The newest issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu has released and with it an updated appear at the 30 Most Wanted games in the land of the rising sun. The list is very Sony heavy, with 19 of the 30 releasing on 1 of the 3 Sony platforms. The biggest honors go to Dragon’s Dogma on PS3, which took 2nd on the list, and Persona 4: The Golden on PS Vita, which ranked in at 4th. One particular of my favorite series, Suikoden, comes in 27th with Genso Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki on the PSP.

The complete list is as follows, along with the quantity of votes for each and every game:

01. [Wii] Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online (Square Enix) – 716 votes
02. [PS3] Dragon’s Dogma (Capcom) – 632 votes
03. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 (Capcom) – 459 votes
04. [PSV] Persona four: The Golden (Atlus) – 403 votes
05. [PS3] 1 Piece: Kaizoku Musou (Namco Bandai) – 400 votes
06. [3DS] Animal Crossing 3DS (Nintendo) – 310 votes
07. [3DS] New Love Plus (Konami) – 292 votes
08. [PSP] Shining Blade (Konami) – 284 votes
09. [PSP] Super Robot Taisen Z (Namco Bandai) – 256 votes
10. [3DS] Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Square Enix) – 212 votes
11. [PS3] Asura’s Wrath (Capcom) – 209 votes
12. [PS3] Final Fantasy Versus XIII (Square Enix) – 204 votes
13. [PS3] Binary Domain (Sega) – 200 votes
14. [PS3] 2nd Super Robot Wars OG (Namco Bandai) – 196 votes
15. [PS3] The Final Remnant (Square Enix) – 190 votes
16. [3DS] Fantasy Life (Level-5) – 186 votes
17. [3DS] Hatsune Miku &amp Future Stars: Project Mirai (Sega) – 154 votes
18. [PS3] Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Konami) – 166 votes
19. [PS3] The Final Guardian (SCEJ) – 159 votes
20. [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry’s Wonderland 3D (Square Enix) – 156 votes
21. [PS3] The Witch and the Hundred Soldiers (NIS) – 151 votes
22. [3DS] Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy (Square Enix) – 133 votes
23. [PSP] God Eater 2 (Namco Bandai) – 126 votes
24. [PSP] Yakuza: Black Panther two (Sega) – 122 votes
25. [3DS] Fire Emblem: Kakusei (Nintendo) – 119 votes
26. [NDS] Pokémon + Nobunaga’s Ambition (Tecmo Koei) – 115 votes
27. [PSP] Genso Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki (Konami) – 111 votes
28. [PS3] Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (Capcom) – 105 votes
29. [PS3] Persona four: The Ultimate In Mayonaka Arena (Atlus) – 101 votes
30. [PSP] Nendoroid Generation (Namco Bandai) – 99 votes

Let us know in the comments if you are surprised by any of the games on the list and which ones you are most excited to see release in North America or Europe.

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PlayStation Lifestyle

As of this week, a quantity of Gamestop locations (more than three,300 if the number is to be believed) are host to playable demos of the PS Vita. If you want to drop in to one particular of the shops and give the new handheld a speedy play, go correct for it. Being a former employee of Gamestop myself, I give you full permission to throw the kid whose parents have left at the shop off the program. He’ll be playing for at least three hours unless you ask him to move over.

[Source through Joystiq]

Mash Those Buttons

We’ve got some bad news for gamers in Europe - Twisted Metal will not only be delayed, but it will also have content cut.

The news comes only weeks before the original February 17th launch, making the delay very last minute. David Jaffe spoke about the cuts and delay on NeoGAF:

Hey- a few things:

1- I DO NOT think it’s region locked. In fact, if it is, that’s brand new cause I remember thinking, ‘No way we can do ranked games all over the world cause of lag’ and our amazing net coder was like, ‘nope, should be ok’….so I don’t THINK that’s true. In fact, until you guys mentioned it, it never would have occurred to me that we would be region locked cause as of yesterday, we were not. But again, I only found out yesterday we’re slipping in Europe so if you’ve got a link, send it. Otherwise, worldwide game still on!

