While rhythm games have been around for ages and have been popular in Japan for years, no one in the states really gave a shit until Guitar Hero. Since then, it's become a bonafide genre and it seems like we get a new one every other week. While it's only been a few years since Guitar Hero blew up, the rhythm game market has become a bit.... stale. It's lacked any real innovation or momentum since Rock Band first added in to the drums and incorporated the singing.

Those of us that consider ourselves rhythm game fans have been looking for something new to dig our teeth into, some new experience to hang our hats on. DJ Hero is trying to scratch (pun!) exactly that itch. Introducing not only a totally new and different controller to interact with, but focusing on music that has never really gotten much love in rhythm games.

SO, will DJ Hero spin you right 'round, or is it wiggidy-wiggidy-wiggidy-wack?

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So you want to relive your childhood and bring an arcade cabinet into your home, but you don't know where to start?  Well fear not, aging gamer; I'm here to walk you through the process of choosing a cabinet, the hardware, and, of course, the games.  Hit the link for your handy guide to arcade gaming.

[Author's Note: I am not responsible for you're getting screwed in a "group buy," being electrocuted while working on your cab's wiring, getting arrested or fined for piracy, or any other damages, bodily or otherwise, that may be incurred after reading this guide.]

DEADBEATBLAST is featured in this short but entertaining "mini documentary" about chiptunes and a street performance in Toronto.  Keep an eye out for the awesome custom painted NES at the very beginning.

via 8bitcollective

All of you west-coasters that have been jealous of the monthly concerts and chiptune scene here in the east can stop your griping.  Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Portland, and Seattle are all stops along the Data Beez Microtour.  Music and visual artists representing both NY and CA include Minusbaby, Crashfaster, Trash80, Paris, Daniel Rehn, and starPause.

Two shows are getting things started in LA on November 7.  Details and a flyer are after the break.

Hey, you've got red on you.

I love the combination of guerrila theatre, PR marketers, and zombie enthusiasts.  Only they would have the braaaains, sweet braaaains to come up with a stunt like this.  About 50 gatherers infected the Tate Modern in London to mark the end of the London Games Festival and celebrate the upcoming Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles release.

[Kotaku]

As many of you may remember, back in January 2007 28 year old mother of three Jennifer Strange died of acute water intoxication after participating in a contest sponsored by a local radio station.  The contest, dubbed "Hold Your Wee for a Wii," capitalized on the high demand for the console by creating a competition in which participants drank and "held" as much water as they could.  KDND-FM, the Sacramento radio station in question, was warned of the dangers of water intoxication by a caller to the show and the hosts themselves cited a case where a college student died for that very reason during a hazing ritual.  Despite this no preemptive measures were taken (i.e. stopping the contest, having an ambulance or doctor on hand) and six hours after finishing in second place, Jennifer Strange died.  Ten employees were fired in the wake of the incident.

Today, over two years after her death, the jury in the wrongful death suit against the station awarded her family $16.5 million dollars.

Tucked away in a tiny bar on Houston St on Thursday night, Tekken 6 was shared with the masses.  In a move similar to Capcom's Fight Clubs, the event was free with RSVP, with a small entry fee to participate in the tournament.  Quite a crowd filled in the narrow, dimly lit bar and beat the crap out of each other thanks to a few Xbox 360s and wall projections of the new fighter.  Being a guy who just never got into Tekken, I was happy standing by and just watching.

The video above shows off just some of what it was like to be there.  Lots of dudes.  Lots of Tekken.  The new game, having been in the arcades over a year now, is available on the 360 and PS3 (a PSP version is due next month.)  With over 40+ characters, and based on the arcade update Bloodline Rebellions, that's a lot of fighting game to take in.

Doing a little research, one thing struck me as particularly interesting.  The game runs in 576p.  720p can be achieved on the 360 by turning off the motion blur feature.  You'd think in this HD day and age, 720p would be standard.  Regardless, it still looked pretty fancy when projected above a bar and onto a white screen overlooking Manhattan's Lower East Side.  Definition isn't everything.

Bringing a home console racing franchise to a portable platform can be a difficult task to accomplish -- just take a look at our review of Gran Turismo.  Ravenous race fans have a built in set of expectations, and those expectations can be ludicrously high.  Developers have to somehow find a way to cram all of those expectations into a much smaller framework without losing any of what made the game great in the first place.  Motorstorm Arctic Edge does this in every way possible.

Seems there's just a bumper crop of Nintendo news stories today, and while the web is in a tizzy about the new DSi LL (XL, to us Yanks) there's another tidbit that will be heating up soon. A Nintendo of France employee has leaked some details about the upcoming Wii 2 (due out third quarter next year). Apparently, Wii 2.0 will feature a blu-ray drive, support 1080P for movies and games, and have a trade-in option on your old Wii. Nintendo of course will probably disavow all knowledge of the leak, but if I hear anything along these lines from another faceless employee, I might be tempted to think they're accurate.

What do you think? Is it too soon for the Wii 2, or are you ready for it? If they make it easy on me to tranfer my games and files, and the trade-in scheme IS indeed fact, I can see myself backing off on the "too soon" assessment.

[MaxConsole]