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LocoRoco 2 hits the US this February
After such a tiring localization process (from English to ... er, English), LocoRoco 2 will be available in the US this February. The blubbery fellows are finally coming back to the PSP with tons of enhancements over the original title. Watch for it on UMD on February 10th, 2009. [Thanks, Alex L.!]
TGS 08: LocoRoco 2 and the curiously embargoed trailer
Strangely, only one thing we reported on at Tokyo Game Show this year was under embargo. And that was this LocoRoco 2 trailer. Why? We don't know. If you read our hands-on impressions, you'll know that we're absolutely in love with this rather substantial sequel. Take a watch and see if you can find all the new gameplay features and enemies.
TGS 08: LocoRoco 2 grabs us with cuteness and depth
"Sorry it took so long," LocoRoco designer Tsutomu Kouno told me. In spite of the original's high-profile and well-received launch on the PSP, it's been over two years since we saw these lovable blubbers hit Sony's handheld. The silence around the long-rumored sequel is a bit baffling, as getting our hands on with the upcoming PSP title revealed a disarming amount of new content for the sequel.It's undeniable that the original LocoRoco charmed hardcore gamers, thanks to its lovable style and rather unique design. However, it couldn't keep the attention of these gamers, as it was perhaps a bit too simplistic. While children and casual gamers were enchanted, hardcore gamers needed substance beyond tilting left and right.So perhaps LocoRoco 2 is Kouno's attempt at bridging the gap between hardcore and casual audiences. The upcoming PSP-exclusive sequel maintains all the saccharin sweetness of the original, but adds new gameplay features that add a tremendous amount of depth to the experience. The sheer amount of content found in this UMD/downloadable game is staggering.%Gallery-27749%
LocoRoco 2 trailer is predictably adorable
Download to PSP This new LocoRoco 2 "special movie" found on the official Japanese website shows us just how cute things on the PSP can be. The art direction looks about the same in this highly-anticipated sequel, along with some kawaii music that can get a little annoying if you listen to it more than once. The cute little blobs demonstrates some of their new skills here, such as swimming and biting. Stay for the end, which makes us wish there was a LocoRoco TV show.[Via NeoGAF]
LocoRoco sequel already 75% done
While LocoRoco 2 was only officially announced yesterday, it's been in development for quite some time. According to Famitsu (via 1UP), the title is already 75% complete. The sequel will feature the return of the original's Moja Troop, but this time they have some tricks up their sleeves. They'll be after the adorable LocoRocos with the power of music. Uh-oh! "The Moja Troop are back with some new bosses, but this time they've also learned some songs," director Tsutomu Kouno says. "They've been practicing as hard as they can, and they've learned how to use music to sap the energy out of everyone. Now nobody feels like doing anything, so the LocoRoco have to go around the world and pep everyone back up again."According to Kouno, the game will retain the same simplistic charm of the original. "We've tried our best not to change the core gameplay too much," he says. "We're being careful to keep it from getting too complex, and in addition to that, we're putting in lots of new features for people who played the first game to enjoy." But, expect new moves, such as the ability to go underwater and the ability to bite things.Will we get to play it at E3? We hope so. Sony plans on showing new PSP games at E3, undoubtedly. This would be an ideal candidate.
Sony UK: LocoRoco 2 rolling onto PSP 'this year'
In an interview with MCV, Sony Europe UK's product manager, Claire Backhouse, said the company is planning to release LocoRoco 2 for PSP "this year." A LocoRoco follow-up has been rolling under the radar since late last July when series' director Tsutomu Kouno confirmed plans for a true sequel. We're currently trying to clarify with Sony if "this year" means this calendar year or Sony's fiscal year (ending March 2009).Update: Sony informs us it has not distributed any news regarding LocoRoco 2 so it can't "confirm," or in this case clarify, anything. "Stay tuned for more details."[Via PSP Fanboy]
Loco Roco teaches Japanese kids how to divide and multiply
Those silly balloon creatures in Loco Roco are doing more than their usual passive in-game combining and dividing -- they're taking those skills and teaching kids how to do it for themselves. Wait, before you get confused, we don't mean kids are attaching themselves to one another to make one giant kid ... we mean that the Loco Roco are actively teaching kids all about multiplication, division, and basic arithmetic. Don't get any funny ideas. While the actual Loco Roco game isn't used in the classroom, its characters are presented in visual aids. According to Famitsu, this unique way of teaching mathematics to children has been done recently at an elementary school in Chiba, Japan. The next class? Physics 101 with Dragon Ball Z. It's great to see the Loco Roco helping out with what they do best, and we can't wait to see this become a fully institutionalized part of the teaching curriculum. Maybe, someday. It's also nice knowing that the PSP is becoming more and more edu-friendly.