2-RE CONTENT CUTS A: Well nothing like Black. And come on, you think I wanted to change content? FUCK no- for a bunch of reasons ‘fuck no’. But it ain’t my game (Sony owns the IP and funded it) and I certain countries have- obviously- much stricter guidelines. AND since TM has never been a big seller outside of America, I guess it didn’t make sense to have a whole bunch of different discs for each country (i.e. Germany gets disc ver. 3, UK gets disc ver 6, etc.)

3- RE CONTENT CUTS B: It’s not a TM:BLACK style change. 99% of the cuts were in the movies and the movies are still intact and I sat with the editor- who was the same editor of the American movies- and we went thru and addressed the notes from Europe and made sure the stories still worked. And to be fair, there have not been that many cuts. For example, in the scene we’ve released on the net from the intro- where the girl stabs Tooth in the eye- the SCEE version has this but we cut away right before the scissors make contact with Tooth’s face. It’s CLEAR what she’s doing and I think we even keep the sound effects in and such- but the last few frames are gone. The story itself tho totally works and- for some folks even who tend to think this kinda stuff plays better left to your imagination anyway- perhaps it even works better.

4- RE CONTENT CUT C: Only a few content cuts for the game- for example, I think the guy on the gurney from Meat Wagon is dead so you are exploding a corpse covered with TNT vs. a screaming man trapped to the gurney. Sucks on my end but at the same time, I get it and the game play isn’t different and the intent is still there, as is the humor. In some ways, it’s actually much more macabre when you think about it. Shooting a dude screaming out the back of an ambulance is pretty stupid and fun and cartoony in a dark, twisted way. Turning a stolen from the morgue CORPSE a missile? A bit more disturbing in some ways…not trying to sell you on it, just thinking outloud.

Anyway, it sucks in that I HATE cuts the original game. At the same time, it’s nothing like TMB and players in SCEE territories will be able to play the same game and dive into the same Twisted universe as SCEA players. It’s a touch different but I and the team still stand JUST as proudly behind the SCEE versions and are very excited that we’ll be able to meet up with TM players the world over online and share the game together.

5- As for delay- yeah, it sucks too. Localization just taking a touch longer. Altho I heard March 1 and someone on this board- I think- is saying March 31?!? Does March even have 31 days?!?! It might…shit, I’m dumb. I honestly sit here and can’t recall…lessee…no I think March goes to 30, right? ANYWAY point being: I heard March 1 (and I KNOW there’s a March 1, dammit!)….are you guys hearing something different?

As his comment notes – Sony haven’t announced a new release date, not even to developer Eat Sleep Play, but Jaffe thinks it could be March 1st. They also haven’t announced the full extent of the cuts, although they will be different in different regions (history suggests Germany will be the worst hit, while the UK should have the fewest cuts).

What are your thoughts on the delay, and the fact that Sony is cutting content? Let us know in the comments below.

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PlayStation LifeStyle

In a not-so-surprise move yesterday, both Microsoft and Sony confirmed that their next-gen systems are not prepared to launch a ‘counter-offensive’ on Wii U. This of course assumes that you didn’t in fact believe that the rumors, correct? Regardless here’s the proof below:

Microsoft

“What will happen at E3, it is still too early to say. What’s specific is that there will be nothing at all new in 2012. If we wanted to counter Nintendo, we would have to be in a position to release one thing right away, and that is not at all the case.”

– French Advertising Director, Cedrick Delmas

Sony

“I don’t believe we’re contemplating talking about something to do with future console iterations at this point.”

–SCE President, Andrew House

“Andy is totally appropriate in that we are not producing any announcements at E3.”

– Sony Corp. Executive Deputy President, Kaz Hirai

Sorry people, guess you will have to wait for 2013 and beyond to hear anything about the release of new non-Nintendo systems.

GameRabies

Piki Geek

In December of 2010, I wrote an post about 5 undesirable trends that have emerged in this present console generation. It’s the post that got me my job here at Piki Geek a single year ago following the post created its rounds on Reddit. What much better way to commemorate my 1st complete year as a Piki Geek editor than to rant about five far more trends from this console generation which have rubbed me the incorrect way.

Regrettably, this industry continues to churn out ill-conceived tips and company methods, mostly in pursuit of profit. Now that the end of this generation is within sight, with the Wii U currently announced and rumors flying about new Microsoft and Sony consoles, I’ve come up with 5 much more offenses that can be added to the current list.

