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Square Enix (almost) bares all at Jump Festa
1UP has again braved the bands of manga-fiending young'ns to investigate the happenings at this year's Jump Festa jumpoff. While all major Japanese publishers (and Microsoft) were present, Square Enix was reppin' in full force, offering playable versions of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP), and Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (both for DS). Trailers for additional titles were also on display (see embedded videos below). In a private theater, Square Enix previewed more new footage from its upcoming 2007 lineup, including a glimpse at Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3). The montage concluded with a brief flash of an armored man, grimacing as he stood on what appeared to be a battlefield. The teaser shot was followed by the words: "And something new coming in 2007."
Aussies get extra characters in their version of DBZ
While Aussie gamers are forced to wait long for games just about all the time, it turns out that in the case of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, the wait just might be a good thing. With some brand new content, including 6 new characters and a new arena, will Aussie gamers even want to take part in this game, which received some fairly mediocre review scores. So, Australian gamers, are you looking forward to this game? Does the extra content bring you down off the fence?
DOA5 is alive, bounciness abounds
Professional drunken philanderer, Tomonobu Itagaki, despite rumors that Dead or Alive 4 would be the final game in the series, recently confirmed that Dead or Alive 5 is in the works. We don't know too much about the title yet, but Itagaki-san has dropped a few hints. First, he claims that he has already envisioned the opening scene in his head (inside Itagaki's head ... what must that be like?), and will probably drop the tag team feature. We find that last bit more than a little strange, since he has frequently insulted the Tekken series for lacking a tag option. Frankly, we couldn't care less about the tag play if it gives us a passable online experience. No console was announced, but given Team Ninja's history (and success) with Xbox, you can bet it will hit 360. So, if you thought the 360's days of wildly exaggerated bouncing breasts were over, think again. They will be back, only this time they will have an actual, you know, game behind them. [Via Joystiq]
Itagaki confirms Dead or Alive 5
A fifth Dead or Alive is in development -- no surprise. That DOA creator, on-the-job drinker, and overly-friendly coworker Tomonobu Itagaki made the announcement at the DOA 10th anniversary party among a throng of supporters made us giddy. After all, after the sexual harassment charges we weren't sure whether he had been demoted or somehow shuffled in the background. But there he was, wine glass and sunglasses in tow. Not much was revealed, except that Itagaki has a few ideas circling in his head, he's planning on axing the Tag Team system, and he already knows how the opening cinematic will begin. No console was mentioned, but we're placing our bets on another Xbox 360 iteration. After five of the most recent DOA titles (including two softcore simulators) have been Microsoft exclusives, we think the odds are in our favor.
100% awesome Naruto footage
How does Naruto rate such incredible graphics? Yeah, we know, loads of people read, watch, and love Naruto, and that's fine; we support a love of ninja goodness in all things. But licensed games are just supposed to be there for our entertainment. Oh, we don't mean the gameplay. They're supposed to be, y'know, bad. It's a rule. But you know how those mischievous teenage ninjas can be. They don't like rules. They like violence and hey! So do we. So it's convenient that this game is going to be all about kicking ass. The original video at Jeux France is definitely higher quality, but a version popped up on YouTube (just some color fading, not losing a lot) that we've embedded after the jump. Watch it here, watch it there, watch it anywhere -- just don't miss it.
