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Nintendo and others file suit against flash cart sellers

Posted Jul 29th 2008 1:30PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News, Homebrew, Imports

Nintendo is finally taking aggressive action against piracy, as the company is suing five Japanese firms over flash cart equipment. The Big N is just one of many plaintiffs in the case, though, with fifty-three others joining in to aid the fight -- just a few companies that you may have heard of, like, oh, Square Enix, Sega, Level-5, Hudson, Pokemon, Capcom, Namco Bandai, SNK Playmore, Koei, and so forth.

While details are scarce, we can imagine a lot of popular carts (like the R4), if not all carts, will be affected. Should Nintendo and friends win the suit, selling and importing such carts will be illegal, meaning that people would have to resort to the black market to get their hands on one.

We understand why Nintendo and other companies would want to fight the good fight against piracy, but we can't help but fret over the impact on our precious homebrew hobby. At any rate, we'll give you more information as this case unfolds.

[Via Joystiq; Thanks, Kimiko!]

Secondary Ambition: Nobunaga no Yabou 2

Posted Jul 16th 2008 9:45PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Screens

Finally, we get to see a little more of that other Nobunaga's Ambition game -- not this one, but this one, the more traditional, more epic of the pair. Of course, we're just torturing ourselves, as neither of the two Koei titles have been announced for release outside Japan, but if E3 isn't a time for dreaming, then we don't know what is.

There's a lot of new information about Nobunaga no Yabou 2, too; each level in the main mode will feature two difficulty settings (normal and hard), and there will be a number of different ways to play. Looks like there will also be an extensive tutorial, for those who need the help. We could use one for translating the Japanese text!

Gallery: Nobunaga's Ambition 2

E308: Pop Cutie does a little turn on the catwalk

Posted Jul 16th 2008 7:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Screens

Maybe it's because the new season of Project Runway is premiering tonight, but we're feeling extra fashionable today. That's why we checked out these new screens of Pop Cutie: Street Fashion Simulation, which Koei is localizing for North Americans in September. We imagine the whole time we play, we'll be using "WWTGD" as our mantra (you know -- "What Would Tim Gunn Do?").

Pop Cutie is about more than clothes, though. It's about fashion battles and designer dog costumes, too, for starters. At the very least, it's definitely a fashion game for geeks, if we ever saw one. So, if you consider yourself a geek who has a thing for chic, check out the new screens and art in the gallery below.

Gallery: Pop Cutie

E308: U.S. to gobble Prey the Stars this October

Posted Jul 15th 2008 11:30AM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Nintendo Wi-Fi, Video

Koei has just confirmed a North American release for quirky eat-'em-up Prey the Stars. The game is due to appear this October, and stars four ravenous alien dogs (Gabu, Bari, Chuchu, and Pero), each with an overwhelming desire to outeat the others. The levels they nom through are almost entirely edible -- even whole buildings can be scoffed. Precisely why they're so hellbent on ingesting their world is never explained, though we suppose there was never a substantial story behind the Prince rolling that katamari of his.

If that sounds like it may have limited appeal (it did to us), then the multiplayer modes at least sound extensive, offering both local wireless and WiFi play for up to four players.

Gallery: Prey the Stars

[Via press release]

Say 'Hi' to new Saihai no Yukue info

Posted Jul 14th 2008 4:15PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

Ever since our scout came back with information from the enemy lines, we've been wondering how we would gain more information on upcoming Saihai no Yukue (The Baton's Whereabouts). Thankfully, we remembered we had a whole closet full of the little guys, so we just plucked one out and sent 'em off.

According to him, Famitsu has a rather lengthy look at the title, documenting the different stages of the game. Initially, there is a strategy stage where the players sets up all their pieces, which then transitions into battle. There's also a Persuasive mode, which looks to us like a way to move the plot along. It's kind of an interactive chat with the NPCs.

Gallery: Saihai no Yukue

The whereabouts of Saihai no Yukue's screenshots

Posted Jul 11th 2008 11:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Screens

Advance scouts on the field have reported back their findings on Koei's approaching force, Saihai no Yukue (The Baton's Whereabouts). In addition to receiving valuable intelligence on the army's troop strength and supply routes, we have also learned that the Omega Force-developed title will be an "adventure" game!

According to intercepted communications, Saihai no Yukue will see an overseas release in Q3 2008 and will focus on 17th century samurai Ishida Mitsunari as he leads Japan's Western Army against rival and Eastern Army commander Tokugawa Ieyasu, also known as "the portly dude with the pipe."

Our spies have send back photos of the game's formation, which we've filed in our classified gallery below! Is it just us, or does it look like Ishida, the guy in the background, has been wading through a knee-high river of blood? The way he's raising his fist, it looks like he's pretty angry about it. "These pants are dry clean only!"

Gallery: Saihai no Yukue

[Via Koei Warriors]

Pop Cutie struts its stuff

Posted Jul 11th 2008 8:45AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Video

Adventuring with Saihai no Yukue scans

Posted Jul 9th 2008 10:15AM by Phil Larsen
Filed under: News

We know. The DS handles storybook adventure games extremely well, so it's no problem hearing announcements for new additions to the genre. The latest Famitsu has revealed a number of new images for Koei's new anime-style adventure, Saihai no Yukue.

The problem here is that it looks a little too eccentric for the American market, where our good friend Phoenix Wright just managed to sneak in and cause a stir. It's scheduled for a Japanese release in Q3 2008, so any news of localization should be heard relatively soon. Looks interesting and/or rad.

[Thanks, Anticrawl!]

