NamcoBandai
Latest
Namco bringing compilation title to the DS this Summer
Namco Bandai has announced today that they plan on bringing a new title to the DS this Summer. With a title like Namco Museum DS, we wonder what it could include? Lucky for us, we have a press release that spells it all out. This game is to feature 8 different titles from Namco's past. These titles, which are their best-sellers (natch), include: Pac-Man Pac-Man Vs. Galaga Xevious Dig Dug II Galaxian Mappy Tower of Druaga Namco Museum DS will retail for $19.99 when it hits retail shelves this Summer.[Via press release]
Ace Combat 6 a timed exclusive only
It was announced last month that Ace Combat 6 would be making its way to the Xbox 360, making it the first entry in the series to appear on a non-Sony platform. What was more, no announcements were made regarding a PS3 version of the game, leading many to assume that the game was exclusive to the Xbox 360. It turns out that the PS3 (and possibly other platforms) will see the title, though not simultaneously with the 360. According to a post on PS3Forums, the latest issue of PSM confirms that the game will be a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360. The length of the exclusivity period isn't mentioned. Even though it's only a timed exclusive, it's interesting that Namco would release a long time Sony exclusive on a Microsoft platform first. At any rate, more console love is better for everyone, right? Prepare to fly the deadly skies later this year.
Radiant new screens from Tales of the World
Namco Bandai just sent us some screenshots of Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, reminding us that this action RPG is only a few months away. Fans will love seeing their favorite Tales stars return in this fan service-filled title. In addition, the US release will feature slight gameplay tweaks from the original.Check past the cut to see ten more screenshots from the English build of the game.See also:Anime Intro, Video
Five TG-16 games coming to VC next month
Not to be outdone by Capcom's Virtual Console plans revealed earlier this week, Hudson has announced five TurboGrafx-16 games coming to the the North American shopping channel this April: Battle Lode Runner, Bonk's Revenge, Bravoman, Dragon's Curse, and Shockman.Bonk's Revenge builds upon the original adventure's headbutting formula, adding more complex levels and tightened graphics. Battle Lode Runner gets a similar visual upgrade from its Commodore 64 trappings, and it even features multiplayer action.Dragon's Curse, or Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap in Japan, should be available to purchase by next Monday. Players will be able to take on the forms and powers of five different creatures in this side-scrolling RPG, questing to regain their original human body. Bravoman and Shockman sound like Mega Man spin-offs, and you wouldn't be too far off with that assumption! They're both action-platformers overloaded with robots and larger-than-life bosses.All five of the Virtual Console games will be priced at 600 Wii points.
Osu! Tatakae! Nodame Cantabile!
We've already helped a student pass his exams in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, and then we reunited a little girl with her dead father in Elite Beat Agents, so what's the next challenge on our rhythm-gaming plate? Turning our eyes towards Namco Bandai Games' Nodame Cantabile, it looks like we'll be conducting music with a ragtag class of students. The Nintendo DS has been home to many manga/anime licenses, so it's no surprise seeing the shoujo series appear on the handheld. Judging by what we've seen so far, the game plays like a simplified version of Ouendan. Players tap a series of floating notes in time with the music, filling up a "life" gauge with each successful hit. Missing a beat depletes the gauge, ending the level when the gauge is emptied. A flash demo of the game has been put up to promote Nodame Cantabile DS, and you don't even need to know any Japanese to play! Check it out after the post break. [Via NeoGAF]
Beautiful Katamari for 360 now on Gamefly
It looks like Beautiful Katamari is now as close to official confirmation as possible. A listing for the game has appeared on Gamefly, ready to be inserted into your queue (ewww) at a moment's notice. The game is slated for an October 30th release, though that could easily be a placeholder date. It's not official confirmation, but we find it hard to believe that Gamefly is in the habit of offering games that don't exist. Hit the "read" link to see the game's entry on Gamefly.[Via Live Gamer]
EB Games wants to sell you PS3 Time Crisis with gun
EB Games lists a PS3 version of arcade game Time Crisis 4 that might be released late this year. Sure, a "no image available" page with little other information doesn't usually interest us, but this might-be $89.99 game might include "Guncon," which might be a PS3 version of the light gun. Maybe. Is this another Namco Bandai exclusive?The GunCon and GunCon 2 connected with a wire to previous PlayStations, but we can only imagine that a PS3 version would work wirelessly over Bluetooth. (Seriously, our imaginations are that good.) And as long as we're imagining, why not include some Sixaxis controls to look or move?Namco Bandai hasn't officially announced a PS3 version of the game and told us the company chooses not to comment on the EB Games listing.