5. The Decline of Local Multiplayer

Proper off the bat, we’ve got a large one here. The decline of split screen and nearby multiplayer wasn’t on the original list, and its absence was speedily pointed out by a lot of. Be concerned not, I’m proper there with you this time, as I too miss the days when local multiplayer was widespread.

Since the advent of on the internet console gaming – admittedly a large boon for this industry – games have been featuring neighborhood multiplayer much less and much less. Component of this, of course, is due to technical limitations, but that does not genuinely soften the blow. Sandbox games like GTAIV and Saints Row: the Third are basically too big to render twice on the exact same screen.

Some games that do have splitscreen multiplayer, nevertheless, appear to actively discourage it by generating it ugly. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops and Lost Planet 2 (pictured above) divide the screen into bizarre proportions, leaving huge amounts of unused space onscreen. It is as if they’re saying “Well, you could just play split screen, but just appear at that tiny viewing space –you deserve greater!”. And they’d be correct – we do deserve greater.

Thankfully, not everybody has forgotten how much enjoyable can be had in a game with true pals in the identical area. Games like the superb Rayman Origins enable men and women to drop in or drop out at the press of a button, although there is no on the internet play at all in that certain instance. The upcoming Trials Evolution handles the nearby multiplayer aspect admirably as nicely. That is to say, the on-line knowledge perfectly mirrors the neighborhood knowledge – easy to set up, and with no onscreen true estate gone unused.

four. “The Highlander Approach” To Marketing

Now, this technically goes back to the days of the old Nintendo vs Sega rivalry, with Sega proclaiming “We’ve got what Nintendon’t”. It is also not exclusive to consoles, but screw it, it’s going on the list. I call it “The Highlander Approach” – whereby the manufacturers of 1 product attempt to make you think there can be only a single such product. These tactics have created a comeback in this generation, nonetheless the rivalry is not so significantly amongst console makers anymore as it is among publishers. The worst offender, by far, has been Electronic Arts, especially when it comes to Battlefield 3 or Star Wars: The Old Republic.

EA’s CEO, the ever outspoken John Riccitiello, had some choice bits of flamebait when discussing Battlefield three with CNBC. He proclaimed Battlefield three as “a greater game” than Contemporary Warfare 3, and that “I could have pulled our game and moved it into August or January. I picked their launch window, on objective, because, side-by-side, our game is far better in so numerous ways”. I’m certain Present day Warfare 3’s launch window had absolutely nothing to do with the truth that Call of Duty games have launched in November for the past 6 years. Would it not have been enough to basically allow the game’s footage to speak for itself?

And then we’ve got Star Wars: The Old Republic (a game I’m quite considerably enjoying, by the way). Rather than talking up the game’s merits on their own terms, EA Games boss, Frank Gibeau, saw fit to take aim at the industry leader, Globe of Warcraft, in an interview with MSNBC. He stated, “When I play Planet of Warcraft, you go and get your quests, and you go and do your quests, but it feels more like carrying out a shopping list at instances. [Our game] is more about talking to characters, learning what’s going on, investing in it, finding emotionally attached to it. You can still go in accessible approaches and grind out quests if you want, but at the very same time there’s a greater-level story that is carrying you by means of ‘The Old Republic.’”

By inviting comparisons like this, EA is only setting themselves up for derision. If you’re David, you don’t speak **** to Goliath – you just throw that stone and hope it hits its mark. Comparing SW:TOR to WoW is as unnecessary as it is foolish. The Star Wars brand will practically sell itself. Just do not tell that to excellent old John Riccitiello, who said TOR’s voice acting and dialogue would make WoW look like a silent film by comparison. Stay classy, EA.

3. HD Remakes and Collections

The way you really feel about HD remakes and collections depends completely on your level of nostalgia. Me? I’d rather appear forward than back. Regrettably, a lot of publishers seem to disagree with me on that point these days, and are only seeking to make a quick buck off of your nostalgia rather than make forward progress. It has turn out to be an epidemic in today’s sector.

