Tag: Weirdness - Page 5
Weirdness Earthbound Designer Shigesato Itoi Comes Under Fire For Tweeting About Fukushima Peaches
“If you go to Fukushima you can buy peaches like this"
Earthbound designer Shigesato Itoi who has appeared on a number of Japanese variety shows and commercials, recently came under fire on Twitter when he showed his support of Fukushima peaches to over 600,000 followers. Prior to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, the prefecture was known for...
Weirdness Slowpoke Reggae Exists, and it's Terrifying
Kind of catchy, still nightmare inducing
Everyone's Friday jut got a little weirder with the official Pokémon YouTube channel's latest post, a nearly four minute reggae epic of Slowpoke doing Slowpoke things like attempting to swallow other Slowpokes' tails, Busby Berkeley water number-style: [youtube:Ce5mRvkAePU#t] One theory states that this...
Weirdness Tetris Played With Pillows is Oddly Entertaining
We've had Kirby as yarn and Yoshi as wool, after all
As it's the end of a frantic week, and the main talking point going around right now is on a slightly obvious rumour about a Wii U HD Remaster — we'll get to that in our own way shortly — we thought we'd take the chance to relax and simply look at something cool. This video certainly qualifies...
Weirdness How to Order Earthbound-Themed Japanese Old Folks' Undergarments
Headline may be somewhat misleading
They may not be a must-have item for Lolita fashion, but the uniquely Japanese undergarment called haramaki has shed its reputation of being for grandparents only and enjoyed a resurgence of popularity among the young and fashionable in the last decade or so. A haramaki, or belly warmer, is a sweater-like garment...
Weirdness Ocarina of Time is a Lot Less Legendary With Waluigi as the Hero
The horror!
Poor old Waluigi. While Wario's obesity and capitalist greed nevertheless enables him to be relatively popular with a series of his own games, Waluigi's fate is to be a rather unloved member of the Nintendo family. He's just there, and those that declare themselves supporters of the purple one are relatively few in number. Thanks to...
Weirdness Pikmin on GameCube Can Be Run in Windows
With extra bugs included
Game development is a complicated business, even if modern tools and engines do much to ease the burden and the level of tricky coding required. Nintendo, of course, utilises its own engines and techniques, meaning that there are a lot of coders in its shiny new development building and others besides busily doing some...
Weirdness A Resident Evil TV Show Has Been Proposed
Hey, it might be better than the films
Capcom has had quite the history with its Resident Evil franchise. Many people have fond memories of the early games, and when Resident Evil 4 appeared on the GameCube it threw everyone a curveball with its inventive new features. Recent additions have not been as well received, and the less said about the...
Weirdness Mario, Luigi, and Sonic Are Advertising A Chinese Mobile Phone Network
Honest truth, guv
There's something just a little bit wrong in China Mobile's advertising, pictured above. Apparently Mario, Luigi and Sonic have all been conscripted into the firm's latest promotion. Nintendo hasn't exactly made a habit of freely giving out its characters for other companies to use, being so protective as to initiate YouTube...
Weirdness There's a Fish That Plays Pokémon
Magikarp breathes a sigh of relief (at least we think that was a sigh)
Today's entrant in the annals of human achievement comes courtesy of Twitch TV, in the form of a motion-tracked fantail betta playing Pokémon Red/Blue using virtualised Game Boy controls. The fish, one Grayson Hopper, has apparently been playing (or "swimming aimlessly in his...
News Nintendo's At It Again With Another Majora's Mask Tease
No Majora hype implied
Nintendo has been placing sly references to its off-the-wall cult classic The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask a number of years now – the most notable recent example was the presence of the titular mask on a wall of Link's house in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for the 3DS. Not to be flogging a dead horse or...
Weirdness Yoshi's Real Name Is Both Silly and Scientific
Will re-open the "is he a dinosaur" debate
We were once told by Nintendo that Yoshi is not a dinosaur, as we'd stated in a feature, but that he was simply a Yoshi. Once we'd dusted ourselves down from the polite but firm telling off, we felt indignant. He is a dinosaur, with boots, what's so wrong about that? It is possible that down the road of...
Weirdness The Cyberith Virtualizer Combines Wii Remote Controls, Oculus Rift and a Treadmill
Immersive, or strange?
Virtual Reality is a hot topic at the moment, with Oculus Rift and Sony's Morpheus at the forefront of bringing the concept forward. The mainstream appeal of these devices is yet to be seen, though both have a lot of investment behind them. There are various gadgets and devices trying to tap into the craze, including some...
