Recettear is out. SSBM is out. iPhone SDK is out.
Big congratulations to the fine trio at Easy Game Station on their newest release. Recettear was released at Comic Market for those lucky enough to go to the event but today they released it at a number of well known doujin shops for those of us who couldn't get to Tokyo on Christmas weekend to brave the massive waves of nerdy-types. I've been to a Comic Market and it was so crowded, I got crowd surfed just trying to get to some stairs on the way from the West Halls to the East. Tokyo Big Site has to be one of the largest convention areas I've ever seen and Comic Market makes TBS burst at the seams. I know I could have gotten this game via torrent months ago, but I look forward to some of my favorite retailers hooking me up with a legitimate copy. Seriously, EGS. Look into selling your games on Steam. You guys could even make Valve quake in it's boots for a bit, no pun intended.
Yeah, I know, Super Smash Brothers Brawl is also out, but seeing how I doubt I'd have people over to enjoy local multiplayer which has always been SSB's strong point, I'm paying visits to friends who are raving mad for this game. Especially since they've got bigger entertainment rooms and nicer TVs. The single player game doesn't come close to teaching you how to be really good at that game. You can button mash your way through story but if you even think about trying that "tactic" against a seasoned pro, don't count on landing a single hit. Almost all of the friends I'd go play the game with are the "seasoned pro" type, not looking for the equivalent of Mario Party, The Fighting Game.
The iPhone/iPod Touch SDK is out! I'm still looking for info on touch sensitivity and tilt accuracy that could help me come up with a design for a platform specific game. Hardware horsepower-wise, the platform veers on the PSP's specs. One fellow on a forum said:
"Think of a Dreamcast with 8X the RAM, 2X the CPU, and a generation newer graphics chip pushing 1/4 the pixels."
Dreamcast. That console has some games with absolutely stunning graphics(Soul Calibur, Grandia 2) and now that power is in a wee little device along with a trio of accelerometers that work like Sony's SIXAXIS controller.
Oh, the possibilities....