But that’s not all, RubyEclipse adressed the issue, which higlights the following:

And that’s that! In addition, we’d also like to spotlight another post that went up on our forums earlier this week, with regard to the many responses that continue to pour in from fans about the Hostess clubs and Answer X Answer. (To confirm as well, the Hostesses are in the game, and you can still go on dates, Karaoke, etc, with them.)

Having already played a couple of hours of the first Yazuka game back on PS2 I had an inkling of what to expect from this demo.

I suspect if you went into it with no knowledge you may find Yakuza 3 to be completely insane.

Basically the game puts you in control of Kazuma – one of the chairman of a family in the Japanese mafia.

The demo drops you into the story at an unspecified point – to be honest I didn’t have a clue what was going on and the lengthy in game discussions didn’t make much sense without context.

I enjoyed the demo and found the combat, in particular, to be very strong. Your standard light, heavy and grapple attacks are supplemented by a wonderful option to pick up various bits of random scenery (traffic cones/bicycles etc) that can be used as a weapon.

There was also the opportunity to indulge in some karaoke with a female companion via a series of button related rhythm mini games. It was a bit weird but shows the variation the game holds.

It took a while to get used to the controls and camera angle in places but overall this was good fun and I’d certainly say to people try the demo to see if you’re interested.

I’m not sure how much impact the story has from the first two games (as in whether or not you’d need to play them) but this could be a nice title to pick up when the game release schedule slows down in the summer. I probably won’t be buying this upon release but I may be tempted further down the line.

I finally got my sweet ass round to playing the Yakuza 3 demo on PSN, and apparently how this blogging thing works is I’m supposed to write what I found. Which brings me round neatly to telling you what I found when I played the Yakuza 3 demo.

I know how to pique interests. It’s more of a curse really……

Yakuza 3 or Ryu go Gotoku in Japan, was  released there in its native territory a year ago. It has taken this long to localize it, but also for Publishers SEGA to decide whther it has a market here. For this reason alone I urge you to download the demo; to encourage diversity and increase the likelihood of future Japanese games enjoying western releases. If enough people do it.

You control Kazuma as he returns to the fictional Kamurocho because…….when people return to places shit is inevitably on a colision course and so is a catalyst for game action. Someone wants to muscle in and you must prevent them by hitting their faces with anything you can lay hands on. It’s fairly usual in the demo, but I get the sense that the full game contains much more intricacy than that.

The world is chock full, it looks like a Japanese street, (from what I’ve seen in pictures or movies) it is busy and visually loud although simple in style. Immediately the game says Shenmue to me.

A sidenote. I love Japan and I love Shenmue. My views on this demo may be tainted by that.

The combat is simple to get to grips with and mixes it up a little. You have your quick punch, which you can tap for a combo. You have your strong kick which you can use solo, or throw in for a combo. You have your grab which you can use to do grabby moves and force enemies to interact with the environment or your shoe.You build up your “heat” meter to enter a finishing type move with a short QTE or not depending on the move. The moves are upgradeable too and as you explore you can find and capture events on your mobile phone to learn more.

The one in the demo was a high school girl laying the smack down on a drunk business man. You go nuts on your phone and then the move is in your set list. It also seems like it has the same kind of errand based side missions we had in Shenmue as well as arcades, pachinko and karaoke bars (not in shenmue).

I’m really not doing a great job of explaining this. You must play it for yourself. If you liked Shenmue then you owe it to yourself to give this a try and you’ll know what I mean.

If you don’t know Shenmue you should try this because the gameplay is smooth, the world is solid and vivid and the story is intriguing. It offers a view into a little seen culture and despite the western release having things cut out like Hostess Bars (god damn you SEGA) represents a Japanese  game made for a Japanese market and it’s good to have a variety of tastes.

This release is undermined somewhat by the fact that Yakuza 4 is released in Japan this month. Whether that makes it over to these shores probably depends entirely on how well this one does, SEGA have not helped themselves or us by creating this scenario. I’ll feel shortchanged if I buy it because I know the newer version exists. However this should not detract from Yakuza 3′s appeal. When I get enough cash together this is on my list as a very worthwhile purchase. Maybe even above God of War 3.

We’ll be running a “Best Price” a little closer to its March 12th release date.

It’s only natural when something like this happens, gamers everywhere are upset that Sega has officially cut content from the Yakuza 3 ‘s US and UK release and wouldn’t you know it, there are online riots and petitions acussing Sega of marketing ineptitude and  demanding to have content restored in it’s fullest. It’s apparent to me, dear reader, that Sega is always wrong, in the gamer’s eye and the gaming media’s eye, no matter what decision they make about their games.

