Capcom has revealed two new Capcorom plushies inspired by MegaMan.EXE from the Mega Man Battle Network series. The company will start selling these new plushies in Japan in late August 2024.
Capcom will specifically model the two new plushies after the alternate forms of MegaMan.EXE. One of them will be based on the Hub Style, which is also alternatively known in Japan as the Saito Style Rockman.EXE. The other will be inspired by Dark MegaMan.EXE, complete with the red eyes.
Each plush will be available for purchase for 1,100 yen (~$7.60) at Capcom stores in Tokyo and Osaka on August 30, 2024. Capcom will add the same items to its online crane game Capcom Net Catcher on August 31, 2024. The latter will give chances for people who live elsewhere in Japan and cannot easily visit the stores to get the plushies.
The new Mega Man Battle Network MegaMan.EXE Capcorom plushies will be available in Japan on August 30, 2024. The items will be modeled after the grid-based battle RPG series that originally appeared on the Game Boy Advance in the 2000s. People can now play all mainline entries of the series again with Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC.
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]]>Square Enix has revealed new wappen badges modeled after characters from the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series. The company will release the items in September 2024. It has opened pre-orders for these badges on its Japanese e-Store.
The back side of these badges has an adhesive part, so the owner will be able to simply place them like stickers or attach them via ironing. However, Square Enix recommends sewing the items if one wants to put them on clothes that require regular laundry.
The character badges will be available in two separate volumes. Volume 1 will feature characters from the first three series entries, while Volume 2 will cover Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI. Each volume will be available in an 8-in-1 pack with the same price tag of 7,480 yen (~$51.60). However, the packs' contents will be completely randomized, so there will be no guarantee that the buyer can get all eight unique badges in a single purchase.
Square Enix has been extensively promoting the Pixel Remasters of the first six Final Fantasy mainline entries. In mid-August 2024, the company launched advertisement videos showing the games at the JR-East Shinjuku train station. It will also restock the PS4 and Switch physical copies of the collection in October 2024.
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster character wappen badges will be available on September 21, 2024.
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]]>Hibino Corporation has announced that it will release new smart toys based on Square Enix's NieR Automata under the Anitech brand. The company will produce a Virtuous Contract sword that comes with a remote control feature for the following Pod 042 toy.
The Virtuous Contract sword will appear earlier in the Fall season of 2025. With a length of over 130 cm (51.18 inches), it will generate sound effects and lights as the owner swings it around. The sword will also contain voice lines from its original user 2B.
The Pod 042 toy will not be available until 2027, but it will be the main highlight of this collection. It will feature an automatic transformation feature, and the owner will also be able to remotely control it via the Virtuous Contract sword or a smartphone app. It can also fire a laser beam with sound effects. In addition, the pod will also have voice lines ranging from alarm messages at specified times to special messages that play when the owner pats it.
The Anitech smart toys of NieR Automata Virtuous Contract sword and Pod 042 will be available in Fall 2025 and 2027, respectively. The items will be based on Square Enix's video game that has been available worldwide on the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. The company announced that the game has surpassed eight million units in sales as of its seventh anniversary in February 2024.
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]]>Bandai Namco has already announced that it will end its service for Blue Protocol in January 2025. However, it will not simply cease adding content to the MMORPG that has been running in Japan since mid-June 2023. On the Japanese announcement page, Bandai Namco has also published a closure roadmap for Blue Protocol.
The Blue Protocol closure roadmap reveals that Bandai Namco will continue adding content like event missions and Gasha costume banners to the game until December 2024. The final major update will appear on December 18, 2024. It will add a new story chapter with a new map and a maximum level cap increase. But even though the list is already very extensive, Bandai Namco noted that not all content updates are listed in this roadmap.
Here is the extensive roadmap for the upcoming closure of Blue Protocol:
Blue Protocol is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X in Japan until January 18, 2025.
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]]>Koei Tecmo has updated its annual Tokyo Game Show webpage with details for its 2024 appearance. The company will set up playable demos of Dynasty Warriors Origins and Fairy Tail 2 as the primary highlights of the Koei Tecmo TGS 2024 booth.
