“I educated the Japanese public about rhythm with that game,” said Japanese musical producer Tsunku, speaking aboutRhythm Heaven. Tsunku was responsible for the musical score to Nintendo’s rhythm gamesRhythm TengokuandRhythm Tengoku Gold, the latter released here asRhythm Heaven. He attended a panel in Los Angeles to talk about his musical career, and it was there that he alluded to Americans having more rhythm than Japanese gamers. “Rhythm is something that hasn’t really been valued in Japanese culture or in Japanese music,” Tsunku said....

One of the most entertaining flash diversions we’ve seen in a long time has to beSuper Mario Crossover. It’s the one where you can play throughSuper Mario Bros.but as Samus Aran or Simon Belmont or one of a bunch of other classic NES characters. Super neat, the game is, and it’s about to get neater still. Watch the video above and you can see what happens when you get some ninja all up in your business....

You know whatSaints Row 2didn’t have enough of? Porn stars and multiplayer maps! With that in mind,Volition will be releasingits first batch ofSaint’s Row 2downloadable content, called “Ultor Exposed,” on April 16 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. For $9.99 (or 800 MS Points on the Xbox 360) you’ll get three new missions, a “mission metagame” (whatever that means), six vehicles, new multiplayer maps, and more customization options for your character (like hairstyles and outfits)....

We’re less than a week away from the beloved/dreaded Black Friday, and we’re already witnessing crazed gamers and soccer moms fretting over Nintendo Wii availability. Hey moms, little Timmy is going to bepissedif you don’t get him one. You had better do your research. Sam’s Club chimes in with some help to gift givers: starting November 23rd, the company will offer a Wii Family Bundle, which contains the console, a grand total of three Nunchucks and Wii Remotes, the console pack-inWii Sports, as well asSuper Paper Mario, Mario Party 8, andBrunswick Pro Bowling....

It’s December, and you know what means — fun Christmas pictures from videogame companies! It would seem thatScribblenautsis the first to observe this industry tradition, sending us a lovely little picture of Maxwell and Santa. D’awwwwr. Destructoid wishes a merry Christmas right back at 5th Cell and Warner Brothers. We’ll doubtless be getting more from other studios, so we’ll be sure to pass along any and all we get. HEY GUYS IT IS ALMOST CHRISTMAS AND THAT IS AN EXCITEMENT!...

Want to see some 3D screenshots of Wii games running on the 3DS? Then download thiswin.zip file, copy the contents onto a SD card, insert the SD card into a 3DS, and there you go. It’ll take a little while, as there arehundredsof screenshots here, but it’s worth it. I was especially pleased to see several Wii games that are bursting with creativity on the inside, but come off as a little scraggly on the outside....

Pokemon Black/Whitemay not work in my DSi, but with games like this, who needs Pokemon?Shantaeon the GBC was one of the most beautifully animated, well crafted games to ever hit the console, and I’m sure this updated sequel will be no different. Like the sign says,Shantae: Risky’s Revengewill be released on October 4th, 2010.

Activision is trying to revive theSpyrofranchise withSkylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. The new game sees playersneeding actual toy figuresof the playable characters being placed in a “Portal of Power” external adapter in order to play. Each new copy will come with three figures (one of them being, of course, Spyro himself.) The idea might sound cool to some, but others such as Pachter believe that it will “underperform expectations due its studio and target age group....

Ever since I found out that Sonic Team was little more thana big blue sweatshop, I have come to terms with the fact that anything coming from that studio will just be a disappointment.Sonicgames come from a place that has no soul, and expecting any more than mediocrity from people who have been forced to onlyassembleand notcreategames is expecting too much.Nevertheless, here’s a trailer from Sega that does what Sega trailers do best — makes a game look bloody awesome regardless of what the truth might be....

Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arenais one heck of a good looking fighter. These new screens from Japan show several of the cast members (no one ones yet) in battle, and you’ll get plenty of sparks, light flashes and other blue/yellow particle effects in them. Hell, one of the screenshots shows nothing but sparks and flashes and sparkles and such. The one included character select screen shows a bunch of blanked out cards....

The website forSplatterhouse, the upcoming reboot (I have to say that word a lot more these days than I used to) of …Splatterhouse,has updated with a gorier new look. They’ve also announced that a brand new trailer for the game will be airing on GameTrailers TV tonight at 12:30 am. Spiffy! I like the story of Rick and his mask. I like just about any story with an untrustworthy narrator, really, but I just watchedVideodromefor the umpteenth time last night and it’s on my mind....

Ok, confession time: I don’t know much about theSplinter Cellfranchise. Stealth-y tactical shooters aren’t really, y’know, mything. But I was really intrigued byConviction‘s visual style and thewrite-pertinent-info-on-the-walls mechanicthat Ubisoft showed off at E3 this year, and co-op kind ofismy thing, so I guess I ought to start paying attention. For those of you in the dark (like I was),Splinter Cell: Convictionfeatures a co-operative campaign that serves as a prequel to the rest of the game....

Square-Enix is a company waist-deep in adorable mascots and eyeball-deep in Japanese folk who, instead of eyeballs, have constantly rotating, glowing dollar signs (yen signs?). As such, the good folks at the Squenix Maibatsu have decided to fulfill the lifelong dream ofColette Bennettby opening an American branch of theironline retail outlet. Often referred to as the Amazon.com of Mog vibrators, the Squenix store should serve as your first destination whenever you need to buy a birthday, Christmas or Bat Mitzvah gift for that cute girl down the lane who eats lunch alone and stares longingly at stylized illustrations of Trent Reznor....