Most of these HD remakes are not, in reality, remakes at all. They’re exactly the exact same games you played final generation, only in higher resolution. They’re glorified ports, and tiny else. The problem is, most of these games had been not built with future hardware in mind, and as a outcome, end up managing to appear worse than their normal definition counterparts, more frequently than not. With out the appropriate effort, all that an HD up-rezzing does is make it less difficult to discover a game’s flaws.

Some devs have managed to play the remake game the appropriate way, luckily. Just Add Water’s remake of OddWorld: Stranger’s Wrath is a great example of how a remake must be handled. New character models, textures, and remixed sound all combine to actually make it look and feel like a new game, rather than an old game being viewed by way of a new pair of rose tinted glasses.

2. The Decline of Rare

This is one that technically started in the prior generation, but has intensified significantly in the present a single. When Microsoft bought Rare from Nintendo back in 2002, people were understandably worried. Their fears were mainly justified, as Rare’s 1st two releases beneath the Microsoft banner were the lackluster Grabbed By The Ghoulies, and the similarly disappointing remake of Conker’s Bad Fur Day.

Factors looked bleaker nevertheless when the launch of the Xbox 360 brought Best Dark Zero, Rare’s prequel to the original Excellent Dark, which turned out to be merely a mediocre shooter, at best. Kameo, also an Xbox 360 launch title, was only slightly greater. Viva Piñata 1 and 2, however, had been great games and I am in no way ashamed to admit  that. Then came Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, which, although not a failure, did not fairly reside up to the series’ high standards.

And now, Uncommon has grow to be the loved ones friendly face of Microsoft, establishing games like Kinect Sports and seemingly tiny else. For those of us who are extended time fans of Uncommon, the possibility of new entries in series such as Killer Instinct, Battletoads, Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini, and Conker, are seeming less and less most likely.

1. On the internet Passes

On the internet passes are meant to be the game industry’s counter to employed game sales, which publishers are always bemoaning for the supposed hurt that such sales put on their bottom line. For the uninitiated, let me break it down. A new game will come with a redeemable code that you need to sort in just before you can access its on the internet component. No big deal, appropriate? Nicely, since those codes are only excellent for a single use, somebody acquiring that identical game – only employed – will not obtain stated code. Rather, you’ll require to spend, usually among $ 5-$ 15 added if you wish to play the game on-line.

Even though it’s a single factor to exclude men and women from multiplayer (not absolutely everyone cares about multiplayer, right after all), Online Passes are now being added to games that do not even have multiplayer at all. In Batman: Arkham City, an otherwise wonderful game by all accounts, Catwoman’s whole storyline is excluded unless you acquire the game new or purchase an On-line Pass. The identical can be said for the upcoming Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which also locks away a handful of quest lines unless you acquire new or shell out extra for an On-line Pass. It is an extremely distasteful and underhanded signifies of acquiring men and women to pay extra for content material that is currently on the disc.

If publishers are genuinely serious about undermining employed game sales, they all need to come together with the significant console manufacturers and operate out better digital distribution deals. Steam is already the excellent example of this – games are often on sale, and even when they’re not, are typically less costly than their boxed counterparts. If folks see the option to purchase a game on Xbox Live or PSN, and it takes place to be less costly and quicker than going to Gamestop, which do you think they’ll select? And even though we’re stating the obvious right here, digital copies can’t be resold.

The bottom line is, publishers, if you do not want us purchasing used games, make new games available on the internet, day and date with their retail releases, and at a decreased value for cutting out the middle man. Online Passes just make you appear even much more out of touch than many individuals currently make you out to be.

Piki Geek

According to PlayStation France CEO Philippe Cardone, Sony will “probably be the last to announce something” about the next-generation PlayStation (most would assume “PS4″), following Nintendo and Microsoft.

I’ve been saying this for a although, but I’m no official spokesperson, so possibly it’s a lot more reassuring to hear from the company rather than a raving lunatic.

Sony believes that Nintendo is under much more pressure to launch new hardware, due to the rapid decline of the Wii. Despite the fact that there are plenty of rumors about the PS4, Cardone says “I couldn’t tell you anything…the Wii is pressed for time since it is in decline. In our case, we have a lot less pressure. We had been the final to leave the PS3, we will almost certainly be the final to announce a thing.”

