Next up is Sony’s time in the spotlight. Sony dropped the mic last year when it took jabs at Microsoft’s DRM policy with withe their Xbox One. The PS4 launch was strong, but not a lot of big games have come out for it, at least not exclusively. While the PS4 leads in the graphics and hardware department, there are still some that are hanging tight to the 7th generation as games are still releasing on the PS3 and Xbox 360. On the Vita, while it is getting the identity as the Niche Gamer’s Handheld, sales of the Vita are still a little slow to move. They did reveal the new Vita slim however, but it still needs that big game that moves the handheld in the sales department. What will Sony show off to attract more people to their newer systems? Will they once again drop the mic like last year? Or will they be on the receiving of said mic dropping?
Tag Archives: Vita
Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus Confirmed for U.S. Release
After many teases and inklings, we finally have confirmation that Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus will finally make it’s way westward, once again by XSEED. This entry of the game is a sequel to Senran Kagura Burst, and this one is a Vita game. First let’s talk how this will be sold. Not only will it be digital, there will also be a limited print run of Shinovi Versus. This edition will come with a soundtrack CD and a Shinobi Syllabus, a book containing illustrations, profiles, and strategies. I’m guessing it’ll be similar to the book that came with Shin Megami Tensei IV. XSEED hasn’t announced yet how one will be able to get a hold of these copies, though fans believe it could be through online shopfronts like Amazon. Pre-order methods have not been posted yet as of this writing.
Update Added To Dragon’s Crown, Lifts Level Cap To 255, Adds New Dungeon
Shit just got real with Dragon’s Crown. A new update has been released for Dragon’s Crown, and this is a pretty significant update. First the Level Cap. Originally, the level cap was 99 on Infernal Mode. Now players can play the game in Ultimate Mode, which lifts the level cap to 255. On top of this, a new dungeon called the Tower of Mirages has been added. It’s a dungeon of randomly generated rooms and has, I’m not kidding, tens of thousands of levels. Looks like my Amazon Twerka’s gonna have a lot more twerkin’ to do before I declare her adventure complete (I just started on Infernal Mode). Ultimate Mode becomes available only if you beat the 9th floor of the Labyrinth of Chaos.
On top of this comes a few more gameplay improvements. Now when you attack enemies, you can see a damage total instead a bunch of numbers popping up. If you have a save file with the story complete, you can now play as other characters and skip straight to the Talisman quest. Also, if you completed quest as your main character, you don’t have to do the guild quests again as the others (so now I can rock the Sorceress without dreading doing those quests over, like the solo challenges…). And finally, if you’re still having trouble seeing your characters in the midst of all the chaos, you can now toggle character transparency for when they overlap.
So get out there and get crackin’ on that new level cap. And remember, this update is free.
Is XSEED Teasing Senran Kagura Localization? [UPDATE] Confirmed For NA Release!
pictured: Senran Kagura anime
[UPDATE]For the sake of consistency, I’ll just update this article instead of making a new one. Hit the jump to see the update.
After a few hints and inklings since the initial game’s Japanese release, in comes word that XSEED might be localizing a Senran Kagura game. First was the registration of HanzoNationalAcademy.com domain, referencing the setting of the Senran Kagura games. The site is registered to XSEED JKS inc. Going there (at the time of this writing) only shows blank slate with text that reads “Your website is ready. This site has been successfully created and is ready for content to be added. Replace this default page with your own index page.”
Next up was an image of a kinda yellow, kinda flesh toned square tweeted by the XSEED’s Twitter account. This was followed by Kenichiro Takaki, the Senran Kagura producer, tweeting this, and then this.
Rejoice! Dragon’s Crown Artbook Is A Pre-Order Bonus In The U.S., Guest Starring Three Veteran Capcom Artists
Yes! Booyah! Go baby go! Woooooo! USA! USA! USA!
Ahem… pardon my lack of professionalism (and constant fellating of Dragon’s Crown). So then, it’s confirmed that the artbook Japanese gamers get when they pre-order Dragon’s Crown will also be available for U.S. fans as well. Judging from the image above, it looks to be a soft cover if the the sort of “depth” of the spine is anything to go by.
Vanillaware games have been really deserving of an artbook, and and we’re finally getting one. Along with George Kamitani’s art and concepts, other popular artists have contributed to the book too with their interpretations of the Dragon’s Crown cast. They include Code of Princess artist Kinu Nishimura, Darkstalkers artist Akira Yasuda (aka Akiman), and Street Fighter/MvC veteran artist BENGUS.
