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People are passionate over things. Food perhaps, women, we all have some passion or another. Well, the fine folks at the Mother (Earthbound) fan site Starmen.net have a passion for all things related to the series, and who could blame them? Earthbound is very much one heck of a game, and if you enjoy a combination of a trippy game and amazing RPG then here is a game for you.
So, with the predecessor that was simply amazing, why has Nintendo not released the latest incarnation stateside? Well, I wish I had an answer for you, and to be honest I was greatly saddened when it was not announced that it would be localized. However, the fine folks at Starmen.net have decided to do something about this travesty! Forget online petitions, they are going all out in their Mother 3 localization drive. Not content with the online petition method, they've called for action! Call Nintendo, Mail a Postcard or fan letter -- they want you to act and act now! With a combined effort from the fans, perhaps Nintendo will gain a heart to stop releasing games aimed towards three year olds and release a game that is truly unique.
Help starmen.net out, and perhaps Mother 3 will be llocalized into Earthbound 2. We can only hope that this will happen.
Rockstar has released a picture of what you will get in the $90 Grand Theft Auto IV special edition package. The price tag will get you a Rockstar duffel bag, a safety deposit box (with key), an art book, a soundtrack CD, and the game. At least this SE package is reasonably priced and and has some cool content, unlike a certain other game coming out this fall.
Here's the photo:
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Japan is home to many things, and many of those things we embrace. Of the things Japan has given to the world are games, and this week we celebrate those games and hardware entries with a Japanese Influence.
First off, check out the featured game, Battle Arena Toshinden Remix. If I had played the game I'd say something about it, but sadly I have not touched this game. However, Kevincal has, and he submitted a wonderful review and overview back in the day. We appreciate that.
Next, the featured image goes to Akumajo Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku. Yes, that title is a Romanized Japanese title, but you may know the game as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I hear that game is pretty darn good.
Next, the featured hardware is the Family Computer, or Famicom. This system was released by some playing card company named Nintendo. I hear they went to become something huge, even momentarily being worth more than Sony today. Guess that Nintendo does good for itself.
Lastly, the featured collection belongs to Funk Buddy. Funk Buddy has an affinity for Japanese games and hardware, epsecially the Japanese Sega Saturn. As such, he has the featured collection.
As always stay tuned, more is certainly to follow when you keep it tuned to channel 3.
 Someone on YouTube has uploaded the intro to the new Zelda game on DS. The game is released in Japan tomorrow and in the USA sometime later on this year. Honestly, I can't wait to get it because Zelda is one of my favorite game series, and I love the return to Wind Waker style graphics. Hopefully the game won't be disappointing like Twilight Princess. Yes, I went there. Twilight Princess was kind of mundane and stuck to the Zelda formula too much in my book. Okami did a far better job of being a "Zelda" game than Twilight Princess did.
Don't take this to mean that I didn't like Twilight Princess, because I did enjoy it. It's one of my top 10 games of last year. However, Okami just beat it in dang near every aspect.
Anyways, here's the intro. Enjoy!
[youtube=425,340]Ot5cdC9bAMM[/youtube]
 If you own a Nintendo Wii, it would be a good idea to download the Opera Powered Internet Channel by June 30, because on that date, it will cost you 500 Wii Points to download it! However, if you get it now, you can have it free forever. Don't know how to download it? Let Opera Ninja tell you all the details...
For more information about Opera for Wii, check out their website.
(Comic from Opera.com)
This is the first installment in a new series here at RF Generation informing you of the latest downloadable games for Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. I will post these every Sunday or Monday. For the first edition of this article, I'm just going to post North American releases. If you would like to see this expanded, let me know
NINTENDO WII VIRTUAL CONSOLE
  
PLAYSTATION STORE
  
XBOX LIVE ARCADE
 
My pick of the week is Band of Bugs for XBLA. Know why? Simple. Turn based strategy involving bugs. Sounds really fun. It's been well received so far. It scored an 8 out of 10 in the Official Xbox Magazine, and was a finalist in the 2007 Independent Games Festival. I do not have a 360, so I cannot play it.
