If you have a comprehensive knowledge of Japanese literature or flight combat games that never saw an American release, you probably already know about The Sky Crawlers. We fell in love with Namco-Bandai's book-to-game adaptation when we were teased with tons of gameplay footage last year -- sadly, the game was never visited by the localization fairy, and never made it to the States. Since then, we've been sad all over.

Fortunately, a recent XSEED press release has turned our melancholy into melan-jolly (ugh) -- the capitalized company has purchased the North American publishing rights for The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, due out this holiday season on the Wii. The game, which was developed by Ace Combat veterans Project Aces, will have players using the Wiimote and Nunchuck to simulate actual flight controls. It's a bit overdue, but we're thrilled about the Americanization of this aeronautical gem nonetheless.

It looks like God Eater may be much more than a simple Monster Hunter clone. While the gameplay is focused on multiplayer monster slayin', we're digging the game's dark anime look. The music is particularly exciting to listen to. Check out the official website for another soothing piano ballad. We have to admit -- we're really getting pumped for this one.

That is to say: All forty characters in the game will be available from the first moment Tekken 6 graces your disc drive. Speaking to VideoGamer, Tekken series director Katsuhiro Harada stated -- through a translator -- that unlockables in games are "outdated."

Harada says that unlockables were originally implemented in order to extend the life of arcade games. As characters are unlocked, players would have more reason to come back to the machine. We definitely wasted a few quarters just for the chance to play as Kuma, so we'd say the plan worked. Harada said that unlockable characters were added to the home version for the same reason, implying that it would discourage gamers from renting the game instead of buying it.

Fast-forward to Tekken 6, and Harada says that unlockables are "outdated now ... especially with online play." He notes that today's gamers would be irritated by competing online against characters that they have yet to unlock. Thus, you won't find any unlockable characters in Tekken 6.

Of course, history tells us we still might see some characters for sale.

Atari's slow collapse continues with the loss of the company's most lucrative franchise. No, not Ghostbusters -- it's Dragon Ball, which has produced approximately a billion video games so far. The franchise will now go back to Namco Bandai, the original Japanese publisher of the series. According to a statement by Namco Bandai, the agreement will run for five years beginning in January 2010 and will supersede any existing publishing rights. In addition, Namco Bandai will publish the upcoming Dragon Ball: Raging Blast game for Xbox 360 and PS3, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii, and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for DS all this year.

The loss of the Dragon Ball franchise is perhaps the greatest evidence of the financial challenges that face Atari. Earlier this year, the company pulled out of E3, sold its European publishing division, and even sold exclusivity rights for Ghostbusters, all presumably for a small cash influx. With Phil Harrison recently stepping down from his position at the company, it's clear that Atari will see even more troubled times ahead.

Famitsu scans have revealed the God Eater project whose title was trademarked by Namco Bandai a couple of months ago. It's a multiplayer action game for PSP that appears aimed at the Monster Hunter market (which, let's be honest, every Japanese developer probably should be trying to do on the PSP). God Eater trades out the fantasy setting of Monster Hunter for a more futuristic, industrial venue. It features a mix of mythical creatures and big, robotic monsters.

According to Siliconera, God Eater will be out this fall in Japan. The existence of that US trademark suggests that the company will be releasing it here as well.

Remember that costume CLAMP designed for Tekken 6? Well, feast your eyes on the gallery below, which shows Jin Kazama sporting the ridiculously ornate get-up and putting the screws to his daddy, Kazuya Mishima. We won't keep you from the eye candy, so feel free to check out the screens below while we daydream about how fun Tekken Bowling was.

Namco Bandai's The Munchables is a game with a very simple premise: gobble up everything in sight. And, considering that sharing is caring, we decided to unload this glutton's dream onto one of you lucky readers. So, check out the rules below, and best of luck to you all!

• Leave a comment telling us what your favorite snack is
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
  
• Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day
  
• This entry period ends at 11:59 am ET on Monday, July 6
  
• At that time, we'll randomly select one grand-prize winner to receive The Munchables on Wii ($30 ARV)
• For a list of complete rules, click here

The tri-Crescendo-developed Namco Bandai RPG, Fragile, will eventually make its way to Europe, GameSpot reports. Sometime in early 2010, Europeans will be able to get their own taste of this post-apocalyptic title following Seto, who is believed to be the last living human being. It's kind of like I Am Legend, but, like, bearable.

Made by the same team behind Eternal Sonata, Fragile is currently set to release in North America during the holidays courtesy of XSEED, and will arrive in Europe via Rising Star Games.

Alright, so your money's as good as in Namco's pockets already, what with the HORI Tekken 6 Wireless Fight Stick Bundle and the GameStop-only Cardboard Tube Samurai character. You've already made that decision. Glancing over your checking account statement every month, from now until the game's released, your brain will automatically deduct the $149.99 (+ applicable state sales tax).

