Microtransactions can be used and abused as long as they're free, which made it all the more pleasing today to learn of not one, but two free microtransaction promotions from Bandai Namco. For the first, check out this story from earlier today.

In addition to the news of Reiko Nagase appearing as an item in Mainichi Issyo, Bandai Namco has announced a set of free themed stickers that can be used to decorate your cars in Ridge Racer 7. .hack//G.U., Ace Combat, Doko Demo Issyo, Eureka Seven, Code Geass and Sousei no Aquarion are the lucky franchises that have been chosen for this promotion. The latter three are anime titles in the Bandai Namco group.

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Well that's just great. Now we're going to have to actually play more of Sony's offensively bad PlayStation Store download, Mainichi Issho.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and Bandai Namco are teaming up -- conspiring, if you will -- to combine Ridge Racer with Doko Demo Issyo. As part of the plan -- conspiracy? -- Ridge Racer spokeswoman Reiko Nagase will make a limited appearance in the Mainichi Issyo downloadable game.

Reiko will appear in the form of a poster that can be given to Toro. Sony's fat mascot cat will then hang the digital goddess in his room. Bandai Namco is also creating a Ridge Racer 7 box poster, but we're sure Toro would rather have a wall-sized Reiko.

Thankfully, while being forced to endure more of Mainichi Issyo, we won't have to pay a dime. Not only is the game itself free, but so too are these two items. Both will be available starting 1/18 in Mainichi Issyo's Toro Station.

via ign ...

Via IGN

After conquering American and Japanese PS3s with its mixture of swords, demons, samurais and giant crabs, Genji: Days of the Blade is slicing its way towards the European console launch. For months, developer Game Republic has been busy ensuring the story about ancient Japanese warriors is ready for UK audiences.

Set three years after the last Genji, Days of the Blade continues to expand upon legends and historically accurate facts about feudal Japan. The Heishi clan, which was defeated at the end of the original, has returned. Its military strength has been increased by the use of unholy magic, allowing its legions of soldiers to turn into hideous demons. So it's up to Yoshitsune to draw his blade once again, ready to clash with the evil hordes.

As the legions draw close to European shores, IGN spoke to the game's creator Yoshiki Okamoto about bringing a title steeped in Japanese history to western markets.


IGN UK: Do you think PS3 owners outside of Japan will understand the mythological storyline of Genji?

Yoshiki Okamoto: I have not thought about how other nations will regard it. In Japan we watch kung-fu films and see car chases in New York or even hear about people talking about the Knights of the Round Table and we enjoy them all. I just wanted to show that people will be able to enjoy the storyline even if they do not know about Japanese mythology and history. They will see the different battles and will hopefully want to see where the battles took place and will learn about it.

IGN UK: Are Japanese-influenced games becoming more popular in Europe thanks to anime and manga?

Yoshiki Okamoto: I was not really thinking about manga and anime being popular in Europe. The artists that drew the art work in Japan, so they are most familiar with the style of artwork found in manga and anime. The character designs will have certain similarities but that is a by-product of Japanese development, rather than a conscious decision.

IGN UK: Will there be any improvements to the EU version of Genji compared to the American one?

Yoshiki Okamoto: Obviously we did not want to change the game system but we have been able to refine some gameplay elements. We will also have downloadable content ready for the European launch. In America and Japan they have had to wait for the different packs but we will have them all ready for Europe.

IGN UK: Are you planning on releasing different downloadable content for each territory?

Yoshiki Okamoto: No, it'll be worldwide.

IGN UK: The game was originally slated for a PS2 release, so were there problems when making the transition to PS3?

Yoshiki Okamoto: From changing the hardware there were some negative points and some positive points. If we had stayed on PS2 we would have had to keep the same level of graphics from the first game. But with the PS3 we were certainly able to improve. One improvement we looked at was the camera from Genji, which was only on rails. In Days of the Blade we went through all the camera work and improved it a lot. We created a new camera system that shows just how pretty the game looks whilst not hindering the gameplay.

IGN: Would you be interested in developing a new Genji that's created entirely for PS3?

Yoshiki Okamoto: I would like to. If I could start again I would like to make Days of the Blade a little bit different with just the PS3 in mind. I would like to start at the point we're at now with the hardware and with our understanding for developing on PS3. It was really difficult to create a launch title. But we would like to make another PS3 title, although not necessarily a Genji game, using the lessons we've already learnt. ...

via ign

Previously only slated for a vague release 'some time this year', Koei has announced it'll be unleashing both Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War on PS3 here in the UK 'this summer'.

Unfortunately both will miss the console's rumoured March launch to ensure Koei can "continue to work on these titles up until release to ensure the highest levels of quality possible".

Fatal Inertia is a futuristic racer that mixes street racing, demolition derbies and rallying - no doubt featuring the prerequisite robots and neon lights. Travelling backwards in time, Bladestorm is a historical tactical battler set in the early half of the 14th century. Koei will be swapping robots for Joan of Arc and Prince Edward (the Black Prince).

We asked Koei for a more specific UK date but were told the official release will be announced nearer the time. ...

via IGN

While Criterion is hard at work on the first fully ground-up next-gen release in its seminal racing series, Burnout 5, EA is making sure that fans of the franchise aren't left in the cold this winter without a new release. Burnout Dominator is on the way to the PlayStation 2 and PSP from EA's Studio UK, and with it comes the return of some fan favorite features.

