Before you ask, yes, these are proper screenshots, not magazine scans.

According to producer Shuntaro Tanaka, it would take the team three years to make another PS3 game, and that’s considering the fact that SEGA already has assets that can be used in the game as well as improved PS3 game development “know how”.

Putting the game on the PSP was a much faster solution. Tanaka hopes to see the franchise expand on the PSP and the PS3.

Fans are hoping to see another PS3 game.

Producer On Why PSP For Valkyria Chronicles 2 [PSP Hyper]

They’re not reprising starring roles for the PSP sequel, but still, they’ll be in there as playable characters nonetheless, along with Lamarre from the anime and two characters (Mitnz and Julius) from the comic as well.

Welcome back, Alicia. It just wouldn’t be the same without you.

おなじみのあの夫婦が『戦場のヴァルキュリア2』に参戦決定！[Dengeki]

Famitsu’s report that a Valkyria Chronicles 2 demo will drop November 2, the day after the PSP Go hits Japanese shelves. Also — and way less important to me — Phantasy Star Portable 2 will have a demo up on launch day itself. Not bad, Sega, not bad at all.

If you really want to turn yourself green with envy, check out this list of stuff coming out on Japan’s PlayStation Store around the time of the PSP Go launch that fan site PSN Stores compiled:

* 10/29 Crystal Defenders PSP

* 11/1 Disgaea Infinite
* Dissidia: Final Fantasy – Universal Tuning
* Echochrono
* Elemental Monsters TD Portable
* LocoRoco Midnight Carnival
* Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Demo
* MotorStorm Arctic Edge
* Persona 3 Portable
* PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe

* 11/2 Phantasy Star Portable 2 Demo
* Valkyria Chronicles Demo

Yep. Really wishing I’d stuck to my 8th grade master plan of moving to Japan right about now…

新作タイトルやキャンペーンも、PlayStation Store最新情報を公開 [Famitsu via Andriasang]

Sega updated the Valkyria Chronicles 2 website yesterday with a couple of gameplay videos, showing that while there is indeed a grainy filter plastered over the game, it doesn’t make much difference once things start moving.

The official Sega blog points fans to the equally official Valkyria Chronicles Twitter and Facebook accounts, which are taunting fans with the phrase “W _ _ _ – _ _ _ _ – _ _ _ _ _ _ – _ o _ _ _ – _ _ _ _ _ _ .” As Sega marketing types have begun to replace those blank space with letters, it’s becoming more and more likely that phrase is “what goes around comes around.”

What could that mean? Well, likely one of two things.

One possibility is that the final batch of Valkyria Chronicles downloadable content, released in Japan this summer, is coming stateside.

The other is that Valkyria Chronicles 2 will make an appearance in North America. After all, the PSP does “go around.”

And this is it. Wowzers! SEGA’s bringing its fictional WWII game Valkyria Chronicles to the PSP.

The game is set in 1937, two years after the first game. Cadets from the Gallia Royal Military Academy are sent to suppress an insurrection in the southern part of in-game country Gallia.

The game’s central concept is contrasting the world of the military academy with war. Valkyria Chronicles 2 is due out this winter in Japan.

In the gallery are illustrations of lead characters Avan, Jerry and Cosette.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 has been announced for the PSP and will be out in Japan this summer. It is set two years after the first game.

戦場のヴァルキュリア」オフィシャルブログ 【陣中日誌 [SEGA via Siliconera]

Sure, it’ll do its darndest, and the game’s cel-shaded nature means the downgrade won’t be as noticeable as more “realistic” 3D games on the system, but it still won’t look as good as the PS3 original.

Something these new screens (released overnight by Sega, they’re not mag scans) do a good job of reminding us all of. Don’t think of them as a grainy disappointment. Think of them — as you should any other “authentic” screenshot you see during a game’s development cycle — as an exercise in avoiding launch day disappointment.