December 10th:: JP PSP JP PS3 USA PS3 USA PSP ONECHABARA X SITE : http://www.d3p.co.jp/one/portal.html - Satoru Iwata announced that over 1 million Wii were sold worldwide; 600,000 units were sold in US and 400,000 were sold in Japan. Iwata also affirmed that Nintendo expects to ship 6 million units of Wii by the end of March 2007. - Famitsu reported that over 180 people were lined up in front of the Yodobashi Camera store in Akihabara, Japan, waiting to purchase Mistwalker's Xbox 360 RPG Blue Dragon. 40 TV stations and newspaper reporters were present before the game went on sale at 9AM. Microsoft has shipped 200,000 copies of the game. - D3 Publisher announced they will release the Xbox 360 action game Earth Defense Force X in US in spring 2007. - Bandai Namco announced Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection for PlayStation 3, the game will be available as an e-Distribution game, which can be downloaded from PlayStation Store. The game is based on the arcade version with a large number of new elements such as playable boss Jinpachi, new game modes such as Arcade battle, Ghost Battle and Gallery Mode, as well as Full HD 1080p support. - Sony has released 3 new e-Distribution games for PS3 at the PlayStation Store, including Lemmings 2, Go! Sudoku 2 and Genji: Days of the Blade (Playable Demo). - Atlus announced Persona 3 Fes for PlayStation 2, an extended version of Persona 3, which will have 23 new Personas, new costumes, new elements in the Nagashiima Shrine, new "Hard" mode and over 30 hours of gameplay in the new "Aegis Chapter" after the main story. Persona 3 Fes will be released in Japan on April 19, 2007, the game will be available in both Regular Version and Append Edition (requires the original game). - Bungie Studios has started the Halo 3 beta program, now you can apply at the Halo 3 website. However, you must have an Xbox 360 with a hard drive, Xbox Live Gold subscription and a Microsoft .NET Passport account with Xbox Live GamerTag linked to be qualified as a beta tester. - Factor 5, the developer of LAIR for PS3, announced the company is working on two new e-Distribution games for PS3, which will be available through the PlayStation Store. - Sony updated its PS3 release schedule in Japan: Dec 14, 2006 - MotorStorm - Sony has released 5 PSone games on PlayStation Store, which can be downloaded with the PS3, and played on PSP for US$5.99 each (688 yen). Crash Bandicoot (Sony) Japanese retailers reported that Sega will release Virtua Fighter 5 for PS3 in Japan on February 8, 2007. - IBM announced that the Cell processor will be manufactured in 65nm instead of 90nm in 2007, which will reduce the production costs of the chip and possibly lower the production costs of PlayStation 3. - From Software has pushed back the release date of Armored Core 4 for PS3 by one week from Dec 14 to Dec 21, 2006 in Japan. - SNK Playmore will release Garou Densetsu Battle Archive Vol. 2 for PS2 in Japan on February 22, 2007. The game will include Garou Densetsu Real Bout, Real Bout 2 and Real Bout Special. - EB Games reported that Electronic Arts will release the latest car crashing game Burnout Dominator for PS2 and PSP in US on March 26, 2007. - The adventure game maker Kid has filed bankruptcy in Japan, their last PS2 game Memories Off #5 Encore has been canceled. - Konami revealed new details on Silent Hill: Origins for PSP: The game is developed by Climax, it was originally planned as a remake of Silent Hill 1. November 22th:: My birthday - Pretty Cure Splash Star for NDS on November 30th! - Jump Ultimate Stars shipped out. - GameStop announced that the second shipment of both Wii and PlayStation 3 have arrived. PS3's best selling games are Resistance: Fall of Man and Madden NFL 07; and Wii's best selling games are The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Red Steel. For hardware and software tie ratio, Wii has a ratio of 3 (i.e. 3 games per console), versus 1.5 for PS3. GameStop explained that the reason is because people are reselling their PS3 consoles for money. - Numerous Wii owners reported that their Wii console broken down after downloading a system update from the WiiConnect24 service. After the update, the systems would only display the error code "110213" on screen. This problem can only be fixed by sending the consoles back to Nintendo for repair. - Hudson has released two Turbografx-16 games for Wii's Virtual Console, they are Bonk's Adventure and Bomberman '93, for 600 Wii Points or $6 each. The company will release Super Star Soldier, Victory Run and Dungeon Explorer by the end of this year. - Microsoft / Epic Games' Xbox 360 first person shooter Gear of Wars has sold over 1 million copies worldwide, making it the fastest selling Xbox 360 game to-date, as well as the most played game on Xbox Live. Epic Games also plans to make Gears of War a trilogy. - Mistwalker revealed that the company is planning on a sequel to Blue Dragon for Xbox 360. Blue Dragon will be in 3-DVDs, the game time is around 40 - 50 hours, there will be downloadable contents via Xbox Live in future. - Koei announced its PS3 racing game Fatal Inertia will be released in February 2007. - Idea Factory announced Myst of Chaos for PlayStation 3, a new action RPG that takes place in the fantasy world Neverland. Myst of Chaos will have 2D graphics for town exploration and 3D battle scenes. - Polyphony Digital has pushed back the release date of Gran Turismo HD to sometimes in 2007. Flagship's Hellgate: London has also been delayed until next year. - Sony has released the PSP firmware v3.0 today in Japan and North America. The update includes a number of functions, including PlayStation Network support, the ability to download and play original PSone titles from PlayStation 3's online service; and a new Remote Play function, which enables the PSP to stream music and video contents from PS3 via Wi-Fi connection. - Sony announced they will begin to sell downloadable PSone games tomorrow, 10 PSone games will be available, and new games will be adding each month. The service is currently available in Japan only. Here is the list of games: Biohazard Director's Cut (Capcom) - 525 yen - Bandai Namco's Wii anime action adventure game One Piece Unlimited Adventure, the game will have a large number of mini games, such as bug catching, digging, fishing, shooting and so on. - Square Enix's Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen & the Tower of Mirrors for Wii. - With the launch of Wii in US, Nintendo revealed that the following Virtual Console games are immediately available to customers. NES - Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Pinball, Soccer, Solomon's Key, The Legend of Zelda, Wario's Woods - Nintendo announced that for the European launch of Wii on December 8, 2006, the following Wii channels will be available: Disc Channel, Mii Channel, Photo Channel and Shop Channel. The Weather and Message Channel will be available on December 20, 2006 and January 27, 2007 respectively. The Opera Browser will be available for free by the end of June 2007, which enables users to surf the Internet. - Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime mentioned that the life-span of Wii will be between 4 - 6 years, as opposed to 10 years for PS3. Reggie expects to sell 1 million Wii in US by the end of December 2006, and 2 million units by the second week of January 2007. - Nintendo's Nintendo DS anime all-star fighting game Jump Ultimate Stars, the game will be released in Japan on November 23, 2006. - Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki has officially announced the development of Dead or Alive 5 during the developer meeting in Tokyo. Although the platform is undecided yet. Hopefully PS3. - Bandai Namco announced they will release a Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology Special Pack (PSPJ-10006) in Japan on December 21, for 28000 yen. The package includes a limited edition Metallic Blue PSP and a copy of the game. - Cyberconnect2, the developer of Naruto: Narutimate Hero and .Hack series, announced a new action adventure game called Kage, the platform is unannounced. More details of the game will be available next week. - 10Tacle Studios announced Boulder Dash for NDS and PSP, a remake of the classic C64 action game, the game is scheduled for a Q3 2007 release. - Ubisoft has canceled the development of Killing Day, originally the game is aimed for PS3 and Xbox 360. - Reuters reported that a survey conducted in the National Retail Federation, showing that PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS are amongst the young boys and girls' most wanted Christmas presents this year: Boys T.M.X. Elmo plush animal Girls Barbie - Nintendo of American announced that some Wii Channels will not be accessible at launch on November 19. The Weather Channel will launch on December 20, and Message Channel will be available on January 27, 2007. The Shop Channel will be available on day 1, players can download Virtual Console games from there. - Take Two Interactive announced the company is developing 20 titles for PlayStatioin 3. More than 7 titles will come from Rockstar, including Grand Theft Auto IV; and a couple of games from 2K Sports such as College Hoops 2K7, Major League Baseball 2K7, NBA 2K8, NHL 2K8, The Darkness and The BIGS. - After today's PS3 launch in USA, president of SCEA Kaz Hirai said subsequent deliveries of PS3 consoles will be made to retailers in weekly basis. - The PlayStation Network portal for US PlayStation was launched yesterday. Currently users can download 8 Blu-Ray movie trailers, 9 PS3 game trailers and 6 game demos from the network, and buy two e-Distribution games Blast Factor ($7.99) and Cash Guns Chaos DLX ($9.99). - Namco Bandai has pushed back the release date of the PS2 remake of Tales of Destiny from November 22 to November 30 in Japan. The reason is to correct a bug discovered during testing. - Nintendo will release Nintendo MP3 Player for NDS in Japan on November 30, which allows you to play MP3 music on both NDS and GBA; songs are stored in SD memory card, you can transfer songs to the SD card with your PC. November 17th:: - Ian Liverstone from Eidos confirmed that Crystal Dynamics is working the next Tomb Raider title. - Bungie announced they will begin a Halo 3 multi-player public beta in Spring 2007, fans will have an opportunity to play test Halo 3 multiplayer over Xbox Live. - Bungie announced they will publish new multiplayer levels for Halo 2 in Spring 2007, which will be available exclusively for Xbox 360, not for Xbox. A Xbox 360 hard drive is required. - Microsoft announced they plan to connect of its newly released Zune portable player to PC and Xbox 360 with WiFi. - Nintendo of Japan confirmed that they will ship 400,000 units of Wii in Japan at launch on December 2, 2006, which is 5 times more than PS3. - Hudson will release 3 PC-Engine/Turbografx Virtual Console games for Wii at launch, including Bonk's Adventure, Super Star Soldier and Victory Run. - Japanese retailer reported that the next shipment of PlayStation 3 will be available in Japan on the coming Saturday, approximately 30,000 units will be shipped. - Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong mentioned that only 500 units of PlayStation 3 will be available in Taiwan and Hong Kong at launch on November 17, 2006. - Sega and Planet Moon Studios' PSP shooting game After Burner: Black Falcon, the game will have over 30 solo missions, additional missions and characterscan be unlocked. Up to 8 players can participate in multi-player modes. - Marvelous Interactive will release New Rainbow Island for PSP in Japan in February 2007, a remake of Taito's classic vertical scrolling action game. - Famitsu reported that Sony has sold 88,400 units of PlayStation 3 in the first two days of launch in Japan. Here is the break down by model: PS3 20GB Model - 33,800 units - Here are the initial sales of the top three PlayStation 3 titles in Japan over the weekend. Ridge Racer 7 (Namco Bandai) - 30,300 units (hw/sw ratio: 34.2%) - Sony Worldwide Studio's Phil Harrison mentioned that PS3's e-distribution games will use the Sixaxis controller in very innovation ways; and the Euro version PlayStation 3 will have an upgraded firmware. - ZDNet reported that over 200 PlayStation 2 do not work properly on PlayStation 3, some of these games will not start or freezes, or have graphical or sound glitches. Sony expects the problem to be resolved with future firmware updates. - Sony opened an official PlayStation 3 Compatibility Status website (Japanese only), which allows user to search for the compatibility status of any PS1/PS2 game. - Namco Bandai revealed that four PlayStation 3 titles are under development: Tekken 6, New RPG, New Shooting game and New Sports game. - Epic Games mentioned that the dev team is now focusing on Unreal Tournament 2007 for PS3, after Gears of War for Xbox 360 is completed. - Nintendo revealed some additional details on Wii's system settings. Up to 100 Miis can stay in your Mii plaza - Sonic Solutions announced that Nintendo has chosen Sonic CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator as the Wii DVD playback solution. Nintendo plans to release a software based DVD Playback engine in 2nd half of 2007 to enable Wii to playback DVD videos. - Namco Bandai president Shin Unozawa revealed the company is working on 30 new titles for Wii console; and 10 new titles for PlayStation 3 and 10 new titles for Xbox 360. - Nintendo of America announced they will invest over 200 million dollars US in the next 12 months to market the Wii console in North America. Approximately 80% of advertisement will target adults in an attempt to expand the market beyond children and teens. Nintendo expects to sell 1.5 millions Wii by the end of the year. - Koei has pushed back the release date of its Wii mahjong game Mahjong Taikai Wii from December 21, 2006 to spring 2007, the reason is to improve the quality. - Capcom mentioned the company expects to ship 740,000 copies of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition for Xbox 360 worldwide. The game will be released in Japan on December 21, 2006. - Capcom will release the Japanese version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for PS2 in Japan in January 2007. - Capcom announced they will ship 500,000 copies of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd for PSP in Japan on February 22, 2007. The first game has sold over 650,000 copies in Japan. - Marvelous Interactive has pushed back the release of the NDS simulation game Bokujou Monogatari: Kimi to Sodatsu Shima [Harvest Moon] from December 21, 2006 to February 1, 2007. - Marvelous Interactive will release the NDS S.RPG Luminous Arc in Japan on February 8, 2007. - Namco Bandai will release a NDS version of the popular arcade puzzle game Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan DS for NDS in Japan in 2007. - Sony's subsidiary So-Net Entertainment announced that the company will begin to offer HD movie downloads for PlayStation 3 in Japan starting on November 11, 2006. Users can access the So-Net's PTV portal via the Cross Media Bar (XMB). HD movie downloads require PS3 firmware 1.10, which can be downloaded free of charge. - Microsoft announced that users who pre-order a copy of Blue Dragon for Xbox 360 in Japan will receive a free Blue Dragon mouse pad and faceplate stickers. November 9th:: - Microsoft announced they would distribute on-demand movies and TV shows on Xbox Live beginning November 22, 2006. Players can purchase and download on-demand contents from Xbox Live Marketplace, the service will be available in US only, and eventually expand to other countries. There will be over 1000 shows available, 200 of them will be available in 720p HD resolution. Six content providers will be available at the beginning: CBS, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros., Paramount, MTV (Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, VH1, etc) and UFC. - Microsoft revealed more details on the on-demand movies for Xbox Live: TV programs will be buy-to-own, remain on your Xbox 360 hard drive - Here is a list of movies and TV programs to be available on Xbox Live Marketplace before the end of this year: Adult Swim - Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Microsoft has released the highly anticipated FPS Gears of War today, they expect to sell over 1 million copies worldwide by the end of this year. - Tecmo announced they have shipped 1 million copies of Dead or Alive 4 for Xbox 360 worldwide, 450,000 copies in US, 500,000 copies in Europe and 100,000 copies in Japan. - Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 lineup at the upcoming Games Japan Festa 2006 in Osaka between November 11 - 12 in Japan. Gears of War (Microsoft) - Dengeki magazine reported that Square Enix is working on a new graphic engine for PlayStation 3 called the White Engine, which will be used for Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and other future titles. At present Square Enix is trying to finish version 1 of the engine. Further improvements and optimizations will be made to the White Engine over time. - Electronic Arts will release NBA 07 for PS3 in Japan on December 14, 2006. - Engadget has revealed some technical details on PlayStation 3. The PS3 BluRay drive is quieter than the DVD Drive on Xbox 360 - Dav Karraker, senior director of Sony Corp., said that there is a good chance players can download and play Sega Saturn games on PlayStation 3 in future. - Square Enix announced they have shipped 1.5 million copies of the PS2 RPG Final Fantasy XII in US, the game was released on October 31, 2006. The Final Fantasy series has sold more than 68 million copies worldwide. - Ubisoft / MTO's Wii racing game GT Pro Series, the game will be released in Japan on January 11, 2007, for 6090 yen. The game will come with a steering wheel frame, you can attach the Wii remote control inside the frame and turn it into a steering wheel. GT Pro Series will have 80 licensed cars and tuning options, the game will have celshaded graphics similar to Capcom's Auto Modellista. - Capcom announced they will release Lost Planet Dokon Pack for Xbox 360 in Japan on December 21, 2006. It is a bundle pack with the Xbox 360 console, 20GB Hard Drive, Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions, Lost Planet limited Headset, 3 months Xbox Live Gold Membership and a Download Card for additional levels. The Lost Planet Dokon Pack will be sold for 44,800 yen. - Microsoft will release the Xbox 360 first person shooter Gears of War in Japan on January 18, 2007. - THQ announced they will release an update patch for Saints Row on Xbox Live, which will patch 40 errors in the game, such as camera angle issues, system crashes when leaving a vehicle and errors signing into different servers. - Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun mentioned that Sony will only deliver 80,000 units of PlayStation 3 for the Japanese launch on November 11, 2006. Most shops have stopped accepting further reservations for the console until further notice. - Koei has pushed back the release date of its Wii action game Sengoku Wave [Samurai Warriors Wave] from December 28 to sometimes in 2007. - Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings director Motomu Toriyama and co-producer Eisuke Yokoyama revealed new details on this upcoming NDS RPG: The story will take place in the floating continent Puruvama in Ivalice and on the continent below: - Sega announced the PS3 version of Virtua Tennis 3 will support motion sensitivity function in Sixaxis controller, you can make the character bends toward a direction by moving the controller, and when you serve, you can adjust the attitude of the racquet with the controller. - EA also revealed that new titles from the Lord of the Rings, SimCity. and Black franchises are coming to next generation platforms. - EA revealed its PS3 and Wii launch amount estimates, the company expects Sony to ship 500,000 - 800,000 PlayStation 3 in US; 900,000 - 1.4 million Wii in US and 200,000 - 900,000 Wii in Europe. - Konami announced they have shipped 3 million copies of Pro Evolution Soccer 6 in Europe, for Xbox 360, PS2 and PC. - Taito announced they will ship the classic collection Taito Memories II Vol. 1 for PS2 in Japan on January 25, 2007, the disc will include approximate 50 classic titles. - Taito will release the PS2 arcade shooter Ibara in Japan on January 18, 2007, for 2940 yen. - Bethesda announced they will release the extension pack The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Knight of the Nine for Xbox 360 on November 21, 2006, the pack can be downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace, for 800 Microsoft Points. - Capcom's PS3 action adventure game Devil May Cry 4, the protagonist Nero uses Red Queen sword and Blue Rose pistol as weapons, and he uses a demon gauntlet on his right hand to increase his power and speed. A female lead character Kyrie is revealed. - Nintendo revealed that the company will ship 4 million units of Wii in the first six week of the launch in US, marking it one of the largest launch shipment in US. Nintendo explained that the demand is higher than the quantity and Wii will be sold out in many places. - Square Enix's Wii RPG Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen & the Tower of Mirrors. This game turns your Wii remote into a weapon, you can use it to attack the enemies in various ways. - Sega's Wii anime fighting game Bleach Wii: Shiraha Kirameku Rinbukyoku, the game will be released in Japan on December 14, 2006. - Nintendo revealed new details on the Wii Virtual Console system: Virtual Console games can be saved into the 512 MB internal memory, or onto a SD Card. Wii maintains a list of all downloads, if you deleted the game by accident, you can download the same game again free of charge. Virtual Console games copied onto SD Card are secured, and will not be playable on any other Wii console except the console which they were downloaded. If your Wii console became defective, you can contact Nintendo customer service to retrieve the Virtual Console games GameCube games are part of the Virtual Console, GameCube games can only be played with a GameCube controller, not the classic controller. All Virtual Console games can be played with classic controller, GameCube controller or Wii remote. Each Virtual Console game will come with digital copy of the game manual. Virtual Console games are not region free, an American Wii cannot download foreign games from Europe and Japan. Wii points can be purchased online in the Wii Shop, you can have a maximum of 10,000 popints in an Wii account. November 2nd:: - Wii Virtual Console games for 2006 announced, with pricing. Nintendo has finally chosen to reveal the list of titles that will be available for purchase on the Wii's Virtual Console by the end of 2006. Most of the games for Nintendo systems are 1st-party titles, but there's one 3rd-party title from Tecmo on there as well. You can also check out the list of games Japan will be getting if you scroll down to the bottom. Don't blame me if it makes you envious. Now then: NES - 500 points ($5) Baseball SNES - 800 points ($8) F-Zero N64 - 1000 points ($10) Super Mario 64 Sega's also taking part in the VC with 9 titles at launch, and more "best of" Genesis selections coming each month. The games will start at 800 Wii points, or $8. Here's the launch list: Genesis - 800 points ($8) Altered Beast And last, but not least, Hudson's showing support with games from the TurboGrafx-16. They'll have 5 games available in North America and Europe at launch, with 3 more being Japan-only. Games will start at 600 points, or $6. TG-16 - 600 points ($6) Bomberman '93 (NA, Europe) Update - Nintendo also announced the titles Japan will be getting at launch. Suffice it to say they're getting a much more extensive selection than us. They also get a break on Genesis pricing. *games only announced for Japan are in *JP ONLY** Famicom (NES) - 500 points (500 yen) Baseball (Nintendo) Super Famicom (SNES) - 800 points (800 yen) unless noted Contra III (Konami)*JP ONLY* Nintendo 64 - 1000 points (1000 yen) Super Mario 64 (Nintendo) Mega Drive (Sega Genesis) - 600 points (600 yen) Altered Beast (Sega) PC Engine (TG-16) - 600 points (600 yen) Battle Lode Runner (Hudson)*JP ONLY* October 31th:: - Nintendo Wii TV remote for sale here only. Order now! -- CNN to provide news service. The latest EDGE magazine has some new details on the Wii. CNN has signed on to provide the content for the Wii's news channel. News will be selectable by category or region. -Nintendo plans on releasing another version of the Wii that can play DVD movies in Japan sometime next year in a new color too! - Sony announces first downloadable games for PS3 Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, in a recent interview, revealed its list of downloadable game content along with the launch of the PS3. For Sony's Xbox Live Arcade-like service, flOw, Lemmings, Blast Factor, and a puzzle game called Kazuo will be among the first available. As far as Playstation (the original) games are concerned, Sony will release approximately 10 new titles a month for download, with Arc the Lad, Hot Shots Golf 2, Resident Evil Director's Cut, Silent Bomber, Mr. Driller, and Tekken 2 available by the end of November. These games will be playable on the PSP, after being transferred from the PS3. They won't be playable on the PS3 right out of the gate, though; that functionality will come sometime down the road. - Jumping Flash will also be available, as well as Konami Antics MSX Collection Vol. 1, Konami Antics MSX Collection Vol. 2, and Bishi Bashi Special. Remember that these are all for Japan; the list of US downloads has not yet been announced. - Japanese PS3 Demo Station Games Announced Sony has released info on their demo station plans for Japan. Starting the end of this month Sony will move into position 1,000 demo kiosks across Japan, each equipped with a High Definition TV and broadband connection in order to properly demonstrate the system. In addition to four demo games being playable - Devil May Cry 4, Ridge Racer 7, Power Smash 3, and Gran Turismo HD - 30 game trailers will be available for viewing pleasure. For those more interested in the PS3 itself, the media bar will also be available for use with such fun to be had as the: Game, Video, Photo, and Music function bars. Content concerning each will be available on each kiosk so you can listen to some music after you get tired of playing Power Smash 3. Yatta! - PS3 format compatible: - OFFICIAL SITE: http://www.jp.playstation.com/ps3/hajimete/ October 27th:: - Ubisoft announced Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, the sequel of the popular tactical shooter, which is scheduled to release in Q1 2007. - Famitsu reported that Namco Bandai's PS3 launch titles Ridge Racer 7 and Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight will support HD installation, to shorten the disc loading time. - Microsoft has released a new preview video of Tecmo's upcoming Xbox 360 sports game Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, which will be released in Japan in November 2006. - Sega revealed that the PS2 actiong ame Ryuga Gotoku 2 [Yakuza 2] will have multiple mini games, including golf, bowling, shogi, mahjong, and pachinko. The pachinko mini game is based on the two coin-op games Aladdin A and Kemono-Oh from Sammy. In addition, certain shops in the game will have genuine names like Matsuya and Don Quijote; and the certain scenes will have more sex appeal. - Taito announced Taito Memories 2 for PS2, the game will be released in two volumes, each volume will contain over 50 classic titles. Taito Memories 2 Vol. 1 will be released in January 2007, and Vol. 2 will be released in March 2007. Some of the confirmed titles include: Arkanoid - Criterion revealed some new tidbits on Burnout 5 for PS3 and Xbox 360, the game will be released in Spring 2007: There will be more than 80 courses, and no more than 12 from the previous works. - Level 5 mentioned that the company will decide whether or not there will be a sequel to Rogue Galaxy after examining the initial sales of the game in US. - Sony mentioned that the PS3 launch title Genji: Kamui Souran [Genji: Days of the Blade] can be installed to the hard drive to reduce loading time. The loading time between stages will be reduced from 15 to 4 seconds after installation. - Atlus is planning to work on a Wii version of the popular NDS detective game Touch Detective. - Factory 5, developer of Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron for GC and Lair for PS3, mentioned that the company is disappointed with the Wii console, because it is merely a "GameCube 1.5", and the sound capabilities is weaker than expected. - D3 Publisher has released a new Flash video of its Xbox 360 zombie combat action game Onechan Bara vorteX: The Devil Evolution Human, the game will be released in Japan on December 14, 2006. LINK: http://www.d3p.co.jp/one/portal.html Onechan Bara vorteX: The Devil Evolution Human Preview Video - Microsoft mentioned that the company does not have plans to release a 100GB HDD for Xbox 360. - Konami announced Konami Classic Series: Arcade Hits for NDS, the game will contain 8 classic arcade games, both the "Original Arcade" and "Remixed Version" will present, and the games can be played both vertically or horizontally; there will be multiplayer battle via Wi-Fi. The 8 games are: Circus Charlie - Konami announced Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Limited Edition, which will be available at EB Games, GameStop and Game Crazy in December 2006, the Limited Edition will include: Limited Edition Nintendo DS with Castlevania logo on the handheld cover and stylus - Ubisoft will release Prince of Persia Trilogy for PS2 in US on October 27, which contains the 3 games: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Two Thrones and Warrior Within. - Rockstar Games announced Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for PSP will have several new multi-player modes which can be played over Wi-Fi: Vice City Survivor - death match or team match - Konami has pushed back the release date of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops for PSP from December 7 to December 21, 2006 in Japan. - Namco Bandai announced the arcade kart racing game Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix 2 will be released in March 2007. October 24th:: - Sony's Phil Harrison mentioned that running PS2 games on PS3 will have no visual enhancement; the same manner for PSone games. Sony plans to offer the entire library of PSone games through PlayStation online store, players can purchase the games online and play on PS3 and PSP, excluding games with licensing issues. Some of those hard to find titles like Motor Toon GP and Vib Ribbon will be available soon. - Sony announced there will be 15 playable PS3 titles at the upcoming Akihabara Entamatsuri 2006 Festival, which takes place in Tokyo Japan between October 21 - 29, 2006, the games include: Afrika (Sony) - Sony announced there will be 21 launch titles for PlayStation 3 in North America on November 17, 2006. Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft) - Sony announced the US version of PlayStation 3 will come with the following: 1 Sixaxis controller - 20 meters wireless range and 30 hours battery life on one charge - The Sixaxis controllers will sell for $49.99; Memory card adapter for $14.99; and Blu-ray remote will be available in December for $24.99; and first party PS3 titles will sell for $59.99. - The first 500,000 PlayStation 3 units will ship with a Blu-ray movie Talladege Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell), which released one month ahead of its retail release. - Sony's Phil Harrison revealed some future plans for PS3 and PSP: > Sony will begin to sell games, videos and music on the PlayStation Network, which can be downloaded and played on PS3. - Sega announced that Virtua Tennis 3 for PS3 and Xbox 360 will have online support, up to 4 players can play online. Virtua Tennis 3 will be released in Q1 2007, for US$49.95. - Electronic Arts confirmed that over 30 titles are under development for PlayStation 3. - Namco Bandai announced Sword of Legendia (RPG) and Pac-Man Carnival (Action) for Wii. Sword of Legendia seems to be a sequel to Tales of Legendia; and Pac-Man Carnival seems to be a collection of party games like Mario Party. - Nintendo confirmed that Wii will ship with composite cable for regular TVs, and component cables will be available for purchase online at Nintendo, Best Buy, Circuit City and EB Games online store in November, for $29.99. GameCube component cables are incompatible with Wii. Most Wii titles will run in 480p in 16:9. - Sony announced a number of new games will be available for PS3 via e-distribution, including: > Blast Factor (Bluepoint Games) - an arcade shooter with classical gameplay and new elements. The game supports 1080p, Sixaxis and online ranking October 21th:: - GERMAN DBGT INTRO: http://www.rtl2.de/pokito/dragon_ball_gt_2765.php - Sony Gamer's Day '06 - PS3 launch details revealed Sony is currently holding a Sony Gamer's Day event, during which they have promised to reveal everything we could want to know about the PS3's looming November 17 launch. The launch games. First Party titles ($59.99 retail): Genji: Days of the Blade Third Party titles: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII - Ubisoft Accessories: > Wireless Controller (SIXAXIS) - $49.99 - 20 meter range, 30 hours of battery life The PS3 system will come bundled with one SIXAXIS wireless controller, an AC cord, a USB mini-cable, an ethernet cable, and composite cables. No component. More details: -The first 500,000 PS3 systems sold in the United States will include a Blu-Ray version of the movie "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," almost one month before its release date. -Basic online service is free from day one. -Cross Media Bar - the PS3's "navigation system." It's what's used on PSPs. -Game demos, movies, and "casual games" can be purchased and downloaded from the online PS3 store [much like Xbox Live Marketplace]. "Blast Factor" is an exclusive title that is being developed by Sony Computer Entertainment World Wide Studios. Downloadable first-party games will cost "less than $15" at launch. October 20th:: - From Software has released a new preview video of its PS3 RPG Enchant Arm, ported over from Xbox 360. The PS3 version will be released in 2007. - Q Entertainment and Microsoft have released the Xbox Live Arcade game Lumines Lives! for Xbox 360, which can be downloaded at Xbox Live Market Place for US$14.99 or 1200 points. There is also a Advance Pack which features 22 new skins, for $7.5 or 600 points. - Sony's PSP port of the classic music & rhythm game Parappa the Rapper, the game will have new 4players mode over Wi-Fi, you can also download 5 new tunes online. - Konami announced Parodius Portable for PSP, a collection of five classic shooters, including Parodius (1990), Gokujou Parodius (1994), Sexy Parodius (1996), Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (1995) and a secret game. Parodius Portable will be released in Japan in January 2007. - Konami also announced Twinbee Portable for PSP, a collection of five classic shooters, including Twinbee (1985), Datana! Twin Bee (1991), Twin Bee Yahoo! (1995), Twin Bee (1996), and a secret game. Twinbee Portable will be released in Japan in January 2007. - A third classic collection from Konami! It is Salamander Portable, which includes five classic shooters: Salamander (1986), Lifeforce (1987), Salamander 2 (1996), Xexex (1991) and a secret game. Salamander Portable is also coming out in January 2007. - Rockstar Games announced a PSP version of the action game The Warriors will be released in Europe in December 2006. - Nintendo's Pokemon Battle Revolution for Wii, this is the first Wii title to support link-up with NDS. You can link-up with Pokemon Diamond & Pearl for NDS via Wi-Fi connection, and use your own Pokemons from the NDS game. You can also use your NDS as the controller, and use the touch screen to play the game. - Nintendo confirmed that both Wii Sports and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves for Wii will support the Mii Channel. Nintendo expects more third party titles will support Mii Channel in 2007. - Nippon Ichi's PS2 simulation RPG Soul Cradle: Sekai no Kurau Mono [Soul Cradle: Devourers of the World]. You can play as a man or woman, the mission is to defeat the gigantic monsters called devourers, who appeared 200 years ago.... - Sony mentioned that the US version of Level 5's PS2 RPG Rogue Galaxy will have be more polished. The US version will have additional battle animation, special moves, costumes, weapons, new levels, missions and hidden items not found in the original version. There are also over 2000 new dialogues throughout the game; and the CG movies will look better with lower compression rate. The game will be released in Dual Layer DVD in January 2007. - D3 Publisher announced a new 