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Taito to show Gardening Mama, paddle-compatible Bust a Move at TGS

by JC Fletcher { Sep 29th 2008 at 3:30PM }

Taito's TGS lineup is, like last year, all-Nintendo. While they only showed DS games last year, one Wii game is on the lineup this time, but it's Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, which isn't a huge departure. The company will show the newly-announced Gardening Mama along with a new Puzzle Bobble (Bust a Move) game called Space Puzzle Bobble, which uses the paddle controller! Three games is totally enough justification for buying one of those. Maybe it'll even lead to another production run! The site has smallish screens of both new games.

The fourth game in the lineup is Tetsudou Seminar: Oote Shitetsu Hen, a quiz game about the Japanese rail system, pretty much guaranteed not to be released anywhere else.

Koei TGS page temporarily shows new Dynasty Warriors, MMORPG

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 24th 2008 at 3:50PM }

Tokyo Game Show is just around the corner. We're expecting some new game announcements -- however, we may have gotten a small sneak peak thanks to an early update of Koei's TGS website. Not only did it show a brand new Dynasty Warriors game for the PS3, it also shows a new MMORPG for both PC and PS3. Both listings for these PS3 games have since been removed, but we'll be keeping a keen eye on Koei at TGS to see if these titles magically reappear.

[Via NeoGAF]

Rumor: Team ICO reveals The Queen, all bow down

by Jason Dobson { Sep 13th 2008 at 9:55PM }

The third project from the "Olympic Team" behind both Shadow of the Colossus and Ico looks like it might make its long anticipated reveal next month at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show. What appears to be a newly launched TGS teaser website calls the game ICO 3 The Queen, adding that Japanese PS3 owners will be able to yank the title off store shelves on October 9, 2009.

Given the name, as well as the site's reuse of the original game's logo, it remains unclear if the title will be any sort of direct follow up to the original Ico or another stand alone project, but whatever the case we cannot wait to find out more once TGS gets underway.

Note: As some have pointed out, the site's validity is suspect, meaning we now wait until next month's TGS to see if in fact the next game from Team ICO will make an appearance or simply break our hearts.

[Thanks pico!]

Koei to unveil new PSP games at Tokyo Game Show

by Majed Athab { Sep 9th 2008 at 12:30PM }

Koei president Kenji Matsubara spoke recently with Gamasutra about making third party titles in Japan. More important to our readers, part of that discussion involved PSP. Pointing to the PSP's success with Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (yes, everything comes back around to Monster Hunter PSP savior), Matsubara said it is encouraging to make games for the PSP as opposed to other tougher markets (the PS3 and 360).

In line with this, Koei has acted accordingly by revealing plans to announce new PSP titles at this year's Tokyo Game Show in October. What those titles are, it won't say, but we're certainly curious to find out. Deducing from the article, it sounds like Koei is aiming to make a game that utilizes Monster Hunter's team-focused gameplay. Hmm, perhaps a game where Guan Yu and friends go around Han Dynasty China looking to slay mythical creatures? We wouldn't be surprised ...

Anyway, don't get too excited yet. While Koei sings a PSP paean, it can't deny a lack of enthusiasm from Western markets. Perhaps, these new games will be Japan-only. Stay tuned, we'll have more from TGS next month.

What's playable, and what's not, at Square Enix's TGS booth

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 8th 2008 at 2:00PM }

2008 looks to be yet another excellent year for Tokyo Game Show. There's a lot of excitement over the potential surprises at the show. Square Enix has posted its lineup for this year's show, and we're a little saddened to see Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) still not playable. At the very least, we'll be getting some one-on-one time with Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP). Check out the full PlayStation list here:

Playable

Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP)

Trailers-Only

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)
Final Fantasy Agito XIII (PSP)
The 3rd Birthday (PSP)
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete (Blu-ray)

We're expecting many of these trailers will be shown behind closed doors. Fear not, though. We'll provide detailed impressions of the trailers live from Tokyo next month.

