Posted Aug 20th 2008 4:00PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
When it was a cell phone game, no one knew what it was about. Then it became a PSP game, and still no one knew any details about it. Finally, the project director of The 3rd Birthday, Hajime Tabata, has revealed some facts about the third game in the Parasite Eve franchise. Square is cooperating with another development studio on the game, but he refuses to divulge which studio.
Unlike its predecessors, The 3rd Birthday will be a "true third person shooter," but Tabata notes that it will not the same as Dirge (thank you!) of Cerberus: FFVII. Some sort of wireless gameplay may be implemented, but it was not specified whether it will be infrastructure or ad-hoc.
The game's scenario and design are currently almost complete. Our curvy heroine Aya Brea will utilize an ability called overdrive that allows her to "cross time." This power lets her to fight and eliminate the Twisted, who are the new antagonists of the game. No release date is set, but it sounds like we'll see the game over in Japan some time next year.
Posted Aug 20th 2008 12:55PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Everyday Shooter has just been announced for the PSP. The original game debuted on PC and PS3, and was praised by critics for its innovative combination of music and shooting. No separate release date is available at this time, but it will be included in the PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack, which will launch in November. The bundle will include a voucher which allows you to download the game from the PS Store.
To find out more about this innovative shooter, check out PS3 Fanboy's coverage.
Posted Aug 20th 2008 12:20PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
SCEA just announced the North American details concerning the PSP-3000. The previously announced Ratchet & Clank PSP Entertainment Pack will launch on October 14th for $199.99. It will now include the following:
Mystic Silver PSP-3000
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets UMD
echochrome PSN voucher
1GB Memory Stick PRO duo
A second entertainment pack has also been announced called the PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack. The will launch in November for $199.99 as well. It includes:
Piano Black PSP-3000
4GB Memory Stick PRO duo
Everyday Shooter PSN voucher
The Piano Black PSP-3000 will be sold separately later this year as a PSP Core Pack, which includes only an AC adaptor and battery pack for $169.99.
This new LocoRoco 2 "special movie" found on the official Japanese website shows us just how cute things on the PSP can be. The art direction looks about the same in this highly-anticipated sequel, along with some kawaii music that can get a little annoying if you listen to it more than once. The cute little blobs demonstrates some of their new skills here, such as swimming and biting. Stay for the end, which makes us wish there was a LocoRoco TV show.
Love your PSP but you are on a tight budget? Worry not, for we have compiled a selection of twenty PSP games that will satisfy your hunger for quality gaming without breaking the bank. Seven of them are under $10 and five of them are between $10 and $15. We've listed our recommendations along with its lowest price from a reputable retailer. ProTip: If you shop from GameStop, use coupon code CAG16 and SAVER to get 16% off the used game price and free shipping. [Via CAG]
Having sold 217,000 copies on the very first day, the new Japanese chart-topper Phantasy Star Portable went on to ship 500,000 copies in the first week. Though it won't beat out reigning champion Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G's figures of 880,000, it did beat out another very popular PSP game with a larger fanbase: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. The Square Enix game managed to ship 480,000 copies in its debut week.
We are unofficially in Bizarro World territory when a Sega game outperforms a Square Enix game. The bigger question is, when is the rest of the world going to get a taste of this?
Posted Aug 10th 2008 3:00PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: Hacks
Don't want to wait for the touchscreen device SCEA possibly has installed for us? DCEmu's Pspzproject obviously didn't -- user jube808, a "professional electronic engineer," feels touchscreen should have been part of the PSP at launch and decided to mod a PSP to include the function. The touchscreen works with both a finger or a stylus, with the goal of eventually utilizing it for homebrew gaming. He also aims to add extra battery life and a redesigned control pad into the mix. Check it out in action in two videos after the jump.
[Via Engadget -- thanks, jimb and rockeranimefreak!]
Posted Aug 8th 2008 5:20PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
The PlayStation Portable and Phantasy Star Portable are both on top of their game this week in Japan; the portable gaming device managed to sell 61,181 units, which is down from6,271 units from last week. The DS comes dangerously close to beating the PSP this week though, with 57,398 units sold.