Allow me to play the Devil’s Advocate for a moment and try to understand what I assume are the true reasons behind Hostess Bars and the japanese trivia game AnswerxAnswer being cut. Please notice that this piece is entirely speculation and feel free to disagree with me and call me on my mistakes.

I’ll start with the AnswerxAnswer mini-game because it’s easy, first,  the localization of a full trivia game would be too long and costly for it’s planned release date. Second, the trivia game isn’t trademarked in either the US and Europe. It’s hard to bring over that particular piece of Yakuza 3 when the higher-ups at Sega of Japan likely did not approve of a western release.

Which brings me to the biggest issue, which is the Hostess Bars, it’s true that the original Yakuza games had hostess bars, however unlike the previous versions, these particular hostesses from Yakuza 3 were based off the likeness of real life actresses and models from a Japanese fashion magazine and here’s where it gets tricky because let’s examine two things:

1. There are not one or two, but seven models used for this title, young women who nodody outside of the Japan has ever heard of;
2. The in-game models look, act and play exactly like their real counterparts;

Which brings up multiple issues: trademarks, permissions, copyright and representation.

Could the team that is working on the localization of Yakuza 3 had gotten all the young ladie’s permission to be issued and could the magazine(Kouakuma Ageha, by the way) they work for allow for the content be used in countries to which they have no control and the magazine has no real representation outside of Japan and honestly why should they?

A japanese fashion magazine most certainly doesn’t not resonate with an american or european audience and like I mentioned before nobody outside of Japan knows who these women are. I can only imagine how many legal hoops the localization team would have to go through in order to get all the right approvals.

One could say: then what of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing? It’s true, Sumo Digital and Steve Lycett mostly certainly needed to get important approvals from the people working at Sega, luckily, most of the IPs Sumo Digital had wanted to bring to the table were from developers and studios working internally at Sega and were clearly trademarked in most of all territories, I’ll wager you that Steve Lycett went considerably through less hoops to get the permissions he needed, then what the  localization team that’s doing Yakuza 3 would have to go through.

And think about it, if they had wanted to keep the hostess bars, they would likely had to spent another 6 months or so, re-working those hostess bars to create new and generic hostesses like in the previous titles. Looking at it back then, I would prefer it that way, than having no Hostess Bars at all, making a March 2010 release date nearly impossible.

Of course, it’s legitimate to question Sega’s decision, especially when other elements from the original games remain intact such as baseball(which is a non-existant sport in Europe) and mahjong certainly do not resonate with western audiences.

It remains to be seen how this will affect the upcoming release for this highly anticipated title, but it has proven to be no stranger to controversy.

A lovely lady, it's a shame nobody has heard of you outside Japan

Check out the comprehensive run-down in the audio post below. If you’re not digging it, go ahead and scroll down for an equally cool report.

In a blogpost made by the company on Wednesday, company officials announced that the western version of the game that is due to hit shelves on March 9th, would be missing some content that was featured in the Japanese release “mostly involving the Hostess Clubs and the Japanese History trivia sections.”

Sound the alarm and run to the bunker. Gamer rage explosion imminent.

The inclusion of hostess clubs was only for Japanese versions of Yakuza 3.

As this is being written, gamers have already littered the blogpost with over 400 comments denouncing SEGA and informing the company that they would (or already did) cancel their preorders, with no intention of buying what many are labeling as a “censored game.”

The main problem lies with SEGA’s decision to take out the hostess clubs altogether, rather than the trivia game, because the feature of the clubs has been a highly praised and central feature in the past Yakuza titles. The feature was so popular in the first game, that it was extended in the second game to afford more opportunities for the main character of Kiryu Kazuma to participate in it, and it has since become an effective “trademark” of the series (just like expecting to see Spartans in Halo or ordering air strikes in Call of Duty, you EXPECT it to be there.)

In SEGA’s defense, a recent article with IGN shed some more light on the western version cuts and claimed that while the hostess clubs were out, players could still romance and date women outside of the clubs as if the feature was still included.

SEGA says that gamers can still make Kiryu go out on dates with women to various places (like a karaoke bar pictured above)

So why did you decide to cut it to begin with SEGA? The company cited that the developers felt that the idea of a hostess club would be lost on foreign gamers and therefore decided to cut the content relating to it for the western version of the game.

