Vinnk of 4 Color Rebellion and Famicom Dojo has relaunched his Rising Stuff online store with new forums and news articles with a focus on retro Japanese gaming.

In Vinnk’s own words, the new Rising Stuff “will cover classic games and consoles that may have never made it out of the land of the rising sun,” and “will try to cover obscure system like the PC-FX, Wonderswan and Playdia as well as the better-known systems like the Mega Drive, Saturn, PC-Engine and Famicom Disk System.”

This is quite a treat for me, because many of the front-page authors are also long-time friends. Between us we started the unstoppable Midwest force of nature now known as No Brand Con.

So check out the new Rising Stuff! If you head over there RIGHT NOW you will see a repost of the first episode of Famicom Dojo, as well as videos about the 3DO and Playdia. You may even see other a Powet.TV videos pop up there from time-to-time.

Election season has passed and we’ve elected a new president. To commemorate this occasion, this week’s $20 GOTW focuses on a contest, which, just like politics can get brutal and leave a lasting effect on its participants. This week’s lost classic represents a bold change in the formula of a well known classic shooter franchise. So head on in and celebrate the end of this historic election season.
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Show Notes:

You can see some design notes on this figure and a few other Toys R Us Exclusive repaints released around the same time at this url:
Design Notes for Spring 2008 Toys R Us Exclusive Releases

Powerglide, Storm and Hot Spot Images from TFU.Info.
Erector images from TFWiki.net.

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Earlier today the Wall Street Journal let it be known that Apple Corps Ltd. has struck a deal with Viacom for the use of The Beatles music in the Rock Band series of games. Few details are known at this time as no information on which songs will be made available or how has been released yet. Further information may be made known at today’s press conference (10 AM EST). We’ll keep you updated.

UPDATE: The Beatles won’t be in Rock Band per se. Rather Harmonix will be creating a Beatles game using the Rock Band engine that will support all Rock Band peripherals. Stay tuned to our thread on the subject for updates.

News courtesy Tiktaalik @ Neogaf via Kotaku via WSJ Online

Not all games based on movies or cartoons are bad, and when the licenses expire the games disappear too! This is the Powet Top 5 Lost Licensed Games, presented by Keep Playing!

Think I missed a game? Leave a comment and let me know!

Marvel Entertainment has just announced the Robert Downey Jr. has officially signed on for The Avengers. Jon Favreau has also been announced to executive produce the feature. The recent news of Don Cheadle taking up the mantle of James Rhodes from Terrance Howard is also made official in this press release stating that he will be on hand for Iron Man 2, The Avengers and subsequent Iron Man films.

Choice quote:

In a movie event, THE AVENGERS will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they’ve ever faced.

The highly anticipated sequel to IRON MAN will be released in theatres on May 7, 2010 and THE AVENGERS will be released July 15, 2011. Both films will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Via SlashFilm

Press Release after the jump
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Halloween is this week, so this week’s $20 GOTW and Lost Classics is dedicated to gaming’s original frightfest, Castlevania. More specifically, I’ll be looking at one of the franchise’s most prolific installments, Dracula X. Dracula has once again been revived, and it’s up to Richter Belmont, the latest in the line of the vampire hunting Belmont family, to destroy him. This time the stakes are higher, as Drac has kidnapped several maidens from the nearby village. Among them are Richter’s fiancee Anette, and her sister Maria. Dracula X was notable for it’s bright and crisp graphics, CD-quality audio, multiple routes through the levels, multiple endings, and the ability to play as a second character (Maria). However, despite being its critical acclaim amongst fans and reviewers, the Super CD title never saw a release outside of Japan until recently. I’ll be looking at both the original game (by way of its PSP remake), and the Super Nintendo adaptation. Although more recent entries in the series (such as the recently released Order of Ecclesia) utilize Symphony of the Night’s non-linear RPG-styled action, the classic linear gameplay seen in Dracula X still holds up even after more than a decade.
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