A Japanese man has been arrested for threatening to blow up the Japanese video game company Hudson. His reason? They wouldn't listen to his criticisms of their games.

Another week has gone by and that means another obligatory update for the PlayStation Store in Japan. Sony recently updated its selection of available titles that gamers can download off the PlayStation Network. At the forefront of notable DLC is Hudson Soft's Bomberman, which is available for both PlayStation platforms. You can check out the complete list of new titles in our full article after the jump.

So they say that learning is about asking the right questions. That's probably why John Master Lee of Hudson Soft started a Q & A session regarding the company's games. If you're curious as to what Hudson Soft has to say regarding some of its various titles, turn to the full article after the jump.

A new partnership between casual games developer PlayFirst, Inc. and Hudson Soft aims to bring casual games onto the console digital download scene. With this new partnership, their first objective will be to bring Diner Dash into the console market.

Following this, they also plan on bringing other big-name casual titles to the consoles, such as Mystery of Shark Island, Sandscript, Zenerchi, Oasis, and Chocolatier.

According to Gamasutra, there hasn't been any word as to which consoles will be getting the title. Despite this, it stands to reason that the big three all have a stake in this, as the PS3 has the PlayStation Network, the Xbox 360 has the Live Arcade service, and the Nintendo Wii will be coming out with WiiWare. We'll give you guys info on where these casual titles will be heading when we get some news. Till then, sit tight!

With all the hubbub about big announcements, here's something else to celebrate: Hudson Soft, the games-developing firm responsible for timeless classics such as Bomberman and Adventure Island, is finally making a comeback in Europe after several years of absence.

Everything's still hush-hush, of course, but rumor has it that the veteran company is actually teaming up with Rising Star Games, a publisher that's more or less new to the scene.

If the rumors ring true, then this is quite good news indeed, as Hudson Soft is also rumored to be getting a dedicated HQ in the UK. This could mean a renewed surge of games that has that distinct Hudson flavor -  or better yet, a new Bomberman title that actually sticks to its roots. We can only hope. Updates as they happen!

Just wondering: any of our readers actually old enough to remember this early-to-mid-'90's cartoon? (Or, anyone been watching Boomerang recently?)

For those too young to be sentient back in the rolling '90s, the premise of the Hanna Barbera "SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron" has a couple of hotshot pilots turned vigilantes take down the unfriendly skies in an advanced aircraft which looks similar to an F-14 (duh, TomCAT). Taking Top Gun and the A-Team under its wing - or claws, the edgy, flashy cartoon scored surprisingly high in the ratings, although it sadly only lasted a couple of seasons.

Sigh. Those were the days. Still, the show, for all its unbelievable premise and camp (hard-edged casualty-filled camp, but camp nonetheless), resonates with its fans, though - you should see the IMDB forums. Or me. Where do you think I got my love for Ace Combat and Warhawk (besides Top Gun)?

It's got a megacity full of vicious criminals and their lemmings, it's got high-tech gadgets, sky-high dogfights, and street-dirty brawls - oh, for heaven's sake, this cartoon ought to be a game! Wait - it is! It was an SNES game! And, given that there were games like the flight shooter Turn 'n' Burn: No Fly Zone and the Mega Man X series which carried parts of the concept, and carried it well... the SWAT Kats SNES game by Hudson Soft ended up a fade-to-black generic shooter.

... Do you hear that? That must be the sound of ejection seats popping. Maverick is not pleased with his afterburn. (Okay, to be fair, the SNES game was a fair challenge, but still uninteresting in the end.)

Alright, so this article isn't going to be a RE-GEN; I'm just skimming here. Need more time to throw a SIXAXIS around before a full RE-GEN can be made out of this. Same principle applies, though: next gen power, next gen promise. And this time, full exploit of the show's premises and mechanics, no short-changing due to "limited processing power." Some of us kats would hate it if such a promising license was re-botched on the re-gen.