Burnout Dominator seems to be something of a family reunion for the series. Its gameplay is essentially a mix of all four previous titles put together, including some aspects of each while also removing others. Crash mode, for example, is curiously missing - we're told it's taking a break while Criterion reinvents the mode in Burnout 5. As well, the lack of this party favorite mode is intended to highlight the game's focus on straight-up racing, further evidenced by the lack of traffic checking.

Full preview at link above ...

via IGN

First off, before everyone starts freaking out and starting with the PlayStation Portable jokes (darnit Sony, didn't you know!?), these aren't ports. Remember. They're not ports.

Square Enix has announced via the latest issue of Famitsu its plans for celebrating the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy. This makes sense, since the original Final Fantasy was released on the Famicom on 12/18/1987.

What's surprising is that the PSP fits so heavily into these plans. Famitsu reveals that the PSP will be getting two additional Final Fantasy games this year, Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition and Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition.

That's right, the first two Final Fantasy games, soon to be available for your PSP, via two seperate releases. In terms of gameplay systems and scenario, both titles feature all the new elements that made their way into the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation p-p-p-ports. That includes the PlayStation's opening movies and the Game Boy Advance's new dungeons, Soul of Chaos for FF1 and Soul of Rebirth for FF2. You'll also find a music player mode and monster gallery.

So why aren't these actually being labeled as ports? Visually, Square Enix has apparently redone everything. While the game is still 2D sprite-based, with the same basic screen layout, Square Enix has remade all the spirtes and backgrounds for the PSP's native resolution, and has even added new effects for the battles. This isn't as big a difference as came about from the 3D visuals that were used in FFIII on the DS, but the difference is clear.

Disappointed that Square Enix's big Final Fantasy 20 year bash resulted in a couple of PSP updates? It turns out that this is just the first of what could be numerous projects. In an interview with Famitsu, Square Enix executive producer Shinji Hashimoto told readers to turn back beyond April for more surprises. ...

via gamedaily

PS3 games like Resistance: Fall of Man and the upcoming Motorstorm already look fantastic. Sony CEO Howard Stringer (right) argues that these games are barely using 25% of the system's "bandwidth." He also thinks Sony can break even on PS3 costs at the end of this year.

In a new interview with CNET, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer shared his feelings on how the PlayStation 3 has been faring thus far and what he sees for the future of the PlayStation business.

Although there was a lot of negativity surrounding Sony from E3 up until launch last year, and the PS3 was hurt by shortages of blue laser diodes, Stringer believes that everything turned out rather well. "... We're now very comfortable with our research program for PlayStation 3, which one researcher recently described as the Mercedes of games players, for obvious reasons. The million is more than we delivered of PlayStation 2 so, for all the anxiety, I think PlayStation 3 is well on the way to living up to that promise. That's a good sign," he remarked.

Interestingly, Stringer also noted that current software offerings for the PS3 would seem to be using only a quarter or less of the console's total power. "Lost in the shuffle is the fact that the current games that are out there are only using about 20 percent to 25 percent of the [PS3's] bandwidth. Once the publishers' excitement reaches a level of intensity that they start using more of the bandwidth, that will create additional excitement," he said.

It's no secret that the new Blu-ray hi-def format is a key part of Sony's PS3 strategy. Some have argued that just because someone owns a PS3 that doesn't mean that consumer is playing Blu-ray movies on it. Stringer, however, believes that the vast majority of PS3 owners have in fact been converted to Blu-ray users. "I'd say 90 percent of the people who (own) PS3s are playing that Blu-ray disc on it or playing other Blu-ray discs on it. Contrary to some of the reports, it is an effective Blu-ray player. The people who like Blu-ray are the people who play PlayStation 3, just as people who play PS2s were the early proponents of the DVD format. It drove the DVD format," he asserted.

The combination of Blu-ray and a Cell processor is an expensive proposition for the consumer and Sony itself. A recent analysis by iSuppli indicated that Sony is losing somewhere in the range of $300 per unit. That said, Stringer believes that the console can break even at the end of this year.

"I think Kutaragi-san (PlayStation chief Ken Kutaragi) said that it would be break-even by the end of the year, at the end of '07. PS2 was not profitable in the first year. You make it up on the content as the content gathers momentum, the licensees from that and so forth," he explained. ...

Via arsetechnica

So there you go: you can either install game assets on the hard drive or by place redundant game data around the disc. The problem in both of these solutions is that one of the advantages of Blu-ray become less compelling. Why bother with a large Blu-ray disc when you're putting that data on the hard drive before you play anyway? You could have simply put that extra information on a DVD and then moved it onto the hard drive The same can be said about the redundancy approach: why not just use a standard DVD and have it load quickly in the first place instead of doubling or tripling up your data on a slower but larger disc?

The Blu-ray drive is useful for movies, of course, but for gaming, Blu-ray doesn't look like it's the best choice until faster drives are released. There is every possibility of a future PS3 revision with a faster Blu-ray drive, but that won't help current PS3 owners. Blu-ray may be the future for storage that's both large and fast, but right now it seems shoe-horned into gaming applications. It seems like developers may actually do better by shipping some of their PS3 games on DVDs. Games will load faster and manufacturers will save money on the discs. Would Sony allow it? ...

Digital Learning Solutions have released a new game for the Nintendo DS, heres the details:


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