Rumor: Namco Bandai hard at work on three... games? [update 1]
Remember Cellius, the subsidiary company formed by Namco Bandai and the head of Ken Kutaragi? You'd be forgiven if your memory is a bit hazy on the matter, since the $824,000 investment had naught to show for its efforts at the time. Today brings a different story, however, along with a slew of scans supposedly escaping from the pages of a recent Famitsu issue. It would be wise to sprinkle the word "supposedly" throughout this entire post, as these images have migrated hands and servers so many times, it's difficult to pinpoint their source or level of authenticity.[Update 1: The caution was justified, it seems. Our Japanese translation slave brings up the following points: These likely aren't scans at all -- they're either mock-ups or leaked page template files. There is no confirmation that these are PS3 games or even games at all! Team Aces is behind the wheel, however, and they recently made Ace Combat 6 an Xbox 360 exclusive... If Cellius is involved, it is not evidenced here. While this new information doesn't rule out the possibility of these being PS3 exclusives anyway (the internets would certainly like to believe so), it would be wiser to take a step back and merely view these as new-gen game concepts. Though the stunning screenshots of Brave Arms, Chain Lim!t and Second Season 01 could represent target renders or similar technical tomfoolery, the abundance of guns, explosions and atmospheric lighting conveys quite a bit of excitement nonetheless. Take in the full scans images after the break.
Ace Combat 6 revealed as an Xbox 360 exclusive
In an event that shall only be referred to as "Mondayton," Capcom shocked everyone by announcing a would-be exclusive for Microsoft's platform. Today, it's Namco Bandai's turn. Mirroring the Xbox 360 launch with Ridge Racer 6, Ace Combat 6: Kaiho e no Senbi has been unveiled as an Xbox 360 exclusive. IGN did the Famitsu translation work for the rest of us and fished out the details. Helming the project will be Ace Combat veterans Hiroyuki Ichiyanagi and Natsuki Isaki, serving as producer and director respectively. There will be two huge additions to the series with the first being the Dynamic Mission system. Players will be teaming up with ally pilots that can be manipulated to take care of various tasks outside the scope of the primary objective, which can then open up new missions mid-battle. The other addition? Online play, of course. While no number of players are mentioned, there are currently battle royal and team battle modes, as well as a co-operative play that allows players to team-up against an enemy force. Ace Combat 6 is due out in Japan this year with no set release or announcement for the Western world, though expect one sooner than later.
Treasure Gaust battle mode screens
Treasure Gaust, Bandai Namco's Pokemon-esque monster game that uses magnetic fields to generate monsters, is headed toward a Spring 2007 release in Japan. We've got some new screens that show off the battle mode, which is more Pokemon Stadium than Pokemon Ruby, in that it is presented in full 3D. We like the pseudo-cel shading they've used.Treasure Gaust's battling appears to be more action-based than Pokemon, as well. Players pick three creatures and battle with an opponent's three creatures in an underwater arena. You can capture defeated enemies to train them as partners. If a monster-collecting game with more action and more mysterious natural forces sounds good to you, then this may be exactly the game you're looking for! At least, it's as close as anyone's ever going to get to that specific description. We hope Banco decides to localize this one, because we're eager to play with the magnetism gimmick.
Mojipittan will help you learn hiragana, humility
No, it's not another training game. Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan (Word Puzzle Mojipittan) is a Scrabble-style board game from Bandai Namco in which players use characters from the Japanese hiragana syllabary to spell words. Therefore, it's really, really, really hard to play if you don't know a load of Japanese words, and basically impossible if you can't read hiragana. Mojipittan has appeared on other platforms before, but as the Shockwave demo says, "The stylus makes it simple!" We suggest giving the demo a shot and seeing if you're up for some wordplay. The bouncy music and adorable tile mascots may convince you to enroll in Japanese classes.[Via GAME Watch]
Rumor: Namco to bring Sailor Moon to the Wii
Rumor has it that the Japanese anime from the 90's Sailor Moon could be getting a game on the Wii. This rumor comes from a game listing that originated at YesAsia, showing a release date of December 31st for Japan, with Namco set to publish. With no other information on the title, we're left to speculate on what exactly the game will include.And speculate we will! We imagine the Wiimote acting as Sailor Moon's wand, waving about like a total loon as we summon cosmic powers of unequalled strength. In battling foes (can you tell we never saw the show yet?), we will be thrust into many a battle, vanquishing foes and saving the land for all of time. What do you imagine the game could be like?[via Cubed3]
Tales of the World coming to America
We've complained about our lack of Tales of the World a lot on the Fanboy. Well, it looks like Namco Bandai is finally listening and giving English-speaking gamers what we want: a localized version of Tales of the World. This PSP-exclusive RPG is a fan-service feast for Tales fans, featuring characters from previous Tales games, such as Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss.In an interview with IGN, Namco Bandai revealed that "players will be able to use Grade Points they have earned in battle to purchase special items or equipment ... the US version of Tales of the World will be slightly more tuned than the overseas version."While that's certainly good news, we can only hope for more in the future: "Although I do not have details as to whether other PSP Tales titles will be reaching the shores of the US at this point, I can say that such possibilities do indeed exist." Tales of the World will hit American shores later this year.See also:Pictures, Anime Intro, Video
New Tamagotchi Party On screens
If any Wii games have been lacking in vibrant color, it's because Tamagotchi: Party On! took all the color from a year's worth of games. Seriously, this game more than cancels out Sadness in mood and, especially, in color saturation. In these screens, we can see what looks like a game board-- we would guess it connects the minigames, in the style of another well-known minigame collection.This is, at least in terms of visuals, the most charming minigame collection we've seen since Incredible Crisis. Will it be as much fun? At least minigames have the potential to be more interesting with unique control schemes like the Wiimote provides. Check out some screens after the break!
