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Japan gets Lost Odyssey demo, we get squat
Godfree over at Gamertag Radio sent us a note that a demo of Lost Odyssey was available in Japan. Eager to try it out, we went and fired up our Japanese Live account to download it. After minutes of frantic searching, we gave up; it wasn't there. That's about the time that we finished reading the note. It turns out that a Lost Odyssey demo disc is available in the latest Famitsu. It's not known whether or not an English demo is in the works. Still, the fact that it's far enough along to release a demo bodes well for an early 2007 release.We don't really understand the aversion to putting big titles on Marketplace in Japan (they did the same thing with Ninety-Nine Nights). Does having it on a physical disc make it special somehow, like a collector's item? Would any of our readers in Japan care to comment?
Blue Dragon fight video, new screens
Today we bring you two entirely new screens from Blue Dragon, that wacky Japanese system seller. We particularly enjoy the screen above, with its "big fish eats smaller fish" mentality. But that's not all, we have even more Blue Dragon goodness: a new video of the game's combat. Check out the video after the break, and check Xboxyde for some screen grabs taken from the video.
Famitsu head says 360 is dead in Japan
Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Famitsu publisher, Enterbrain, isn't making any bets on 360 winning in Japan. His reasoning: thus far the 360 has sold a paltry 150,000 consoles in Japan. He does concede that Blue Dragon -- Microsoft's would be white knight -- might add another 100,000 by the end of 2006, but that's about it. He goes on to guess that by the end of 2007, the number will only inflate to 560,000 units. Definitely not good. Granted, Hammamura-san is no analyst -- and analysts are always right -- but he does publish Japan's biggest gaming magazine after all. Is his prognosis right? Is Japan a hopeless cause for Microsoft? In the end, does it really even matter? What do you think?
HD Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey tomorrow
YouTube shaky cam be damned! Microsoft is set to bring us the real goods on both Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey tomorrow. That is to say, we'll be getting big, beautiful high definition trailers for both games on Marketplace. Make sure you grab 'em tomorrow and soak up the high resolution goodness. Makes us wish the 360 could queue up scheduled downloads, Tivo style.[Thanks, Sjohn]
TGS: Lost Odyssey intro video
Yet more cinematic RPG goodness from the Tokyo Game Show, this time from the other Mistwalker game, Lost Odyssey. Lost Odyssey is a game about a man who has lived for over a thousand years. If this intro video is any indication, he apparently lived that long by kicking ass. Check out the video after the break. Be sure and watch the very end when the intro snaps right into real time play. Very slick.
TGS: Blue Dragon = Dragon Quest + Chrono Trigger + Grandia
Wired's Game|Life blog has posted an early, albeit vague, impression of Hironobu Sakaguchi's pair of upcoming Xbox 360 RPGs, Blue Dragon & Lost Odyssey. During today's media briefing in Shibuya, Japan, Sakaguchi took the stage and demoed (read: picked up controller and played) his studio's new projects. While Game|Life doesn't provide many specifics, its post does draw some big comparisons, describing Blue Dragon as a fusion of Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger, with "maybe" a dose of Grandia. Game|Life notes that enemies are on-screen (i.e. no random battles) and that the Job Change system (from Final Fantasy V) is featured in Blue Dragon. Game|Life's description of Lost Odyssey is even more provocative, as it declares the game to look like a "much more dramatic" Final Fantasy. We're sure that Microsoft has its fingers crossed that this impression will stick -- and spread. We'll hit you with our own from the show floor in the coming days. In the meantime, see for yourself: Blue Dragon Lost Odyssey
TGS: See Blue Dragon gameplay (finally) [update 2]
Xboxyde has scored actual in game footage of the would be killer app for Microsoft in Japan, Blue Dragon. Split into two parts, the video shows off the game's graphics and combat system. For the RPG buffs out there, it's worth noting that battles are not random and that enemies can be seen before the player decides to engage them (or not). Beyond that, the game is very nice to look at. We know that a lot of readers will disagree on this point, but these graphics are solid and polished beyond belief. The gameplay, on the other hand, looks fairly standard. There are big chests with items in them, turn-based battles, summoning techniques, and a boss battle (complete with craptastic rawk music). Granted, the quality of the video makes it difficult to pick apart the intricacies of the combat, but it all looks pretty traditional. Then again, it also looks an awful lot like Dragon Quest -- a game so popular in Japan it's practically a national holiday when a new sequel is released. Will bundling Blue Dragon with a core system be enough to entice Japanese buyers? Only time will tell.Update: It looks like Xboxyde's servers are getting beaten up by the demand for this video. See the embedded YouTube video after the break.Update 2: Fixed some weird formatting.
