Bayonetta Beckons To Be Stripped In Japan Ads

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Sega has rolled out a billboard ad campaign for Bayonetta that taps into Japan s demonstrated fondness for playing peek-a-boo with attractive women.  Billboards displayed at Japan’s busiest metro hub Shinjuku Station feature the game’s sexy femme fatale protagonist covered by removable stickers.  Sultry poses, along with a couple randy-sounding if not completely translatable slogans, encourage passer-bys to peel off the stickers.  The stickers are fliers with information to access a mobile phone site for the game.

Read more at The Escapist.

Netflix Coming To PS3

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Netflix is rolling out its streaming content service on Sony PS3 next month, reports AP.  The move comes as the company ends its one-year game console exclusivity on Microsoft Xbox 360.  On 360, Netflix has only been available to subscribers who pay $50 a month for Xbox Live Gold membership.  The PS3 service, delivered through Sony’s free PS Network, will be available free of charge to those who already subscribe to Netflix.

In addition to 360 and PS3, Netflix provides its service through Roku digital video players, Blu-ray players and internet-connected TVs.

Read more at AP {link no longer active}.

GameFly iPhone App Aims To Be A Games Portal

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GameFly has a new iPhone app called GameCenter that aims to be a games portal on the go, reports Joystiq.  The app combines e-commerce functions similar to GameFly’s web site with nifty game information services.  GameCenter feeds news from GameFly’s recently acquired news site Shack News, and keeps a database of user game information such as achievements and game control layouts.

GameFly co-founder Sean Spector tells Joystiq the app is designed as a resource for gamers, not just GameFly subscribers.  He sees it growing to provide future services such as community functionality and a place to access game trailers.  The company is encouraging feedback by users on what to add to the app.

Read more at Joystiq.

Grow A Moustache, Get Into Rockstar’s Game

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In conjunction with men s health charity Movember, Rockstar is running a promotion that lets one lucky moustache grower become a character in its upcoming Western shooter Read Dead Redemption.   The game maker is piggybacking Movember’s own campaign urging people to grow a moustache in November to show support for its cause.  The organization works to raise awareness of men’s health issues such as prostate cancer.

The Read Dead contest asks gamers to grow a moustache and mail a photo to Rockstar by the end of the month.  Rockstar will then judge the entries and select a winner.

Read more at Gamesindustry.biz.

Edge-Online Games Index Week Of Oct. 19

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Edge-Online continues its nifty feature launched last week.  The outlet is partnered with marketing metrics firm Brandwatch to chart online buzz for top UK games on a weekly basis.  Edge will feature the top ten games charted by Brandwatch, along with a topical index pinpointing buzz for a specific area such as a game genre or franchise.  Unfortunately this week’s topical index is postponed due to what Edge calls a technical glitch.

Data from the main index shows Uncharted 2: Among Thieves  dominating UK game chatter.  Sony s PS3 title easily tops the list, doubling number two Bethesda’s Fallout 3 in mentions.  Yet Fallout 3 edges out Uncharted 2 in the positive comment category, beating it by two percent to garner the highest percentage of positive remarks at 54 percent.  Both games have about 9 percent negative sentiment.  The losers in the sentiment index for this week s are EA’s Brutal Legend and Need for Speed Shift, each getting about 12 percent negative remarks.

Check out the chart at Edge-Online {link no longer active}.

Focus Test Toys

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Writing for Fast Company, product designer Rob Tannen lists three high-tech gadgets that can facilitate consumer behavior research.  None of the devices are designed specifically for use in focus tests.  Rather, Tannen has pinpointed these off-the-shelf products as gadgets that help boost accuracy and efficiency in the cumbersome and error-prone process of collecting consumer test data.  He sees each gadget as facilitating one of three major areas of data collection: verbal, visual and movement.

Read more at FastCompany {link no longer active}.

Analyst Report Says DS And PSP Have Peaked

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A new report from DFC Intelligence says Apple iPhone and iPod Touch will fuel growth in the handheld game market, reports Industry Gamers.  DFC predicts the market for portable games will reach $11.7 billion by 2014, with Apple driving the majority of the growth to eventually make up nearly a quarter of the market.

Citing the report, DFC s David Cole suggests Sony PSP and Nintendo DS have peaked.  He sees the dedicated handheld game consoles maintaining their leads in market penetration, but remaining flat in growth as Apple’s multi-use devices gain a bigger foothold in games.  The firm also surveyed 8,000 people to find mobile gaming habits are on the rise.  It found 45 percent of Americans and 36 percent of Europeans surveyed have purchased apps in the past year, with Apple’s App Store the most popular service.

Read more at Industry Gamers {link no longer active}.

Ballmer Misspoke About Blu-Ray For 360

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Microsoft Xbox Live spokesman Larry Hryb (Major Nelson) has quelled rumors about a Blu-ray player for Xbox 360, reports Gamesindustry.biz.  The source of the rumor is none other than the company’s CEO Steve Ballmer.  In an interview with Gizmodo, Ballmer made a clear cut statement about Blu-ray drives as an accessory for the console.  Nelson’s response says no such device is planned for 360, and that Ballmer was referring to Blu-ray drives for PC.  Gamesindustry.biz points out that Ballmer has misspoken in the past about products in his company’s game division.

Read more at Gamesindustry.biz.

‘Left 4 Dead 2’ Watered-Down For Down Under

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EA and Valve have lost their appeal to Australia s ratings board to release the uncensored version of Left 4 Dead 2, reports Gamesindustry.biz.  Valve prepared an edited version that secured the country’s highest mature-game rating of 15+ in case the appeal was denied.  However EA and Valve had appealed to Australia’s Classification Review Board to release the full version.

EA and Valve have also lent their voices to a growing chorus lobbying to introduce an 18+ mature rating in Australia.  Among strong opposition to that movement is South Australia attorney-general Michael Atkinsonm, who has called any curtailing of content or product choice for Australians a small sacrifice to keep violent content away from vulnerable citizens.

Read more at Gamesindustry.biz.

Australia Ratings Board Wants To Review iPhone Apps

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The director of the Australian Classification Board has requested that the country’s censorship minister allow it to evaluate mobile phone apps for content, reports Kotaku.  The director appealed by letter to the Commonwealth Censorship minister that content purchased online or through mobile phones be required for submission, approval and rating certification by his organization.  Kotaku points out that the move comes on the heels of the Entertainment Software Association’s request that Apple carry its ESRB rating system in the U.S.

Read more at Kotaku.