EA Revamps NFS Series, Splits it into 3 Franchises

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EA has decided to hit the restart button and split the franchise into 3 different franchises: ‘core’, ‘casual’ and MMO.
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Natsume Announces E3 Lineup

Natsume, a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, announced today their
lineup for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), which begins tomorrow, Tuesday, July 15, and runs through Thursday, July 17. The company will be holding one-on-one meetings in room 517 at the show
with select media representatives. The majority of the titles showcased will be shipping this summer and fall on a variety of video game systems, including the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii and the PSP.

“We are very excited to share the details on all of the titles that fans and consumers can expect to see from us later this year,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume. “From all-new games that expand on the Harvest Moon series to an original-IP, Princess Debut, a dance and adventure game for girls, we will have plenty of family-friendly interactive entertainment for everyone in the
household.”

Information on each title is listed below. For more information on Natsume at E3 or any of these titles, please visit www.natsume.com.

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS)
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness brings the largest portable Harvest Moon experience ever to the Nintendo DS. Starting off with an abandoned farm, a handful of seeds, and the determination to start a new life, it’s up to the player to develop a mysterious, abandoned island into a bustling tropical paradise. By harvesting crops, raising animals, and mining for precious gems, players will help the island grow into a vibrant town filled with people, businesses, and eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. Players can take on the role of a male or a female, and choose who they want to fall in love and start a family with. Players can also test their farming skills against each other and compete for prizes via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii)
In Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, players find themselves in a troubled island town which once prospered with life and energy, but is now in serious trouble. The mystical Mother Tree that once watched over the island has disappeared, and the Harvest Goddess is nowhere to be found! The island has lost its connection with nature and the inhabitants don’t know what to do – it’s up to the player to save the island! You must help to rebuild the island by tending to the earth, befriending and raising animals, nurturing friendships, and creating a
family. Long-time Harvest Moon fans as well as new players will find an exciting, involving storyline and plenty of activities including cultivating crops, caring for animals, and participating in festivals.
All-new controls for the Nintendo Wii Remote give players the chance to feel like they’re really farming!

Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)
Rune Factory 2 is set several years after the first game. The evil Sechs Empire has been defeated, and the Kingdom of Norad is once again at peace. Things may not stay that way for long, however, as dark premonitions foretell of dangers to come. It’s up to player to uncover the source of these premonitions and bring peace to the kingdom once more. In a first for the Rune Factory series, the story of Rune Factory 2 is multigenerational. Players begin the game as Kyle, a strange man who comes to Alvarna Village. Eventually, players will take on the role of Kyle’s child, opening up a whole new adventure. It’s an innovative feature that allows players to follow the story of their family and the townsfolk over two generations! Rune Factory 2 offers innovative Touch Screen controls, easy-to-use menus, and an all-new compelling storyline.

Princess Debut (DS)
In Princess Debut, players find themselves in a fantasy world where they have 30 days to get ready for the big ball. They’ll have to master their dance moves and win over one of the six handsome, charming princes to be their partner. They’ll meet and woo the princes through the game’s large, branching storyline and exciting events. Once the player convinces a prince to be their dancing partner, it’s time to go out on the dance floor! Players will use the Touch Screen to guide their character gracefully across the dance floor while matching their partner’s rhythm. All of the dances in the game are taken from motion-captured professional dancers, so the game is just as impressive to watch as it is fun to play.

Hamtaro (DS)
Join Hamtaro and all his friends in a variety of fun and educational brain-training games designed for elementary school children. Children will develop their memory, word comprehension, math skill, and many other abilities as they play through 12 engaging, interactive games. Parents can monitor their child’s growing abilities, adjust the difficulty level to match their child’s skills, and reward them with special items. Hamtaro and his friends make learning fun!

Yumi’s Odd Odyssey (PSP)
Yumi’s Odd Odyssey is a fast-paced puzzle platformer for the PSP. Trapped in a bizarre world filled with spikes, pitfalls, and giant, hostile fish with nothing but her wits and her trusty rubber fishing line, Yumi will have to run, jump, climb, and swing her way to freedom. Yumi’s fishing line isn’t just handy for fending off fish–it also works like a grappling hook, allowing Yumi to latch onto and swing from just about any part of the environment. The game’s advanced physics allow players to pull off remarkable feats of grappling acrobatics and find new, creative ways through the open-ended levels. With its colorful graphics, wild worlds, and ingenious grappling gameplay, Yumi’s Odd Odyssey will have players hooked!

