Black Blood Brothers’ Azano and Venus Versus Virus’ Suzumi collaborate on “Onmyodo School Fantasy of a Failing Private Onmyo Academy Student!!”

Announced last fall, along side moe gravedigger series Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi as part of push of Kadokawa light novels due to be adapted into anime, we got news of plans for Kouhei Azano (Black Blood Brothers) and Atsushi Suzumi’s (Venus Versus Virus) “Onmyodo School Fantasy of a Failing Private Onmyo Academy Student!!” series Tokyo Ravens. Now, as part of the increase of post-summer news, we’re getting the details. See the plans after the jump.

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3DS game due this fall

Hatsune Miku takes her vocaloid buddies out for a new Nintendo 3DS musical venture this fall in Project mirai 2. The overhauled graphics will feature the dancing, singing characters in new costumes and nendoroid designs, with a set of full-lengthed songs that so far includes One-cup P’s “Koneko no Payapaya” and 40mP’s “Doremifa Rondo.” Get a look at the Nintendo Direct presentation after the jump.

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Latest entry in the Scribblenauts series set in the DC Universe; coming to Wii U, 3DS, and PC this fall.

Warner Bros. has announced Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, a crossover between the puzzle platformer and the DC Universe.

The game–which was rumoured to exist back in April–will be released in fall 2013 for Wii U, 3DS, and PC and is being developed by series stewards 5th Cell.

Screenshots for the game show Scribblenauts protagonist Maxwell interacting with numerous DC characters in various locations, including Wayne Manor’s laundry room (complete with Bat-clad washing machines). Batman’s Batcave, Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, and Green Lantern homeworld Oa are also shown.

Batman villains Bane, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, Two Face, Riddler, Joker, and Penguin are also shown alongside the Dark Knight, Robin, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Screenshots also show off lesser-known DC characters like Kyle Rayner, Professor Zoom, and Black Flash.

The trailer for the game, embedded below, also shows players customising their own heroes and villains, with Superman antagonist Doomsday retooled in a new costume to fight crime.

Scribbenauts games have been released every year since 2009, with last year’s Scribblenauts Unlimited featuring Nintendo characters Mario, Link, and Zelda in the Wii U version of the game.

At the start of this month, Scribblenauts was accused of infringing on the trademarks of meme creators Charles Schmidt and Christopher Orlander Torres, creators of Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat respectively. 5th Cell and Warner Bros. are accused of “shamelessly” using the memes to promote Scribblenauts titles, and are seeking unspecified damages as compensation.

Warner Bros. is no stranger to using the DC universe in other games, and has published two Lego Batman games in the past. The publisher also recently released DC brawler Injustice: Gods Among Us, and is readying a release of Batman: Arkham Origins for later in 2013. A DC MOBA, Infinite Crisis, is also due for release in 2013.

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Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures based on Disney XD show coming to PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U; side-scrolling version headed to 3DS.

Pac-Man is coming back. Namco Bandai announced Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
today, a new game based on the upcoming Disney XD show of the same name.

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures will launch for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U this fall. A separate side-scrolling version will be available for 3DS.

According to Namco Bandai, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures the game will focus on the Pac-World, a place of peace until the Netherworld ghosts arrived. Gamers are cast as the iconic yellow chomper and must defeat the ghosts and their evil Betrayus leader.

The game’s announcement trailer indicates Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures will feature Mario-like platforming sequences, as well as the series-familiar ghost-chomping.

The animated Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV show is scheduled to premiere in 2013. It was created by Marvel Studios executive and Iron Man producer Avi Arad.

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Digital only release of Ace Attorney 5 coming to North America and Europe later in 2013.

Capcom has confirmed that Ace Attorney 5 will be coming to North America and Europe this fall with the title Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies.

The game will only be sold digitally on the 3DS eShop, according to a Capcom press release, though a price was not mentioned.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies is set eight years after the last game in the series, with protagonist Phoenix Wright returning to a destroyed courtroom. The game will feature a new companion, Athena Cykes, and a mechanic that allows players to pinpoint unusual feelings during a courtroom examination. The game will also be rendered in 3D for the first time.

