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Six PS3 Japanese launch games confirmed
As part of a flood of press materials coming out of Sony during the Tokyo Game Show, the company has confirmed six of the titles that will launch with the system in Japan on Nov. 11. They are: Resistance: Fall of Man Ridge Racer 7 Genji: Days of the Blade Sega Golf Club Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight Mah-Jong Fight Club Online This list is tentative, and is liable to grow and change in the weeks leading up to launch. While none of these titles have been officially confirmed for the North American release on Nov. 17, the system is region-free for games, so if worst comes to worst you can get your Mah-Jong fix via an importer.Speaking of the North American launch, Gamespot is reporting that Activision and Electronic Arts have pledged a combined seven to eight games for launch on this side of the Pacific, with Take Two and Ubisoft likely to contribute a few more in the launch window.
Sony unveils its PSP Tokyo Game Show lineup
With E3 seemingly now a shadow of its former self, the gaming industry's focus may shift to the Tokyo Game Show, which just so happens to be only a mere seven days away. TGS 2006 goes from Sept. 22 through 24 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. And to whet your appetite, Sony has released a preliminary list of the PSP lineup that should be in playable form at the event. Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (Namco Bandai Games) Bounty Hounds (Namco Bandai Games) Boxers Road 2: The Real (Ertain) Gundam Battle Royale (Namco Bandai Games) Homestar Portable* (Sega) Jan-Sangokumusou (Koei) Jeanne D'Arc (Sony Computer Entertainment) Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel (Konami) Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops* (Konami) Minna no Golf-jou* (Sony Computer Entertainment) Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom) Navigation Software* (working title) (Edia) Ratchet and Clank Portable (working title) (Sony Computer Entertainment) Sarugettchu Piposaru Racer (Sony Computer Entertainment) Tales of the World Radiant Mythology (Namco Bandai Games) Tenchi no Mon 2: Busouden (Sony Computer Entertainment) (* – supports GPS)In addition the already mentioned games, Sony will show new video of 35 more titles. I believe the big story here is how effectively the GPS games use the add-on. If Sony can get software that show the peripheral is more than a gimmick, the PSP may be able to gain some ground on the DS. (Via Gamespot)
Gundam Battle Royale gets set to win Japan
You may remember that SD Gundam was the best selling PSP game ever in Japan, selling more than 150,000 units in its first week alone. It looks like Bandai and Sony are ready to kick some ass again. Battle Royale allows four players to jump into their favorite Gundam and fight against or with their friends in a pretty cool-sounding cooperative mode. It looks like the entire franchise is represented in this outing, so Gundam geeks are going to go wild when this game hits Japan in October.See also:SD Gundam G Generation wins in Japan
Japanese software sales chart - Aug. 21-27: Our darkest hour
We all knew something had to give with the pending release of Final Fantasy III. One of the games in the top 10 had to go, and unfortunately, that game just so happened to be Gundam, which was the only PSP game in the top 10.1. Final Fantasy III (DS) - 503,051 / *NEW2. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 65,556 / 2,901,2643. Rune Factory (DS) - 42,210 / *NEW4. Brain Age 2 (DS) - 41,784 / 3,073,1955. Cooking Navi (DS) - 37,326 / 384,0456. Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2 (DS) - 30,504 / 430,9347. Mario Hoops 3 on 3 (DS) - 30, 355 / 233,7628. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) - 30,023 / 3,149,1309. Brain Training for Adults (DS) - 22,866 / 2,736,15010. English Training (DS) - 17,465 / 1,401,669Yeah fellas, you read that right; every single damn game is for the Nintendo DS. Where does the PSP go from here, I don't know. But I'll stress it again, Sony absolutely has to get some software out that will compete with what Nintendo is putting out an an alarmingly regular rate. (Via GAF)
Japanese software sales chart, Aug. 14-20: Yes, it's Mario again
