LANCOZA Blog

for the game.

tokyo

Jun 22

Giant robot love

Published in tokyo, robotech, PSP, lancoza by Ebrahim Sadien |

Some things that are done in Japan are just plain wrong and then others are all kinds of right . What is better than a 60foot tall robot? A 60 foot tall robot that lights up and has a moving head!

In other giant robot news, there is a new Macross game out for the PSP. You that you want it.

And yes, my name is Ebrahim and I have an unhealthy love of giant robots.

Jan 01

Maybe next year or not...

Published in xbox, wii, tokyo, playstation by Ebrahim Sadien |

I really thought that 2008 was the year of the PlayStation 3. Finally the hardware would be matched to a significant and exclusive games catalog. But as the year wore on nothing materialised that could really justify the PS3 price tag. Post the Tokyo Game Show the signs seemed to indicate that the tide had turned against title exclusivity further diminishing any justification for buying a PS3. When Final Fantasy was announced for the Xbox 360, I was pretty sure we had entered the End of Days.

Some now believe that 2009 will be the year of the PS3, but I really doubt it. With it's high price and shortage of exclusive titles, the PS3 has very little going for it. Now we have the sales figures to add a few more nails to the coffin. The Wall Street Journal has reported that November 2008 sales are 19% lower than last year and they also predict that December will be the same. Nintendo has doubled on their sales from last year and Xbox 360 has increased by 8%.

I think that Sony has lost this round of the console war and that only a major price cut can save it. Speaking of which, with the Global financial crisis, Sony is in no position to increase the competiveness of the PS3 with a price cut. What's that sound...sounded like the last nail to me ...

Jan 07

Hori

Published in xbox, tokyo by Ebrahim Sadien |

I bought an Xbox 360 controller from Hori when I was in Tokyo. It is not pink which is a bonus. It feels more ergonomic than the Microsoft controller but the analogue sticks are longer which takes a little getting used.

I hoped to source third party Xbox 360 peripherals from Japan but there was not much on offer. The one’s that I did find were of the super cheap and tacky variety. There were alot of third party peripherals for the PS3 and Wii so I guess it means the Japanese really don’t like the Xbox 360.

E

Sep 19

Domo arigato gozaimasu.

Published in tokyo by Ebrahim Sadien |

Well it took a total of 24 hours from Cape Town International to my hotel room in Tokyo. 11 Hours from Cape Town to Singapore, a 5 hour stop-over in Singapore, 6 hours from Singapore to Tokyo and a 1 hour train ride to the hotel. A flying experience that I can only describe as zombifying. It took 13 hours of sleep to return to some level of normality.

Tokyo is clean, very clean. I have yet to see any litter anywhere. Traffic is organised it's like a weird ballet of cars, pedestrians and cyclists which has to be seen to be believed.

Tokyo is like a Japanese movie but without the subtitles and you really need the subtitles. My Japanese is non-existent and most of the people I have met speak a few words of english and then lapse into Japanese which turns our communication into a series of smiles and bows.

But on to business. My hotel is located five minutes from the Bandai-Namco headquarters and has the most amazing window displays. I'll post a few pics later. I have also seen alot of plush toy figures of Nintendo and Pokemon characters which are really cool. I have seen alot of Gundam, Bleach and Mario action figurines. But aside from a model of the SDF-1 in the Bandai-Namco window display I have not yet found any Macross figurines.

Tomorrow is the start of the Tokyo Game Show, well the business days. It's a 45 minute train ride from the hotel to the convention centre and I should have alot of news and pictures soon.

There are a few very nice Anime box sets on sale but I have no idea if they contain English subtitles. If you have any idea where english language Manga and sub-titled Anime can be found drop me a line in the comments.

E

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