The official sales figures for White Knight Chronicles' Japanese debut are finally out. Media Create shows that the game sold just under 207,000 units during the week of December 22nd to the 28th. Bearing in mind that White Knight Chronicles is a new IP and that this figure accounts for only three days of sales, we're impressed. To put it into perspective, White Knight Chronicles now has the third best opening week PS3 sales ranking for the region, after MGS4 (476K) and Devil May Cry 4 (212K). Both of which are long-running and very popular franchises.
White Knight Chronicles also had an impact on PS3 hardware sales, keeping the upward momentum going by increasing sales from 39,136 units the previous week to 45,989 units. This is the highest number of units sold in a single week since Metal Gear Solid 4 was released in June (which shifted 75,311 units). We're intrigued to see how both the game and the PS3 itself continue to sell in the following weeks.
Yes, White Knight Chronicles is coming to North America; Akihiro Hino, the CEO and president of Level-5, says so himself. In an interview with GameTrailers, Hino reaffirmed that Level-5 plans to bring the game over to North America, but he did not disclose when it would be coming.
Furthermore, when pressed for the possibility of North American gamers playing alongside Japanese gamers in WKC's online components, Hino neither denied nor confirmed the cross-region play with a "hasn't been decided yet" response. This sort of wording leads to speculation that such a feature might be in the works and will be implemented if Level-5 works out all the kinks. It would be great if they do. To see the full video interview, just have a look past the break.
Merry Christmas, Japan! While the Western world grows fat on its own laziness (not to mention a massive amount of Christmas food) Japanese game stores remain open to sell five new great PS3 games. What's that strange smell, you ask? That's our pure, unadulterated jealousy. We really want to play White Knight Chronicles. Here's the release list:
In case you're wondering, your PS3 is region free. So, yes, you can import White Knight Chronicles if you so wish. We're not sure if it's the sort of game that will get downloadable content, but if it does you'll have to get it from the Japanese PSN Store. Tempting though, isn't it?
Posted Dec 17th 2008 1:05PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has reviewed the upcoming Level-5 RPG White Knight Chronicles and they weren't too impressed it, giving the PS3 exclusive a score of 29/40 (7,8,7,7). The reviewers didn't care for a number of elements in the game, such as the in-game menus, battle controls, chatting (apparently it was difficult to chat while moving around) and overly simplistic battle system. However, they did praise the game's customizable combos, epic battles and gorgeous looking world. Finally, the game length is said to clock in at about 30 hours.
This doesn't bode well for White Knight Chronicles -- but do keep in mind that Famitsu has had rather strange opinions in the past -- they gave the universally panned Haze a 34/40 (9,8,9,8).
Level-5's first big PS3 RPG, White Knight Chronicles, is hitting Japan very soon. In order to get the populace ready for this epic adventure, the official Japanese site now features a beautifully illustrated prequel manga. Simply click on "Special" at the top of the site to get a peek at the first issue. Sure, it's in Japanese, but for fans that are eagerly awaiting this game, this is a nice way of seeing the expansive world of WKC.
The last time we did a story on White Knight Chronicles, we were bringing you a 14-minute look at Level-5's studio and the online components of the game. It was an interesting look, having the developers show everyone around, but now it' time for a new trailer (and even more footage of online play).
The trailer posted above is the same one that was played at the Tokyo Game Show last month. A lot of it includes spliced up imagery from the first trailer the year, before but it's got a few new things in there. The vid posted after the break shows us a little bit about how the "live party" online portion of the game works. Get into that if you want to know more.
Way back last month at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony's booth had a small closed theater for White Knight Chronicles. After watching an all-Japanese interview and a brief trailer, closed theater-goers received a little card which gives access to a special video made available starting today. While all of you couldn't grab a card and consequently are not able to see this new video, we've done the work for you and are hosting the special treat for you to watch right here.
