Monday, February 07, 2011

MAG Weekly Famitsu Vol. 1157 - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The February 17, 2011 issue of Famitsu covers the following games and events in the Japanese marketplace:
» Famitsu scoops the Sony NGP (Next Generation Portable) which looks like the PSP except its shaped like a smooth oval. Specs and a list of developers currently producing games for the NGP are listed.
» Preview for PS3 Dark Souls which introduces the story in the game and throws in an interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki.
» FromSoftware is producing Armored Core V for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
» Famitsu Reviews Cross of Venus Special (7/7/6/7), PSP [Fighting Game?] (9/9/9/8), PSP Sweet Serenade (7/7/6/6), Wii Sengoku Musou 3 (8/8/7/8), and PS3 Sengoku Musou 3 Z (9/9/8/8).
» Preview for PS3 LittleBigPlanet2 which includes information for the overall game and stages. A large larger-than-human-sized Sackboy plush is also featured in the article.
» Gyakuten Kenji 2 game details and character flow-chart which shows the inter-relations.

 MAG Famitsu Wave March 2011 - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The March 2011 issue of Famitsu Wave magazines includes coverage on the following games and events in the Japanese marketplace:
» Gyakuten Kenji 2 character introductions and gameplay details.
» Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
» Game Camp Mission Sheet 18
» 18th Girl feature on Shirasawa Marina
» Phantasy Star Portable Infinity
» Plush toys for Sonic, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros, Pac-Man Beanies, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong
» Fallout: Dead Money (DLC)
» Nintendo 3DS coverage
» Fable III
» DVD info on "Born in the 60s" and "Gagmangaka Ohgiri Battle 2010"
» Senjou no Valkyria III game details and coverage
» The back of the magazine previews the next issue which will feature Marvel vs Capcom 3 as the main game.

 PS3 Pro Yakyu Spirits 2011 - Import Preorder

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The boys of summer are currently in hibernation mode but come Spring, they'll be practicing and honing their skills for the upcoming baseball season once again. Konami's upcoming Pro Yakyu Spirits 2011 features almost-television-quality visuals, a Coaching Mode and a Grand Prix Mode in addition to the standard Exhibition mode, and reactive audiences who cheer every play. All 12 Japanese professional baseball teams are featured in the game along with over 800 players who come to the game with their end-of-2010 season stats intact.

   Preorders for the PS3 and Playstation Portable versions of Pro Yakyu Spirits 2011 are welcome to ship on March 24, 2011. A Nintendo 3DS version of the game is also shipping in late March 2011.

 3DS Pro Yakyu Famista 2011 - Import Preorder

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Namco's Pro Yakyu Famista game series has been around since 1989 and is the longest running baseball franchise in Japan. It bests Konami's Powerful Pro series by six years and appears destined to be a market mainstay for the foreseeable future. The ball players in previous Famista games had a distinctive pudgy and rounded appearance and they arrive on the 3DS with the same overall body shape and stance. The top 3DS screen shows off the baseball action in eye-popping 3D where the pitch zooms into the screen while the bottom 3DS screen shows the entire infield. The twelve teams from the Japanese professional baseball league appear in the game along with all of the players. Preorders are welcome to ship on March 31, 2011 at JPY5800 or US$68.90 from NCS.

 Wii Tales of Graces Recommende Collection - Preorder

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Three disparate kingdoms rule the world of Efinea - Fendel, Strata, and Windol - all of which vie for supremacy over the other. In the land of Windol sits a city named Lhant which is governed by a lord named Aston Lhant. Aston's first-born is a lad named Asbel who goes off to become a knight but upon his father's death, returns home to rule the principality. Namco's latest Tales game follows the story of Asbel and a girl named Sophie who helps him fend off an attack perpetrated by troops from Fendel. The mysterious Sophie suffers from amnesia which is a regularly used plot device in Japanese video games since it adds intrigue to the character.

   Tales of Graces features the "Style Shift Linear Motion Battle System" which is just a convoluted way of saying "Slashing with two attack styles" where Asbel and company can switch between two types of combat skills. Namco touts Nintendo DS linkage where mini-games may be downloaded from the Tales software for portable play.

   Preorders for the lower-priced "Recommend Collection" re-release of Tales of Graces are welcome to ship on March 24, 2011 at JPY2800 or US$38.90 from NCS. 

 NEWS Japanese Release Outlook - Arrivals on Thursday

NDS
Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus Special
ASCII
PSP
Gakuen Heaven Okawari!
Prototype
  Tales of the World Radiant Mythology 3 Bandai
Uta no * Prince-Sama: Sweet Serenade Broccoli
Uta no * Prince-Sama: Sweet Serenade LE Broccoli
Yuusha 30 Second
Marvelous
360 Entaku no Seito Chunsoft

 NEWS USA Release Outlook - Arrivals on Tuesday-Thursday

NDS
You Don't Know Jack: Irreverent Trivia
THQ
PS3 Trinity: Souls of Zill 'Oll Koei
  Test Drive Unlimited 2 Activision
You Don't Know Jack: Irreverent Trivia
THQ
Wii
Mario Sports Mix
Nintendo
360 Body and Brain Connection Namco
  Test Drive Unlimited 2 Activision