Playstation Store Gets its FIRST Third-Party Title

Mastiff, a San Francisco based developer and publisher of videogames, announced today that Nihon Falcom’s action-RPG, Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure has become the first third-party PSP (PlayStation Portable) system title available for online purchase and download to the PSP system through the PLAYSTATION Store and is available now.

Upon its release last year, Gurumin immediately won over the hearts of countless reviewers.

Gamespy, for example, said “Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure delivers the classic Japanese RPG experience and is simultaneously adorable and hilarious. If you’re only planning to get a single RPG for your PSP this year, this could well be the one to play.”

The Associated Press said”Gurumin” is filled with a uniquely Japanese sense of whimsy that translates well into English, and it’s one of the nicest surprises of the year so far.” Review site Deeko said “Gurumin is one of those rare games that should be in every PSP owners collection.” Console Gameworld, echoed the sentiment, writing “Gurumin is definitely one of those titles you have to pick up, period.”

“Charming, full of personality, and with a gentle sense of humor, Gurumin is a bright and catchy portable game,” said Heather Campbell of Play magazine. And Geoff Haynes of leading gaming website IGN.com, called Gurumin “…an excellent title that should appeal to action fans.” Gurumin’s strong reviews earned it a place in the top 50 of almost 1100 PSP titles ranked on IGN.com.

About Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure:
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure stars a strong-willed girl named Parin, who is sent to live with her grandfather in a small mining town while her parents are off excavating an ancient ruin. With no other children living in this town, Parin is surprised one day to encounter a young girl being tormented by a stray dog. After Parin drives off the mongrel, she is shocked to discover the young girl is actually a monster, and like all monsters, invisible to adults. Parin is soon invited to the mysterious Monster Village, which happens to be hidden right behind her town. Parin has just started making monster friends when evil spirits, known as Phantoms, invade the village and monsternap most of the inhabitants. Parin soon learns of the Legendary Drill, a weapon hidden underneath the village that is powerful enough to destroy the Phantoms. Thus begins Parin’s quest to reclaim the Legendary Drill and set the world right.

Gurumin features Include:
* Non-linear game play in over 30 stages set in a variety of environments.
* 23 non-player characters, 48 unique enemies, and more than 90 items to collect.
* 18+ costumes to unlock, and 15 equip-able headgear to level up.
* Destroy everything in your path with your legendary drill: almost all objects in a stage can be destroyed, and many hide money and valuable items.
* Challenging boss battles, puzzles and traps.
* Mini-games galore!
* Hidden characters, modes and other secrets.

For more information on Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure please visit www.gurumin.us.

WALL-E Now Available

THQ Inc. today announced WALL-E, the video game based on the highly-anticipated Disney/Pixar film, has shipped into retail outlets throughout North America for Wii, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PSP system, Nintendo DS, Games for Windows, Mac and mobile phones. Developed by Heavy Iron Studios, the game will also be made available worldwide in more than 69 countries including UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Australia over the coming months. WALL-E is rated E for everyone and is now available for the suggested retail prices of $49.99 (Wii, Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system), $39.99 (PlayStation 2 system), $29.99 (PSP system, Nintendo DS) and $19.99 (Games for Windows, Mac).

THQ’s long-running and successful relationship with Disney/Pixar has achieved shipments of more than 35 million units worldwide. The launch of WALL-E marks the second installment in the company’s well-established and successful association with Disney/Pixar, which includes rights to create games based on four newly created Disney/Pixar film properties. Last year’s Ratatouille video game was the first property released by THQ under this agreement and was a top performing kids title in 2007.

EA talks about Burnout, Skate, Mass Effect 2 and next NFS

EA Games
EA, the assembly line where games are rolled out before they can be fully tested for quality-assurance talked about their Burnout and Skate franchises not very long ago. They also let out a sentence each for Mass Effect 2 (which THEY now handle, muhahaha) and the next NFS game.

Hit the jump to find out what EA said!

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Myst DS

Back in the day when the original Myst came out, my computer could barely run it. Fast forward to the year 2008 and I’ll now be able to play the entire game on my DS?! Sure Myst has been a portable game for a while with it being released on PDA’s and the PSP.

But jeeze this is the Nintendo DS, the handheld that is perfect that adventure games. It’s very shocking to realize that game developers haven’t exploited the adventure genre on the DS or even the Wii! Point and click, that’s basically what you do in adventure games. What do you do with the DS and Wii? Point and click.

Hit Full Story button for more on this post.

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