So the real question is: How long will you have to keep this mental math up for? Namco sends word that the Xbox 360 and PS3 releases of Tekken 6 will be tekken up retail space October 27 in North America, "with the Europe, Japan and Asia release to follow shortly thereafter." As for that PSP version, it'll be available "this fall" but we can't offer you anything more definitive than that. 127 days and counting ...

Most iPhone games don't necessarily benefit from the speed boost granted by the 3GS outside of load times, because they were designed to run well on a 3G. That means that the most noticeable changes are found in games that run poorly on a 3G, like Namco Bandai's portable Katamari game, i Love Katamari. The difference is significant enough that Namco might as well have launched the first 3GS-only game six months before the release of the 3GS.

1UP's Jeremy Parish offers some hard numbers about the improvement in speed in the first part of his 3GS review, comparing the speed of the in-game clock on a 3G to one running on a 3GS. The clock still doesn't run in exactly real time, so this is a bit confusing, but for four minutes of game time on a 3G, over nine minutes elapsed. The same segment of the game passed in under six.

For another, less mathy comparison, check out the (slightly shaky) video after the break, which shows the game running on both phones.

[Thanks, Brian!]

If you've been keeping score at home you'd know we are pretty excited for Tales of Graces and its spider-legged tanks. Like recent entries in the famed Tales of franchise, the upcoming Wii-exclusive JRPG showcases a simple and colorful art style, but based on the game's second trailer we can't help but notice the world looks suspiciously barren. Could the limited NPCs be a story element? Perhaps the spider-legged tanks are to blame! Our actual guess? Everyone in the world is away to training camp, preparing for the upcoming brawl that is Tales of VS. Check out the full trailer for Tales of Graces after the break.

[Via GoNintendo]

If you haven't spent all your money buying Street Fighter IV controllers, Namco Bandai has a new arcade stick for you to invest in. The official Tekken 6 Wireless Fight Stick Bundle bundles the upcoming game with an art book and a wireless stick made by HORI. The set will be available at various nationwide retailers, and will cost $150 for either the PS3 or Xbox 360 version.

In addition to revealing the official arcade stick for the game, Namco Bandai also released 33 new screenshots of the game, showcasing some of the new characters featured in Tekken 6. Our favorite character? Well, there's that decapitated robot girl ...

Finally, official details of Penny Arcade's collaboration with Tekken 6 have been revealed. The "Samurai" Pack includes a playable Cardboard Tube Samurai skin for Yoshimitsu and 40 Samurai Battle Banners which can be used to customize the other characters in the game. The DLC pack will be available as a GameStop-exclusive pre-order bonus.

Picked up by way of the Gamertag Radio forums from the alleged Twitter account of Tekken 6 -- we know, we know -- it was confirmed this afternoon that the image you see above of Penny Arcade's Cardboard Tube Samurai is, in fact, the real deal. Where, you ask? Well, of course, Mike "Gabe" Krahulik's Twitter account, where he twote, "Yes this is for real. Cts costume will be in Tekken 6!"

He is, of course, referring to the Cardboard Tube Samurai and probably not the cartoon time-traveling simulator we already know will include everything in the universe. Take a look after the break for the exciting Twitter snapshot where Gabe revealed the truth.

Newegg is currently offering copies of Namco Bandai's food-themed adventure The Munchables for just $16.99, with free shipping. This seems like a rather sudden and drastic price drop, the kind that might be a mistake, so don't tarry if you're thinking of picking it up.

The Munchables has actually been getting reasonably good (if not glowing) reviews, so at this low price, it might be worth a look. That is, of course, only if you have a high tolerance for weirdness. This is a game in which all the enemies are vegetables, after all, and you fight by eating them. Don't pick this up if the majority of your games are about World War II or something.

[Via GoNintendo]

Did you notice? Namco's now-gen Splatterhouse reboot was nowhere to be seen at this year's E3. Following the game's troubled development history, that wasn't much of a surprise to those of us in the know, but we decided to send off a query to the folks at Namco Bandai, just to make sure.

They told us, "Namco Bandai Games America Inc. is hard at work on Splatterhouse. Development is in full swing and we are committed to bringing it to the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010. This will give us time to polish and incorporate all the content to deliver a top notch game worthy of this classic video game franchise."

So, the American development team behind Afro Samurai has taken the reins from previous developer BottleRocket (with help from some now-former BottleRocket staff), and any 2009 release window you may have heard about in the past has been smashed with a gore-soaked two-by-four. So consider this a public service announcement: you won't be splattering any houses until 2010 (or "early 2010" as Siliconera was told).