One other thing that could or could not be the company’s saving grace, is that they comment on the release of DLC as soon as Yakuza 3 hits store shelves in the west. Now whether or not that would effectively unlock hostess clubs in the game (a preferred solution to all this nasty cutting business) or would include some other game feature, it is still unknown at this time.

Right now the best that gamers can do is either roll with the punches and take whatever SEGA is willing to give them, or stand their ground with their angry declarations and watch as Yakuza 3’s sales go down the drain (along with any hope of having Yakuza Kenzan! Or Yakuza 4 localized in North America.)

Yakuza 3 will be released in the U.S. and Europe for the Playstation 3 on March 9th.

I have to admit I was pretty bummed with some of the content that was cut from Yakuza 3.

But there’s still quite a lot you can do in this.

It seems like we’ve had to wait ages for Yakuza 3 to finally be localised (It’s actually going to a whole year since it’s Japanese release next week) so it’s nice to finally sit down and have a play with the demo – safe in the knowledge that the full game is out in a few weeks (12th of March in fact). If you’ve ever played Yakuza 1 or 2 the controls and mechanics should be instantly familiar – The game works by you running around crowded streets, watching a cutscene and getting into awesome fights.

The combat system is pretty easy to pick up, but has loads of hidden depth, with location specific finishing moves, and lots of weapons that all have their own move set and finishers too. The audio is satisfyingly Japanese with subtitled English – thus eschewing the rather dodgy dub of the first game (even if it did have one or two famous name to throw around) and the impact sounds are as satisfying as ever. The fairly hefty demo also allows the player to try out the Karaoke mini game and a Shooter arcade game, both of which have had a lot of work go into them, so they’re well worth checking out. The full game is supposed to have golf, Mahjong and all sorts of other mini game madness.

The only slightly downer is just how familiar this all feels. Yakuza 2 came out in 2006 (in Japan) and three years on and with a very different game in between (Kenzan) its a little strange to see so little change. The dialog is still written for the most part – the small city sections, camera flipping and crowds all feel a little dated in light of games like Assassins Creed 2 and characters outside of cut-scenes have very little animation work. It can feel at times playing a remastered version of Yakuza 2 (in a similar way to Resident Evil 1 on the Gamecube as opposed to the God of War remaster) but there is little doubting there is a ton on new content. Moves, mini-games, weapons, skills – everything has been bolstered and in the end the fighting is as satisfying as ever and is more than fun enough to carry the game. Of course Yakuza is always also about its story – which the demo can only hint at. Regardless of reservations then, I’m eagerly awaiting its release on March 12th – even if it does come with a much shitter cover than the Japanese version.

As for Yuya – it looks like HD gaming has done him no favours as he comes out looking particularly ugly. See for yourself – the demo is up on the PSN store (in EUR and US I believe)

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Genre: Action

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Amusement Vision

Format: PS3

Release Date: 12 March 2010

Posted by Stuart Bullen

If you’ve been clamouring for a successor to the mighty Shenmue, you might want to point your peepers in the direction of Yakuza 3, the third instalment in Sega’s cult crime series, and the first to appear on PS3. With little less than a month until the game washes up on British shores, Sega have made a demo available on PSN, designed to give gamers a brief taste of what to expect on March 12^th. I’m not really familiar with the Yakuza franchise but as a fan of the tragically short-lived Shenmue series, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on the game to see how stacks up against its illustrious forebear. The good news is Yakuza 3 feels almost exactly like Shenmue. The bad news is Shenmue is over a decade old, and what felt fresh and exciting in 1999 feels clumsy and archaic now.

You play as Kiryu Kazuma, a man who moves around Japan’s curiously empty streets with an over-exaggerated comedy gait that’s more silent-film comedian than scary gangster. Compared to something like GTA IV, it feels less like you’re controlling a living human being than a robot on roller-skates. Your surroundings exhibit a similar air of artificiality, populated with low-poly, poorly animated NPCs who just kind of stand there, staring off into the distance. The world is relatively open, and you’re free to wander around and see the sights, but the lack of variation and interactivity in the environment really curtails the sense of freedom.

Things begin to look up after you pilot Kazuma into the Stardust nightclub and interrupt a group of ne’er-do-wells in the middle of a shady transaction. At this point we’re treated to a stylish cut-scene, voiced with gravelly aplomb by an impressive Japanese cast. It’s tense, cinematic and slickly presented, which only makes what follows that much harder to stomach. Yep, the next scene forgoes the cinematic splendour witnessed moments before in favour of dialog boxes and characters that just stand around, waving their arms vaguely as they silently mouth their dialogue. It’s another reminder of how painfully outdated Yakuza is; the graphics may have plenty of next-gen spit and polish but in every other respect there’s nothing here that couldn’t have been accomplished on the PS2.