3rd person action adventure game called Dark Sector, the game is being developed by Digital Extremes, and will be released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in fall 2007. - Namco Bandai announced Mario Kart Arcade GP2, the sequel to the popular arcade kart racing game. - Chris Lewis from Microsoft Home & Entertainment said that the company has already began working on the Xbox 3, the 3rd generation Xbox console. - Electronic Art is planning to offering cheat codes for Xbox 360 titles in Xbox Live Market Place. The first game will be Tiger Woods '07, customer can purchase 5 codes for around 200-300 Microsoft points. Alternatively players can still unlock the extra features by fulfilling certain conditions in the game, without buying the codes. - Nintendo confirmed that both Wii Sports and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves for Wii will support the Mii Channel. Nintendo expects more third party titles will support Mii Channel in 2007. - Rockstar North mentioned that the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV will have exclusive new areas which link into the main world in GTAIV, the new areas will most likely be smaller islands linking to the main world. - GamesIndustry.biz reported that certain PS3 launch titles are already approaching 25GB, the capacity of a single layer BluRay disc. Sony plans to offer 50GB BluRay media in 2007. - Terra Soft Solutions announced they will release the Linux OS Yellow Dog Linux v5.0 for PlayStation 3 in mid-November. Yellow Dog Linux v5.0 is based on Fedora Core 5, which has a single click installer. - Hori announced they will release a USB Multi Card Reader/Writer for PlayStation 3 in Japan on November 11, 2006, for 2280 yen. The device can read and write over 15 different kinds of memory cards such as Memory Stick Pro DUO, SD card, and CF/MMC cards. October 16th:: - Entertainment Software Association ESA announced next year's E3 show will take place between July 11 - 13, 2007, at Santa Monica, California. The 3 day meeting will be opened for specialized visitors with invitations only. There will be a shuttle bus service to serve visitors between the shows and major hotels. - Weekly Famitsu has conducted an online poll on the question "which next-generation console you wish to play the most?", the results are: 47.9% - None - The next question, "what would you buy by the year end, if you have to decide between PS3 and Wii? 35.8% - Wii - Weekly Famitsu's president Hirokazu Hamamura mentioned that he expects Nintendo to sell 1 million units of Wii by the end of 2006, and 3.4 million units can be sold by the end of 2007. He expects the worldwide sales of Wii can raise to 10.48 million units by the end of 2007. - Taito has postponed the release date of the Wii cooking game Cooking Mama: Cooking with International Friends from December 2006 to February 2007 in Japan. - Sony mentioned that the PS2 USB Headset can also be used with PlayStation 3. - ASCII will release a PS3 2.4GHz wireless keyboard in Japan on November 11, 2006, for 5980 yen. (US$50). - Weekly Famitsu's president Hirokazu Hamamura mentioned that Sony may not be able to deliver 6 million units of PS3 by the end of March 2007, he thinks Sony can only deliver 4.13 million units by this time. He expects Sony to sell 750,000 units of PS3 by the end of 2006, and 2.5 million units by the end of 2007. Sony can sell 11.97 million units worldwide by the end of 2007. - Media Works announced they will publish the first PlayStation 3 magazine Dengeki PS3 in Japan starting on November 2, 2006, for 500 yen. Media Works will deliver 100,000 copies per issue, and the magazine will have about 116 pages. - Weekly Famitsu's president Hirokazu Hamamura mentioned that approximately 150,000 units of Xbox 360 were sold in Japan since last year's launch, the sales will further raise to 250,000 units by the end of 2006, due to the release of Mistwalker's Blue Dragon and hardware bundles. He forecasts that 560,000 units of Xbox 360 will be sold by the end of 2007. - Capcom will release Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Collector's Edition for Xbox 360 in US, the game will be packaged in a metal box, with a 24 page artbook and a couple to download new mulit-player levels from Xbox Live Marketplace. Lost Planet will be released on January 8, 2007. - Tecmo announced they will release a Dead or Alive Extreme 2 Faceplate in Japan on November 21, 2006, for 3150 yen. - NEC announced they will release a new controller chip that will work with both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players, which can effectively cut costs of building a player to support both standards. The chip will be released in April 2007. - Capcom announced its subsidiary Clover Studio will be disbanded by the end of March 2007. The decision was made after the Board of Directors meeting. Clover Studio is formed by top Capcom producers such as Atasushi Inaba (Viewtiful Joe), Shinji Mikami (Biohazard, God Hand) and Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry). - Konami will release the PSP soccer game Winning Eleven 10: Ubiquitous Evolution in Japan on December 14, 2006. The game will include fan's most wanted Master League game mode. - Level 5's NDS fantasy adventure game Layton Kyouju no Fushigina Machi [Professor Layton & the Mystery Town], the game will have puzzle solving, edutainment and adventure elements.... - Nintendo announced the worldwide shipment of Nintendogs has passed 7 million units, which breaks down to 2.2 millions in US, 4 millions in Europe and over 1 million in Japan. - Japanese retailers reported that the 60GB model of PlayStation 3 will roughly sell for 62,790 yen (US$525 or Euro 418), Sony has set the 60GB PS3 as open price. The initial shipment at launch will be around 100,000 units for the 20GB model and 150,000 units for the 60GB model in Japan; subsequent shipments will be delivered in the same ratio. October 13th:: - Nintendo of Japan announced the retail price of the Wii accessories, which will be available at launch on December 2, 2006. Wii AC Adapter RVL-A-AD - 3000 yen - Nintendo of Japan announced the Wii Points Prepaid Cards for purchasing Virtual Console games. There will be 3 kinds of Wii Points cards. The 5000 Wii Points card will come with a free Classic Controller for Wii for a limited time: 1000 Wii Points - 1000 yen - Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto announced an original Wii game title called Health Pack (working title), the game will contain a collection of daily gymnastic exercises, which can be played by everyone, and supposed to make your family members more healthy. - Nintendo of Japan revealed the official Wii launch titles and release schedule for 2006: Dec 2, 2006 (launch titles Dec 14, 2006 Dec 21, 2006 Dec 2006 - Nintendo of Japan announced the GameCube version of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be released in Japan on December 2, 2006, for 6800 yen; however the game will be available in online shops only. - Level 5, developer of Dragon Quest VIII, announced a new NDS adventure RPG called Layton Kyoju to Fushigia Machi [Professor Layton & the Mystery Town], in the game Professor Layton and his assistant Luke will try to solve a series of well-known mysteries/incidents. The game will have various puzzle elements. The game will be released in Japan on February 15, 2007, for 4800 yen. - Famitsu reported that the Japanese version of PlayStation 3 will come packaged with 1 controller, 1 AV cable, 1 USB cable, 1 LAN cable and 1 power cable. The HDMI and D-Terminal Cable must be purchased separately. - Square Enix announced October 31, 2006 is the Final Fantasy XII Day in US, the company will organize a special event at New York Times Square, there will be a cosplay competition, and Square Enix president Daishiro Okada and FFXII executive producer Akitoshi Kawazu will be at the event. - Sega announced After Burner: Black Falcon for PSP, a new installment of the popular flight shooting game. The game is being developed by Planet Moon Studios, featuring an all new Story Mode and 19 playable military jets. The game will have multi-player missions which can be played via WiFi. After Burner: Black Falcon will be released in Spring 2007. - Konami will release World Soccer Winning Eleven X for Xbox 360 in Japan on December 14, 2006. - Microsoft / Namco Bandai have released Dig Dug for Xbox Live Arcade, the game can be purchased with 400 points. - PS3 Bundled With Composite October 11th:: - PS3 USA Launch list 11/01/06 NHL 2K7 October 7th:: - D3 Publisher will release both Chikyuu Boueigun 3 [Earth Defense Forces 3] and The Onechan Bara vorteX: The Devil Evolution Human for Xbox 360 in Japan on December 14, 2006, for 7140 yen each. - Idea Factory will release the PSP version of the arcade fighting game Spectral vs. Generation in Japan on October 26, 2006. - SNK Playmore will release Metal Slug Anthology for PSP in Japan on December 14, 2006. The game will include all 6 Metal Slug titles in the series. - Koei will release the Wii action game Sengoku Musou Wave [Samurai Warriors Wave] in Japan on December 28, for 6090 yen. - Sony announced the development of the horror adventure game Siren 3 [Forbidden Siren 3] for PS3. - Sony will release the PS3 racing game MotorStorm in Japan on December 7, 2006, for 5980 yen. - Capcom announced they will release 4 budget price PS2 titles in Japan on December 14, 2006: Okami [PlayStation 2 The Best] - 3129 yen - Namco Bandai will release the Xbox 360 simulation game in Japan on January 25, 2007. A Limited Edition will be released simultaneously, for 20790 yen, which includes 11 action figures, a 20-page booklet, a Live Stage Platform model, Xbox 360 faceplate, and a video DVD. - SNK Playmore will release the NDS card battle game SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS in Japan on December 14, 2006. - Nintendo has sold over 1.5 million copies of its hits NDS RPG Pokemon Diamond & Pearl in Japan since the game released on September 28. Pokemon Diamond sold 813,237 units, while Pokemon Pearl sold 762,029 units. - Namco Bandai's NDS Tales of the Tempest, the game will have a wireless play mode, up to 3 players can cooperate in the dungeons mode; the experience earned in this mode will not be counted toward the main game, but you can keep the money and items obtained during the adventure. - Capcom announced Tadashii Nihongo DS for Nintendo DS, which is a new brain training / quiz game. The game will be revealed at the Games Japan Festa 2006 event in Osaka on November 11-12, 2006. - Sega will release Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversay for NDS in Japan on December 14, the game will have a Multiplayer battle mode, which supports up to 8 players over Wi-Fi Connection, or 4 players online. - Sega announced the online fee for Phantasy Star Universe is 800 yen monthly for the Xbox 360 version. - Sega confirmed the Xbox 360 version of the Online RPG Phantasy Star Universe will be released in Japan on December 14, 2006, for 7140 yen. The Xbox 360 version will have enhanced graphics and 5.1ch support, and the 360 version will have its own servers, which will be separated from the PS2 and Windows versions. - Sony announced the price of various PlayStation 3 accessories: Wireless Controller (Sixaxis) - 5000 yen, available on Nov 11, 2006. Can be used wirelessly (Bluetooth) or wired using USB cable; built-in Lithium-ions battery can run for 30 hours. - Here is a preliminary game release schedule for PlayStation 3 in Japan. Nov 11, 06 - Mahjong Kakutou Club (Konami), 5229 yen - Sony will release a new PSP Bonus Pack in Japan on October 19, 2006, which will be open-priced. The package will include PSP, 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, pouch, USB cable, stand, battery pack and charger. The PSP Bonus Pack will be available in Black and Ceramic White. - Namco Bandai's PSP RPG Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology. The game features characters from the Tales of Phantasia, Eternia, Symphonia and Legendia. There is a Mercenary Mode, which allows you to raise mercenaries to use in the game, you can also exchange mercenaries with other players over Wi-Fi. October 4th:: - Nintendo has sold over 1.5 million copies of its hits NDS RPG Pokemon Diamond & Pearl in Japan since the game released on September 28. Pokemon Diamond sold 813,237 units, while Pokemon Pearl sold 762,029 units. - Namco Bandai's NDS Tales of the Tempest, the game will have a wireless play mode, up to 3 players can cooperate in the dungeons mode; the experience earned in this mode will not be counted toward the main game, but you can keep the money and items obtained during the adventure. - Capcom announced Tadashii Nihongo DS for Nintendo DS, which is a new brain training / quiz game. The game will be revealed at the Games Japan Festa 2006 event in Osaka on November 11-12, 2006. - Sega will release Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversay for NDS in Japan on December 14, the game will have a Multiplayer battle mode, which supports up to 8 players over Wi-Fi Connection, or 4 players online. - Sega announced the online fee for Phantasy Star Universe is 800 yen monthly for the Xbox 360 version. - Sega confirmed the Xbox 360 version of the Online RPG Phantasy Star Universe will be released in Japan on December 14, 2006, for 7140 yen. The Xbox 360 version will have enhanced graphics and 5.1ch support, and the 360 version will have its own servers, which will be separated from the PS2 and Windows versions. - Sony announced the price of various PlayStation 3 accessories: [] Wireless Controller (Sixaxis) - 5000 yen, available on Nov 11, 2006. Can be used wirelessly (Bluetooth) or wired using USB cable; built-in Lithium-ions battery can run for 30 hours. - Here is a preliminary game release schedule for PlayStation 3 in Japan. Nov 11, 06 - Mahjong Kakutou Club (Konami), 5229 yen - Sony will release a new PSP Bonus Pack in Japan on October 19, 2006, which will be open-priced. The package will include PSP, 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, pouch, USB cable, stand, battery pack and charger. The PSP Bonus Pack will be available in Black and Ceramic White. - Namco Bandai's PSP RPG Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology. The game features characters from the Tales of Phantasia, Eternia, Symphonia and Legendia. There is a Mercenary Mode, which allows you to raise mercenaries to use in the game, you can also exchange mercenaries with other players over Wi-Fi. - Sega / From Software confirmed that the PS3 mech action game Armored Core 4 will be released in Japan on December 14, for 8190 yen. - Sega will release the Wii anime fighting game Bleach Wii: Shiraha Kirameku Rinbukyoku in Japan on December 14, 2006, for 7140 yen. - Sega will release the Xbox 360 version of Phantasy Star Universe in Japan on December 14, 2006, the game will not be compatible with the PS2 and Windows version, players cannot connect to the same servers online. - Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ for PlayStation 2, the game will be released in 2 discs set, one disc for Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, and one for Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories, a remake of Chain of Memories for GBA. The remake will have full 3D graphics, additional skills and scenes, and voice dubs not found in the original version. - Square Enix's Nintendo DS adventure game Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon, the game will be released in Japan on December 14, 2006. - Square Enix announced Itadaki Street DS: Dragon Quest & Super Mario for Nintendo DS, this time the game will feature characters from both Dragon Quest and Super Mario series, including Mario, Luigi, Slime and Jessica (from DQVIII). September 30th:: - Starwars mini Gaming at Imperial Hobbies at NOON. I will bring X3 & other surprises. - TRANSFORMER STARSCREAM MASTERPIECE has shipped out! - TRANSFORMER PRIME with TRAILER MASTERPIECE has shipped out! - Here are the latest Japanese console game review scores: Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! NEO (PS2, Namco Bandai): 8, 8, 7, 6 - (27/40) - Electronic Arts announced that both Madden NFL 07 and Need for Speed Carbon will be launch titles for Wii in US on November 19, 2006. - Epyx announced Commodore 64 will be added to Wii's Virtual Console, the first batch of Commodore 64 titles for Wii will be Impossible Mission 1 & 2, Winter Games, Summer Games 1 & 2, Pitstop and Jumpman Junior. - Atlus will release Trauma Center: Second Opinion for Wii as a launch title in Japan on December 2, 2006. - Bethesda Software announced its hit RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will be a launch title for PlayStation 3 in US in November 2006. In addition, a PSP version called The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion will be released in spring 2007. - Sega will release Sonic The Hedgehog for PS3 and Xbox 360 in Japan on December 21, 2006, for 7140 yen. - Microsoft and Bizarre Creations officially announced Project Gotham Racing 4 for Xbox 360. - Microsoft announced Marvel Universe Online for Xbox 360, a new MMO title developed by Cryptic Studios, who previously worked on City of Heroes. - 2K Games announced the Xbox 360 action shooter Bioshock is exclusive to the system, the game will be released in spring 2007. - Microsoft and Ensemble Studios' Xbox 360 real time strategy game Halo Wars. In the game you take command of human UNSC armies as they deploy for mankind's first deadly encounter with the enemy Covenant forces. - Namco Bandai will release the PSP RPG Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology in Japan on December 21, 2006. - Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, the game will be released in US on October 30, 2006. - TGS 2006: Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children Complete Announced for Bluray. Square-Enix has announced a new version of Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children with the subtitle 'Complete', and it came complete with a new trailer to show off some of the changes in the movie. This version of Advent Children will be on Sony's Blu-Ray media, and as the title suggests, it's going to be somewhat of a director's cut. Not only will the resolution be much higher than the DVD version, but Square Enix will be adding scenes and making changes to existing scenes. One new scene shown during the presentation was Sephiroth impaling Cloud and hoisting him over his head while his Masamune was still embedded inside of him, much like in Final Fantasy 7 for the PSOne. No word on a solid release date yet but the trailer did indicate a Japanese release sometime in 2007. We'll have more information as it becomes available. - Mistwalker's Xbox 360 RPG Blue Dragon, in the game each character can summon the blue dragon that lives in his / her shadow. During the battle you can use the "Real" command to change the character's shadow into a dragon. The game will have full voice dialog throughout the adventure. - Konami's PS3 sci-fi first person shooter Coded Arms Assault, the game will support up to 16 players online, and up to 4 players can also battle offline. - Konami's PSP espionage action adventure game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, the game will be released in Q4 2006. - CESA announced the winners of Future Division of Japan Game Award 2006, after Tokyo Game Show has ended. Blue Dragon (Xbox 360, Microsoft) - SNK Playmore announced that the arcade compilation Metal Slug Anthology for PSP and Wii will now include the latest game Metal Slug 6, in addition to Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4 and Metal Slug 5. Metal Slug Anthology will ship in November 2006. - Square Enix announced the PSP action RPG Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII will be delivered in Japan in spring 2007. - Kazunori Yamauchi said the PS3 version of Gran Turismo HD will indeed feature a damage system, it is an optional plug-in that can be downloaded. You can also download stronger AI opponents, additional contents and race courses as updates become available. In future players will be able to setup their own tournaments and chat with other players in the lobby. - Namco Bandai clarified that there is an error in the TGS catalog published by CESA, the playable demo of Ridge Racer 7 shown at Tokyo Game Show was a 75% completed product, not a 100% finished product. Sega and From Software's Armored Core was not priced at 5,250 yen, there is no official price for the game yet. - Sega announced Sega Ages 2500: Phantasy Star I, II, III & IV for PS2, a collection of the four classic Phantasy Star episodes in the 8/16-bit era, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series. - Square Enix will release Final Fantasy VI Advance for GBA in Japan on November 30, 2006, the game will feature new summon beasts not found in the original version, such as Leviathan. - Square Enix announced the upcoming PS2 RPG Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix + will feature both Kingdom Hearts II and a PS2 remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, which is based on the GBA version, but with full 3D graphics, new stories and voice dialog for certain event scenes. Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix + will be released in Japan in spring 2007. September 25th:: - Ken Kutaragi mentioned that Sony does not plan to lower the retail price of PS3 in North America and Europe. The reason is that people in both regions were very well accepted the prices, but in Japan the feedback was not supportive, so Sony lowered the price by 20% in Japan. Besides, Americans vastly prefer the 60GB model, which sells for US$599. - Phil Harrison said PlayStation 3 is still region-free for games, but not for movies. - Downloadable PSone, PS2, Mega Drive and PC-Engine games will not be available right at launch, they will be available at some point after launch. - Enterbrain president Hirokazu Hamamura said the lower price of PS3 will drive PS3's unit sales. Although it is still more expensive than its rivals, but the new price put PS3 within allowable range of game machine prices. Koei's CEO Kenji Matsubara said the new price means speedier PS3 sales and lower per-game development costs quickly. - Namco Bandai announced its racing game Ridge Racer will be available in PS3's e-distribution service, players can download the game from PS3 to PSP, and play on PSP. - Sony / Factor 5's PlayStation 3 dragon battle game LAIR, the game will be released in Japan in Spring 2007. - Koei's PS3 action battle game Blade Storm: Hundred Years War, the story is about the hundred years war between English and French in Europethere will be 10 initially playable characters, you can issue commands to individual unit to tell them what to do. - Genki announced Wangan Midnight for PlayStation 3, a racing battle game based on the anime of the same name. In the game you can race in the Shutoku and Wangan area in Japan. - Genki is also bringing Wangan Midnight Portable to PSP, the PSP version will be able to exchange data with the PS3 version. - Marvelous Interactive's Wii farming / life simulation game Bokujou Monogatari [Harvest Moon], you can perform a lot of tasks by simply moving the controller, such as shaking the controller to water the plants. - Sony / Polyphony Digital's PlayStation 3 driving simulation game Gran Turismo HD, the game will be released in Japan in December 2006. - Ken Kutaragi mentioned that Sony is planning to offer downloadable PSone and PS2 games, but price, titles and details are not yet available. - Namco Bandai COO Shin Unozawa mentioned they expect to sell 1 million copies of both Ridge Racer 7 and Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight worldwide, after Sony has announced the price of the 20GB model of PS3 as 49980 yen. - Polyphony Digital's PS3 driving simulator Gran Turismo HD will focus on its online capabilities, there will be voice chat, bulletin board, online garage, online photo album, lobby when you connect online. In addition, Gran Turismo HD will have new Ferrari licensed vehicles and a new damage system. - Epic announced that its PS3 shooter Unreal Tournament 2007 will support mods (custom levels and contents) created by players. Players can create new levels, download them to the PS3 and distribute them online. - Sony has announced its first party release schedule for PlayStation 3 in Japan. Nov 11, 2006 - Genji 2: Days of the Blade (Game Republic) - Square Enix will release the PS2 action adventure game Seiken Densetsu 4 [Dawn of Mana] in Japan on December 21, 2006, for 7140 yen. The Japanese award winning singer Ryuichi Sakamoto will perform the main theme of the game. - Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings for NDS, a complete new work based on the setting of FFXII which requires the use of stylus and touch panel.... - CESA has announced the CESA Japan Game Awards for 2006, both Nintendo and Square Enix won the grand award this year. Grand Award Final Fantasy XII (PS2, Square Enix) Kingdom Hearts II (PS2, Square Enix) Best Sales Award Oide yo Doubutsu no Mori [Animal Crossing: Wild World] (NDS, Nintendo) Global Award: Japanese Product Nintendogs Dachshund/Shiba/Chihuahua (NDS, Nintendo) Global Award: Foreign Product World of Warcraft (PC, Blizzard) Special Awards Monster Hunter Portable (PSP, Capcom) - Konami announced they will release Elebits for Wii as a launch title in Japan on December 2, for 5800 yen. - Square Enix will release the PS2 action adventure game Seiken Densetsu 4 [Dawn of Mana] in Japan on December 21, 2006. - Konami announced they will release J. League Winning Eleven 10 + Europe League '06 - '07 for PS2 in Japan on November 22, 2006. The game will combine both J. League and Europe League into a single game. - Sony announced they will release PSP Pink (PSP-1000 PK) in Japan by the end of this year. - Capcom announced Monster Hunter Portable 2nd for PSP will be released in Japan in February 2007. - PS3 game completion status Over at that Tokyo Game Show thing, there exists a booklet. Some might call it the "official" booklet. Upon acquiring and opening said booklet, much information is at one's disposal. Part of that information is the completion status of many games at the show. Below is the status for the PlayStation 3 games with a known percentage. We've put them in descending order of completeness, which will probably correspond to the order they will be released [in Japan]. Ridge Racer 7: 100% We'll have the official word on which games are launch for the PlayStation 3 in Japan shortly. - PlayStation 3 launch titles for Japan When the PlayStation 3 goes on sale in Japan November 11, six games will definitely be available: Genji: Days of the Blade Also coming out in November is Armored Core 4. Later in the launch window, carrying official dates such as December, Winter 2006, and simply 2006 (which all mean December), are these games: F1 Championship (aka Formula One 06) The following titles will be released in Spring 2007: Virtua Fighter 5 The following titles will be released in Summer 2007: Everybody's Golf 5 Lastly, these games are simply listed for 2007: Afrika (working title) Obviously, some games such as Final Fantasy XIII do not have release dates yet and as such are not listed. So that's it for Japan. Now Sony, please give us the equivalent for North America. Pretty please. With a 1080p cherry on top. - TAIKO DRUM MIX 7: http://namco-ch.net/taiko_nanadaime/music/index.php - BLUE DRAGON TOTE BAG - BLUE DRAGON T-SHIRT - BLUE DRAGON BOTTLECAP FIGURE SET of 4. September 23rd:: - Ken Kutaragi announced that the 20GB version of PlayStation 3 will come with one HDMI port, and the 60GB version will have two HDMI ports for super letterbox display on side-by-side HDTVs. The 20GB version will be sold for 49980 yen in Japan on November 11, 2006. - Ken Kutaragi also mentioned PlayStation 3 will be able to download and playback classic 16-bit Mega Drive (Genesis) and PC-Engine (Turbografx) titles, it is also possible to play a small fee to play certain time-limited game demos. - Koei's futuristic hover craft racer Fatal Inertia, the game will be a launch title for PS3 in Japan on November 11, and in US on November 17. - Namco Bandai's Ridge Racer 7 for PlayStation 3, the game will have over 20 race courses and over 375,000 possible combination of parts and visual customization of the car. You can also race against other players online. - Taito announced a new traing driving simulator for PlayStation 3 called Railfan, the game will emphasize on realism, the game allows you to drive the trains in 3 different routes, including routes from Chicago, Tokyo and Osaka. - Capcom will release its latest Rockman battle RPG Ryuusei no RockMan in Japan in December 2006. There will be 3 different versions: Pegasus (Blue), Leo (Red) and Dragon (Green). - Capcom's attorney simulation game Gyakuten Saiban 4 [Phoenix Wright 4] for Nintendo DS. This game will have a new protagonist named Housuke Odoroki, who is a novice attorney. Some previous characters will also appear in the game. September 21st:: - Sega revealed its Tokyo Game Show lineup: Playable Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3) Video only Appleseed EX (PS2) Demonstration at the show Bleach: Shiraha Kirameku Rinbukyoku (Wii) - Square Enix announced Front Mission: The First for Nintendo DS, a remake of the first Front Mission game for Super Famicom from 1995. The NDS version will have new mechs and the Front Mission 5 protagonist Glen Duval will appear in the game. - Square Enix revealed new info on its NDS RPG Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, the story does not tie with or take place before the stories of Final Fantasy XII, the game simply shows Vaan (18) and Penelos (17) living in Luftpiraten . All the airships from FFXII will be in this game, as well as new ones; and the relationship between the two characters will be presented in a way that was not possible in FFXII. The battle system will involve the use of stylus and touch screen. - Square Enix will release the NDS adventure game Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon [Chocobo & The Magical Picture Book] in Japan on December 14, 2006. - Nintendo of America representative confirmed that Wii will not be region free as previously reported by various sources. (Source: 1UP.com) - Nintendo of America announced they have ship more than 400,000 units of Wii at launch on November 19, 2006. The quantity will be higher than PS3, but Reggie Fils-Aime did not specified the accurate figure. Nintendo also plans to target sales of Wii to people who never played video games before, including elderly people, young women and mothers. - Yuji Naka mentioned that his music game Samba de Amigo was technically close to the concept of Wii, in the game you use a dance mat and two Maraca controllers to play, and the hand movements were determined with infrared sensors. Samba de Amigo was developed in 1998 for Dreamcast. - Konami announced they will be showing 6 Xbox Live Arcade games at Tokyo Game Show, including Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Rush 'n Attack, Track & Field, Gyruss, Contra and Super Contra. - Microsoft announced starting this fall Xbox 360 will be able to support games and movies in 1080p. Xbox 360's HD-DVD movie playback function will also support 1080p. The first batch of titles supporting 1080p include: Blue Dragon (Microsoft Game Studio) - Microsoft will release the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player in Japan on November 17, 2006, for 19800 yen (US$177). It will come with a Universal Media Remote for Xbox 360. The HD-DVD player will only be used for videos. - Microsoft announced the MistWalker's Xbox 360 RPG Blue Dragon will be released in Japan on December 7, 2006. Microsoft will release a Xbox 360 Blue Dragon Bundle Pack in Japan simultaneously, for 29800 yen. - Tecmo will release Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2 for Xbox 360 in US on November 15, the Japanese version will be released in mid-November, for 9240 yen. - AQ Interactive will release the Xbox 360 action game Vampire's Rain in Japan in January 2007, the game is been developed by Artoon. - Capcom will release the Xbox 360 action / shooter Lost Planet: Extreme Condition in Japan on December 21, 2006. - Sega confirmed that the Xbox 360 version of Phantasy Star Universe will be released in Japan in December 2006, for 6800 yen. - Level 5 announced a new PlayStation 3 RPG called White Knight Story, it was one of the secret project the company is working on. - Tecmo announced Ninja Gaiden Sigma for PlayStation 3, the latest work of the series. The game is an enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden for Xbox, the female protagonist Rachel will be a playable character, there will be additional levels, weapons, and new combat system not found in the original. The game is currently 25% completed. - Sony confirmed that Genji: Days of the Blade and Ridge Racer 7 are both launch titles for PS3 in Japan on November 11, 2006. Sony's driving simulation game Gran Turismo HD will be released in Japan in December. - Sony announced the release date of the PS2 RPG Wild Arms the Vth Vanguard, the game will be released in Japan on December 14, 2006. - TGS 2006: Microsoft Press Conference: The biggest video game event of the year in Japan begins this weekend, but Microsoft has already kicked things off with their media prep session. While there were no Earth-shattering announcements, owners of high-definition gaming rigs and AV enthusiasts will be pleasantly pleased with what Microsoft had in store. World Xbox Live Arcade Japan In addition, Hironobu Sakaguchi (of Final Fantasy fame) demoed live on stage his Mistwalker studio's upcoming projects, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. Finally, Bandai Namco showed off a new RPG titled Trusty Bell. No release details on this title as-of-yet. The Tokyo Game Show begins this Friday. Make sure to keep yourself tuned in to GAF as we'll bring you news throughout the weekend from the show. September 18th:: - Wii launch titles and known release list for Japan and US Wii info for North America and Japan is coming out at an alarming rate. In this article, we've got the known Japanese and North American launch titles. For the games we know are launch titles and not launch window titles, we've added a *. First, here is the full Japanese release list: Japanese Launch Titles - Choushittou Caduceus NEO (Trauma Center: Second Opinion) (Atlus) 2006 Post-Launch Titles - Pokemon Battle Revolution (Nintendo) 2007 and Later Titles - Dragon Quest Swords And now, here is the known release list for North America. Confirmed Launch Games - Call of Duty 3 (Activision) To be released before April 2007 (sorted by Publisher) - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Activision) Nintendo titles to be released 2007 and beyond - Nintendo announced the next-gen console Wii will launch in America on November 19, 2006 for $250 and in Japan on December 2, for 25,000 yen (US$212). Wii will be packaged with the Wii Sports, which includes a compilation of sports game such as baseball, bowling, golf, tennis and boxing. There will be over 25 launch titles in America and 16 in Japan. First party games will be priced at US$50 and 4800 yen. Nintendo plans to ship 4 million units of Wii worldwide by the end of 2006. - For the Virtual Console, classic NES, SNES, and N64 titles can be purchased using Wii points, a 2000 Wii Points card is $20. Approximately 30 titles will be available at launch, including Nintendo's classic Donkey Kong, Zelda and Mario series. A total of 60 titles will be available by the end of the year. Here's the price list: - Nintendo's flagship title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be available at launch; and the GameCube version has been pushed back until December 2006. - Wii will have a set of built-in multimedia functions called Wii Channels, which allow users to play DVD videos, browser and edit photos from SD memory cards. If Wii is connected online, you can also access the Wii Channels, which offers weather, news, messaging, photo sharing services. There is also a Mii Channel, which allows players to create custom avatars for use in various games. - In order to access the Internet, you have to purchase the Opera Browser from Wii's Internet Channel. The Opera Browser will support Adobe Flash. - Nintendo's first person shooter Metroid Prime 3 has been pushed back until 2007. The battle game Pokemon Battle Revolution will be the first Wii online title. - Here is the price of various Wii accessories: - Capcom announced the company is working on a new installment of Sengoku Basara [Devil King] for both Wii and PS2, in future the Sengoku Basara series will be hitting both consoles.- Capcom revealed new details on its Wii action game Biohazard: Umbrella Chronicles: Four chapters will be available, each chapter will have 2 playable characters Additional characters can be unlocked by playing the game, such as Rebecca Chambers, Hunk and Albert Wesker.
