Newly released at Import Store Play Asia



features
Innovative RPG gameplay features: As their quest progresses, warriors can create original attack methods by utilizing several types of Shadow Change, including Sword, Assassin, and Power Magic.
Massive scope and engrossing environments: Shu and his companions battle their way through an immense world filled with vividly illustrated remnants of ancient civilizations long forgotten.
Stunning graphics: Taking full advantage of the power of Xbox 360, Blue Dragon engages you in a world and characters that are brought to life with vibrant colors and detail, from Shu's wild hair to his martial arts-style garb, conveying the beautiful simplicity and sense of adventure found in this truly next-generation RPG.
Dazzling character design and effects: Toriyama’s unique influence is evident in the design of the game’s anime style characters, as their actions are enhanced with next-gen blur effects.
Famed developer: Mistwalker is a creative company founded by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the original developer of Final Fantasy.

description
Famed game producer Hironobu Sakaguchi of Mistwalker and developer Artoon present the highly anticipated Xbox 360™ exclusive Blue Dragon. Featuring the character design of Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball Z and music by Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy, Blue Dragon is an epic role-playing game that centers on a young boy named Shu and several of his friends.

These unlikely heroes possess the power to control phantom shadows that mirror the actions of their masters, giving Shu and his comrades miraculous strength and magical powers.

The warriors can create and develop their combat styles by utilizing different types of Shadow Change, including Sword, Assassin, and Power Magic. Shu and his friends must use the shadows as weapons and wield their skills to save their world from impending doom.

Encountering various people on a planet where numerous ancient ruins remain, the characters and their shadows travel through a world full of mysteries and illusions, where the slightest touch can cause reactions of unparalleled magnitude. ...

Newly released at Import Store Play Asia



WILD ARMS 5 follows the journey of a group of young travelers as they try to unlock the mysteries of their ravaged land and unknowingly become involved in a struggle that will decide the fate of the entire world. In a small town called Capo Bronco on the outskirts of Filgaia, two youths, Dean Stark and Rebecca Streisand, witness an unbelievable event -- the giant arm of a golem somehow falling from the sky, clutching a girl named Avril. This chance encounter inspires Dean and Rebecca to travel with Avril across the wastelands of Filgaia in hopes of helping her regain her lost memories and embark on a journey that will eventually decide the fate of all mankind.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Wild ARMs series, all launch units of Wild ARMs 5 will contain a special 80-page "The Art of Wild ARMs" artbook highlighting illustrations from the entire 10-year span of the Wild ARMs series in full color, packaged together with the game case in a special embossed foil box. ...

Released today at Play Asia



features
Epic next-gen multi-modal design immerses you in a deep 3rd person gameplay experience.
Fly or hover in the Warhawk to engage in intense dogfights with dozens of fighters and ground forces aimed your way.
Take control of armored tanks or utility vehicles to defend your base or launch a ground assault.
Continue the battle on-foot and choose from a powerful arsenal of weapons, including rocket launchers, flame throwers, and proximity mines.
Select one of four online game modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and an all-new Zone Mode.
Customize your soldier with an unlimited combination of armor and squad markings.
Team up with friends and create competitive clans and stay organized with user friendly communication tools.
Complex stat tracking records and rewards your accomplishments on the battlefield.
Bluetooth and USB headset compatibility for strategic communications and excessive online chatter.
Expansion and vehicle and character customization packs scheduled for download through 2008.

description
The long-awaited remake to the PlayStation® hit takes flight on the PLAYSTATION®3. In Warhawk™, players will experience a true full-scale war in an intense online multiplayer arena. Take to the skies and engage in high-speed aerobatic dogfights or hover to provide crucial aerial support to surging ground troops. Unleash an artillery assault with heavily armored tanks and all terrain vehicles. Advance on-foot to frontline positions and key locations with an array of devastating weapons, mounted guns and emplaced defense turrets.

Experience the online modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and a brand new game type, Zone. Large scale battles and up to 32 players will encourage teamwork and emphasize strategy for an invigorating combat experience. ...

News from PLay Asia

Welcome to this week's Movie/Music news roundup, containing all new Japanese and Hong Kong Video and Music releases from this week listed at Play-Asia.com. Around 200 new items are covered in this week, including new J-Pop, Anime as well as Japanese, Hong Kong and Western movie releases and much more.

Here's a summary of all new releases that were published between Saturday, August 25th and Friday, August 31st. If some specific item that you are looking for is missing, please don't hesitate to contact our customer service with your request.


J-Pop Music releases (85)
ENKA Music releases (14)
Anime Soundtracks & Drama CDs (11)
Video Game Soundtracks (2)
Hong Kong Version Music releases (1)
Hong Kong Version Movie releases (28)
Japanese Movies (16)
Anime DVD releases (16)
J-Pop DVD releases (9)
Video Game related DVD releases (1)
Idol DVD (11) ...

via joystiq

This September, Sony will be unleashing the first ever revision of the PlayStation Portable. Codenamed PSP-2000, the system sports a new slimmer design, and the ability to display content on a television. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding the new system -- but tonight, we're going to clear things up.

The PSP-1000's volume wasn't that loud. Did they increase the volume?

...

Official report notes that Seung Hi Cho not likely influenced by violent games

The massacre at Virginia Tech in April this year has, according to the official report filed by the Virginia governor's office, no link at all to videogames.

The report, which includes a mental health history of the shooter, Seung Hui Cho, notes that during his childhood he had "played videogames like Sonic the Hedgehog," yet "none of the videogames were war games or had violent themes."

This flies in the face of statements made on Fox TV news by Jack Thompson in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, which laid the blame for the incident firmly at the door of videogames.

He linked the Virginia Tech shootings to other school massacres: "What the FBI and Secret Service found after Columbine after looking at all the school shooting up to then was the common denominator of the perpetrators being immersed in incredibly violent entertainment, most notably violent video games."

He went on to cite other games, such as Doom and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, in other murders, and stated his belief that, "To have been able to pull this off, with the high body count, one has to have been able to have rehearsed it, and I think that's unfortunately what will be found to be the case."

But those statements made in the mainstream press by Thompson, who has a history of crusading against videogames, now seem to have been debunked, and the official report goes on to note that Cho's roommates never saw him play videogames – something which they thought odd, because most others did.

30 students and two teachers were killed in the Virginia Tech shootings, before Cho turned the gun on himself. The report concludes that more lives may have been saved if officials had acted sooner, although the governor stated that the point of the inquiry was to prevent further tragedies from occurring, rather than apportioning blame.

via gibiz ...

Via Engadget



Warranty extension or not, the widespread nature of Xbox 360 failures pretty much guaranteed that it was only a matter of time before a third party stepped forward with a commercial fix. The X-Clamp Fix from Next Generation seems to the be first of these solutions available, although it's certainly not as simple as we would have expected. Consisting of some replacement screws and washers, the $15 kit helps you tighten down your GPU heatsink, possibly resetting your GPU in the process, a strategy modders have been using to escape the red ring of death for some time now. Probably worth a look if you're unable to get warranty service and the other wing-and-a-prayer fixes don't work for you, but the kit looks like it involves pretty significant disassembly -- we'd recommend picking up the phone and begging for an RMA first.

More Info ...

Mathieulh posted this guide to Run 1.5 firmware from the MS [Using Pandora]

...

Over at Acidmods Kypes has posted 2 videos showing him modding his PSP.

...