The next part of the demo pits Kazuma against a roomful of suited bad guys intent on tearing our hero limb-from-limb. The fighting system is simplistic but fun, showcasing plenty of old-school flare. It’s more arcade bruiser than serious fighting simulator, but the action is fast, fluid and just the right side of challenging.

After my brief hands-on with the demo, I can’t help but feel disappointed by Yakuza 3. Instead of building upon Shenmue’s ambitious foundations, the game just recycles and repackages them for a new generation. The combat is fast-paced and fun, and the final game may well offer a more interactive and expansive experience, but the core gameplay feels so hopelessly outdated I struggle to see it appealing to anyone outside of hardcore japanophiles and die-hard Yakuza fans.

Greg Miller, the big editor has tried out Yakuza 3 and has done this special preview on the game. Be prepared to look at some interesting bits of information, some nods to the original two games and so much more. He did point ou that the visuals are a bit dated, but that’s because it’s been a full year since it was released in Japan. But Mr. Miller seemed to enjoy it all.

In this latest trailer, Sega shows most of the major players in this new Yakuza adventure. Take a chance to get aquainted with them as PS3 owners will want to know who’s who on this.

The first thing that hits is that this is not an especially pretty game. Really showing its age already despite a Japanese shelf life of less than a year. The Kamurocho district of Tokyo streams seamlessly rather than being separated up into screens as before, the streets are far busier and full of detail and obviously everything’s got that hi-res sheen you’d expect, but the buzz I was expecting from wandering round an HD Kamurocho never materialised, so agog and agape and aghast (enough of that) was I at the horrorshow that is Kiryu’s running animation. Seriously. Horrible stuff. And you’re going to be looking at that animation an awful lot.

The demo gives access to just one story mission, involving fisticuffs at perenially troubled nightspot Stardust, giving me just enough of a taste of the combat system to confidently state that by and large it’s exactly the fucking same as in the PS2 originals. Mashing out combos with presses of square and triangle results in the same old strings. The available context-sensitive HEAT actions seem unchanged too. The status page in the pause menu does show a couple of new additions at level 5; blocking attacks giving a HEAT boost and a HEAT attack involving smashing together two goon heads suggest that there should just about be enough new stuff over time to warrant an investment. The HEAT combos that herald the approaching end of a particularly tough enemy are now selectable, the demo giving a choice from one automatic two-hit headbutt and another QTE-intensive that does greater damage. AI difficulty seems to have been beefed up a bit too, even these early enemies dodging and blocking, attacking you from behind to interrupt combos. But the movement, the block, dodge, lock-on – all as clunky as e’er they were.

Perhaps most damningly of all little has been done to smooth over some of the cracks in the storytelling, exposition still a mixture of cutscenes and clicking through text. During a fully-voiced phone conversation with Kashiwagi I was relieved to see I could skip through sentences with presses of X as before, then distinctly less impressed when I realised that I had to press X at the end of every line anyway. The English translation seems slightly less Americanised than in Yakuza 2 – a definite blessing if indicative of the final game.

Only two of Kamurocho’s many minigame diversions are available in the demo. Karaoke, which gives you the option to sing alone or call a date, is hilarious stuff, if only for five minutes, which admittedly is precisely the point. A surprisingly tough rhythm action game, it first involves you sitting at a table providing backing vox and percussion to your date and then singing yourself. One of the more fascinating aspects of everyday Japanese life is the image of hyper-serious salarymen getting sixteen different kinds of fucked up and then singing their hearts out along to some J-cheese, so hearing Kazuma’s over-the-top wailing is a nice contrast to the brooding honourable sort that gravely nods his way through the rest of the game. I’ve not bothered with the arcade stuff to be honest but I did read on a forum that the UFO catcher physics were much improved so, you know. Wow.

Overall then, this really is just Yakuza HD Remix. That the game so brazenly follows the precise template laid down by its PS2 forebears comes as something of a disappointment, and it already seems inevitable that the game will involve: Haruka going missing or getting kidnapped; a fighting tournament in Purgatory; an unlikely buddy-up with a member of the police force; and probably a bomb up a skyscraper right at the end there.

Yet my preorder remains in place because, as a fan of the series, a Yakuza game that doesn’t make my eyes bleed jaggies is enough, and I guess Sega knew from the start that all they needed to do was up-res everything, add in a few bits and get the loading times down and watch it sell by the Japanese truckload. It seems odd to be casting a glance at Yakuza4 after so fleeting a play with the third game, but here’s hoping Sega do the decent thing  and give it the generational reboot, rather than this reskin, that the series – and its fans – deserve.

