'General' Category

While E3 is as good as no more for general gamers like me, its Japanese equivalent Tokyo Game Show (TGS) seems to welcome us with open arms. The CESA organized event will now have 4 days instead of the previous 3, with the extra day given to Business Day. The move is to give media, especially Western medias more coverage time to the ever expanding event. Tokyo Game Show 2007 will be held in its usual venue Makuhari Messe near Tokyo from September 20 to September 23, details of the event will be announced this March.

Now here’s a PSP pouch that I really wouldn’t mind having to replace my dirt ridden pouch. Japanese company Entersis has produced a cool looking Disgaea themed pouch for the PSP. Based on the creatures Prinny in the game, it uses synthetic leather and features a magnetic button for easy opening. You can also attached it to your belt, although I think the PSP might be a bit big for that. However, there’s no room for even a UMD or battery. A similarly themed PSP wrist strap is available as well, and thoughtfully, it has a PSP screen cleaning cloth attached to it.

The items will go on sale next month in Japan with the price of 3990 Yen (around US$32.70) for the pouch and 1260 Yen (around US$10.30) for the wrist strap, reservation can be made via Entersis website now. I still can’t see any oversea online retailers that has it, so you may have rely on your Japanese friends to get one for now. More images after the jump.

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Here’s the latest reviews from Famitsu, including an extraordinary 10,9,9,9 for XBOX360’s Gears of War, which will be released there on Jan 18th. On the PSP front, Vivendi’s M.A.C.H. receives above average scores as well, while EA’s The Sims 2: Pets is not so hot to the reviewers. There are no PS3 games to review this week as Japanese continue to suffer the lack of titles for Sony next-gen console, although to be fair, it has been a slow start to the year for Japanese gamers as a whole.

PlayStation 2

Bionicle Heroes (6,6,6,5)

Shining Force EXA (9,9,8,9)

.hack//G.U. Vol. 3: Aruku Youna Hayasa de (8,7,8,8)

Dragon Shadow Spell (8,8,8,8)

Meitantei Evangelion (6,6,6,4)

Nintendo Wii

Excite Truck (8,8,7,8)

XBOX360

Gears of War (10,9,9,9)

PlayStation Portable

The Sims 2: Pets (6,6,5,5)

M.A.C.H.: Modified Air Combat Heroes (8,7,8,7)

Nintendo DS

Sekaiju no Meikyuu / Etrian Odyssey (8,8,8,8)

Ochaken no Heya DS 2 (8,7,6,7)

Kaitou Wario the Seven / Wario: Master of Disguise (8,7,7,7)

Let’s view some special new year messages from the Japanese game developers and publishers. Click here to view all the greetings I manage to collect.

Bandai Namco: Six pieces of desktop wallpapers with 2007 calendar featuring characters from .hack//G.U. and the Tales of series. Click here to download all the wallpapers.

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What are the gaming stories that drew the most page views during 2006 for Famitsu website? PlayStation 3 and Wii related announcements dominate the list, however, it was Square Enix recent announcements regarding the shock decision to move Dragon Quest IX to the DS that top them all. And XBOX360’s Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 with two sexy news in the list proved to be popular among the surfers as well.

1. Dragon Quest IX screenshots revealed
2. World first!? Close-up shots of PlayStation 3
3. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Consumer Game version new information!
4. Buy presents for your Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 girls!!
5. The controller for PlayStation 3 finally revealed
6. Bikini changing scenes for Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
7. PlayStation 3’s games priced
8. Bara no Ki ni Bara no Hana Saku: Das Versprechen
9. Wii price to be 25000 or lower!
10. Wii price and launch date in September. Wii & DS to communicate

If you are confused by the recent waves of new announcements from the Square Enix camp on Final Fantasy. The Japanese publishers has set up a web page to clarify the relations between the new titles and also what’s coming up for all Final Fantasy fans. However, one titles from the announcements seem to be missing, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Fuuketsu no Guurimore for the Nintendo DS is not included in the “Ivalice Alliance”, whether or not this is on purpose or a mistake remains to be seen. Also helpful are links to the official website of the titles are available. Click here for more information.

Japanese website ITmedia has tons of new images for Square Enix upcoming Nintendo DS game, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, which will eventually be part of “Ivalice Alliance” announced earlier. The game still doesn’t have a release date and it’s certainly coming up nicely. You can check out more images here, or visit the official website. Via ITmedia.

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Nintendo Wii

Pokémon Battle Revolution (9,9,8,9)

PlayStation 3

Armored Core 4 (9,7,7,8)

PlayStation 2

HimeHibi: Princess Days (7,6,6,7)

Formula One 2006 (8,8,7,8)

Yumemishi (7,8,7,7)

Simple 2000 Series Vol. 112: The Tousou Highway 2: Road Warrior 2050 (6,6,5,6)

XBOX 360

Prey (9,8,8,8)

PlayStation Portable

Formula One 2006 Portable (7,7,7,7)

Nintendo DS

Gamics Series Vol. 1: Yokoyama Mitsuteru - San Goku Shi (8,7,5,7)

The popular annual comic show Jump Festa 2007 will be held this weekend in Japan and a number of Japanese publishers are taking the chance to show off the latest development in their studios. The list of games that can be found during the show after the jump. Including Square Enix’s big announcement that Final Fantasy XIII will have a new trailer and Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII will be playable.

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A new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII is expected during the Jump Festa 2007, which is organized by three major comic magazines under SHUEISHA, the show will be taking place on December 16 and 17. Square Enix will have a major appearance judging by the amount of games it plans to show. On a specially created website for the event, Square listed Fabula Nova Crytallis Final Fantasy XIII as one of the titles that will have a new trailer.

On the other hand, the long in the work Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII seems to be finally playable, as stated by the website. Other notable from the website includes a new picture is released for Final Fantasy Agito XIII, part of the said Fabula Nova Crytallis and targeted at mobile phones. The complete list for the show after the jump.

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