summer-2010
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XSEED publishing Prope's 'Ivy the Kiwi?' this summer
click to see more screens?XSEED has acquired the North American publishing rights to Ivy the Kiwi? for Wii and DS, the latest game from Yuji Naka's post-Sega studio, Prope. The puzzle game, presented in a unique "storybook" art style, stars a baby kiwi trying to navigate her way back to her mother. The player uses the stylus or pointer to stretch vines to bounce Ivy through levels and around obstacles. Along the way, players can attempt to pick up optional orange feathers for extra challenge -- that is, if they don't mind keeping a baby bird separated from her mother even longer, the monsters. In Japan, the game was originally released on Windows Phone, with console releases published by Namco Bandai. XSEED is planning a "summer 2010" release -- there's still a question mark on the specific date. %Gallery-92221%%Gallery-92220%
'Jam with the Band' headed to Europe after 5-year wait; other Nintendo releases dated
[Daigasso! Band Brothers & Daigasso! Band Brothers DX] Nintendo of Europe released its summer lineup today, featuring dates we mostly know -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 on June 11 -- or aren't terribly concerned with -- Repetto Presents Ballerina in May. Metroid: Other M is still undated, having been slated for Q3, and therefore out of the bounds of the new listing. However, there are a few welcome surprises, most notably: Jam with the Band. Originally released way back in 2004 as Daigasso! Band Bros., this rhythm game disappeared from Nintendo's launch lineup elsewhere, never making it to the West until now. We don't know why Nintendo decided to revive it now -- or if it's the first game or the sequel (both covers pictured above) -- but it's scheduled for release in Europe on May 21! Samurai Warriors 3 for Wii has been dated for May 28, as well. Nintendo has also dated Capcom's Mega Man Zero Collection for June. The release date for this DS compilation of GBA Mega Man games had been up in the air following the announcement of its delay in Japan. Also, a previously unannounced DS title from Hudson, Shooting Watch, is set for release in May. We assume this is based on Hudson's Shooting Watch toy, which measures the number of button presses you can achieve in 10 seconds.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep to be born unto the U.S. this summer
Square Enix is sure hoping that the recent release of its long-in-production RPG hasn't caused you to forget about its other long-in-production RPG: The PSP-exclusive Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. The company recently sent a jolt through the series' dormant U.S. fan base by announcing that the title will come stateside sometime this summer. According to Squeenix's press release announcement, the North American version of the game will include new features, such as "an extra boss and additional multiplayer options," as well as something called "Crown Stickers." That certainly sounds like powerful weapon in the fight against the Heartless. We hear those guys hate stickers.
Super Meat Boy coming to XBLA before WiiWare, aiming for summer release
In this week's meat-related game news, Super Meat Boy devs "Team Meat" (a.k.a. Edmund McMillen and a few others) has confirmed the game's release for XBLA with the above screen via its Twitter account. The studio further confirmed the news to IGN, who also found out that the team is hoping for a summer release. According to the report, SMB will find his way into thousands of inglorious deaths on the Xbox 360 first, with WiiWare and PC/Mac support coming afterward. No PSN release was announced, but the team would say that it has the little meaty platformer up and running on a PlayStation 3 dev kit. The reason for the move is said to be at least in part due to the space restrictions enforced by Nintendo and Microsoft, with the latter offering more space and thus more options for extra content. Super Meat Boy is claimed to be "about half finished," with the game's developers hoping for a summer release, just in time for grill season. Talk about synergy! Source 1 - Super Meat Boy Twitter account Source 2 - IGN
Sega cites 'tweaks' and release position for Alpha Protocol delay [update]
It would have been nice to hear more of an explanation way back in October when Sega's Alpha Protocol was "officially delayed" to the amorphous "Spring 2010," but, unfortunately, that didn't happen. Speaking with MTV Multiplayer this week, though, assistant producer at Sega Matthew Hickman explicitly detailed the reasons for the delay, saying, "We really wanted to polish the game up, make it everything Obsidian planned it to be, and give the consumer a very polished game." He added that there's been some "tweaks in lighting here and there," and the inventory screen has been revamped a bit, but in general the team has been focused on "bringing the whole quality level up." The post's author also notes that the game is set for a "Summer 2010" release window now, and we've reached out to him (and Sega) for clarification. Update: The post's author has responded that, yes, the game's current release window is set for "Summer 2010." Guess that's another delay then, eh? We'll update again if Sega responds. %Gallery-19776%
Gran Turismo 5 dev says Sony targeting a 'Summer 2010' North American release
At a recent press event held for Gran Turismo 5, associate producer Chris Hinojosa-Miranda let slip that Sony is "eying" a Summer 2010 for the game on this side of the Pacific. Destructoid reports that Hinojosa-Miranda wouldn't confirm the possibility of DLC for the upcoming title, nor would he commit to there being any difference (content-wise) between the Japanese release this March and the eventual North American release. Allegedly "details are coming soon," and there's always that demo coming to PSN -- but we were really hoping for the early 2010 release that GT5 head Kazunori Yamauchi had teased a few months back. [Via Kotaku]%Gallery-71410%
