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TGS 08: 5 pictures of Xbox Japan's HQ
click to enlarge These are terrible. One isn't even of the building, but of the street in front of it! Clearly, after visiting Microsoft's Japanese Xbox HQ and providing you with relevant previews, we decided to justify our intolerable touristy-ness by sharing our on-the-spot snaps. It's like you were there and only remembered five things!%Gallery-33985%
Famitsu reveals third-person shooter Quantum Theory
The Friday edition of Famitsu has two pages on a new third-person shooter from Tecmo named Quantum Theory. Not much is known at this point, but Keisuke Kikuchi of Fatal Frame fame will be head of the project. The protagonist is Sid, who is described as a "dark hero" and a "black destroyer". The name of the his female companion is Filerna and she is a "white rebel". More information is sure to be revealed at TGS, so stay tuned![Via VG247]
TGS 08: Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts sharing detailed: blueprints, replays (and bears!)
Many of us at Joystiq are still torn on Rare's upcoming Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the build-a-bear's-car platformer heavy on vehicle creation. This morning's demo of the game at Xbox Tokyo, steered by Rare's Neill Harrison, once again reinforced our positive appraisal of the game's creative possibilities while leaving this writer as-yet-unconvinced of the game around the toy.Preaching a message of replayability and open-endedness, Harrison detailed some of the game's "sharing" functionality: Blueprints and replays. Particularly cool vehicles can be shared amongst friends by "gifting" blueprints to them. Spent twelve hours making the absolute perfect jet/boat/car with detachable helicopter and torpedo attachments? Want to share it with Grandma? Gift it to her and go head-to-head in a multiplayer grudge match. Or challenge her to beat your best time in one of the game's Challenge Modes.%Gallery-22741%
TGS 08: Ninja Blade cut from familiar cloth
"The main character is, as you can see, a ninja." We were quite pleased to have figured this part out on our own, shortly before From Software's Kazuhiro Hamatani laid down the pertinent facts in a pre-Tokyo Game Show presentation of Ninja Blade. Which, as you can see, is a "cinematic action game." For better or worse -- and it's better if Ninja Gaiden II failed to satisfy your unhealthy hankering for third-person kill-em-ups -- Ninja Blade appears to be almost exactly what you'd expect. We're not proponents of judging a game by its cover, but in this case, we're almost able to peer through to the back of the box and recite the bullet points: Cinematic Action Game (i.e. quick time events)! Ninjas (i.e. running on walls, being a badass)! Hideous enemies (i.e. giant spiders and bats)! Crazy Ninja Powers (i.e. bullet time and highlighted weak points)! Upgradeable Weapons (i.e. kill more to kill better)! Exotic Locations (i.e. monsters just won't leave Tokyo alone)! %Gallery-33964%
Demon's Souls' first screenshots and details
Demon's Souls is one of the games for the PS3 that have been unveiled as playable at Tokyo Game Show. When we first reported on the game we included some Famitsu scans for your viewing pleasure, but now we have actual information on the game as well.Demon's Souls will be released some time in 2009 and it is a spiritual successor to King's Field, a PS1 title that was never officially released in the US. The game takes place in the kingdom of Boletaria, where you play an unnamed protagonist who roams around in an "extremely open-ended" world -- you can choose to save the world from the king who will awaken "an ancient monster" in his sleep, or not. It's all up to you.The game's director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is attempting to "make the fun and charms of a classic RPG interesting all over again with the latest technology at hand." For example, instead of placing traditional restrictions on item usage, it uses the game's physics to place more realistic limits such as "long weapons bump into walls, lighting the area in real-time with the torch in your hand." Sadly, the director appears to have implied the game will be lacking multiplayer; instead, he will opt to "find a way to use the Internet to make the single-player mode more interesting." Arguably, there has yet to be a game that mixes mechanics of a good ol' RPG with gameplay elements only possible on this generation's hardware. Will Demon's Souls be the first? We'll find out when we check the game out at TGS. Also, be sure to check out the 11 screenshots in the gallery below.Source -- Official websiteSource -- 1UP[Thanks, Ether02 and DeforMAKulizer!]%Gallery-33504%
Katamari creator's Nobi Nobi Boy coming to TGS 2008
Two things surprise us about Namco Bandai's announced Tokyo Game Show lineup: the complete dearth of Katamari titles and, coincidentally, the inclusion of Katamari creator Keita Takahashi's Nobi Nobi Boy for PlayStation 3, a title we haven't heard about since October 2007. According to the publisher (via Siliconera), the game (the title literally translates to "Stretch Stretch Boy") will be shown in video form only, a bit surprising considering the playable prototype that appeared last year at GameCity. Namco Bandai's lineup includes 29 titles, including Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm and the multiplatform Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2. Interestingly, the publisher is also showing off four PlayStation 2 titles, edging out Sony's support of PS2 at this TGS by a margin of 4 to 0.