Weirdness 3D-Printed Game Boy-Themed Case Covers Raspberry Pi
Far more sensible than whipped cream
The credit-card sized educational computer Raspberry Pi encourages electronics hobbyists to find interesting and fun ways to extend the machine’s capabilities; to celebrate the Game Boy’s 25th anniversary Adafruit user Noe Ruiz has posted an extensive tutorial on how to build a 3D-printed Game Boy-themed case...
Weirdness The Peculiar Questions of a Typical Nintendo AGM
Freebies, frustration and 'interesting' suggestions
This week we brought you some coverage from Nintendo's various comments and assurances given at its 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. It's an important event as it enables Nintendo to address concerns and enquiries, and when handled well can help to stabilise those all-important share...
Wearing shades indoors, naturally
Unless you're really keen on Japanese rock music, the name Gackt might not mean that much to you, but take it from us — he's a big name in his own country. Gackt — real name Kamui Gakuto — found fame as a member of the band Malice Mizer, and since going it alone has gained the male soloist record for most top...
Weirdness Classic Game Characters Part of Artist's Neighbourhood Watch Makeover
"What I'm doing is technically illegal..."
If you're looking for video games, creativity, and urban culture, all three intersect in Toronto, Canada. Not only does the city boast a sizable indie scene, but signs of gaming love sometimes leak out onto the streets as well. An artist under the pseudonym "Andrew Lamb" has been slapping healthy doses of...
Weirdness So, Someone Made A Valve E3 Press Conference Using Tomodachi Life
Nintendo's life sim used to poke fun at long-suffering Half Life fans
Valve released Half Life 2 a decade ago, and since then fans have been waiting for news relating to the third instalment in the critically-acclaimed series. Every year, these very same fans search through the internet trying to find hints or references to the release of the game,...
Weirdness Eiji Aonuma Does a Cucco Dance, For Realsies
Because why not?
What does Eiji Aonuma do when answering a fan question — with colleagues from Tecmo Koei — about the inclusion of Cuccos in Hyrule Warriors? He dances, he dances without inhibition or fear. We're not even kidding, the video below may be one of the best things we've ever seen. Stop reading and watch it right away. It's...
E3 2014 LA Times Reveals Hot Scoop of New White PlayStation 4 From Nintendo
Erm...
As always, E3 2014 has been full of reveals and even the occasional shock. It seems one huge announcement has slipped us by, however, with the LA Times delivering a reveal for the ages. Below is the print edition of the paper with that epic story, as spotted by Jorge Albor on Twitter. In terms of monstrous typos and mistakes, this is...
Weirdness Conan O'Brien Plays Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
"So everyone at Nintendo is on acid?"
Late-night funnyman Conan O'Brien is not a gamer – a fact he'll tell you every chance he gets. As a result, the recent "Clueless Gamer" series on his show has become perhaps his most popular segment, as he plays through all sorts of big-name titles like Resident Evil 6 and Watch_Dogs with no regard for...
Weirdness This Walmart Employee Got a Little Confused by a Mario Kart 8 Poster
So close yet so far
It's Friday, it's been a long week, so we all need a little humour to get the weekend started. Thankfully a Walmart employee has served up a clanger for us to enjoy, though it's a mistake with an undeniable logic to it, regardless. As you can see above, someone baffled by the whole anti-gravity thing in Mario Kart 8 has decided...
News The Lost Worlds of Power: Volume 0 is Available
Bad writing for a good cause
If you'll remember, way back in October we covered the news that Worlds of Power, the legendarily awful series of video game novelisations, was being given new life. By...uh...me. The idea was to assemble a motley collection of writers and have them each produce their own terrible, unfaithful, barely recognisable...
Weirdness When PR Stunts Go Wrong - Watch Dogs
Anonymous package caused office evacuation and bomb disposal call
Wii U owners may not be able to play Watch Dogs this week, but that doesn't mean Nintendo gamers shouldn't follow Ubisoft's release with some interest — it is apparently still coming to Nintendo's system this year, remember. We can also get a laugh from bonkers PR moves that have...
Weirdness Gaze in Wonder at Junkboy's 16-Bit "Demake" Art
Don't you want Super Smash Bros. on SNES?
Retro-inspired "demakes" of popular modern games are all the rage these days, but don't you want to put some on your walls? Swedish graphic designer Junkboy has created a wide array of gorgeous 16-bit demake art, much of which is available for purchase online. You can check out his Tumblr page for the full...
Weirdness The GlomTom is a Cushion for Resting Your Arms When Gaming, and Needs Your Money
It makes this Tom glum
Have you ever been playing a game and thought, "what I really need is a 15 degree incline for my controller-grasping hands and arms"? Has the discomfort ever driven you to distraction, and a normal cushion simply doesn't do the trick? Fear not, because GlomTom is here. GlomTom is a cushion, but an ergonomic cushion...
