Now, who would have thought it?

According to the German gaming site GameFront, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun has released a report about a press conference which has just been held by Nintendo. As most press conferences go, the Nintendo officials spoke about upcoming game titles, the financial gains of the company, movements and plans in general. However, one simple statement from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata made the event a whole lot more exciting.

According to the Japanese newspaper, Iwata stated that they "would love to see Kutaragi join up with Nintendo".

Now, this may generate a lot of reactions, but then again, how this will all develop would be nothing short of interesting. After all, Kutaragi's honorary position at Sony isn't exactly a very active office, and The Father of Playstation has also stated in recent interviews that his next ventures would mostly be independent from Sony, so there MAY be a good chance that he'll take Nintendo up on his offer. After all, it cannot be denied that Kutaragi has a long history with Nintendo, since he IS the guy who gave the SNES the gift of sound, via the SPC700 chip which he designed.

However, considering the fact that Kutaragi was also once badly slighted by Iwata's predecessors (think: Hiroshi Yamauchi, CES 1989, and a botched Play Station announcement... note the space in between "Play Station"), one can't really tell what Crazy Ken will do next.

Last April 26, a ripple went through the entire gaming community when Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.">SCEI, now chairman">Ken Kutaragi, a.k.a. Father of Playstation, a.k.a. Crazy Ken announced that he was relinquishing his position as the CEO of SCEI to fellow Sony executive, Kaz Hirai. This was of course a big thing, as not only was the creator of the PlayStation handing over the reins of the whole PlayStation empire, but he was also leaving the division which he has built from the ground up, after having saved it from Sony's back shelf.

When he made the announcement of his departure, Kutaragi was known to have said that he was "looking forward to building on this vision in my next endeavour". Many wondered about what that next endeavour may be, but if Kutaragi speaks true, and EE Times translated correctly, then ever the Engineer that he actually is, Kutaragi may already be working on the next versions of the PlayStation.

In an exclusive interview which he granted to EE Times, Kutaragi is quoted to have said:

I have the vision of Playstation 4, 5 and 6, which will merge into the network. ... Now I'm ready to start working with a much wider world.

Also, Kutaragi has reportedly already provided the PS3 design team with "his vision for reducing costs along with design models extending about two years into the future". Sadly, he did not elaborate on what those visions may be, but we can perhaps surmise that it may have something to do with making further use of the PS3's networking capabilities.

Meanwhile, EE Times reports that Kutaragi will remain on good terms with Sony, but that his future endeavors will be "largely independent of Sony".

Just recently, the PS3 version of Bethesda's award-winning RPG, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, was released in PAL territories. This event has, of course, sent many PS3-owning fans running to stores to get a copy, but there may apparently be a problem with this picture. As Games Industry reports, it seems that the high street video game retailer GAME, either has not, or refuses to stock up on copies of the said video game title.

Despite having already gone on sale since April 26, it appears that all of GAME's branches across the UK and Ireland do not carry the title. Many find this odd, as a large retail chain such as GAME would have already had stocks of a game prior to its release, especially if the game is a popular one.

Upon checking the GAME website, though, we have also found that Oblivion is currently listed as "out of stock", as shown in the screenshot we have here.

So... since the Xbox 360 and PC version of Oblivion seems to be available, does GAME have some hard feelings towards Ubisoft, the publisher of the PS3 version of Oblivion? Do they dislike Sony, after that incident that they had with that infamous store sign that they had from last month? Or did their shipment of discs of Oblivion for the PS3 simply get lost or hijacked somewhere along the way?

GAME is yet to issue a comment about this matter.

For those who have been hankering for a Devil May Cry 4 update from Capcom, well, here's another massive dose of eye candy for you. This time around, we get loads of pictures of DMC4's hero, Nero, fighting against something that we're hoping to be a boss and not a lowly minion. *gulp*

In any case, the only thing that comes to mind at the moment is that the thing that Nero is fighting looks like a cross between the Balrog from the LOTR movie, plus Nelo Angelo and Phantom from DMC1. Hmm... eitherway, we get to see more of Nero's moves, and hopefully, this makes the waiting a bit easier, as we continue to pray that the Autumn release date of the game for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 finally gets narrowed down further.