MGO 'Meme Expansion' to add Liquid, maps
Oh Metal Gear Online, where did it all go wrong? Well, Kojima has a pretty good idea. Still, Konami hasn't given up on its multiplayer extension of MGS4, revealing a second major content update, the "Meme Expansion," which will be featured at TGS next week.Included in the expansion are three new maps: Silo Sunset (from Portable Ops), Forest Firefight and Winter Warehouse. In addition, Liquid Ocelot and Mei Ling will be added to the perpetual battlefield. The Meme Expansion has yet to be priced and dated.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Famitsu: Demon's Souls, PS3 action-RPG at TGS
The latest Famitsu has some info on one of those nine unannounced PS3 games coming from Sony and to be shown off at TGS next week. Demon's Souls is a single-player, fantasy-themed action-RPG being developed by From Software (and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, of Armored Core fame), and published by SCEJ. Though it's a new IP, the game's director and SCE producer mention From Software's RPG series King's Field – perhaps a spiritual successor of some kind? Demon's Souls will be playable at TGS, so we'll find out then, okay?[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Sony reveals TGS '08 lineup, 14 unannounced titles to be shown
Perhaps we'll finally get more context to Team ICO's next project, as well as its mysterious teaser image (shown above), when Sony unveils 14 unannounced titles at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show next week. The PSP has 3 unannounced titles coming from Sony, while the PS3 gets one from Irem (developers of R-Type), one from Konami and nine from Sony. We've placed the full exhibition list after the break.[Via Siliconera, PS3 Fanboy]
11 unannounced PS3 titles being shown at TGS
TGS is going to be a pretty big show for Sony. The PS3 has gone from strength to strength this year, with great showings at E3 and Leipzig, but it looks like the best might be yet to come. Sony Japan has sent out a press release detailing its show floor lineup for the Japanese event, which takes place between the 9th and the 12th of October. In addition to this year's big releases, such as LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 and Home, Sony are listing 11 unannounced games.Nine of these are being published by SCEJ, one is by Irem (R-Type developers) and one is from Konami. While we suspect some of these games will be ones we've heard of before (White Knight Story and some PSN titles, for example), there's little doubt that there will be new games being announced at the show. Maybe Team ICO will finally reveal what they've been working on? As for Konami, we've no idea what they've got planned -- it could be a DDR title, it could be Metal Gear Solid Existence. We'll be there to let you know as soon as we find out. Check out Sony's full exhibition list after the break.[Via Siliconera]
Konami registers 'Metal Gear Solid Existence' trademark
Spencer at Siliconera – or old Eagle Eyes as we actually call him – stumbled upon an entry for "Metal Gear Solid Existence" during his hourly stroll through the Japanese Trademark database. The trademark was apparently registered for use with a video game (surprise!) so there's a good chance we'll see the Snake saga return under this headline. Will Kojima be back at the helm? Who knows! But with TGS around the corner, this might be a good time to start speculating wildly. Well, what're you waiting for?[Via PSP Fanboy]
Sega teases: 'We're making RPG now!'
And we're writing post now! A new, Japanese teaser website has surfaced in Sega's online realm, promising an unnamed RPG amidst some spinny flower things and what looks to be an angry, somewhat angular dragon. We haven't found much use for the page, other than sticking it in the background and listening to the wonderfully retro music. A NeoGAF user has also pointed to a graphic allegedly leaked from Sega's Tokyo Game Show page, which seems to imply that the DS game will be called "7th Dragon" and feature a cavalcade of ultra-cute characters. We're certainly intrigued, but part of us would simply prefer to continue living the lie: it's Skies of Arcadia 2, and it's out tomorrow.[Via NeoGAF]
Resident Evil 5 controls overhauled to be more Gears-like
Just as we were complaining about a lack of innovation in the move from Resident Evil 4 to Resident Evil 5, we get word that the whole point might be moot. At a recent Microsoft Media Briefing, producer Jun Takeuchi said that players could expect a new control system, similar to Gears of War, when they hunted digital zombies at the Tokyo Game Show.Of course, one could argue that "innovation" isn't necessarily synonymous with "cribbing the controls from another game." But hey, Gears was inspired by Resident Evil 4 in the first place, no? It is, as Sir Elton says, the circle of life.[Via X3F]
Not so fast! Alan Wake may not be at TGS 2008 after all
Despite being a total no-show at E3 last week – and teased in a not-so-recent Vista promotion – Microsoft Game Studios' Alan Wake may not be coming up for air at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show this October. A spokesperson for developer Remedy Entertainment said, "The Microsoft Vista promotion referring to TGS took place in 2007, and is old news – we've had the winner over for taking the pictures already." He continued dashing our dreams, bluntly stating that "this was not an announcement that Wake would be shown at TGS 2008."Note, Remedy isn't saying that Alan Wake won't make it to TGS, just that we shouldn't plan our schedule around it just yet. In fact, considering the game was first shown to press at E3 2005 (that's thirty-eight months ago, folks!) we're not planning much of anything around the game, short of our retirement. [Thanks, Pete]
Alan Wake to show his face at Tokyo Game Show
Although missing in action from this week's E3, Alan Wake will roll out of bed and board a plane to Japan for this year's Tokyo Game Show. According to an MSN Games "'WOW' Be a face in the game" contest, the winner will be given a trip to Finland to be scanned into the computer, then "jet off to Tokyo to [TGS] to be on the scene and on the screen!"
TGS 2008 dated Oct. 9-12
Tokyo Game Show organizer CESA has announced that the annual trade show will be held October 9-12 this year, several weeks later than its typical September arrival. TGS 2008 will be hosted in the show's usual spot, the Makuhari Messe convention center, and, like last year, the first two days will be closed to the public. With E3 retaining an invite-only policy, expect TGS to continue to be the world's largest games event, with Leipzig Game Convention a close second.[Via Gamasutra]