New games this week
Just as if last week's release lineup couldn't get any better, this week walks in and flexes its launch muscle. Where to begin? With a whopping total of 10 popular gaming platforms, one thing's for sure, you have choices. 145 to be exact. And even if you're not planning to buy a PS3 or Wii this week, existing systems are getting a ton of action. Weeks like this only happen once every five years. Enjoy it friends. PlayStation 3: - Call of Duty 3 - Genji: Days of the Blade - Madden NFL 07 - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire - NBA 07 - NBA 2K7 - Need for Speed Carbon - NHL 2K7 - Resistance: Fall of Man - Ridge Racer 7 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - Tony Hawk's Project 8 - Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom Nintendo Wii: - The Ant Bully - Avatar: The Last Airbender - Barnyard - Call of Duty 3 - Cars - Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 - Excite Truck - The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - GT Pro Series - Happy Feet - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Madden NFL 07 - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Metal Slug Anthology - Monster 4x4: World Circuit - Need for Speed Carbon - Open Season - Rampage: Total Destruction - Rapala Tournament Fishing! - Rayman: Raving Rabbids - Red Steel - SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab - Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - Trauma Center: Second Opinion - World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions
Don't beat on kids for GoW
A 36 year old man in Detroit thinks it's okay to go around beating the crap out of a 15 year kid so he can get his hands on a video game. The man, Deion, was waiting in line at Gamestop to purchase Gears of War when the manager announced that they were running out of copies. So, logically he decided to push his way to the front of the line, have a confrontation, and proceeded to pummel a poor 15 year old kid for his copy of the game. The guy was arrested and the kid was taken to the hospital for his injuries. As for punishment, who's up for letting that kid have a chance to chainsaw old Deion in half?[Via Digg]
Games shipping this week
Big week in games (especially for 360). Ginormous. Okay, maybe not ginormous, but we haven't seen a week this good in a long time, and things are looking good. Notable titles include Gears of War, Viva Pinata, and Call of Duty 3 on Xbox 360; Elite Beat Agents on the DS; Tony Hawk's Project 8 (multi); and rockin' Guitar Hero II for PS2. Buyer dilemmas start now. Nintendo DS: - Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses - Bomberman Land Touch! - Chicken Little: Ace in Action - Digimon World DS - Elite Beat Agents - My Frogger: Toy Trials - Tom and Jerry Tales - Uno/Skip-Bo/Uno Freefall - Winx Club: The Quest for the Codex PlayStation 2: - Call of Duty 3 - Chicken Little: Ace in Action - Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 - Guitar Hero 2 - Hard Rock Casino - Sega Genesis Collection - SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals Combined Assault - The Sopranos: Road to Respect - Suzuki Superbikes - Tony Hawk's Project 8 Xbox 360: - Blitz: The League - Call of Duty 3 - Gears of War - History Channel: Civil War - Tony Hawk's Project 8 - Viva Pinata - World Championship Poker: All In
Wii titles available by December
The day has come ladies and gentlemen. The list for the games that will be available on the Wii by December has arrived! Be warned that there have been a few modifications and we wouldn't be surprised to see more the closer we get to December. One of the games taken off is Blazing Angels. Judging from the list we can tell that many other games will make up for the gap. We have divided the list by publisher to make it easier on your eyes. Check it out after the break! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Wii launch window: 32 Wii games, 30 VC games
Nintendo has blasted out a list confirming the 32 Wii and 30 Virtual Console games (spanning five consoles) that will be available in the five weeks between the system's November 19th launch and the end of 2006. We're not sure exactly which games may not make that November 19th launch date, but it seems reasonable to presume the VC games will be there on launch day, previously dated titles like Zelda, and the 530 GameCube titles they're eager to remind us will work from the get go. Nintendo does remind us that "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess emerges [Ed. will emerge?] as this season's video game masterpiece." Hey, way to throw that third party trash to the curb! We agree it stands head and shoulders above some of the more forgettable entries filling up this list (we're sure Happy Feet will be a slightly less impressive masterpiece), but it's nice to see them being so candid about it. Check out the entire list after the break, and let us know if there's anything missing that we thought would be there. We'll start: Ubisoft's forgettable WWII dogfighter, Blazing Angels. It came out for the Xbox 360 in March, was confirmed by Ubisoft to be a launch window game in August, was again confirmed by Nintendo to be a launch title in September, and now it's evidently missing. What's up? See also: PlayStation 3 launch window titles announced [Thanks for all the tips, everyone!]
