The Gamer’s Litter Box

Earlier today, I took part in a mini Rock Band competition which was held at Sony’s booth at the Games & Gadget event in MidValley. I came in 2nd place, so I won myself a Sony PlayStation Portable. Since I don’t really game much on the go, I asked the prize sponsor if I could sell back the PSP and get a discount instead for a Sony PlayStation 3 instead. Luckily, Sony PS3 Evangelist Teoh Wah Keong was there and I managed to get a discount for the Sony PS3 bundle, which was selling at RM1699. I bought inFamous for RM209, and they threw in a free DualShock 3 controller.

Total cost? RM1088 (USD310). That’s some massive savings there for a brand new game console which can also play high-def Blu-ray movies. I can’t deny that if I weren’t a videogame magazine editor, I probably would not have gotten the discount. So many thanks Sony Malaysia and Tan Electronics! I’m now off to set up my PSN account and start playing inFamous! :3

Update: My PSN name is FatCatLim. Add me!

Busy weekend as I attended two anime and game events - the Anime Comics Games Convention event at Tropican City Mall, and Hotlink Games and Anime Festival at Berjaya Times Square. I’m pretty tired and I’ve a backlog of work to sift through in the office, so I probably won’t be posting here until the end of the month.

Although the walk-in crowd at ACGC Tropicana wasn’t that great, I found it a lot more varied and interesting compared to the Hotlink Games and Anime Festival at Berjaya. Actually, the “anime” part at the Hotlink event was erroneous because I didn’t see any related anime events or activities there, except for a couple hired cosplayers and the cosplay competition on the 2nd day, which I didn’t attend. It was cool to see the Malaysia-Singapore matchup at the Sudden Attack booth though.

Sometimes I can’t help but admire the endless energy that cosplayers seem to have for their series and craft. I can’t see myself exhibiting the same enthusiasm, like going on stage to do the Caramelldansen performance when the song plays. Probably I’m just an oldfag who can’t adapt to the new generation of anime and videogame fans.

I have a bad habit of shutting myself out of everything when I’m especially preoccupied with a particular game, such as Persona 3. I’ve already sunk over 65 hours in the game in the last week, and I think I’m only halfway through the game. I have’t even started the FES chapter, which I read will take about 30 hours to complete. Yikes. If that’s the case, I think I’m gonna leave Persona 4 aside for awhile once I complete Persona 3.

In the past week, I’ve been busy working with organizers Outpost Events and Sony Malaysia to make the Street Fighter IV tournament a reality. Last week, we managed to iron out most of the main details for the tournament and we’re proud to announce the Malaysia Street Fighter IV tournament. Although I won’t be competing, I’ll nonetheless be relishing the event since it’s been a long time since I last took part in a fighting game tournament.

The World GameMaster Tournament 2008 kicks off! Mini event report and pictures after the jump!

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GameAxis Malaysia gets an extra spurt of WAAAGH!!! this August to come out with this very manly cover of two sworn enemies rushing at each other. This month’s cover story is a little different from other cover stories, as it is presented as a transcribe of a diary entry penned by a nasty green Orc. There’s a handy codex on each page that nicely explains some of the terms in the article so that it gets the reader up to speed on Warhammer Online this coming September.

This month’s issue was exhausting: beside helping to run GameAxis LIVE, I had to write a 9-page coverage article about the event, as well as watch nearly all of the first few episodes of the new lineup of anime this season for the Anime Summer 2008 Lineup article. I also had to wrap up the WCG 2008 Malaysia supplement, which comes bundled with this month’s issue.

Anyhow, I’m gonna enjoy myself this weekend with the Maple Story 3rd Birthday Bash taking place this Saturday at Cineleisure Damansara, and the ongoing Animax Youth Festival at 1Utama. Remember, we’ll be giving out a free Sony PSP courtesy of Sony Malaysia to the winner of our mini racing tournament at the AYF, so come on down and you may just win a shiny handheld console!

The Animax Youth Festival will take place at 1Utama, High Street this weekend, and GameAxis Malaysia will be there too! We’ll be having a mini racing gaming competition where participants may stand to walk away with a Sony PlayStation Portable! See you there!

Event: Animax Youth Festival

Date: 8th - 10th August 2008

Time: 12 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Venue: 1Utama Shopping Complex, High Street

Just when you thought you’ve seen everything, something like this monstrosity turns up. Truly, truly terrifying. XD Anime Fest 2008 in pictures, after the jump. Continue Reading »

APIIT College at Technology Park will be holding the ICCG 2008 tomorrow, which will see a number of tournaments being played and competed. The games being contested are Call of Duty 4, DotA, Counter-Strike 1.6, and FIFA 08. If you’re up for an afternoon of friendly competition and some nice prizes, you can get down over to Bukit Jalil tomorrow.

If you prefer the more technical side of game development, Wan Hazmer of Easy Only! Games (interviewed by us in GameAxis June 2008 issue) will be there as well in the morning. In the afternoon, Csaba Berenyi of Codemasters will be present as well. There’s a nice mix of game competition and development talks, so I might drop by in the afternoon for a visit.

Multiplay - Inter-College Battles At APIIT ICCG’08 Tomorrow

ICCG 2008 official website

It’s been a while since I last watched any anime, even though I’ve downloaded a fuckton of them. I’ve been really busy with my trip to London, with GameAxis LIVE!, and then the magazine itself. But I’m catching up. In fact, I’ll be doing a rundown of the new Summer 2008 anime series lineup. Probably just a short impression of the series based on the 1st couple episodes. That way our readers will know what to watch and which to avoid.

Animax-Asia sent word that they will be having a contest in line with their latest broadcast of Sergeant Keroro, now airing 6 p.m. weekdays on Animax. Titled ‘My Friend is an Alien‘, the contest is to create and draw ORIGINAL characters inspired by Keroro and his gang. If your illustration is selected, it will be animated and featured on air across Animax in Asia! Nice.

The top 3 winning entries will win themselves a Dopod smartphone handset and have their works turned into Habbo home stickers. Closing date is 9th September 2008, so you’ll have some time up to come up with some spiffy character designs. Full press release after the jump. Continue Reading »

The picture you see here is of the buntings that we’ll be hanging around Mid Valley a few days before GameAxis LIVE! That way people who drive into Mid Valley will see them and be notified about the exciting event inside.

A lot of people have been asking me about who and what will be in GameAxis LIVE. Now that we’ve confirmed the sponsors, exhibitors, and most of the events, here they are!

Event Highlights

- Freeplay gaming areas for everyone to try out and play! Try out the hottest gaming titles for the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3, and more!

- Lucky Draw weekend! Stand a chance to win a Sony PS3 or Nintendo Wii!

- See Hellboy live in action! Play fun games and win free Hellboy II movie tickets!

- Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited edition auction! Bid and win at crazy prices!

- Free daily anime episode screenings!

- Attractive prizes to be won at the CELGames 2008 Tournament arena. Up to RM25,000 in cash and prizes to be won!

- Great computer hardware at super bargain prices!

- Hellboy Character Creation contest! Win amazing prizes, including a computer notebook!

The full list of the partners and sponsors that will take part in GameAxis LIVE! after the break!

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