Software-wise, Phantasy Star Portable set a record for the fourth biggest debut for a PSP game with 341,700 copies of the game sold, according to PSPHyper. Hardware numbers are below, with software numbers after the jump: Hardware and software sales for the week of July 28th - August 3rd:
Wowzers! So there is a lot more information out there on Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep than we anticipated. First we got some translated hands-on impressions gathered from various Japanese sites over at KHInsider, along with a trailer summary. Some of this information we know about already, so here are highlights of the new stuff:
Ven's level is the Castle of Dreams, Cinderella's world. Ven cooperates with Jaq the mouse to collect materials to make Cinderella's dress. After going through a maze and finding the necessary items, a boss fight ensues with Lucifer. No, not Lucifer the demon, but rather the cat from Cinderella.
Secondly, we have 3 pages of Famitsu scans courtesy of PSPHyper. Reading the hands-on impressions while looking at these scans, you can almost pretend you were playing the demo. Lastly, IGN has a few seconds of video footage of both Birth by Sleep and Dissidia from their Game Scoop show. Look for that after the jump.
Not only did those who were invited to the ultra-exclusive DKΣ3713 Private Party get a chance to play Dissidia, they also played through two levels of the upcoming Kingdom Hearts prequel Birth by Sleep. As we predicted, Square announced that a Japanese release will occur some time in 2009.
IGN had a chance to play through the two stages, and here's what they had to tell us, after the jump:
Posted Aug 2nd 2008 11:55PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Those who were lucky enough to get invited to Square Enix's DKΣ3713 Private Party had a chance to play a demo version of Dissidia: Final Fantasy. A release date of December 2008 was again confirmed for Japan, as well as a limited edition PSP bundle similar to the Crisis Core bundle released earlier in Japan and Europe. And like other Final Fantasy games released recently, Dissidia will also have its own Potion soft drink.
Even though 1UP reports that only 9 Final Fantasy games will be part of Dissidia, PSPHyper, NeoGAF and several Japanese blogs are reporting that in addition to Kefka of FFVI, Golbez of FFIV and Exdeath of FFV were also spotted in the trailer show at DKΣ3713. Meaning now there is at least one character from Final Fantasy I to X, resulting in a grand total of 10 titles. Unfortunately, the trailer was shown in a closed theater, making this difficult to verify. For your consideration: back in March we reported on the above poster which allegedly revealed all the villains for Dissidia -- so far the poster has been right about Cloud of Darkness of FFIII, Kefka of FFVI and Jecht of FFX. Could it be right about Golbez and Exdeath as well?
Was this the "major announcement" Square Enix referred to? NeoGAF tells us that earlier today in the private press event DKΣ3713, it was unveiled that Final Fantasy Agito XIII will be heading to the PSP in addition to cell phones. The title is part of Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII which also includes Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. No release date has been announced.
Posted Aug 1st 2008 11:45AM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
PSP is again on the top in Japan. If you are just looking for some bad news, sales did drop 6,572 units from the previous week, but keep in mind last week's sales were an astonishing 74,052 units. Nintendo's handheld still couldn't beat the PSP, despite the release of Dragon Quest V. Really, can anything stop this pint-sized juggernaut in the land of the rising sun? Week of July 21st-July 27th:
Japanese publication Shonen Jump is providing us with another small update on the Kingdom Hearts prequel Birth by Sleep. A new special skill for Terra (not to be confused with Final Fantasy VI's Terra, whose name is Tina in the original Japanese version) named Shock Lock System is shown, along with a screenshot of Ven. PSPHyper has the entire scan for you right here.
Nomura has commented before that the DS Kingdom Hearts title 358/2 Days will likely debut before Birth by Sleep. Since the scan shows 358/2 Days coming out in 2008, we can safely assume Birth by Sleep won't be arriving until 2009.
Cardinal Arc: The Neverland Card War is PS2 RPG released back in 2003. The gameplay is card-based as you have undoubtedly guessed from the title. You step into the shoes of Gallahad, who must battle both forces from heaven and hell to win cards and territory. The game is getting ported over to the popular handheld in Japan this September and will feature some enhancements: newly reworked cut-scenes, a new 16:9 widescreen presentation and a versus mode via ad hoc. Check out the site for the original PS2 game here. Unsurprisingly, no word on a release outside of the Japanese region.