Happy Street Fighter II music day
There's nothing like a good fighting game to let out your aggression in a safe, healthy manner. Of course, hearing the music from said game might bring out those aggressive impulses in an environment that isn't well suited to handle it.Therefore, we here at Joystiq recommend you prepare for the following guitar renditions of Ken, Guile an Zangief's themes from Street Fighter II by finding the nearest arcade and/or video game console and loading it up a game that involves punching and kicking things repeatedly. Your housemates, classmates and/or co-workers will thank you for channeling your destructive impulses away from them and towards something more benign.
Def Jam isn't alone, new fighter from EA
1UP is reporting that EA Chicago, in addition to Def Jam: Icon and the next Fight Night, is working on another fighter. The announcement from EA declares that they are working on "a licensed title and a new intellectual property in the fighting videogame genre." We have no idea what the licensed title could be, but 1UP suggests that the new IP might be the rock and roll version of Def Jam, allowing players to pit the likes of David Bowie and Gene Simmons against each other. While the idea is interesting, we'd rather see EA create an entirely new fighter so they can spend time tuning the gameplay instead of the concept. How about the rest of you? Would you like to see Green Day face off with Metallica, or would you rather have something new?
Def Jam: Icon gameplay video
There's a new video of Def Jam: Icon on GameVideos. 1UP has a lengthy preview as well. The biggest "feature" of Icon is how heavily the music interacts with the game. Buildings jump in rhythm to the music, explosions occur in time with the beats, even the fighting seems to be choreographed to the music. The concept sounds interesting on paper, but this video is anything but interesting. On the contrary, it's kind of boring. Now, gameplay videos of fighting games can be hard to judge, especially when the players are inexperienced, and it's obvious that these two don't know how to play the game -- in fact, if you listen to the video, you could guess that these guys are just waiting for their Grey Goose and cranberry to show up. Still, the graphics are alright and the concept is new. Hopefully, we'll see some better videos -- or better yet, a demo -- before the game releases in March. Watch the video after the break.
Def Jam pimped out for next gen, 1st images
EA has officially announced the imminent arrival of Def Jam: Icon. A continuation of the popular (?) fighting series, Icon looks to bring in both da noise and da funk. -- and hip hop stars beating the crap out of each other. Filled with celebrities like T.I., Big Boi, and Ludacris, hip hop fans will certainly be pleased. Hopefully Andre 3000 is in there with plenty of selectable costumes, too. Some of the PR drivel is a little hard to swallow though: "In DEF JAM: ICON, we are changing the way fighting games are played! We are completely innovating the role of the environments in the games, moving from the typical lifeless arenas the hip-hop celebrities are fighting in to environments that play an instrumental part in the fight where they will react to the music and interact with both characters like a third fighter." Interactive environments? Welcome to every 3D fighter since the Dreamcast, EA. Check out Xboxyde for more pictures. Full press release after the break.