Weirdness Conan O'Brien Reveals E.T. Wasn't the Only Atari Game in the Landfill
The TV host and noted game journalist brings us startling video evidence
When a group of Xbox documentarians (presumably fuelled by Mountain Dew and Doritos) unearthed Atari's infamous landfill in the New Mexico desert last month, the excavation made international headlines. Late-night talk show host and accomplished video game historian Conan...
Weirdness Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary Merchandise Includes Electric Guitars and Golf Gear
Turn the nerdy up to 11
The Monster Hunter franchise turns ten this year, and to celebrate Capcom has licensed all sorts of fun (and expensive) MH-themed merchandise in Japan; everything from jewellery to golfing goods to electric guitars. A few highlights: Japanese heavy metal guitar manufacturer ESP has created this gorgeous monster-hunting...
Weirdness Super Mario Bros. 3 Can Be Beaten in Under Three Minutes
Amazing scenes
Speedruns remain a popular part of gaming culture, ranging from current day titles to treasured retro classics. Super Mario Bros. 3 naturally gets the treatment plenty of times, but two intrepid speed runners have now found a glitch that allows it to be beaten in under three minutes. Lord Tom and Tompa are the duo that have worked on...
Weirdness PeterMolydeux Is Back With The Strangely Moving Nintendo: A Sad Story Part Two
Poor Link
The mysterious individual behind the parody Twitter account PeterMolydeux has created a sequel to the nightmarish Nintendo: A Sad Story, this time focusing on the Zelda series. The bizarrely poignant clip sees a wide-eyed and innocent Link being forced to open a seemingly endless series of chests until he collapses from exhaustion —...
Weirdness This Monster Hunter Fan Will Keep You Cool On Those Epic Quests
Something for true "fans" of the series
Monster Hunter is pretty big in Japan, in case you hadn't noticed. This is made abundantly clear by the sheer volume of merchandise that is available, and we think we may have found the "coolest" item yet. Ahem. The official Monster Hunter USB fan features a rather burly-looking knight carrying an impressive...
Weirdness Hoverboards Now a Virtual Reality With the Assistance of a Wii Balance Board
Cue Back to the Future II theme song
It wasn’t long ago a video starring legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk alongside the Doc from Back to the Future and a cast of others emerged online, showing the unveiling of the first-ever “real life” hoverboard. Shortly after the video went viral, the entire reveal – as many expected – was confirmed by...
Weirdness Game Consoles and More X-rayed for Art
Crowdfunding campaign is underway
We've seen some interesting projects emerge through Kickstarter, but a new campaign from BRS Innovations perhaps steals the show. A group of three individuals with extensive experience in X-ray technology are planning to launch a series of art projects that include images of various everyday items. It's so you can...
Weirdness Now You Can Transform Your GamePad Into A Racing Wheel
Well, why not?
With Mario Kart 8 on the way, it should come as no great surprise to see peripheral makers attempt to capitalize on the renewed interest in racing titles, but Japanese firm CyberGadget has come up with the most unusual idea yet. Its Handle Stand fixes to your desk and allows you to clamp the GamePad in place, effectively turning it...
Weirdness Realistic Mario Probably Wouldn't Have Been As Successful As Super Mario
Head + block = ouch
In case the size-altering mushrooms and cartoon-like environments didn't make it obvious enough, Super Mario Bros. takes place in a world of fantasy. However, it's always fun to consider what Nintendo's most famous franchise could have been like if the company had decided to adopt a more realistic approach. In this segment from...
Weirdness Could This Be The Pokémon FPS That Nintendo Fans Have Always Wanted?
Perhaps not, but it looks like a proper hoot
Hot off the tail of the downright bizarre Super Nintendog comes more Nintendo-themed insanity. Make of it what you will, but the following video showcases Ash Ketchum running, driving, flying and shooting (often all at the same time) his way around an environment that looks like a 3D version of Safari...
Weirdness Meet The 'Super Nintendog'
Caught somewhere between impressive and horrifying
The noble pursuit of professional dog-grooming isn't just a 'thing', it's a major thing. People from all over the world attend conventions and competitions to celebrate and display a staggering amount of creativity, using their prized pooches as canvasses for some truly bizarre works of art. The...
Weirdness These Chinese Game Controllers Look Wii-ly Familiar
The designers at Xiao Bawang clearly ran out of ideas
China has recently lifted its ban on games consoles, and as a result we're seeing a few new challengers arrive on the market in the hope of leveraging the country's massive number of potential players. One such outfit is Xiao Bawang, the company which tried — and failed — to conquer China...
