PS3 Fanboy

You may have been left fascinated yet confused after reading the information blowout regarding Noby Noby Boy the other day. Sometimes it's just easier to show than tell, and this game's a pretty good example of that. Come see BOY stretch and eat everything he comes across in the latest trailer (after the break) from GameVideos. Noby Noby Boy looks quite fun, but is it as fun and innovative as Katamari Damacy was back in the day? We'll find out soon enough as the game releases next month in Japan with a worldwide release to follow closely.

[via Kotaku]

The new game from the creator of Katamari Damacy, Keita Takahashi, is so close to release. In fact it's only a month and a half away from its Japanese PS Store debut on January 29. After a year-long silence for Noby Noby Boy, we're finally actually learning something substantial about the title other than it being obviously colorful and strange.

The basic controls utilizes the PS3's dual analog sticks to bend and twist the worm-like character you control who's called BOY. The aim seems to revolve around making reports to another character named GIRL. Making better reports causes her to stretch longer allowing her to reach (unlock) new stages such as the Moon, Mars or even Jupiter. As noted by 1UP who went hands-on with the title, it's a rather bizarre explanation to listen to but that's what you can expect. "Noby Noby Boy has stages, characters, and objects to interact with, but it's up to the player to decide how to have fun with them, resulting in something closer to a literal "sandbox" than the kind of game that word usually describes ... it's less of a game, and more of a playground."

Rather interesting, no? It might be even more so knowing that Japan might not be the only ones getting the title this January. 1UP also reports in their hands-on that Namco is planning on releasing the game simultaneously worldwide. Hopefully we'll also get that sweet-spot pricing of ¥800 ($8.78). One last thing, make sure to check out the new images we've been given in our gallery below.

Source 1 - Famitsu
Source 2 - 1UP

Massive HDD installs are back in fashion for the fall season. Leading the charge is PS3-exclusive Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm's 3.9GB doozy. According to Gamers Platform, who are currently playing a retail build of the game, the install takes about 15-20 minutes. You might want to clear up some space if you're planning to pick up the game on November 4 when it finally hits stores.

If you've got limited space on your hard drive, then you must be looking out for other titles with mandatory installs. Here's a brief list of other popular fall titles which have the space-eating "feature": LittleBigPlanet (500MB), Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (1GB) and Fallout 3 (4.3GB).

Noby Noby Boy (notice the subtle spelling change?) was at the Tokyo Game Show last week via an all-new trailer (posted after the break); however, we still weren't given a clear idea on what the game was all about. In fact, the teaser trailer only made things seem slightly more confusing than previously. Exactly what is Katamari creator Keita Takahashi doing with this PS3 exclusive? We've been wondering that for an entire year now.

While the trailer didn't give us much to work with, we still were able to get an NNB news bite to surface elsewhere. We refer to Sony's TGS press website listing Takahashi's new title as a downloadable PSN title. This may not come out as much of a surprise, judging from what little we've seen of NNB thus far -- which has been comprised mostly of simple designs. Takahashi's new IP sure does look interesting, but we're wondering why is it taking the game so long to actually reveal itself.

We've got 25 brand new screenshots of the English, PS3 version of Eternal Sonata. Most of the new images in our gallery below are pics of the pseudo real-time battle system in action. If you're interest in hearing more about that, check out our short hands-on with the Japanese demo; otherwise, hit up our gallery. The game will be out on October 21.

We all 'heart' Katamari, don't we? Sure we do, but it's time we move roll on. While the series gave a generation of PS2 gamers a new found love for multicolored spandex and packrat-like habits, it seems that creator Keita Takahashi has a different vision for PS3 and this gen -- that would be Nobi Nobi Boy.

If you remember, the game made a splash late last year and has since then flown under the radar. Namco reveals that the title will be heading to this year's Tokyo Game Show next month, but unfortunately in video format only. Hopefully, we'll actually learn something this year.

In other news, Namco's PS3 line-up includes: Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. Both those titles will be playable. There's still no word on Tekken 6.

Eternal Sonata brought the charming sound of Chopin onto the Xbox 360 late last year; meanwhile on the other side of the console pond, PS3 owners waited with the utmost patience, just waiting for the title to cross over -- which it did. Then came the waiting for an official date, which will officially be over once you finish reading the next sentence ... or the headline.

