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Final Fantasy XIII-2 is 90 percent complete, more pre-TGS details
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is 90 percent complete and we can expect a solid release date at Tokyo Game Show 2011, which runs September 15-18, Andriasang reports. XIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama answered questions at a fan event in Tokyo and revealed some juicy, pre-TGS details -- XIII saves will receive some bonuses, XIII-2 will have more than 150 monsters to raise, Chocobos will be rideable anywhere in the game and it includes a series-unique red Chocobo. XIII-2 will be just a tad shorter than XIII, but with time travel, that truly is a relative feature.
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus has reversible boxart, Last Guardian not at TGS
The North American box art for the ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection is ... not super great. We're no graphic designers or anything, but we do prefer our game cases to be a tad less hideous than that. Fortunately, the flipside of that cover plays host to a much more appealing vision: A stylish representation of the Japanese and European cover for ICO, and a slightly modified version of the European version of Shadow of the Colossus -- neither of which are obstructed by gaudy frames or signage. We hope the inclusion of this good-looking cover is enough to fill you with goodwill towards Team ICO, because this next part certainly won't: PlayStation Blog has revealed that The Last Guardian won't appear at the Tokyo Game Show. The blog explains, "we can assure you that Ueda-san and the rest of the development team are hard at work to bring his lofty vision to life and deliver the very best gaming experience possible." We just hope they can do so before the heat death of the universe.
Sdatcher radio drama begins, swag for sale at TGS
For those of you who can understand Japanese, or just like the way it sounds, the first act of Kojima Productions and Suda 51's "Sdatcher" radio drama has been posted. You can access it from the Snatcher-inspired website set up for the series. And if you're the type of person who has been waiting for years for new Snatcher merchandise, and plans on attending Tokyo Game Show -- we're mostly referring to ourselves here -- Konami will be selling some exclusive Sdatcher stuff, including a postcard set and a clear file folder. We'll make sure to look and sound as American as we can, to send a clear message to Konami staff that there are Anglophones who are way into this stuff.
Sony showing 31 Vita games and more at TGS
Sony has big plans for PlayStation Vita at TGS. Its newly announced show lineup contains 13 Vita games, including Uncharted, Gravity Daze, Disgaea 3 Return, the Little King's Story sequel, and more (full list after the break). In addition to those, the Sony booth will host 18 unannounced games. That booth (which must be very large) will also show five PSP games -- one of which is the Yakuza PSP sequel -- and a bunch of PS3 games. Oh, and the unannounced "Happy Charlie and the Flying Carnival" will be there. We don't know what that is (possibly the Move minigame set Carnival Island) but it sounds delightful.
Nintendo holding 3DS event in Tokyo September 13
Nintendo will host a 3DS-focused media event in Tokyo on September 13, Bloomberg Japan reports. That's two days before the start of the Tokyo Game Show, which Nintendo typically does not attend officially. The Nintendo event will not let consumers in, but will be open to investors and analysts. Nintendo customarily has a fall event every year, like last year's "Nintendo Conference," in which new games are unveiled and plans for upcoming hardware are detailed. It would be easy to use this new event as evidence that Nintendo really is planning to announce that crazy stuff that's been rumored, but really, all we have is a rumor and a press event that happen to come up around the same time. It's safe to expect new game announcements, but it's still a stretch to think we'll see new hardware. Not impossible, but a stretch.
Nomura considering 'HD technical test' for Kingdom Hearts anniversary
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance will finally make its hands-on debut at the Tokyo Game Show later this fall -- but does that news really do anything for you? In the latest issue of Japanese gaming mag Dengeki PlayStation (as translated by Andriasang), Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura explained that it's becoming difficult to get new players into the series with each new iteration. We get the hesitation -- we've played all the Kingdom Hearts games, and still can't follow a majority of their plots. Nomura mentioned a plan to help bring new players into the fold: As a celebration of the franchise's 10th anniversary, he hopes to release an "HD technical test" of the series. Could that mean remakes of the first two, past-gen games? Maybe a teaser trailer similar to that of Final Fantasy VII HD which Square Enix will undoubtedly never follow up on? We'll try to squeeze some answers out of those lollygaggers during TGS next month.
146 exhibitors sign on for post-earthquake TGS 2011, up from 138 in 2010
CESA revealed today that 146 companies (including 34 from outside of Japan) have agreed to exhibit at the 2011 edition of the Tokyo Game Show "despite the Great East Japan Earthquake," a show of force that proves "that games are loved by people all over the world." That's more than the 138 companies that came to the Makuhari Messe venue last year, pre-earthquake. They'll all be operating their booths with reduced power usage, as the show seeks to drop electricity consumption by 25% versus 2010. The list of exhibitors includes perennial attendees like Capcom, Square Enix, and Sega -- but, startlingly, TGS show floor superstars Level-5 are listed only in the "Business Meeting Area." No Level-5 booth? What line are we going to stand in for the entire first day?
TGS hosting charity auctions and other fundraisers this year
The earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan won't stop the cosplay, commerce, and inevitable, infinite Monster Hunter lines that represent the Tokyo Game Show. Organizer CESA announced today that the 2011 edition of the Japanese trade show will be held on schedule, from September 15-18. The Makuhari Messe convention center suffered some damage, but repairs are already underway. The show won't ignore the current situation in Japan, however -- it'll use its ability to gather massive numbers of people (with disposable income) for good. Charity auctions and "other fund raising initiatives" will take place, in order to gather some money for relief. That'll be our excuse for spending way too much money at TGS this year, as opposed to our usual excuse, which is ... oh, we never bothered to come up with one.
Tokyo Game Show 2011 makes hearts dance Sept. 15-18
Tokyo Game Show organizer CESA has announced the final dates for this year's event: September 15 through 18, at the usual Makuhari Messe venue in Chiba. After announcing last year that it was considering axing one of the business-only days for TGS 2011, CESA has decided to keep the two-business-day and two-public-day structure in tact. For which we business-only types, and everyone who has ever tried to play any Capcom, Square Enix or Level 5 game at TGS, say thank you. Following up on amusingly upbeat slogans like "GAME, it's so energetic" and "GAME goes to a new chapter," the tag line for this year's event is (according to Andriasang's translation) "If your heart dances, it's a game."
Hideo Kojima wants to show a game of his own at TGS 2011
While a new Kojima Productions game was on display at TGS 2010 -- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -- Hideo Kojima's direct involvement seems limited to providing the voice for a mischievous chupacabra. In a tweet, the game director expressed his interest in showing a true Hideo Kojima game at next year's event. Kojima said "I think it would be nice if next year I can do not just editing, but introduce my own new game (game design, script and direction)." During the Metal Gear Solid cosplay event at TGS, he also jokingly said "It's 5! Shall we make 5! With this, I won't have to quit Konami. I'll be there for 3 more years." This was in response to a prompt to "say something shocking," however, and not "say something true." A grain of salt is advised.
TGS 2011 provisionally dated, TGS 2010 audience breaks record
Tokyo Game Show organizer CESA announced the dates for next year's event: either September 15 through 18 or September 16 through 18. The reason for the uncertain date range: CESA has yet to decide whether to cut one of the two business days from the schedule -- otherwise known as the "we actually get to see and play things" days. In addition, CESA also announced record-breaking TGS 2010 attendance. 207,647 people in total showed up over the four days of the event, the first time it's broken the 200,000 mark. This is despite slightly smaller numbers during the business days, and the smaller size of the show overall. Basically, it means that more people were crammed into the Monster Hunter line at one time than ever before. [Pictured: Monster Hunter Portable 3rd line -- on a business day]
