have good news and bad news for PSP owning Final Fantasy fans. Both are release date related. Firstly Tetsuya Nomura has said that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII will have it's release date revealed soon. I'm sure almost every PSP owner is looking forward to that info. Unfortunately Square Enix has delayed the release of Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition. Now instead of coming out in May in Japan, it will be out in June. While there hasn't been any official release date given for either Anniversary title outside of Japan, this delay will likely push back whatever those release dates were to be. Is there anyone more excited for the Anniversary Editions than Crisis Core? I'm personally excited for Crisis Core the most out of the PSP Final Fantasy projects thus far.

via pspfanboy ...

via joystiq

GameTrailers has posted the new Mario Galaxy trailer shown during Miyamoto's keynote of a keynote address today (read: not really a press event). That's some decent blurring for two GameCubes duct tapped together. But alas, it's definitely not "playing with power." Galaxy was vaguely confirmed for a release "this year." Holiday season is a sure bet.

Video Here ...

New for PS2:



Lumines Plus is the PlayStation®2 adaptation of the original PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system smash-hit, Lumines. Widely regarded as one of the best puzzle video games of all time, Lumines enraptures gamers with its relentlessly addictive gameplay, quirky, cool, and hip Japanese pop-culture flavored presentation style and music. Now, Lumines Plus brings the Lumines experience to the PlayStation 2 with a host of added features, and allows fans old and new to experience the game "on the big screen."

Buy Lumines Plus ...

New for PS2:



Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a new game in the Grand Theft Auto series with an entirely new storyline, new missions and gameplay. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories features the interactive, open environment of Vice City with professional voice talent, a diverse soundtrack and high production values that have become trademarks of this landmark series.

Originally released on PSP™, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories has been ported to PlayStation2™. The US release version is in stock today, available at US$ 24.90 only. Please be reminded that this game is NTSC/UC encoded and can only be played on US version PS2™/PS3™ consoles.

Buy Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories ...

New for Nintendo DS:



The world's most low-down and ornery garlic-lover never lets a get-rich-quick scheme pass him by. Wario: Master of Disguise opens with our money-mad hero taking a break from being a shady software impresario to watch a TV show about a master thief. Working himself up into a lather of jealousy, Wario leaps through the screen and embarks on his own glamorous globe-trotting career as a thief!

With the helpful advice of a mustachioed magic wand named Goodstyle, you'll soon learn how to use your DS stylus to draw specific designs on Wario to give him new costumes.

The US release version of Wario: Master of Disguise for Nintendo DS™ is available today, shipping at US$ 39.90 only.

Buy Wario Master of Disguise ...

REGION FREE Xbox 360 Game released:



The award-winning original next-generation killer app returns with Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™ 2. The Ghosts are back!

It's 2014, and the soldier of the future returns to encounter a new and more imminent threat along the recently completed wall on the U.S./Mexico border. The Ghosts are more powerful, with an upgraded Integrated Warfighter System (IWS) but will have only 72 hours to assess the threat and stop the rebels from reaching U.S. soil. With a border that's 1,900 miles long and an enemy that doesn't play by the rules, this is a job for the U.S. military's most elite fighting unit. This is a job for the Ghosts.

A small shipment of Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for Xbox360™ has arrived today, shipping at US$ 49.90 only. As expected, the game is region free and can be played on any Xbox360™ console.




We are also expecting limited supply of a Collector's Edition (incl. T-Shirt, Badge and Map) to be in stock later this month. Due to its limited availability and yet unconfirmed quantities, the item will only go on sale upon stock arrival.

Please notice that general supply of this Asian release version has been kept low by Ubisoft, our preorder has been cut down to roughly 10% of what we have initially tried to preorder. We have some spare quantities in stock while those news are written, but estimate the game to be on backorder within less than a day. Another restock batch is likely to follow within two weeks earliest.