The gameplay will be similar to BH4, use the Wiimote to trigger the over-the-shoulder view, use the nunchuk to fire.
All characters will have different weapons and melee attacks like in BH4, you can find additional weapons in the stage - Yasumi Matsuno, former director of Final Fantasy XII, announced that he is developing a new title for Wii, the game will be published by another studio. Matsuno has left Square Enix after a mental breakdown during the FFXII development. - Square Enix announced a new Nintendo DS RPG called Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, a new adventure of Vaan and Penelo from Final Fantasy XII, to the unknown, floating continents.. The character designer is not Akihiko Yoshida this time. - Square Enix announced a new Nintendo DS real-time simulation RPG called Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana. The story takes place 19 years after Seiken Densetsu 3, and the hero is named Roger.... - Square Enix announced a new NDS "touch action RPG" called Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It is a Wonderful World. The story will take place in the modern world, the game is being developed by the Kingdom Hearts development team.... - Gust announced Rizu no Atelier for Nintendo DS, the latest work of the Atelier RPG series, the game will have Wi-Fi support. - Nintendo will release the MistWalker developed NDS RPG Ash: Archaic Sealed Heat in Japan in 2007. - Sega will release the NDS trading card game Sangokushi Taisen DS in Japan on January 25, 2007. - Sony announced PaRappa the Rapper for PSP, a remake of the classic PSone music game from 1996. The PSP version will have new elements not found in the original. - Tri-Ace, developer of the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile series, announced a new Xbox 360 title called Infinite Undiscovery, a fantasy RPG with real-time battles, the game will switch between battle and field scene seamlessly. - Microsoft will have a playable version of MistWalker's Xbox 360 RPG Lost Odyssey at Tokyo Game Show, the demo will have a play length of 40 - 60 minutes. Lost Odyssey will have a command based battle instead of action based, the game will run at 30fps, the release date is 2007. - Tecmo announced its Xbox 360 sports game Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 will be playable at Tokyo Game Show. - Activision announced its Xbox 360 shooter Call of Duty 2 has sold over 1 million copies in US since it was released on November 17, 2005. - Sega announced Miyazato Sega Golf Club for PlayStation 3, a professional golf title based on Sega's arcade game Sega Golf Club, featuring real name golf professionals similar to EA's Tiger Woods. The PS3 version will have four genuine golf clubs plus a number of original clubs, and you can play online against players from over the world. - Sega mentioned that the PS3 version of Virtua Fighter 5 will be playable at Tokyo Game Show. - Namco Bandai's PS3 action game Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight will become a launch title in Japan on November 11, 2006. - Capcom announced Biohazard: Umbrella Chronicles for Wii, a new action game which turns your Wii controller to a pistol and other weapons, you can use the controller to perform various actions. More details will be available at TGS. - Weekly Famitsu has posted a Wii game release schedule for Japan, a few new titles were revealed, including Capcom's Biohazard: Umbrella Chronicles. Oct-Dec 2006 - Wing Island (Hudson, Flight simulation) - Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix for PlayStation 2, the game will be based on the US version of Kingdom Hearts II, plus a number of new elements, such as the new Card Battle system from Kingdom Heart: Chain of Memories and new characters. - Konami revealed its Tokyo Game Show lineup, which takes place in Japan on September 22 - 24. Wii Elebits PlayStation 3 Coded Arms Assault Xbox 360 World Soccer Winning Eleven series PlayStation 2 Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 13 PSP Mahjong Fight Club Zenkoku Taisen Version Nintendo DS Mahjong Kakutou Club DS Arcade BeatMania IIDX 14: Gold - Namco Bandai announced its Tokyo Game Show lineup: PlayStation 3 Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight Xbox 360 The Idol Master PlayStation 2 .hack//G.U. Vol. 2: Kimi Omou Koe GameCube Battle Stadium D.O.N PSP Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception Nintendo DS Gintama DS: Yorozuya Daisoudou - From Software's Xbox 360 ninja assassin action game Tenchu: Senran, the game will be released in Japan on October 5, 2006. - Banpresto's Super Robot Taisen XO, the game is a port of Super Robot Taisen GC for GameCube. The 360 version will have Xbox Live support and other new elements..... - Capcom's PlayStation 3 action game Devil May Cry 4, the protagonist is a human named Nero, the demon hunter Dante will pursuit him in the game. September 14th:: - Wii DVD-movie Playback Out - Nintendo of America's vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan, confirmed to IGN Wii today that its forthcoming Wii console will not play Hollywood DVD movies. The decision to remove the functionality was made in order to deliver the machine at a cheaper cost and because most people today already own DVD players. - From Software's Xbox 360 ninja assassin action game Tenchu: Senran, the game will be released in Japan on October 5, 2006. - Banpresto's Super Robot Taisen XO, the game is a port of Super Robot Taisen GC for GameCube. The 360 version will have Xbox Live support and other new elements..... - Capcom's PlayStation 3 action game Devil May Cry 4, the protagonist is a human named Nero, the demon hunter Dante will pursuit him in the game. - Koei has postponed the release of Sengoku Musou 2 Empires [Samurai Warriors 2 Empires] from October 5 to November 11, the reason is to improve the quality of the game. - Namco Bandai's PS2 sports game Captain Tsubasa, based on the classic anime of the same name. The game will be released in Japan on October 19, 2006. - Square Enix's Nintendo DS adventure game Chocobo no Mahoo no Ehon [Chocobo & The Magical Picture Book], the game will be released in Japan in winter 2006. - Game Republic's PS3 action adventure game Unknown Realm. In the game you play as Ellen and Keats, who travel between reality and other realms; they have the power to summon monsters and spirits. - Capcom's Devil May Cry 4, the story takes place in European coastal fortress city Fortuna, the protagonist Nero is a young knight who safeguards the religious group in the city. Dante will play a hostile role in the game who pursuits the knights.... - Koei revealed its Tokyo Game Show lineup: Fatal Inertia (PS3) - Capcom revealed its Tokyo Game Show lineup: Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - Sega has registered VF Battle Arena in Japan for trademark protection, which seems to be either a new game title or a game mode in its latest arcade fighter Virtua Fighter 5. - Nintendo will launch the next generation console Wii in Europe before November 24, 2006, for ˘G149, which makes the console ˘G275 cheaper than PS3 and ˘G50 cheaper than Core Xbox 360. - Nippon Ichi announced a new PlayStation 2 RPG called Soul Cradle, which has a fantasy / medieval setting. The game will be coming in 2007. - Ubisoft announced that the tactical shooter Rainbox Six Vegas will be coming to PSP before the end of 2006. The PSP version will have the same content as the PS3 and Xbox 360 version, plus exclusive new play mode "Terrorist Hunt" and 2 new playable Rainbox members: Brian Armstrong (fire support/attack expert) and Shawn Rivers (sniper). The game also features Survival and Team Survival mode, which can be played online via WiFi. - According to ToonZone, Warner Home Video gave an updated release for the "Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo" DVD! It will be available on November 17th. - Wii launch details announced! Typically, when a video game company has a major announcement, they might let some press outlets know about it beforehand, but put the information on embargo. This sometimes involves legally binding NDAs. But if such an agreement was penned with Seattle PI/The New York Times, they couldn't care less. They just stole the Wii press event's thunder and announced the Wii launch details. The Wii will be released on November 19 in North and South America and will cost $250 in the United States. 4 million units will be shipped worldwide. 25-30 games will be available for the Wii this year. As many speculated, Wii Sports will be packed in with every system. Five sports will be included - tennis, baseball, golf, boxing, and bowling. Super Mario Galaxy, as many also speculated, will not be available until 2007. Nintendo will make about 30 classic games available for download via Virtual Console when the Wii is released, including games from the Zelda, Mario, and Donkey Kong franchises. Downloadable games will cost about $5 to $10 each. The price of retail Wii games will be $50. "Our goal is to bring gaming back to the masses," Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, said in a telephone interview. "You see that in our pricing, you see that in the number of units we plan to make available this year and you see that in how we are positioning the Wii to appeal to every member of the household, including but not limited to the hard-core gamer." A surprise from Nintendo is that they will be including "channels," which are meant to appeal to casuals who don't consider themselves gamers. A photo channel allows users to use the Wii to display photos on their TV. There will also be an interactive news channel and a weather channel. Additionally, the Wii will come with a built-in web browser, most likely Opera. "We are including all of these capabilities as part of our overall strategy to expand the gaming market," Fils-Aime said. "Broadening the market is important because it will breathe new life into this business. Otherwise, this industry is moving down a path of being more and more limited to the hard-core gamer." - Nintendo Japan Wii Event Has Begun! The Japanese Nintendo Wii press event is going on right now. We'll be updating this story with information as it comes. Any big announcements will get their own story once all is said and done. The conference has officially, 100% sure begun. We'll be updating here. 1:38: Virtual console games will be priced as follows: 500 yen ($4.25) for NES games, 800 yen ($6.80) for SNES games, and 1000 yen ($8.50) for N64 games. Can pay by credit card or a Wii points card. 1:42: Famitsu is reporting that 30 Nintendo games and 30 Genesis / TurboGrafx games will be available by the end of 2006. Nintendo will release 10 more each month. 1:53: Whoa. Will won't hit Japan until December 2. 25,000 yen (US ~$212). Also, Wii VC will apparently have 3 MSX games in addition to the ones mentioned above. 2:00: Controller prices. Remote will be 3800 yen (~$32); nun-chuk and retro controllers will be 1800 yen each (~$15). 2:03: Nintendo issued a Japanese press release detailing what comes with the Wii: 1 Wii system 2:05: Wii Sports will retail for 4,800 yen (~$40). It will include baseball, tennis, golf, boxing, and bowling. It appears it won't be packaged with the Wii as it will in North America (though the Wii will be cheaper). 2:10: Zelda: Twilight Princess will be available in Japan at the same time as the Wii. It will retail for 6800 yen (~$57). - Wii JAPAN Launch games info: September 11th:: - Republic's PS3 action adventure game Unknown Realm. In the game you play as Ellen and Keats, who travel between reality and other realms; they have the power to summon monsters and spirits. - Capcom's Devil May Cry 4, the story takes place in European coastal fortress city Fortuna, the protagonist Nero is a young knight who safeguards the religious group in the city. Dante will play a hostile role in the game who pursuits the knights. - Koei revealed its Tokyo Game Show lineup: Fatal Inertia (PS3) - Capcom revealed its Tokyo Game Show lineup: Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - Sega has registered VF Battle Arena in Japan for trademark protection, which seems to be either a new game title or a game mode in its latest arcade fighter Virtua Fighter 5. - Nintendo will launch the next generation console Wii in Europe before November 24, 2006, for ˘G149, which makes the console ˘G275 cheaper than PS3 and ˘G50 cheaper than Core Xbox 360. - Nippon Ichi announced a new PlayStation 2 RPG called Soul Cradle, which has a fantasy / medieval setting. The game will be coming in 2007. - Ubisoft announced that the tactical shooter Rainbox Six Vegas will be coming to PSP before the end of 2006. The PSP version will have the same content as the PS3 and Xbox 360 version, plus exclusive new play mode "Terrorist Hunt" and 2 new playable Rainbox members: Brian Armstrong (fire support/attack expert) and Shawn Rivers (sniper). The game also features Survival and Team Survival mode, which can be played online via WiFi. September 8th:: - Nintendo will release Custom Robo Rumble for NDS in Japan on October 19, 2006. - Sony has released a new PSP firmware version 2.81, which corrected a number of flaws in the 2.8.0, such as security holes and support for Memory Stick Pro Duo over 4GB. - Capcom announced Devil May Cry for PSP, it is uncertain whether the game is a port of the PS2 versions or a new game. - Konami will release Guitar Freaks V2 & Drum Mania V2 for PS2 in Japan on November 22, the game will have over 60 tunes, including a selection of new tunes in Guitar Freaks V3 & Drum Mania V3. - Sony will release a new batch of budget price PS2/PSP The Best titles in Japan in October: Oct 12 - Shin Sangoku Musou 4 (PS2, Koei) - 4179 yen - Gamestop reveals Wii accessories via website, Gamestop recently added to their website a list of accessories and peripherals for the Nintendo Wii, along with their price. Wii Controller Glove (9.99) USD - Super Paper Mario headed to Wii, not GC, Nintendo's Super Paper Mario, originally slated as a GameCube title, has been moved to Wii. He wasn't able to comment on this further, so the reasons for the move are unclear at this point. - Sony has pushed back the Euro launch date of PlayStation 3 from November 2006 to March 2007, while the US and Japan launch dates remain unchanged. The reason is due to a bottleneck in the production of the Blu-ray drives and the extra time to prepare for the multilingual European versions. - Sony will ship 400,000 units of PlayStation 3 to US at launch on November 17, and 100,000 units in Japan. 1.2 million units will be available in Japan by the end of 2006. - Sony will still ship 4 million units of PlayStation 3 by the end of 2006 and 6 million units accumulated by the end of March 2007. - Game Republic announced a new PS3 action adventure game called Unknown Realms, the two protagonists are two sisters Ellen and Keats. Ellen is a high school girl and Keats is a female journalist. One day they received a letter from their mother, who died a long time ago in their childhood. They will travel between reality and other dimensions to solve the mysteries, including the spirit world, martial world, hell and realm under the ocean. The sisters will gain the power to summon monsters and spirits in their journey. - From Software announced they will release a PS3 version of Enchanted Arms, this will be the first role playing game to be released on PS3. - Capcom revealed new details on Devil May Cry 4 for PS3. The game will have a new protagonist named Nero: Nero will be the new protagonist - From Software announced that Armored Core 4 for PS3 and Xbox 360 will have online duels, up to 8 players can battle online, the PS3 version will be released in Japan in December 2006. - Tecmo revealed new info on its Wii sports game Sukatto Golf Pangya [Super Swing Golf Pangya]. In the game you hold and swing the controller like a genuine golf club. The game will have a story mode named Pangya Fiesta, in which you play as the two amateur golfer Ken and Erika. - Square Enix's Wii RPG Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen & the Tower of Mirrors is no longer a launch title for the console in Japan, no official announced has been made yet. Most likey cancelled. - Microsoft announced a new Xbox 360 bundle called the Xbox 360 Core System Hatsubai Kinen Pack, which will come with two free games: Ninety Nine Nights and Project Gotham Racing 3, but the system will no longer come with a HDD. The new bundle will be released on November 2, 2006, for 29800 yen (US$257); the 20GB HDD will be sold separately for 9975 yen (US$85). - Sega announced Phantasy Star Universe will be coming to Xbox 360 in Japan, previously the game was only available on PS2 and PC. - Sony announced a price drop for PlayStation 2 in Japan, the new model SCPH-77000 CB/CW will be released on September 15, for 16000 yen (US$138), which comes in two colors: Charcoal Black and Ceramic White. - Square Enix will release the monster breed & battle RPG Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker for NDS in Japan on December 28, 2006. - Nintendo will release the NDS action game Kirby Squeak Squad in Japan on November 2, 2006 September 5th:: - Namco Bandai's PS3 racing game Ridge Racer 7. There will be 22 courses, 40 playable vehicles, and more than 160 races. The game will correspond to the motion sensor in the PS3 controller; the race girl is once again Reiko Nagase. - Nintendo announced they will release a Pokemon Diamond & Pearl edition Nintendo DS Lite in Japan on September 28, for 16800 yen. The inside will have metallic black paint, which is different from the Jet Black version. The package will come with a copy of Pokemon Diamond & Pearl. - Square Enix has revealed its Tokyo Game Show lineup: Videos Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) Playable & Video Dragon Quest Monsters Joker (NDS) - Square Enix will reveal a new simulation RPG game for Nintendo DS based on Final Fantasy XIII sometimes this fall. Based on the Cell Phone game. - Wild ARMs XF announced for PSP, Vth Vanguard gets JP release date. Sony recently held a 10th anniversary event in Tokyo for the Wild ARMs series, where it was announced that the PlayStation Portable would be getting its own ARMs title, Wild Arms XF. Little beyond the name wa revealed however. Series producer Eitaro Nagano also took the occasion to announce Wild ARMs: The Vth Vanguard's Japanese release date of December 14th. September 1st:: - Sony Computer Entertaiment announced the PSP camera Chotto Shot (PSPJ-15003), which will be released on November 2 for 5000 yen, with 1.3 mega pixels, 480x272 or 640x480 resolution. It is capable of capturing animation in 480x272, 30fps for 15 seconds. Chotto Shot comes with photo editing software with 74 kinds of effects. Contents can be saved onto memory stick and transfer to PC. - The second peripherial is the GPS Receiver (Global Positioning System), which will be released on December 7 for 6000 yen. The refresh rate is approximately 1 second, and measurement precision is 5m. A number of PSP titles will support the GPS Receiver, including Metal Gear Solid; Portable Ops (Konami), Minna no Golf Portable 2 (Sony), HomeStar (Sega), and Navi Software (Sony). - Sony announced there will be about 75 Blu-Ray videos from 12 companies available in Japan by the end of this year, Blu-Ray videos will be available in Japan on November 8, and the videos will be priced at 5000 yen. - D3 Publisher's Xbox 360 zombie fighting action game The Onechan Bara vorteX: The Devil Evolution Human, the game will have new chain combos and dual attacks not found in the previous works... - Microsoft of Japan announced they will release all TGS and X06 videos and playable game demos in the Xbox Live Marketplace. - Capcom announced they have shipped 500,000 copies of its Xbox 360 action game Dead Rising in US, since its release on August 8. - Namco Bandai revealed new details on its PS3 launch title Ridge Racer 7, the game will have 44 race courses and over 160 vehicles. Up to 14 players can participate in the online duels, you will be able to play against anyone around the world. The game will also offer downloadable contents during special events, you can also exchange vehicles with other users online. - Square Enix confirmed that they will be showing new videos of both Final Fantasy XIII andFinal Fantasy Versus XIII at the Tokyo Game Show. - Sega and Pseudo Interactive's PS3 car combat racing game Full Auto 2: Battlelines, the game will be available at launch in November 2006. - Sega's Wii 3D platformer Sonic & the Secret Rings, the game will be released in 2007. - Sega announced Ryuga Gotoku 2 [Yakuza 2] for PlayStation 2, the story will take place one year after the first game, the protagonist is once again Kazuma Kiryu, he will encounter Kaoru Sayama, a cop who plays an important role in the game. The combat system will be revised, there will be twice as many special and combo attacks; as well as new mini games like golf. - Sega announced they will be shipping 200,000 copies of its PS2 online RPG Phantasy Star Universe on its launch date tomorrow. - Namco Bandai will release the final chapter of .hack//G.U., .hack//G.U. Vol. 3 Aruku Youna Hayasade in Japan on July 18, 2007. - Namco Bandai's Tales of Destiny, a remake of the classic PSone RPG, with numerous new features not found in the original, the game will be released in Japan on November 22, 2006. - Sony will release the Level 5 developed PSP simulation RPG Jeanne D'Arc in Japan on November 22, 2006. - Electronic Arts announced Sim City DS for Nintendo DS, the latest work of the popular simulation game, which will be based on Sim City 3000 on PC. The DS version will have a four player mode, the game will have different missions with specific goals. - Square Enix has sold close to 500,000 copies of its NDS RPG Final Fantasy III in the first week, over 91% of the shipment were sold. - Nintendo will release the NDS fighting game Jump Ultimate Stars in Japan on November 23, 2006. - Konami has pushed back the release date of Winning Eleven DS for NDS in Japan to November 2, 2006. August 31st:: - Disgaea PSP disclosed, Portable version of original PlayStation 2 strategy role-playing game to include new dungeons, characters, more. Knife-wielding penguin henchmen that double as grenades. A rotten adolescent prince of darkness determined to rule the netherworld by hook or by crook. An open-ended structure that encourages players to keep playing the game and developing their characters long after the main storyline is finished. With components like these, it's not difficult to see how Nippon Ichi's PlayStation 2 strategy role-playing game Disgaea: Hour of Darkness became a cult classic when it was released in 2003. While Nippon Ichi went on to explore other corners of the strategy role-playing niche with games like Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom, and Generations of Chaos, the developer is now set to once again explore the depths of the netherworld. The company's follow-up, Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, hits stores in the US this week, and its domestic counterpart, NIS America, marked the occasion by announcing the series' first excursion onto the PSP. Set for a November release in Japan, Makai Senki Disgaea Portable will bring the original PlayStation 2 game to the PSP with some added features. First off, there will be a number of new scenarios and dungeons, some of which will feature "characters that nobody would expect to see in Disgaea." As for the characters that one would expect to find in the game, they all return, along with their original voice actors, who are providing extra lines of dialogue. While a US release hasn't been confirmed yet, NIS America has said it would like to bring the title over, and promised that it would add something special exclusively to the North American version of the game. However, the company is also asking for fan support to help get the game released domestically. "Because Disgaea is an incredible fan favorite, NIS America is eager to bring Disgaea Portable to the US fans," the company said. "But in order to make it happen, we will need to prove there is enough support and demand for Disgaea Portable! So we would appreciate it if you could support us by raising your voice and making some noise for Disgaea Portable in the US!" - Sony unveils two-thumbstick, 8GB PSP! A new PSP will ship in March 2007, have eight gigs of built-in flash memory, sport a slimmer form factor, include a built-in camera, and have two--count 'em--two thumbsticks! - Microsoft Japan to bring TGS, X06 home, Upcoming industry events will see Xbox Live get the E3 treatment again: game demos, show-specific content, and free Gold membership perks will be made available during the shows. Gamers who enjoyed Microsoft's E3 E3 Xbox Live promotion and the free week of Xbox Live Gold service, downloadable game demos, and fresh content from the show will be happy to know that the publisher is preparing to do it again--for Japanese gamers, at least. Famitsu.com reported today that Microsoft Japan will be offering Tokyo Game Show-related content through the Xbox Live Marketplace service September 20-24. The publisher's "Bring It Home ~Oiede Tokyo Game Show!" event will be used to distribute high-definition videos, on-site reports, screenshots, and game demos. Furthermore, there will be special sessions of Xbox Primetime, and the perks of a Gold Live membership will be free to Japanese Xbox Live users. A similar program is also in the works for the Barcelona X06 event, also scheduled for September. When asked whether this program will be made available to Xbox 360 owners outside of Japan, a Microsoft rep only said, "We haven't made any announcements at this time." - Sony struts Blu-ray technology, Sony reveals that 75 Blu-ray titles will be available this year; ballpark price for movie and music discs also announced. Today Sony gave out more details regarding its strategy and content lineup for Blu-ray, one of the next-generation optical formats fighting to succeed the DVD. Famitsu says there will be about 75 titles from 12 companies available on Blu-ray by November 8 in Japan, including films by 20th Century Fox Japan and Buena Vista. Also, Blu-ray videos will be priced in the vicinity of JPY 5,000--on par with special edition DVDs in Japan. Although no games were shown, a PlayStation 3 was used to show off Blu-ray discs containing film and music clips, alongside Blu-ray players manufactured by Matsushita, Pioneer, and others. One perk of the format, BD JAVA, enables the browsing of information such as actor data and profiles during playback and was also demonstrated. Another feature, called BD Live, lets the viewer participate in interactive events over the Internet. Blu-ray trends will bear watching, considering that in Japan during the early days of the PlayStation 2, the console's ability to play DVDs helped to drive sales of both the system and DVD movies. Sony is relying heavily on Blu-ray to be a success, as the company's decision to include PlayStation 3s with Blu-ray drives as standard has driven the console's cost up. The Blu-ray technology is currently competing with the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD format to be the next-generation format standard. Microsoft has announced that it is working on an external HD-DVD attachment for the Xbox 360 for USA only. Too bad for HD-DVD success in Japan if the Japanese 360 cannot play HD-DVD movies. Blu-ray will in Japan. August 25th:: - At the Leipzig Game Convention, Nintendo announced they plan to ship 4 million units of Wii by the end of 2006; and a total of 6 million units will be shipped by the end of March 2007; and the Wii console will cost no more than 250 euro. - Konami's PlayStation 3 sci-fi first person shooter Coded Arms: Assault, the game will support up to 16 players online, or 4 players offline. - SNK Playmore announced they will release Garou Densetsu Special [Fatal Fury Special] for Xbox Live Arcade. - Microsoft will release the Xbox Live Vision Camera in US on September 19, 2006, for US$39.99, the package will include one month of Xbox Live Gold Membership, Headset and two free Xbox Live Arcade games: Uno and Totemball. - Microsoft also announced 4 more Xbox Live Arcade games will correspond to the Xbox Live Vision Camera, they are Bankshot Billiards 2, Texas Hold'Em, Hardwood Hearts and Hardwood Spades. - Microsoft will release the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel in US in November 2006, for US$149.99, the package will include an updated version of Project Gotham Racing 3, which supports the force feedback function. - The Xbox 360 Wireless Headset will be released in US in November 2006 as well, for US$59.99. - Microsoft will release two new faceplaces for Xbox 360, they are Viva Pinata and Forza Motorsport 2 faceplaces, both will be released in November 2006, for US$19.99 each. - Atr the Leipzig Game Convention, Microsoft announced the two next-gen soccer games Pro Evolution Soccer 6 and FIFA 07 will be one year exclusive to Xbox 360, however it is uncertain whether the deal only applies to the European region or other regions as well. This does not affect the current generation consoles (PS2, Xbox, GameCube) or the handheld systems (PSP, NDS, GBA). - Konami's PSP horror adventure game Silent Hill Origins, the game is currently 30% completed. - Japanese retailers reported that many people have started querying up in front of various game shops across Japan at 3AM, to buy Square Enix's Final Fantasy III and the FFIII Crystal Edition DS Lite first hand; one shop has about 80 people lined up in front of the store at 3 AM, and over 150 people lined up at 8:30 AM. The FFIII Crystal Edition DS Lite were sold out within 30 minutes after the shop opened. - Konami will release Bokura no Taiyou: Django & Sabata [Lunar Knights] for Nintendo DS in Japan on November 22, 2006. - Nintendo has posted a new Flash preview video of its upcoming NDS RPG Mogitate Tincle no Bara Iro Ruppii Land (aka Tingle RPG), the game will be available in Japan on September 2, 2006. - Nintendo of America will release Coral Pink and Onyx model of Nintendo DS Lite in US on September 13, 2006. - Ubisoft's Nintendo DS racing game Asphalt Urban GT 2, the game will be available in November 2006. - Nintendo announced Mario Strikers Charged for Wii, the sequel to the popular GameCube soccer game, the game will make full use of the Wii controller. - Nintendo also announced Battalion Wars 2 for Wii, the sequel to GameCube strategy / simulation game Battalion Wars for GameCube. - Konami's PlayStation 3 espionage action adventue game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. - CESA mentioned that there will be at least 27 playable PlayStation 3 titles at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show, which include: Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom) - Banpresto announced Super Robot Taisen XO for Xbox 360, the latest work of the popular simulation RPG series. The game will be released in Japan on November 30, 2006, for 7329 yen. - Konami's PSP espionage action adventure game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, the story takes place 6 years after MGS3: Snake Eater, in which Big Boss departed from the Fox unit and found Foxhound. - Sega confirmed that Virtua Tennis 3 will be coming to PSP in 2007, along with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. - Namco Bandai's PSP flight shooting game Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception, the game will be released in Japan on October 26, 2006, for 5040 yen. - Gainax's Princess Maker 4 Portable for PSP, the 4th installment of the popular life simulation game. The game is based on the original PC version, with exclusive new elements. - Here is a list of playable PSP titles at Tokyo Game Show between September 22 - 24. Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (Namco Bandai) - Konami announced Lost in Blues 2 for Nintendo DS, the sequel to last year's survival adventure, where you must survival in an isolated island and find ways to escape. Lost in Blues 2 will be released in spring 2007 August 23th:: - Sony has confirmed news about the new model of PSP: Samsung has signed a contract with Sony to supply a huge quantity of 8GB Flash storage chips, which will be incorporated into the new PSP. The 8GB storage plays a key role in downloading contents on PSP, via online or PS3. The new PSP will have a built-in camera which should have same functions as the EyeToy Production costs of the new PSP will be lower than the current mode, because it will be slimmer and easier to produce. A new configuration for the UMD slot, the game will be inserted directly into the system. The new version of PSP is expected to launch in spring 2007. - Namco Bandai will release a new PS2 RPG Digimon Savers: Another Mission in Japan in November 2006, the game is based on the latest Digimon Savers anime series. Your mission is to defeat the seven evil Digimons who caused the other Digimons to become berserk. - Namco Bandai's PS2 anime action game Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood, the game will be released in Japan on October 26, for 7140 yen. - Banpresto will release the PS2 simulation RPG Summon Night 4 in Japan on November 30, 2006, for 7140 yen. In the game you play as either the male protagonist Rai or female Fea, you will be accompanied by a newly hatched baby dragon.... - Banpresto will release the PS2 anime action game Rurouni Kenshin: Enjou Kyoto Rinne in Japan on September 14, 2006, for 7329 yen. The game will be a 3D sword wielding / action brawling game, each character has his / her unique special skills and super combos. - Bandai's Wii anime action adventure game One Piece Unlimited Adventure. - Electronic Arts' Need for Speed Carbon for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, the game will be released in November 17, 2006. - Namco Bandai's PSP anime fighting game Gundam Battle Royale, the game will be released in Japan on October 5, 2006. - Square Enix's Nintendo DS card battle RPG Chocobo to Mahoo no Ehon [Chocobo & The Magical Picture Book]. - Square Enix announced the US version of Final Fantasy III for NDS will be released on November 14, 2006; while the classic Final Fantasy V Advance for GBA will be released on November 6. - Here are the latest console hardware sales for the week of August 7 - 13: DS Lite - 196,719 [3,730,118] units - Electronic Arts announced a licensing agreement with Epic Games to use its Unreal Engine 3 technology to power several next-generation game titles. - Sony and Game Republic's PS3 samurai action game Genji 2 is now officially called Genji: Days of the Blade, the game will be available in November 2006. - PlayStation Magazine reported that Sony's God of War developer David Jaffe is working on a secret PSP project, details are not yet revealed. August 17th:: - George Harrison interview: no GC control for Zelda Wii In an interview done today for Nintendo's Camp Hyrule, vice president of marketing and corporate communications George Harrison revealed something that people have been dying to know regarding the controls for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. His answer may not please everyone: "The GCN controller will be able to play the GCN version on the Wii console, but will not be able to play the Wii version." That means that if you had hoped to buy the Wii version but play it with the GameCube controller, you're out of luck. Harrison also reconfirmed that both versions of Zelda: TP will be avilable when the Wii launches. Also discussed was the Wii's Virtual Console. Harrison stated that Nintendo does indeed plan on creating new games for the VC; however, the initial focus will be on the classic games being released for it. New games will come "some time after the launch." Also, there are still some VC secrets that Nintendo has yet to reveal, according to Harrison. As for the Wii's price and release date, Harrison said that Nintendo will reveal those in the not too distant future. - DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Wii) to allow GC controls As opposed to Zelda: Twilight Princess (article here), it appears the Wii version of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 will give players a choice between using the Wii remote and using the GameCube controller. The developer, Spike, apparently told DBX that it has received feedback from testers that playing with the Wii controller may become tiring after awhile, prompting this allowance. It will be interesting to see if other Wii game developers follow suit or if they choose to stick with Wii controls only. - Square Enix has recently registered Revenant Wings for trademark protection in US, which is a videogame for an PS3. - Sega confirmed the company is working on a new version of its hit arcade racing game Initial D: Arcade Stage, the game will run on the Lindbergh board and it will be revealed later this year. - Gamestop reported that Electronic Arts will release a classic compilation title for PSP called EA Replay in US on October 3, which contains a collection of 14 classic games, including B.O.B., Budokan, Desert Strike, Jungle Strike, Haunting Starring Polterguy, Mutant League Football, Road Rash, Road Rash II, Road Rash III, Syndicate, Ultima: The Black Gate, Virtual Pinball, Wing Commander and Wing Commander: Secret Missions. - Japanese retailer chain Tsutaya has lowered the price of Xbox 360 Premium Edition from 39,795 yen (US$341) to 29,800 yen (US$255). Hurray for price drop. - Microsoft announced XNA Game Studio Express, which allows hobbyists, students, indie developers and studios alike to develop game software for Windows and Xbox 360. XNA Game Studio Express will be available for free, it will run on Windows XP, users can join the XNA creator's club for an annual fee for $99. XNA Game Studio Express beta will be available on August 30, the final version will be coming by the end of the year. - DigiTimes reported the manufacturing costs for Xbox 360's external HD-DVD drive is 23,311 yen (US$200), Microsoft has yet announced the retail price of the HD-DVD drive, which is scheduled to release before the end of 2006. - At the Seattle Gamefest, Microsoft hardware product manager RobertWalker suggested that the company may possibly release a revised Xbox 360 controller which offers better controls for first person shooters, the reason is that Microsoft does not plan to release a mouse or keyboard for the console. The new controller will be optional, not a replacement of the existing controller. - Hudson Soft will release the classic game Lode Runner DS for NDS in Japan on October 26, 2006, for 2800 yen. The game will include both Lode Runner and Championship Lode Runner. In the NDS version, the top screen will be used for the map, and the touch screen will be used for the game. Lode Runner DS will have the Original, Arranged and Puzzle Modes for both games; there will be a total of 130 levels. - NIS America has postponed the release date of PS2 simulation RPG Ar Tonelico from Q4 2006 to February 2007, the game is developed by Banpresto and Gust. August 12th:: - Namco Bandai announced Riviera: Promised Land for PSP, an adventure RPG developed by Sting, originally released on WonderSwan Color in 2002, and GBA in 2004. The PSP version will have enhanced graphics, full voice dubbing and a large amount of new illustrations... - Namco Bandai's PSP racing game Ridge Racers 2, the game is fully loaded with 42 courses (remake courses from Ridge Racer Revolution, Rage Racer, and Ridge Racer Type 4). The game also features an all new opening movie featuring Rekio Nagase and New Rally X as the mini game. - Square Enix revealed that the GameBoy Advance version of Final Fantasy V Advance will have 2 new jobs not found in the original, they are Gladiator and Cannoner. Gladiator can use various sword skills; Cannoner uses cannon to attack enemies, deal the same damage to enemies in front and back rows August 10th:: - In the latest issue of Famitsu PS2, Capcom mentioned they will be revealing a big game title in the next issue of the magazine, the platform will be one of PS3, PS2 or PSP. - Nintendo of Japan confirmed that there won't be a Nintendo Space World exhibition in Japan this year, the last Space World event was back in year 2000. - Namco Bandai Games America Inc revealed its game lineup for the rest of this year in US: Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 GameCube PSP Nintendo DS - GeneX announced Princess Maker 4 for PSP, a portable version of the popular life simulation game. The PSP version will have a large number of new events and possible endings not found in the PC version. - Sony announced Piposaru Racer [Ape Escape Racer] for PSP, a new racing game featuring the popular monkey characters from the Sarugetchu series, the game will have over 46 playable vehicles, each with different range of attributes. Piposaru Racer will be released in 2006. - Banpresto announced a PSP port of the popular RPG title Rivieria: Promised Land, the PSP version will have full voice dubbing on all dialogs. - Namco Bandai announced Rider Racers 2 for PSP will include the classic game New Rally-X as a mini game, Rider Racers 2 will be released on September 14, 2006. - Square Enix's GBA version of Final Fantasy V Advance will have numerous improvements over the original version, including new job classes, optimized system, improved graphics, and new dungeons. - Namco Bandai announced Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny: Rengoku vs. Z.A.F.T. II for PS2, the popular mech action game ported over from arcade. - Banpresto will release the PS2 simulation RPG Summon Night 4 in Japan on November 30, 2006. - Microsoft announced the release of Gears of War Xbox 360 in Japan in December 2006. Epic Games expects to sell 6 - 8 million copies of the game worldwide. - Marvelous Interactive announced Bokujou Monogatari [Harvest Moon] for Wii, the latest version of the popular farm life simulation game. - Square Enix's Nintnedo DS RPG Final Fantasy III, the game will be available in Japan on August 24, 2006. - Taito will release the NDS RPG Remindelight in Japan on September 28, 2006. - Square Enix will release the official Final Fantasy III Solution Guide in Japan in September 2006. - Square Enix and Game Arts' Xbox 360 sci-fi space shooter Project Sylpheed, the game will be released in Japan on September 28, 2006. - Electronic Arts announced Medal of Honor Heroes for PSP, the game will have both solo and multiplayer missions, up to 8 players can battle over WiFi, and up to 32 players can battle online. Medal of Honor Heroes will be available in the holiday season of 2006. - PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Activision's WWII first person shooter Call of Duty 3, the game will be released in Q4 2006. - Sega's Sonic The Hedgehog for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. - Nintendo is working on a Wii version of the Mario soccer game Super Mario Strikers. - In Sony's official PS3 website, the company revealed there will be a Memory Card Adaptor for PS3, which allows you to import saved data from PS2 and PSone memory card onto a virtual memory card within the PS3 hard drive. August 2nd:: - Square Enix has confirmed the new NDS title Chocobo to Mahoo no Ehon [Choc obo & the Magical Story Book], a new action adventure game featuring Chocobo and friends. The story takes place in a farm, where Chocobo is raised by the white mage girl Shiroma, one day his friend Kuroma found a strange story book which sends Chocobo and friends to a trip of history. - Nintendo announced Jump! Ultimate Stars for Nintendo DS, the sequel to the popular cross-over fighting game Jump! Super Stars from last year. Jump! Ultimate Stars will have over 300 characters from 40 Jump! manga series and Wi-Fi online battle; the game is scheduled for a winter 2006 release in Japan. - Konami announced Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side for NDS, the handheld version of the boys dating simulation game, the game will be released in Japan in spring 2007. - Nintendo will release the new NDS RPG Mogitate Tincle no Bara Iro Ruppii Land (aka Tingle RPG) in Japan on September 2, 2006. - Bandai Namco will release a new PSP mech action fighting game Gundam Battle Royale in Japan on October 5, 2006, the game will have over 70 playable characters. - Microsoft announced the release date of the highly anticipated first person shooter Gears of War is set to November 12, 2006, the game will be packaged with the "Destroyed Beauty" artbook and a bonus "The Making of Gears of War DVD", all for US$69.99. - Microsoft announced they will no longer produce and distribute Xbox in Japan, the company will continue to distribute Xbox 360 console and games in Japan. - CESA has released some details of the upcoming Tokyo Game Show on September 22 - 24, 2006, there are 93 companies signed up for the show, and 323 products will be exhibited. The list is still incomplete at this time, as there will be additional new / surprise game products at the show. Nintendo will not be participating the Tokyo Game Show as usual. System No. of titles - Bandai Namco has officially named their PS3 Gundam 3rd person action game as Gundam: Target in Sight, no release date has been set. - SNK Playmore marketing manager Yoshihito Koyama said that their first PS3 title probably won't reach the market until 2009, the reason is that the development cost and initial investment is really high and the user base will not be high enough for their games to sell. August 1st:: - ESA president Douglas Lowenstein confirmed that next year's E3 will be moved from May to July, the event will no longer be held at the LA Convention Center, instead it will take place inside hotel conference rooms in the city. The size of the event will be significantly reduced from 60,000 to 5000 attendees, and targeting people from the industry. The reason is to give publishers more time to polish their holiday releases, and allow exhibitors to present their products / messages to specific targets. Lowenstein said "It is no longer necessary or efficient to have a single industry 'mega-show'. By refocusing on a highly targeted event, we think we can do a better job serving our members and the industry as a whole, and our members are energized about creating this new E3." - Cave announced Mushi-Hime 2 for arcade, the sequel to the popular insect theme 2D shooter, the game will be coming in 2006. - Sega announced Sangokushi Taisen for Nintendo DS, a strategic card battle game ported over from arcade, the NDS version will support WiFi online battle, and the game will be available in fall 2006. - Nintendo announced they have shipped 10 million units of Nintendo DS in Japan, which marks this the fastest selling console system in Japan. - Square Enix is working on a new Nintendo DS title called Chocobo to Mahoo no Ehon, the game is scheduled to release in Japan in winter 2006. No officially announcement has been made. - Rockstar Games released new details on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for PSP. The story takes place in 1984, two years before Vice City; you play as Victor Vance, the brother of Lance from Vice City. The game should be much larger than Vice City, and this time you can swim, ride jet skis and helicopters. The game will have new weapons, vehicles and gadgets like binoculars. The disc loading time should be shorter than Liberty City Stories. GTA Vice City Stories will be available in October. - Square Enix will release Final Fantasy V Advance for GBA in Japan on October 12, 2006. - Idea Factory released a new preview video of its cross-over simulation RPG Chaos Wars for PS2, the game will be released in Japan on September 21. - Ubisoft will publish Genki's Xbox 360 racing game Shutokou Battle X in US and Europe under a new name Import Tuner Challenge. The game will be released sometimes this fall. - Microsoft will launch the Xbox 360 in India on October 21. The Premium Edition will cost 23990 rupie (US$516), and the Core System will cost 19990 rupie (US$429). - Ubisoft mentioned that the shooter Haze will not appear on Wii, this game is for PS3 and Xbox 360, the reason is that the Wii hardware does not have the power to present the game. - Crytek, the developer of Crysis and Far Cry series, is working on a new PlayStation 3 title, the company is recruiting console developer to work on a PS3 project which uses the CryEngine 2.0. July 30th:: - Sega's PS2 RPG Shining Force EXA, the sequel to Shining Force NEO, the story is about the battles between human and demons, both races coexist in the same world. - Atlus' first Wii title Caduceus Neo [Trauma Center: Second Opinion], the story takes place in the near future of 2018, you play the role of a rookie doctor named Kousuke Tsukimori.... - Atari and Eden Studios' Xbox 360 racing game Test Drive Unlimited, the game will be released in September 2006. - Capcom's Xbox 360 sci-fi action adventure game Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. You control both a human character and a mech to battle against alien creatures. - D3 Publisher's first Xbox 360 title Onechan Bara X: The Devil Evolution Human, an action fighting game in which you play as a demon hunter woman in bikini..... - From Software's Xbox 360 ninja stealth kill action game Tenchu Senran, - Square Enix will release the space shooter Project Sylpheed for Xbox 360 in Japan on September 28,the game is developed by GameArts. - Microsoft announced Fuzion Frenzy 2 for Xbox 360, an exclusive Xbox Live party game from HudsonSoft, which features over 40 mini games such as Collision Collusion, Turbine Jumper and BasketballSlam Dunk, the game will be available before holidays of 2006. - THQ has canceled the release of The Sopranos for Xbox 360, an action game based on the popular TVdrama series from HBO. The reason is that the game would not look much better than the PS2 version, therefore the development is now focused on the PS2 version instead. - Sony announced the worldwide hardware and software shipment figures: Hardware - Q1 2006 PS2 - 2.54 million units (-28% from previous year) PS2 - 33 million units (-6% from previous year) Japan - 23.55 million units - Sony plans to ship 6 million units of PlayStation 3, 11 millions PlayStation 2 and 12 millions PSPworldwide in the current financial year, which ends on March 31, 2007. - Ubisoft announced they have sold more than 570,000 copies of Ghost Recon Advance Warfighter in Q12006 since its release in March. - Sony will be exhibiting the PlayStation 3 console and its PS3 lineup at the 4th annual Chinajoy Expo in Shanghai, China between July 28 - 30. Besides Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft is also showing Wii and Xbox 360 in the Expo. Here is the list of playable PS3 titles at the show: Genji 2 - Gearbox, the developer of the Brothers in Arms series, confirmed that the company will develop titles for Nintendo Wii. - Sony revealed the worldwide shipment figures for PSP in its Q1 2006 financial report, a total of 20.02 million units of PSP were shipped worldwide by July 24, 2006: Q1 2006 Accumulated July 25th:: - Konami's Hideo Kojima revealed new details on Metal Gear Solid 4 for PS3 at ComicCon: Metal Gear Solid 4 would not fit on a normal DVD, it is absolutely necessary to use Blu-ray as the medium. Sony wants to make sure the game can run on 1080p The game should be in playable form in the next E3 in May 2007. The development team is larger than previous titles, which includes everyone who worked on the MGS series. Konami still hasn't decided whether to support the movement sensing capabilities in the PS3 joypad. - Nintendo and Square Enix's Mario Hoops 3 on 3 for NDS, the game will be available in Japan on July 27. The game supports versus play over WiFi, and over 16 playable characters from Nintendo and Square Enix will be available. - Nintendo will publish Square Enix's Final Fantasy V Advance for GBA in US on November 6, 2006. - Nintendo announced it's Q1 2006 profit has increased by 10.2%, due to game sales of Nintendo DS hardware and software, it also covered the weak sales of GameCube. Net income for the quarter is 15.6 billion yen (US$133.6 millions). Quarterly sales increased by 85% to 130.9 billion yen (US$1.1 billion). Nintendo has increased its full fiscal year forecast income has been increased from 65 billion to 83 billion yen (US$710.9 millions). - Nintendo's sales forecast suggested that the company will ship 6 million units of Wii console and 17 million Wii game titles worldwide by the end of March 2007. - Bandai Namco's PS2 anime action adventure game Naruto: Konoha Spirits, the story is about a mystery dummy army attacking the Konoha village, you must defeat the enemies and find out the truth behind. - At ComicCon, Sony mentioned that there are 120 game titles for PSP right now, by the end of 2006 there should be over 200 PSP game titles. Similarly, 350 UMD videos are available, more videos will be coming from both Sony Pictures and Fox. - Sony plans to offer downloadable videos for PSP, the company is working on a new copy protection method to ensure the videos are protected. - Sony will release PSP Firmware 2.8 this week, which will have a new RSS video support. - Sony's PSP turn based simulation RPG Jeanne d' Arc, developed by the Dragon Quest VIII maker Level 5. The game will be released in Japan in winter 2006. - Capcom's Xbox 360 zombie beating action game Dead Rising, the game will be released in US on August 8, and in Japan on September 28. - Sony Online Entertainment has licensed the Unreal Engine 3 from Epic Games, the engine will be used in SOE's future PS3 titles, including the DC Comics online project. - 2K Games' The Darkness for Xbox 360 and PS3. You play as a mafia hitman Jackie Estacado, the game will be available in Q1 2007. - Konami will release the NDS soccer game World Soccer Winning Eleven DS in Japan on September 21. The game will have Wi-Fi support, which allows you to battle with other players online and exchanging data. A DS Lite Jet Black bundle pack will be released simultaneously, for 20790 yen. - Nintendo has confirmed that the old model of Nintendo DS is no longer in production, the company will only produce the Nintendo DS Lite model in future. - Sony released a new preview trailer of its PSP simulation RPG Jeanne d'Arc, developed by Dragon Quest VIII maker Level 5. - Konami's Winning Eleven series producer Shingo Takatsuka mentioned that World Soccer Winning Eleven 2007 will be coming to next generation platforms next year, the game will include online multi-player modes, it is possible to play the game online with both human players and CPU substitutes, playe can assume individual positions on the field. It will be possible to play 4 vs 4 or 8 vs 8 matches at well. - Banpresto's 3D arcade fighting game The Battle of YuYu Hakusho, the game adopts a 3 button battle system: punch, kick and throw, it is possible to execute various ground and aerial combo attacks... - Codemasters announced a new offroad racing game for PS3 and Xbox 360 called Colin McRae: DIRT. The game will evolve from point-to-point rallying to extreme off-road competitions such as Hill Climb and collision-packed Rally Cross events.... - Sega's Nintendo DS anime fighting game Bleach DS 2nd: Kokui Hirameku Chinkon Uta. - NDS version of Need for Speed: Carbon, the game will have new story sequences, customizable dash board and Wi-Fi multiplayer mode, up to 4 players can battle using one cartridge. - The Behemoth announced two new Xbox Live Arcade titles - a new 4 player action brawler called Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid, both games will be available in early 2007. - Sega is currently examining its newly released mech simulation game Chromehounds, players reported that the game regularly freezes and crash during play, it is not possible to proceed too far in the game. The problem occurs in both single and multi-player mode. - Vivendi Universal Games confirmed that a Wii version of Crash Bandicoot is under development, the game will be coming in 2007. July 19th:: - Square Enix denied the recent rumors that the company is developing a sequel to its PlayOnline MMORPG Final Fantasy XI. Square Enix is currently working on a completely new MMORPG for next generation platforms including game consoles and PCs, as stated in May 2005. - Moss announced Raiden IV, the latest work of the popular arcade vertical scrolling shooter. Location test of the game will take place in Japan between July 22 - 23, 2006. - Japanese online shop Tsutaya has conducted a survey on which next generation console customers will likely to buy, 66% of the customers would like to pick up a PlayStation 3, and 34% would like to pick up a Wii. - Japanese retailers reported that Bandai Namco intends to release Dragon Ball Z: Sparkling NEO for Wii and PS2 in Japan on October 19, 2006. If the date were correct, then Nintendo's Wii console will likely be launched around the same time. - Level 5 announced an original simulation RPG for PSP named Jeanne d'Arc [Joan of Arc], the game will have well-known characters such as Joan of Arc, Roget and LeAnn. The game is currently 70% completed, and Sony will publish the game in Japan in Winter 2006. - Enterbrain mentioned that the total shipment of Nintendo DS will surpass 10 million units in Japan by August 2006. - Square Enix will release the Final Fantasy III Original Sound Track album in Japan on September 20, for 2500 yen, the album includes one CD and one DVD. - Nintendo is working on a NDS version of Mother / Earthbound, which takes full advantage of the touch panel. - Nintendo mentioned that they are evaluating ways to use the Wii24Connect feature in Wii to offer downloadable extras for games such as Animal Crossing and Metroid Prime 3. - Nintendo also plans to offer an assortment of original titles for the Virtual Console, several titles are already in development. - The Wii Sensor bar will be around 20cm in length, it doesn't matter if your TV screen is a lot wider than the sensor bar because you're interacting with the screen, not the bar. - Ubisoft mentioned that Red Steel for Wii will support multiple players using split screen, up to 4 players can battle simultaneously. - Square Enix may consider releasing Dragon Quest 9 exclusively for Wii. A final decision will be made based on the sales of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker for NDS and Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen & the Tower of Mirrors for Wii. In addition, Square Enix is working on a Mana MMORPG for Wii. - Sony has licensed Avistar Communication's video conference technology from the subsidiary company Collaboration Properties. The technology will be used in PlayStation products such as PS3 and PSP. - Sony will release the next-gen version of EyeToy at the launch of PS3. - Microsoft announced a playable demo of Dead or Alive 4 will be available in Xbox Live Marketplace in Japan on July 25, 2006, the demo will have 6 playable characters. - Famitsu reported a rumor that Microsoft will announced an original RPG for Xbox 360 at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2006, the script will be written by a popular fantasy novel author. - Koei will release the Xbox 360 version of Sengoku Musou 2 [Samurai Warriors 2] in Japan on August 17, 2006. The game will support multiplayers online via Xbox Live. - Microsoft mentioned they have ceased production of the original Xbox. - Bandai Namco will release Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood for PS2 in Japan on October 26, 2006. - Konami will release a new PS2 anime tennis game Prince of Tennis: Doki Doki Sabaibaru in Japan this winter. July 13th:: - Sega announced Shining Force EXA for PS2, the sequel to Shining Force NEO, which is a RPG instead of S.RPG. The game is scheduled for a winter 2006 release in Japan. The protagonists are Touma and Shiril, accompanied by a pet animal. The game is currently 60% completed. - Sony announced Everybody's Tennis for PS2, developer by Clap Hanz. The game will have similar designs as Minna no Golf, with easy control and deep gameplay. Both Gloria and Suzuki from Minna no Golf [HotShot Golf] will be in the game. Everybody's Tennis will have online support, and the game will run at 60fps. - Sega announced its PS2 RPG Shining Wind will be released in Japan in Spring 2007. - Microsoft of Japan announced the HD-DVD add-on for Xbox 360 will support H.264 decoding from ATI, an advanced video coding standard used in MPEG-4 videos. - Electronic Arts is working on 6 new titles for Wii, including: Madden NFL - Konami will release World Soccer Winning Eleven DS for NDS in Japan on September 21, 2006, for 3980 yen. The game will have a new World Tour mode and versus battles over Wi-Fi connection. - Sega will release the NDS fighting game Bleach DS 2nd in Japan this winter, the number of playable characters will be substantially increased, there will be a new type of situation battles. The game will also correspond to Wi-Fi connection. - Nintendo will release Yakuman Wi-Fi for NDS in Japan on September 14, 2006, an update to the NDS Mahjong game, which allows players to battle with other users online using Wi-Fi connection. - Marvelous Interactive announced that its upcoming Harvest Moon title Rune Factory: Shin Bokujou Monogatari will have a play time of 30 - 40 hours. The game will be released on August 24, 2006. - Nintendo will release Pokemon Diamond & Pearl in Japan on September 28, 2006. Two new legendary Pokemons are revealed. The game will support Wi-Fi battles and exchange of Pokemon at Pokemon Centers. There will be a large amount of pre-evolved Pokemons... - Nintendo will release a Final Fantasy III Crystal Edition Nintendo DS Lite in Japan on August 24, for 22,780 yen. The Crystal White DS Lite will each have a serial number, and illustration of the four main characters on the DS Lite. - Nintendo will release the Jet Black version of Nintendo DS Lite in Japan on September 2, for 16800 yen. - Capcom has officially announced Monster Hunter Portable 2nd for PSP, the sequel to the popular monster hunter game. The previous title sold over 600,000 copies in Japan. - Bandai's PSP music puzzle game Gunpey-R, the game will be released in Japan in fall 2006, for 5040 yen. July 6th:: - Famitsu reported that the Japanese console market has expanded by 33% comparing to 2005, due to the strong sales of Nintendo DS. - Famitsu reported that Nintendo has sold 3.9 million units of Nintendo DS / DS Lite combined during the first half of 2006 (Dec 26/05 - Jun 25/06); while Sony's PSP sold 1 million units during the same period. - Sony announced a new wave of budget price titles for both PS2 and PSP in Japan for the summer: Aug 03 - Fuun Bakumatsuden: PS2 The Best - 2800 yen (Genki) - Konami announced they will release Silent Hill Complete Set for PS2 in Japan on July 8, 2006, for 7749 yen. The package includes Silent Hill (PSone), Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (PS2), Silent Hill3 (PS2), Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2), 5 Silent Hill Postcards and a poster of Silent Hill the Movie. - SNK Playmore has postponed the release of Metal Slug 6 for PS2 from July 27 to sometimes in September 2006. - Blizzard announced the company is recruiting for senior console producer to work on new console software for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. Blizzard is the developer of the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. - Q Entertainment announced Otoo Keigou! Gunpey Ribasu for NDS, the latest work of the puzzle game series Gunpey, which was previously released on WonderSwan Color and PSone; the game will be released in fall 2006. - Square Enix revealed new details on Final Fantasy III's WiFi mode. In the game you can dispatch letters to friends via WiFi. WiFi connection can be established with the moggles in the game. After you dispatched the letter, new event will be triggered on both sides. - Mainichi reported that Nintendo have sold 2.6 million unit of software for NDS in Japan in the month of June, 1.8 million units were contributed by the release of New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo will release the NDS basketball game Mario Hoop 3 on 3 in Japan on July 27, 2006. - Q Entertainment announced Gunpey Ribasu for PSP, the latest installment of the popular puzzle game Gunpey, the game is produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and will be available in Japan in fall 2006. - Konami will release Mahjong Fight Club: Nationwide Battle Edition for PSP in Japan on September 28, 2006. The game will support online matching via WiFi, the monthly fee is between 325 to 420 yen. - Bandai Namco mentioned that its upcoming PS2 RPG Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra will have virtually no load times between battles, the game will be available in Japan on July 6, 2006. - Konami's Pop n' Music 13 Carnival for PS2 will feature a total of 114 tunes, including new tunes not found in the arcade version. The game will be released in Japan on September 28, 2006. - D3 Publisher will release the simulation RPG Simple 2000 Series: The Earth Defense Force Tactics in Japan on July 27, 2006. - Koei announced Sengoku Musou 2 Empires for PlayStation 2, the game will be released in Japan in September 2006. Sengoku Musou 2 Empires combines action and strategic elements from the Romance of Three Kingdom series. - Nintendo has postponed the release date of both Super Paper Mario and Donkey Kong Barrel Jet Race for GameCube in Japan, the games were originally scheduled for Aug 3 and Aug 10 release, no new release date have been set. - Sony confirmed that PlayStation 3 and its software titles will be playable at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show on September 22 - 24, in Tokyo, Japan. PS3 will launch in Japan on November 11, 2006. - SCEE mentioned the