Until next time, happy downloading!
UPDATE: There was some stuff released for the Playstation Store this week! It's been added to this article.
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As reported by Joystiq and Kotaku, both Nintendo and Sony will refuse to license Take Two's Manhunt 2 if it retains it's current AO rating. This development comes just one day after the BBFC banned the game in the UK and the ESRB gave the game the aforementioned AO rating.
Reasons for not allowing licensing are pretty well stated. For Nintendo its policy is in the Buyer's Guide:
Please note that Nintendo does not sell or license games that carry the ESRB rating 'AO' (Adults Only).
Joystiq contacted David Karraker, Senior Director of Communications for Sony for comments, to which Karraker replied that it is currently Sony's Policy not to carry AO rated content on their systems.
It looks as though the Manhunt saga is getting more and more grim for Take Two and Rockstar. What will happen to the game? Will it see major edits to lose its AO rating, or will the game be scrapped? Given the time they put into the game, I'd expect the former, but who knows, I could be surprised. One thing is certain though, if the ESRB rating stands through the appeal process, Take Two will have to do something. Certainly now it is looking like the game won't be making its release date in three weeks, that's for certain.
 Rockstar's latest has joined the ranks of Thrill Kill, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude Uncut and Uncensored, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (the first version), Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy: Director's Cut, and Playboy the Mansion: Private Party. Like these games, Manhunt 2 has received the ESRB's highest content rating, AO (Adults Only).
Now, Rockstar has to make a very important decision concerning their game. They can either release the game with the AO rating and risk not having the game sold at stores like Target or Wal-Mart, appeal the AO rating, or edit the game and resubmit it. A representative for Rockstar told Kotaku that they have not made a decision yet, and are considering all the options to get this game released.
This is the second big blow to the game today. Earlier on in the day, RF Generation forum member, James, reported to us that the BBFC rejected Manhunt 2, which means that it cannot be released in the UK and Ireland. Here is a link to James' thread on our message board.
Obviously, Rockstar and Take 2 are in a very tough place right now. Their game was banned in the UK and Ireland, and is not going to be sold at the biggest retailers in the USA. My advice for Rockstar: release the AO version of the game to retailers that will accept it, and give the rest of them a cut down M rated version of the game. That way, the creator's original vision will be available to those who search it out, and if you can't find it, you can just as easily buy the edited version. This practice is used very often with DVD movies. They will released the normal movie as seen in theaters, and an unrated version that would have gotten the movie an NC-17 rating.
Manhunt 2 is currently slated for a July 9th release on Playstation 2, Nintendo Wii, and PSP.
Sources:
http://kotaku.com/gaming/...ed-adults-only-270337.php
http://kotaku.com/gaming/...manhunt-rating-270371.php
 According to Kotaku via the latest issue of Game Informer, Will Wright's life simulation, Spore, has been "delayed indefinitely." Kotaku reached EA for comment, and they responded that the article is true in saying Spore was delayed, but they pushed it to fiscal 09 instead of fiscal 08.
What could be some reasons for this delay? I bet Will Wright (or EA for that matter) wants to release it on all the consoles on the same day as the PC version.
Regardless, I'm kind of getting tired of all these delays. I just hope the final game is worth all the delays.
 Here it is folks. A long awaited week for me! I am featuring one of my favorite games of all time. Not only that, we have some other things that some people might have never seen! First off, we have the featured game. And what a featured game it is! Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete is one of the most dynamic and compelling RPGs ever made. Not only is the translation filled with satire and humor, the characters really make a connection with the player. Give this game a try. Please.
Next we have the featured image. The image is from the Nintendo DS's Lunar: Dragon Song. The game? Not so good. But it's Nintendo DS, and I love the system, as most of you know. Now, I actually played through the entire game, and I must say, it was rough. Not very well made, and obviously thrown together under a deadline. But, I must say, it is worth the $10 you can get it for now.
