Back in 2011, Namco had a very bright idea: create a team to breathe new life into some of their long-forgotten franchises and characters. ShiftyLook was born out of this idea, and through a series of webcomics (and games and other media), they succeeded admirably at their mission.But now, like the characters they were tasked to resurrect, ShiftyLook is destined to fall into obscurity; a soon to be distant memory."Now that we have successfully revived so many franchises," reads the latest update on the ShiftyLook website, "the heavy lifting is completed - and so is our work. We battled the video games abyss and won, which means it's time for us to move on and let the hit-makers play with some new toys."The early retirement of ShiftyLook spells a similar fate for many of its creations. Namco High, a fantastic dating sim/interactive fiction release that earned a near perfect score in our review last year, will have its servers shut down on Jun 30, 2014. Their mobile game BRAVOMAN: Binja Bash! will be suffering a similar fate, disappearing from iTunes, Google Play and Amazon at the end of this month.
If that headline is lost on you, I feel sad for two very good reasons. One: you're out of the loop on one of my favorite memes of all time, courtesy of Kaz Hirai's 2006 enthusiasm (that nobody else shared) about Ridge Racer going mobile on the PSP. Two: There might even be a chance that you're completely unaware that Ridge Racer is a thing, and since it's really going mobile soon, that makes me one sad panda.Namco Bandai has just revealed that the next game in the series will be Ridge Racer Slipstream, a mobile racer for iPhone, iPad and Android. The game will feature 12 vehicles, 300 customization options, and 20 tracks.Get ready to download this one on December 19, aka the last day before the iTunes Connect shutdown freezes the new games section of the App Store solid for a week's holiday.
Have you ever dreamed of managing pop idols? Sure, you can deny it, but we know all about the secrets that you whisper into your pillow at night. Namco Bandai is offering you the candy-colored medicine that you need with a trio of iDOLM@STER rhythm games for iOS. Heads up: As first noticed by Touch Arcade, each game costs $54.99, which makes them significantly pricier than most iOS fare.