But then again, in case that takes too long, at least there's the anime version of Dante to keep us distracted for a while, right? (And that brings up the question of: So, DMC's timeline now goes as DMC3, DMC the Anime, DMC1, DMC2, and then DMC4...?)

More screenshots right after the Jump!

Since last year, many Square Enix fans have been giddy over the news of the upcoming Square Enix Party for 2007. Well, in case you're one of those fans and you need that one last thing to convince you to finally book tickets (and a flight) for the event, then this may be what you need: the schedule of activities of this year's Party.

According to Square Enix's official site, the event which will run from May 12 to May 13 will consist of contests, celebrations, and tributes to some of its game titles. As listed on its site, one of the focuses of the first day would be the performances of some theme song artists, as well as the appearance of a special, secret guest who will be there to promote Dragon Quest Monsters: Battle Road.

Then, on the second day, there will be a special stage set up for Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors which will host a "mixed screening and recording" of the game (according to Google Translate anyway...), which will be done while previously-unreleased images of the game are being shown at the same time. After that, there will also be a competition for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, where contestants will vie for the title of Monster Master. The best part is that members of the audience who cheered for the winner will also be receiving original merchandise as prizes. Later on, there will also be another panel which will feature the people behind the Square Enix monthly manga magazine, Shonen Gangan. The panelists will be speaking about a new Square Enix anime which will be launched this April on TV Tokyo.

If you think that's a lot, well it's only part of it, as while all of those are happening, the fifth year celebration for the Square Enix MMORPG Final Fantasy XIwill also be happening. Among the activities that will be part of the celebration will be cosplay contests, trivia contests, movie contests, fan art contests, panels, mini-concerts, chocobo races, and a "Live Quest", to name just a few.

Take note that these are only SOME of the many activities that are currently lined up for the Square Enix Party, and from the looks of it, it seems that the company behind some of the best games that we have ever played is doing its best to live up to its name, by throwing some of the best events that a fan could ever wish for.

About a week ago, we put up some Game Informer scans which contained new information about the much-awaited PS3 and Xbox 360 game, Grand Theft Auto 4. Among the details that were discussed in those scans was why the new Liberty City which will be the venue in the game, will be based on a carbon copy of New York City.

Well, for those who are still doubting that the new Liberty City is REALLY directly based on the Big Apple, then check out what Google Maps has got to say about that. Basically, some kind soul has taken the map of New York, and from there, pointed out landmarks which can be found in the game. On top of pointing out the landmarks, whoever made the map has also included the Liberty City counterpart of the said buildings or monuments. For example, clicking on the marker for the Statue of Liberty will reveal that in the game, it is known as the Statue of Happiness.

There are also several guesses that are on the map, including a theory on whether JFK airport will be included in the game.

Anyway, check it out via the source link that we included below, and tell us if you've got any theories of your own.

For those who have been eagerly awaiting their chance to be able to roll up ramen, islands, hopes, and dreams once again, then listen up as GamePro has some new details on the latest Katamari game. According to them (who managed to see the first few stages in action, the lucky guys...), besides getting a spankin' new soundtrack, Beautiful Katamari Damacy for the PS3 and the Xbox 360 will also be receiving huge doses of technical upgrades. For starters, since the game has gone next-gen, fans can now expect to play as the beloved Prince in HD glory. Among the improvements that the folks from GamePro noted are:

• support for 720p
• seamless Katamari growth
• increased draw distances
• improved physics simulation which allows more realism and more on-screen objects

Despite this leap in technology, they assure players that the game continues to maintain the quirky retro look, as well as the addictive gameplay that has made the series popular. Speaking of leaps in technology, one of the most exciting features that the next-gen Katamari game will have has got to be its online features. Previously, a Famitsu scan revealed to us that there will indeed be online play for Beautiful Katamari Damacy, but GamePro confirms that on both XBL and PSN, Downloadable Content">downloadable content will be made available. Among the things that you can download will be new cousins, presents, objects, and even entire stages.

Meanwhile, despite all this exciting developments, there are also unconfirmed reports on whether the team behind the game will be implementing online leaderboards or not, and there is also still no word on how many online players the game can or will support. Other details that are yet to be confirmed would be the availability of a downloadable demo, official release dates, as well as the title's price, so stay tuned as we wait for news about those.

Thanks to karim baki for the tip!