The game will be out this October 21. That's four days shy of being exactly 13 months apart from the original release on 360. We're seeing shades of 2K's BioShock here, given the whole year difference. In any case, PS3 owners who so dearly wish to muck up the deceased composer's life can do so next month.

If you've been meaning to pick up Soulcalibur IV -- which was released about a month ago -- but have yet to, then perhaps you've been waiting for that demo that was promised. If you find yourself in with that crowd, perhaps getting some playtime with the newly released demo off the Japanese PS Store will tickle your fancy.

The demo, which is completely in English, weighs-in at about 879MB. It'll allow players to fight a few rounds as either Cassandra (pictured getting whacked in the head) or Nightmare (not pictured). For those of you who want to check out the weapon-clashing blades of SC IV, log into your Japanese accounts and download it. For those of you who don't have a Japanese account and are not in a rush, there's a pretty big chance of seeing the demo on your local PS Store update tomorrow.

After seeing Snake, Raiden and Kratos in Soul Calibur IV's Character Creation mode, we knew it was inevitable other fan favorites would soon arrive as well. As you can see above, two very famous plumbers were painstakingly recreated for your viewing pleasure. This site managed to collect even more craziness, with everyone ranging from Dante of Devil May Cry, The Bride of Kill Bill, Nappa & General Tao of Dragon Ball, Golbez of Final Fantasy IV, Cammy of Street Fighter and last but certainly not least, Gundam. Admittedly, we are a little scared by that last one. See who else you can recognize here.

[Via Kotaku]

If you're one of the few that's already in the Home beta, you may have already experienced the underwhelming virtual arcade, located in the Games Space within Home. The new version being released for Japan will expand the arcade offerings, and the new choices look yummy. Namco Bandai is offering seven games within Home, with four revealed already: Dig Dug, Galaga, Pac-Man and Xevious. Three more "secret" games will be revealed later.

More intriguing, a 2D Home-exclusive version of echochrome can also be accessed from within Home. With more and more game offerings being added to the online service, we're confident that everyone will want to access the virtual world at least once -- if only to play these games.

[Via Joystiq & Siliconera]

A lot of you thought the other day's post for Snake and Raiden in Soulcalibur IV was newsworthy, so we're going to bring you another one of these character creation posts. This time, it's that Greek dude with a temper problem -- Kratos. We know a lot of you got excited over the rumor, and after it got shot down, your excitement died with it.

So, we propose that if you really want the gruff voiced warrior battling it out with the guys and (well-endowed) ladies of Namco's Soulcalibur IV, then make him yourself. We've posted instruction on how to make him (and some more pics, too) after the break.

So, it's finally here. The definitive weapons-based fighter is back and we've been lucky enough to get an early taste of all the steel-clashing action. We've been practicing our combat skills over the weekend and have sunk a good amount of time into the PS3 version. So, want to know what our first few hours were like? Want to know answers to those questions burning in the back of your mind, like: Is the install worth it? What's up with rumble? If you're planning to pick up Soulcalibur IV tomorrow, you'll want to read on.

In a not so recent interview (it has been spotted/in print since April), Haruki Suzaki (project director for Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection) and Ryuichi Enomoto (international sales rep) talk to Filipino gaming mag GamEX Magazine about Tekken 6, which is currently out in arcades. The most important information regarding the game involves Suzaki tentatively revealing that Tekken 6 is due for a December 2008 release worldwide on consoles.

However, when pressed for more information regarding PS3-exclusivity, Suzaki replied "No. It hasn't been determined yet as of the moment ..." The statement -- given how the Tekken series has been strictly placed on PlayStation platforms for the past decade -- raises some eyebrows towards the possibility of Tekken 6 landing elsewhere as well. Suzaki reaffirms that the game is still being primarily developed for the PS3 ... but with that in mind, it sounds like Namco could end up pulling an FFXIII.

[Via N4G]

If you were so looking forward to a Soulcalibur IV demo out before the game's release on July 29, then get ready for disappointment. Namco reps at E3 have stated that a demo of the game won't be available until after release. As to when that demo would be available, the only response received was that it would appear some time "down the road." Last time we checked, Soulcalibur IV was a 'first day purchase' kind of game; by then, who needs a demo?

In related news, a press release sent out earlier today cordially announced that Soulcalibur IV had gone gold. There's only 12 days left Soulcalibur fans -- only 12 more days.