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Dragon's Dogma: The Kotaku Review Square Enix is there whenever you need sequels or branded goods, and this time the company is back with Star Ocean: First Departure and a Star Ocean branded PSP Slim & Lite. Both will be bundled in a special First Departure Eternal Edition pack on sale December 27th for ¥24,849 ($US 216). Sure, it’s gonna sell big an all, but what we really like is the PSP pouch. It looks like a space blanket! That, after the jump.
We’re quite partial to a nice gaming toy/paperweight here at the Tower. This one, however, goes a little beyond nice. It’s wonderful. Exquisite, even. It’s Doktor A’s “The Secret History of Video Games: Pac Gentleman”, which he describes thusly: When this game was first released in 1880 it was so hugely popular in taverns and inns that the bank of England was forced to mint more threepenny bits to keep up with demand. The game was created by messrs Nam & Nam and Co. as a novelty pastime for the masses. Outdoing the previous top public house game of Shove Ha’penny.
Hrm, indeed, quite, hrmm, yes. More pics after the link. Doktor A – Spit & Polish Custom Toy Extravaganza [UR Lifestyle]
As far as game creators go, Suda51 is damn cool. And as far as Wii games go, his upcoming No More Heroes. A couple new way-too-short clips have popped up on the internets, reminding of one thing and one thing only: We are excited about No More Heroes.
Isn’t super-cute “virtual idol” Miku Hatsune super-cute? She’s totally cute. Also totally creepy! But not when she’s singing Portal’s “Still Alive” in almost unintelligible Engrish. That’s mostly cute, with only a dash of creepy. [thanks houkoholic!]
Expect a new PS2 model to hit the US in 2008. Expect it to cost $US 99, and expect it to sell like hotcakes. That’s the news coming out of British trade site MCV, who are also saying the new “compact” model will be internally-powered (ie no external power brick), allowing Sony to cut manufacturing costs and thus save a bit of cash. It would also allow the console to use up to 25% less power. Wonderful! Oh, before you go, bear in mind that while MCV aren’t normally the types to grind grain in the rumour mill, this is unconfirmed by Sony, so don’t go freaking out on us just yet. New low-price ‘compact’ PS2 to arrive in 2008 [MCV]
The last two days in Japan: a cheaper Xbox 360 goes on sale, a discounted THE iDOLM@STER goes on sale, and today, Ace Combat 6 goes on sale. For a console that didn’t appeal to Japanese gamers, there seems to be a lot appealing about it of late: THE iDOLM@STER has a rabid hardcore fan base, while AC6 has an across-the-board built-in audience. Releasing them bang bang, right after each other, is aggressive on Microsoft’s part. Do we think that these titles will hurt the PlayStation 3 in Japan? No. The PlayStation brand is way too strong. But do we think these titles will help sales? Definitely. Who knows—maybe this week, Microsoft might move five thousand Xbox 360s—six thousand maybe! The sky’s the limit. Well, not really, but still.
Ace Combat 6 [AkibaOS]
SCEE have announced a bunch of stuff Europeans can expect to see in their PlayStation Store over the next couple of months. Which is awfully nice of them, saves all that suspense and the associated gnashing of teeth. Highlights for November (aside from today’s very excellent Tori Emaki) will include a big MotorStorm DLC pack, nine PS1 games (G-Police!), Toy Home, the Uncharted demo and some Resistance maps. As for December, well, you’ll FINALLY get Everyday Shooter, a Warhawk expansion pack and some more MotorStorm vehicles. Full list (bear in mind, December is incomplete) is after the click.
PlayStation 3 owners, Bandai Namco is rewarding your patience. When the PS3 version of Eternal Sonata hits sometime next year, the game will feature new playable characters. That’s right, previously non-playable Serenade and Prince Crescendo will be playable, and the PS3 version will have extra story sequences. Actually, this is pretty smart of Bandai Namco! If a game is going to be multi-platform, why not tailor each version a little? New Characters [Degenki Online via Siliconera via Destructoid] Thanks for the pic, Dtoid!
As nice a machine as it is, a lot of developers are struggling when it comes to porting games to the PlayStation 3. If it’s an Xbox 360 game, or if the 360′s the lead platform, hoo-boy, we’ve got problems. Midway have certainly had problems, something they’re at least big enough to admit: For our first wave of next-gen games… lead development has been on the Xbox 360, due to its earlier introduction and larger installed base. We ran into some technical issues developing for the PlayStation 3 that have taken more time to finalise than we expected.
These include… making sure that the frame rate, networking, and graphical features are at parity between the platforms. We’ve also encountered challenges as a result of shipping two of the very first PS3 games using Epic’s Unreal Engine 3.
That was Midway boss David F. Zucker. Sounds messy. So what have Midway done about it?
We do believe that these technical issues are now complete at a core level in our engine. Looking ahead to 2008, we expect the PS3 versions of our titles to ship day and date with the Xbox 360 and other SKUs.
Glad to hear it! Let’s now hope Midway aren’t alone in rectifying this, because PS3 owners deserve a pinch better for their investment than stuff like delayed releases and frame rate issues. Zucker: PS3 Tech Issues Over [Gamasutra]
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s story comes this: The PlayStation 3 sales bonanza Japanese convenience store. While most stores discretely let players order consoles and games, this neighbourhood shop wants everyone to know it has PS3s! Those banners read:
A limited quantity of PS3 “beginners pack” just in stock. Now on sale!
The “Beginners Pack” refers to the Hot Shots Golf bundle offered in Japan this past summer. Can’t tell if this is a chain store or a Mom ‘n’ Pop operation. Besides the banners, there is a stack of Hot Shots Golf bundles and a bunch smokes behind the counter, too. No, this kind of thing (stacks of consoles in-store) is not normal here at all. The Japanese people are just as freaked out. My Neighborhood Conbini Selling Bundle [My Game News Flash]