In addition, the company announced that it will further decorate its booth with statues of key characters from both games. It will place a statue of the Dynasty Warriors Origins version of Lu Bu, as well as Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia from the sequel to the game adaptation of Hiro Mashima's manga series.
As a reminder, Koei Tecmo has announced that it will release Fairy Tail 2 first for PCs worldwide on December 11, 2024. The console releases on the PS5, PS4, and Switch will appear in Japan and East Asia on December 12, 2024, and in North America and Europe on December 13, 2024. Meanwhile, Dynasty Warriors Origins is still only slated for release on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2025.
Koei Tecmo has yet to confirm other titles it will showcase in TGS 2024 besides Dynasty Warriors Origins and Fairy Tail 2 as of the new webpage's opening. However, the company has confirmed that it will hold its own online program on Friday, September 27, 2024, at 5 PM JST.
Tokyo Game Show 2024 will take place at Makuhari Messe on September 26-29, 2024.
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]]>Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival will no longer be exclusive to Nintendo Switch. Bandai Namco has announced that it will release the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC versions of Rhythm Festival on November 7, 2024.
Most of the new platform releases will only be available for purchase digitally. The PC version will be available via Steam and Xbox Games Store. However, Bandai Namco has so far confirmed that it will release physical copies of the PS5 version in Japan.
The PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S versions of Rhythm Festival will support a frame rate of 120 fps. It will be the first time Bandai Namco is adding such a feature in a Taiko no Tatsujin console entry. People can immediately check how the game's frame rate looks like, as Bandai Namco has released a demo version on each platform.
The new platform versions will also have a number of different tracks to replace the Nintendo-exclusive music. The original Switch version featured tracks from Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, and Kirby Star Allies. Bandai Namco will replace the aforementioned tracks with a Monster Hunter: World medley, "Dr. Wily Stage 1" from Mega Man 2, and "Last Surprise" from Persona 5.
In addition to the subscription-based Taiko Music Pass, Bandai Namco will also sell a Song Collection Set DLC that adds numerous existing songs for the new platform releases. The Anime Song Collection will include "I'm Invincible" and "New Genesis" from One Piece Film Red, as well as Haruhi Suzumiya's "God Knows..." The DLC will also contain a Pop Collection that includes the xxxHOLiC movie theme song "Habit" and a Vocaloid Song Collection that contains "Luka Luka Night Fever" among others.
The official English trailer for the new platform releases of Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is available to watch on YouTube:
The original version of Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival has been available on Nintendo Switch since September 2022. Bandai Namco will release the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC versions of the game on November 7, 2024.
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]]>Square Enix announced that it has launched a collaboration event between its NFT game Symbiogenesis and Zielchain. The latter is an NFT project spearheaded by the illustrator Yoshitaka Amano.
The company has placed five items themed after Zielchain inside Symbiogenesis' in-game map for a limited time. People who want to participate in this event will have to find the items by following clues posted on the game's social media accounts.
Players who have obtained all five items will receive exclusive NFT art drawn by Yoshitaka Amano himself. In addition, Square Enix will hold a lottery where the event completionists may win additional prizes. The company will reward Special Auction tickets to 20 lucky people and a Chapter 3 Starter Pack to 50 winners. The latter will contain a stamina recovery potion and a Chapter 3 key visual NFT, as well as replicas of the NFT characters Chimney, Tuber, Sublime, and Farl.
As a refresher, Yoshitaka Amano first revealed his NFT project Zielchain in 2022. The platform would sell NFT art which would also be featured in his VR museum. The Yoshitaka Amano VR Museum has since been made available on PCs via Steam in late September 2023. While the app is free to download and access, it also contains in-app purchases to unlock more content inside the virtual museum.
Symbiogenesis is available to access via Google Chrome browsers on PCs and mobile devices. The collaboration event with Yoshitaka Amano's NFT project Zielchain will run until September 10, 2024.
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]]>Capcom has revealed that it will produce and sell its own Street Fighter 6 Juri figure. The company will release the figure as a part of the Capcom Figure Builder Creators Model series in March 2025.
