They call this a “teaser” in the biz…

…because it could mean something.
…or it could mean nothing.
…or it could be something good, which ends up being nothing.
…or it could be nothing (but still good), which ends up being something…also still good.

Right.

…or it could just make you chuckle (also still good) because that happens now and then."

This image was posted alongside the text (click to engorge, er, enlarge):



Hopefully Order Up! 2 will be released for both the PS3 and the Wii--and at a bargain-basement price like its predecessor (which I picked up late last year for a paltry $19.99).

(Via NeoGAF)

See also: 'Special of the day: (News of) a follow-up to Order Up!' and 'Now playing: Order Up! (Wii)'

My $5 is in the mail, Maré

Fans of Maré Odomo's "Letters to an Absent Father" should be happy to hear that the Seattle-based artist is selling pocket-sized (4.25 inches x 4.25 inches) printouts of his Pokémon-themed comic series. (Check out his website for more information.)

Here's the image that appears on the cover:

Send Odomo $3 and he'll ship you a bare-bones edition of the publication, or send him $5 and he'll ship you a special edition that includes a personalized drawing.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy the $5 edition and ask Odomo to draw me a Mudkip enjoying a bubble bath (or something similarly saccharine).

See also: 'Ash Ketchum's (and Maré Odomo's) Letters to an Absent Father'

It's one thing to play a pitch-perfect rendition of the Super Mario Bros. theme song on the violin ...

... but it's quite another to play the classic Famicom/NES title's sound effects alongside said tune.

Which is why the following YouTube video--featuring professional violinist and music teacher Teppei Okada--blew my mind when I first saw it this morning.



(Via magweasel.com)

Ta-da!

You know how I mentioned (a few days ago) that this blog would soon sport a sparkly new header/banner? Well, here it is!

It was made by the bestest sister-in-law in the world. (Thanks again, Jan!) Isn't it fabulous?

By the way, the joystick-wielding "dude" (as my sister-in-law likes to call him) on the left side of the header is Takakazu Abe, meme-inspiring star of Junichi Yamakawa's one-shot bara manga, Kuso Miso Technique (link NSFW).

See also: 'Coming soon: a sparkly (literally) new header!'