This year's GO3 Electronic Entertainment Expo and Conference, a three-day affair that showcases the latest in games, hobbies, and electronic entertainment, will be kicking off tomorrow in Perth (that's in Australia, by the way). The expo part will last the whole three days, while the conference will be held on March 30 and 31.

The featured speaker for the GO3 conference is Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Metal Gear series. Kojima's session is scheduled for March 31 at 2:30 in the afternoon and will focus on the correlations between the evolution of technology and changes in game design.

Other speakers include Suda 51 of Grasshopper Manufacture and Q Entertainment's Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Epic Games' Rod Ferguson will also be on hand to talk about Gears of War and how Epic handles launching a new videogame franchise. You can check out a full list of speakers as well as the schedule by clicking on the "read" link below.

 

Meteos: Disney Magic by Buena Vista and Q Entertainment is a reworked version of Meteos. In a previously published article, the game was discussed and the way they themed each level is just great. It's got gameplay that will have you playing just one more game. In addition, you may have your kids asking you to play one more game so they can look at the wonderful stills of Ariel, Winnie the Pooh, Woody, and other lovable characters from Disney.

Here are some screenies to look at before you finally get the game.

  

If you want to view the rest of the screenshots, click the full version.

Let's start from the very beginning. It's a very good place to start. When you read, you begin with "A-B-C"; when you sing, you begin with "Do-Re-Mi". Or when it's musical block puzzles that you're talking about, there's no better place to start than with Gunpey.

North America and Japan have already been able to shift some blocks around in the game since it's been released for quite some time now. But for those of you in Europe, the game's yet to be released in March. If you're still trying to figure out the ABCs of this game, then worry no longer. Study how the blocks are switched around in these gameplay vids. The object is to successfully connect threads of music from the left wall all the way to the right. Now, start singing:

The other vid is behind the "Full Article" link!

Great news to all Gunpey (DS, PSP) enthusiasts (including us here in QJ), it's time to bring out the disco lights 'cuz Q Entertainment has just announced that their psychedelic puzzle game has gone gold.

For those wondering what the deal is with the whole gold status thingamajig, it only means that Q Entertainment is done putting the finishing touches on the game and is now all set to hit the shelves pretty soon. And with the psychedelic visuals and original music that Gunpey will feature on both the DS and PSP versions, this extraordinarily funky puzzle game is definitely one of the most-awaited titles for both handhelds.

Q also says that both the PSP and DS versions will be unique and distinct from one another in terms of soundtrack and visual presentation. The way Q described it (and we quote) is that "The PSP system version of Gunpey will deliver a more sophisticated, techno-futuristic experience, while the DS presents a whimsical and lighthearted theme."

With support for two-player multiplayer via wireless Ad-Hoc for the PSP and the touch screen interface and music composer of the DS, Gunpey for DS and Gunpey-R for PSP will both be lighting up your local retail stores on November 14th.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a trade organization of TV, film, and new media producers (by "new media" we mean electronic media like software and podcasts as opposed to old-school TV). They've picked their 50 most innovative producers in the field of Digital Entertainment.

Many of us remember Testsuya Mizuguchi for Sega's Rez (who's old-school enough to have the box for the Dreamcast release of this game?). But many more of us know him for founding Q Entertainment, thereby bringing forth to the world games like Lumines (PSP), Lumines Live (Xbox 360), Meteos (DS), Gunpey-R (under development for DS), and Every Extend Extra (PSP).

Hideo Kojima is basically Konami's writer, producer, director, or any combination of the three for every single Metal Gear Solid game out there (and if there was one Metal Gear Solid he didn't take part in, I personally haven't heard of it because it must have sucked, hehehe). Kojima is Metal Gear Solid. So the recognition he's received is not surprising.

And then there's Ryuta Kawashima, neuroscientist, the Brain Age guy. It's not your typical game, and he's not your typical producer, but the fact is, "new media" is a big umbrella. You and I and all of us are lucky that we have producers (and the occasional brain scientist) who explore different avenues for our handhelds and consoles.

By the way, maybe you'd like to know that the PGA has a New Media Council. It's got some lofty goals, and we're glad that game producers get some representation.

The hard part about producing things for electronic media is dealing with the demand for more technology, technology, technology. I personally get pissed off by friends who insult my favorite games because they want the exact same thing, only with more pixels. Yeah, we whine when the graphics aren't perfect. But you know what, those graphics don't mean sh@t when there's no story, design, or idea to glue those pixels to.

Better technology exists so that the better producers can make better games. So let's applaud the better producers.

Kingdom Hearts aside, a game that features Jack Skellington, Stitch, Scar, Jack Sparrow, and a whole slew of Disney characters is bound to win the hearts of many a Disney fan. Based on Q Entertainment's addictive game Meteos, Meteos: Disney Magic is putting a new twist in the puzzler game.