The Demo for Yakuza 3, the highly anticipated Japanese crime drama from Sega, hit the PSN Store in Europe Today. Sega initially was not planning on releasing the title in Western Territories. Thanks to the outcry from fans, Sega reconsidered and we will see Yakuza 3 in the coming months.

Neither of the PS2 Yakuza titles managed to capture the minds of mainstream Western gamers, as such they both had a fairly limited run and are now quite difficult to track down. This Demo is essential to get the game into the hands of a many gamers as possible as the Yakuza name may not be strong enough to sell the title alone.

The UK is getting a collectors edition of the title with NO standard version available.

The Yakuza are kind of like the Mafia, only with bigger hair and bad suits.

Good news for all you wannabe gangsters out there, a demo of the third-installment in Sega’s highly-touted Yakuza series has just gone live on PSN.

The demo, which weighs in at a hefty 1.2GB and is available for the cost of absolutely free, aims to give gamers a taste of the Okinawa-set sequel arriving on European shores March 12th, exclusively on PS3.

We’ll be posting our impressions of the demo soon, in the meantime get downloading and let us know what you think in the comments section below.

I love Sega’s Yakuza games.

Japanophiles should share a similar admiration. Most Japanese-developed videogames feature otherworldly, highly stylized art direction not often present its their Western counterparts.  That’s fantastic for fantasy environments, but doesn’t often (aside from something like Okami) offer insight into the minutia of Japanese culture. Yakuza games take the road less traveled, opting for a slightly stylized aesthetic threaded with a realistic take on modern urban Japanese society. Hyperviolence aside, Yakuza is the closest approximation available for what it’s like to actually walk around Tokyo all night. Having played the original Yakuza before I went to Japan in 2008, I found myself strolling through nocturnal Tokyo and thinking “jesus christ this is just like in Yakuza!” People running up and down the street and handing you shit, neon lights in every place you look, jingle music inside the minimarts, UFO catchers everywhere, thematically different pockets of the city, and the general commotion associated with urban Japanese culture were as visible in real life Tokyo as they were in videogame Yakuza. Sega nailed the atmosphere (further evident by playing Yakuza 2 after I got back, and then finding a place in Osaka in the game that was nearly identical to a picture I took in Osaka in real life). Yakuza isn’t just a franchise for people who love Japanese game development; it’s a game for people who love Japanese culture.

As a healthy subscriber to both, this is why the arrival of Yakuza 3 comes with a bit of sadness; as best as I can guess,* it’s probably the last English-translated Yakuza that I am going to be able to play. Yakuza 3, over a year after its Japanese release, is finally coming to Europe and North American on or around March 9th. It’s a dream come true for those of us who nearly imported it and printed a huge translation FAQ in order to play it, but a pure nightmare for the same group who is deathly afraid of having to do that for the already-announced Yakuza 4. You see, March 9th is also the day the 2010′s biggest** Japanese developed game, Final Fantasy XIII, arrives on shelves. If that wasn’t threatening enough, God of War III (a PS3 exclusive like Yakuza 3) looks to hammer the last nail in Yakuza 3′s coffin just a week later. The game, for all intents and purposes, is being sent to die.

I’ll concede that Yakuza games (what I’ve played of 3 included) definitely aren’t for everyone. Shenmue + Streets of Rage + Awesome isn’t enough to sell everyone on premise alone, and the lack of evolution, at least in terms of gameplay mechanics, isn’t going to help its cause. Yakuza plays well, but it isn’t stellar; it looks terrific in a screen grab, yet kind of unwieldy in motion, and its control is precise in certain aspects and cumbersome in others. It is, however, more than the sum of its parts, and it succeeds in offering the videogame holy grail; an experience that is not only wildly fun, but also objectively different than most else you’re used to playing. It’s kind of a hard sell, which is why casting it off alongside two other heavy hitters isn’t going to do it any favors. It’s still going to hit with people like me who are going to buy it anyway, but it seems like Sega isn’t giving it a shot at mainstream success. Yakuza 3 needs all of the attention it can get, which isn’t going to be as much as it could have been in its current release window.

