Wow, what's this? A PSP commercial that's pretty straightforward and doesn't leave us scratching our heads or just completely embarrassed? Apparently so, as the first Japanese PSP-2000 TV commercial is making its rounds.
The commercial zeros in on the new PSP's TV-out capabilities, which seems to astonish the elderly man. Sony also cleverly uses the setting to not only promote the PSP-2000 and Monster Hunter Freedom 2, it also features an entire fleet of Bravia TVs. We gotta hand it to ya, Sony. Nice one.
We're sure a game like Final Fantasy doesn't really need advertising--but it especially doesn't need bad advertising. Square takes a page from Nintendo's Japanese commercials and sets their commercial in a creepily sterile white room. A woman seems to be happily enjoying the soon-to-be-releasedFinal Fantasy remake ... but maybe a bit too much? Happy gameplay footage! Scary woman! That's what I think, anyway.
I praisedLumines II's soundtrack for its breadth and diversity. However, it looks like the upcoming Japanese release of this puzzle favorite will improve the already impressive song lineup by adding more Japanese music into the game. 1UP reports that artists like DJ Ken Ishii and the Genki Rockets will have additional songs, making this version of the game something importers and Mizuguchi collectors will certainly want to keep an eye on.
The game's still far off: February 15th for 4980 yen ($43). The game won't be published by Bandai Namco, as previously expected. Rather, it will be self-published by Q? Entertainment, making their very first foray into publishing.
Posted Nov 29th 2006 9:00AM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
If you ever wanted to be a Japanese chick magnet, then you better start dressing up in all pink. Sony threw a very pink party in Roppongi, Japan to celebrate the recent launch of the pink PSP. The crowds gathered, men and women. The women were there for the new shiny pink toy. And the men? Most likely for the shiny pink booth babes.
Here are two of Sony's arguably biggest products hitting the PSP this year. First, you see the amazing Tales of the World commercial. It's only 15 second long, and shows mostly anime sequences. But what I see here is good.
Next, you see an insanely long demonstration of Chotto Shot, the PSP camera software suite. Like Hikaru Utada, it's very Japanesey, featuring a cute Japanese couple getting all lovey dovey over the device. Who knows? Maybe with Chotto Shot, you too can score yourself a Japanese girl or boyfriend!
More ads from Sony for tonight's Video Sandwich. These two are from the other side of the Pacific, and they show a very different style than what's available here in the States. First, from Japan is a ridiculously awesome ad for Jeanne d'Arc. You might not know Japanese, but seeing Japanese business men go crazy is always funny, no matter what language you speak.
Finally, we have this pretty awesome Korean ad for the Talkman. Man, they make the most romantic ads over there in Korea!
It looks like the Pokemon weren't enough to keep the DS Lite's sales numbers anywhere near what they were last week. However, this week wasn't kind to any of the hardware as the top five systems each dropped in sales numbers compared to what they were a week earlier.
The DS Lite still gave the PSP a good spanking, outselling it by more than 100,000. But hey, look on the bright side, the PSP kicked the DS Phat's ass!
I'd like to end your evening with absolutely terrifying footage from GameVideos. These McDonald's ads from the PS1 era feature your favorite Ape Escape and PaRappa characters, dancing and singing. AND EVERYTHING IS SO HAPPY!!! Maybe Sony isn't as "t3h m4tur3!!!1" as we thought it was.
While we're still waiting for Disgaea to get announced for US release, let's watch two super happy Japanese commercials for the game! They have a distinctly low-budget feel to them, which I guess is part of its charm. The above video shows you that peer pressure always works. ALL the cool kids are playing their PSPs (although Japanese sales data would suggest otherwise...).
Below, we see that you don't need to be a Cooking Mama to chop lettuce: Disgaea for the PSP will suffice! Moms might seem like a weird demographic for this game, but I hear that they're pretty important to the gaming market as a whole these days. Crazy.
For the second week in a row, the PSP dropped in sales has dropped in sales. And to make matters worse, last week the DS Lite outsold the PSP by 107,000 units, but this week it increased its lead by outselling the PSP by 116,000.
