Namco-Bandai posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes gets a third game release

by Andrew Yoon { Dec 11th 2009 at 1:10AM }

It seems Naruto is well on his way towards becoming a football announcer. Namco Bandai's games based on the anime franchise continue their proliferation. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 is coming to PSP and it continues Naruto's inability to save his friend Sasuke.

The big new features for this third iteration of Shippuden are four-player battles, a new story mode and an expanded roster of characters (Namco Bandai is promising over 50). In addition to the usual fighting modes, a new cooperative ad-hoc feature will let three players connect with each other and play through the adventure mode. While the enhancements sound promising, we wonder if fans haven't grown tired of these annual iterations yet.

Gallery: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3

Prepare for takeoff with this Sky Crawlers trailer

by JC Fletcher { Dec 10th 2009 at 5:15PM }

Do you like airplanes? Do you like anime stereotypes? Then The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces is what you've been waiting for! XSEED released the above trailer, featuring lots of awesome planes, and lots of inexplicably young people flying them. Well, not inexplicably -- though the details may constitute a spoiler, there is a really weird explanation for everyone's age. Beyond "it's anime."

The Sky Crawlers will be one of the first Wii releases of 2010 -- it's due out on January 5.

Tekken 6 arcade stick bundles on sale for $78

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 10th 2009 at 2:45PM }

Have you been hoping, nay, dreaming of snagging one of the Tekken 6 arcade stick bundles but have been hesitant to plunk down the $150 asking price? This post is for you then, as Amazon has positively slashed the price of the bundle on both PS3 and 360 version, knocking them down to a paltry $78. Seventy-eight bones! That's only $18 bucks more than your average game and it includes the Tekken 6 Hori arcade stick to boot.

If you, or the digital pugilist in your life, haven't picked this up yet, it probably won't get much cheaper than this.

[Via Dealzon]

Pac-Man CE now on iPhone, starting at $3

by JC Fletcher { Dec 10th 2009 at 11:30AM }

click for Super Pac-Man sizeNamco Bandai has just released its fourth Pac-Man game to the iPhone/iPod Touch App Store -- but it's Pac-Man Championship Edition, so it's somewhat more interesting than the usual lineup of classic ports that flood every platform. And it's only $3!

The iPhone version of the revamped XBLA hit includes a time-limited Championship Mode with 5 courses, and a Mission Mode with 20 missions. DLC expands this to 15 Championship courses and 120 missions, and adds a third Challenge Mode. If you're interested in trying it out, we suggest picking it up with the kind of haste reserved for running from ghosts -- the $3 starting price is a limited-time sale. Might as well save your money for the DLC you know you'll be dipping into.

Pac-Man Championship Edition ($2.99):

Gallery: Pac-Man Championship Edition (iPhone)

[Via AppShopper]

Namco Bandai adopts stereoscopic 3D dev tools

by JC Fletcher { Dec 7th 2009 at 2:05PM }

In the near future, the Prince of All Cosmos may roll a Katamari at you! Or some blood in Splatterhouse may splatter at you! Mr. Driller may drill at you! Other Namco characters may perform their signature actions directly into your face! That's because Namco Bandai has licensed RealD's Stereoscopic Gaming API.

The software allows Banamco not only to render visuals in RealD's stereoscopic 3D format, but also to implement automatic camera movements for optimal 3D viewing, and head tracking with a camera peripheral. The software will be used in the development of "upcoming as yet unannounced NAMCO BANDAI Games titles," allowing us to continue thinking of things for the developer to make 3D. Like Metro-Cross! It would be like large soda cans are rolling at you!

New Splatterhouse screens -- now with more blood!

by Ben Gilbert { Nov 29th 2009 at 5:30PM }

If you're anything like us, you've had the upcoming Splatterhouse remake fresh in your mind ever since this week's positively terrifying reveal of Splatterhouse shoes. Thankfully, Namco also released a handful of fresh screens of the game, riddled with various creature parts and – shock! – gallons of blood. Sure, the 13-year-old in us is just about as stoked for a new Splatterhouse game as one could be. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old in us still needs a lot of convincing that the franchise is worth revisiting before next year's Q3 release.

Gallery: Splatterhouse (11/29/09)

Namco prepares a Raging Blast of Dragon Ball DLC

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 25th 2009 at 5:47PM }

If there's one thing Dragon Ball has, it's a giant, sprawling cast of unique characters. Namco Bandai understands this, so it will be offering new downloadable characters for Dragon Ball: Raging Blast every two weeks from now until April of 2010. Best of all, the downloads will be free. Each pack will include "customized versions of popular characters, each with different powered-up abilities." In other words, if the initial lineup of characters just wasn't enough, soon you'll have remixed versions on top of the current cast.

Check out the full DLC schedule after the break. Unless otherwise noted, the DLC will release simultaneously on XBLM and PSN.

Continued →

Tekken 6 update launches Nov. 26, addresses online issues

by David Hinkle { Nov 25th 2009 at 11:30AM }

A free update, launching on November 26, hopes to end the woes Tekken 6 players have encountered in the online King of Iron Fists Tournament. The update should improve connectivity between players and will add selectable search priorities for ranked matches.

Namco also aims to improve the responsiveness of button input and will add a cancel option for the first few seconds of a match should you disapprove of your opponent's signal strength. Or, in our case, should you find they're using a super cheap character like Devil Jin. Stop it!