Weirdness This Power Mitt Oven Glove Has Secured Over $18,000 in Funding
Supply and demand, apparently
Some strange things get successfully crowdfunded, and this Power Mitt Oven Glove project may be among the most bizarre to date. Based on the Power Glove, as you can see, it seems like one of the most extravagant oven mitts that money can buy. You need a decent amount of money to get one, too. Available via an Indiegogo...
Weirdness Here's a Nine-Hour Video of Every SNES Start Screen
You know you want to...
Back in January, YouTube user NicksplosionFX made a three-hour video of every NES start screen — well, a lot of them, arguments aside. Now he's back for the Super Nintendo edition, clocking in at just over nine hours. It's in alphabetical order if you want to skip straight to your favourite game, but true fans will surely...
Weirdness Tetris Multitool Changes Lives, Opens Bottles
Swiss army knife? Nay, this is a Soviet army knife!
Amazon is full of useful and culturally relevant knick-knacks, from banana slicers to books on How to Avoid Huge Ships. The pioneering team over at Tiny Cartridge
Video Nintendo Approves of this Mario Kart Song
For the First Time in Forever, for you Frozen fans
It's a well-known fact that, aside from the occasional multi-platform game that many will happily ignore, Mario Kart 8's 30th May arrival is the closest major release for the Wii U. One consolation is that there is an enticing line-up of eShop games, but retail titles can still arguably get the...
Weirdness Square Enix Reproduces Deadly Final Fantasy XIV Boss in 16-Bit Style
We'd play a Super NES version any day
Final Fantasy XIV, an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) for the franchise, has had a troubled history. The first version was such a disappointment that Square Enix eventually dropped it, reproducing the game and changing up the development team that eventually released the far-improved A...
News Infamous Series was Originally Inspired by Animal Crossing
*spit take*
InFamous, the gritty action-adventure series where the main character gains superpowers for the benefit of good or evil, initially had a cheerier inspiration, Sucker Punch Productions co-founder Chris Zimmerman recently told Gamespot: The original idea for InFamous, believe it or not, was that it was kind of
Weirdness Engineer Uses Four Monitors to Display Whole Super Mario Bros. Levels
It's a me, Mario!
It's always fun when people use their skills to display a beloved video game character in an interesting way. Twitter user Morikuma_Works, who works as an engineer in Japan, has done just that with his four computer monitor display of Super Mario Bros. World 1-1. He also posted a picture of World 1-2, warp zone and all. Quite...
Weirdness The Makers Of TV Show Resurrection Clearly Want Nintendo On Smartphones
Donkey Kong on your mobile?
The series premiere of ABC's Resurrection went out on Sunday — in North America, at least — and the show's glaring similarity to the hit French TV series Les Revenants wasn't the only eye-opening thing about it. In one scene, a character is seen playing a game on his Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone which happens to...
Weirdness These iPhone Mock-Ups Suggest That Mario On Mobile Might Be A Bad Idea
Place your tongue firmly in your cheek before reading
Industry experts and jumpy investors are screaming at Nintendo to make games for smartphones right now, but company president Satoru Iwata is adamant that the future of the firm lies in dedicated gaming hardware, rather than diluted, cash-grab experiences on the likes of iOS and Android.
Weirdness Love Triangle Turns Nasty Thanks To A Legend Of Zelda Master Sword
Two men, one replica sword, one inevitable outcome
Replica swords make for great ornaments, but they're also as dangerous as the real thing — as a recent domestic disturbance in Houston proves. On one side, we have live-in boyfriend and occasional cosplayer Eugene Thompson, and on the other we have the estranged husband of Thompson's girlfriend...
Weirdness Here's Some Olympic Speed Skating, Mario Kart Style
Can we start the petition for a 2018 inclusion?
The heat of competition burns at your pounding heart, rivulets of sweat drip down your brow but you can't afford even a second to wipe it away. Your pulse marks each passing second, the weight of the world gathers on your weary shoulders and as the finish line comes into sight, you know the true...
Feature When Cranky Kong Took On Twitter
Madness? Brilliance? Both?
With Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze now on sale in Europe and North America, Nintendo of America celebrated the big launch by having 'Cranky Kong' takeover its official Twitter account. The elderly ape — the original Donkey Kong from the arcade according to lore — has been promoted for his entertaining character,...
Weirdness This Mario Golf Bag Could Help You Hit the Links in Style
Hole in one
Mario Golf: World Tour arrives on 2nd May in North America and Europe, ending a fairly long wait for the latest entry in the popular series. With Mii integration, customisation and online tournaments and communities on the way, it's looking like a promising prospect for a below par — in a good way — score. Nintendo's clearly keen to...