Monolith Soft teases a new X-project with Nintendo Direct footage

Another high point of today’s Nintendo Direct presentation featured footage from an as-yet unnamed game from Monolith Soft, developer of Xenoblade Chronicles. Check out the trailer from Tetsuya Takahashi and his team after the jump.

Source: Crunchy Roll

Magazine heralds ArenaNet’s online role-playing game top title of year followed by Xenoblade Chronicles, Xcom: Enemy Unknown, and Dishonored.

Time magazine has listed its top ten titles of 2012, heralding ArenaNet’s pay-once massively multiplayer online role-playing game Guild Wars II the best of the past year. The magazine’s game journalist Matt Peckham described the title as “one of those rare games that unexpectedly knocks your life off-kilter.”

Other games to grace Time‘s top ten list were Xenoblade Chronicles, Xcom: Enemy Unknown, Dishonored, Assassin’s Creed III, Papo & Yo, The Last Story, LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation Vita version), Halo 4, and Torchlight II.

Time‘s full top ten list of 2012 games is below.

1. Guild Wars II

2. Xenoblade Chronicles

3. Xcom: Enemy Unknown

4. Dishonored

5. Assassin’s Creed III

6. Papo & Yo

7. The Last Story

8. LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation Vita)

9. Halo 4

10. Torchlight II

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In unsurprising news, Nintendo has announced that the Wii U will be region-locked, preventing customers from playing games imported from other territories.

“What can be played on the Wii U is restricted by a region-lock feature,” reported Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu in their most recent issue. “software not sold in the same region cannot be played.”

This is keeping in line with Nintendo’s previous policies for the Wii, 3DS, and DS, though it’ll be sure to upset gamers who were unhappy with Nintendo’s policies regarding Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower, the trio of Wii-exclusive RPGs that initially were not planned to come stateside, prompting the “Operation Rainfall” movement from last year (Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story have since come to the U.S.). 

In any case, hopefully the Wii U will see better support for foreign titles. 

Source: Famitsu via IGN

This story was originally featured on www.gamrReview.com, read the full version here – Nintendo Will Region-Lock the Wii U

Black Butler seasons 1&2, Motto To Love Ru, Okami-san, Polyphonica Crimson S anime; Xenoblade Chronicles game to ship

Space-bound adventure game and Japanese RPG lead slow week at retail; Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack and Devil May Cry HD Collection also making debut.

Star Wars’ first controller-free gaming adaptation headlines this week’s new releases as Kinect Star Wars makes its debut. Other big-name games out this week are Xenoblade Chronicles, the Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack, and the Devil May Cry HD Collection.

Kinect Star Wars blasts off this week.

Leading the way this week is Kinect Star Wars for the Xbox 360. Originally expected last year, the game is set primarily during the time of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, with overlapping bits of the other prequel trilogy films and nods to the original Star Wars trilogy as well. Players will take orders from Yoda, cleave their way through armies of battle droids, and use Kinect-enabled Force powers to battle the Dark Side.

Players keen on feeling the Force at a deeper level can pick up the Kinect Star Wars limited edition Xbox 360 bundle. The pack includes a 320GB Xbox 360 console with an R2-D2 theme, a metallic C-3PO controller, a white Kinect sensor, and a copy of the game for $450.

Also out this week is Japanese role-playing game Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii. The game is set in a fantasy universe where the robotic army of the Mechonis seeks to conquer the flesh-and-blood Bionis. With the help of two companions, players will traverse the world attempting to discover the truth behind a magic sword called the Monado.

Gamers looking to bundle up this week can grab two new combo packs, the first of which is the Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack. Due out for the Xbox 360 and PC, the compilation pack has been barred from the PlayStation 3, with Bethesda telling GameSpot at the time, “At present we are not being allowed to release it on PS3. We will continue to try to change that, and would release it if we are permitted.”