Game features:

Groundbreaking Visual Experience: The original Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter set the visual standard for next-gen consoles; Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 will take that achievement to a whole new level.
All-New Battlegrounds: For the first time ever, the Ghosts will defend U.S. soil from a cross-border attack, taking the fight to all-new locations.
Vastly Improved AI: AI is more challenging than ever.
Improved Cross-Com: The revolutionary Cross-Com feature has been upgraded for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2.
Multiplayer Returns: The game that dominated the Xbox Live® online gaming service is back and it’s bigger and better than ever before. Additional details to follow…

Buy Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 ...

via pspfanboy

There may not be much PSP related news out of GDC yet, but you can comfort yourself by knowing the system has lots of great games already. With that in mind, every day this week we'll feature a new genre and list the top 5 games (according to metareviews), so no matter what you're into, you'll have some idea of what games you should own. Today the focus is on strategy games, which the PSP doesn't have a lot of, but there are some notable and enjoyable ones (like the games on the list below).

Top 5 Strategy games on PSP

Sid Meier's Pirates!
Metal Gear Ac!d 2
Field Commander
Metal Gear Ac!d
Worms: Open Warfare

I know many gamers hated the Metal Gear Ac!d series, but they are some of my personal favorite games on the system. Actually, I enjoyed all the games on this list, except for Pirates!, only because I have yet to try it. But what do you think about these 5 games? What strategy games aren't on this list that you think every PSP owner should have? ...

NIgathan has released A small paint application that lets you draw different kinds of designs on the screen using different types of images (brushes).

Heres whats new:

Fixed dual brush mode so instead of one rotating around the other while the other rotates around a center point they both rotate around each other.
Ability to save current drawing to Drawing.png.
Ability to load saved Drawing.png (right now the loaded image is not editable, but it is viewable)
Thanks to PSdonkey now the bug stopping the sound from looping is fixed.


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

via pspvault

Despite Sony's failure to release the GPS accessory outside of Japan, they're still churning out titles that support the device. Minna no Golf Jo, developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., will become the 5th title to support the GPS accessory. It comes after Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, MAPLUS Portable Navi, Minna no Chizu 2, and Homestar Portable. Minna no Golf is known as "Hot Shots Golf" here in North America and "Everybody's Golf" in the rest of the world.

Minna no Golf Jo, or "Everbody's Golf Course," isn't just a game. In fact, the official genre of the game is "Entertainment Golf Tool."

There are two primary uses for Everyone's Golf Course. The first feature takes advantage of the PSP GPS accessory. Basically, you take your PSP to an actual golf course and use it to help you with your golf game. Actual golf course data has been brought in for all kinds of golf courses in Japan thanks to Sony's cooperation with Digital Golf Inc.. By using the PSP's GPS functionality in conjunction with the course data, you're able to tell exactly where you are on the golf course.

If you've never golfed, this information is useful primarily because you're able to tell how far you are from the pin. This helps with your golf club selection. Also of importance is using such data to gain insight into your performance -- if for example your hits always land short of where they're supposed to, it will be very easy to tell exactly which part of your game needs improvement.

For those of you wondering if something like this has been done before, it certainly has. There's even debate in the golfing community about how use of such devices gives you an unfair advantage on the course... but we'll leave that issue alone. Regardless of what you think, it's nice to see such functionality added to the PSP.

Sony plans to have course data available for more than 120 courses in Japan with "VOL. 1" through "VOL. 4" of "Minna no Golf Jo." Volume 1 includes course data for 32 courses in Chiba Prefecture, including the Japan PGA Golf Club. Each volume will apparently feature two discs, making this the first multi-disc PSP game.

Of course, Sony wouldn't release a Minna no Golf "game" without including a game. That's why Minna no Golf Jo includes a custom character creation feature that allows you to create your own character and take them to whatever golf course you want. Unfortunately you can't use some of the more extreme golf moves that were in previous Minna no Golf games,

One final mode worth mentioning is the "Round Strategy Creator" where you can freely move around a course in 3D to plot out potential strokes for your future games. Minna no Golf Jo is expected to hit Japan on May 31st 2007 for 5,980 yen (~$51.36 USD). A version that includes the GPS accessory will go for 9,980 yen (~$85.72 USD). ...