Somebody's Ambition

Posted Jun 24th 2008 5:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Screens, Imports

There are so many Koei strategy games out there that it can be hard to keep them straight, especially when we can't read much of the text. It's even worse when there are two titles in the same series on the same system being promoted at the same time. In this case, the games actually interact with one another.

The new Nobunaga no Yabou 2 (Nobunaga's Ambition 2) is a more traditional Nobunaga's Ambition game, focusing on the big (Japan-wide) picture rather than battles between individual units. It can connect to the more Advance Wars-like Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou via local wireless to unlock secret generals. While we wish either of these games would be released here, we just think it's neat to interface two different DS games to unlock stuff.

Gallery: Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou

Koei to romance Korea with preorder case

Posted Jun 20th 2008 12:00AM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Imports

There's no sign that Koei ever intends to bring its Romance of the Three Kingdoms DS titles stateside -- likely because you didn't buy Opoona -- but it looks like the company will celebrate its 30th anniversary by releasing Romance Of The Three Kingdoms DS 2 in Korea.

Though we're a little upset that we still haven't received the year-old turn-based-strategy game, what really grinds our gears is that Koei is throwing in a themed Nintendo DS Lite hard case with preorders. Where's our preorder incentives, Koei? Just because we don't pirate everything under the sun doesn't mean that we don't deserve to decorate our handhelds with third-century Chinese historical figures?

Gallery: Romance of the Three Kingdoms DS 2

Europe will Prey the Stars this October

Posted Jun 19th 2008 10:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News, Imports

Just when we were starting to wonder if Prey the Stars was something we completely imagined, news popped up about the game being rated by Australia's OFLC. Still, we had nothing tangible to hold onto until Koei Europe announced the company's upcoming games line-up. Oddly enough, the list included Prey the Stars, which is scheduled to release in the continent this October.

We hope that means we'll get to find out more about this eating-based title before it comes out, but we're really just relieved to know that it is coming out somewhere outside of Japan.

Gallery: Prey the Stars

Try and play Nobunaga's Ambition, win green tea [Update 1]

Posted Jun 18th 2008 7:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Imports

In one of the oddest gaming tie-ins we've heard of since the glorious days of Yo! Noid, Koei and Coca-Cola have announced a cross-promotion between Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou (Domination Battle of the Brains: Nobunaga's Ambition) and ... some kind of Coca-Cola-branded green tea.

We've not the foggiest how the two products are related (we find it difficult to imagine Sengoku period warlords indulging in some green tea-sipping action), but the deal did give us a chance to sample the game through the promotional site that's been set up (scroll down and click on the white box to get things rolling). It looks and plays very nicely, so give it a go!

Famitsu also mentions that 100 Japan-based players who try the demo will randomly be chosen to win a six-pack of Coca-Cola's green tea. Alas, it's not the most import-friendly of games, so even if we did reside in Japan, it looks like we'd be purchasing our green tea supplies like everyone else who doesn't have the knack for turn-based strategy.

[Update: Corrected minor details regarding brand of green tea and prize.]

Gallery: Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou

[Via Famitsu]

What Was QT is now POP CUTIE!

Posted Jun 16th 2008 9:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

Koei's That's QT, a fashion management simulation in which players created fashion lines based on input from chibi moppets in the virtual streets of Tokyo, seemed like a long shot for localization. Why would Koei sink valuable resources into something like that that could be used on painting very serious portraits of historical warriors?

But the DS allows companies to make crazy decisions that sometimes pay off. Koei will release POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation (known henceforth as Pop Cutie, because we have a strict budget of capital letters and exclamation points) in the U.S. in September.

Pop Cutie puts players in charge of a fashion boutique. The game involves running the boutique, hiring staff and models, and decorating their shops. It also involves fashion design based on capturing and combining "images" from kids on the street. Two-player "Fashion Battles" are also possible, limited only by the ability to find someone else who has a copy of Pop Cutie.

As for us, we think it looks insane, ridiculous, and therefore irresistible. Screens and character art (featuring psychotic "fashion") can be found in our gallery.

Gallery: Pop Cutie

Prey the Stars actually coming out somewhere?

Posted Jun 11th 2008 10:15AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Rumors, Imports

Koei showed off a weird eating-based game called Gabu Gabu Planet, developed by their Koei Canada branch, at TGS last year -- as if they intended to release it. Since then, Prey the Stars (the game's Western name) has been a fixture in retailer release lists, though with no projected date.

The Australian OFLC database now suggests that Koei may be planning to release the game soon (even though it's not about Chinese historical warfare). A rating for Prey the Stars has appeared, with THQ as the publisher. Of course, Prey the Stars was rated by the ESRB as well -- in February of last year -- so gobble this news with a grain of salt.

Gallery: Prey the Stars

[Via Siliconera]

Nobunaga's Ambition Dominates our Brains

Posted Jun 6th 2008 8:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Nintendo Wi-Fi, Screens, Imports

Look, Koei, this relationship -- you and us -- it can work. It's really quite simple. We have money. You have Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou (Domination Battle of the Brains: Nobunaga's Ambition). Announce a western localization and the twain shall meet. It's mutually beneficial, y'see.

Game Watch has new shots of the turn-based strategy title, including first glimpses of the extensive multiplayer modes (you may recall that both local play and Wi-Fi Connection battles are supported), the usual line-up of terribly stern Japanese army generals from a simpler, more violent age, and lots of cryptic-looking maps we can only pretend to understand. Charge headlong into our gallery for 21 fresh screens.

Gallery: Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou

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