In an apparent bid to challenge Square-Enix for the coveted title of ‘most remakes of the very same game ever’, Atlus announced that it plans to re-release Persona 3… again, this time for the PSP. But wait, there’s more! In this re-hash of the game you get to choose a female lead character and your first persona is now a cow, making it shamelessly obvious to the fans that they are just milking them with fan service.

Well, the part about the cow isn’t real but the female character is. There will of course be some other changes to the story and social interactions if you choose a female lead but for the most part, yeah, its the same game as before. Actually its even less game than the PS2 FES edition, as this version contains only the main storyline and none of that ‘the answer’ goodness. There’s yet no release date for the world outside Japan but don’t doubt for a minute that Atlus wont peddle its recycled title to the western audiences, its free money after all.

[PS3 Nation]

The new PSP is Go! Quite literally, this is the new PSP Go, the next iteration of the PSP line, and it has just been leaked unto the internet. Much like with Nintendo and the DS/Game Boy, Sony says its not trying to replace the current PSP with the Go and that they will live together happily every after on the store shelves. Here’s what we know so far:

Read more!

The PS2, much like the Madden franchise, refuses to die. Only unlike with Madden, its a good thing! Furthermore the PS2 has just been given a nice price cut to $99 USD, which coupled with music games and JRPGs still coming out for the console will ensure many more years of its existence.

However Sony believes the PS2 will be the gateway to owning a PS3. John Koller, Director for Hardware Marketing at Sony said to Ars Technica that they’ve "found that almost 80 percent of PlayStation 3 owners either currently own or have in the past owned a PlayStation 2, so that statistic on its own speaks volumes". That’s some hardcore deductive power right there guys!

I’m sorry but I dont see a $99 console bought to play Guitar Hero making people buy a $400 dollar PS3. Just as much as I dont see soccer moms who bought the Wii to play Wii Fit ‘graduating’ to an Xbox 360, as Microsoft has stated in the past. Mr. Koller, that most PS3 owners had a PS2 does not mean most PS2 owners will buy a PS3. Just as much as me making a bitter Playstation post does not mean all my Playstation posts are bit… ok I’ll give you that one.

[Ars Technica]

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday a new series of trailers kick off the new year for the highly anticipated Blood Bowl from French-based game studio, Cyanide. In what could very well be the answer to the prayers of those who long for a new Mutant League title, Blood Bowl pits teams of Humans, Orcs, Goblins, Haflings and many other fantasy creatures against one another in a football fashioned style of gameplay.

Based off of the 1987 Games Workshop board game and the 1995 PC release, Blood Bowl is being recreated and reinvisioned for the PC, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and the Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Check out the latest trailers and screens at www.bloodbowl-game.com

Hit the jump for the official press release. Read more!

It’s no secret that women gamers are drawn to different aspects of gaming then their male counterparts. The gaming industry is seen as a teenage boy clubhouse. While there has always been talk surrounding getting women more involved in this industry, finally a company is taking real action.

“Today, I am challenging everyone to take action to help level the playing field for women pursuing a career in video games,” said Torrie Dorrell senior vice president of Global Sales and Marketing for Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE). “We can encourage diversity in development and make a difference, hopefully creating more opportunities for women.”

SOE is piloting, G.I.R.L. or Gamers In Real Life, a new initiative designed to encourage female students pursuing a career “in the creative and applied arts, with the ultimate goal of developing video games that are more interesting for women to play,” stated in a SOE press release.

There are a number of statistics and write-ups concerning this topic, but it is pretty clear that in the game development industry and within the gamer population “girl gamers” are a small albeit growing population.

G.I.R.L. is a scholarship program given to students of undergraduate studies relating to game development. Female students compete by submitting original artwork or essays to be judged by a panel. This scholarship has been in the seedling stages for quite a while and I think this is a fantastic outreach opportunity.

Let’s be real honest here and make some general, bordering on stereotypical statements, guys are very goal oriented. Girls that I know who play games tend to enjoy games that are either more cerebral or social based. Games like Rock Band, World of Warcraft or The Sims fit in this type of category and casual gaming is still dominated by women.

In a growing multibillion dollar industry, where nearly 75% of paying casual gamers are women demonstrating they play and are willing to purchase games for themselves, the potential revenue created by having women design games with the woman in mind, are too good for developers and publishers to pass-up.