The game plays the same way as Meteos - use the stylus to blast away the blocks that are slowly piling up like no tomorrow - but it's spiced up with your favorite characters from Disney. This time around, instead of colorful boxes of basic shapes, each level of Meteos: Disney Magic is tailored to have related blocks. A "Pirates of the Carribean" theme would have anchors and skull-and-crossbones flags, while a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme would have pumpkins, dolls, and so on.

We've got a whole bunch of screenshots for you, and if that's just not enough, you can download a Lilo and Stitch vid below!

Hey! Didn't we just say "a whole bunch of screenshots"? Well, click the "Full Article" below and see the rest!

Download: [Meteos: Disney Magic - Lilo and Stitch vid]
Pre-order: [Meteos: Disney Magic]

Gunpey is Q Entertainment's puzzle game with a musical and visual twist. In the game, you have to make a horizontal line using various shapes and bars that ascend across five columns. The speed of the game (and the challenge) goes up as time goes by. But it's not your usual puzzle game: it's a sensory overload of lights, sounds, images, and music.

No amount of talking about it or putting up screenshots will do it justice. You just have to watch the videos (I recommend the first and third video). The first video shows a fast-paced level with pop music. The second video sounded a lot like a 1980's space-invader arcade game (which annoy some but impress others). And the third video has an African feel to it. Check them out, but turn down your player's volume first.

And for those who are interested, there's a PSP version, too. You can compare them here.

Download: [Gunpey Video 1]
Download: [Gunpey Video 2]
Download: [Gunpey Video 3]
Buy: [Gunpey]

It seems that Tetsuya Mizuguchi is someone that never fails to give credit to his senpai. Q Entertainment's new spin on the game Gunpey, previously released for the WonderSwan handheld, is actually dedicated to its creator, Gunpei Yokoi, who also made the D-pad and the Game Boy.

When asked whether he would want to have a game named after himself he replies, "I don’t care if it’s after my death! But I don’t want to play a game named Mizuguchi while I’m still alive though." In fact, this guy doesn't even want every Q Entertainment game labelled as "Mizuguchi's new game." Talk about humility.

Right now, he's a sort of Q Entertainment overseer, as he says he "wants to concentrate on his creations." Moreover, he says that the company is looking into networking, and online as well as mobile games might be expected from Q Entertainment.

So was it hard to start from scratch and build a new company? Mizuguchi admits that it was rather difficult. They only had few people, and had no money for office rent, so they would regularly meet at a karaoke box! Mizuguchi focused on the creative side, while his partner, Shuji, attended to the management side of it all. He admitted that they had a slow start, but it seems that the future is looking bright for Q.

Regarding games, it all boils down to simplicity for this guy. Being universal is something that he always take into account whenever he'd make a game, as he wants to "want to break the barrier between countries and markets."

Coming to the PSP and DS, Q Entertainment's take on the original Gunpey, released for the WonderSwan handheld by Bandai, is a homage of sorts to its creator Gunpei Yokoi. Gunpey, is derived by cleverly changing the I in Gunpei by the Y in Yokoi The same seamless connection, done with Yokoi's name, is the very essence behind Gunpey. You'd have to make a complete line from left to right, with the variety of angular shapes and bars ascending over five columns. As time passes, the tempo increases and it is up to you manage the five columns. No matter what happens, you don't want those lines to reach the top or it's game over for you.

Anoyo Records' talented techno artists provide the magnificent selection of music for the game. As with the music, expect nothing less from the game graphically. It offers more than 40 exciting skins, ad hoc wireless play and a monstrous Super Gunpey mode. Although, some might speculate that PSP owners might be getting the better deal on the two releases, the DS has an ace up its sleeve. Included within the tiny cartridge, is an awesome sound sequencer. It allows you to customize the levels much like in a professional 16-track mixer. A great idea is to hook up two DS' and create a live versus mix. Gunpey also features a versus CPU mode in addition to the standard Challenge mode.

Q Entertainment and NAMCO Bandai announced that Gunpey-R for the PSP and DS (take note that its title for the DS is Oto wo Tsunagou!) is heading to retail shops in holiday 2006. The game features exciting and innovative challenging puzzles that can only be expected from the legendary Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi. It will test your reflexes and dazzle your senses with the combination of dynamic music and colorful graphics.

Based on the 1999 Wonderswan puzzle, the creative minds at Q Entertainment combine groundbreaking music integration that will purportedly excite both the hardcore and casual gamers.

In Gunpey-R, as lines of various angles climb up the screen, you have to flip the lines located in squares to connect them over five columns. If an incomplete line reaches the top of the screen, the game is over. The game features 40 varied backgrounds and stylized music - a known trademark of the game's executive producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi. It supports two-player multiplayer over wireless ad-hoc connectivity.