We love Katamari!!

No, we're not referring to the PS2 Katamari Damacy sequel, but we're actually voicing out our reverence for the King of All Cosmos and the Prince (well, at least this writer is anyway...). In any case, as Namco Bandai's Beautiful Katamari Damacy has just been recently announced for both the PS3 and the Xbox 360, finding these new scans about it are just nothing short of delightful. In any case, with the use of our appallingly sketchy knowledge of the written Japanese language, the scans reveal several key things, namely:

• the game will indeed support online play
• the Xbox 360 version will be played in the same way as the previous Katamari games - with both analog sticks
• there will be more cousins to pick up
• and oh my goodness, did the King of All Cosmos just have a wardrobe change...?

Anyway, the scans also include an interview with the game's director, and there seem to be questions about Beautiful Katamari Damacy's controls on the different platforms, as well as inquiries about the artists who will be involved in the title's soundtrack (after all, Katamari games ARE famous for their trippy music).

So yes, we are now eagerly looking forward to picking up... *checks notes* ... vaulting boxes, pencils, erasers, postcards, ramen, robots, cows, sheep, this girl, that boy, moms and dads, bicycles, motorbikes, homes, buildings, rainbows, clouds, islands, hopes and dreams once again.

Sing with me now! Naaaa~ na na na na na naa, Katamari Damacy...

Barely a week ago, we mentioned that the magazine GameInformer will soon be putting out some new information about the much-awaited installment to the Grand Theft Auto series of games from Rockstar. Well, true to their word, they did put out a hefty amount of details about the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 4, and through the glory of the internet (and axxelkill_U of the GameSwank forums who put these images up), scans of the said report are now circulating and have finally made it to us.

The report basically involved GI's take on the demo of GTA 4 that was provided to them by Dan Houser, the vice president of creative for this video game (the demo was played on an Xbox 360 debug unit, by the way). On top of that, Houser also provided his own input and views on certain aspects of the game, and most importantly, he also confirmed details and answered some questions that many fans have been asking for the longest time.

So, on with the show!

On release dates and other game details
According to Houser, GTA 4 will be released by October 16 this year for both the PS3 and the Xbox 360. He mentioned that both versions will be identical, except for one glaring thing: downloadable "episodic" content will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 version. One other thing that he mentioned was that even though the game is meant to be a single-player experience, it WILL have multiplayer support. He gave no further details about this last bit... except maybe that it will NOT be similar to an MMORPG (sorry, folks).

As for the physics of the game, GameInformer seems pretty impressed by it, while Houser promises that "the physics are going to be pretty amazing". After all, the title makes use of RAGE, or the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine, which we last saw in action in another Rockstar title, Table Tennis. In fact, all vehicles in the game will also feature new physics - even the camera angle of the car has changed - to allow players to "see more of the verticality of the city".

No details are released about the game's targeting system though, so we'll have to wait for that.

More details and the full set of scans after the jump!

For those who haven't booked a flight to Australia yet, then the people from Eminence Orchestra would like to remind you that you still have some time left to go ahead and do so. After all, one of the most popular video game orchestral performances is headed for Sydney and Melbourne in merely a week. That's right, in case you forgot, Eminence Symphony Orchestra's A Night in Fantasia 2007 - Symphonic Games Edition, will be making waves in the Land of the Koalas, via their proven musical talent as well as their skill in performing the music from video games that we know and love.

Set to make an appearance in Sydney on April 20 and 21, then in Melbourne on April 27, the 60-piece orchesrtra will be accompanied by a 30-piece choir and will be conducted by Philip Chu. Meanwhile, tunes that fans can look forward to will include classic video game themes from titles such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XII, FF Tactics and the rest of the FF series, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Shadow of the Colossus, Tales of Legendia, Metal Gear Solid, WoW: The Burning Crusade, Super Mario Brothers and Legend of Zelda, to name just a few.

Those who want a seat for the show can either order their tickets online via TicketMaster, or those who will be seeing the Sydney performance can simply drop by the local Kinokuniya store.

Now, there's just one song request that I'd like to make... please, please, please play Radical Dreamers from Chrono Cross. Either that, or I'll be happy with whatever Chocobo theme that they put in there. So with the days ticking away until the performance begins, what song would you want to hear the Eminence folks play?