After watching Sega mis-market the original Yakuza as Japan’s answer to Grand Theft Auto, and then feeling fortunate with a small run of Yakuza 2 in late 2008, I’m afraid Yakuza 3 will not make a profit for my favorite publisher. Typically I couldn’t care less about a game’s financial success, but as someone who is deeply involved in Kazuma Kiryu’s world and the ongoing narrative of the franchise, I will probably really want to play Yakuza 4. I’ll do it with a translation FAQ if I have to, but I know that glancing back and forth at my laptop would kill immersion and sour the entire experience. But hey, maybe Sega only needs to sell to Yakuza’s audience in order satisfy a small, yet incredibly vocal minority. The huge petitions and fan campaigns to get Yakuza 3 localized assure a total success for its fan base. It’s a gamer’s game, for sure, and maybe that’s all it needs to be for the western market. I hope, anyway.

* This is, at best, an uninformed guess. My B.A. is not in marketing.

**Assuming Zelda’s latest Legend doesn’t make it out the door.

Arguably Sega’s biggest release for March 2010 and a major PS3 exclusive release, Toshihiro Nagoshi was the man who divised this japanese GTA game of gangsters and bloody fist fights that make Streets of Rage look like a harmless Parliament session. But anyway, in the first of many Developer Diaries to come, Toshihiro Nagoshi speaks about Yakuza 3. mostly about it’s influences, how the big one lovfes movies and the cinematic style of Yakuza 3. Just watch it.

Nippon Ichi plans PS3 Disgaea title
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Final Fantasy XIII launch party in San Francisco March 8
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Flower dynamic theme now available on PSN
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Bioshock 2 hacking problem for the color blind
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Darksiders mystery code revealed
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Star Trek Online upcoming content
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Uncharted 2 dlc to bring new maps, skins and trophies
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PopCap: ipad will change gaming
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Viacom to seek substantial refund on Harmonix Rock Band Bonus Dollars
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Wesker joins Marcus and Dom in Lost Planet 2
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Darkest of Days movie
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Microsoft: Alan Wake canceled for PC
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Famitsu’s Top 50 Video Game Characters
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Mega Man 10 special weapons revealed
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Left 4 Dead 2 kill stats: 28Billion zombies killed
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MAG attracts over 500k players
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British Academy Video Game Awards voting now open
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AU retailers discuss readiness for R18+ rating
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Original Guitar Hero Publisher RedOctane shut down
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Activision layoffs
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PlayStation Store update
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Janurary NPD
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Fable III three big innovations
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Resident Evil Monopoly
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Major Nelson: 10 things you need to know from X10
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Lost Planet 2 to feature split screen offline co-op
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Alan Wake limited collector’s edition
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PlayStation Comic Store update
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Okamiden trademarked in Europe
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Killzone 3 details in the next few months
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Level 5 working on time machine story
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Beatles Rockband DLC “All you need is love”
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Microsoft turns down US Army request for xbox 360
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NCsoft sales, profits rocket in Q4
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StarCraft 2 closed beta this month
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EA Sports: No NCAA Basketball this year
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World of Warcraft: No Growth since 2008
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Blizzard: 70% of new WoW players don’t’ get past lvl 10
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New Pokemon Zoroark revealed
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Activision investor’s report
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Playstation Home update
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Nintendo Media Summit Feb 24
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Patch coming soon for Bioshock 2 PC wide screen players
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Red Dead Redemption pre-order bonus
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Famitsu rates: MAG, Heavy Rain, Dante’s Inferno
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New Battle.net preview
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Red Dead Redemption building ad in New York
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Forza Motorsport 3 sells 2 million
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Marvelous brings overseas WiiWare games to Japan
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Final Fantasy XIII xbox 360 console bundle
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Alien vs Predator special edition DLC
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Yakuza 3 pre-order bonus
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Level 5 opening new office in North America
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Disney splits game focus for Marvel tie-ins
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EA shelves distribution plans
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Dark Void and Dark Void Zero Soundtrack available now
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Dengeki teases Demon’s Souls Sequel
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E3 expo 2010 media registration open
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Assassin’s Creed 3 to have multiplayer
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Petition hits the web for more classic Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 4
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Level 5 developing unannounced PS3, Wii titles
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BlazBlue: Continuum Shift adds extra character
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Pixel Junk Shooter 2 announced
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Sign up for Lego Universe beta
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Ferrari racing pack for Need for Speed Shift
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$3.9m grant to fund Yale Game that will tach HIV avoidance
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Nintendo takes action to combat video game piracy
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Pachter: Call of Duty to decline $250 million this year
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Tom Clancy’s End War 2 on backburner
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Rumor: Dead Space Extraction coming to XBLA and PSN
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Former EyeToy dev warms Sony and MS about motion control
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Square Enix trademarks Deus Ex: Human Revolution
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Netflix: HD steaming underwhelming, expects Wii success
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MAG dev giving out tips
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New LittleBigPlanet download
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EA reports Q3 fiscal year 2010 results
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2 EA Sports active games coming holiday 2010
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Miyamoto speaks at Arts Festival
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Geof Keighley: LA Noire coming in Sept
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Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars announced
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Gran Turismo lifetime sales pass 55 million
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NetEase suspends new user registration for WoW in China
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Nintendo Download for the week
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Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 case confirms DLC
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Final Fantasy XIII, Batman:AA boost Square Enix profits 48%
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Miyamoto working on new MotionPlus game
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Molyneux: some features in Fable III may upset people
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Ceramic white PS3 dual shock 3 wireless controller coming soon
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Electronic Gaming Monthly subscriptions now available
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Bungie address Halo 2 community
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Sega: Alpha Protocol delay, changes made
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Demon Soul Valentine’s day event
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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will feature WWII lvl
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Metriod: Other M to focus on human side of Samus
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Nomura on Sora and Kingdom Hearts III
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Direct2Drive: Free Bioshock 1 when you pre-order Bioshock 2
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Diablo III female monk artwork
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Cryptic: Star Trek Online don’t need no WOW players
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Playfish working on Well-known EA brand
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Modern Warfare 2 care package fix on the way
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We’re starting to get back on the busy side of things with this week’s Playstation Store update consisting of high profile demos: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (multiplayer), Alien vs. Predator, Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce (not to be confused with the already released PSP version) and Fret Nice.  Speaking of the last mentioned demo, Fret Nice (pictured above) also gets a full release this week and is a quirky 2D rhythm based platformer that can be fully controlled by your Guitar peripheral.