What are your thoughts? Think I’m wildly off base and the gaming industry won’t change? Let me know in the comments.

[G.I.R.L. / Via SOE Press Release]

What do you get when you mix 2-parts RPG with 1-part adventure and 4-parts multiplayer party game? You get Dokapon Kingdom: a unique title that sets out on a quest to surprise gamers of all ages by raising the bar on the party game genre.

Without question Dokapon Kingdom is definitely a unique game. Its as if developer Sting decided to play the part of Dr. Frankenstein and began to lop off the best bits and pieces from the gaming universe; a little from genre A, a little from genre B and little from genre C and then proceeded to fuse them all together. The end result is a cute and colorful title that is sure to provide you with hours upon hours of entertainment and laughter.

So if you feel like kickin’ some serious monster butt, humiliating your soon to be ex-friends and hording ridiculous amounts of gold as you spin your way to victory then follow me as we hack-n-slash our way through Dokapon Kingdom.

Read more!

The conference started a few minutes behind schedule, and then got off to a slow start, giving us a history lesson about the PlayStation Brand’s success, then talking about PSN, PSP, and finally the PS3 lineup. Here are the big announcements you need to know.

• 130 Titles coming to PS2 in 2008
• PS3 Greatest Hits line, games for $29.99
• You can download Movies and TV Shows for rental or purchase on the PlayStation Network Store
• Home service can access custom environments based on games in your library
• Some version of Valkyria Chronicles will be available for PSP
• A partnership with Google that has to do with news and user-based content via PSN
• 80 GB PS3 for $399.99
• New Game: Infamous by Sucker Punch. Gritty action game with telekinetic hero
• New Game: Massive Action Game, fight with up to 256 people in online skirmishes

Honestly I am really looking forward to Infamous, and the Store/download stuff sounds cool. IMO, it was the best conference of the hardware camps; Sony delivered a few new games, price cuts, and new online functionality. Their goal of highlighting the increasing value of the PS3 seems to have been achieved.

Full details after the cut.

Read more!

Sony has filed for and received a US Patent for a “Hand-held device with touchscreen and digital tactile pixels.” The patent goes on to describe the device:

The device may comprise a case case having one or more major surfaces; a touch screen disposed on one of the major surfaces, the touch screen; a processor operably coupled to the touch screen; and one or more tactile pixels disposed proximate the touch screen.

Multiple surfaces with spaces for screens, one of which being a touchscreen? Sounds awfully similar to a certain other handheld device on the market. It’ll be interesting to see how Nintendo responds for the next time they announce a new handheld device.

[Joystiq]

Well, it turns out Afrika is a photography simulation game, much like Pokémon Snap. You’ll be going on missions to photograph certain scenes or animals and will be driven by a jeep around the savannah (read: on-rails).

Also the sixaxis will function as a virtual camera; for example, if you don’t keep a steady hand, your snapshots could turn out blurry. The criteria of grading shots is based on “composition, rarity and clarity.” Let’s just hope the game is fun, polished, and has interesting enough animal AI to make this more than just a hi-def Pokémon Snap remake.

[Kotaku]

I one of the lucky ones who got to see E3, no i didn’t get to go to E3, I’m stuck here in my house, and its raining. But thanks to G4 their live streaming of the conferences made my day!

But man do i have news for you who happened to miss the Sony Conference today!

let me dial you in on what happened.

Sony Has announced:

Slimmer PSP, 18% slimmer and 33% lighter, and at the new price to boot!

Killzone 2 for 2008, i got to see the trailer, and i must say, it looked BEAUTIFUL, i didn’t play the first one, and if i ever get the money for a PS3 i will get this.

The fourth and final Metal Gear Solid game is also going to be released in early 2008, there was no demo at E3, but the director said that “if you guys want to come to Tokyo next week, we can get you one, hope to see you there!” ha ha, no. sorry man but I’m flat broke from my trip to acen…STILL.

Nintendo has also Announced:

New controllers/peripherals for the Wii, Wii Fit (basically Wi Sorts and Wii Play, 2) and a Zapper Gun, hopefully Resident Evil 5 and Time Crisis compatible.

One of the more anticipated games of the next-gen Super Smash Brothers Brawl, has been slated to arrive in stores December 3, 2007. Just in Time for the holidays.

Tskiller should have the details from the Microsoft show, or Nahu, or…someone.

Stay Tuned!