Japan Roundup: Virtual PSP 7-Eleven Festa Console Go!
Or; Jump Festa, PSP Go, Virtual Console and 7-Eleven news.
The big news in Japan this week revolves around announcements for the upcoming Jump Festa event in Tokyo. Organised by Weekly Shonen Jump publisher Shueisha, the annual gaming and manga event takes place on 19th and 20th December 2009 at the home of the Tokyo Game Show, the Makuhari Messe. But already publishers are revealing their showcases to satiate gamers ahead of time.
While Square Enix is usually the biggest draw to the event, Capcom decided to throw down the gauntlet early on Monday, announcing that playable builds of Okamiden, Last Ranker and Sengoku Basara 3 will be at its booth. While Okamiden was at TGS, this is the first time the latter two games will be playable for the public.
Shortly afterwards, the official Jump Festa website gave a sneak peek into what other publishers will be bringing to the show. You can see the very colourful website for the full list, but it includes Koei's Samurai Warriors 3 (including a themed stage), SEGA's Phantasy Star Portable 2, Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and Namco Bandai's Tales of Graces.
It being a largely anime and manga-themed event, many of the games on show are based on Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, or other such popular licenses. No doubt more titles will be announced, hopefully with some surprises thrown into the mix.
PSP Ready To Go
In other news, Sony is currently prepping the Japanese market for the launch of the PSP Go, which has been on sale in Europe and the US for some time now. The digital download-only portable will hit stores on Sunday, 1st November, and Famitsu.com did an unboxing of a demo unit that was sent to them. Inside, you can expect to find an AC adaptor, USB cable, Media Go CD-ROM, and of course the handheld itself.
Japanese punters will also get themselves demos for Hot Shots Tennis Portable, Everyone's Sukkiri and ROOM, the PSP version of PlayStation Home, essentially. The official ROOM service kicks off later in the Winter, but PSP Go buyers will be able to create their own avatar that can be imported into the final version.
Speaking of the PSP, SEGA has announced that a demo for Valkyria Chronicles 2 will hit the PlayStation Store on 2nd November and include a training mode and a mission exploring the new multi-area battle field system. Hopefully, people will buy it this time.
Wii Love Virtual Console
The Wii's Virtual Console is getting a whole lotta love this coming season, with future downloadable classics announced by Nintendo ahead of time. Making us look at our own European Wiis in shame, Japanese gamers will soon be able to play Fire Emblem Gaiden (Famicom), Romancing SaGa (SNES), Street Fighter II Dash Champion Edition (PC Engine), and Fatal Fury Special (Neo Geo) among others hitting in November.
Konami has revealed its Winter Virtual Console plans, which involve bringing out a huge back catalogue of MSX games onto the platform, including Metal Gear, Gradius 2 and Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake. Any chance of a few more Hanabi Festivals over here, Nintendo?
How Convenient
Finally, Nintendo is teaming up with Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of convenience store 7-Eleven and general retailer Itoyokado to offer DS owners some special offers and product information. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun announced the partnership ahead of Nintendo, of which the house of Mario confirmed the story after Famitsu forwarded the details in the gaming press. The initiative will allow consumers to download coupons as well as advice onto their Nintendo DS consoles, and it's the latest in a push by Nintendo to market their handheld as an information terminal.
While Square Enix is usually the biggest draw to the event, Capcom decided to throw down the gauntlet early on Monday, announcing that playable builds of Okamiden, Last Ranker and Sengoku Basara 3 will be at its booth. While Okamiden was at TGS, this is the first time the latter two games will be playable for the public.
Shortly afterwards, the official Jump Festa website gave a sneak peek into what other publishers will be bringing to the show. You can see the very colourful website for the full list, but it includes Koei's Samurai Warriors 3 (including a themed stage), SEGA's Phantasy Star Portable 2, Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and Namco Bandai's Tales of Graces.
It being a largely anime and manga-themed event, many of the games on show are based on Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, or other such popular licenses. No doubt more titles will be announced, hopefully with some surprises thrown into the mix.
PSP Ready To Go
In other news, Sony is currently prepping the Japanese market for the launch of the PSP Go, which has been on sale in Europe and the US for some time now. The digital download-only portable will hit stores on Sunday, 1st November, and Famitsu.com did an unboxing of a demo unit that was sent to them. Inside, you can expect to find an AC adaptor, USB cable, Media Go CD-ROM, and of course the handheld itself.
Japanese punters will also get themselves demos for Hot Shots Tennis Portable, Everyone's Sukkiri and ROOM, the PSP version of PlayStation Home, essentially. The official ROOM service kicks off later in the Winter, but PSP Go buyers will be able to create their own avatar that can be imported into the final version.
Speaking of the PSP, SEGA has announced that a demo for Valkyria Chronicles 2 will hit the PlayStation Store on 2nd November and include a training mode and a mission exploring the new multi-area battle field system. Hopefully, people will buy it this time.
Wii Love Virtual Console
The Wii's Virtual Console is getting a whole lotta love this coming season, with future downloadable classics announced by Nintendo ahead of time. Making us look at our own European Wiis in shame, Japanese gamers will soon be able to play Fire Emblem Gaiden (Famicom), Romancing SaGa (SNES), Street Fighter II Dash Champion Edition (PC Engine), and Fatal Fury Special (Neo Geo) among others hitting in November.
Konami has revealed its Winter Virtual Console plans, which involve bringing out a huge back catalogue of MSX games onto the platform, including Metal Gear, Gradius 2 and Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake. Any chance of a few more Hanabi Festivals over here, Nintendo?
How Convenient
Finally, Nintendo is teaming up with Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of convenience store 7-Eleven and general retailer Itoyokado to offer DS owners some special offers and product information. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun announced the partnership ahead of Nintendo, of which the house of Mario confirmed the story after Famitsu forwarded the details in the gaming press. The initiative will allow consumers to download coupons as well as advice onto their Nintendo DS consoles, and it's the latest in a push by Nintendo to market their handheld as an information terminal.
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