Dec 01 to 07 News
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Dissidia Playable at Jump Festa 2008
Dissdia will be one of the playable games at Jump Festa 2008. The announcement’s originally came from the Jump Festa 2008 site and Square Enix.
Square Enix has just confirmed that Dissidia Final Fantasy will be playable at Jump Festa 2008 in two weeks time and a special gift awaits those who check it out. The game to celebrate Final Fantasy 20th anniversary has been pretty quiet since its announcement back in May, missing it’s planned release for this year at the same time. The announcement was made at the game’s official website and the company’s Jump Festa 2008 page.
Take a New Look at Patapon
If you’ve been away for the past few months. Patapon is a Japanese game that is based on music. Its a very unique game like the all popular loco roco. Featuring beautiful 2d graphics you control an army using several buttons which create a tune which you use to command your mini men. No news on a US Release yet
New Christmas LocoRoco Demo Incoming?
If you've been an avid PSP Fanboy reader, or an avid LocoRoco player, you might remember our downloadable demo last Christmas. Seems we're getting another treat this year as well, as it appears a demo with Santa Blob Person is on its way. The SCEJ website indicates a December 13th date, and availability on the PSP and the PC's version of the PlayStation Store. Or, you know, you could just get it from us. We'll get back to you on this subject in a little under a week.
Reyes Swings to MLB 2K8 Cover
For the past five years, the New York Yankees have been hitting 1.000 for landing cover duties to 2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K baseball sim. In 2003 and 2004, Yankee slugger and first baseman Jason Giambi covered the game. In 2005, Yankee shortstop and current team captain Derek Jeter stole the spokesperson spotlight, and maintained his cover status for three consecutive years. This year, however, the Yankee reign is over--though the title remains in New York.
Today, 2K Sports announced New York Mets speedster Jose Reyes would be the cover star and spokesperson for Major League Baseball 2K8. The publisher also officially confirmed that MLB 2K8 will arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii in spring 2008.
A career-long member of the Mets club, Reyes officially entered the league in 2003. In 2006, Reyes led the Major League in triples and stolen bases. In 2007, Reyes again led the league in stolen bases with 78, as well as logging 19 home runs and ending the season with a .280 batting average. Reyes was also named as the starting shortstop in the 2006 All-Star game.
MLB 2K8 has not yet been rated or priced.
Phantasy Star Universe Getting a PSP Port
We should add a disclaimer -- when we say port, we mean port sans a true online mode. Yeah, it's what makes Phantasy Star Universe tick, but if you've been a loyal Phantasy Star phan, you'll have played the story mode of the original as well as episode 2 and the beginning of 3 with the Ambition of Illuminus expansion. It's not the best dialogue or narrative, but the concepts and twists of the story are pretty cool and true to the franchise in terms of tone, believe it or not.
Unless you think that playing as one character, then moving past him to play as your own to fight an evil organization (who houses the main bad guy, who actually turns out to be nothing but a pawn) is lame. Sound like Kingdom Hearts, a little bit? Did KH force you to participate in a planetary genocide? Did it cause an entire race of robotic beings to get hacked and run a space fleet into your satellite which crashes onto another planet? Face it -- Phantasy Star Universe is a cool and constantly changing experience. And the PSP is getting a port.
The port is basically that: Ambition of Illuminus on your PSP, with some added missions and story points. While there's no true online mode, you do get 4-player ad hoc play. Commence the groans. The port is being handled by Alpha Systems, who is pretty unknown. Check out the scan from Famitsu if you'd like and hope this hits shores outside of Japan.
SOCOM and Twisted Metal to PSP Store Soon
In an interview with MTV’s Multiplayer blog, Eric Lempel, director of PlayStation Network operations at Sony Computer Entertainment America and , revealed that original UMD releases SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo and Twisted Metal: Head-On will soon be available from the PC-based PlayStation Store as downloadable titles. Both titles are expected to be up by the end of the year, though pricing has not yet been announced for either title.
Also the Europe Exclusive game Beats will be hitting the North American Store sometime before the end of the year, making it the last original game to hit the PSP stores before the end of 2007.
Lempel also revealed that Sony is looking into adding PSP compatibility to popular PlayStation Network titles like Everyday Shooter and flOw. "What a lot of those developers are asking about are ways to modify the titles, go back and do some work to get them available on the PSP," he said. "I think Everyday Shooter and flOw would be great on the PSP. That’s something we’re looking at."