It’s also a busy week for original video content (even in Canada!) as episode 21 of Qore arrives as they talk to Yakuza 3 developer Toshihiro Nagoshi and visit Resonance of Fate (and Star Ocean) development studio Tri-Ace.  Not shown in the listing is a series of videos from Sony’s “make.beleive” campaign where each short film explores how different Sony products play a part in achieving each respective ( and real) person’s success.    Sean.C

Full listing below:

Price Updates
Half-Minute Hero Permanent Price Drop (now $19.99, original price $29.99)
Madden NFL Arcade Temporary Sale (now $9.99, original price $14.99)

D3 PSP Game Sale:
Ben 10: Protector of Earth Temporary Sale (now $12.99, original price $14.99)
Cube Temporary Sale (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
Dead Head Fred Temporary Sale (now $9.99, original price $14.99)
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient Temporary Sale (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 Temporary Sale (now $9.99, original price $14.99)
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords Temporary Sale (now $9.99, original price $14.99)
WTF: Work Time Fun Temporary Sale (now $7.99, original price $9.99)

Qore
Qore Annual Subscription – February 2010 ($24.99)
Qore Episode 21 February 2010 ($2.99)
Episode 21 of Qore: Presented by the PlayStation Network infiltrates the Japanese underworld of Yakuza 3, returns to the battlefield of Bad Company 2, becomes mesmerized by Resonance of Fate and previews PTOM’s 10 picks for 2010.
File sizes: 1.44 GB

Downloadable Games
Fret Nice ($14.99)
Fret Nice is a 2D platformer that’ll rock your world. Control your character through funky-fresh stages to explore hidden areas, collect items, and clash note-for-note with outrageous, heavy metal bosses! Rock out by blasting enemies with riff combos and creating your own sounds with each “strum” of a chord! Every play through offers a ever changing sonic adventure!

Game Demos (free)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Multiplayer Demo
Welcome to the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer demo! Experience all-out online warfare in the Port Valdez map. Demo ends February 25th, 2010

Aliens vs. Predator Demo
Three breeds of warrior. Three brutal campaigns. One relentless battleground. Welcome to Aliens vs. Predator, a stunningly-detailed FPS that blends the action and intensity of one of the most popular movie franchises of all time. Whether you stalk your prey as a Predator, evolve into the perfect killing machine as an Alien, or use superior firepower as a Colonial Marine, one thing is certain. This will be a battle for the ages.

Fret Nice Demo
Control your character through the funky-fresh first tutorial stage that introduces you to the rockin’ world of Fret Nice. Use your guitar controller to navigate through this unique 2D platformer.

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Demo
Back with a vengeance and for the first time going online with four-player Tactical Action combat. In single-player mode, choose and command up to three AI-controlled officers to fight by your side, or team-up with friends online to infiltrate heavily-armed enemy strongholds, clash with thousand-man armies, or to slay dragons and other massive beasts.

