In a recent edition of Dengeki’s Game radio, a member of the show named Eguchi eluded to a sequel of a certain game.  Apparently a friend of Eguchi’s in the developing industry is currently working on this mystery title.  He could obviously not mention the game by name, but gave the following clues:

• If a continuation in the series was released, there would be two parts.
• It’s a sequel to a game that came out last year (Demon’s Souls: February 5th 2009 release in Japan)
• The previous title was very challenging.
• The previous title had a very interesting system.

Naturally most of the Japanese gaming-otaku sites I follow are already calling this as Demon’s Souls II and I can’t say I disagree with them — the clues definitely seem to all point to Demon’s Souls.

Even more exciting is that Eguchi mentioned this title is currently in the works for a release this Fall in Japan.  This means if the game is truly in development, we should be hearing something concerning Demon’s Souls II in the near future!

This was easily my favorite game of 2009 so I am ecstatic to hear that a sequel could be a reality so early.  Here’s hoping this rumor proves to be true!

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Sega took an egg-beater to the hearts of Shenmue fans late last month when they had the audacity to mention Shenmue III was a possibility.  The deciding factor?  Well, they don’t want to pay for it, so they need a hardware manufacturer to support the project in exchange for exclusivity.  I guess they weren’t too happy with the sales of the previous titles and don’t feel like taking a chance.  With the story already completed and someone else funding them, Sega’s profit potential would be substantial.

I always hate when the financial politics behind games become apparent, but I suppose that’s just part of the process.  From a marketing standpoint, the fact that the series has maintained such a following 10 years after the first title’s release is saying a lot for its potential in the current generation.

Is this passing comment by Sega and my air-tight logic enough to entice one of the three console manufacturers into stepping up to the task?  That sounds doubtful to me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream.

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The image above is of a tentatively titled game for the PS3 called simply Shin Megami Tensei which appeared on Amazon.co.jp this weekend.  As you can see the game is for the PS3, which is a first for the series.  This is obviously not an official announcement in any way, but it also does not appear to be an error since the Amazon page is still up.

Could an announcement from Atlus  be close?

It is also possible that this is one of a number of spin-offs from the SMT series, meaning another Persona or Devil Summoner could also be a reality.  Either way this is awesome and I will definitely be on the lookout for more details.

Personally I am hoping for SMT IV, but I can’t say I would be disappointed with another Persona either.

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I don’t generally pay much attention to rumors, unless I think they are legit or extremely interesting.  The details surrounding Fallout: New Vegas that surfaced today certainly fall into the later category.  I have no reason whatsoever to believe the following information is remotely true, but I think any fan of the series will at least be interested enough to read on:

• Concrete info on the game will be out “very soon”, possibly in the next Gameinformer
• It’s possible for the player to either start as a blank slate character, or as one of several characters with a predetermined story, SPECIAL arrangement, TAG-ed stats etc.  Some examples of these characters are a Chinese spy and/or a Ghoul.
• Some perks are unique to the character the player chooses to start with (i.e the Ghoul starts with a perk where he will not be attacked by other Ghouls).
• Character specialization will be more broad — it’s unlikely a character can max all attributes.
• Gambling is available to the player.  Skills like stealth, science, etc. can be used to cheat depending on the form of gambling.
• It’s possible for the player to acquire a customizable vehicle.  A number of parts can be bought, won, etc.  Enemies may also have vehicles, meaning some skirmishes may be vehicle on vehicle (awww yeah).  Vehicles are a necessity since the wasteland in New Vegas is considerably larger than in Fallout 3, also a number of very large monsters appear in the game which would be difficult to combat on foot.
• There will be a Colosseum  run by a group of raiders known as Caesar’s Legion.  The player can compete or gamble there.

Some elements of these details are a bit fishy to me, but still interesting.  One thing I wonder about is the vehicle combat.  Let’s say I best an enemy vehicle; can I walk up to it, loot it and the driver’s corpse?  How would that work?

Does the character specialization mean that there is a level-cap, and that it is low like it was in Fallout 3?

I guess I could ask questions all I want, but ultimately there is no way to know, or check the validity of these details.  I think it’s probably just the rambling of a Fallout fan with an active imagination, but damn if I don’t find it interesting just the same.

***UPDATE***

Executive editor at Game Informer Andrew Reiner has confirmed that Fallout: New Vegas will not be their next cover.  This effectively debunks all this other information.  Bummer.

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Today a possible leak of sensitive PR info from a meeting between Sega and SCEA on August 8th became available on NeoGaf. If the information is true, a few exciting conclusions can be leapt to:

• SCEA is hoping to have all PS2 titles available on the PSN for download
• Some games may be available on the PSN in a partially localized state. I believe this means only the necessary changes to menus and dialog subtitles would be added. There would be no English voice acting. Yakuza 3 is listed as a possible title to be sold on the PSN with this new arrangement. An estimated price is anywhere from $9.99-$39.99 for such games.
• SCEA is also looking into adding specific Dreamcast titles to the PSN, with an obvious focus on exclusivity.

This information is pretty exciting to PS3 owners and Sony and Sega enthusiasts in general. Sony appears to be really shifting their focus onto the PSN which I think is really smart. The overhead to slap these last-gen games out must be nothing compared to what hordes of nostalgic, starry-eyed fans will pay.

Possibly most exciting to me and fans of Kotowari is the semi-localized games being sold at discounted prices. This is like buying a discounted, dented can if you’re only interested in the botulism. Anyway, this should get us games cheaper with the option of keeping original voice acting. Less work for developers means they will take chances on more titles which normally would be too risky, i.e. the games we complain about never being brought over.  Kenzan?  Oh, God I hope so…

Let’s hope that this information is legit and look forward to more developments!

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