So far this year, the PSP has sold about 1.3 million units against the DS Lite's 4.5 million units. Couple that with the fact the PSP can't outsell the PS2, which has been on the market since Reagan was in office, and the future seems pretty bleak for our favorite handheld in the Land of the Rising Sun.
[Via Games Are Fun] [Update 1: I've magically come and corrected the word "Japanese." Strange how no one caught that. - Andrew]
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is one of my most anticipated games, even though it's surrounded by complete mystery. (Of course, I'm one of those types that pays attention to anything that has the words "Final" and "Fantasy" together.) I know many of you are just as desperate for new info and screens on this game as I am, and any miniscule bit we can find only makes us hunger for more. TGBus.com has discovered two new scans, filled with copious amounts of kanji. There are two new screens to admire (pictured above), and they look absolutely amazing (assuming they're in-game, and not CG).
If you'd like to act as a translator for us, take a peek after the cut and help us decipher these scans. Maybe they'll reveal thrilling insights into the game. Or, maybe they'll give you tips on how to make your hair as snazzy as Cloud's.
For far too long Nintendo and its evil DS has dominated the Japanese sales charts, and at times, has taken nearly all spots in the top 10. But in the newest sales numbers, Sony shows they are still in the thick of things in Japan by taking four of the top seven slots, two of which are the top two.
1. Minna no Tennis (PS2) - 226,976/ *NEW 2. Rurouni Kenshin: Enjou! Kyoto Rinne (PS2) - 75,007/ *NEW 3. Final Fantasy III (DS) - 57,057 / 655,533 4. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 53,089 / 3,080,126 5. God Hand - 48,280 / *NEW 6. More Brain Age (DS) - 34,959 / 3,186,871 7. Ridge Racers 2 (PSP) - 28,232 / *NEW 8. Atama Scan (DS) - 27,890 / *NEW 9. Animal Crossing Wild World (DS) - 24,792 / 3,230,554 10. Cooking Navigator (DS) - 20,766 / 465,958
How refreshing is it to see a PSP title in the top 10 for the second week in a row? Very, my friends. Very.
Well, look how the mighty have fallen. The Nintendo DS Lite, which is the PSP's biggest competitor, saw a 50-percent decline in hardware sales last week. Never mind sales numbers ... who cares about those anyway? It's all about percentages, baby.
The PSP surged on with a six-percent jump in sales that can most likely be attributed to Tales of Phantasia Full Voice Edition's total domination in the software sales chart.
The PSP needs to keep looking in its rear-view mirror, however, because the DS Phat also saw a big spike in its percentages with a whopping 230-percent increase. But, I expect this to be short lived due to its "teh suck."
Also, look at how crappy the Wii is selling. Hah hah, it's being outsold by the original Xbox and hasn't even sold a single unit! Those percentages look pretty bad.
Perverted Japanese PSP Fanboy's Andrew Yoon consistently writes news stories about Loco Roco and Japanese models. In his ideal version of paradise, those two would somehow be combined. That day... has come! Firstly, you can learn the difference between all the characters of Loco Roco by checking out Siliconera. See the cute MuiMui, the racially insensitive Mojya, and more!
Next, check out how Sony's trying to make the Japanese people like Loco Rocoa bit more than they do now: they'll use actress Ryoko Shinohara to pose with the game and star in new commercials. Oh my, it appears that Andrew's died and gone to heaven. Loco Roco comes to the US in just one week.
It was absolutely hilarious to read your reactions to Moegaku. Whether or not you'd like to admit it, gamers love seeing the female form, and nothing gets them more excited than seeing a girl actually play games (shock!). ArcSystemWorks understands that, so in order to promote their upcoming PSP Guilty Gear game, they had Japanese model Kaori Manabe not only pose with, but play with the game. The press got a glimpse of her battling through PSP's exclusive beat-em-up mode, which looks absolutely fantastic. Go to Game Watch to see more pictures of the game in action. The game hits US shores in one week: September 5th.
It looks like the 
150,252 (54.76%)
170 (15.41%)