company will supply 150,000 units of PlayStation 3 at launch in UK on November 17, 2006. - In a recent interview from Kikizo, Tecmo's Tomonobu Itagaki mentioned that his team is focusing on Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 for Xbox 360, the Jet-ski game is inspired from Nintendo's Wave Race, there are two jet-ski modes: racing and wave riding. The game will have approximately 20 new tunes. - Itagaki mentioned his team is still collecting ideas for Code Cronus for 360, this title will not be a simple action game, but "action-xyz". Ninja Gaiden 2 for Xbox 360 is currently in preparatory phase. - For PlayStation 3, Itagaki thinks it is very exciting; and for Wii, he is interested in making games, however it is difficult for him because he only wants to concentrate on one project at a time. - Microsoft mentioned the company will showcase the Xbox 360 RPG Blue Dragon at the Jump Super Tour 2006 in Japan between July 26 - August 26, 2006, in 5 locations across Japan. - Famitsu reported that Nintendo's Wii four player melee game Dairantou Smash Bros. X [Super Smash Bros. Brawl] has been pushed back to a 2007 release in Japan. June 30th:: - Ubisoft announced they have sold 4.5 million copies of its movie based action game Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie across all platforms. - Game Arts' 3D sci-fi space shooter Project Sylph (tentative), exclusively developed for Xbox 360. The game is the latest work of the Silpheed series, the story takes place in the year 2632, the two protogonists are Katana Fareway and Ellen Bellstein. Project Sylph is produced by Takashi Saito, and it will be released in Japan in 2006. - Capcom will release the Xbox 360 action game Dead Rising in Japan on September 28, 2006, for 8379 yen. - Capcom will release the PS2 3D action beat'em up title God Hand in Japan on September 14, 2006. - Square Enix announced they will shut down the online server for the PS2 third person shooter Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII in Japan on September 29, 2006. Online multiplayer match will no longer be accessible after this time, but the game can still be played offline. - Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is recruiting new programmers for its WipeOut team, to work on the network user interface for new PS3 and PSP titles. - Bandai Namco will release the PSP racing game Ridge Racers 2 in Japan on September 14, 2006. - Capcom's PSP port of the multiplayer action combat game Power Stone Collection will be released in Japan on October 12, 2006. - Bandai Namco's PSP fighting game Tekken: Dark Resurrection, the game will be available in Japan on July 25, 2006. - Nintendo has registered a number of new patents in Japan between June 18 - 26, including WiiCan, WiiClub, WiiCommunication, WiiDiary, WiiHappy, WiiHealth, WiiHome, WiiKids, WiiMap, WiiOnline, WiiSenior, WiiWords, WWWii, WiiActive24, WiiCountry and WiiAlive24. - Nintendo announced 3 new Wii titles at the shareholders meeting in Japan, which includes Made in Wario: Smooth Moves [WarioWare: Smooth Moves], Wii Sports Tennis, and Duck Hunt. June 28th:: - Sony revealed the PSP Camera, which will be released in Japan in fall 2006. The camera is 1.3 mega pixels, and it attaches to the top center of the system. - Bandai Namco announced Ridge Racers 2 for PSP, the sequel to the popular portable racing game. The game is currently 70% completed, Ridge Racers 2 will have race courses from Ridge Racer Revolution, Rage Racer and Ridge Racer Type 4; as well as over 40 soundtracks and multiplayer Ad Hoc support. It is unclear whether the game will have all 42 tracks from the 3 games. - Taito announced Kangaeru Exit for PSP, the sequel of the popular rescuing action game Exit. The game will have 110 levels. - Falcom will release Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki for PSP in Japan on September 28, 2006, the latest work of the Legend of Heroes series. - Nintendo will release the Noble Pink version of DS Lite in Japan on July 20, 2006, for 16800 yen. - Atlus announced a new Nintendo DS 3D dungeons RPG called Sekaiju no Meikyu. The story centers around a dungeon inside a gigantic tree. - During the shareholder's meeting, Nintendo promised that the company will have sufficient stockings of Nintendo DS prepared for the release of Square Enix's Final Fantasy III for NDS. Nintendo expects a large demand of Nintendo DS on August 24, the date when Final Fantasy III is released. - Capcom will release a new Rockman / Megaman action game called Shinsei Rockman ZN for NDS in Japan in winter 2006. - Famitsu reported that Sega is developing a new simulation RPG title in the Shining series, the destination platform is undecided. - Game Informer reported that Electronic Arts' the NDS and Wii version of Need for Speed: Carbon will not have Wi-Fi online support. Online support is only available in the PS2, Xbox, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. In addition, EA does not plan to support the motion sensing capabilities in the Wii and PS3 version, due to concerns of player fatigue. - Square Enix will release the US version of Final Fantasy XII for PS2 on October 31, 2006. - Square Enix has sold over 350,000 copies of its PS2 RPG Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria, which was released on June 22, 2006. - Sony will release SOCOM 3 Map Pack #1 for PlayStation 2 in US on July 11, the map pack can be purchased online for US$5.99. - Bandai Namco mentioned that the Tri-crescendo Xbox 360 RPG Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream will be released in Japan in December 2006. June 19th:: - Bandai Namco has officially announced they will release a remake of the classic PSone RPG Tales of Destiny for PS2, the PS2 remake will have revamped battle system, 3D graphics and a large number of additional events and side quests throughout the story. - Bandai Namco announced a brand new Tales RPG for PSP, entitled Tales of the World. In the game you can customize the appearance of the protagonist at the beginning, including facial features, hair style and clothing. - Bandai Namco will release a PSP port of Tales of Phantasia in Japan on September 7, 2006, the first game in the Tales series. The PSP version will be based on the PSone version of the game, which includes a new opening movie from Production I.G. and voice acting which were not found in the SFC or GBA version. - Bandai Namco also announced Tales of Destiny 2 for PSP, ported over from PS2, the game is scheduled for a 2007 release in Japan. (Note: This game has never been released outside Japan, the English version of Tales of Destiny 2 for PSone is actually Tales of Eternia.) - Square Enix announced they have shipped 2.4 million copies of its DVD/UMD video Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, here is the breakdown: Japan - 1 million units (September 2005) - Bandai Namco's chief producer Daisuke Uchiyama has admitted that Soul Calibur IV is under development, platform is PS3. - Namco will release Tales of the Tempest for Nintendo DS in Japan on August 24, 2006. - Bandai Namco will release a remake of Tales of Destiny for PS2, which was original released for PSone in 1997. In additional, a further Tales RPG named Tales of the Voice is also under development, platform and release date is unclear. - Bandai Namco's Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood for PS2, the game will be released in 2006. - Bandai Namco's PS2 3D beat'em up action game Fighting Beauty Wulong, based on the popular anime of the same name. The game will be released in Japan on June 22, 2006, for 6800 yen. - Bandai Namco's PS2 3D beat'em up action game Fighting Beauty Wulong, based on the popular anime of the same name. The game will be released in Japan on June 22, 2006, for 6800 yen. - Bandai Namco's cross over fighting game Battle Stadium D.O.N. for PS2 and GameCube, featuring characters from Dragon Ball Z, One Piece and Naruto, the game will be released in Japan on July 20, 2006, for 7140 yen. - - Electronic Arts is working on the latest racing game Need for Speed Carbon, the game will be coming to Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox, PS2, Wii, NDS and PSP. The races will take place in night time like the Underground series. Drift racing will become available, police cars will be in the game, but the role will not be as large as in Most Wanted. June 16th:: - Tecmo is working on a PS3 version of Ninja Gaiden Black. - Sony's Ken Kutaragi mentioned that the PS3 Cell Chip will be produced in 65nm starting in 2007. At present, the Cell Chip is manufactured in 90nm, switching to 65nm will reduce the production costs. - Square Enix is working on a PSP version of Kingdom Hearts. - MTV News reported that Rockstar will use the RAGE Engine to handle the graphics in Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. RAGE is the abbreivation for Rockstar Advance Game Engine, which was used on Rockstar's Table Tennis for 360. - Nintendo has sold more than 136,500 units of Nintendo DS Lite in North America in the first two days of launch. - EA is working on a massive multiplayer version of the hit racing game Burnout. - Ecole's PS2 2D fighting game Melty Blood Act Cadenza, ported over from the Atomiswave arcade version; the PS2 version will be released in Japan on August 10, 2006. - Nintendo released new details on the Nintendo DS RPG Pokemon Diamond & Pearl. The story will take place in the Shinou city, you can start the game as either a boy or girl. The NDS built-in clock will be used for regulating time in the game, at different times, there will be variation of Pokemons around, and their evolution may also affected by the time. There will be a new Pokedex which resembles the NDS, you can use the stylus the navigate the menu items. There is also a new Pokemon Watch, which functions as watch, calculator, Pokemon breeding center monitor, and so on. New functions may be unlocked as the story progresses. There will be more visual differences between male and female Pokemons as well. June 7th:: - Japanese tech magazine Ultra One reported that PlayStation 3's backward compatibility is done by including the PS2 hardware components in the unit. The PS3 will include the Emotion Engine + Graphic Synthesizer combo chip from the Slimline PS2, therefore the cost of PS3 would rise. Originally Sony plans to use pure software emulation for PS2 and PSone software to reduce cost. - Ultra One is true, then it would not be possible to run PS2 and PSone games in high definition mode. The magazine also reported that Nintendo is also likely to use a hardware solution for Wii to playback GameCube games, i.e. include the GameCube hardware components in Wii; and emulation for older systems (N64, SNES, NES, PC-Engine/Turobgrafx-16 and Mega Drive/Genesis). - Square Enix announced Dragon Quest Monsters Jokers for NDS, the latest work of the monster breeding and battle game. This time the game will be in full 3D, no release date has been set. - Yuke's Company announced they have opened their first North American office in US, the company will begin to publish games for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and PSP in North America. Yuke's Company is the developer of the WWE Smackdown, Rumble Roses and D1GP Professional Drift series. - Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed that the company will announce the official launch date and selling price of Wii in September 2006. Previous rumors suggested that Wii will launch in Japan sometimes in October 2006, and the price will be less than 25,000 yen (US$250). - Satoru Iwata mentioned that he is convinced that the sales of Wii will be competitive against PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 worldwide, and it will be clearly over those of the GameCube. - Nintendo announced Pokemon Battle Revolution for Wii, the latest work of the popular Pokemon Stadium/Colosseum series. The game can be connected with the NDS version of Pokemon Pearl & Diamond via WiFi connection. Pokemon Battle Revolution is scheduled to release in Japan in late 2006. - Satoru Iwata mentioned that software for the Wii Virtual Console will cost between 500 - 1000 yen each (US$4.4 - $8.8). Nintendo also plans to deliver brand new games for Wii using the Virutal Console. June 1st:: - Japanese retailers reported that Nintendo may soon end production of the original Nintendo DS in Japan, in future only DS Lite will be available in the market. The reason is that Nintendo has stopped shipment of the original DS model for over a month, and it certainly does not take this much time to produce the system. - Nintendo has sold 900,000 copies of its NDS action game New Super Mario Bros. in Japan, in 4 days after the release on May 25, 2006. - Japanese retailer reported that Nintendo is working on a new NDS training game, which translates to Common Sense Training for Adults DS, the game will contain 2,000 common sense / trivia questions. The release date is October 2006. - Square Enix revealed more tidbits for the PS3 RPG Final Fantasy XIII in the latest issue of Gemaga magazine: The scenario is currently 80% completed, the game will have a number of usable vehicles. The developer is researching whether or not to use the 6-axis technology in the PS3 controller, which may be applied on the vehicles controls. In the E3 trailer, the two yellow insignias the lead woman's left shoulder express a rank or social status. The social status affects the type of conversation with characters in the cities. The woman in the E3 trailer is not necessary the protagonist of the game. However the developers mentioned that they want to give the leading role to a strong, independent woman. - Sony has confirmed that the horror adventure game Siren 3 [Forbidden Siren 3] is under development for PlayStation 3. - SCE's president Phi Harrison expressed his opinions about the PS3 controller in a recent interview in the Der Spiegel magazine: He disagrees that SCE appropriated the motion sensing idea from Nintendo, as it has been in works for some time. "It is perfectly naturally for two companies to work on nearly identical devices. It is like that with technology." He reiterated that the PS2 Dual Shock controller is "de facto industry standard" for video games. Sony defined the standard for man-to-machine interface for playing videogames. Also, he thinks that PS3 will have enough processing power for non-gaming functionalities to render traditional PCs, people can do most of the things just like a computer. - Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot mentioned that he is delighted with the PS3 controller, the company plans to pledge strong support for the PS3 motion-sensing functionality. - Nintendo has updated its game release schedule in US: Jun 5 - Big Brain Academy (NDS) - CESA announced this year's Tokyo Game Show will take place in the Tokyo Makuhari Messe between September 22 - 24, 2006. The theme is "New Exciting; New Impression; New Era". - Capcom has disbanded its Studio 8 development team, who previously worked on the Maximo series and Final Fight Streetwise. The reason is to cut back in development costs. - Hudson announced the first 3 titles for Wii's Virtual Console, they are R-Type, New Adventure Island and Bonk's Adventure for PC-Engine / Turbografx-16. All three titles will be available in Winter 2006. - SNK Playmore will release the PS2 port of Metal Slug 6 in Japan on July 27, 2007. The PS2 version will have a new Training School Mode and Gallery Mode. - SNK Playmore will release Garou Densetsu Battle Archive Vol. 1 for PS2 in Japan on July 20, 2006, four classic NeoGeo fighting games will be included: Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special and Fatal Fury 3. All 4 games will support online battles via KDDI network in Japan. - Idea Factory announced they will release a PSP port of the arcade 2D fighting game Spectral Vs. Generation in August 2006, the game features popular characters from the Spectral Force and Generation of Chaos RPG series. - Bandai Namco will release SD Gundam G-Generation Portable for PSP in Japan on August 3, 2006, for 5040 yen. - Peter Moore commented that the Wii's motion sensor technology is interesting, however it is uncertain whether the technology is sustainable over 1000 different games. It is hard to tell whether this can actually turn into a powerful, mass-market device. - Idea Factory released a new preview trailer of its upcoming Xbox 360 RPG Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage, the game will be available in Japan on June 29, 2006. May 30th:: - News - Star Fox DS gets official name, release date! It was only a few weeks ago at E3 that Nintendo first unveiled their new, upcoming Star Fox title for the DS, giving fans of the venerable space-shooter franchise a new installment to look forward to. Well, you Fox McCloud fans won't have look forward for too long: Fox's next adventure, now known officially as Star Fox Command, is set for release on August 28. This is certainly sooner than many might have anticipated, and the name change is welcome too, as I don't think many would argue with the opinion that "Star Fox DS" was something of a bland name. May 27th:: - XBOX 360 LIVE UPDATE in JULY 2006 ! - Famitsu reported that Nintendo's senior management director Yoshihiro Mori has confirmed the price of Wii, the console will cost 25000 yen (US$222) in Japan. The price is about 1/3 of PS3 and less than half of Xbox 360. - AQ Entertainment's Xbox 360 action adventure game Bullet Witch, the game will be available n Japan on July 13, 2006, for 7665 yen. - Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that a new StarFox title is under development for Wii, which will give player a new game experience using the Wii controller. May 25th::
BLUERAY MOVIES 50 FIRST DATES BIG HIT CHRONOS CRASH FIFTH ELEMENT HITCH HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS INTO THE BLUE KNIGHT'S TALE,A KUNG FU HUSTLE LAST WALTZ LEGENDS OF THE FALL LORD OF WAR RESIDENT EVIL:APOCALYPSE ROBOCOP S.W.A.T SAW SENSE AND SENSIBILITY SPECIES STEALTH TERMINATOR UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION XXX HD-DVD MOVIES BOURNE SUPREMACY CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK LAST SAMURAI,THE MILLION DOLLAR BABY PHANTOM OF THE OPERA,THE U-571 VAN HELSING - Bandai Namco's cross over fighting game Battle Stadium D.O.N., the game will be coming to both PS2 and GC in Japan on July 20, 2006, for 7140 yen. There are over 20 playable characters from DBZ, One Piece and Naruto; the battle stages have a lot of interactive elements, such as you can be hit by cars in the DBZ city.... - Sega will release the 3D action game Appleseed for PlayStation 2 in Japan in September 2006. The game is developed by Dream Factory, based on the anime movie of the same name. The game will have combat and gun shooting elements. - Bandai announced the release date of the remaining two eispides of .Hack // G.U. for PS2, .Hack // G.U. Vol. 1 Saitan was released in Japan on May 18, 2006. .hack // G.U. Vol. 2: Kimi
Omou Koe - September 2006 - Japanese retailer reported that a possible price drop is coming to PlayStation 2 in Japan, Sony stopped the shipment of PS2 momentarily, which distributors points as a reference to impending a price drop. The PS2 currently sells for 19,000 yen in Japan. - Bandai Namco's Nintendo Wii anime action adventure game One Piece: Unlimited Adventure. The second playable character Zoro is revealed, and there seem to be a number of mini games, such as fishing and butterfly catching. - Namco has recently registered the patent Tales of Wahrheit for protection in Japan, which seems to be the latest entry in the Tales RPG series. - Sega Sammy announced its game release plans worldwide for the fiscal year of 2006, which ends on March 31, 2007: PSP - 29 titles - SCi Entertainment reported strong sales of Tomb Raider Legend, the game has already sold 2.6 million copies worldwide for all systems, since its release in April 2006. - Mistwalker's Xbox 360 RPG Blue Dragon, the game is scheduled to release in Japan before the end of 2006. The protagonist is a youth named Shu, the battles are turn based, up to 5 characters can participate simultaneously. The 3D graphic engine is developed by Artoon and Ensemble. - Nintendo's Pokemon Diamond & Pearl for Nintendo DS, the game will be compatible with Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Fire Red and Left Green for GBA. May 11th:: E3 2006 - Nintendo announced Mario Galaxy, an action platformer launch title for Wii. Join Mario as he ushers in a new era of video games, defying gravity across all the planets in the galaxy.... - Nintendo will release The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as a launch title for Wii. The Wii Remote and the Nunchuk controller are used for a variety of game activities, including fishing and special sword attacks.... - Nintendo announced Wii Sports for the Nintendo Wii console, which features tennis, golf and baseball in one game..... - Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for Wii. Players control Samus by moving with the Nunchuk controller and aiming with the pointer.... - Nintendo announced the Wii console will have a WiiConnect24 service, if your console is connected to the Internet 24/7, game developers can push content to Wii unattented. Wii will come with the Opera browser for Internet surfing. - Nintendo will release a Wii Classic Controller for use with classic Nintendo games which require traditional gamepad interface. - Sega announced Sonic Wild Fire exclusively for Nintendo Wii, an adventure game inspired by Arabian Nights. The game will take advantage of Wii's motion-sensing controller, player will hold the controller horizontally, tilting it forward quickly to dash-attack foes. Sonic's movement will also be controlled by tilting the controller like steering wheel. - Nintendo announced the first wave of first party Wii titles: Mario Galaxy - a Mario launch
title for Wii - Hudson Soft announced Bomberman Land and a new flight game for Wii. - Koei announced a new Sengoku action game for Wii, which will have the background story from the Sengoku Musou series. - Bandai Namco announced a number of new Wii titles at the pre-E3 conference: Final Furlong - Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV will have exclusive episodic content that can be downloaded via Xbox Live Marketplace. - Microsoft announced Halo 3, Forza Motorsport 2 and Fable 2 for Xbox 360. Halo 3 will be available in 2007. - Microsoft announced an Xbox 360 camera called Xbox Vision, the first game to support the device is World Series of Poker, you can watch other players live online. - Microsoft announced the HD-DVD peripheral for Xbox 360, called Xbox 360 Player, which will be available this holiday season. - Microsoft announced a new line of Xbox Live Arcade titles, include Pac-Man, Galaga, Rally-X, Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-Man, Contra, Frogger, Sonic, Defender, Time Pilot, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Paperboy and Rootbeer Tapper. All games will have updated HD graphics, and some will have XBL multiplayer. - Q Entertainment will bring Lumines Live to Xbox Live Arcade, the game will have Warner Bros. music videos in the background, such as Madonna. - Microsoft announced they will offer TV shows on XBL Marketplace, the first one will be Gears of War experience. - Microsoft announced they have sold 5 million units of Xbox 360 since its launch in November 2005. - Bill Gates announced a new platform Live Anywhere for Windows Vista, a Windows version of the Xbox Live interface with one user interface, one ID, friend list, message center and marketplace. - Rockstar Games announced Grand Theft Auto IV for both PS3 and Xbox 360, the game will be released in North America on October 16, 2007. - SCE and Ninja Theory's PlayStation 3 martial art dramatic action game Heavenly Sword, the game will be released in Europe in December 2006. - SCE and Evolution Studios' PlayStation 3 rally / off-road racing game MotorStorm, the game will have a large range of vehicle types, such as dirt bikes, ATVs, sand rails, rally cars, monster trucks. MotorStorm ill be released in Europe in December 2006. - SCE and Insomniac Games' PlayStation 3 first person shooter Resistance: Fall of Man (also known as I-8), the game will be released in November 2006. - SCE and Incog's PlayStation 3 flight shooter WarHawk, the game will be released in November 2006. - Sony and Game Republic's historic action game Genji 2. The game will have all new character designs and massive battles, players can create a variety of unique combos. - Square Enix announced not one, but 3 new Final Fantasy XIII titles at the pre-E3 conference: Final Fantasy XIII (PS3), Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3) and Final Fantasy Agito XIII (Mobile phone), the theme of the game is FABULA NOVA CRYSTALLIS, which is The new tale of the crystal in Latin.... - Capcom announced the development of Monster Hunter 3 for PlayStation 3. - Polyphony Digital's PS3 racing game Gran Turismo HD (tentative name). The game will run at 60fps under HD resolution, it will be optimized to run on the PS3 HDD, the average load time is less than 3 seconds. - Sony announced the PlayStation 3 will launch in Japan on November 11 and in US and Europe on November 17, 2006. The prices of the system are as follow: PlayStation 3 w/ 20GB HDD -
US$499 / CND$549 / 59800 yen / 499 euros - Sony expects to ship 4 million units of PlayStation 3 by the end of the year, and 6 million units by the end of March 31, 2007. PlayStation 3 will support both standard and high definition TVs, and can communicate with PSP via USB cable; and backward compatible with PSone and PS2 games through emulation. - The PS3 controller will inherit the basic design of the Dual Shock Controller, the controller will be wireless, and have built-in motion sensor, which have "six degrees of freedom". However the vibration function has been removed from the controller, the reason is that vibration itself interferes with information detected by the sensor. The controller can be recharged with USB cable. - Sega announced the Lindbergh arcade fighting game Virtua Fighter 5 will be coming to PlayStation 3 exclusively in spring 2007. Virtua Fighter 5 will feature an all-star cast of 17 fighters, including characters from the previous iterations along with two new characters named El Blaze and Eileen. The game will support 720p HD resolution. - Sony announced the Greatest Hits series will hit PSP later this year. The first batch of Greatest Hits titles will include ATV Offroad Fury, Ape Escape: On the Loose, Hot Shots Golf, Twisted Metal and Wipeout Pure. - Sony announced that PSP will be able play PSone games directly from memory stick. - Sony announced the worldwide shipment of PSP has reached 17.03 million units be the end of March 31, 2006. 4.7 millions in Japan; 6.39 millions in US and 5.94 millions in Europe. - Square Enix revealed new details on the PSP action RPG Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. The game revolves around the story of Zack, who had already passed on to the Lifestream in FFVII... - In the press conference, Square Enix announced its plans for the current and next generation console. Final Fantasy XIII is officially
coming to PlayStation 3, the protagonist is a female, and the story
takes place in a high-tech, futuristic world. Yoshinori Kitase will
be the directory (FFVI, FFVII, FFVIII, FFX). - Time Magazine reported that Nintendo is working on the next-gen Wii version of Warioware [Made in Wario] and tennis game. Warioware is a collection of mini games; the tennis game will use the Wii controller as tennis racquet. May 9th:: E3 2006 News - PlayStation 3 - Nov 17, $499USD for 20GB, $599USD for 60GB, tilt-sensing controller Sony will be releasing two different and yet unnamed configurations for the PlayStation 3 on November 17th, 2006. What will the primary differences between the packages be? $599 Package ˇP 60GB Hard Drive $499 Package ˇP 20GB Hard Drive Aside from those points, both packages look to be identical. For the full feature chart, you can check out the official press release here. Sony also revealed a new feature for the PS3 controller, other than the much anticipated re-design. Or perhaps that should be re-re-design. The new controller will look almost identical to the standard PS2 Dual Shock, save for a few minor upgrades. The L2/R2 buttons have been enlarged, and feature greater depth for better control. The tilting angle of the analog sticks has been broadened for an even wider range of control as well. Precision detection has been increased from 8 bits to 10 bits. The biggest new feature however is the six axis sensing capability, which will let the controller sense motion, allowing the player to exert control of a game merely by moving the controller in any direction. By means of demonstration, the controller was used to fly the airship in the launch title Warhawk. This new technology comes at the price of the rumble feature in controllers however, as such movement could confuse the sensor. May 8th:: E3 2006 News - Square Enix press conference! Square Enix's conference, which basically kicks off the pre-E3 conferences, is taking place right now in LA. So far, they've shown game footage of various titles and announced some release dates, but we're still waiting for potential surprises. Here are the US release dates revealed so far: Valkyrie Profile Lenneth (PSP)