Tank Battles Demo
Take control of your WW2 tank and challenge friends and online opponents in crazy, over-the-top tank battles! Enjoy classic run-and-gun gameplay in over 50 levels of bullet bouncing action. Adapt your strategy to each location as you collect power-ups while dodging enemy fire.

Add-on Game Content
White Knight Chronicles International Edition Makeover Ticket ($4.99)
This ticket allows you to change your White Knight Chronicles character appearance via the [Re-Customize Avatar] option in the game without having to start over.
- You can access this feature from any town’s Logic Stone.
- You must save after changing your appearance, or the changes will be lost.

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Revived Warriors Pack (free)
“Dragon Ball: Raging Blast” Character Pack #6 is now available! The sixth release is the “Revived Warriors Pack!” This pack contains Majin Buu, Kid Buu, Broly, Super Gogeta and Super Saiyan 3 Broly! The warriors among all warriors are now resurrected as downloadable characters! Make your own Dragon Ball battle history by fully controlling these fierce fighters!

MX vs ATV Reflex Track Pack 2 DLC ($4.99)
Fast Action calls for Fast Reaction. Continue to test your reflexes with three all new tracks; two Freestyles taking place in an abandoned factory in the heartland and a new inner city Supercross. Additionally some of the latest No Fear gear is included.

Guitar Hero 5
•“Kings And Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars ($1.99)
•“From Yesterday” by 30 Seconds to Mars ($1.99)
•“Attack” by 30 Seconds to Mars ($1.99)
•30 Seconds to Mars Track Pack ($5.49)
Rock Band
•“She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”— Kenny Chesney ($1.99)
•“On the Road Again”— Willie Nelson ($1.99)
•“Swing”— Trace Adkins ($1.99)
•“Me and My Gang”— Rascal Flatts ($1.99)
•“Suds in the Bucket”— Sara Evans ($1.99)
•“Gone”— Montgomery Gentry ($1.99)
•Gone Country Track Pack 3 ($9.99)

Game Videos (free)
Pulse 2/4 Edition
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Vehicles & Tracks Network Trailer
FIFA Soccer 10: Ultimate Team Trailer
FIFA Soccer 10: UT New User Trailer
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 Multiplayer Trailer
Army of Two: TFD Co-op Office Sniper Trailer
Army of Two: The 40th Day Launch Trailer
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Single Player Trailer
Dark Void HD Trailer

PS3 Themes
White Knight Chronicles International Edition Dynamic Theme 1 ($2.99)
Star Trek Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Bad Business Theme 2 ($1.99)
Azmodeus Dark Angels Premium Theme 3 ($1.99)
A Sexy Valentine Theme ($1.99)
Infected Theme ($1.49)

Wallpaper (free)
NBA UNRIVALED Wallpaper

PlayStation Store for PSP

Downloadable Games (also available from PS3 storefront)
After Burner: Black Falcon ($15.99)
Strap on your jumpsuit and get ready for some high-speed, highly-addictive, explosive aerial arcade action with After Burner Black Falcon. Thirteen prototype jets have been stolen from a top secret military research facility in Nevada by a terrorist cell known as the Black Falcon. As a member of the highly classified Joint Task Force Scramble Team it’s up to you to stop the terrorists and recover the prototype jets before they cramp your style.

Armored Core: Silent Line ($14.99)
In Armored Core Silent Line Portable, the players can build their own mechas with over 450 mecha parts to choose from and try to complete various missions.
New features such as the Ad-hoc function enhance your gaming experience. The game save from Armored Core 3 Portable can be carried over to this game.

Game Videos (free)
Pulse 2/4 Edition

PSP Themes (also available from PS3 Storefront)
Star Trek PSP Theme ($1.49)
A Sexy Valentine PSP Theme ($1.49)
Infected PSP Theme ($1.49)

March 9th, 2010?! For fucks sake, that’s the same day Final Fantasy XIII comes out! Unfortunately for me I will only be able to afford one of these games on that day and really have no idea which one I would rather have first. I have been waiting forever for both of them and I am really excited that they are both finally being released here but I am not too excited to have to pick one over the other. Honestly though, I am kinda leaning toward Yakuza 3 at this point in time.

J.

The first big trailer for the upcoming Yakuza title is out and it looks fantastic, even a year later, the level of detail in one is unmatched.

But despite it’s realism and violence, it still manages to find some humor, I mean you have golf, bowling, photography and crazy karaoke to deal with. Sounds like a lot of fun.