Dragon’s Crown North American Website Finally Updated
In the midst of all the tasty hoopla surrounding Dragon’s Crown, I thought why don’t I go check out the website of the game I covered extensively since its UTV Ignition days. I already knew that the Japanese site was updated with new U.I. and enchanting music courtesy of Hitoshi Sakimoto. So I wondered if the North American site was still the same as we saw it when UTV was still publishing it. Lo and behold, they did give it the same facelift that the Japanese site had gotten, though it probably took long for them to change it. Last time I checked was around the release of the Sorceress trailer.
The Fighter Blocks While The Sorceress Casts in This Duo of Trailers
The release of Dragon’s Crown draws ever closer in Japan, so Atlus will be putting together videos detailing each of the individual characters players can choose from. Starting with the Fighter, he seems to be the go-to person if you want a balanced character with attacks and defense. That shield of his can protect allies who might be in harm’s way. Take for instance the scene in 0:27. The Fighter stands in front of the Sorceress (more on her after the break), blocking enemy attacks while she casts some magic against the enemy. Alongside some sick combos, Fighter also has some good crowd control in the form of a shoulder tackle. If things get to hectic, the fighter can tackle an enemy, sending them flying across the screen and away from him (and probably to another ally that can properly deal with it). Fighter’s also got an attack that’ll bring surrounding enemies to a crumple state, giving him some room to breathe.
[NYCC 2012] Hands-On With Soul Sacrifice
Mega Man creator Keiji inafune is back, and this time he’s on his own without Capcom. But that’s not stopping him from making videogames as he’s still at it with Soul Sacrifice. Inspired by the likes of Monster Hunter and Demon’s/Dark Souls, Soul Sacrifice sees you making a choice as to what to do with certain enemies. Do you heal the corrupted souls that haunt the lands as beasts, or do you sacrifice them to boost yourself? The choice is yours.
Prota: Soul Sacrifice is a game I’ve been looking forward to for some time. The premise seems deliciously dark, but sadly some of that was lost in translation since the demo was only in Japanese. The gameplay felt similar to Gods Eater Burst, but instead of devouring monsters, you can sacrifice the souls of enemies you defeat to raise your evil alignment and power up or save their souls in order to recover life and align yourself with the righteous. The representative at the booth compared the alignment meter to Infamous’ moral system. If so, I’m really curiously how that will will affect the strength and availability of certain powers. I think that’s where the charm of the game comes from, all of the quirky powers you can use. I need to see how the co-op feels though before I totally get behind the game though, as I think that’s going to be an important aspect of it. Overall, it was definitely interesting, but I want to see more of what differentiates this title from others that fall under the same category.
Suikoinfinity: I still feel terrible for holding up the line for like 3 minutes just so we could try getting our games synced up. I hope the terrible connectivity is an issue with the demo games/vitas and not something that will stick with the final product. Having us play on the Japanese demo felt just a little lazy. Aren’t they already working on localization? With the relatively small amount of text encountered in one short mission, a build with English text should have been given. You get to pick from a pool of spells to use before combat begins, but the little picture given to each spell does little to describe what each one actually does, so the majority of the demo was spent trying to figure out how each power functions… I don’t think I was supposed to summon a giant plant monster at the start when there’s no enemies to kill. Aside from the big guessing game, once I found something that functioned like a regular weapon, the demo became much better. What wasn’t better was trying to talk over that loud ass Niconico booth they decided to put right next to Soul Sacrifice. I wasn’t able to hear shit, but it looked and played nice!
This Week In Confirmed News 5
Confirmed news is back after its week break and we got a whole bunch of stuff to quench your news appetite with.
Resistance Series Offering No More Resistance
The UK version of the Official PlayStation magazine has done an interview with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Online producer Daniel Brooke with him stating, “The Resistance franchise has been exciting to work on but as for the future we have no definitive plans.”
It’s no surprise that developer Insomniac Games has decided to no longer continue with the series, so maybe the discontinuing of the series is a natural process. The series ended on a high note on the PS3 with Resistance 3 and was well received by critics, with the Vita getting stuck with the mediocre Resistance: Burning Skies.
So how do you guys feel about this news? Do you even care that they ended or do you think that the series ended on a high note and should leave it at that? Comment below!
