Final Fantasy XIII-2 announced and more from Square Enix’s press conference

This is going to be a bullet point list, but thanks to @rpgsite‘s livetweeting the Square Enix press conference today (as culled from a number of Japanese gaming blogs, but I’m going with them because my Japanese is rusty and practically nonexistent), we’ve got a ton of information on Square Enix titles for the very near future. Thanks so much to them for getting the information up quickly. This post will be updated as new information comes, so hold on to your JRPG-lovin’ hats. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a real thing. It is happening. For PS3 and 360. In 2011. (In Japan. The English-speaking world will have to wait, as usual. Probably.) I’m already hoping for Dresspheres, but I won’t hold my breath. There will be a new character hanging out with Lightning (and the gang). This game will be directed by Motomu Toriyama, who was responsible for FFXIII and

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Are you over six and in Japan? Good news for you, then – you can demo 3DS games at Nintendo World 2011

Nintendo World 2011 – held from January 8-10 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan – is going to have quite a few 3DS titles available for play, it turns out. A whole slew of them will be open to all attendees over the age of six: Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D “The Naked Sample” (Auto Mode) Winning Eleven 3DSoccer Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition Resident Evil: Revelations Sengoku Musou Chronicle Dead or Alive: Dimensions Ridge Racer 3D Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask nintendogs + cats Kid Icarus The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Steel Driver Pilot Wings Resort AR Games Nintendo 3DS Camera (So, I guess you just get to mess around with the 3D camera and automatic Mii creation) Nintendo will also be showing videos of other titles, including Kingdom Hearts 3D, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Starfox 64 3D and Super Monkey Ball 3D. (There’ll

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Yakuza 4 : Three New Trailers

We have three new character trailers from Yakuza 4, scheduled for release in North America next Spring on PlayStation 3. Video Games | Yakuza 4 | Kazuma Kiryu Trailer XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii Video Games | Yakuza 4 | Shun Akiyama Trailer XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

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Pokemon Black and White sell well in Japan

The force with Pokemon is very strong. Pokemon Black and White both launched in Japan for the Nintendo DS last week and made it the fastest selling DS game in Japan. Pokemon Black and Pokemon White beat out all DS games by selling 1.88 million units in Japan for pre-sale and then after the first week managed to total 2.55 million. Pokemon White and Pokemon Black do promise new Pokemon characters which can be quite a draw for those of us that are addicted to catching them all. Internationally, we’ll have to wait until Spring 2011 for both versions to come out.

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Infamous Storm Trooper, Danny Choo will be at Anime Expo

The infamous dancing “Tokyo Storm Trooper”, Danny Choo will be a special guest at Anime Expo 2010. Danny will be in guest panels, meet and greets and autograph sessions. In case you aren’t familiar with who Danny Choo is, here is a sample: Anime Expo is July 1-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

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Section23 Films announces July film releases

Section23 Films has just announced their July line up of films! Starting with Golgo 13, Collection 1 on July 6th they’ll be releasing as follows; EYESHIELD 21 COLLECTION 2 Sena Kobayakawa’s unnaturally strong sense of self preservation and even more extraordinary skills at fleeing have turned him into the star running back of his school’s admittedly unusual US-style football team. And even more amazingly, the Deimon Demon Bats are actually starting to be taken seriously! But can Machiavellian manager Himura pull an even bigger trick and build the team into a serious challenge to the awesome might of the Taiyou Sphinx? He’ll have to if they want to have the privilege of tackling the NASA Aliens! Sena’s biggest challenge and greatest rival are about to take the field by storm in EYESHIELD 21 – COLLECTION 2! GOLGO 13 COLLECTION 1 His targets never see it coming and he’s never caught.

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INUYASHA reaches the ultimate series finale on VIZAnime.com

Fans of “INUYASHA: The Final Act” will be happy to know that the final episode will be available to view tonight on VIZAnime.com! OK, maybe you’re not happy to see the end of your favourite series, however the final episode is coming your way shortly after it has been shown in Japan! After the many episodes and films that the manga series (written by Rumiko Takahashi) has spawned, the finale will be streamed on VIZANime.com – but what if you have no idea what the series is about? Read this synopsis to get the gist: Pulled back in time to Japan’s ancient past, Japanese high school girl Kagome finds her destiny linked to a dog-like half-demon named Inuyasha, who remembers Kagome’s previous incarnation as the woman who killed him – and to the Shikon Jewel, or “Jewel of Four Souls,” which can fulfill the greatest dreams of any man or

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Madman presents “THE HAPPY FAMILY PLAN”

Australian company Madman Entertainment have joined forces with the Japan Foundation (in Sydney, Australia) to bring us the hilarious Japanese film “THE HAPPY FAMILY PLAN”. The film introduces us to a Japanese game show named “Happy Family Plan” which sees fathers participate in challenges, like memorising breeds of dogs or playing musical instruments in order to win prizes for their family. Here we meet Fujio. He lost his job in the 1990s economic downturn in Japan, and relocates his wife and kids to to his father-in-law’s home in Yokohama. His wife, Yuko, opens her own business and the kids settle in to their new lives, which leaves Fujio to try and figure out what to do with himself. Yuko and Fujio’s son secretly enters the family as contestants on the “Happy Family Plan” show. Having lost money in a failed business venture, Fujio agrees to take up the challenge –

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VIZ cooks up a treat with RISTORANTE PARADISO

Manga author Natsume Ono has just gotten another title released by VIZ – this time it’s the yummy and romantic story of “RISTORANTE PARADISO”. Set in a bistro in Rome, the story explores the romantic relationships that evolve between the staff, plus some saucy sides. Hungry? Sorry about that, but here’s the synopsis anyway: At the age of 21, Nicoletta travels to Rome to find her mother, Olga, who abandoned her long ago. Nicoletta finds her at Casetta dell’Orso, a charming little restaurant owned by Olga’s husband. The staff of bespectacled gentlemen welcomes Nicoletta warmly, but Olga’s reception is not so pleasant. Olga has never told her husband that she had a child – and he must never know. In exchange for Nicoletta’s playing “the daughter of an old friend,” Olga offers her a place to live and an apprenticeship at the restaurant. Nicoletta fits in well among the unique

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Harlequin Will Be First Non-Japanese DS Book Publisher in Japan

Harlequin Enterprises Limited announced yesterday that they are the first foreign company to publish books on the Nintendo DS in Japan. DS Harlequin Selection: Love Stories for Grown-Ups contains 33 titles by Harlequin authors, twenty-five of which have been previously published in book form. Love Stories for Grown-Ups offers a number of features to make reading on the DS enjoyable. A “concierge” helps you sort stories by mood or type of heroine. As you read, character correlation charts and lists are updated along with plot developments. Maps are included to help you get your bearings within a story, there are digital bookmarks, a choice of background music, and more. Heck, there are even recaps to bring you up to speed with where you last left of. Love Stories for Grown-Ups is currently available in Japan right next to other Nintendo products. Do you think that a title like this can

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