I'm sure by now Mario is haunting Kaz Hirai's dreams. It seems like the plummer just won't give up that top spot, but more importantly, the Nintendo DS once again had seven games in the top 10. And that's not even counting another of which is a Gameboy Advance title.1. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 103,774 / 2,835,7082. Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisetchi Gohiikini (DS) - 65,554 / 400,4293. Shaberu! DS Oryouri Nabi (Cooking Navi) (DS) - 55,759 / 346,719 4. Brain Age 2 - Nintendo (DS) - 45,978 / 3,031,4115. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) - 41,813 / 3,119,1086. Daito Giken Pachislot Hihouden (PS2)- Daito Giken - 39,070 /*NEW*7. Rythm Tengoku (GBA) - 29,911 / 88,0898. Tetris DS - Nintendo (DS) - 26,791 / 781,1109. SD Gundam G Generation Portable (PSP) - 25,716 / 217,94310. Brain Training for Adults (DS) - 25,139 / 2,713,284I guess the one good thing for us PSP fanboys is at least Gundam is holding down that ninth spot, right? But in its third week of release, it barely beat out Brain Training, which has been out for 67 weeks.(Via Games Are Fun)
Sony reveals partial TGS lineup
The Games Convention is Germany has just begun, but that doesn't mean we can't look towards the next big gaming event: Tokyo Game Show. Sony will have a huge presence there, ready to show off the bleeding edge PlayStation 3 and maturing PlayStation Portable lineup of games. Here's what PSP fans can expect from the show:PSP Boxer's Road 2: The RealMonster Hunter Portable 2Jan Sangoku MusouMetal Gear Solid: Bande Dessinee (Graphic Novel)Metal Gear Solid: Portable OpsJeanne D'ArcSarugetchu Piposaru RacerTenchi No Mon 2 (Kingdom of Paradise 2)Ratchet and Clank PortableAce Combat X: Skies of DeceptionGundam Battle RoyaleTales of World: Radiant Mythology PSP GPS Software Navigation Software (temporary title)Metal Gear Solid: Portable OpsHomestar PortableMinna no Golf (temporary title) I can't wait to see Metal Gear Solid and its newly announced GPS support in action. Jeanne D'Arc, Monster Hunter, Ratchet and Clank, and Tales are all pretty high-profile, and as you should know, Gundam will eat Japan. Go to Siliconera to see PS3's lineup. [Via Siliconera]
Japan software sales chart, Aug. 7-13: The DS kicks back
Another week, another software sales chart. Let me just say, I find it insane the Nintendo DS has games selling this crazy. Honestly, what is the deal here? Does Nintendo package a hit of crack in every box or something? This week, seven out of 10 games belong to the Nintendo DS.1. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 117,706 / 2,731,934 2. Tamagotchi Shop 2 (DS) - 66,564 / 334,875 3. Melty Blood: Act Cadenza (PS2) - 64,980 / *NEW* 4. More Brain Training (DS) - 59,585 / 2,985,432 5. Cooking Navi (DS) - 57,257 / 290,960 6. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) - 44,201 / 3,077,295 7. Brain Training (DS) - 38,954 / 2,688,146 8. SD Gundam Generation G Portable (PSP) - 36,592 / 192,227 9. Fist of the North Star Pachislot (PS2) - 33,951 / 116,507 10. Kirarin * Revolution: Kira Kira Idol Audition (DS) - 33,332 / *NEW* As you might have noticed, New Super Mario Bros. reclaimed the top spot, knocking off Gundam, which spiraled down to the eighth spot. Wow, what a drop. Gundam was the fastest one-week selling PSP game ever, but I don't think it's going to break any more records with its extreme drop in sales. I had a DS and really liked it, but, after awhile, there weren't really any games that interested me, so I sold it. But now with all these games selling so well, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm missing out on something here. (Via PSP Advanced)
SD Gundam G Generation wins in Japan
There's nothing fanboys love more than looking at sales charts. In fact, we look at them more than we actually play games! So, for your reading pleasure, you don't get just one sales chart today... you get TWO!!! Here's this week's Media Create numbers in Japan:1. SD Gundam G Generation Portable - PSP - 155.634 - (155.634) 2. New Super Mario Bros. - NDS - 98.038 - (2.614.228) 3. Jissen Pachislot Hisshouhou! Hokuto no Ken SE - PS2 - 82.556 - (82.556) 4. Tamagotchi Connexion Corner Shop 2 - NDS - 75.853 - (268.311) 5. Mario Hoops 3-on-3 - NDS - 48.564 - (159.273) 6. More DS Brain Training - NDS - 48.206 - (2.925.847) 7. Nintendo DS Talking Cooking Navi - NDS - 45.846 - (233.703) 8. Devil Kings 2 - PS2 - 40.094 - (175.943) 9. Rhythm Tengoku - GBA - 37.473 - (37.473) 10. Growlancer V Generations - PS2 - 37.467 - (37.467)The lone PSP game standing on the top of this week's charts is none other than SD Gundam G Generation. Celebrate by looking at the intense promo video, after the cut.
