Here's a GameSpot Asia Facebook contest we're hosting together with the Singapore Toys, Games anc Comic Convention.

"Greetings GameSpotters! Were giving away 10 Singapore Toys, Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) passes for toys, games, and comics enthusiasts!

The winner will be entitled to a 1-day access to STGCC on 2nd September 2012 (Sunday).

All you have to do is flex your creative muscles. Conjure up your own superhero give your super-powered enigma a name and describe his/her superpowers in less than 30 words.

Just email marketing-sg@cbsinteractive.com with the following:

1) Subject Header: GameSpot Asia STGCC Giveaway
2) Your Superheros Name and Powers (30 words max)
3) Your Full Name
4) Your Contact number

Refer to our full Terms and Conditions on: https://www.facebook.com/notes/gamespot-asia/terms-and-conditions-for-stgcc-ticket-giveaway/433774033333819

Good Luck!"

Hey everyone, we've done it. We've launched our Asian-themed podcast yesterday: it's called the GameSpot Asia Beat, and it's what you would expect from a videogame radio show with bobbing heads talking, and more! Check it out here:

http://asia.gamespot.com/features/gamespot-asia-beat-ep-1-max-payne-3-multiplayer-ghost-recon-beta-comp-gasha-may-10-2012-6376257/?tag=Topslot%3bGamespotAsiaBeatEp1%3bGamespotAsiaBeatEp1

Download the file here if you want to listen to it outside: http://soundcloud.com/gamespot/gamespot-asia-beat-episode-1/download

Thoughts? Critiques? Let us know what you think!

Fighting games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and KOF are great and all, but what really made the game was also their lovingly-created backgrounds. It's high time we show off our favorite and most memorable backgrounds from the genre, old and new alike!

I'll start:

Samurai Shodown

Street Fighter 2

Last Blade 2

Darkstalkers 3 (mm.....creepy)

Show us your favorite 2D fighting game background!

UPDATE: Contest ends on Dec. 9 at 11:59pm SGT

Hey fellow Asian gamers: we have a contest on our competition page. I'll copy & paste the body here for reference:

"GameSpot Asia recently showed off a video covering the Anime Festival Asia 2011 last weekend. Long story short: it was full of energy and was insanely packed. As such, we figured it would be appropriate to make a fun little game out of this effort.

Here's what you need to do:
1. Name all of the videogames the interviewed cosplayers are representing on the video below. You don't need to name the ones in the cutaway shots; just the ones GameSpot Asia's very own Jonathan Toyad talked to. Bonus points if you name the characters as well.
2. Follow us at Twitter @GameSpotAsia

What do you get to win from this simple contest? Here's a gander at what you may win:

The lucky ones who submit the correct answers will win a combination of the prizes on the photos. You get the chance to win one of the following bundles:

-An Xbox Kinect-themed sports bag with Dance Central 2 and Halo: Anniversary.

- A copy of Kinect Sports Season 2 and Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking

-A PS3 bundle containing Arcana Hearts 3, Test Drive Unlimited 2, El Shaddai (Japanese version), and Hyper Dimension Neptunia.

-Another PS3 bundle featuring El Shaddai (Japanese version), MLB Showdown, and Michael Jackson: The Experience, along with Ape Escape-themed paper clips.

-A Razor Orochi mouse, a Red 5 Singapore-labeled HDD, and a retail copy of League of Legends with extra characters and skins.

- An A.V.A-customized SteelSeries 6GV2 keyboard and Razer laptop sleeve. The keyboard comes with its own bag.

- A Sony Online Entertainment bundle that includes a bag, a cap, a Clone Wars t-shirt, two $15 online credits for use with SOE titles, a Free Realms playing cards, and a notebook.

- An Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 3 headset and Modern Warfare 3 t-shirt.

- A Gears of War 3 t-shirt from Hot Topic and a Gears of War 3 coaster.

- A Batman: Arkham City t-shirt and keychains. "

Submit your answers, your name, your address, your Twitter Username and your platform preferences (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, etc.) through the form on this link. Deadline for the contest is December 9. Good luck!

In light of announcements on the 3DS price cut and Sony "under major pressure to cut the price of the PS Vita", I've been taking a gander at a few articles that popped up on the interwebz.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-08-01-the-end-of-handheld

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-04/sony-under-pressure-to-cut-playstation-vita-price-after-nintendo.html

TLDR version of the top link:

"That transition is no longer hypothetical - the money being pumped through the iOS revenue system, contrasted with the failure of the 3DS to ring the tills at retail, is proof positive that it's already happening on a large scale. The only question is how big this factor is going to be. 3DS and PS Vita will, quite simply, never scale the heights of the previous generation of handhelds - but if Nintendo and Sony are fast, and clever, and more than a bit lucky, there's a good chance that they can carve out a viable, if smaller, market.

One thing is certain - dedicated handheld gaming devices are now in rapid decline, and barring an extraordinary technological advance, they're not going to come back. Birthed with the Game & Watch, this sector is going to end with the 3DS and Vita. All that remains to be seen is whether it ends with a whimper, or a bang."

So what do you guys and girls think? Will it actually end with the 3DS and Vita? Should prices for 3DS and Vita software be cut down drastically to compete against the iOS' near-zero dollars software? Should we remain optimistic as potentially better games for the 3DS are coming down the pipeline before the year ends?

Because I sure as heck do, mostly from RPGs. As I was rifling through my backlog of games and replayed some of them (like Fallout:NV and ME2), I checked the actual playtime on one of my older saves and figured that about 2/3rds of the hours would have been cut down if I weren't so easily distracted.

Culprits include the end bit of Fallout:New Vegas; I was combing the wasteland for 10+ extra hours before the final fight just to look for extra stuff to complete, or Just Cause 2's side stuff.

Anyone else here who can't maintain that discipline of finishing a game due to this illness?

Because I sure as heck do, mostly from RPGs. As I was rifling through my backlog of games and replayed some of them (like Fallout:NV and ME2), I checked the actual playtime on one of my older saves and figured that about 2/3rds of the hours would have been cut down if I weren't so easily distracted.

Culprits include the end bit of Fallout:New Vegas; I was combing the wasteland for 10+ extra hours before the final fight just to look for extra stuff to complete, or Just Cause 2's side stuff.

Anyone else here who can't maintain that discipline of finishing a game due to this illness?

Hey guys and gals, in case anyone who's a GameSpot member from Malaysia and Singapore didn't see this on the GameSpot Asia forums, we're holding an InFamous 2 preview event with Sony HK. Details are here: http://asia.gamespot.com/forums/topic/28644318/infamous-2-preview--malaysia-and-singapore?tag=topics%3Btitle

Hope to see you there!

Hey there fellow PC gamers. We're holding a small online Crysis 2 game night tomorrow from 7pm onwards (GMT +8). If you're up for a few games, just add us: our gamertag's "GameSpotAsia".

Here's the original thread link. Hope to see you online!