... and the Quickspot trailers just keep on coming
Another pair of trailers have been bestowed upon us for the upcoming game Quickspot. And we've already laid the details on the line for you, so we'll just point you past the post break for some new trailers on the game. The pair of trailers, which are officially the fifth and sixth, show off some more gameplay as well as the menu screen interface. [via press release]
Tamagotchi Party On! gameplay videos
Why didn't anyone tell us that Tamagotchi: Party On! was so adorable? We could have been staring dreamily at it since the Japanese Wii launch. What a missed opportunity.Party On! is a minigame collection about trying to become the president of Tamagotchi Planet, and is full of edgy political satire cute competitive games that involve shaking hands, opening kind-of-unsettling animated doors, and directing traffic, from what we see so far. We love the appearance of this game, which recalls Parappa the Rapper without actually being flat. Speaking of Parappa, the Tamagotchi DS games were developed by Parappa creators Nana-On-Sha, but this one seems to be the work of an internal Namco Bandai team. If we ever hear confirmation that Nana-On-Sha is developing for the Wii, you will hear about it immediately. We will interrupt your regularly scheduled websites. Enjoy some videos after the break![Via GoNintendo]
Quickspot goes gold
NamcoBandai just sent us a press release stating that its game Quickspot has gone gold and is expected to meet its date with retail shelves in the U.S. on March 13th. For those unaware, Quickspot is a title where players must spot the differences between a pair of seemingly identical images. Time is of the essence, as players must not only have eyes as sharp as an eagle's, but be fast with the stylus as they mark the differences on the dual-screen handheld's touch-screen. The game is to release with a MSRP of $19.99 US.Check past the post break for the press release, if you're into that sort of thing.[via press release]
Smash Court Tennis 3 goes PSP; includes Game Sharing
Namco Bandai just announced Smash Court Tennis 3 for the PSP. It'll feature 16 tennis stars, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin. "We are thrilled to announce that the next iteration of our popular Smash Court Tennis series is set to appear on the PSP system," said Makoto Iwai, Executive Vice President and COO of Namco Bandai Games. "With the franchise's signature gameplay and new enhancements, Smash Court Tennis 3 is the perfect on-the-go package that's made for a jet-setting tennis pro."Virtua Tennis will be the game to beat for Namco's next. However, there's one feature that I'm particularly psyched about: the ability to compete against other PSP owners with a single UMD through Game Sharing. It's a horribly under-utilized system: being able to play tennis against any other PSP owner should offer a great deal of potential. [Update : New screenshots can be found at WorthPlaying.]
See if you can spot this new Quickspot trailer
NamcoBandai sent us over some new footage for their upcoming title Quickspot, giving us all a better idea of how the final product will be. We already knew the game was going to be a time-based affair where the player needs to spot differences in two pictures, but we didn't know that it would look so fun. With the right price, we could easily find ourselves adding this title to our library.The trailer has been embedded past the post break for ye olde convenience.
Namco Bandai announce Outpost Kaloki successor for Wii
While not a true sequel to the Xbox Live Arcade launch title, Namco Bandai have announced Space Station Tycoon for the Nintendo Wii; a follow-up to NinjaBee's Outpost Kaloki X. This will be the first title that has gone from a console specific, download initiative and turned into a full-fledged retail product.In an interview with IGN, players from both Namco Bandai and Wahoo Studios (the house of NinjaBee) talk at length in bringing their intergalactic management sim to the Wii. Aside from a bevy of tweaks and improvements to the core of the game, Space Station Tycoon will feature customizable space stations, co-operative play and will be entirely playable with only the Wii remote.The developers also make it clear that Space Station Tycoon does not utilize any content from Outpost Kaloki. Still, it does look mighty familiar. Space Station Tycoon is currently scheduled for a Summer 2007 release.