What's playable, and what's not, at Square Enix's TGS booth

by Joystiq Staff { Sep 8th 2008 at 2:00PM }

Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP)

Trailers-Only

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)
Final Fantasy Agito XIII (PSP)
The 3rd Birthday (PSP)
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete (Blu-ray)

We're expecting many of these trailers will be shown behind closed doors. Fear not, though. We'll provide detailed impressions of the trailers live from Tokyo next month.

Remedy: Alan Wake NOT confirmed for TGS

by Dustin Burg { Jul 22nd 2008 at 12:15PM }

Last week, news surfaced surrounding a MSN Games sponsored promotion from 2007 that promised one lucky winner their digital likeness in an Alan Wake demo that was set to premier during the 2008 Tokyo Game Show. This of course nearly confirmed that a new Alan Wake trailer or demo would be shown at this year's TGS ... or so we thought.

The Remedy development team just confirmed via the official Alan Wake forums that the "promotion referring to TGS took place in 2007, and is old news" meaning that the MSN Games promotion "was not an announcement that Wake would be shown at TGS 2008." A statement that isn't a flat out denial that the game will make an appearance at TGS, but it's far from confirmation that we'll see anything Alan Wake later this year. And we were starting to actually buy into the idea that Alan Wake wasn't total vaporware. Humph.

[Via CVG]

Alan Wake to show his face at Tokyo Game Show

by Ross Miller { Jul 18th 2008 at 8:50PM }

Although missing in action from this week's E3, Alan Wake will roll out of bed and board a plane to Japan for this year's Tokyo Game Show. According to an MSN Games "'WOW' Be a face in the game" contest, the winner will be given a trip to Finland to be scanned into the computer, then "jet off to Tokyo to [TGS] to be on the scene and on the screen!"

TGS07: Oboro Muramasa Youtouden looks even better in motion

by Eric Caoili { Sep 24th 2007 at 12:50PM }

We're already in agreeance that Oboro Muramasa Youtouden is one of the best-looking games announced for the Wii -- we shook hands on it, signed the appropriate forms, and even had a notary stamp the papers to make it official. Still, this first video glimpse of the 2D ARPG managed to leave us in a state of ecstasy, our skin alive with pleasure. What secret resource has Vanillaware tapped into that other developers have so far ignored? Most of the titles we saw at the Tokyo Game Show didn't look half as good as this.

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: conspiratorial edition

by Ross Miller { Sep 22nd 2007 at 4:20PM }

"Frank, come here!"

"What? What is it, I was resting my eyes on my keyboard."

"Frank, I think something strange is going on. Two major webcomics both made Tetris-centric jokes in the same week!"

"So?"

"So? Don't you see what's going on? It's a conspiracy, it's proof of a higher power guiding our hands, it's proof of something so unbelievably abstract and omnipotent that I can't even fathom the ramifications for the world as we know it."

"Dude, Tetris is a popular game. It's just a coinci--"

"No! Don't you dare ruin this for me, man, I need this!"

"Is this because you didn't get to go to Tokyo Game Show and spent your time at home staring at the ceiling wishing you could play Metal Gear Solid 4 with a rumbling PlayStation 3 controller?"

"... I need a hug."

(Here are our picks for the week's best webcomic. Be sure to vote for your favorite.)

Today in Joystiq: September 21, 2007

by Ross Miller { Sep 21st 2007 at 11:59PM }

We found this picture of a themed crane game from Namco's pre-TGS outing care of 1UP Chief Paleontologist Karen Chu. Having a ghost in our collection would be oh-so very nice. Check out the highlights for today:

Tokyo Game Show
TGS hands-on: Metal Gear Solid 4
TGS hands-on: Every Extend Extra Extreme
TGS hands-on: Ikaruga (XBLA)
TGS07 hands-on: Metal Gear Online
TGS hands-on: Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword

Joystiquery
Joystiq Podcast TGS 07 Special (Part 2)
Joyswag: 10 invites to the Call of Duty 4 Beta (Day 5)
Today's most flowery video: 'fl0wer' trailer