- July 18, 2006. So far, trailers/videos of Dawn of Mana, Children of Mana, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Valkyrie Profile Lenneth, and the latest Final Fantasy XI expansion have been shown, along with a loooong Final Fantasy XII English trailer. Update #1 - Wow, huge news! Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors was just shown; it's going to be a launch title for the Wii. Update #2 - Two new Crystal Chronicles games coming. One for the DS called Ring of Fates utilizing Wi-Fi for multiplayer. The other is for Wii Update #3 - The Wii title is Chrystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers and is a launch title. Also, Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII have been announced for PS3. Yes, two different FFXIII's announced. The first is presumably the normal FFXII, starring a sword and gun wielding female character. It will take place in what they call the most advanced civilization featured in a Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy Versus XIII sounds like a side-story. SE is emphasizing that in latin 'versus' means to change direction. But wait, that's not all. There will also be a Final Fantasy XIII for mobile devices. May 5th:: - DS Lite and New Super Mario Bros get release dates The DS Lite, the newer shinier better DS hardware revision, finally has a release date and price. Nintendo will be releasing it in North America on June 11 for $129.99. The only available color at launch will be Polar White with a raised DS logo on the cover. Many thought the DS Lite would launch alongside the DS title New Super Mario Bros, but we'll actually be getting that game a month earlier on May 15. "DS Lite and New Super Mario Bros. represent a double shot of gaming excellence," says Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "We've got something for both lovers of beautiful, new gadgets and fans of old-school gaming." Also coming up around the same time from Nintendo are Big Brain Academy on June 5 and Sudoku Gridmaster on June 26, both for DS. - This September: Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD "In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983." May 3rd:: - Banpresto will release Chou Dragon Ball Z [Super Dragon Ball Z] for PS2 in Japan on June 29, 2006, for 7140 yen, a 3D fighting game ported over from arcade. The PS2 version will have new characters, new moves and play modes not found in the arcade version. - Tecmo will release Tokobot Adventure for PlayStation 2 in Japan this fall, an adventure game ported over from PSP, the game is currently 45% completed. - Square Enix announced that Kingdom Hearts II for PlayStation 2 has sold over 1 million copies in North America since its release in March. - Sega announced Full Auto 2: Battlelines for PlayStation 3, the sequel to the combat racing game for Xbox 360. The game is being developed by Pseudo Interactive, and it will be PS3 exclusive. - SNK Playmore announced Metal Slug Anthology for Wii, the game will feature the full Metal Slug arcade series in one game, including the latest Atomsiwave version of Metal Slug 6. - Bandai's anime fighting game Dragon Ball Z Sparking! NEO [Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2], the game will be coming to both Wii and PlayStation 2 in fall 2006. APRIL 28th:: - Nintendo has officially anounced the name of its next generation, code-named "Revolution" console, it is called Nintendo Wii [pronounced "we"]. Wii symbolizes the unique controllers and the image of a person playing it. The console will have 512MB built-in Flash memory, wireless LAN, SD memory card slow and 2 USB 2.0 ports; its Virtual Console function is backward compatible with Famicom/NES, SFC/SNES, Nintendo 64, Mega Drive/Genesis and PC-Engine/Turbografx. - Konami announced Elebits for Wii, a new action adventure game from Shingo Mukaitough, the game will have a unique control scheme that is not possible with conventional joypads. - Electronic Arts will reveal its first Wii title Madden Revolution at E3, the game will not be called Madden NFL 2007, because the control scheme is complete different from the other versions. - Sega announced Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz for Wii, the latest work of the popular action puzzle game. With the Revolution controller, you can instruct the monkey to jump with an upward motion on the controller. The game will also include a large number of mini games. - Nintendo's DS action RPG Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. - VU Games' Nintendo DS party game Crash Bandicoot Festival, the game will be released in Japan on July 27, 2006, for 5040 yen. The game supports up to 4 players over WiFi, and only one cartridge is required. - Namco's Nintendo DS RPG Tales of the Tempest. The game will have a new Beast Transformation system, each character can transform into beast with mighty power. However, when a character in beast form cannot use character specific techniques and skills. - Sony has revealed its worldwide hardware distribution plan for the fiscal year of 2006, the company plans to ship 10 million units of PlayStation 2, 12 million units of PSP and 6 million units of PlayStation 3 throughout the year. - Sony announced its operational profit for the 2005 financial year has increased by 68% to 191.3 billion yen (US$1.66 billion), comparing to previous year. The increase is contributed by high sales of Bravia TVs and weak Yen; increasing sales with PSP and Vaio PC; and cut back on 5,700 jobs and 9 factories. - For the financial year of 2006, Sony expects a lower profit, due to the costs to launch PlayStation 3 in November 2006, the forecasted operation profit will be 100 billion yen (US$0.872 billion). The operational income will be 8.7 billion yen (US$75.8 millions), decreased by 79.7% from 2005. Sony also expects diminishing business for PS2 and PSP, after the PS3 is launched. - Buena Vista will publish four new games from Q Entertainment this fall: Lumines Plus (PS2) - Sega announced World Pool Championship 2007 for PS2, a new pool title featuring over 10 officially licensed pool tournaments, including Mosconi Cup, World Cup, and U.S. Open. The game will be available in fall 2006. - Grass Hopper, developed of Killer 7, announced a new title called Blood + One Night Kiss, the game will be heading to both PS2 and GameCube in Japan in summer 2006 by Bandai Namco. The game is currently 70% completed. - Yukes mentioned that the PS2 port of the wrestling game Wrestle Kingdom will not have contain the online battle mode found in the Xbox 360 version. - Hudson will release a PSP port Tengai Makyou: Daishi no Mokushiroku in Japan on July 13, 2006. The game is a port of the Saturn RPG from 1997, which is a side story of the Tengai Makyou series, known as "The Apocalypse IV". - Hudson will also release Bomberman Portable for PSP in Japan on July 20, 2006. - Q Entertainment is working on a PSP version of the party game Every Extend Extra, the game will be released in fall 2006. - Sega announced World Pool Challenge 2007 for PSP, developed by Blade Interactive. The game will have eight-ball, nine-ball and other cuesports within the same tournament. World Pool Challenge 2007 will be available in fall 2006. - Sony's business reported stated that PlayStation 3 will launch worldwide at the beginning of November 2006, the company is planning to ship 6 million units of PS3 by the end of March 2007. - Namco has confirmed that they will reveal Tekken 6 for PS3 at E3 2006. - Take Two will not have a Grand Theft Auto title for PS3 in 2006, they would like to release the game when sufficient consoles were sold, which presumably end of 2007. - Konami announced Elebits for Revolution, a new action adventure game from Shingo Mukaitough, the game will have a unique control scheme that is not possible with conventional joypads. - Electronic Arts will reveal its first Revolution title Madden Revolution at E3, the game will not be called Madden NFL 2007, because the control scheme is complete different from the other versions. - Sega announced Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz for Revolution, the latest work of the popular action puzzle game. With the Revolution controller, you can instruct the monkey to jump with an upward motion on the controller. The game will also include a large number of mini games. - Koei announced Sengoku Musou 2 [Samurai Warriors 2] for Xbox 360, the game will be available in 2006. - Codemasters announced a new 3rd person action RPG for Xbox 360 called Overload, the game will a dark comic theme, and designs resemble Fable. - Microsoft sold 26,000 copies of its Xbox 360 title Ninety Nine Nights in Japan during last week, and raised the sales of the console by 1000 units. - G-Rev will release the Xbox 360 shooter Senko no Ronde Rev. X in Japan on July 27, 2006. Genki will also release the Xbox 360 racing game Shutokou Battle X on the same date. - Hudson has pushed back the release date of Bomberman Act: Zero from May 25 to summer 2006. - FFXII POTION "REGULAR BOTTLES" - available today at NOON !!!! - FREE PSP GAME DEMO - available now!!!! - Marvelous Interactive announced a new fantasy action RPG for PSP called Valhalla Knights, featuring human, hobbits, elves and dwarves living in the same world. The game will support up to 6 players simultaneously over WiFi connection. The game will be released in Japan in summer 2006. - Sony will release the new PSP firmware 2.7 on May 25, which will including Macromedia Flash support for PSP browser, rendition of audio contents via RRS feed, AAC/WMA audio support and support of LocationFree TV. - This one's for you puzzle fans. As revealed on Monday, Q Entertainment's Lumines 2 for PSP has been confirmed. The new news is that Lumines Plus will be coming to the PS2; no word yet on the differences between that and the original PSP version. The DS will be getting another version of Meteos, called Meteos: Disney Edition. It should be interesting to see what that looks like. Last, but not least, Every Extend Extra, another Q Entertainment-developed game, will be coming to the PSP later this year. Unlike the others, this one's a crazy-looking shooter. Buena Vista will be handling publishing duties for all four titles. APRIL 23th:: - Atari announced two new Dragon Ball Z titles for PlayStation 2. The first is Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 [Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! NEO] (Q4 2006), which features over 100 playable characters from the entire Dragon Ball, DBZ and DBGT series, the game will have both fighting and role playable elements. - The second is Super Dragon Ball Z (July 2006), which is ported from the arcade game Chou Dragon Ball Z, featuring more complex battle system and 18 playable characters. - Sony will release the new PSP firmware 2.7 on May 25, which will including Macromedia Flash support for PSP browser, rendition of audio contents via RRS feed, AAC/WMA audio support and support of LocationFree TV. - SNK Playmore is working on a NDS version of King of Fighters, according to SNK Playmore character designer Falcoon. - Square Enix's Final Fantasy V Advance for GBA will feature new jobs and dungeons not found in the original version, the game will be a 120% port of the Super Famicom version. - Sony has confirmed a list of launch titles for PS3 in November 2006: John
Woo's Strangehold - Level 5, developer of Dragon Quest VIII and Rogue Galaxy, is working on a new PS3 role playable game. - Monolith, developer of F.E.A.R. and Condemned, is working on a new PS3 title. - Capcom's Hiroyuki Kobayashi, producer of Devil May Cry 4 mentioned the game will be release in early 2007. - AQ Interactive has postponed the release date of Bullet Witch for 360 from June 29 to July 13, 2006 in Japan. - Microsoft is planning to ship 700,000 copies of its newly released Xbox 360 title Ninety Nine Nights worldwide. - Capcom will be distributing a playable demo of its upcoming Xbox 360 title Lost Planet online on May 9, the demo can be downloaded from Xbox Live market place, available in USA only. - Sega's Xbox 360 online RPG Phantasy Star Universe will not be connected with the PS2 and PC version. The 360 version will have its own servers and you cannot play with friends from the PS2/PC version. - Bloomberg reported that NEC will be producing chips for Nintendo's Revolution console, which confirmed by NEC president Toshio Nakajima. The production will begin in fall 2006 and the console is expected to launch before holiday season of 2006. - The Jump! magazine reported that Bandai is working on a new One Piece title for Revolution called One Piece Unlimited Adventure, there is no official announcement at present. - Square Enix announced its E3 lineup: Video Presentation Dawn of Mana [Seiken Densetsu
4] (PS2, TBA) Playable and Video
Final Fantasy XI: Treasure of Aht Urhgan (PS2, Xbox 360) - Sega anounced Virtua Tennis 3 for both PS3 and Xbox 360. The console version will have a career mode, character creation and a number of additive mini-games. The game will be released in Spring 2007. APRIL 22nd:: - Yuke's will release the PSP virtual pet breeding and communication game called Artlist Collection - The Dog: Happy Life in Japan on April 27, 2006, for 2940 yen. In this game you can breed, dress-up and take photos of your dogs. - Sony will release the anime fighting game Bleach: Heat the Soul 3 for PSP in Japan on July 20, 2006. - Bandai announced its first Revolution title & PS2 title - the anime fighting game Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! NEO [Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi NEO], the sequel to the popular PS2 fighting game; the game will have over 100 playable characters. - Banpresto announced Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation for PlayStation 2, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the series. This game will combine the two GBA titles Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 1 & 2 as one game, plus additional scenarios and characters. - Sony Computer Entertainment America announced a price drop of PlayStation 2 to US$129.99 and CND$139.99, effective immediately. - Namco announced Ridge Racer 7 for PlayStation 3, an exclusive launch title for PS3 in November 2006. The game will take place in the year 2010, and there will be around 200 different vehicles. Ridge Racer 7 will have online support, Namco's goal is to allow at least 16 players to battle online. Famitsu scored an interview with the main talent behind RR7. Masaya Kobayashi is serving as director, with Hideo Teramoto taking on the role of assistant producer. Serving as sound director is Hiroshi Okubo. These three also worked on the PSP and Xbox 360 RR games. Kobayasha, while not directly confirming a release at the PS3's launch in November, stated that the development staff's goal is to, as quickly as possible, convey to players the concept behind the PS3 hardware. Teramoto personally believes this concept to be "machine power," exemplified by the PS3's ability to deliver movie-quality visuals and sound. As another concept for the PS3, Teramoto mentioned the system's network connectivity, hinting that Sony has indeed gotten its Online act in gear for the PS3. The three developers didn't get too specific about what we can expect from RR7. Teramoto stated that thanks to the PS3's power, even with improved graphics, the system has juice to spare, which will be used for effects to help deliver a better feeling of speed and arcade-thrills. Teramoto let slip that the game will use Nitros, a system that was recently featured in the PSP and Xbox 360 games. Okubo addressed the game's sound component briefly by revealing that the game will support 5.1 sound. Online support seems like it will exceed that of Ridge Racer 6. Namco is aiming for support up to 14 players Online at once. This is the same number as that of RR6, but Kobayashi believes that adding more players would be unnecessary. The team is planning on new Online play options that take the game beyond mere competitive play, with Teramoto revealing that something akin to cooperative play will make it into the game. Players will be able to customize their cars and show them off Online, Kobayashi added. The game will have a massive set of options, with what appears to be at least 200,000 car possibilities. Ridge Racer 7 will have a strong Offline component as well, of course. The main mode of play will offer more than 160 races. In addition, Namco is working time attack and single race modes into the title. And, the biggest news of all! Reiko Nagase is back as spokesgirl! Famitsu hints that the world's easiest race queen will have a slightly older look this time around. Finishing off Famitsu's early glimpse at Ridge Racer 7, Kobayashi promised a title that would make PS3 owners glad that they purcahsed the system. Ridge Racer 7 will make an appearance at E3 in a couple of weeks. While it's unclear if the title will be playable, we can at the very least expect a first look via a trailer clip called Ridge Racer Vision 2010. - Zipper Interactive announced SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals: Combined Assault for PS2 and SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo 2 for PSP - Rockstar Games will release the PS2 version of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories in US on June 6, for $19.99. - SNK Playmore announced Metal Slug: Super Vehicle for GameBoy Advance, the latest work of the popular action shooter series. The game will be revealed at E3. - Sega has officially announced Phantasy Star Universe for Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 version is scheduled for release in fall 2006, along with the PS2 and PC version. - Genki will release the Xbox 360 racing game Shutokou Battle [Tokyo Xtreme Battle] in Japan in July 2006. - Hudson announced they will release Dungeon Explorer for Xbox 360 and PSP, a new installment of the classic RPG. The Xbox 360 version will have Xbox Live support, and the PSP version will support multi players over WiFi connection. APRIL 19th:: - Bandai Namco's anime fighting game Battle Stadium D.O.N., feature characters from Jump! manga's Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Naurto series such as Son Goku, Monkey D. Luffy, Tony Tony Chopper and Naruto. The game will support 4 players simultaneously, and there will be a super combo system "Burst". Featuring characters from 3 popular Jump! manga series: Dragon Ball Z (D), One Piece (O) and Naruto (N). - SNK Playmore will release the PS2 version of The King of Fighters XI in Japan on June 22, for 6800 yen. - Idea Factory will release Samurai 7 for PS2 in Japan on May 25, 2006, an anime adventure game based on Gonzo's TV anime series of the same name. - Namco will release Right Brain Expert: Gunbullet Trainer for NDS in Japan on May 18, 2006. - Dimps' Nintendo DS party game Crash Bandicoot Festival, the game will have over 80 mini games, support up to 4 players over WiFi connection. - Sony will release the PSP anime fighting game Bleach: Heat the Soul 3 in Japan on July 20, 2006. - Falcom will release the PSP action RPG Gurumin in Japan on June 29, ported over from PC. - Ubisoft will release a PSP version of Brothers in Arms in Europe in October 2006. - Bandai's PSP anime fighting game Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai, the game will be released in Japan on April 20, 2006, for 5040 yen. Shin Budokai will support WiFi battles, when you enable the "Expecting Opponent" option, your PSP will wait for human opponents and alerts you when someone requests a battle. - Hudson's Rengoku 2: The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N. for PSP, the game will be released in Japan on April 27, 2006, for 5040 yen. - Namco will release Tekken: Dark Resurrection for PSP in Japan on July 6, 2006. APRIL 14th:: - Konami will release a new wave of Dance Dance Revolution and Karaoke Revolution titles for PS2, Xbox and Xbox 360 this fall: Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova
(PS2) - September 13, 2006 - Here are the latest Japanese game review scores: PlayStation 2 Xbox 360 PSP Nintendo DS GBA - Yuke's announced they will release a PS2 port of the Xbox 360 wrestling game Wrestle Kingdom in Japan in July 2006. - SNK Playmore will release Metal Slug for PS2 in Japan on June 29, 2006, this is the 3D version of the classic action shooter. - Capcom announced God Hand for PS2, a new action adventure game from Shiniji Mikami (Biohazard) and Atsushi Inaba. The genre is beat'em up action, you play the role of Jean, who possesses the God Hand, which gives him special skills in battles..... - Konami announced Silent Hill: Original Sin for PSP, a remake of the first Silent Hill title for PSone. The game will be released in October 2006. - Konami announced Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for Nintendo DS, the latest work of the Castlevania series, the game will be released on November 15, 2006. - Namco announced Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception for PSP, the latest work of the popular flight shooting game. The PSP version will have a new Strategy AI System and support up to 4 players over WiFi. - Square Enix's Final Fantasy III remake for Nintendo DS, the game will be released in July 2006. APRIL 12th:: - Gust's PS2 alchemy RPG Atelier Iris: Grand Fantasm, the game will be released in Japan on June 29, for 7140 yen. - Genki will release Daisenryaku DS: Great Strategy for NDS in Japan on May 25. The DS version will have greatly simplified systems to make the game suitable for beginners. - Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. for NDS. The game will have new 2 player versus mode and a collection of mini games for 4 players, as well as mini games that can be played with the stylus. - SCEA / Guerrilla Games' PSP stealth action game Killzone: Liberation, the game will be released in Q4 2006. - Weekly Famitsu conducted a survey on customer's purchase behavior, 59.8% of users purchased Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII from an online shop, 24.7% of users purchased the game from wholesale stores, and only 1.7% of users purchased the game from traditional console game specialty shops. - Square Enix's Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus to Fushigi no Dungeon for PS2, the game will be released in Japan on April 20, 2006. - SNK Playmore's PS2 3D fighting game KOF Maximum Impact 2, the game will have additional costumes designed by Falcoon, and bonus features which can be purchased from the shop. - Bungie is developing a new MMO first person shooter for Xbox 360 called Project Orion. - Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII & VII remake will adopt the real time battle system from Final Fantasy XII. - Microsoft is trying to secure an exclusive Grand Theft Auto title for Xbox 360, if not succeed then the company will try to secure exclusive time period for the next GTA title on Xbox 360. - Ubisoft announced Red Steel for Revolution, an action shooter with a story about Yakuza (Japanese mafia), the player will use both pistol and sword as weapon. The game will have a unique control scheme, you point the controller at enemies to shoot; hurl to use sword, and throw to use grenade. - George Harrison, Nintendo's VP of marketing and communication, mentioned that there will be about 20 launch titles available for Nintendo Revolution; the console will launch before the end of 2006, and 1/3 of the titles will be published by Nintendo. - Capcom announced Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded for PSP, the sequel to the popular arcade classics collection. There will be 15 classic titles in the compilation, including Eco Fighters, King of Dragons, Knights of the Round, Street Fighter II and Ghouols n' Ghosts. The game will be released in Q4 2006. - Weekly Famitsu has revealed the total install base of all the current console systems in Japan, all figures are collected as of March 26, 2006: PlayStation 2 - 19,197,777
units - Bandai's Neon Genesis Evangelion 2: Tsukurareshi Sekai - Another Cases for PSP, an action / adventure game based on the classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. The game will be available in Japan on April 27, 2006. - Microsoft announced they have partnered with Tri-Ace to develop and exclusive RPG for Xbox 360, the game will be jointly developed by Tri-Ace and Microsoft Game Studios. Tri-Ace is the maker of popular RPGs such as Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile and Radiator Stories. - Square Enix announced the company is working on a Xbox 360 exclusive sci-fi space shooter tentatively named Project Sylph, the game is being developed by GameArts. More details will be revealed at E3 2006. - Bandai Namco announced Culdcept Saga for Xbox 360, the latest work of the popular card battle series, developed by Omiya Soft. Culdcept Saga will feature online battle via Xbox Live. - Microsoft revealed that SNK Playmore, Konami, Bandai Namco and Yukes will be providing content for Xbox Live Arcade, Namco will bring Pac-Man and Galaxy to XBLA in Japan. Top 20 Most Wanted Japanese
Console Games Rank Game Title Publisher Platform
- Last of all, Final Fantasy VII for the PS3 is apparently actually in development and will be using the real-time battle system from Final Fantasy XII. - Game Crazy and Best Buy now have DS download
stations APRIL 7th:: - Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS, the game will be available in Japan on May 25, 2006. - Capcom will release the NDS action game Rockman ZX in Japan on July 6, 2006. - Sony announced it will hold the E3 press conference in the afternoon of Monday May 8, 2006, at the Sony Pictures Entertainment Sudios in Culver City, California, two days before E3 2006 begins. - Lucent has filed lawsuit against Microsoft for patent infringement over technology used in Xbox 360 console, the Xbox 360's built-in MPEG-2 decoding capability violates Lucent's "Adaptive Coding and Decoding of Frames and Fields of Video" patent, which they hold since 1993. - Microsoft confirmed they have acquired Lionhead Studios, the maker of Black & White and Fable. Peter Molyneux from Lionhead Studios said they will now develop exclusively for Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. - Microsoft revealed that SNK Playmore, Konami, Bandai Namco and Yukes will be providing content for Xbox Live Arcade, Namco will bring Pac-Man and Galaxy to XBLA in Japan. - Bandai Namco's Zegapain: XOR for Xbox 360, you control giant robot called Zegapain to battle the enemies in the sky; the game will have online battles via Xbox Live. - Microsoft announced they have partnered with Tri-Ace to develop and exclusive RPG for Xbox 360, the game will be jointly developed by Tri-Ace and Microsoft Game Studios. Tri-Ace is the maker of popular RPGs such as Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile and Radiator Stories. - Square Enix announced the company is working on a Xbox 360 exclusive sci-fi space shooter tentatively named Project Sylph, the game is being developed by GameArts. More details will be revealed at E3 2006. - FINAL FANTASY POTION: Bottle Bouquet Color Taste Test Ingredients APRIL 4th:: - Namco announced its NDS RPG Tales of the Tempest will support multiple players over WiFi connection, this is the first in the Tales series. There will be multi player specific missions in the game, support 2 - 4 players simultaneously. Tales of the Tempest will be released in Japan on June 8, 2006. - Nintendo is working on a Nintendo DS version of Mario Paint. - Jane Cavanagh, chief executive of SCi confirmed that Tomb Raider: Legend will be coming to GameCube, Nintendo DS and GameBoy Advance in summer 2006. - SNK Playmore will release the PS2 port of the Atomsiwave arcade fighting game The King of Fighters XI in Japan in June 2006. - Atlus has postponed the release date of the PS2 RPG Growlanser V Generations from May 18 to August 3 in Japan. - Sega will release Sega Ages Vol. 24 Last Bronx for PS2 in Japan on June 29, 2006, for 2500 yen. The game is a complete port of the arcade version. - Nintendo president Satoru Iwata mentioned that the price of Revolution first party titles will be priced lower than US$50. The Revolution has 512MB of flash memory, a SD memory card slot and USB port as storage medium. - Nintendo is planning to use the Virtual Console function in Revolution for not just classic games, but for new titles as well, such as some simple and addictive title like Tetris. - Satoru Iwata said Revolution still possesses a number of new functions, which will be revealed at E3 in May 2006. - Microsoft will release a Xbox 360 Blue Limited Edition in Japan on April 27, 2006, which will be bundled with EA's 2006 FIFA World Cup. The bundle will include the Xbox 360 console, FIFA faceplate and 2006 FIFA World Cup; only 10,000 units will be manufactured. - Japanese retailers reported that Micosoft will relaunch the Xbox 360 in Japan on June 29, along with four game titles: Chromehounds, Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage, Bullet Witch and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. The move is to stimulate the sales of the console in Japan. - Tomonobu Itagaki from Tecmo's Team Ninja, announced in Famitsu Xbox 360 that he will reveal Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 at E3 in May 2006. - THQ will release WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2007 for Xbox 360 and PS3 by the end of 2006. The game will have a new analog contorl system and interactive crowd fighting, you can take the brawls into the audience. There are new high impact combination moves for individual superstar wrestler. March 30th:: - Sony's PS3 launch titles: - Sony's PS3 first person shooter Resistence: Fall of Man. - Sony's PS3 car combat game Motor Storm. - Sony and Insomniac Games' PS3 action platformer Ratchet & Clank. - Sony and Incog's PS3 flight shooting game Warhawk. - SCEA's Product Evaluation Group Manager Mark Vitello said that PSP is lacking a mascot/trademark title like Mario, Zelda or Halo. He thinks it will be the most important task for Sony to create a trademark title for PSP. - Sega announced they will have a location test of the arcade fighting game Virtua Fighter 5 in Japan between March 28 - April 28. - Rockstar Games has registered a trademark protection in US for a new game title Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on March 21, 2006. Which seems to be the next GTA title for PSP. - Famitsu reported that Tetsuya Nomura, the director of Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts II, said that he will unveil a new game at E3 2006, the game is not a sequel but it will have connections with a big title. - Square Enix has recently registered four new patents in US, including Dragon Quest Heroes, Dragon Quest Swords, Rocket Slime and The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, which could possibly be new game titles in US. - Namco announced they expect to sell 200,000 copies of the NDS RPG Xenosaga I & II, the game will be released in Japan on March 30, 2006. - Success will release the NDS RPG Metal Saga: Hagane no Kisetsu in Japan on June 15, 2006; the latest work of the Metal Max/Metal Saga series. - Konami is working on a new Castlevania title for Nintendo DS, which is a sequel to Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. - Sony mentioned that they have delivered 14,000 PlayStation 3 development kits to software producers worldwide. - In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Satoru Iwata mentioned that the Revolution will not have a worldwide simultaneous launch, because it is not necessary. - Epic Games' Mark Rein said they do not have plans for a Revolution version of the Unreal Engine 3, because it won't be easy to do HD res on Revolution. - Idea Factory announced the release date of the Xbox 360 RPG Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage has been postponed from May 25, 2006 to June 29, 2006; the reason is to improve the quality of the game. - AQ Interactive will release the Xbox 360 action / shooter Bullet Witch in Japan on June 29, 2006. - Japanese retailers reported that Capcom will release the Xbox 360 zombie combat action game Dead Rising in Japan on June 22, 2006, the release has not been confirmed by Capcom. - Konami will release Silent Hill Collection for PS2 in Europe on April 24, the collection will include Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room. - Amazon.Jp reported that Sega's PS2 online RPG Phantasy Star Universe will be released in Japan on June 30, 2006. - Square Enix will release the four disc Final Fantasy XII Soundtrack Album in Japan on May 31, 2006. - SNK Playmore has pushed back the release date of The King of Fighters Orochi Collection for PS2 to April 20, 2006 in Japan, the collection includes the arcade version of KOF'95, KOF'96 and KOF'97. - Namco's PSP fighting game Tekken: Dark Resurrection. The game will have 7 play modes, including Network, Tekken Dojo, Quick Battle, Arcade Battle, Attack, Story Mode, and Practice. There is also a Theater mode for you to listen to game music and watch opening of each character, and change your name in the Profile page. - Bandai's Nintendo DS breed & battle RPG Digimon Story, the game will be released in Japan in June 2006, for 5040 yen. - Namco and Monolith Soft's Nintendo DS RPG Xenosaga I & II, the game will be released in Japan on March 30, 2006, for 4980 yen. - Eidos and Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Legend, the game will be released on April 11, 2006. - Namco and Monolith Soft's sci-fi RPG Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra, the last game in the Xenosaga trilogy. Xenosaga Episode III will be released in Japan on July 6 2006, for 6980 yen. - Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII has sold 1.817 million copies in the week of March 13 - 19, 2006. As reference Final Fantasy X-2 sold 1.543 million copies; and Final Fantasy X sold 1.832 million copies in the first week. So the estimated sales of Final Fantasy XII will reach around 2.4 - 2.5 million units in Japan. - Nintendo Revolution Follow-up with yesterday's announcement of supporting PC-Engine/Turbografx and Genesis game software via virtual console on Revolution, Nintendo confirmed that PC-Engine/Turobgrafx CD-ROM2 games will be supported, but no confirmation on Mega-CD/Sega-CD games yet. - Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS, the game will have celshaded graphics similar to Wind Waker, and both 2D / 3D gameplay. There will be puzzle solving elements which require the user of stylus. - Namco announced a Nintendo DS port of the classic arcade light gun shooter Point Blank. The DS version allows you play the game with the stylus, there will be over 40 mini games from all three titles in the series. The game will support game sharing, allow you to share the game with a friend using one cartridge. March 24th:: - Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS, the game will have celshaded graphics similar to Wind Waker, and both 2D / 3D gameplay. There will be puzzle solving elements which require the user of stylus. - Namco announced a Nintendo DS port of the classic arcade light gun shooter Point Blank. The DS version allows you play the game with the stylus, there will be over 40 mini games from all three titles in the series. - Nintendo announced partnerships with Sega and Hudson to offer downloadable Sega Genesis and NEC Turbografx game software on Revolution. This makes the Revolution accessible to over 4000 classic titles to both classic consoles, in additional to NES, SNES and Nintendo 64. - Sony announced they will cease the production of the PSone console. Despite the announcement, Sony said that PSone hardware and software are still selling in countries around the world. - Sony revealed some of its plans for PlayStation 3. PS3 will be seamlessly integrated
to the PSP. PS3 can be used as a content server and deliver media
from its hard drive to a PSP over the network. The PlayStation Network
Platform will offer basic services for free, and also allow integration
of third party servers. This is to encourage makers of MMORPGs to
integrate into the network. The PSNP online stores can be accessed