Our featured hardware is from the Sega Master System. The 3-D glasses. What are they? What do they do? I don't know! I just thought they looked fun. Do you know the story behind them or have used them? Submit a review and overview for them! We'd all like to know!
Lastly, we have the featured collection. It has been quite a while since we have taken a look at his collection, so it's about time! Captain_Nintendo has been amassing games for a long time now, and his pictures show it! Take a look!
Keep it tuned in folks! Check out our blogs! They're a good read and very informative! Remember, we're here for you! Let us know what you'd like to see!
 A price cut for Playstation 3 could be coming sooner than you expect if Sony CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, has his way.
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Stringer said that he knows consumers want a lower price for the PS3, and that his company is currently looking into how much they can cut the price by. Then, when asked if they would "come up with an aswer by Christmas, he responsed "Yes, of course."
Not entirely related to the PS3 price cuts, Stringer observed that PS2 is selling "gangbusters" and that dropping the price on PSP has sent sales "into an upward spiral". Why do I mention that part? Because I find it funny that a CEO used the word "gangbusters" in an interview.
Another interesting fact Sir Howard stated is that "While people have not bought as many PlayStation 3s as it looks, it is no different from PS2 and PS1 in terms of percentage of sales."
When asked about the Nintendo Wii, Stringer said, "I would be the first to say to you that Nintendo Wii has been a successful enterprise and a very good business model compared to ours... Because it's cheaper." Should I call Sir Howard, Sir Obvious?
And what is an interview with a Sony executive without an utterly mind boggling quote? This time it comes when Mr. Stringer was asked if the Wii might be considered more creative and fun. "No, no. Fun is in the eye of the experiencer... I think PlayStation 3 is following a particular trend of 1 and 2, and if you looked at the history of it, it's a very similar history." Anyone care to make sense of that quote for me, because all I can come up with is that PS3 is following the same trend of PS1 and PS2. I don't see what that necessarily has to do with the Wii.
Probably reacting to the harsh response from Nintendo fans, Scott Steinberg, vice president of marketing for Sega of America, has taken back his comments made about the Wii's future. He stated:
"SEGA has fully supported the Wii since day one and we continue to do so â€" it's no secret that we are close partners. Nintendo has done a masterful job of selling its vision and expanding the market. That said, it's a shared responsibility and opportunity for the whole industry to take advantage of the possibilities of the Wii. If we don't realize its true potential, we will have missed a great opportunity to expand creatively and that is what I was cautioning against in the Reuters interview. I'm not just putting the responsibility of innovation on Nintendo. It's on SEGA and all the publishers and developers as well to carry that flag."
While he's right that it's the developer's fault that the Wii is not showing a whole lot of potential beyond minigames, he did not need to take back his comments. I'm sure that he only took the comments back because of crazy Nintendo fans sending death threats to him.
Source: http://blogs.reuters.com/...ts-nest-with-wii-remarks/
According to a Reuter's Article, according to Scott Steinberg, the Vice President of Marketing for Sega Sammy. Who does he think is going to win? Well, in his infinite wisdom, he predicts the PLAYSTATION 3 to be the winner in the next console war, regardless of the fact that the wii is currently the fastest selling console of this home console generation. As Satoru Iwata would say, "It prints money".
Steinberg believes that the creative pool of Wii development will likely die within the next year. Regarding the Wii, Steinberg states,
"But how much value can developers and creative folks get out of this wrist motion two years from now, or 5 years from now, or 10 years from now?"
Well, to Mr. Steinberg my response is probably more creativity than Sega has put out since its Dreamcast days, but then Sega hasn't exactly been the most stellar publisher post-dreamcast, save for Shenmue and the handheld Sonics. Who wants to buy the 360 or PS3 version of Sonic? I bet they'd give that away.