The other combo pack out this week is the Devil May Cry HD Collection for the Xbox 360 and PS3. The HD Collection will present the original PlayStation 2 trilogy with Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, and Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening Special Edition. Beyond a high-definition visual retooling, publisher Capcom said the new package will include unspecified bonus content and support for trophies on the PS3 and achievements on the Xbox 360.

On the downloadable front, Ubisoft’s post-apocalyptic action game I Am Alive lands on the PlayStation Network this week. Released to a warm critical reception in March on Xbox Live, the game tells the story of an everyman who has lost his wife and daughter during a mysterious but cataclysmic event.

For further details, visit GameSpot’s New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

TUESDAY, APRIL 3:

Devil May Cry HD Collection–X360, PS3–Capcom

Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack–X360, PC–Bethesda Softworks

Kinect Star Wars–X360–Microsoft Game Studios

Pro Angler Moves–PS3–Interworks Unlimited

Tropico 4: Modern Times–PC–Kalypso

Xbox 360 Limited Edition Kinect Star Wars Bundle–X360–Microsoft

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4:

I Am Alive–PS3–Ubisoft

Skullgirls–X360–Autumn Games

THURSDAY, APRIL 5:

Confrontation–PC–Focus Home Interactive

FRIDAY, APRIL 6:

Xenoblade Chronicles–Wii–Nintendo

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Nintendo reveals Wii Japanese role-playing game dropping in North America in under two months with fan-chosen cover art.

Gamers eager to get their hands on Japanese role-playing game Xenoblade Chronicles now have a specific date to circle on their calendars: April 6.

Xenoblade’s fan-chosen box art.

Previously, the Wii-exclusive Xenoblade Chronicles was expected to arrive in North America sometime in April. In addition to announcing the game’s release date, Nintendo revealed the title’s cover art (at right), which was put up to a fan vote.

Xenoblade Chronicles is set in a fantasy universe where the robotic army of the Mechonis seeks to conquer the flesh-and-blood Bionis. With the help of two companions, players will traverse the world attempting to discover the truth behind a magic sword called the Monado.

Fans of Japanese role-playing games have enjoyed good news today, as not only was Xenoblade Chronicles dated for North America, but Nintendo also announced that The Last Story will arrive this summer on the Wii. Western releases of both titles were long in question.

Xenoblade Chronicles has already been released in Japan, Europe, and Australia. For more on the role-playing game, check out GameSpot’s review.

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[UPDATE] Nintendo lists long-awaited Wii RPG as an April release, now available to preorder from GameStop or direct from Nintendo itself.

Monolith Soft’s Xenoblade Chronicles has been highly anticipated by a certain sect of Wii and role-playing game fans, but it was feared the game would never see a release in North America after Nintendo said it had no plans to localize the game. That has apparently changed, as Nintendo today posted new Xenoblade art to its Facebook page as rumors swirled that the title would be exclusive to specialty retailer GameStop.

Xenoblade looks set for North America.

A spy shot of what is purported to be a GameStop release list popped up on games forum NeoGAF earlier this morning showing an entry reading “Xenoblade Chronicles GS Exclusive” listed as an April 3 release. As if to corroborate the leak, Nintendo of America subsequently posted three pieces of concept art from the game on its Facebook page.

This latest wrinkle follows a fan campaign to convince Nintendo to localize and release three games–Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower–in North America, dubbed Project Rainfall. It’s hard to say whether this is a direct result of the fan initiative, but it is likely to garner Nintendo some good will within the community.

Even if Xenoblade is coming to NA early next year, it’s no guarantee that the other two Project Rainfall games will receive the same treatment. However, like Xenoblade before them, The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower are slated for a release in Europe next year.

For more on Xenoblade Chronicles, check out GameSpot’s review of the European release.

[UPDATE] Nintendo has confirmed the news and put up a product page for Xenoblade Chronicles on its North American website. The page lists the game as an April release and has links to preorder the title from GameStop and directly from Nintendo itself.

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