Splatterhouse shoes are like a Terror Mask for your feet

by JC Fletcher { Nov 25th 2009 at 5:00AM }

Namco Bandai may have trouble getting a next-gen update to Splatterhouse out the door, but the company seems to have had no problem developing a new iteration of the franchise for the your feet platform.

Namco partnered with Globe Shoes to create these sneakers, purportedly based on those worn by Rick in the game. To be nitpicky, the real-world shoes don't feature the green accent found on the in-game versions -- and the Splatterhouse logo on the shoes would make for a really weird coincidence if Rick happened to be wearing them when he went into, you know, the Splatterhouse.

Then again, the Globe version makes up for the inconsistency by coming with a T-shirt, which is something Rick could use. The shoes are available from Namco's shop in limited quantities for $79.99 a pair.

If Namco releases more Tekken 6 DLC, it will be free

by JC Fletcher { Nov 24th 2009 at 8:30PM }

Producer Katsuhiro Harada commented to UK.PlayStation.com that more Tekken 6 content is likely to be on the way via DLC, adding to the retailer-exclusive Cardboard Tube Samurai outfit. But we can't groan about Namco Bandai using DLC for the popular fighter as a cash machine, because the company doesn't intend to charge for it. Harada said there was a "strong possibility" of additional downloadable content for the game -- possibly for the PSP version as well, since he didn't specify. "However, even if we were to do so, it would be free to the end user."

Of course, this is the same company that released paid Star Wars DLC for Soul Calibur IV after the director said there wouldn't be. So don't go empty out your Tekken 6 DLC fund just yet.

Gallery: Tekken 6 (GamesCom 2009)

[Via Siliconera]

Tales of Graces bundle is underwhelming

by JC Fletcher { Nov 23rd 2009 at 12:30PM }

Game Watch has posted an image of the full contents of the Japanese Tales of Graces bundle, revealing ... that it's pretty much the least remarkable Wii bundle yet. The included Wii hardware is the plain white model, and the Classic Controller Pro (also white) doesn't have any fancy design on it. It's just a Wii, and a Classic Controller Pro, and the game. In a box. The box looks pretty cool, we suppose. And it's not like we have the Classic Controller Pro here at all.

New screens show off the rather silly swimsuit costumes that can be equipped in-game, including a delightful Speedo and life vest outfit for Malik. More dignified: a costume based on a stage outfit worn by singer BoA, available as a bonus with a "Tales of Graces Edition" release of BoA's single "Mamoritai ~ White Wishes ~."

Noby Noby Girl has stretched her way to Jupiter

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 21st 2009 at 9:00PM }

They said it couldn't be done -- and for good reason, considering how difficult it must be for a creature to stretch its own body to a length of 576,682,810 miles. However, thanks to a little help from Namco Bandai, Noby Noby Boy's community-driven "Girl" has managed to extend her torso from Earth to Jupiter, unlocking a new playable planet for all of the game's inhabitants.

Make sure you check out the video after the jump to get a sense of what eating your own butt whilst aimlessly traversing a gas giant feels like. We can't believe we just had a reason to write that sentence. Thank you so, so much, Noby Noby Boy.

Continued →

Sky Crawlers landing in Europe this February

by JC Fletcher { Nov 19th 2009 at 2:50PM }

Namco Bandai declined to publish The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces in North America, licensing the game out to XSEED instead. However, the company is handling the game itself for the European release, due in February. The game is a flight action game developed by Ace Combat dev Project Aces, and based on both the novel and the Mamoru Ishii-directed anime film of the same name.

In addition to the game, the movie is planned for a DVD and Blu-Ray release in PAL territories at an unspecified future date ("coming soon"). That seems like a good idea -- licensed games probably work better when people know what the source material is.

Gallery: Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces

Joyswag: Super Saiyan prize pack [update]

by David Hinkle { Nov 18th 2009 at 10:30AM }

Update: The entry period has come to a close. Keep an eye on your email's inbox to see if you won!

Namco's just unleashed its first two Dragon Ball games after wrestling the license back away from Atari and we're looking to gift one of you Super Saiyan wannabes with the above prize pack. The gotta-have-it item is obviously the Instant Anime Character Costume, which features an orange t-shirt, blue wristbands, hair gel and completely ridiculous Namco employee pose cover art. Oh, if only our legal department would let us keep it!

Leave a comment telling us who your favorite character from the Dragon Ball series is (full list here)
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
Limit 1 entry per person per day
This entry period ends at 11:59AM ET on Tuesday, November 24
At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii ($50 ARV), Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for DS ($30 ARV) and an Instant Anime Character Costume ($20 ARV)
For a list of complete rules, click here

'Ridge Racer Accelerated' trademark filed

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 17th 2009 at 7:45PM }

You weren't there, man! You don't know what it was like. Pity is not an emotion one should ever feel for a man whose salary dwarfs the combined income of your entire staff, but there we were, dying inside for Kaz Hirai presenting Ridge Racer at E3 2006. The mere memory of that still causes those who were in the audience to sympathize for the executive, the way one would for a dog unable to use its hind legs and instead relying on a wheelie contraption.

With all that said, Siliconera has found a Namco Bandai trademark application for Ridge Racer Accelerated. We don't know if enough time has gone by for us not to desperately exclaim "Riiiiidge Racer!" every time we hear the title, but perhaps enough time has gone by for the corporations to think we won't.