Speed of Heat after the jump.

Is there any particular video game that still haunts you up to this very day? One that, if you died today, you'll be sure to be earthbound because of this one "unfinished business"? Okay, so that was morbid. But that pretty much drove the point home now, didn't it?

I first got introduced to the wonderful world of gaming consoles through the NES, otherwise known as the Family Computer in Japan. Now this little wonder brought me some very fond and special memories growing up, thanks to its wholesome and now-retro 8-bit graphics. Games like Galaga, Battle City, Twinbee, Contra, and of course, the immortal Super Mario Bros. kept me company during stale afternoons, with ignored chocolate-covered donuts sitting beside me across our living room floor.

And then came a whole new generation of gaming consoles. Handhelds like the Game Boy and its successors, and even the simplistic Game & Watch, to the more powerful modern consoles we have today, all played a part - no matter how minute - in my formative years. They certainly kept me off the streets, for sure. I guess I only have them to blame for my not having developed that "streetsmart" gene in my system.

Even after all those games and gaming machines, however, I still couldn't let go of that one NES game that I never got to finish: Adventure Island.

Not that I didn't find the adventures of Master Higgins interesting or exciting enough for my own amateur taste, back then. But with the onslaught of newer game titles coming along, and with the irrational, almost neurotic desire of finishing a level without any scratch or bruise or diminished life for my Master Higgins, I did not realize that I had slowly and unwittingly pushed it to the back of the game shelves.

And then I got busy with other things - Tetris, Metroid, school, dates, friends, sneak-outs at night, the X-Files, Castlevania, high school prom, college admissions, Need for Speed Underground, Sex and the City... and good ol' Master Higgins remained in the webbed corner of my consciousness. Not to be disturbed, and more importantly, never to disturb me. Until we met again, that is.

Read on to see if we share the same hang up experience over that one unfinished game, and to see what else is on QJ's list by clicking on Full Article!

 

Weekends usually means slow news days, so we'll help you pass the time with a brief look at recent gaming related rumors. First up, something that appeals to the testosterone-laden. German gaming news site GameFront.de reports that in the rumor column in the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), it was speculated that Team Ninja is working on a PS3 iteration of the Dead or Alive franchise.

Other rumors reported include speculations that game developer Hudson Soft is working on a version of Bonk for the Wii and the Nintendo DS; Capcom's making a remake of the original Megaman solely for the PlayStation Network; Level 5's Professor Layton for the PSP is coming to North America; and, NIS's Disgaea series is coming to the PS3.

Surprising to see a lot of rumors on planned games for Sony and Nintendo recently.

Before we end this, we'll leave you with something interesting. It was noted in the same rumor column that the next Kingdom Hearts will be a spin off, and that it will appear on a "Hearty Console". Take that as you will.

The independent game development studio Saber Interactive, who is responsible for video games like TimeShift and Will Rock, is happy to announce that it just hired one of the industry's veterans to head Saber's game content division. That guy is Rick Raymo and he sure has a lot under his belt.

Raymo has been working in the video game industry for 19 years now, and about 30 titles are credited under his name. Some of the more notable ones include Duke Nukem 3D projects, Blood, Shadow Warrior, Death Rally and Max Payne. The creative director also used to work with companies such as I.D.G., GT Interactive, GameSpy, Red Jade, Interactive Studio Management, and Hudson Soft. Before Rick Raymo accepted his new post at Saber, he was working with HBO Interactive Entertainment as a production executive, and was responsible for spearheading efforts to create interactive properties out of the company's internal licenses.

Saber's new guy wasn't able for comment, but the company mentioned that Rick Raymo is more than happy to join them. He will be stationed at Saber's HQ in New Jersey and from time to time, he will also be making his rounds in Saber's production studio in St. Petersburg, Russia. Most of his work will be focused on the design and production team who are working on current and upcoming next generation titles.

Welcome aboard Saber's ship Rick Raymo!