TGS: Blue Dragon hits Japan this holiday
Microsoft's expects their arrangement with legendary game designer, and father of the massively popular Final Fantasy series, Hironobu Sakaguchi to earn them a considerable amount of sales in Japan. Sakaguchi's new studio, Mistwalker, is working on two RPGs exclusively for the Xbox 360: Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. Microsoft announced today that Blue Dragon will lead the console's Japanese push this holiday, along with over 110 other games. Microsoft was unable to confirm what percentage of those titles are digitally distributed Xbox Live Arcade games versus retail DVD-based games, though the North American numbers are about 110 DVD-based, 50 XBLA.As a sign of the strategic importance of the title, they'll begin bundling Blue Dragon with the recently revealed Core version of the console, creating an intoxicatingly affordable package. Like the HD-DVD announcement, there is no release date for regions outside Japan. Blue Dragon will be playable for the first time at TGS, so we'll be sure to get our hands all over it. Microsoft's TGS press briefing:HD-DVD add-on hits Japan Nov. 17th for ¥19,800Xbox 360 to add 1080p support, PS3 to lose bullet point
MS TGS lineup, no Blue Dragon
It's no secret that we're a little excited for Blue Dragon, the little game from Hironobu Sakaguchi's Mistwalker. It's also considered to be one of Microsoft's few big titles in Japan. This makes one wonder why Blue Dragon isn't featured on Microsoft's lineup for the Tokyo Game Show. We can only assume it won't be a no show. After all, Blue Dragon is supposed to be Microsoft's system seller this holiday. This is supposed to be what the Japanese will see when they find out the PS3 is sold out. Suffice it to say, we'd be more than a little surprised if Blue Dragon didn't make an appearance.Still, there are plenty of other notable titles like Forza 2, Viva Piñata, Sonic, DOAX2, and, of course, Gears of War. See the complete list after the jump.
Blue Dragon, could it save Japan?
Mistwalker has re-released the extended trailer for Blue Dragon, the original RPG from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Many have said that this is one of the titles that will make or break the 360 in Japan. What do you think? Can one title really make that much difference? Check out the video after the break. If you're a Japanese gamer who reads this site, tell us what you think (come to think of it, are there any Japanese 360 fans dedicated enough to visit a site called Xbox 360 Fanboy?)
Rumor: Yuji Naka set to leave Sega
Yuji Naka, the original programmer behind Sonic the Hedgehog and arguably the most influential man at Sega (next to Yu Suzuki, of course), is rumored to be leaving Sega.Citing sources "close to Sega," Next Generation claims that the influential leader "is planning to set up his own studio." If true, this action would mirror those of other game industry greats such as Tetsuya Mizuguchi (who founded Q Entertainment) and Hironobu Sakaguchi (who started Mistwalker).Unfortunately, this kind of rumor is difficult to confirm as you don't know for sure whether someone's leaving a developer until he's actually gone. With all the organizational changes at the company, however (especially since Sammy bought Sega), such a move wouldn't be too surprising. We just hope the next-gen sequels to Sonic are in good hands.See also: Next-gen Sonic to be "re-invented" for PS3 and Xbox 360 Rumor: Sonic coming to Revolution DS: Sakaguchi & Co. working on new RPG Lumines sales top gold status
Delays galore! Dead Rising, Top Spin 2, Lost Odyssey
Sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but Frame City Killer wasn't the only game to get delayed this week. Originally supposed to launch at the end of January, Capcom's Dead Rising has been pushed back to May 2. Joystiq's hands-on with the title at CES left us thinking the title needed a little more work. 2K Sports tennis-sim Top Spin 2 has been pushed back until April. Hironobu Sakaguchi's much anticipated RPG Lost Odyssey has not so much been pushed back, as its release date is just unknown. Using the often inaccurate sales data gleaned from Internet retailers, IGN extracted that the release date has been pushed back. This Spring will have plenty of great titles being released for the 360; unfortunately, the period between now and then may prove pretty dry. Another round of Geometry Wars anyone?