New LocoRoco demo is not-so-new
As expected, the Japanese PS Store was updated today with a "new" Christmas demo of LocoRoco. The problem? It's not new at all. It's the same demo as the one we featured last year, unfortunately. Most likely, a lot of new PSP owners haven't experienced the glory that is LocoRoco and this revival of the Christmas demo will serve as a gateway drug for more of these blubbery critters. Good move, Sony -- but we want some new LocoRoco fun ... soon.
New Christmas LocoRoco demo incoming?
If you've been an avid PSP Fanboy reader, or an avid LocoRoco player, you might remember our downloadable demo last Christmas. Seems we're getting another treat this year as well, as it appears a demo with Santa Blob Person is on its way. The SCEJ website indicates a December 13th date, and availability on the PSP and the PC's version of the PlayStation Store. Or, you know, you could just get it from us. We'll get back to you on this subject in a little under a week.
TGS07: Interview with Loco Roco's Tsutomu Kouno
We had the opportunity to catch up with the father of Loco Roco, Tsutomu Kouno, and ask him a few questions about his newly released sequel, Loco Roco Cocoreccho. The interview was conducted along with Spencer Yip from Siliconera. We ask him what his inspirations were, why he decided to develop an "interactive screensaver" and whether there will be any downloadable content in the future. Find the full interview after the break.What was your inspiration for the Loco Roco franchise?I carry a PDA around with me wherever I go and I draw out any ideas that I have. Several years ago I found myself drawing Loco Rocos on the train in various forms. Around that time the PSP had first been announced so I started to think how I could turn my little characters into a game. I thought to myself: "there must be a way to have the shoulder buttons of the PSP control the movement."
American PSN updates for September 20th
Wish you were here in Tokyo? Don't worry, Sony feels your pain. That's why today's update includes a plethora of videos and wallpapers. Not to mention demos and the new Loco Roco sequel. Why aren't they on the European PSN store? We know Sony are working on it. We're fine with that. Honest. Regardless, here are today's updates. Loco Roco Cocoreccho full game ($6.99) Skate demo (free) Stuntman: Ignition demo (free) Sega Rally Revolution demo (free) NBA 08 demo (free) Devil May Cry 4 summer 2007 trailer (free) GT5 Prologue Leipzig video (free) Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction video (free) Folklore trailer (free) Lair promo video (free) Lair "Going for the kill" video (free) Heavenly Sword demo (free) NBA 08 Free 6 tutorial (free) Loco Roco Cocoreccho trailer (free) Wallpapers Four demos? A new game? Trailers galore? You lucky sods. Get downloading![Thanks Ciaran!]
European PSN releases for September 20th
Despite being in Tokyo this week we're still able to bring you your weekly PSN updates, even if we cannot access them ourselves. We've seen the US releases already (thanks Ciaran!) so expect an angry post about that later. Here's the full release list. Medevil PS1 game for PS3/PSP (£3.49) Syphon Filter PS1 game for PS3/PSP (£3.49) Loco Roco Cocoreccho full game (£1.99) Jericho trailer (free) Heavenly Sword trailers (free) Good? Bad? To be honest, we're too numb from lack of sleep to know right now. Games are good, right? So three games can't be bad, even if one is a rerelease of a game that was pulled off the PSN a month or two ago.
TGS07: LocoRoco Cocoreccho trailer flutters to the internets
While Andrew has already given us his hands-on impressions of LocoRoco Cocoreccho (try saying that fast three times!), everyone knows a pictures is worth a thousand words, and by my calculations, a video is worth four hundred billion eleventy thousand. Unfortunately, Andrew was rather disappointed with the interactive screensaver, blaming inconsistent and overly complicated controls, which makes the game lose much of what we loved about the first - simplicity. The game hits the PlayStation Store this week, so how about you try it out and let us know what you think.
Loco Roco Cocoreccho available next week on the UK PSN for cheap
According to UK videogame site CVG, Loco Roco Cocoreccho is rolling onto the UK PSN next week for the budget price of just £1.99. This puts it significantly cheaper than the Japanese release, which at 800 yen puts it at almost 2x the cost of the UK release. It is assumed that the reason for the cheap cost is that this isn't a full fledged game per se, but some kind of weird bastard child of a Loco Roco game (with full tilt controls evidently) and um, a screensaver. They haven't mentioned HOW it's a screensaver, but considering the title has online leaderboards and actual gameplay so it's going to be a pretty damn in-depth screensaver. So with the British and the Japanese getting Loco Roco Cocoreccho next week, where's the American love?