It is the seventh game in the series, including the two spin-off games about series co-star Miles Edgeworth, and the first to be released on 3DS.

Ahead of its Western release, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies will launch in Japan this July.

Alongside the announcement, Capcom also released a trailer showing off the game’s new engine and hinting at its storyline:

[ Watch Video ]

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Manga won Shogakukan Manga and Kodansha Manga awards

Promotion has started rolling out for a fall anime adaptation of Shogakukan Manga and Kodansha Manga Award-winning 2006 baseball series Daiya no A (Ace of the Diamond). The series, about a pitcher who transfers from his school to compete along side a catcher, is slated to air this fall. More after the jump.

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“Definitive” version of 2012 Team Ninja fighter hitting Xbox 360 and PS3 later this year.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, the “definitive” version of the fighter, will launch this fall for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Tecmo Koei announced today. It will be available at retail and digitally.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is a repackaging of the 2012 brawler and will include all new modes from Dead or Alive 5 Plus, new stages and fighters (including Ninja Gaiden’s Momiji), as well as levels from the Ninja Gaiden series.

Other characters in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate include Ryu Hayabusa, Hayate, Ayane, Kasumi, Hitomi, Bayman, Christie, Lei Fang, Zack, Kokoro, Bass, Rig, Jann Lee, Helena, Lisa, Brad Wong, Eliot, and Tina, as well as Akira, Pai, and Sarah Bryant from the Virtua Fighter series.

For more on Dead or Alive 5, check out GameSpot’s review.

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Fireproof Studios has revealed that its puzzle game for the iOS and Android, The Room, has sold more than two million units, according to a conference attended by Joystiq. The game was released in September 2012 and passed one million units sold in January 2013.

“We did not want to do a better version of someone else’s game, or an update of a genre,” said Fireproof Studios Commercial Director Barry Meade at the Game Horizon conference in the UK. “We thought we’re not doing our jobs properly if we don’t add to what’s out there.”

“As a game creator that’s your responsibility,” Meade continued. “If you’re not doing that, if you’re chasing what other people are doing, you don’t deserve success because you’re not showing respect to the audience.”

A sequel is currently in development and is planned to be released this fall.

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Subscriber base for aging MMO dips 1.3 million in three months; Activision Blizzard posts $456 million profit on $1.32 billion in revenue for Q1.

Gamers are continuing to exit Azeroth. Activision Blizzard announced today that as of March 31, World of Warcraft has 8.3 million subscribers, down from 9.6 million at the end of 2012.

According to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, World of Warcraft subscriber declines were mainly from the East, but the Western market also made an impact, he said in a statement. He further explained that subscriber figures are expected to fall throughout the year.

Despite the subscriber attrition, World of Warcraft remains the number one subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, according to Activision.

The news comes as part of Activision Blizzard’s first quarter earnings report, which saw the publisher post $456 million in profit on $1.32 billion in revenue for the three-month period ended March 31.

Kotick said that though the year has gotten off to a solid start, there is reason to be skeptical about Activision Blizzard’s prospects for the second half of the year.

“While we have had a solid start to the year, we now believe that the risks and uncertainties in the back half of 2013 are more challenging than our earlier view, especially in the holiday quarter,” Kotick said in prepared remarks. “The shift in release dates of competing products, the disappointing
launch of the Wii U, uncertainties regarding next-generation hardware, and subscriber
declines in our World of Warcraft business all raise concerns, as do continued challenges in the
global economy.”

These issues are cause for concern, Kotick said. However, he also acknowledged that Activision Blizzard will be able to deliver shareholder value by employing the same tactics that has made the company one of the industry’s biggest publishers for the past 20 years.

“For these reasons, we remain cautious,” he said. “However, our focused and disciplined
approach to our business has served us well in the past, and through continued investment and
careful management of our costs, we expect to continue delivering shareholder value over the
long term as we have for the last 20 years.”

Activision is currently holding a post-earnings financial call.

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Upgraded version includes playable Momiji from “Ninja Gaiden”

According to a report in Japanese gaming mag Famitsu, Dead or Alive 5 is getting an upgraded version on consoles. Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is scheduled to make its way to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan this fall. More after the jump.

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