This figure will be completely static with no movable parts. The Ruined Lab stage will serve as an inspiration for the figure's set base. The set's overall height will be approximately 31 cm (12.2 inches), which is measured from the bottom base to the tip of the pole.
Pre-orders for the figure are immediately available on the Japanese e-Capcom store at 27,500 yen (~$191.60). People residing outside Japan can also place their orders with international shipping via the WorldShopping widget.
Here are the sample images showing the upcoming Juri figure from various angles:
Juri will be the second Street Fighter 6 character to get a figure produced directly by Capcom. The first one is Cammy, whose figure will be available on January 30, 2024. Juri will also get even more figure and statue releases from other companies. Prime 1 Studio is working on a detailed statue of Juri, and Kaiyodo will work on a Revoltech of the same character after releasing Chun-Li's action figure.
The Capcom Figure Builder Creators Model of Juri from Street Fighter 6 will be available on March 13, 2024.
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]]>Nintendo had held its regular Nintendo Direct stream in both Japanese and English on August 27, 2024. The company technically held two Directs in the same month. But while the first Direct was exclusively focused on the Nintendo Museum, this newer one was more in line with prior Directs as it showcased upcoming games.
This Direct combined the Indie World segment with the Partner Showcase segment, which focused on titles from third-party companies. It was also the case with the Japanese version, where "Partner Showcase" is alternatively known as "Soft Maker Lineup."
As with prior Directs, the Japanese version exclusively featured several titles. Most of them are visual novels, ranging from the previously announced ones like Kamaitachi no Yoru x3 and Hokkaido Serial Murder: Gone in Okhotsk to new reveals like Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You Emotional.
Here is the complete list of games featured in the Japanese August 2024 Nintendo Direct Indie World and Partner Showcase. This list is ordered based on the games' appearances in the show.
These are the titles shown in the Japanese Indie World
And here are the titles revealed in the Japanese Nintendo Direct's Soft Maker Lineup:
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]]>Konami has revealed Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You Emotional at the August 2024 Japanese Nintendo Direct. The new version of the Tokimeki Memorial series' inaugural title will be available on Nintendo Switch in 2025.
Forever With You Emotional will be based on the first-ever Tokimeki Memorial game. The player will control a Japanese male high-schooler, who has to find a female schoolmate to confess love by graduation. The new version will also have an option to toggle between the classic pixel graphics and more modern refined art for the characters.
This new reveal is the result of Konami fulfilling its promise to make a new game-related announcement for Tokimeki Memorial after holding the 30th anniversary concert in May 2024. The series marks its 30th anniversary in 2024, following the original game's release for PC Engine in 1994. The subtitle Forever With You Emotional implies that Konami will improve this release from Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You, the PlayStation version that came out in 1995.
Nintendo has also uploaded the standalone Direct trailer for Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You Emotional on its Japanese YouTube channel:
Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You Emotional will be available for Nintendo Switch in Japan in 2025.
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]]>SuperGroupies has announced that it is restocking its collection of merchandise based on the NieR Automata Ver1.1a anime. The brand gives people another chance to purchase the items on the brand's Japanese web store. It also supports global deliveries with the WorldShopping widget.
SuperGroupies originally revealed the Nier Automata Ver1.1a merchandise lineup in late September 2023. It held a pre-order window for the items until mid-October 2023. The brand first released the items in May 2024.
The collection consists of watches, wallets, and bags inspired by 2B and 9S. The wallets and watches for both characters have the same price tags of ¥14,850 (~$103.45) and ¥24,200 (~$168.60), respectively. 2B's backpack bag is priced at ¥19,800 (~$137.95), while 9S' bag costs slightly less at ¥17,600 (~$122.60).
Even though the brand has restocked the items, they are still only available in limited amounts. In less than 10 hours after SuperGroupies published the announcement tweet, only five out of the six items remain available, as 2B's wallet has already sold out.
The SuperGroupies NieR Automata Ver1.1a merchandise collection is available for purchase while stocks last. These items are specifically based on the anime adaptation of Square Enix's popular video game NieR Automata. The anime's second cour launched in July 2024.