White Knight Chronicles fans (especially the ones who can understand Japanese) will surely be interested in seeing this 14-minute long look into the making of the game. The first five minutes takes us on a guided tour through Level-5's posh Fukuoka studio. CEO and president of Level-5, Akihiro Hino, then takes us through eight minutes of the battle system, fending off overgrown monsters and transforming into the White Knight himself. The last minute includes some footage seen from the TGS trailer. So watch it right now! WNC is out in Japan on Christmas Day, December 25.
White Knight Chronicles has changed a lot since we played it at Tokyo Game Show last year. Our conclusion at the time was that the game would be a gorgeous JRPG with an intriguing, customizable battle system; an exciting prospect for RPG-starved PS3 owners to be sure. However, after today's White Knight Chronicles presentation, we're sure the game has the potential to be much more than that.
A Level-5 employee introduced us to the game's story: It follows a boy and his search for a kidnapped princess slash love interest after discovering a conveniently hidden set of magic armor ... a tad clichéd (even by Japanese standards). In order to demonstrate the game's sense of enormity and scale we were shown a few concept pieces for the game. While rolling plains and towering castles are par for the course when it comes to JRPGs, it's been a while since we've seen an entire town straddled atop an enormous creature.
We covered the battle system quite extensively at TGS last year. We took the opportunity to space out a little while the developers explained how to link character abilities together into combos, using the palette menu and how Leonard can transform into the eponymous White Knight. Not that we were bored -- the battle system was the only thing that really set White Knight Chronicles apart. Until it was revealed that the game would have a four-player online mode, that is.
Posted Oct 8th 2008 11:45AM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki PlayStation reveals in its latest issue an online co-op mode for the Level-5 RPG White Knight Story. This online mode is independent of the story mode, but will feature characters from the single-player mode. Here is how it works: a lobby will accommodate 16 players, who will then be separated into groups of up to four in order to tackle quests and challenges. This mode will also give players a way to chat with one another. White Knight Story will be playable at TGS, so we'll let you know our thoughts on the game when we get some hands-on time with it.
Posted Sep 17th 2008 9:30AM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
According to this Famitsu scan, the PS3 exclusive White Knight Story will be released on Japan on December 25th. The four-page story features an interview with producer Akihiro Hino. A subtitle has been unveiled, which translates to Ancient Beat. Aino tells us development is nearing the end but not completed. The producer claims this is the most epic title he has worked on and mentions an aspect of the game that is only possible on the PS3. Unfortunately, no word yet on a release date outside of Japan.
[Via PS3Hyper -- thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Posted Sep 5th 2008 3:00PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Oops! Looks like we were a bit too eager to report on White Knight Story's release date. Yesterday we stated that the latest issue of Famitsu pegged the PS3 exclusive RPG's Japanese release date as December 11th. A flip through the actual magazine doesn't reveal the same date; in fact, the date is still unannounced.
Posted Aug 29th 2008 10:00AM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Some have been complaining lately that the PS3 is lacking in JRPGs, but most people forget that White Knight Story was mentioned in a Sony presentation as a game that will launch this fiscal year ending in April 2009. All we have from the PS3-exclusive Level-5 RPG thus far has been infrequent updates of screenshots and concept illustrations. But a tease on the official websites at Sony Japan and Level-5 tells us that's all about to change: "The days of wakening are coming soon." (translation courtesy of PS3Hyper) Speculation range from an announcement at Tokyo Game Show or some information in an upcoming issue of Famitsu. Stay tuned!
It's been a long time since we've seen or heard anything regarding Level 5's upcoming RPG, White Knight Chronicles (the "chronicles" moniker seems popular for this generation of RPG's, really). However, Jeremiah at PS3 Forums slapped up a ton of scans from magazines in pretty excellent resolutions. Our grammar has taken a vacation because our minds are twisted in horrid ways from thinking about this game.
A lot of the scans seems old, many of the pictures we've probably posted before, but just in case these are updated screens (we think the above image is showing off the improved graphics, but aren't sure) or a new page here or there, we're bringing them to your attention. Let's hope this game pops up at E3 or TGS later this year.