Check out the full interview for more on the inner workings of the PlayStation Store, the prospect of Mac compatibility (maybe), and whether Sony will pick up the pace on PSone classic releases (most likely).
Phantasy Star Coming to the PSP
Sega announced Phantasy Star Portable for PSP, a portable version of Phantasy Star Universe, featuring additional missions and stories not found in the console version. The game supports multi-players over WiFi, up to 4 players can cooperate in Ad-Hoc mode. The game is being developed by Alfa System, scheduled for 2008 release.
Musou Orochi Screenshots Surface
The first images of the PSP version of Musuo Orochi have surfaced on Japanese gaming site, Famitsu.com. They showcase Koei's inherent knack for giant combos and big slash effects. This mishmash of Chinese and Japanese mythology won't provide a history lesson to anyone -- just a button-mashing good time. Will Koei be able to fix up the game for the portable audience, or will it suffer the same flaws that its PS2 and Xbox 360 predecessors had?
New trailers for Square Enix titles at Jump Festa
The annual Jump Festa is right around the corner and Square Enix has done us a favor by revealing their lineup of games to be shown and/or played at the event. While a lot of the titles are for Nintendo systems, there are a few titles of PSP fame that will get their time in the sun. A new Final Fantasy Dissidia trailer is getting shown behind closed doors, along with a Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep trailer. The remake of the first and second Star Ocean titles, subtitled First Departure, will get a public video but will not be playable.
Since the first two are behind closed doors, we actually don't know if the trailers will be entirely new, or just some recycled secret stuff we're still not allowed to see. Either way, we'll keep you up to date on these videos just in case a leak is sprung in the dam of information Square Enix has built.
Vivendi Merges with Activision in $18.9B Deal
For years, Electronic Arts has been the largest third-party publisher on the planet. No longer. Two days after EA's CEO said game-industry mergers were winding down, the biggest such union in history was announced. Today, Vivendi Games and Activision declared they were joining forces in a deal valued at $18.9 billion to create the world's biggest independent game publisher. The new company, called Activision Blizzard, will remain publicly traded on the NASDAQ market in New York under the symbol ATVI.
Under the terms of the deal, French media conglomerate Vivendi SA will contribute the entirety of its Vivendi Games subdivision--worth $8.1 billion--as well as $1.7 billion in cash for a 52 percent controlling stake in Activision Blizzard. Once the deal is approved, Activision Blizzard will offer holders of Activision's 146.7 million shares $27.50 for each share--a 31 percent premium over the 20-day average closing price.
If the union is approved by US regulators, Activision Blizzard's estimated $3.8 billion in annual revenue will eclipse EA, which expects $3.35 to $3.65 billion in net revenue for its 2008 fiscal year. It will also put many marquee game franchises--Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, F.E.A.R., Diablo, StarCraft, Warcraft, and World of Warcraft--under a single roof. It will also give Activision's Guitar Hero franchise direct access to the library of Vivendi's Universal Music Group, the world's largest record label.
Because the deal calls for the melding of Activision and Vivendi management teams, both were publicly pleased. "This alliance is a major strategic step for Vivendi and is another illustration of our drive to extend our presence in the entertainment sector," said Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy. "By combining Vivendi's games business with Activision, we are creating a worldwide leader in a high-growth industry."
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick also gave the union his blessing. "This is a pivotal event in the continuing transformation of the interactive entertainment industry," he declared. "By combining leaders in mass-market entertainment and subscription-based online games, Activision Blizzard will be the only publisher with leading market positions across all categories of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry and reach the broadest possible audiences."
Warriors Orochi Set for PSP
Koei has brought Shin Sangoku Musou (Dynasty Warriors) and Sengoku Muosu (Samurai Warriors) to the PSP through multiple installments. Now, it’s tapping into its PS2 library for a more recent spinoff, Musou Orochi (Warriors Orochi in America).
Titled simply Musou Orochi, the PSP incarnation features all the gameplay from the PS2 and Xbox 360 versions of the game along with 79 generals, including two original Koei creations, to choose from.
The portable Musou engine has apparently improved some since Dynasty Warriors Vol.2. Orochi will feature expansive stages with no transitions between areas, allowing for the console experience on the go. Additionally, the game’s two player mode will be set in the same stages as the story mode. Previous multiplayer modes were set in special stages.
Musou Orochi hits the Japanese PSP in February.