Gunslinger Stratos 3 is out in Japan today. This sequel has the same gameplay as Gunslinger Stratos 2 but adds new characters and stages. The three new characters come from the Odhner family: Argo (Tatsuhisa Suzuki), Kathy (Natsumi Hioka) and Ban (Yu Kobayashi). There is now a total of 26 characters, each one features 2 different designs: one from Frontier S and the other from the 17th Far East Imperial City Management District. There are also 3 new stages: Shinjuku, Chinatown and Osaka Castle. A campaign that will last until June 30 is launched for Gunslinger Stratos 3 release: when players buy a weapon pack, they will receive 30000 GP(in-game money) as a gift. Square Enix also organizes an event on May 14 at the Shinjuku Station Square where players can meet 3 of the game seiyus: Atsushi Abe (Tohru Kazasumi), Junichi Suwabe (Riccardo Martini) and Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Argo Odhner). The 150 first fans to arrive will receive a special NESiCA card. A special version of Gunslinger Stratos 3 will also be released in Round1 in the United States. You can watch the long version of the first trailer here and the second trailer here.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

Konami started the operation of Quiz Magic Academy Tokyo Grimoire since Wednesday. In this new version, the story takes place in modern Tokyo: character design has been revamped and all the characters wear contemporary costumes. There are 21 students and 11 teachers. The game title screen and interface are also renewed. The national online tournament specifications have also been changed.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

crossbeats REV. SUNRISE is out in Japan today. This new version of crossbeats REV. was announced by Capcom during the JAEPO in February. The new yellow theme will replace the black and purple colours of the original crossbeats REV. New characters are introduced: SUN, a girl with blond hair voiced by Sumire Uesaka and Kuronya, a cat wearing a yellow jacket voiced by Tomoe Tamiyasu. The player can either select one of them or the main character Akatsuki to assist them during the game. There are several new features as the "premium play function" allowing the player to restart a song from the beginning thanks to the Retry button. There are more than 140 songs including 30 new tracks ("LEVEL5 -judgelight-" - fripSide, "BURST THE GRAVITY" - ALTIMA, "God knows..." - Haruhi (Aya Hirano)). The players can now register their friends on the website with the Adobasari (opponent) function to easily find them in order to make score battles. A memorial campaign named "Every day one song free play" is held from April 28 to May 8. During this period, when the player plays crossbeats REV. SUNRISE with an Aime (or corresponding) card or electronic money via a mobile phone, he can play one free song every day.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

Aikatsu Stars! is out today. This is the second Data Carddass game in the Aikatsu! series from Bandai. Data Carddass games are collectible card games that use special cards with data stored on them. The player scans his card on the machine to interact with the game. In Aikatsu!, the player can scan cards featuring various clothes to make his character wear them. Once the character is dressed, the game consists of using the buttons to make the character dance in rhythm. A new character is added in this version: Yume Nijino. She wants to become a top idol and she enrolls in the Yotsusei Gakuen (Four Stars Academy). This academy has a special group called the S4, who are the top four active idols in the school. Yume and the other first-year students aim to become part of the S4. Aikatsu Stars! cabinet features an LCD touchscreen.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

Sega releases KanColle Arcade in Japan today! Developed by AM2, KanColle Arcade is an arcade adaptation of Kantai Collection (often shortened to KanColle), a collectible free to play card game for web browsers from Kadokawa Games. The game is only available in Japan but it enjoys an international reputation. The player plays the role of an admiral who runs a fleet of "kanmusu", boats and submarines of World War II personalised by girls. The appearance and personality of each girl is based on the ship that she represents. For example, a girl representing a boat with a large tonnage will have a big breast and a girl representing a submarine will wear a swimsuit. In KanColle Arcade, the player controls the direction and speed of his ship during the battles. Just like in the browser version, he can also collect different shipgirls. Kantai Collection was also adapted in mangas, books and an animated series of 2 seasons since January 2015. Sega doesn't waste time with its arcade version since Revision 1 of the game will be released on Thursday April 28th. This update will open access to the North waters and will add 9 shipgirls (video).