E3 2012 Sony Press Conference Liveblog
Last year, Sony had to deal with the biggest security hacks in U.S. history. With that event long behind them, it’s time to look at the future. The Ps3 is still performing strong. But their Playstation Vita handheld is not quite performing as well as Sony predicted. Some weeks ago, we saw Sony reveal Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, which sparked what may be the most heated debate in recent gaming memory. Now there are rumors that Sony would reveal the PS4, codenamed Orbis (with rumors that it too would block used games). What does Sony have planned for their wacky world of Playstation?
Liveblog and Press Conference starts at 9:00PM EDT
*Note: Since we’re using the free version of CoverItLive, some readers might be blocked due to reader limit. Fret not as the conversation will be copy/pasted below when the conference it over.
Persona 4: The Golden’s Swanky Opening
Man, look at MC’s dance moves! Straight swag all over the place. I will admit, this opening is very weird, especially when you compare it to the opening of the original Persona 4 and Persona 3 Portable. But man that song is so damn awesome! Carefree and smooth. Love hearing a song like this in a game. I gotta admit everyone looks like they went to the suburban school of dance. Regardless, I really like the kaleidoscope theme these guys were going for. Bravo to Atlus for another awesome opening.
Persona 4: The Golden is expected to release this October in the U.S. for the Playstation Vita.
Dragon’s Crown Now Belongs To Atlus
Finally some good news for this ambitious title from Vanillaware. After concerns popped up as to whether or not Dragon’s Crown was alive, and if Ignition was capable of publishing the game after parent company UTV’s acquisition by Disney, Atlus has come in to save the day. Late this evening, Atlus has announced that they will be taking over publishing rights to Dragon’s Crown. Not only that, they’ll also be sending over some of their own to help out with the production of the game. Dragon’s Crown was slated to release this Spring, but Atlus has stated that it’ll be pushed back to 2013. They also stated that the game can’t retail for $30. Not sure if they’re referring to price of the PS3 version or the Vita version. But hey, Joystiq is right. Since Atlus is doing this, we’re probably gonna get some kind of extra goodies when getting the game. Speaking of which, this is the first time Atlus has published a Vanillaware title since Odin Sphere.
But man, you gotta feel for Ignition. Just when it looked like things were going good for them, Disney comes in and makes things a bit iffy.
Atlus picks up Dragon’s Crown publishing, also assisting with development [Joystiq]
UK Retailer GAME In Big Trouble, Not Stocking The Last Story
Just as news breaks that The Last Story was being released in North America, UK retailer GAME had downgraded everyone’s preorders of the Limited Edition version to the standard one. Now comes word that they won’t be stocking that version either and have cancelled all preorders for The Last Story. So far there’s no word yet if those preorders were getting refunded. As Metro point out, this is just another black eye in what seems to be a flurry of punches aimed at GAME as they try to survive losing credit insurance from banks. Ever since the credit downgrade and losing that insurance, it’s been difficult for GAME to stock games as companies are fearful that they won’t see those sales. GAME couldn’t stock Tekken 3D Prime Edition, Metal Gear Solid HD, and NeverDead. And now they’re having trouble stocking not only The Last Story, but practically all of Ubisoft’s Vita titles. That five games in one shot!
Hopefully this won’t spark a downward spiral for the videogame retail industry. Many have been citing the death of brick & mortar game stores as being close by. With the problems occurring at GAME and publishers’ efforts to curtail the used game market through practices like online passes and DRM, those analysts might have something to boast about. Though as a person from the outside looking in, it looks like the UK gaming public saw this coming (if the comments are anything to go by).
GAME won’t sell The Last Story or Ubisoft’s Vita games [Metro]
Dragon’s Crown Screens and Art [UPDATE]
In case the huge knockers didn’t give you a hint earlier, Vanillaware has revealed a new game for the PS3/PSV called Dragon’s Crown. Before giving ya’ll the goods, some details on the game has surfaced. The game is going to be a 4 player co-op game and can be played online, with an option for solo single-player. Kinda sounds similar to their efforts with Grand Knights History. It also seems to be taking a more character building route, with treasure and loot to be had. You can play as 6 characters: Wizard, Sorceress, Fighter, Elf, Dwarf, and Amazon.
Update: Vanillaware’s Dragon’s Crown Facebook page has made available super high-res versions of the Sorceress and Amazon.
Hit the jump for the screenshots and artwork.