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Capcom’s handheld installment in Japanese mythology series arrives in the West early next year; GameStop preorder package, Facebook contest revealed.
Capcom may have shut down Clover Studios in 2006, but the developer’s widely acclaimed Okami franchise has continued on. Today, the publisher announced that the first all-new installment in the franchise, Okamiden, will arrive for the DS in the US on March 15, 2011, having been released in Japan in September 2009.
Okamiden picks up nine months after the events of the original, which saw release on the PlayStation 2 in 2006. (It was also rereleased on the Wii in 2008.) The handheld game follows a new protagonist, Chibiterasu, who is the child of the original’s sun-god-turned-white-wolf Ameterasu. Capcom also promises a ranging cast of new and returning characters to support the child-god as he works through a “morally impactful and fun” narrative to save the world.
The handheld game retains the series’ hallmark celestial brush play mechanic, and gamers will be able to draw magical symbols on the DS’s touch screen using the stylus. These symbols take the form of sumi-e artwork, a style of calligraphy that emphasizes watercolors, and this visual aesthetic is also applied to the game’s environments and characters.
Along with announcing a date for the game, Capcom also revealed a limited-run preorder incentive that will be exclusive to GameStop. The first 20,000 people who purchase Okamiden in advance at the specialty retailer will receive a touch-screen stylus in the shape of the game’s iconic paintbrush, as well as a custom screen cleaner emblazoned with Chibiterasu art.
Capcom is also hoping to raise awareness of its handheld title through the game’s Facebook page. Gamers who pick up the Goblin Mask Facebook app will be entered to win a 3DS, a copy of Okamiden, Chibiterasu plushies, and other prizes.
For more information, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage of Okamiden.
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“Okamiden stylizing DS March 15” was posted by Tom Magrino on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:28:50 -0700 -
You’ll buy five million by Christmas.
Microsoft has revised its sales targets for the Kinect system from three million by Christmas to a whopping five million.
TechFlash report that Bloomberg’s Dina Bass broke the news on her Twitter feed. A further tweet added, “That would make Kinect the biggest Xbox product launch ever in terms of sales, according to Microsoft’s Don Mattrick.”
Genuine numbers or is the platform holder just rattling a sabre in Sony’s face? Time will tell, but demand does seem to be very high for Microsoft’s space-age controller.
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Making expensive AAA title for Zenimax.
Shinji Mikami’s first game for his new bosses at ZeniMax will be his last as director, but he’s intending to go out with a bang.
In an interview with Famitsu translated by 1Up, the Resident Evil creator said, “That’s something I was planning for from the start. I can only last for so long handling both director and company president duties, and besides, I want to give our younger developers a chance.
“Knowing that, of course, makes me want to put all of my experience, my energy, and everything else I’ve got into this game. I’m pretty lucky that [ZeniMax] was willing to accept that, too. Too many publishers are only interested in the very near future, after all.”
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Electronic Arts teases upcoming London announcement from Battlefield Heroes outfit Easy Studios.
The Battlefield series has proven popular as of late for publisher Electronic Arts. The most recent entry in the series, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, was well received when it released in February and has sold nearly 6 million units to date.
Now, the publisher is preparing for battle again. Yesterday, Electronic Arts’ Ben Cousins took to Twitter to tease an upcoming Battlefield game announcement.
“Flying to London later today to show a new, unannounced #Battlefield game to the press,” he wrote on the social networking site. “News goes public on Friday. (NOT#BF3)” He went on to confirm that the game was also not Battlefield Assault–a title that had been rumored after EA registered a related domain name.
A former executive producer on the Battlefield series, Cousins is currently in charge of EA’s
Easy Studios. The Stockholm-based shop currently handles browser-based games, such as Battlefield: Heroes, the stylized free-to-play shooter that boasts over 3 million users. It is unclear what platforms the new Battlefield title will release on, but given Cousins’ position, it is likely the new title won’t be out for consoles.“#BF3” is the hashtag for Battlefield 3, which will apparently not be unveiled this Friday. EA has been ultraquiet on the shooter after confirming its existence in June 2009, saying only those who purchased Medal of Honor will have access to the Battlefield 3 beta.
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“New Battlefield game to be announced Friday” was posted by Eddie Makuch on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:44:06 -0700 -
Plus, offers Metroid: Other M verdict.
The studio behind Shadow Complex, Epic’s fantastic Xbox Live Arcade platformer, is stockpiling ideas for the future of the franchise.
Chair Entertainment’s Donald Mustard told Eurogamer, “We love Shadow Complex and we have lots of ideas for the future of Shadow Complex, but that’s all we can say right now.
“We’d love to make another one. We’ve got sweet ideas for more stuff but right now everyone is completely focussed on getting Infinity Blade out the door.”
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Harmonix semibreves again.
Problems you have had on PS3 exporting Rock Band 2 songs to Rock Band 3 have been “solved”, Harmonix has told Eurogamer.
“There were intermittent issues this week with code redemption for Rock Band 2 export,” a spokesperson for the developer said. “Those issues have now all been resolved.
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience.”
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Cupboards well and truly stuffed.
Sony’s HD remasters of acclaimed PS2 games God of War I and God of War II are on the PlayStation Store right now.
They’re not cheap: they cost £14 a pop, according to the European PlayStation blog. Even bundled together they cost £24. Still, both were excellent on PS2, and with 720p graphics they may compare favourably to many of even today’s best third-person action games.
Complimenting their arrival is God of War: Ghost of Sparta turning up on PSP.
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Company responds to anger over changes to Xbox Live Marketplace.Microsoft has made a statement regarding the changes to the 360 dashboard which move the category of Xbox Live Indie Games from the game store section of the US Marketplace to “Specialty Shops”.
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Open beta sign-ups begin.
Darkspore open beta sign-ups have begun.
Head over to the official website to put your name down.
Why? Darkspore is the next game from the makers of Spore. And it’s very different – more akin to Diablo than Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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Radical upgrades added to Epic middleware.
Irrational Games has outlined a range of extensive modifications it has made to Unreal Engine 3 in order to run the unique game world in the forthcoming BioShock Infinite.
“Over the last few years we’ve put together a world-class team of engineers with a single goal: do whatever it takes to bring the Columbia and the amazing world of BioShock Infinite to life,” Irrational technical director Chris Kline posted on the Irrational Games forums.
“We’re talking about a world where entire buildings are moving around in the sky, you’re fighting AIs at 90mph on Sky-Lines as you dangle high above the earth, and racing through vicious weather to rescue Elizabeth while battling your way through hordes of enemies determined to stop you at any cost. Right from the outset we realized that this was going to be a monumental undertaking on the tech side, but decided it was a challenge that we simply had to take on in order to give gamers the kind of quality experience they’ve come to expect from Irrational Games and BioShock.”
