It features a very limited custom-built replica of the Scarborough Fair, Bayonetta’s beloved pistol which she has strapped to her hands and feet. The aptly-named Climax Edition also comes in premium slipcase packaging and features the Bayonetta game, as well as a 36-page hardcover art book and CD soundtrack featuring music from the video game.

Bayonetta releases on January 7 for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Sega wants to make Bayonetta the first triple A video game title of 2010, and they’ve got the release date to do it. The game drops in North America on January 5th for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with Europe getting in on the action come January 8th. Sega CEO Mike Hayes believes the delayed timing is perfect.

“PlatinumGames set out to deliver a game that redefines the 3D action genre, and we feel that they have set a benchmark for future games in the genre to aspire to,” said Mike Hayes, CEO of SEGA America & SEGA Europe. “We chose a January ship date for BAYONETTA as we firmly believe that it is the best time for SEGA and our retail partners to launch this exciting new IP in the West, and push for a number #1 retail slot. BAYONETTA is a huge title for us and the perfect start for the New Year, both for SEGA and gamers across Europe and America.”

Of course PlayStation 3 owners can opt to spend $US20 more and snag the English-language import a few months earlier, but then they’ll miss out on…well I suppose they aren’t missing out on much of anything. Good for you, region-free gamers!

If you’d like to recreate my Bayonetta hands-on experience from Tokyo Game Show, watch this Japanese commercial for the PlatinumGames-developed title about 50 times in a row at high volume. Then play the demo.

Fortunately, whoever Sega hired to play Bayonetta does a very good Bayonetta. Maybe even better than the fake thing and certainly pliable enough to look convincing. Oh, and that Bayonetta demo? It will land in Japan next week, one for the PlayStation 3 and one for the Xbox 360, each version featuring different stages. Expect fun!

When Sega showed off the PS3 version of Bayonetta at an event in Tokyo late last month, spectators were disappointed by the blurry graphics and erratic frame rate when compared to the Xbox 360 version. Tatsuya Minami discusses the issue in a blog post today on the PlatinumGames blog, explaining that Sega is the company handling the PS3 port.

With Bayonetta, we created the Xbox 360 version of the game first, and then handed off all the data and other assets to SEGA so they could begin the process of porting Bayonetta to the PS3, giving them advice regarding the porting process along the way and overseeing the progress to ensure that the PS3 version would be the best it could be.

It seems a bit like blame-shifting, but Minami takes responsibility shortly after that explanation while specifically addressing the difference in the two versions of the game.

As the developers of Bayonetta, we have overseen both versions, and I would like to make one thing clear. The Xbox 360 and PS3, as hardware platforms, both have their own distinct differences and peculiarities, and these characteristics will naturally give birth to differences in the final product. However, all involved endeavoured to exploit the specific traits of each console to create an enjoyable experience. We feel the best way to evaluate this is by actually playing the game for yourself and coming to your own conclusions.

Both versions will be playable in the Sega booth at the Tokyo Game Show next week, so we’ll be sure to put them both through their paces for a little compare and contrast, drawing our own conclusions.

Fall Harvest [PlatinumGames Blog via EuroGamer]

The ankle-gun packing, library-glasses wearing, hair-manipulating witch is set to hit store shelves in her self-titled game in October in Japan and expected here in Australia in January.

But if you think you’re a dead ringer for the witch, you need to submit your pictures by September 30. The best looking of the lot will then be posted on Maxim.com for fans to vote on from October 1 to October 23.

The final winner will be selected by Maxim and game developer Platinum Games, awarding the lucky faux Bayonetta an Xbox 360, a 50-inch Panasonic TC-P50X1 HDTV Plasma TV and an Xbox 360 version of the game.

Just don’t tell Sarah Palin or it will be no contest.

Bayonetta Contest [Maxim]

At our Bayonetta hands-off demo, we asked the Sega of Europe folks if the PlatinumGames developed action title would be region locked, just in case we wanted to play the game this October instead of next year. Unsurprisingly, we were told that the Japanese version would not be region free, meaning that North American and European consoles won’t play import copies. The reason? It would impact sales of the game outside of Japan, we were told.

That’s not that uncommon for Japanese Xbox 360 releases. The vast majority of games released in Japan for Microsoft’s box won’t play on anything but Japanese consoles. But the PlayStation 3 version? The games are almost all (thankfully) region-free. Locking down that version would be an unusual move on Sega’s part.

And even if it is region-free on the PS3, the fact that we’ve yet to see Bayonetta running on that platform at any event we’ve been to is a sign that, well, we should wait to see it running on that platform before dropping import dollars on it.

We attempted to get triple confirmation from Sega of America on that info provided by their European counterparts, but reps did not respond to multiple email requests.

Too bad the game was recently pushed back in North America (and presumably Australia, too, although Sega is yet to confirm Sega has now confirmed it’s a January release in Australia – AU Ed), because it was one of the titles I was most looking forward to this fall. If Sega opts to region lock the Japanese release of the game, due October 29th, expect one, possibly two, unhappy Kotaku editors.

This console was produced by developers PlatinumGames as a one-off for Comic-Con, and will be given away on the showroom floor. So no, you can’t buy it. Just look at these pictures, and yearn.

Exclusive Bayonetta Xbox 360 [Sega]

That date was dropped in the latest issue of Famitsu, which could mean good news for those of us in North America too. See, Sega of Japan announced earlier this year that Bayonetta’s previously, less-specific “Fall 2009″ release window was reflective of a simultaneous worldwide release. So we may get it in October, as well.

We’ve gotten in touch with Sega of America to see if they have a date for the megaton-filled action game and will let you know what we hear.

“However,” he adds, “it doesn’t seem like very many people ‘get it.’” To help illustrate the point, there are two clips on the PlatinumGames of Bayonetta with effects and without effects. Obviously blood would also fall into something that is “added” to a game.

This is an interesting comparison, and one many probably don’t think about, but yes, special effects are important don’t cha think?

Effecting Bayonetta [PlatinumGames]