Loco Roco for PS3 confirmed 95% complete
The PlayStation Premiere event in Tokyo has seen a veritable cornacopia of announcements so far today (with more to come, no doubt). One such announcement is that the PS3 version of Loco Roco, entitled Buu Buu Cocoreccho!, is 95% complete and so will be available, no doubt, before the end of the year. A downloadable title that promises to be "playing, even when you aren't", Buu Buu Cocoreccho! will feature 200 Loco Roco characters as well as full SIXAXIS control support. There's not much more information that that (as seems to be a theme with these PlayStation Premiere announcements), but now that the word is out there's no doubt we'll be hearing lots more about it up until its release.
Sony tells PSP devs to get creative, attract customers
PSP developers need to get more creative, said SCEE game director Tony Buckley. Speaking to CVG, Buckley said that it's up to the developers "to create something that attracts people to PSP." "I think that rather than focusing on the gameplay side of it, we should be focusing on how to fully utilize what I think is quite a sophisticated piece of kit," he said. According to CVG, Buckley later cited MP3 playback, wireless and online functionality as ways developers could capitalize on the PSP's potential Maybe it's a problem of perception. Games like Crush and Loco Roco show great creativity from a design perspective. The once-exclusive Lumines (now also a PS2 and Xbox Live Arcade title) was designed byTetsuya Mizuguchi with the portable specifically in mind. But we think Buckley is implying that the PSP lacks that killer app that could only be made on the PSP. So maybe it's the developer's perception -- take Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki, for example. He said that the design philosophy behind the PSP is the same as that of a home console, so how could he make a game unique to the portable? Then again, maybe the perception problems lie within Sony itself, who needs to either create a first-party game to show exactly what the executives have in mind when they say "killer piece of software," or to promote the creative games they have now.
Tilt the world and move a blob -- a LocoRoco clone
Imagine a playful game where you must tilt a world, guiding a happy orange blob to its destination. Imagine, eating fruit along the way, and having the ability to split the blob into smaller pieces. No, it's not LocoRoco. It's a very uninspired clone.Blobular takes stealing ideas to a whole new level: not only does it feature copycat game design, it doesn't even do it very well. They say mimicry is the best kind of flattery ... but what if it's this bad?[Via PSP-Vault]
Rumor: New PSN titles for the summer and fall - Loco Roco, GT 5 Prologue, and more! [UPDATE- Sony responds]
French gaming mega-site PlayFrance has posted a list of Sony titles coming out in Europe between now and this October and they've revealed a bunch of unheard of titles. Not only do they confirm that both Loco Roco PSN and GT 5 Prologue are coming out in the next couple months, they also listed three previously unheard of games: EyeToy Play Factory 1 EyeToy Play Factory 2 Chills No other information was given about these, though they also confirmed Loco Roco 2 coming out for the PSP this year. So what's the possibility of this list being real? Well, PlayFrance is a very reputable site, but it seems a little iffy that Sony would announce 5 new PSN titles in such a way. Did somebody accidentally spill the beans on some of the 'surprises' that Jack Tretton hinted at a week ago? It's hard to tell at this point, but we've contacted Sony and are awaiting a response about the validity of this list.Update:When we asked Sony about the validity of the list, Dave Karraker had the following to say:"I checked on this with our people in France. They have no idea where this information is from and say it is wholly inaccurate. The only games they have announced in that territory are Warhawk, Super Stardust and Snakeball."So until we get more info, consider this rumor to debunked.Update 2:PlayFrance has taken the page down. Consider the rumor to be thoroughly debunked now.
Loco Roco's Tsutomu Kouno wants a world united (in games)
You may have missed this one. At the time of writing, less than 20 people have seen this seen this excellent video interview with Loco Roco's Tsutomu Kouno. It's a fairly lengthy feature, clocking in at over 9 minutes. However, it provides some excellent insight into game design. One of the key points Kouno focused on was the international gaming community, and the reluctance of Japanese gamers to try Western games, and vice versa. (Of course, the recent success of Grand Theft Auto in Japan suggests a changing attitude.)Be warned, though -- the interview can be a little too telling. I mean, did we really need to know his blood type? (Spoiler alert: it's A.) Download Video for PSPAccess m.pspfanboy.com from your PSP internet browser to download.
Adorable LocoRoco trading toys
I went to Anime Boston a few weekends ago, and found a PSP related toy, but delayed on writing about it. That toy is the LocoRoco plush charm things you see above. I'm not sure the purpose of them, as they are too big to be a cell phone charm, and too delicate to put on your keychain. They came in randomized boxes, like most Japanese trading figures do, and had nearly the entire cast available. I delayed in writing about this though, because I hoped to find a place to send our readers, so they could pick it up for themselves. Unfortunately, either I fail at the internet, or they're relatively difficult to find online. I attached the black LocoRoco to my bag, and it brings me joy daily. If anyone knows how to buy these online, please post a link in the comment section. I know I'd like to pick up more for myself.