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

A new feature is available in Wonderland Wars since April 21: Wonderland LIBRARY. It's an additional terminal that allows players to playback and download any public play videos including rankings and tournaments. They can be downloaded to smartphones and USB memory cards. Players can install the Wonderland LIBRARY application on their Android and iOS smartphones. You can watch the trailer here.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

The famous statues manufacturer First 4 Figures launches a new line of statues based on Tekken characters today. King is the first character to be released. 4 statues are available: King from Tekken 5 in regular and exclusive versions and King from Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection in regular and exclusive versions as well. In fact, it's masked King II who is represented here as he's the successor of King who was killed by Ogre. As all First 4 Figures works, King is made of high quality polystone, every detail has been captured perfectly (including whiskers on his mask and even beads of sweat on his body) and the statue is finished with a detailed hand-painted finish. The statue is at 1/4 scale and is 19" tall (22" for the exclusive version). The box also includes an art print of King inspired by the statue. The exclusive version stands on a special wrestling ring themed base, including the corner post and ropes. King comes in deluxe packaging with an authenticity card that allows you to register the statue online and to secure the same number for future statues in the Tekken line. The statue was sculpted by Vinai Mangalagiri and will be shipped during Q4 2016. The price is $374.99 for the regular versions and $439.99 for the exclusive ones. As usual, you can pay the total amount in 3 months. Pre-orders deadline should be scheduled to May 3rd, 2016.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

Sega published the opening movie of Code of Joker S. This is an upgraded version of Code of Joker that will be out in May 2016. There will be two new characters: Kiritani Murasakiame (voiced by Sōma Saito), a scientist of the developers of Cyberspace "ARCANA" and Lina Valentine (voiced by M·A·O.) an agent of the National Intelligence of the Defense Agency of the United Kingdom. The old characters illustrations are renewed and a new "W-JOKER system" will be added. You can watch the opening movie here.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

Bandai Namco opens a virtual reality experience area in Odaiba (3rd Floor DiverCity Tokyo Plaza) today: VR Zone Project i Can. It will be opened until October, 10. This is a 5870 square-foot and is a virtual reality research facility where Bandai Namco will test different VR experience to get users feedback. If this experience is a success, they might pursue development in virtual reality and maybe putting VR corners in amusement stores... 9 VR experiences are already playable: Doraemon VR Anywhere Door (leap from Nobita’s room into a completely different world), Gundam VR Daiba Assault (experience the impact of the life-sized mobile suit in battle), VR-AT Simulator Armored Trooper Votoms Battling Dudes (experience a real one-on-one battle), Super Star Stage Simulator Max Voltage (experience the euphoria of being on stage), Steep Downhill Ski Simulator Ski Rodeo (ski down the sharp slopes of the vast snowy mountain), Extreme Courage Test Machine Fear of Heights: The Show (test your courage at 200 meters above the ground), Immersive Horror Room Hospital Escape Omega (escape from this cursed abandoned hospital), VR Train Control Room Train Meister (experience the real driving sensation on the JR Yamanote Line), Interactive Cinematic VR Attraction Argyle Shift (enter the cockpit of a giant robot with your android). Visitors pay with a Bana Passport (300Yen) and the price varies from 700Yen to 1000Yen according to the game and the time. Average time is 7 minutes. Children under 13, pregnant women and ill people cannot enter the VR Zone. A second VR Zone will be opened in Shinjuku this Summer.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

Takara Tomy Arts and Marvelous announced a children's arcade game named Pokémon Ga-Olé. The game uses a special type of card designed for children named "Olé disk". They are more thicker than normal game cards. Kids insert them in a card reader and a 1vs1 Pokémon battle starts. 50 Olé disks will be available at the start. The game cabinet features a 50" screen. Pokémon Ga-Olé should be out in July 2016.

Author: SophieKitty More info... Permalink Tweet

All other news items are featured in our news archive.