The truth is that perhaps the Wii does have a creativity drought. How many mini game based games can publishers possibly release? Are those games really what the mass market wants, or is it more of publishers looking to make a quick buck? The truth is that there is much potential for great games on the Wii, but everyone seems to be content taking the easy way out, developing crap. If the Wii fails it will likely be because the only games ever released for it were crap.
RF Generation strives to be THE Classic and Modern Video Games Database (see the right corner of the site). This site is a labor of love of the staff and members that contribute to make it what it is, and as of today we are looking for a few bright souls to help continue to make RF Generation what it is today, and even guide it to something better. If you are interested in becoming part of the staff, the people who keep the site moving forward, I encourage you to read on, and if you are interested to apply to become a part of the team that makes RF Generation great.
If you've read on then I imagine that you understand what RF Generation is about. We strive to provide video game collectors and enthusiasts with a place to call home in the vast, dark depths of the internet. It's a scary place, that internet, but we have a cozy community here, and amazingly it is rather diverse, hosting people of many nationalities and backgrounds and interests. We are looking for people who understand the community, and are a productive member of the RF Generation community. While a person with 0 posts will not be completely discounted from consideration we do look favorably upon those applicants who are an active presence in the community, and who understand what RF Generation is. A vibrant community is important to us, and we want people who share our viewpoints on the matter.
Content addition is also an extremely important aspect of RF Generation. In the past, we let staff members go on an "add when you feel like it" policy. Well the truth of the matter is that we have members who add when they feel like it, so we are going to look for applicants that are willing to submit to a schedule and work under an editor. No, this scheme doesn't mean that you have to put work into RF Generation every day, but rather that we, the directors and editors of the site, wish that staff members would post on a consistent basis rather than once every few months. As such, we would like to find people that would be willing to work with an editor to get a schedule going. It would be up to the editor to determine how often you would be working on the site, but you probably would not have to do a significant addition / news post once a week, perhaps even less depending on what you are doing. We're not looking to work anyone to death here, we're just hoping that the front page doesn't go through a month without a news post, or a section of the site goes too long with out a significant addition. We've begun the process of rectifying certain fallacies in the system by restructuring the staff. If brought on to the staff you would be working for an editor. Each editor is specialized in making sure a certain area of the site grows. It would be your job as their staff member to help them make sure that their part of the site grows. Right now, we are looking to fill the following positions:
- Blog Writer: A blog writer is a person that wants to help post to the RF Generation blog. A blog writer must be able to find stories regarding gaming, collecting, otaku, or anything else interesting and relevant via the internet or other media and be able to post them here on the in an interesting, engaging fashion. Due to the nature of blogs, we'd be looking for someone who would be willing to post something on a fairly consistent basis, a basis that would be determined between you and the editor. If you become unable to continue on this basis, we'd have to place you On Hiatus or remove you from staff. We are looking for quite a few blog writers, each with their own specific interests and perspectives, so please, please apply. A blog writer should have a very good grasp of the English language, and should be able to write well and proficiently. Journalistic skills such as citations and the like can be taught, but having some idea how to write blogs and cite correctly would be a major plus. Once again, we are really, really looking for blog writers, so if you are interested and want to help make the RF Generation blog something to be checked every minute then do send in your application. The editor of the blog, and subsequently the front page, is Tan
- Japanese Contributor: The Japanese contributor helps to make the Japanese database meaningful. Title Additions, Page Edits, Screenshots, and Image Submissions would be a part of the things you would be doing for the Japanese database. A Japanese contributor would need to have an affinity for Japanese games, and should be able to Romanize titles. Currently, there is no editor for the Japanese database, but you would be working along with Fuyukaze to make the Japanese database better. It is greatly desired that any incoming Japanese contributor have a willingness to help craft guidelines and FAQs for this database, as currently there is no guidance on Romanization and the like. We'd really like to make our Japanese database significant and meaningful, and we highly encourage you to apply if interested in assisting with that goal.