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]]>The crossover between Mobile Police Patlabor and Zoids will continue with a new manga serialization. Takara Tomy has revealed that it is working with Patlabor's creator group Headgear to produce a new manga adaptation of the crossover. It will be available in Fall 2024 with the title Zoids X Patlabor: Code Name B.U.D.D.Y.
The companies have also revealed the key staff members working on this new project, and most of them had previously worked on the Patlabor series. The character designer Akemi Takada and scenario writer Kazunori Ito had worked on the original Patlabor anime, and the mechanical designer Hidetaka Denjin made the AV-98 Ingram Moderoid model kit boxart. This will be the first involvement in both Zoids and Patlabor franchises for the manga artist Naoto Tsushima, who had mostly worked on Transformers manga titles.
Takara Tomy first revealed the crossover between Zoids and Patlabor in 2023 to mark the respective 40th and 35th anniversaries of both franchises. The company revealed a special model kit featuring the Metropolitan Police Force version of the Hunter Wolf, which it eventually released in June 2024.
The new manga Zoids X Patlabor: Code Name B.U.D.D.Y. will be available in the Fall season of 2024.
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]]>Sunrise has announced that it will screen new versions of the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom movie with a new epilogue in Japan. People residing in the country will be able to watch the new version in theaters for a limited time throughout the Fall season of 2024.
The new version of the movie will have over 500 updated cutscenes. However, the most important addition will be the new epilogue at the end of the movie. Sunrise will hold two separate windows for the new Gundam SEED Freedom movie screening, and each of them will feature a different epilogue. The first one will run from September 20, 2024, until October 3, 2024. The second one will be available on November 1-14, 2024.
Gundam SEED Freedom was first available in Japanese theaters from January 26, 2024, until May 23, 2024. Sunrise and Bandai Namco also worked with theaters worldwide to gradually release the movie outside Japan. The companies eventually made the movie available online via Netflix and Prime Video worldwide in early June 2024.
The new movie version of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom will be available in Japanese theaters from September 20, 2024, until October 3, 2024, and November 1-14, 2024.
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]]>SNK has opened a new official website and X account to mark the 30th anniversary of The King of Fighters series. The new publications coincided with the inaugural release of The King of Fighters '94 for arcades on August 25, 2024.
The company also revealed that it will publish 30 programs to coincide with the anniversary number. The company has shared sketches for the ending scene of The King of Fighters '94 on the Japanese account for the first publication. It will continue publishing concept art on a daily basis until September 5, 2024.
SNK has also revealed plans for the next two programs on the website. The company will move on to publishing posters of the series' classic entries from September 6, 2024. It will then release new digital stickers and smartphone wallpapers themed after The King of Fighters' 30th anniversary on September 13, 2024. The remaining 27 projects have yet to be announced when the company just established the new website.
The series' latest mainline entry is The King of Fighters XV, which has been available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC since February 2022. SNK still has not done improving the game's character roster, as it will add Vice and Mature as bonus DLC characters in December 2024.
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]]>Takara Tomy has revealed a new toy brand named Synergenex. The new brand, which will be under T-Spark, will have a focus on crossover items. The company will use this brand to release new collaborations between Zoids, Transformers, and Diaclone—the three mecha IPs Takara Tomy owns in Japan—and many other franchises.
The first item revealed is a transformable figure of the Shield-D-Prime that will also act as an in-house three-way crossover between Zoids, Transformers, and Diaclone. However, this product will be available in 2025.
Takara Tomy also revealed other crossover toys in the same brand that will appear earlier. The Spider Zoids Spider-Man Special toy will be available first in red and black color sets in September 2024. It will also release the Transformers-Godzilla crossover toys Optimus Prime Type MFS-3 Kiryu and Megatron Type Godzilla in November 2024.
At the same time, the company published teasers for more upcoming toys in the brand. It will release new Transformers crossover toys with Macross 7 and Monster Hunter. And while there are already Zoids crossover products with Patlabor and Monster Hunter, Takara Tomy will also release new items from this brand, as it focuses on pre-assembled action figures instead of model kits.
The new teaser trailer for the Synergenex toys is available to watch on YouTube:
Takara Tomy's new Synergenex brand will launch with the Spider Zoids Spider-Man crossover toys coming out first in September 2024.
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