The New People Japanese-oriented pop culture venue in San Francisco has announced the forthcoming opening of the TOKYO CREATORS MARKET, an extensive exhibit of artwork by several visual artists from Japan with Junko Mizuno, ON ZA LINE, and Kim Songhe being among the featured artists who will attend the show’s opening on November 21st.
The Japanese release date for Final Fantasy XII has been inadvertently revealed on its Flash portal ahead of its official announcement in Japan via YouTube. The Square-Enix franchise will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3 in Japan, while the international release will launch simultaneously on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010.
Pre-orders for the game will open soon after the official announcement.
Pre-Order Final Fantasy XIII (US PS3 Version) from Play-Asia.com
Pre-Order Final Fantasy XIII (US Xbox 360 Version) at Play-Asia.com
Update: Square-Enix has confirmed the above Japanese release date for the game during the Final Fantasy XIII Release Party event and will be priced at¥8800 (¥9240 with tax), which works out to be USD$95 pre tax, USD$100 tax included. Pre-orders will begin on Wednesday.
Square-Enix has also confirmed a Spring 2010 timeframe for a simultaneous Western release in Europe and the US, with specific details forthcoming. The companion press release for the game also mentions the forthcoming launch of a bundle with the game and a PS3 Slim with more specific details forthcoming.
Studio Ghibli has announced Japanese Blu-Ray release details for Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.
The standard Blu-Ray disc with English subtitles will be available for ¥7,140 ($77 USD). On the same day, the companion making-of special called Ponyo wa Koushite Umareta (roughly “Thus, Ponyo was Born”) will be available on the same day on Blu-Ray for ¥11,340 ($122 USD) with a bundle available for ¥18,480, or close to $200 USD.
A third release will also be out on the same day with the above discs plus Joe Hisaishi in Budokan, which consists of a complete performance of the music of Ponyo at the bespoke venue for ¥19,110 ($205 USD).
Impress Watch also features complete disc specifications for each version.
For the hardcore importers, Play-Asia is now shipping the Black Nintendo Wii and related accessories including the Black Wii Remote/Nunchuk and Black Classic Controller Pro.
Current cost for the console is set at $329.99 with the Black Wii Remote at $44.90, Nunchuk at $24.90 and new Classic Controller Pro at $29.90.
Buy the Black Nintendo Wii (Japanese games only) from Play-Asia
Buy the Black Wii Remote from Play-Asia
Buy the Black Wii Classic Controller Pro from Play-Asia
Buy the Black Wii Nunchuk Controller from Play-Asia
Soccer anime Inazuma Eleven will be moving from its 9am Sunday morning slot to a new primetime slot on TV Tokyo next month on the 8th beginning at 7:26pm JST to 7:56pm according to Famitsu.
Inazuma Eleven is based off of the Level 5-developed Nintendo DS game of the same name released last year and deals with the main character, Endou Mamoru who is a very talented goalkeeper and the grandson of one of the strongest goalkeepers in Japan who died before he was born. Even though his skills are incredible, his school lacks a real soccer club as the 6 other club members don’t appear very interested in training.
As soon as a mysterious forward called Gouenji moves to Endou’s town, the young goalkeeper sets out to find and recruit members for his soccer team.
During New York Comic-Con, Executive VP Ioannis Mentzis announced during the Vertical panel that the company has received capital investment from an as yet unknown Japanese publisher, granting the niche publisher access to titles and increasing the number of new releases to 14 books beginning in 2010. Financial terms were undisclosed at the time of the announcement.
In related news Vertical has also announced a September release for Summer of Natsume, the first novel written by new author Natsuhiko Kyogoku, that lead to the Requiem from the Darkness and Box of Goblins anime adaptations respectively.
Rideback is adapted from a manga series written by Tetsurō Kasahara spanning nine total volumes about female protagonist Rin Ohgata who was born on September 11th, 2001 and is groomed to be her family’s successor, with her mother being a famous dancer and having participated in dancing competitions from a young age.
However, one day she fractures her left foot while dancing and subsequently decides to stop in the year 2017 where the story picks up on her discovery of the motorcycle robot hybrid known as a Rideback while in the Musashino University Theater Club which sets off her participation in the Rideback Club.
The series is planned for 12 episodes and is currently airing on terrestrial network Chiba TV as well as AT-X.
The Japanese Livedoor blog service is hosting an editorial regarding the international response to the Dragonball: Evolution film as being overwhelmingly negative.
The writer goes on to state a 70% rate of negative commentary while quoting specific comments from fans in the US, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and South Africa.
The film is expected to launch on April 9th 2009 in the US and already there are concerns within the Japanese community that the perception of the series from which the film is based on may be irreparably damaged by the film, which is a loose adaptation of the Dragonball saga and takes many liberties with story details that many consider important in order to understand the plot properly while adding other details that have been decried as being wholly inaccurate and unnecessary.
The first property to be released will be the Courtney Love/Tokyopop production Princess Ai Monogatari which is currently ongoing.
The story centers around a lost princess by the name of Ai who unwittingly becomes a music sensation after being mysteriously transported to Tokyo while dealing with the power struggles in her homeland, known as Ai-Land.
The first download will consist of the viewing program plus the first chapter for 500 Wii Points with additional two-packs of chapters sold thereafter for 200 points each. The release will also feature English subtitles based on the English version of the manga, but Sunsoft has not officially announced plans to launch the service in other countries at this time.