Mazu Kan's "contact-free" Laser Martial Arts game
If you've got the bank credentials to back it up, you can build your own robotic fighting machine, or hop in the "squishy ball shooting" Land Walker and (slowly) mow down neighborhood pests as you please. But if you've only got $60, and don't feel like sustaining any major injuries when releasing that pent-up rage, Mazu Kan's Laser Martial Arts game has you covered. This two-person, "contact-free" slugfest contains a pair of wearable sensors that track your punches, dodges, and uppercuts to determine who loses their "10 life points" first. The built-in "sound and rumble" effects supposedly help you forget that you're not in an actual brawl, while the "two levels of combat" should put those newly-acquired cagefighting skills to the test. Red vs Blue tees not included.[Via Uber-Review]
Japanese software sales chart, Oct. 2-8: The Gundam Strikes Back
The last time a PSP title was this high in the Japanese software sales chart, it was SD Gundam G Generation Portable, and it was the fastest-selling PSP game to date. And now it's Gundam Battle Royale's turn at trying to upset Nintendo's DS games, which Andrew predicted more than a month ago. Is the guy psychic or something? 1. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (PS2) - 263,897 / *NEW* 2. Pokemon Diamond (DS) - 254,080 / 1,074,127 3. Pokemon Pearl (DS) - 212,193 / 980,881 4. Gundam Battle Royale (PSP) - 64,986 / *NEW* 5. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 40,114 / 3,233,793 6. Zaidan Houjin Nippon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Kyoukai Kounin: KanKen DS (DS) - 38,799 / 84,091 7. Minna no Tennis (PS2) - Sony - 32,962 / 416,507 8. Final Fantasy III (DS) - Square Enix - 30,418 / 781,713 9. Brain Training 2 (DS) - Nintendo - 26,600 / 3,288,248 10. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) - Nintendo - 22,787 / 3,305,244 While Gundam Battle Royale's sold less than half of what SD Gundam G Generation Portable (155,634) sold in its first week, it was still enough to capture the fourth spot. It seems the Japanese eat up these Gundam games faster than my fat uncle Johnny at Thanksgiving. Has Sony finally found its PSP cashcow? Hmmm.
Wedbush Morgan predicts Wii launch lineup and sales
Wedbush Morgan recently released its list of anticipated launch titles and sales figures for both the PS3 and Wii. The sales figures they present are very selective and they do not predict figures for every title, but we take what we can get. Their entire proposed lineup and sales figures, which we must say is not a confirmed list by Nintendo in any shape or form, is included after the break.
DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 gameplay explained
The crew over at Gamespot managed to site down and get a little face-time with the latest build of Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi 2, explaining that the game isn't going to settle for you just sitting on the couch, playing the game as if it's on any console other than the Wii. Oh no, apparently those eager to toss fireballs and teleport will have to actively perform these motions with the Wiimote. Good news though, the controls are less frantic and demand less amounts of wild arm-flinging. So with a more refined control set, you're better able to control the in-game action. This new control scheme combines button-pressing with gesture-based gameplay. For example, to fly you'll press the C button to jump and hover, which will get your character off the ground. Once in the air, you can hold in the C button and move the controller up or down to increase or decrease altitude.
PSP gamer beaten up on train, APB for DS fanboys declared
Ya know, there comes a time when these "fanboy wars" go too far. And I think this incident is a perfect example."A 22-year administrative assistant, who is originally from Hong Kong, was playing his PlayStation Portable when he was surrounded by a group of four or five youths. One of them snatched the games machine from his hand, but when he tried to get it back the whole gang jumped in and began punching him in the face and body. The train pulled into Hornsey station and the youths got off, but the victim bravely followed and grabbed hold of one of them. He was then set upon again, punched repeatedly in the head and knocked unconscious. The gang fled leaving the man laid out on the platform, before other passengers came to his aid. He was taken to hospital for treatment but released later that day."This is most definitely the work of those vile and evil DS fanboys! Even though the guy ended up getting his butt kicked, you have to give him credit for not going down without a fight, though.In all seriousness, though, this is a despicable act, and I really hope the police find these punks. If reading about this incident pissed you off like it did me, this video may make you feel better.
In-game ads adapting
While in-game ads aren't new, Wired News explores recent additions to the trend. Some advertisements are becoming more overt, while other forms of product placement are more subtly placed in games. Adidas uses the product-placement route with frequent branding in NBA Live 07. Burger King takes the obvious, if comical approch in Fight Night Round 3, with an unlockable King mascot character who joins your ringside entourage. Acclaim plans a different approach with free, ad-supported MMO games; pop-up ads from corporate sponsors would let you know which real-world company just paid for your in-game sword. We're interested in seeing how gamers view that tradeoff, but clearly there's a line where too many ads will scare players away. See also: Grand Theft Auto: Coca-Cola City See also: The King is in your Xbox 360
