Shopping Shopping

New Year's week here for stores is the equivalent of Boxing Week back in Canada. Everything goes on sale like crazy and it's really hard to not buy anything. Most clothing stores have a 30% - 50% reduction and it's on both old and new items. This was the actual label of the clothes-- "Famouscrap". No joke. And for the record the clothing line actually looked half decent. If it weren't for me binge spending I would have picked up a few things here too. Also, one of my many New Year's resolutions is to resist temptation. Or at least make more of an effort to resist temptation. Wish me luck!


For the low price of ¥8,295 you can be the proud owner of Unlimited Ability. Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean...


The much anticipated Street Fighter IV will be released in about a months time. It's already been in arcades since summer and the gameplay is absolutely phenomenal. Unquestionably worth purchasing when it is released.

Tokyo Game Show 2008!

Today was the largest annual gaming expo in Asia, better known as the phenomenal Tokyo Game Show. All the major game production companies and designers are usually in attendance showcasing their latest and finest of what they have to offer on demo and display.


Of course in attendance were also some of the most serious cosplayers that I have ever seen. I've been to Harajuku on several Sundays but the people at TGS simply went above and beyond the rest. Coincidently, I have a soft spot for street fighters.


Street Fighter IV was probably the most appealing and entertaining game on display. It hit arcades this past summer here in Japan and looks to be heading towards consoles (PS3 & 360) late next year. Since I don't like using arcade sticks much I can't wait until I'll be able to kick back on my couch and play on a wireless controller. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...


The scene of the expo was Makuhari Messe, known as a huge international convention centre near Chiba. The station is also home to the stadium of the Chiba Lotte Marines; one of the local Japanese professional baseball teams. There were eight large expo halls to wander around in, complete with a foodstand and drink area as well.


Without a doubt the girls and models proved to be sufficient enough eye candy. I actually thought the Capcom and Bandai girls were the cutest but they had rounds of bodyguards forbidding any type of direct photography.

Street Fighter IV

FINAL ATOMIC BUSTER!

Passed by an arcade in Ueno the other day and decided to finally check out what Street Fighter 4 is like. The arcade release was a little over a month ago here but I don't think an English console release will happen until sometime in 2009. Unfortunately my cell phone video doesn't do the game justice as the visual gameplay is absolutely stunning. The guy sitting down and playing was using Zangief and was completely dominating all the competition. He amassed 13 straight victories by the time I decided to leave, no one even close to beating him. Also got to see Ken, Vega, Balrog, Guile, and of course Ryu in action too.