It was way back in June when Nikkei Corporate reported that both Koei and Tecmo were working on looking to combine their respective IP to unite their fanbases. While it's not the Xtremely Bouncy Dead or Alive Bikini Beach Volleyball that some folks were hoping for, the new rollout is still very much capable of meeting the now merged publishers' goal of bringing fanbases together.

Just out of the presswire, it looks like Namco Bandai won't be the only publisher with a four-game booth. At least, that's what the announcements have been telling us so far. But what makes this E3 special for Koei is that it'll be the first time for them to publicly debut new titles outside Japan. What those are, you'll find out after the jump.

During an interview, the big guys from Koei confirmed Fatal Inertia for the Sony PlayStation 3 (previously moved to Microsoft Xbox 360) and its 2008 release. While PS3 owners look forward to some futuristic hovercraft racing action, Koei fans can count on more Dynasty Warriors hack-and-slash goodness for years to come.

Speaking of Fatal Inertia, Koei's managing executive officer and deputy general manager Takazumi Tomoike mentioned how the game is almost entirely Canadian-made. Koei Canada is a young studio with only six or seven Japanese people, he continued. Only around 20 people are working on the game's development, and they're all young people who are still learning how to build a game through this sci-fi racer.

The discussion soon touched the issue of western developers being more advanced than those in Japan. When talking about development of multiplatform games, Tomoike believes Japan is lagging behind because Japanese companies focus more on bringing out the maximum potential of specific platforms.

Another way Japan falls behind is in sharing technology within the company. Tomoike admitted that even Koei is not too efficient in sharing information among themselves, seen in how Dynasty Warriors games are different from Kessen titles. Other companies have it worse though, like one famous for losing the source code of their own RPG because they hid it from themselves too well.

Software division executive officer Akihiro Suzuki also shared some insights, like how installments in the long-running Dynasty Warriors series are similar yet different. We get the good 'ol hack-and-slash in the same "one man against a thousand" flavor from every DW game, as Suzuki puts it. Some complain, but it looks like we can expect more button-mashing action to come.

His reply when asked how long the series will last, Suzuki replied, "As long as [development studio] Omega Force wants to continue with it, I think it will continue." It goes without saying that most people simply don't see Omega Force growing tired of ancient Chinese guys going at it.

There's one simple reason why Omega Force and Koei's Dynasty Warriors is a huge international draw: hacking and slashing never get old and are appealing no matter what age group you're in. The mayhem of storming enemy fortresses and busting up thousands of hapless, nameless extras is a sure recipe for fun, and the only thing better than that is doing it with the next-gen muscles of the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Dynasty Warriors 6 (PS3, Xbox 360) will be shown off at the Tokyo Game Show 2007 in Japan, but as an appetizer, Koei let loose these 20 lovely screens from the game. Evidently, it's an ancient Chinese setting, but as we all know, the story comes second to the explosive action in store.

The plot for Dynasty Warriors 6 is based on the Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by author Luo Guanzhong. The game is set for release this November in Japan and in January for the U.S. and Europe. We'll keep you posted for more developments in TGS 2007 soon.

More Dynasty Warriors 6 screenshots at the Full Article!

 

Right now, this combination of Gundam and Dynasty Warriors franchises looks like a match made in heaven, as evidenced by the screenshots we've found for you. Omega Force's latest project, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, is a sci-fi hack and slash action rendition of the the ever-popular Gundam series (think Dynasty Warriors cosplaying as Gundam 'bots). The game will be released in late Summer this year.

You can take on the role of your Gundam character of your choice: For now we have a few character profiles of some UC (Universal Century) Gundam characters such as Judau, Bright Noa, Kamille Vidan, and Haman Khan among others. Players can explore and relive the Gundam mythos through playing each of the character's storylines and perspectives on the battles that will be encountered in the game.

We can certainly expect the same fast-paced action from Omega Force's other Dynasty Warriors titles. Rendered in high-definition, the screens that we have right now look sweet, and the game promises to deliver terrestrial as well as stellar action in lightning-fast speed.

   

More screenshots after the jump!

If you've always thought that history should be different and that the French and English wars were done wrong, then Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War will give you the chance to (sort of) do something about it.

One of the latest offerings from Koei for both the PS3 and the Xbox360, Bladestorm will allow players to take on the role of mercenaries, and from there, they can then decide whether they wish to give their support to either England or France. As commander, they will have various units at their disposal, and it will be up to them to effectively wield their troops of infantry, cavalry, and archers.

Developed by Omega Force, Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War is set to be released by Q2 of this year.

The Gundam franchise - anime, books, toys, everything - is one of the biggest sellers in Japan. Of course, this also translates to the franchise's entries into the videogames market. One example is Gundam Musou, an unexpected collaboration between Namco Bandai and Koei's Omega Force, the team behind the highly successful Dynasty Warriors franchise.

The title has become one of the most pre-ordered games for the Sony PS3, and Namco Bandai has even gone so far as to say that it expects the game to sell well over a million copies. The buzz in Japan even has some people pegging the game as the most important game for the PS3 this year.

Yoshiyasu Horiuchi, Gundam Musou's chief producer, has taken all of these things in stride. In a recent interview with 1UP, he conceded that there is always pressure whenever you're developing a Gundam game. The game's budget, along with the fact that they were developing it on next-gen hardware and were borrowing the Musou brand and using Omega Force staff to develop the concept, also added to the pressure.

The full article awaits after the jump!

France and England are fighting again, and this time, it doesn't matter who wins. Everybody will just get back up to fight another day, or on another round (if you so choose). That's exactly what makes Bladestorm such a dream to play: full scale war on the console without innocent villagers getting in the way of looting and pillaging.

Your role? Simple, pick a side (or imagine yourself fighting on your own side) and decimate your enemies with your own army. Granted, there's a lot more at stake than your pride when you go into battle, but losing a virtual army comes with zero cost, and with no casualties to anything other than your thumbs.

Why are we speaking so nonchalantly about war, even a virtual one? Simple: we have to convince you that these shots aren't of real people. Just making sure, you know. In any case, expect Koei and Omega Force to have this wrapped up and shipped to stores in the second quarter. Till then, enjoy these fresh screenies we have of the game.

More screens await after the jump!

Ah, finally, details about this new Gundam game for the PS3 is finally starting to trickle in, and we finally get to know a little bit more about it.

In any case, this project which is the product of work from both Koei and Namco Bandai , is a cross between the Gundam and Dynasty Warriors franchises. It has been, and still is, in development over at the Omega Force studios, and though what we have here isn't comprehensive yet, we now at least know that Gundam Musou will be seeing a Japanese release by Spring 2007.

Besides getting to mow down thousands of enemies in one go, it has also been revealed that the Dash function has been added to the game to make it feel even more mecha-y. Another feature would be the main mode of play known as "Official Mode" which allows you to play as Ray Amuro or other characters from the Gundam series, and each character will then have to work through a storyline, which gives the player several perspectives on events.

So are the features as promising as it looks? I guess we'll know by this Spring.