Microsoft’s future plans/”Xbox 720″ shenanigans have also been discussed as of late, with rumors about a large reveal at E3 2012. Sony has previously mentioned that it would be “undesirable” for Microsoft to announce its next console prior to they get their chance, but that doesn’t seem to fit their original vision for the PS3, according to SCE chairman Kaz Hirai.

“I’ve always mentioned a ten-year life cycle for PS3, and there is no cause to go away from that.”

Cheers to that. Stick to your guns, Sony.

Source: CVG

GameRabies

Phillippe Cardon, CEO of PlayStation France, said in an interview with Le Point that he believes the lagging sales of Sony’s PlayStation Vita handheld are most likely due to the absence of titles that would appeal to Japanese audiences.

Cardon specifically cited the lack of a title from the Monster Hunter series as a detractor from sales, and announced that a new title in the franchise would be released in the coming months. “We need to put issues into perspective and stay calm,” Cardon mentioned. “The games readily available at launch in Japan do not correspond to the typology of the Japanese public. It lacks a certain game, Monster Hunter, scheduled for the coming months. Had it been there right out in Japan, the story would have been different.”

At launch, the Vita began robust with 325,000 units sold in Japan in the first few days, but sales dropped significantly to only 43,000 in the third week. The handheld will be released in the United States and Europe on February 22, but Cardon explained for the duration of the interview that he does not have doubts about the handheld’s sales outside of Japan because the launch titles, which includes Uncharted: Golden Abyss, are far more appealing to western audiences. In contrast, Monster Hunter has moderately sized following in the US, but in Japan the series is basically a household name and is likely to be a driving force in the handheld’s sales.

The Nintendo 3DS had similarly slow sales at launch, a trend that appears to indicate a decline in the sales of dedicated handheld consoles. Even so, immediately after Nintendo cut the cost of the 3DS from $ 250 to $ 170 and the library of titles accessible opened up, the 3DS managed to sell more units in eight months than the DS did at launch.

So, rather than the destruction of the complete handheld market, it appears like the slow sales are a symptom of the poor economy, and simply an indicator of gamers are becoming more cautious and waiting to see if titles will make the purchasing handheld worthwhile.

Piki Geek

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception was one of final year’s leading games and Sony looks to duplicate this success with the release of Uncharted: Golden Abyss for the Playstation Vita. The Uncharted series is identified for its concentrate on utilizing high-tech motion capturing processes to bring as much realism to their story-line and characters. Sony Bend has released a brand new video highlighting their sophisticated process of translating their actor’s performances into the new game’s engine.

We’re fast approaching the launch of Uncharted: Golden Abyss for the new PlayStation Vita. Bringing these characters to life with all the nuances of personality, habits, quirks and mannerisms was Sony Bend’s first and most essential job when they began operate on the title. They have an awesome instance in the Uncharted series and wanted to give the characters a level of depth that transcends the screen. 

These videos show just a glimpse of the process and how the team worked with the likes of Nolan North to bring this eclectic cast of characters to life.

Previews of Uncharted: Golden Abyss have already raved about the inventive choices the Playstation Bend team has produced to fully utilize the Playstation Vita’s touchscreens and accelerometer. We’re only a few brief weeks away from the Vita and Uncharted: Golden Abyss release date, I hope the video above helps to satiate any anticipation you could be feeling.

Platform Nation

Capcom seems to be taking a page out of the Soul Calibur book, since they just released this trailer showing off some new characters for Street Fighter X Tekken .This trailer shows off some of the previously identified special guest characters like Cole (from inFAMOUS), Kuro, and Toro. The large shocker  in this trailer is Pac-Man and Mega Man are joining the roster.

There is a slight catch with Mega Man, since its not the blue bomber that every person was expecting. This Mega Man is the poor box art Mega Man from the really 1st game. Thank you Capcom for when once again trolling your fanbase. Not only that but Pac-Man isn’t fighting with his own abilities. He is riding in a Tekken character named Mokujin. These characters are ridiculous, and it seems Capcom is taking this game in a path away from other critical fighters.

All the characters in this trailer will also be exclusive to Sony systems. Xbox fans will be missing out on all the craziness, but that may well just be a blessing in disguise.  Street Fighter X Tekken need to be releasing on March 6th, prepared to start the trolling of its fans all over again.

[Video via Playstation.Blog]

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