A bounty of DS scans
Gotta love those fans who are so dedicated when it comes to sharing their pretty-shinies with the rest of us. These Famitsu scans of Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book surfaced at NeoGAF amidst a bevy of other drool-worthy images. Luminous Arc and Ninja Ja Ja Maru-kun: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword are also featured, along with Chocobo, at Go Nintendo. The original post boasts some peeks at Harvest Moon and Gundam titles as well. Surely there's something to rev every motor there![Thanks, creamsugar!]
PS3 gets big robots and drama known as Gundam
If you like big robots, explosions, exploding robots, or big explosions, you may have played a mech game. One such game, which also has a Japanese animation series (multiple, actually), is known as Gundam. Mobile Suit Gundam has been slated for a US release sometime within the next year, which could actually mean (and is rumored to mean) by the end of 2006. This game, hailing from Namco Bandai, has been several years in production and boasts, among other things, "ultra realistic destruction physics." Well there you have it. They're ultra. Nothing beats ultra.This game takes place after the XBox360 Gundam title, One Year War. So if you're a huge anime buff and need to get the whole story, timeline, whatever, then you may need to check that one out too. The basic premise is you take control of your big robot and destroy other big robots (strategically, of course) or other objects, complete objectives, unlock more robots, and wreak havoc in a robot war. Which can be surprisingly fun. In the article at IGN, there's a link at the end which goes into more detail for those interested. Some of the stuff about the PS3 hardware itself in the interview is interesting as well. It has to be said... it's Gun-dam great!
Bandai's Gundam robot gets human-sized
Japan's largest toy manufacturer is about to get life sized with the unveiling of a 5-foot tall Gundam. Bandai feels the worldwide recognition of the hit show Mobile Suit Gundam will garner big interest from "20- to 40- year old men," i.e. fanboys, otaku, whatever you wanna call 'em. The 77 pound robot has 14 movable body parts right down to its finger joints, and emits a plethora of sound effects (yes, the Vulcan fires too) while you remotely control his fear-inducing flashing eyes. Marketed as a "sophisticated plastic model" (kind of like its companion to the left), Bandai hopes to ship over 1,000 of these behemoths to living rooms and anime stores everywhere when they drop this December. If this has instantly skyrocketed atop your holiday wish list, you may want to reconsider -- the ¥350,000 ($3,000) pricetag and the giant hassle of self-assembling over 250 parts might just deter all but the most hardcore fans who won't even get the pleasure of mounting up and wearing it around the house, shooting at imaginary Gundam Wings.
Pac-Man, Gundam, and more at Xbox 360 press conference
In addition to the news that anime is on the XBLM, there is plenty more from last night's Japanese press event. You can read the horrible machine translation of Famitsu's coverage here, or read on for the big Arcade legends Pac-Man and Galaga are coming to the Xbox Live Arcade! No word on whether there's any bad blood between the two considering Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga have been spending an awful lot of time together. Both titles will support worldwide rankings. Bandai Namco also announced Zegapain, "an anime/game collaboration that will boast downloadable content," as well as a new entry in the Culdcept series, Culdcept Saga. Xboxyde has screens of Zegapain XOR. An as-yet-unnamed Xbox Live compatible Gundam FPS. GameBrink has five high-res screens, and Xboxyde is hosting a torrent of video from the press conference. Tri-Ace studios, creators of the Star Ocean series, Radiata Stories, and Valkyrie Profile games, are working on an as-yet-unnamed RPG exclusively for the Xbox 360, to be published by Microsoft Game Studios. Sounds like the mystery Xbox 360-exclusive RPG has been revealed ... sort of. Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's Mistwalker studios is bringing several games to the Xbox 360. They announced that the first of these, Blue Dragon, will be released (in Japan presumably) before the end of the year, while a demo disc for Lost Odyssey will be released "later this year." No word on Cry On. Xboxyde has screenshots and video footage of the Square Enix/Gamearts collaboration, Project Sylph. A sequel to Gamearts' PS2 shmup Silpheed? Microsoft is cognizant that the Xbox 360 hasn't been going over so well in Japan. Last night's press conference, and their intentions to hold a second console launch in June, are indicative of their determination to succeed in Japan; an opening salvo, if you will, of the oncoming console wars looming on Japan's ultra-competitive gaming landscape. Read - Translated Famitsu coverage with imagesRead - Microsoft Briefs Media in Japan (1UP)Read - GameBrink's posts on the press conference
