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EA CEO Larry Probst addresses the media

REDWOOD CITY — In light of Electronic Arts’ (NASDAQ: EA) purchase of Aniplex of America last month, fans of both Aniplex licensed shows and EA published games are coming to understand the the skepticism surrounding the video game publisher’s move to branch out into anime licensing.

Similar to PC game distribution policies from their Origin client, EA now requires all anime licensed by Aniplex to be watch though their always-online Hajimari client. Reactions are mixed, with some users praise Hajimari for having a more comprehensive library of anime than Netflix and allowing users to chose the Japanese voice track, while many vehemently berate the client’s problems with instability and slow updates.

“I just wanted to watch some Nisemonogatari, but then had to wait six hours for an update to finish,” says Hajimari user Imoutotalitarian, “For fuck’s sake, all it did was change the name of Attack on Titan!”

Additionally, EA made the controversial move of implementing downloadable content for Aniplex anime. Fans who are only now beginning to watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann will have to buy and download the character Kamina to watch scenes in which he appears. In response to audience unrest that scenes of Fate/Zero were not true enough to the light novel, Hajimari users now have the opportunity to buy each of the Noble Phantasms that pierce Rider in the novel as DLC. (more…)

Pokemon Black and White is basically huge in Japan by now, with perfect scores abound and millions of sales in the first few days. I’m tempted to play a Japanese port, but I think I’ll hold out for a while. Then again, next spring is a long way off. There are seasons now, and triple battles (because doubles apparently wasn’t good enough). The gradual accumulation of features throughout the generations is a genius way of selling (and I swear they do it on purpose).

Is my math right?

One of the coolest things about Black and White is that it’s based off New York City, and the NPCs and geography has a more contemporary American feel. I can’t wait to buy hot dogs from an Iranian man operating a stand on the sidewalk or get shanked by gangs at night while walking though Queens. There’s even a black gym leader! I guess this is the true meaning behind “black and white”. Now, I know the kind folks at Game Freak don’t mean any harm, but seriously, Aloe’s title is “natural born mama”? She’s ready to be put on bottles of maple syrup. How suggestively racist can you get? Curse you, Japan, curse you and your hilarious interpretations of American caricatures. I find the Cowboy equally entertaining.

I was pretty disappointed by Diamond and Pearl, even though Hikari is pretty fappable, I expected more and got less. This generation, however, looks great. Hopefully it won’t be long before I flip that coin to see which one I get!

Of course I managed to pick up the new Pokemon game (read: emulate). It’s been a while since I played my last Pokemon game, so my memories were shaky. But the nostalgia mixed with “lol Pokemon” mixed and resulted in a giant dose of hilarity.

Of course, I played as a girl. Everyone is a girl in Pokemon games, because Kotone is cute and wears thighhighs. It’s kind of like crossdressing except in video game form. And because of all the epic battles on Route 32, the first hour or so is filled with epic tackling and growl. I feel for the guys standing at the side of the road — they picked a wrong Pokemon professor. We get to pick Cyndaquil, Chikorita, or Totodile. They seem to get Pidgey, Weedle, or Rattata. Dicks like me who have connections because we live next to Professor Elm just walk by, white them out, and take their money. After standing around a bit longer and perhaps stopping by the Pokemon Center, they head right back to standing on Route 32, perhaps turning around slowly this time. (more…)