- European Contributor: The European staff contributor helps to make the PAL database meaningful.
Title Additions, Page Edits, Screenshots, and Image Submissions would be a part of the things you would be doing for the European database. You may also be asked to help approve member submissions as well The PAL database is special in that it has the challenge of regional variations, and a European staff contributor would need to be able to deal with and effectively catalog the variations. The editor in charge of the PAL database is Speedy_NES. - Hardware Contributor: The hardware contributor helps to make the hardware database meaningful. Title Additions, Page Edits, and Image Submissions would be a part of the things you would be doing for the hardware database. The editor in charge of the Hardware database is AndyC.
- Features Contributor: This position is different from the other three in that a features contributor helps to do the weekly features. This generally entails writing an overview, review and other content for a games entry, finding an awesome collection, a neat photo, and featuring it on the front page. Additionally, a features contributor aims to add content to games and hardware pages that other people generally would not, such as Instructions, Overviews, Reviews, and the like. We have a lot of game and hardware pages, but many of those pages have only the minimum fields filed out. We'd like to remedy that. A features contributor should have an especially good grasp of the English Language, and someone with the English skills of a 9 year old should avoid applying for this position. The Features Editor is Mezmoron.
Those are the five positions we are currently looking to fill up. I should make special note that we are really, really looking for people who want to be a part of the Blog, Japanese, European and Hardware group. I should mention that since this operation is a labor of love for everyone involved any hire would be unpaid, since not even the directors of this site get paid, in fact, the directors spend money to keep this baby going, because we love the community we have here. If you are still interested in becoming a member of our staff then I encourage you to apply. How do you do that? Well, you would need to PM me. In that PM, I'd expect the following:
- A list of the positions of the you are applying for, ranked. Please note that you may not get your top choice,
- An explanation of why you should be brought on to staff in the position(s) specified. What would make you a great features writer, or European contributor? We'd like to know.
- A discussion of the RF Generation of community, and how you fit into that now and once you'd be on staff.
- A comment regarding how often you think you should be working on the site, if you are to be added to the staff.
- Anything else you feel we should know.
I'm not really expecting a novel from applicants (in fact, keep it concise and to the point), but more so something that says that you want to be on staff. So if you feel that you can do that in a concise manner than I encourage you to do so. If you have any questions you can direct them to me, TraderJake, the content director Tynstar, or one of the editors. No question is a dumb question. While we'll gladly accept applications whenever we need to review applications at some point; therefore, the deadline to submit an application for this round of hirings will be June 27, 2007. You are welcome to submit an application past that date, but we will be reviewing applications starting on that date. All applications will be reviewed by the Directors and Editors of the site, and applicants will be contacted via a PM or email should we decide to ask them to join our staff. Please note that a submitted application does not guarantee a spot on staff.
We hope that there are a few brave souls out in the world to help move the site forward, and look forward to all applications received.
Good Luck,
David Murnan
Site Director
This week we are taking a look at a few of Hideo Kojima's more overlooked titles. You would think that with a name as big as his, these games would stand out just as much as the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Sadly that is not the case.
That being said, our featured game is Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. This is one of my favorite games. It has the unrivaled cinematics you have come to grow and love from Hideo Kojima as well as enough action to keep one satisfied for months. Along with the featured game we have the featured image which is Snatcher, the acclaimed Sega CD game produced by Hideo Kojima. The featured collection is eternalblue81's collection which consists of nearly all of Hideo Kojima's games. Finally the featured hardware is the Gamecube modem. The logic behind this is because that thing is as funny as the scene in Metal Gear Solid 3 where Eva ramps the motorcycle off Revolver Ocelot's face.
Besides the games which I have mentioned, there are plent of other Hideo Kojima related games which are overlooked such as Policenauts, Boktai, and Tokimeki Memorial Drama. Hideo Kojima has a bit more under his belt than just the Metal Gear Solid series, and this week is dedicated to those games.
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