News
Guitar Hero III soundtrack to unlock bonus tracks, Sonic Youth added
Yakuza 2, Dinosaur King, Mystery Dungeon coming to U.S. from Sega
Your 360 has been updated and you won't care
Call of Duty 4 beta ending Sept. 30, cap being raised
Pirates leak Halo 3 onto internet
New Afrika trailer is not very helpful
New Metal Gear Online trailer is airborne
Sega expects Olympic sales from Mario & Sonic
GT5 Prologue priced: ¥4,980 on Blu-ray and ¥4,500 download
It is a last gen feature; DualShock 3 same tech as DualShock 2
Red Octane confirms GH III Xbox wireless guitar same price as PS3 version
Microsoft says Sony 'underestimated' Home challenges
Eye of Judgment priced $69.99, includes PlayStation Eye
Bomberman Land to detonate on Wii, DS, PSP
McFarlane Halo toy details and price
Burnout Paradise events, online focus confirmed

Culture & Community
Halo 3's final days of marketing assault

EA looks to partner, acquire Asian studios

by Jason Dobson { Sep 20th 2007 at 7:52PM }

Industry stalwart Electronic Arts is looking to land a partner in Japan, and who can blame them, what with the region's love of natural beauty and delicious cannibalism. According to a new Financial Times report, the company is entertaining the prospect of partnering with or even acquiring an existing Japanese company, no doubt in order to further EA's well known plans for world domination.

The report quoted EA Asia president Jon Niermann, who during an interview at this week's Tokyo Game Show referred to Japan as a "strategic priority" for the company, which already owns a 15 percent stake in Chinese MMO firm The9. Earlier this year the company also invested in South Korean developer Neowiz, establishing the publishing powerhouse as the studio's second largest shareholder.

Says the report, the region will still likely play only a minor role in EA's global plans, though Niermann was quick to point out the potential benefit of tapping into established talent in the area, noting that "EA offers a great global distribution opportunity in terms of taking Japanese products to other parts of the world and in turn there are certainly companies that are much better at local development than we've ramped up to be."

[Via Gamasutra]

TGS07: New Kingdom Hearts games coming to DS, PSP, mobile

by Scott Jon Siegel { Sep 20th 2007 at 1:50AM }

Disney/Square/Enix fans will be happy to know that three new Kingdom Hearts titles are on the way, as Square Enix announced brand new titles in development for the DS, PSP, and mobile phones at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show.

1UP reports that these will be three entirely different titles, although all three will share the theme of "time." Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep will be headed for the PlayStation Portable as a single-player action-RPG romp in the same vein as its PS2 brethren. Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days for the Nintendo DS is a full-3D game starring Roxas from KHII, and featuring simultaneous four-way multiplayer.

The final title, Kingdom Hearts: Coded, is being developed for mobile phones, and features the original Kingdom Hearts cast in a story that appears to take place in between the first and second PS2 games.

New details on Treasure's Wii project, Ikaruga XBLA

by Ross Miller { Sep 18th 2007 at 2:29PM }

Die-hard fans of Treasure's shooters probably already own Ikaruga for either Dreamcast or Gamecube -- possibly both. So why would they buy the title yet again for the Xbox 360? According to Treasure president Masato Maegawa speaking to 1UP, new features to the game include online co-op, worldwide rankings and the ability to share replays.

Given Ikaruga's frantic pulsations of laser shots, we're hoping there's some code in place to fix any lag issues. There's a lot of quick, minute movements required in the shooter and being out of sync at all with your partner would lead to a very frustrating experience (see: Contra XBLA).

Maegawa also told 1UP that they are in the midst of developing a title for Nintendo Wii. The project is being handled by the "action" team (other teams include shmup and fighting) who also made one of our favorite Virtual Console titles, Gunstar Heroes. No other details are available, though we expect the title to retain much of the side scrolling action style as its spiritual ancestors.