in-game - Sony confirmed that the singing game Songstar will be coming to PS3. - Insomniac Games' PS3 titles I8 and Resistance: Fall of Man will be released shortly after the PS3 launch. The company has also confirmed a PS3 version of Ratchet & Clank - SNK Playmore announced Metal Slug Collection for PSP, a compilation of the 6 classic aciton shooters, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Metal Slug. The titles included in compilation are Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4 and Metal Slug 5. The PSP version will offer WiFi 2 players support, and it is scheduled to release in fall 2006. - SCE's Phil Harrison mentioned that PSP is their fastest selling platform, they have shipped 5412 PSP development kits worldwide. Sony will begin distributing original PSone games online to PSP this winter, using an archive server. The service should begin after the video/voice chat and audio/text RSS features are added. PSP will be able to store PSone games on memory stick and boot from it. March 23rd:: - GDC 2006: Region-free PS3 In a QA session following the platform keynote address at GDC 2006 this morning, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President Phil Harrison confirmed what was heavily demanded for import gamers all over the world and yet previously thought unthinkable for a major corporation: the PS3 will be region-free for gaming. The move was not unexpected, as SCE had previously mentioned considering the possibility of opening up the region structure for PS3 games recently (the newly-released PSP system has but does not use a region code system for games, but that's more a standard for portable games than a new development for region-free gaming.) The system is, amongst other things, hoped to help combat piracy - many import fans "chip" their consoles with region-free mod chips to play import games, and while that desire has some legitimacy, it also opens the doors for pirates to release illegal copies of games. (Funnily enough, it's most often easier to run illegal games on a console than it is to run legit games from other countries due to the way most mod chips work, leading to a slippery slope for importers hoping to stay legit but finding the road difficult to maneuver.) Region-free gaming also allows game publishers to release games across the globe simultaneously, either through e-distribution or on disc. The capacity of Blu-Ray had previously been mentioned to allow for multiple languages of a game to be encoded onto the same massive-capacity disc. The one caveat of this new region-free structure is that games made for specific regions' electrical and TV standards may have problems on your TV set. A PAL PS3 game, for instance, will have difficulty running on an NTSC TV, unless the developers have thought ahead and planned for that issue. It is currently unknown how the PS3 will cope with this problem (whether there will be a warning when you run an import about possible TV incompatibility, or if possibly there might be a no-play screen for incompatible games depending on your PS3's TV settings.) Luckily, modern HDTV standards go a long way towards making that problem moot. Also, games made in other countries will naturally only have the text and dialog it is programmed with, so don't put your pre-orders down so fast on all of those Japanese RPGs and Dragon Ball if you don't know a lick of kanji, because English will only be in if the developers have planned for it. (It's unknown if there will be any type of "patching" system for multi-language releases, although that might be possible on supported games post-release now that the PS3 is carrying its massive HDD and flash memory support.) We'll have more details on how this impacts publishers and importers as soon as we know more about SCE's plans for region-free PS3 gaming. - Koei announced that they will have two PS3 titles available at launch in Japan in November 2006, the titles are the sci-fi racer Fatal Inertia and mahjong game Mahjong Taikai. - SCEE PR manager Jonathan Fargher has confirmed that PlayStation 3 will be packaged with a detachable 60GB HDD, higher-capacity HDDs will be available as premium add-ons. - Konami announced World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 for PS2 will be released in Japan on April 27, 2006. - Namco plans to sell 400,000 copies of its latest flight shooting game Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, the game will be released on March 23, 2006. - Genki announced they have stopped the development of two NDS titles - Kaidou Racing Battle and Living High - Killing Low, the two games have been canceled. - MTO announced a new virtual pet simulation game for Nintendo DS called Ocha Inuno Heya, in the game you take care of your pet and play with it using stylus; you can also call your dog over the microphone, and purchase furniture and toys for your pet. There will be 18 mini-games available. Ocha Inuno Heya will be released in Japan on April 27, 2006. - AQ Interactive will release the Xbox 360 action shooter Bullet Witch in Japan in June 2006. - Microsoft announced the number of downloads on Xbox Live Marketplace have exceeded 10 million; and 85% of all Xbox 360's have connected online through Xbox Live. - Rare is working on the action game Banjo Kazooie 3 for Xbox 360, the sequel to the popular Nintendo 64 action game. - Peter Moore has revealed some key plans for Xbox 360 at GDC: There are currently no plans for a new MechAssault
title - Japanese arcade operators reported that Sega has stopped development of the Lindbergh arcade game Psy Phi, the game will no longer ship in April 2006 and a new date has not been set. It is uncertain whether the game has been canceled. - Japan stated that Yuji Naka is planning to leave Sega and setup his own development studio. Yuji Naka is the head of Sonic Team, his works include Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star Online and NiGHTs. - Square Enix has recently applied for trademark protection for a title called Lost Episode on March 8, 2006, it seems to be the title or sub-title of a game. March 15th:: - PS3's launch plans, PSP's new features, and PS2's unchanged future. All the news, live from Japan. March 15, 2006 - Sony Computer Entertainment and its impending PlayStation 3 console made headlines tonight for the first time in a big, big way since May. While the business presentation may not have been the megaton-blast of game and hardware news that some had hoped (no games were shown at the event, with SCE still planning in the future for playable PS3 demonstrations), a number of fantastic and potentially shocking announcements were made at the event. Not to be left out, SCE's successful PSP handheld system was also given reason to shout about with announcements of new features and future plans. And even SCE's workhorse PS2 system was given mention at the event, although not in the way that some might have expected. Below is a breakdown of all of the news live from SCE's 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing. We'll have further news in the near future on all of these stories, and stay tuned -- the dam has broken on some big, big news, and hot news for PlayStation fans may finally start flowing now that Sony has started the rush. :: PlayStation 3 :: PS3 Online Service Update: Sony plans a fully featured Online service for PS3. - Sony Computer Entertainment's answer to Xbox Live is at last coming into light. While previous comments from company executives were unclear on the matter, company president Ken Kutaragi today assured members of the press, 3rd party companies and investors that the PS3 would be seeing a service similar to Microsoft's. The service, which is currently going under the working name of "PlayStation Network Platform," will see its service kick off at the PS3 launch in November. Basic service will be free of charge initially, although it should be noted that Kutaragi did not comment on what exactly constitutes "basic service." Business will take place on the open internet, suggesting that the service will be more open than Xbox Live. The service will offer full support for Online title development, providing necessary functions and services for commerce and community. Sony made note of some of the major features that all Online titles will be able to access: Communication/Community: Commerce: Account: Sony didn't announce an Xbox Arcade style game download system, but it did state that games will be bootable from the hard disk, noting this as part of the commerce opportunities for the system. Sony Computer Entertainment will take care of investment and operation of a commonly used infrastructure. However, SCE will be allowing licensees to connect their own game servers to the network. SCE's network, with data centers throughout the world, is being developed in conjunction with Sony Online Entertainment. Kutaragi's comments from today's PlayStation
Business Briefing in Tokyo set the framework for a hefty Online
system on Sony's next generation beast. There's still room for speculation,
though, so we encourage you to take to the message boards and speculate
away. - With the PS3's release date now set for some time in November, third party developers who'd been working away for a Spring release date (if there were any who actually believed the date), now have some extra breathing room to prepare their games. At the PlayStation Business Briefing in Tokyo today, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi provided further insight into how the company is hoping to help developers get the most out of the complex new system. We're not sure how seriously SCE was actually
taking its original Spring release date promise, as it turns out
that development tools for the PS3 won't even approach a final state
until the middle of May. By the end of March, Sony will update current
loaner development kits with the "DEH-R103X" rev, which
offers final versions of the Cell and RSX along with prototypes
of the controller and the Blu-ray drive. In mid-May, loaner kits
will be updated to the DEH-R104X kit, which finalizes the controller
and Blu-ray drive. Sony will also be delivering tools to developers who want to make their games compatible with the PS3 network, which seems to be Sony's answer to Microsoft's Xbox Live service. The tool schedule looks like this: End of March: Dev. Server/Client
SDK 1st release Kutaragi didn't get into specifics on what type of functionality will be included in each revision. Fifteen companies were listed at the press conference as providing tools for PS3 development. The list includes a few names that you might be familiar with: Graphics Tools Physics Simulation Graphics Middleware Game Engine AI / Behavior System Sound Codec Compiler/Debugger Network - PS3 Worldwide Release in November: It's official. Details and more, live from Japan. - Ken Kutaragi, PlayStation Master and keeper of big news has announced at the PS meeting today that the PlayStation 3 will be launching in early November worldwide for the North American, Asian, and European territories. "A completely simultaneous launch is physically impossible," Kutaragi said, "but we believe we'll be able ship to users throughout the world around this time." Sony's production line is set to pump out
one million units per month to meet demand, with a total of six
million units to be produced in Fiscal Year 2006 (through March
2007) alone. Production numbers are higher for PS1 and PS2 in their
initial years. - Sony today finally unveiled info on its PlayStation 3 online plans at its PlayStation Business Briefing currently happening in Japan. Beginning at the system's launch, currently scheduled for sometime this November, the system will feature community tools including lobby matching and voice chat, commerce features that includes bootable software via the hard drive and more. The service was created with the help of Sony
Online Entertainment. Best of all, the "basic" service
will be free of charge. - At its PlayStation Business Briefing 2006 in Japan, Sony announced its production plans for BD-ROM discs (Blu-ray). Firstly, all PlayStation 3 games will ship on Blu-ray to help prevent piracy. In other words, no "cheap" DVD releases; Blu-ray only. Of course, it'll still play PS2 and movies on DVD, but all PS3 releases will be on Blu-ray. - The company expects initial BD-ROM production
to reach 2.5 million in Japan and Europe and 5 million in the US. - As part of the PlayStation Business Brief today in Tokyo, Ken Kutaragi confirmed that the PlayStation 3 will require a hard drive peripheral for games. Developers are being told to create games with the assumption that a hard disk will be present. "The hardware was developed with the hard disk in mind," Kutaragi said. Earlier, we mistakenly reported that Sony
would including the hard disk with the PS3 right out of the box.
Kutaragi actually stopped short of confirming this, leaving it as
an area of speculation for now. He did state that Sony hopes to
avoid a situation where some systems have the drive and others don't
(Kutaragi didn't mention Xbox 360, but he was probably thinking
it). SCE is telling developers that they can expect a 60GB hard
disk which is upgradeable, and support Linux OS. Additionally, the
peripheral will act as a home server. - In one of several compelling announcements
made in Tokyo at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing today, SCE
president Ken Kutaragi confirmed that the final PS3 development
kits will be shipping out to production houses in June. Additionally,
there are 15 different companies making tools and middleware for
the SDK. - At the PlayStation Business Briefing 2006, Ken Kutaragi has just added another infamous quote to his belt, this time stating that PS3 games are "live" and that the PS3 concept is "4D". He claims that games have gone from 8-bit
to 16-bit planes, to the "space" that you saw on the PS1/PS2,
and now PS3 will be "live". Sony Outlines PSP Future: All of today's PSP announcements in one location. - Shipments of the PSP have crossed 15,000,000 units worldwide, Sony Computer Entertainment chief Ken Kutaragi stated during an hour-long speech at the Spring 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing in Tokyo today. SCE plans on bringing new games and adding new functionality to the system over the coming year in order to appeal to an even larger audience. The PSP hardware will see new bundles and
pricing throughout the world shortly. America and Europe will get
the PSP-1000, a black PSP unit that ditches the bonus features of
the Value Pack and comes bundled with nothing more than an AC adapter
and a battery pack. The package will be offered starting 3/22 in
Europe and at the end of March in America. Cost is set, respectively,
at 199 Euros and $199. Sony and its third parties have lots of big games set for PSP release. Today, the company didn't have much to announce in terms of new titles, but it did point us in the direction of some upcoming potential hits. For Japan, Kutaragi mentioned LocoRoco (Sony WWS) and Minna no Chizu (Zenrin). For America, Kutaragi made note of Field Commander (SOE), Godfather (EA) and Syphon Filter (SCEA). Finally, for Europe, focus was given to Football Manager Handheld (Sega Europe) and Lemmings (SCEE). To make sure that software keeps on coming, Kutaragi also announced a drop in development fees for the PSP. The price of a PSP development kit will be dropped to 500,000 yen from the current price of 750,000 yen. Currently, SCE has shipped 5,412 development kits for the system. A few peripherals will join the games and new hardware bundles. At the briefing, SCE announced and showed slides of a USB camera (PSP-300) and a GPS receiver unit (PSP-290). These pictures are a bit rough, but we think you can get a good idea of what will be sticking out of your PSP come fall. The camera, which includes a microphone, will be available via a PSP version of EyeToy Play in September. Third party game developers have already taken shipment of development libraries to make their software compatible with the camera. The GPS Receiver features an update rate of once a second and takes at most 40 seconds to get a first fix from a cold start. Developers have taken delivery of a partial set of tools for making GPS-ready software. Kutaragi mentioned a few potential applications for the device, including portable navigation software. SCE is already at work on "Hot Shots Golf with GPS," which will feature shot simulation and downloadable golf course data. A Japanese release for this latest entry in the company's star golf series is set for Japan. Some upcoming features won't require a hardware investment. Macromedia Flash 6.0 compatibility and RSS Channel support will be made available via a network update later this Spring. The RSS channel support will allow for playback and saving of internet radio and will initially support just audio. The Flash upgrade will let games include Flash-based content. This Spring update will also add Chinese fonts and GPS and Camera support (we're not sure what can be done even the support, as the hardware won't be released until later in the year). In the Summer, Sony plans on updating the RSS channel support to include video. The PSP will also be updated with an "expanded UMD video profile." Kutaragi did not provide specifics. In the Fall/Winter, Sony will be releasing an update that adds Video and Voice Communication over IP support. With the Eye Toy camera, you'll then be able to take part in video chats. The format for video chat will initially be Motion JPEG, although this might change with future updates. The Fall/Winter update will also add an exciting new game download service to the PSP. With the update, the PSP will be able to boot up games that have been download directly from a server to a Memory stick. To show off this new feature, Sony plans on offering a PSone game download service. Games that have been downloaded to Memory Stick will run through emulation on the PSP. Specifics were not revealed, but it appears that Sony plans on offering titles on a gradual basis, and that it hopes to make nearly all PlayStation games available. Things will really take off for the PSP when the PS3 arrives. Sony has previously promised connectivity between the two systems, with the PSP chatting with the PS3 through WiFi. Kutaragi made mention of a couple of connectivity possibilities, suggesting that the PSP would be able to act as a remote control for the PS3 and view videos from the next generation system. - PSP E-Distribution : Download and play PSOne games. - Sony's Ken Kutaragi continues to drop PlayStation Portable news during the company's PlayStation Business Briefing 2006 as he's just announced that the PSP will see "E-Distrubution" features added sometime in the future. Users will be able to boot software directly
from their Memory Stick, all official-like this time around (you
know what I mean). The first major announcement for use of this
will be a series of PSOne games - yes, you will be able to download
classic PlayStation titles and play them on your PSP. No word yet
as of whether or not you'll be able to transfer games directly via
disc or not, or which games we should see first, but more news on
this as it comes in. - At its PlayStation Business Briefing going on right now in Japan, Sony announced new packages and price points for its PlayStation portable. For the US, a "base unit" release will be priced at $199 and will hit stores at the end of March. Presumably, this is a slightly scaled-down package that doesn't include headphones, the carrying case and so forth, mimicking the cheaper original Japanese release. Europe will see a similar package for 199 Euros beginning on March 22nd, so mark your calendars. And for you folks over in Japan (or import lovers), a new white PSP SKU will hit shelves starting April 15th and retail for 19800 Yen (~$168 US). Kutaragi On PSP's Future - Mr. PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, opened Tokyo's 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing with some interesting news today. Highlighted below are several points that the SCE president touched on: -- The PSP userbase is 96% male and Sony views this as a problem. Ideally, the company would like more women to play PSP and Sony looks to widen the system's appeal to various demographics. --The PSP will get its own version of the EyeToy in September and the peripheral will feature motion-tracking games like EyeToy Play, as well as add functions such as video chat. (Curiously, though, no confirmation on a still photo snap function like on cellphones.) The camera is sliver and it attaches to the USB port. -- Starting this fall, the PSP will receive some key new features. Video and voice-over-IP features will launch in October in "motion jpg" format, allowing PSP owners to use their PSPs as a virtual phone and even, with that new EyeToy, a portable video phone. -- The PSP will also include a GPS receiver with an update rate of once every second with a 40-second fix time from a cold start. Minna no Golf (Hot Shots Golf) will be one of the first games supported. Interestingly enough, SCE lists that GPS support is already out there, that the "Library has already released partially" ... what titles could those be? -- Macromedia Flash will be included with a spring Network update, along with improved RSS support for playback and saving of net-broadcast radio and video. March 11th:: - With the original Talkman software that was released last year, SCE knocked the Tower of Babel down a notch with a PSP translation application which handled English, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. To conquer the European continent, a new version of Talkman ships in late May which translates between English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. To help travelers handle situations in various settings, it's possible to choose phrases that are suitable for 28 different settings - for example, if you're in a restaurant, a selection of applicable phrases appear such as "I'm a reluctant vegetarian" or "Please take this steak back to the incinerator from where it came from." Other settings include the hotel, at the slopes, and even when you're on the prowl inside a nightclub. While the success rate of finding love by way of PSP is still unknown, it could work if the pick up lines are selected with savvy. Lots of liquor may also help your cause. In addition to straightforward translation, Talkman also helps language learners with pronunciation and listening exercises to hone your inner Babelfish. Two versions of Talkman Euro are on offered. - Taiwanese manufacturer Compeq will begin to mass produce printed circuit boards for PlayStation 3 in June 2006. - Clover Studio mentioned that they do not have plans to develop a new sequel to Tekki [Steel Battalion] for Xbox 360. - Famitsu editorial director Hirokazu Hamamura mentioned that a major RPG for Xbox 360 will be announced soon in Japan, he predicts that if the game were released on PS2, it would sell at least 500,000 copies. - Sony has issued a notification to console game dealers in Japan, such that no business should sell Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII before the launch day on March 16, otherwise they would be counted on sanctions. - Ubisoft revealed its US lineup for 2006 - 2007: July 2006 - Enchant Arms
(Xbox 360) - Clover Studio's Atsushi Inaba said that the company is working on a new version of Viewtiful Joe for next generation consoles, instead of adopting the 2D side scrolling gameplay, the game will have completely new gameplay and concepts, they already have many new ideas. March 8th:: - SNK PLaymore will release Ryuuko no Ken: Ten-Chi-Jin [Art of Fighting Collection] for PS2 in Japan on May 11, 2006. - Take Two Interactive said the PS2 version of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories will have pretty much the same content as the PSP version, the game will be sold at budget price point between US$29.99 - $39.99. - Atlus announced they will release the US version of Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation and Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2 for GBA in summer and fall 2006 respectively. This is the first time the Super Robot Taisen series being translated to English. - Atlus will release Grasshopper's Nintendo DS RPG Contact in US this summer. - Taito announced they will release two budget price titles, Taito Selection 2800: Super Puzzle Bobble and Taito Selection 2800: Asphalt: Urban GT for NDS in Japan on March 30, for 2940 yen each. - Microsoft announced that the pop singer BoA will sing the title song "Your Color" for the Xbox 360 action strategy game Ninety Nine Nights, a CD Single of the song will be released on April 5, 2006 by Avex. - Hudson's Xbox 360 RPG Tengai Makyou: Ziria, a remake of the classic PC-Engine CD-ROM2 RPG from 1989, the game will be released in Japan on March 23, 2006. - Sega will release a new Golf title for PlayStation 3 at launch in Japan, the development of the game is close to completion. - Call of Duty 3 will be a launch title for PlayStation 3. March 3nd:: - Xenosaga: Episode III gets J-release date Also Sprach Zarathustra will be arriving in Japanese retail stores July 6th for 7,329 yen. Pre-orders for the title will apparently begin on March 10th, and those who take the plunge will be getting a special DVD of some kind for putting their money down early. - Square Enix's PS2 RPG Valkyrie Profile Silmeria, the game will be released in Japan in June 2006. A new character named Lezard Valeth is revealed, who is a powerful mage. - Microsoft to announce a new handheld system on March 9, which is code-named Origami. The new Microsoft handheld system is capable of playing music, videos, download contents from the web, play exclusive videogames like Halo, and access multimedia contents like a PDA. It is uncertain whether this product will be marketed as a handheld game system or a mobile device like Blackberry. - Next-Gen DVD Copy-Protection Debacle: Hollywood screws 3 million HDTV owners. February 24, 2006 - In perhaps the greatest disservice to the general consumer market yet perpetrated by players in the electronic entertainment industry, it has been revealed that next-generation DVD technologies (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) will only function with monitors and HDTVs with HDMI or DVI connections. What does that mean to you? If you purchased an HDTV more than a couple of years ago, chances are you are using Component Video (the red, green, and blue plugs) to connect HD sources to your TV. Component Video is an analog transmission, which means that it can't work with the absurdly stringent AACS copy-protection Hollywood has insisted be integrated into the new formats. Thus, no HDMI input on your TV, no hi-def DVD for you. If you don't have a compatible TV, you'll either receive a massively downgraded sub-720p resolution version of the content, or what the studios are suggesting, a warning screen followed by nothing. Who's to blame for screwing some 3,000,000+ HDTV owners in America that were good consumers and early adopters who purchased TVs without HDMI? A group put together by the major movie studios called Advanced Access Content System (AACS). AACS was responsible for the Reuters report last week that speculated that Sony would miss its spring launch date for the PS3, due to the fact that the AACS had still not finalized the technicalities of the protocol. After a good six months of deliberation since version AACS v.0.9 was put into testing, and only 2 or 3 months away from the supposed release of the first HD-DVD and Blu-ray players, AACS has finally made the baby step of offering provisional licensing to the likes of Sony, Toshiba, and the other early manufactures of hi-def DVD solutions. Even if you've got an HDTV with HDMI or DVI inputs, it's unlikely your TV has more than one. Just about every HD source these days is best in HDMI, so what are you going to do when both your cable box and next-gen DVD player/PS3 need the same plug? HDMI switchers or enabled receivers are not cheap, or even easy to find. In addition, it would appear that every component involved in the transmission of an HD-DVD/Blu-ray signal must make use of Intel's HDCP technology. This extra level of protection works with the AACS protocols on a hardware level. Why is this bad? Say you decided to be future proof and purchase a high-end AV receiver with HDMI connections and up-scaling capabilities. Seemed like a good idea last week, but not anymore. Unless it supports HDCP, and it doesn't, because no manufacturers have made HDCP models yet, you won't be routing your HD-DVD or Blu-ray player through it. Perhaps you're a progressive type and decided to make your media center PC centric. You're screwed too. Even if you purchased a high-end ATI or Nvidia graphics card advertised as HDCP compatible, that all it is: compatible, not compliant. HDCP chips must be bios flashed at the factory, and though these new "compatible" cards have space for a TI HDCP chip, none have them yet. In addition, every link in the chain must be HDCP ready, and only a very few PC monitors have adopted the standard. Get ready to buy both a new high-end graphics card and a new monitor if you want hi-def DVD for your PC. It gets even better. At the same time the AACS story came to light, it was discovered that the first wave of next-gen DVD players will not support the "managed copy" option that so many proponents of the new technologies that had been talked about. This will stop piracy. Expect massive downgrades in resolution to be the major movie studio's requirement for any content they allow to escape from the closed AACS-HDCP loop. This is a dark day for the entire consumer electronics industry. Huge manufacturers like Sony and Toshiba have allowed Hollywood executives to punish consumers for the studios' inability to protect their own content in the wild. Despite the fact that the relationship between movie piracy and the floundering movie theater receipts of recent years has not been proven to be direct, Hollywood is applying an iron fist in their aim to control the next generation of the home-theater experience. You know those previews on DVDs that you can't skip through? That's only the beginning of the ways Hollywood wants to control your entertainment experience. The difference between HD-DVD and Blu-ray quality and normal DVD isn't huge, especially in light of the rather nice results produced by up-scaling DVD players available today from Oppo, Sony, and others. Should we allow movie studios to force their biggest fans, the early adopters of HDTV and related accessories, to buy entirely new entertainment systems? Is the upgrade even worth it? Yes, it is worth it! February 28th:: - Bandai will release the PS2 RPG trilogy .hack // G.U. Vol. 1 Saitan in Japan on May 18, 2006. Vol. 2 will be released in September 2006, and Vol. 3 will be released in December 2006. - Codemasters announced they will release Micro Machines V4 for both PS2 and PSP in summer 2006, the latest work of the popular miniature racing game. - Sony announced they will launch the Blu-Ray DVD players in US on May 25, 2006. Sony Pictures and MGM will release 8 Blu-Ray movies simutlaneously, including 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch and House of Flying Daggers. Eight more titles will be available in mid-June. - Japanese retailers reported that Konami is planning to unveil details of World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 in the next 2 weeks. - Bandai announced a new PS2 fighting action game called Fighting Beauty Wulong, the game is based on the popular grapple anime of the same name. The game will have both beat'em up and 1-on-1 fighting missions. - 4Kids Acquires Pretty Cure (04:06 PM EST): According to an audio report via Ed at New York Comic Con, 4Kids will be bringing Pretty Cure to TV in the US in September. More details as they come. Order your DVDs now! - Bandai announced a new PS2 fighting action game called Fighting Beauty Wulong, the game is based on the popular grapple anime of the same name. The game will have both beat'em up and 1-on-1 fighting missions. - Bandai's Mobile Suit Gundam: Climax U.C., the game will be released in Japan on March 2, 2006, for 7140 yen. - Namco and Monolith Soft's PS2 sci-fi RPG trilogy Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra. Additional characters are revealed, including Jr., Dimitri Yuriev, Sellers, Shelly Godwin, Mary Godwin and Testament. - Square Enix mentioned that Final Fantasy XII for PS2 will not support the PS2 HDD; and Sony Music will publish the CD single of the theme song Kiss Me Goodbye by Angela Aki in Japan on March 16, simultaneiously with the game release. - Tri-Cresendo, the developer of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time and Radiata Stories is currently recruiting developers for a new RPG title, the game title and system has not yet been announced. - In an interview in Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania, Tetsuya Nomura mentioned that he has began working on a new Square Enix title, and it is not Kingdom Hearts III. However, the is a reference of the number 13 in the scene, where Kadaj is on the 13th floor of a building, perhaps this is referring to Final Fantasy XIII. - Nintendo announced that the production of GameBoy Advance SP will be increased starting in March 2006, the reason is that there is still a steadily high demand of GBA-SP, even after GB Micro is launched. - Nintendo of Japan announced that DS Lite will be available only in Crystal White on March 2, 2006, the release date of Ice Blue and Enamel Navy models will be postponsed to March 11, 2006, due to manufacutring problems. - Japanese retailers reported that a new installment of the military strategy game Daisenryaku will be coming to Nintendo DS in Japan on May 25, 2006, the publisher has not yet been revealed. - Nintendo of America is planning to launch DS Lite in North America in May 2006. - Square Enix's NDS action RPG Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana, the game will be released on March 2, 2006 in Japan. - Japanese retailers reported that there is a high demand of Square Enix's PSP RPG Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, the first shipment of the game is already sold out, the game will be released in Japan on March 2, 2006. - Nintendo will release a NDS version of the classic puzzle game Shunkan Puzz Loop on March 2, 2006, for 3800 yen. The NDS version can be played with both the joypad and the stylus, the game will have 4 play modes.... - Nintendo will release Tetris DS for NDS in Japan on April 27. - Nintendo will release New Super Mario Bros. for NDS in US on May 7, 2006, no release in Japan has been announced. - Sega announced they will release a PS2 port of the arcade all-female fighting game Melty Blood: Act Cadenza, which was released by Ecole in 2004. - Sony will release Gran Turismo 4 Online Edition for PS2 in Q2 2006, the game will support up to 6 players online, a worldwide ranking system will be available. The game will have 700 vehicles and 50 race courses. GT4 Online Edition will also support real time voice chat with other live racers. Sony also plans to release God of War 2 for PS2 in February 2007. - Namco will release the Xbox 360 soccer game Love Football in Japan on May 18, 2006. - From Software will release Tenchu: Dark Shadow for Nintendo DS in Japan on April 4, 2006, for 4800 yen. The game will have 3 playable characters: Rikimaru, Ayame and Shizuhime. There will be a number of new ninja skills in the game, such as biting, and laughing kill. - Bandai announced Digimon Story for Nintendo DS, the latest installment of the popular breed & battle RPG based on the popular Digimon anime series. The game will have over 200 playable Digimons from the TV series. - Pokemon Company's NDS action RPG Pokemon Rangers: Diamond-Pearl eno Michi, the game will be released in Japan on March 23, 2006. - Capcom's NDS action game Rockman ZX, there will be two playable characters: Van and Eile. During the game you can collect parts to upgrade your armor and capabilities. - Bandai's PSP anime fighting game Naruto: Narutimate Hero Portable ~ Mugenjo no Maki, the game will be released in Japan on March 30, 2006. - Bandai's PSP anime wrestling game Kinnikuman: Muscle Generation, the game will be released on February 23, 2006, for 4800 yen. February 20th:: - Nvidia's Chief Financial Officer Marv Burkett said that they have completed the RSX graphics chip for PS3, and he expects Sony to begin manufacturing PS3 in late April. - Sony Computer Entertainment Asia's VP Tetsuhiko Yasuda said Sony expects to ship over 100 million PlayStation 3 game consoles, and Sony aims to launch PS3 at the same time throughout Asia. He also said that Sony does not regard Xbox as a competitor, in fact Sony may work with Microsoft to develop games together in future. - Clap Hanz confirmed that Minna no Golf 5 (Hotshot Golf 5) is coming to PlayStation 3. - Zipper Interactive, the developer of the SOCOM series, said the company is working on a new multi-player title for PlayStation 3. Sega will release a GameCube port of Milestone's arcade / Dreamcast shooter Radilgy in Japan on March 30, 2006. - Shiny Studios mentioned they are planning to release a new installment of the classic action game Earthworm Jim. - Capcom's Xtreme Ghouls n' Ghosts [Ultimate Ghosts n' Goblins] for PSP, the game will have branching storyline, which allows Arthur to pick up different weapons and fight different enemies across 5 worlds. Capcom announced Capcom Puzzle World for PSP,
a compilation of 5 classic puzzle games, including: Capcom announced Power Stone Collection for PSP, a port of the two popular Dreamcast 3D fighting / action games. The PSP version willl have a number of enhancements, including four new characters in Power Stone, improved interface, a new adventure mode and mini games. Power Stone Collection supports Adhoc wireless mulitplayer battles with just one copy of the game. - Square Enix confirmed that the popular table game Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable will be coming to PSP sometimes in 2006. The game will feature characters from Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest VIII. Konami's Boktai DS for Nintendo DS, the latest installment of the Boktai series. This time the game will have a new artificial sun function on the upper screen, for you to recharge your weapon with solar power. February 10th:: - Future release dates: [1] JUNE 2006 - SONY PLAYSTAION 3 in Japan at $499.99 USD (US: September 2006) [2] JULY 2006 - NINTENDO REVOLUTION in Japan at $199.99 USD (US: November 2006) [3] DECEMBER 2006 - NINTENDO DS2 "Evolution Gameboy" - $199.99 USD (worldwide) [4] DECEMBER 2006 - SONY PSP 2 "with HDD built in" - $249.99 USD (worldwide) - Blizzard mentioned that they do not have plans to port the PC MMORPG World of Worldcraft to Xbox 360. - Blueside announced Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom for Xbox 360, the latest work of the popular action strategy series. The game will support up to 4 players over Xbox Live, and there will be randomly generated levels. - Microsoft has pushed back the launch of Xbox 360 in Taiwan by 2 weeks from March 2 to March 16, in order to increase the shipment of the console. The retail price of Xbox 360 has also been lowered due to changes in exchange rate; the price of Xbox 360 with Hard Drive is lowered from TW$13,888 to TW$12,980 (US$431), and the Core System without Hard Drive is lowered from TW$10,888 to TW$9,980 (US$310). - Weekly Famitsu reported that Namco will release a PSP version of Tekken in Japan, no release date and details are available. - Sony Pictures will publish the English DVD and UMD version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on April 24, 2006. - Capcom announced they have shipped 500,000 copies of the hit PSP action game Monster Hunter Portable in Japan, making this one of the best selling PSP title in Japan. - Square Enix will release the US version of Kingdom Hearts II for PS2 in US on March 30, 2006. - Square Enix will release a book called Final Fantasy XII World Preview in Japan on March 2, 2006, for 580 yen; two weeks ahead of the game release. The book will have 112 pages of previews and descriptions of the FFXII world, the ISBN code is 4757516622. - SNK Playmore will release the PS2 3D fighting game King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2 in Japan on April 27, 2006, for 7140 yen. - Sega is working on a Xbox 360 version of the online RPG Phantasy Star Universe, the Xbox 360 version will be compatible with the game saves from the PS2 or PC version, since the user profiles are stored on remote servers. - Sony announced they will present the PlayStation 3 at the Taipei Game Show in Taiwan between Feb 16 - 20, 2006. The company will have 80 exhibition booths, 20 booths will be used for showcasing PlayStation 3. However it is uncertain whether Sony will be showing playable PS3 games or just non-playable demos at the show. - Sony revealed that the retail price of Blu-Ray videos will be around US$23.45 or 2783 yen, which is approximately 20% than the price of DVD videos when it was first introduced in 1997. The first wave of Blu-Ray videos will be available in summer 2006. - Sony also plans to release DVD + UMD movie bundles, which will be sold for US$28.95 or 3,435 yen. They plan to attract more people to watch videos on both PSP and DVD player. The first DVD + UMD bundles will appear on March 28, including: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Resident Evil, The Grudge, The Terminator and Underworld. - Sony will release further more DVD + UMD bundles on April 25, 2006, including Ghost Busters, Mad Max, The Fifth Element and Snatch. - Nintendo DS continues to sold out in Japan, the company is unable to deliver enough units to the stores, as a result the sales have declined by about 70%. It is still uncertain when Nintendo will be able to resolve the delivery bottleneck. - Konami announced the release of the classic dating / love simulation game Tokimeki Memorial ~ forever with you for PSP, the game will be released in Japan on March 9, 2006, for 4980 yen. A Limited Edition of the game will be released on the same date, for 10000 yen - Sega announced they will have a location test of the Lindberge arcade shooting game Afterburner Climax in Japan on Feb 10 - 12, at Club Sega Shinjuku. - Microsoft Game Studio announced a PC port of the Xbox hit first person shooter Halo 2, the game is being developed by Bungies. The PC version allows players to create their own levels in multiplayer mode. However, the game will only run on Microsoft's upcoming OS Windows Vista. February 3rd:: - Sony has confirmed a spring "APRIL/MAY" 2006 launch date for PlayStation 3, but no territory was specific, so the system maybe launched in Japan first. Sony has denied the online reports about the PS3 launch been pushed back to Q4 2006. - Sony has reported new tidbits regarding to PlayStation 3, based on info provided by anonymous developers. * There are far more game titles
in development for PS3 than originally expected in US. - US PS3 Launch list for OCTOBER 2006 I-8 (Sony Computer Entertainment) - Tomy's Nintendo DS anime action game Naruto: Saikyou Ninja Daikesshuu 4, the game will be released in Japan in spring 2006. - Square Enix's Nintendo DS action RPG Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana, the game will be released in Japan on March 2, 2006. - Marvelous Interactive will release the NDS strategy game Ys Strategy in Japan on March 23, 2006. - Nintendo will release the two hit DS brain training games in US. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day will be released on March 17, and Brain Age: Big Brain Academy will be released on May 30. Both games have sold over million copies in Japan. - Hudson's Xbox 360 RPG Tengai Makyou: Ziria, a remake of the classic PC-Engine CDROM RPG from 1989, featuring many new elements. The game will be released in Japan on March 23, for 7140 yen. - Famitsu reported that Tecmo will release a new update patch for Dead or Alive 4 for Xbox 360 in mid-February, the patch will correct some flaws and improve the game balance for certain characters. - Sega's Hiroyuki Miyazaki mentioned that the next generation Sonic The Hedgehog title will be released for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 simultaneously in Japan. - Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki mentioned that Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 will be his next game for Xbox 360 after Dead or Alive 4. - Square Enix's Hiromichi Tanaka mentioned that the development of a new Xbox 360 MMORPG has begun, the game is based on the tech demo shown at E3 2005. - Square Enix will release PlayOnline + Final Fantasy XI All-In-One Pack 2006 for Xbox 360 in Japan on April 20. - Sega will release the weapon fighting game Guilty Gear XX Slash for PS2 in Japan on April 13, 2006. - Square Enix announced the US version of Dragon Quest VIII for PS2 has sold 430,000 copies in December 2005. The company is planning to release more Dragon Quest titles in US in future. - PSM magazine reported that Sony is planning to launch a new PlayStation Online Service, which will include all functions currently available in Microsoft's Xbox Live, plus it will support both with both PS3 and PSP. - Koei announced they will publish Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires for PS2 in US on March 28, 2006. - Bandai's PSP fighting game Naruto: Narutimate Hero Portable - Mugenjo no Maki, the game features a large number of missions, and RPG elements such as experience points and dungeons exploration. - Hudson's PSP action RPG Rengoku 2: The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N., the game will be released in Japan on April 27, 2006. - Namco's Nintendo DS RPG Tales of the Tempest, the game will be released in Japan on April 13, 2006. JANUARY 27th:: - SLIM-LINE NINTENDO DS - March 2,2006! - Square Enix announced the release date of the PS2 mysterious dungeons RPG Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus to Fushigi no Dungeon, the game will be released on April 20, 2006, for 7140 yen. - Sega announced Shining Wind for PS2, a new simulation RPG in the Shining series. The game will have a real time battle system, the enemies move around the field, and you engage in battle when enemies come into contact. - Capcom will release Street Fighter Alpha Anthology in summer 2006, a compilation of the 5 classic arcade fighting games Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, Street fighter Alpha 3, and Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix [Pocket Fighter]. - Sony Computer Entertainment announced they have acquired Zipper Interactive, the developer of the popular SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals series. - Namco mentioned they expect to sell 100,000 copies of Namco Museum Arcade Hits [Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection] for PS2, the game will be released in Japan on January 26. - Eurocom confirmed that they are working on a new title for PS3 and Xbox 360, the project is not officially announced yet, no additional details are available. - Success confirmed that they will release two new titles for PlayStation 3 in 2006, first title is an action game called Hitsuji Mura, the second title is a RPG. - D3 Publisher announced their first Xbox 360 titles, the company will release Xbox 360 edition of the popular PS2 action game Oanechan Bara X [The Sword Fighting Sisters X] and Chikyuu Boueisen X [Earth Defense Force X] in Japan this summer. - Microsoft will release the Japanese version of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat and Fight Night Round 3 for Xbox 360 on March 30, 2006. - Spike will release the Japanese version of the PSP rally racing game WRC in March, for 5040 yen. - Namco's Xenosaga I & II for Nintendo DS, the game features stories from episode I and II, plus an original episode which parallels to the main story. Xenosaga I & II will be released on March 30, 2006. - Nintendo will release the long awaited GBA RPG Mother 3 in Japan on April 20, 2006. JANUARY 24th:: - KILLZONE & REZ: coming to PSP!! - GIZMONDO: BANKRUPTED!! (DEAD) - E3 2006: no more BOOTH BABES! (its now illegal in the USA) - Namco's Time Crisis 4, the game will have a new multi-screen battle system, which allows you to move left or right to search for hidden enemies, hidden items or better hideouts... P L A Y S T A T I O N 3 - Sony announced they will have a conference called Destination PlayStation 2006 in Miami on February 27 - March 3, 2006. At the meeting Sony will discuss its plans and challenges in 2006. R E V O L U T I O N - Grass Hopper president Kouichi Suda confirmed that the company is working on a Revolution game title; Grass Hopper is the developer of Capcom's Killer 7 for GC and PS2. P L A Y S T A T I O N 2 - Sega announced Monkey Ball Adventures for PlayStation 2 and PSP, the developer is Traveller's Tales. - Irem has pushed back the release date of its survival adventure game Zettaizetsumei Toshi 2: Itetsuita Kiokutachi, from February 23 to sometimes in 2006. - Blu-Ray Disc Information Below is a tentative list of movies coming on Blu-Ray. Please keep in mind these have not been officially announced for public release yet. Once Blu-Ray Disc releases are officially announced, we will post pricing information and release dates on our site. High Definition Blu-Ray Disc releases Buena Vista Home Entertainment
JANUARY 20th:: - "FINAL FANTASY XII POTION drinks" - coming soon. Sold in 2 ways. Single drink for $5 or a box of 6 for $25. Discounts for game buyerse also available. End of march 2006 release. - SNK Playmore's Atomsiwave arcade action shooter Metal Slug 6, the game is will be released in 2006. - Here are the Console Hardware sales in Japan for the week of Jan 9 - 15, 2006: PSP - 57,686 [190,443] units
- Konami announced they will release Pop n' Music 14 in arcacde in June, the game will have 40 new tunes, plus a collection 500 tunes from the series. The game will support Amusement Pass, which allows you to save your progress on memory card. - Taito will publish Alfa System's Type-X shooter Shikigami no Shiro III in arcade on February 24. - Bandai will release a new PS2 action game Jojo's Bizarre Adventure in Japan this summer, which based on the first volume of the Jojo series. - Sony has released a new TVCM video for the PS2 motor racing game Tourist Trophy, the game will be released on February 2, 2006 in Japan. http://www.playstation.jp/ch/cm/asx/cm_tt.asx R E V O L U T I O N - In a recent interview with Nintendo's executive VP Reggie Fils-Aime, the company revealed its perspectives and future plans: Nintendo wants to make its products for the mast audience, not too exclusive and expensive for general customers. For example, customer needs to spend over $700 for Xbox 360 with games and extra controllers. Nintendo's handhelds and console will try not to integrate music and other things which aren't what great gaming experiences are all about Revolution will cost less than US$300 (34600 yen or euro 248) at launch Nintendo DS has successfully expanding the audience for gaming, which is not the case for Sony PSP. Nintendo plans to show many Revolution game titles at E3 2006 in May Major developers like EA, Ubisoft, Activision and THQ are all developing for Revolution He predicts that Revolution will sell more units than Xbox 360 in the launch window Nintendo DS has more than 10 million connections to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection servers, and over 500,000 players in seven weeks; whereas Xbox Live took over 6 months to reach the same numbers. - Nintendo's stock price in Japan has raise by 6.4%, after the company announced that Revolution will cost less than US$300 at launch. - Sega is working on an exclusive Sonic game for Revolution, which will take advantage of the Revolution's controller. This title is a different game from Sonic The Hedgehog for PS3 and Xbox 360. - Monolith Productions, the developer of Sega's Condemned: Criminal origins, is currently recruiting lead software engineeer for a new first person action game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. - Idea Factory will release its Xbox 360 RPG Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage on April 28 in Japan. - Konami will release a new Nintendo DS anime based action RPG called Mar Heaven: Karudea no Akuma on March 30 in Japan. - Capcom announced a defect in the Biohazad Deadly Silent Limited Pack for NDS, the bonus S.T.A.R.S. straps in certain packs are defective. Customers can send back the defective straps to Capcom for exchange. - Bandai announced DragonBall Z for PSP, the game is scheduled for a spring 2006 release in Japan. - Konami will release the baseball game Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable for PSP on April 1 in Japan. - Marvelous Interactive will release Innocent Life: Shin Bokujou Monogatari [Innocent Life: New Harvest Moon] for PSP on April 27 in Japan. - Electronic Arts announced that the Xbox 360 and PSP version of The Godfather will be postponed from March to summer 2006; the PS2 and Xbox version will be available in March 2006 as planned. - GameArts mentioned that its PC MMORPG Grandia Online may become a multi-platform title in future, and hitting the console systems. Currently the game is handled by GungHo in Japan. - Edge magazine reported that Electronic Arts currently has more PlayStation 3 titles in development than Xbox 360. The company currently has 20 titles planned for Xbox 360, but the number for PS3 is higher, exact number is unavailable. - G-Rev mentioned that its Xbox 360 shooter Senko no Ronde is currently 40% completed, the game will have online battle over Xbox Live, and the release date is sometimes in spring 2006. - Konami will release the Xbox 360 female wrestling game Rumble Roses XX on March 30 in Japan. - Sucker Punch, the developer of the Sly series, mentioned that they are working on a top secret next generation title, which will have online elements. - Pioneer's VP Andy Parsons said that he expects Sony to deliver 4 - 7 million units of PlayStation 3 by the end of this year. - Sony revealed a list of first party PlayStation 3 title in Japan in its PS3 webpage: Warhawk 2: The Eye of Judgement
- Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi mentioned that Devil May Cry 4 is a PS3 exclusive title, the game will not be ported over to Xbox 360 and Revolution in future. In the game Dante can access more maneuvers, while the control will be further simplified, the play mechanism will be like DMC3. (Source: Famitsu Capcom Vol. 2) - Namco mentioned that the GameCube card battle RPG Baten Kaitos II: Hajimari no Tsubasa to Kamigami no Shishi will not support progressive scan; the game will be released in two discs and the game saves requires 6 blocks in memory card. The game will be available on February 23 in Japan. - Namco is working on a PSP version of Tekken, the PSP version will have a new playable female character. - Namco will release the NDS RPG Xenosaga I & II on March 30 in Japan; the all new RPG Tales of the Tempest will be released on April 13, 2006. - Namco announced they have sold 500,000 copies of the Katamari Damacy series in Japan, there are 3 games in the series, 2 for PS2 and 1 for PSP. - Square Enix announced they have sold 1 million copies of the video Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in Japan, the video is available in both DVD and UMD format. JANUARY 14th:: - Bandai and Namco announced they will merge their game departments into one unit starting on April 1, 2006. In addition the arcade and mobile game departments between the two companies will be merged at the same time. On April 1 the two companies will be merged and called Namco Bandai Games Inc. - Namco confirmed that the arcade version of Soul Calibur III will be released in March 2006 in Japan. The System 258 light gun shooter Time Crisis 4 will be released in July 2006. - Take Two announced they have acquired the game studio Irration Games, the developer of System Shock 2 and Freedom Force. Irrational Games will join the roster of game studios under Take Two's 2K Game publishing label. - Capcom's Robert Hamiter said that Biohazard 5 / Resident Evil 5 will most likely not to be released in 2006, instead they will concentrates to release Dead Rising for Xbox 360 this year. - Team Entertainment will release a soundtrack album for the PS2 RPG Rogue Galaxy, entitled Rogue Galaxy - Premium Arrange on January 25, for 3150 yen. The album will also include tunes of other popular titles, such as Ridge Racer, Kingdom Hearts and Xenosaga. - SNK Playmore will release the PS2 3D fighting game King of FIghters: Maximum Impact 2 in April 2006 in Japan. - Capcom announced Sengoku Basara 2 [Devil King 2] for PlayStation 2, the sequel to last year's popular hack n' slash action game. The company also plans to release a budget price version of Sengoku Basara on July 21 in Japan, for 2800 yen. - Sega will release Sega Ages 2500 Series: Dynamite Deka and Sega Ages 2500 Series: Panzer Dragoon for PS2 on April 27 in Japan. - Sega has rescheduled to release the PS2 online RPG Phantasy Star Universe on March 30 in Japan, the game is currently 80% completed. - Ubisoft mentioned that Splinter Cell Essentials for PSP will contain a preview video of Splinter Cell Double Agent. - Polyphony Digital announced the PSP racing game Gran Turismo 4 Mobile will be released in spring 2006 in Japan. - Sony will release the PSP network RPG Blade Dancer: Sennenno Yakusoku on March 2 in Japan. - Sega's PSP racing game Initial D: Street Stage, the game will be released on February 23. Those who preorder the game in Japan will receive a bonus UMD Video Initial D: Street Stage D-File. - THQ will release Tetris DS for Nintendo DS in Europe on February 20, according to online retailers. The game will have a wireless battle mode, which supports up to 10 players and only one cartridge is required. - Nintendo will release the NDS action game Pokemon Rangers: Diamond Pearl eno Michi on March 23, the game is based on the upcoming Pokemon movie in Japan. - Tomy will release the NDS action game Naruto: Saikyou Ninja Daikesshuu 4 in Spring 2006 in Japan, the game will have over 30 playable characters and up to 4 players can battle over WiFi connection.... - Capcom announced a new Nintendo DS Rockman action game called Rockman Zekusa, the game will be released sometimes this year. - Square Enix announced three Ultimate Hits titles for Gameboy Advance in Japan, all 3 titles will ship on March 3, for 3300 yen each. Ultimate Hits: Kingdom Hearts:
Chain of Memories (2004) - Square Enix has pushed back the release date of Seiken Densetsu: Children of Mana for NDS by one week to March 2, 2006 in Japan. - Sega announced two new PSP title called Machi [Street], which is the sequel to one of the high rated Saturn adventure game from Chunsoft in 1998. The PSP version will have revised graphics in 16:9 display, the game will be released on April 27. - The second title from Sega & Chunsoft is Kamaitachi no Yoru 2 [Sound Novel Evolution 2], a popular sound novel adventure game which was previously released on SFC, PSone and GBA. The PSP version will be released on May 25 in Japan. - Ubisoft announced they will publish the Korean PSP RPG Astonishia Story in March 2006 in US, the game is developed by Sonnori Corp. - Jeremy Gordon, CEO of Secret Level said that the company is remaking a classic 1980s Sega videogame for PlayStation 3. - Banpresto announced a new PS2 traditional Japanese horror adventure game called Shiju Hachi [Four Eight], the story takes place in modern Japan. - Square Enix announced they will deliver 2 million copies of Final Fantasy XII for PS2 initially on March 16 in Japan. - Square Enix announced the Front Mission series have break through 3 million units. There are 17 titles in the series for various platform, including SFC, PSone, PS2, PC and mobile phones. The latest title Front Mission 5: Scars of the War has sold 200,000 units in Japan. - Midway announced Mortal Kombat Armageddon for PS2 and Xbox, the game will have most of the characters from the MK series, and you can also create your own fighters and over 20 different "Kustom Fatalities". The game will ship in October 2006. JANUARY 7th:: - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced they will release 20 Blu-Ray videos for the launch of the Blu-Ray players in spring 2006, including The Fifth Element, Desperado, Hitch, Kung Fu Hustle, Resident Evil Apocalypse and more. Sony will publish more Blu-Ray videos in summer, simultaneously with DVD videos, such as Underworld Evolution. All Blu-Ray videos will be compatible with PlayStation 3. - Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox will also release 10 and 20 Blu-Ray videos in spring 2006, including Aeon Flux, Four Brothers, Sahara, Fantasic Four, Behind Enemy Lines and more. Additional Blu-Ray videos will be available later in the year, such as Mission Impossible 3 and Stargate Atlantis. - Capcom will release Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Special Edition on January 24, 2006, for US$19.95. The game has a number of new features, including new playable character Vergil, new play modes, new weapons and more. - Muumuu, the developer of Sony's Jumping Flash series, announced that the company will release two new titles in 2006, one in spring and one in winter 2006. - Sony has registered a new trademark Piposaru Racer in Japan, which seems to be a new racing game featuring characters from the Piposaru / Ape Escape series. - Nippon Ichi's PS2 simulation RPG Makai Senki Disgaea 2, the game will be released on February 23 in Japan. - Forbes reported that Microsoft has shipped 1.3 million units of Xbox 360 in the last quarter, approximately 600,000 - 800,000 units is being produced monthly, the total shipment will reach 2 million units by the end of March 2006. It seems Microsoft has momentarily problems to increase the production capacity. - Funcom will publish Aspry Media's Xbox 360 adventure game Dreamfall: The Longest Journey in spring 2006 in US. - Hudson will release the Xbox 360 RPG Tengai Makyou Ziria: Yurakanaru Jipang on March 23 in Japan. - Tomy will release Zoids Infinity EX Neo for Xbox 360 on March 30; and Hamster will release the convenient store simulation game The Conveni X on the same day in Japan. - Korean developer Indy 21 announced they will release a Xbox 360 version of the MMORPG Nine Dragons in 2007, the game is currently available on PC. - Nintendo will release the long awaited GBA RPG Mother 3 in spring 2006 in Japan, the series is known as Earthbound in US. - Namco confirmed that they will release an arcade version of Soul Calibur III in spring 2006. - Famitsu reported that a revised console system will be released in Japan in Spring 2006 and it is not a next generation console. The magazine predicts that the most likely is a new design of Nintendo DS or PSP. JANUARY 5th:: - Take Two Interactive announced that Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories will be ported over from PSP to PlayStation 2, the PS2 version is set to release in Q2 2006. In addition, an all-new Grand Theft Auto title is coming to PSP later this year. - Capcom had delayed the release of the anime style action game Black Cat for PS2 by 1 month from February 23 to March 30. - Sumo Digitals revealed new info on the PS2 version of Outrun Coast to Coast. The game will have 30 courses from the arcade version of OutRun 2 and OutRun 2 SP, all courses can be played in reversal. There is a new Mission Mode, which makes the game less linear and give players more freedom. The PSP version also features different missions from the PS2 version, the missions can be transferred between the two versions. However the game will not have force feedback steering wheel support. - Sega has pushed back the release date of the PS2/PC online RPG Phantasy Star Universe from February 16 to March 30. - Sony announced Wild Arms: The 5th Vanguard for PlayStation 2, the 5th game in the Wild Arms series, which is being developed by Media Vision, the game is scheduled to release in 2006. - Sony announced they will release a new Final Fantasy XII Pack in Japan on March 16, which includes Final Fantasy XII and a special edition of slim-line PlayStation 2 console, with the FFXII Judge master symbol attached. - During CES, Sony CEO Howard Stringer said that 4000 PS3 Development Kits have been distributed globally. Sony would release PS3 sometimes in the spring, no specific date has been set. - Tecmo's Xbox 360 fighting game Dead or Alive 4 has sold 60,000 copies in Japan during the first week, on the same week 10,000 units of Xbox 360 were sold. - Capcom will release the classic fighting game Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting for Xbox Live Arcade in Q1 2006. - Microsoft said they expect the worldwide shipment of Xbox 360 to reach 5.5 million units by the end of June 2006. - Microsoft will release an external HD-DVD drive as an accessory for Xbox 360, which can be used to playback high definition HD-DVD videos. No specifics such as price or release date were given. - Sony announced they will release two high capacity Memory Stick Pro Duo in 2006, one is 4GB and the other one is 8GB. - Famitsu reported that the Japanese console market has increased by 46.9% in 2005 comparing to previous year, due to the growth in the handheld market. The sales of console hardware reached 163.9 billion yen. Here are the sales of the top 4 console hardware between December 27, 2004 to December 25, 2005: Nintendo DS - over 4 million
units - Here are the Top 10 Japanese console games for the week of Dec 26, 2005 to Jan 1, 2006. Nintendo dominated the chart with 6 NDS titles. Doubutsu no Mori DS [Animal
Crossing: WIld World] (NDS, Nintendo) - 205,119 [1,382,228] units
- Here are the Japanese hardware sales for the week of Dec 26, 2005 to Jan 1, 2006: Nintendo DS - 390,181 [4,151,356]
units
PlayStation 3 - 47.8%
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