BitSnark

With the previously promised 2009 date for Splinter Cell: Conviction now a distant memory, Ubisoft have confirmed that Splinter Cell: Conviction is now slated to arrive for 360 and PC folk in the EU on February 26th 2010.

US gamers however get to reacquiant themselves with Sam Fisher and his quest to be a digital Jack Bauer three days earlier on February 23rd.

Becoming yet another title to shift into the now-packed-to-the-brim Q1 2010 release window of next year, Polyphony Digital confirmed at the show that thei fifth installment in their long-running and critically acclaimed ‘car porn’ series Gran Turismo, would be in Japanese hands sometime in March 2010.

No western dates were given but conservatively speaking, I would probably stick another six months or so on that date before we see it.

Weighing in at a hefty 1.25GB, the Forza 3 demo has finally arrived!

Forza 3 demo GET!!

Yep, your eyes do not deceive you.

IGN-PSP have very kindly put up the hotly anticipated MGS: Peace Walker demo for the PSP; giving folks who aren’t attending the Tokyo Game Show, their first real taste of the forthcoming PSP exclusive MGS title.

The demo is in Japanese but still, you get the play the ruddy thing long before anybody else does.

The link and instructions can be found below:

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/102/1027904p1.html

Let me know how you guys get on with it.

Those folks in the east always get the coolest stuff and TGS 09′ is just yet another showcase of how much MORE of that stuff they get compared to the rest of us.

Case in point; Sony and JRPG Giant Square-Enix today have announced that lucky Japanese gamers will be able to purchase a Final Fantasy XIII themed PS3 hardware bundle when the game itself releases in December.

According to details released during the Sony Press Conference, Final Fantasy XIII will be included with a somewhat swanky white PS3 system that has a red painting of stoic heroine Lightning on the case.

The “Lightning Bundle Edition” as it is known, will additionally also include a 250 GB hard drive and the whole shebang will retail at 41,600 Yen (£283).

Take a look at it at the link below:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ffxiii-ps3-slim-bundle-shown-at-tgs

Gits.

In a nice little bit of Final Fantasy news; Sony and Square-Enix have now confirmed that Final Fantasy VIII will hit the Japanese PSN service tonight.

While no western dates or details have been announced, it does seem extremely likely that FFVIII will hit PSN in the west sooner rather than later given the impressive sales numbers that the FFVII re-release generated.

Stay tuned for more.

One little tidbit that emerged from EA’s press conference in Tokyo a few hours ago was the reveal of the release date for the playable multiplayer demo of Left 4 Dead 2.

360 and PC gamers can get a taste of Valve’s upcoming survival horde FPS sequel on October 27th, so keep your eyes peeled.

And there was much rejoycing.

One of the more bizarre, but no less interesting, rumours of late is that Sega and Sony have apparently been in recent discussions to bring Dreamcast titles to the platform. The alleged deal would ensure that the titles would be exclusive for a ‘long period’ of time, in exchange for substantial marketing support from Sony.

Ok, hold the hell up.

Could we really see the likes of Shenmue and Jet Set Radio on PSN? A fangasmic dream no doubt and while certainly plausible, it reeks every so slightly of a hoax due to the fact that it is simply seems too-damn-good-to-be-true.

The next piece of related rumour however, does sound like its more tangible. The rumour goes on to say that ‘Sony want to sell all PS2 games via PSN’.

Interestingly, this rumour actually has some legitimite weight to it, as earlier this year, Sony filed a patent that would allow the Cell processor inside the PS3 to fully emulate the PS2’s processor and graphical architecture.

Additionally, mention is also made of allowing full Japanese PS2 titles on PSN with a ‘minimal amount of localisation: (read menus only)’. These titles would then be in their own ‘import’ category and marketed accordingly.

The source for these rumours was actually a marketing document, ‘discovered’ in a PR FTP folder, and whilst it all does reek of awesomeness, it does so of unsubstantiated rumour in equal quantity.

Expect a full denial by Sony/Sega in the short term.

For those interested a link to the document can be found below:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=17695474&postcount=1

In a nice bit of Monday morning news that will get the Yakuza faithful smiling again, 1UP.com has confirmed that Sega are in the midst of prepping the localisation their Japanese blockbuster hit for a Western release next year.

This is great news for me as in lieu of the second Shenmue sequel that will never be, the Yakuza series is perhaps the closest thing to Yu Suzuki’s Dreamcast opus that fans will ever get.

What I don’t understand is why the localisation is going ahead; especially considering the dire sales figures of the first two Yakuza titles in the West – as this reason was unofficially sited as why localisation wasn’t going to proceed in the first place.

Still, it would be churlish to look a gift horse in the mouth; especially one bearing the colours of a new Yakuza title.

More news as and when.

Now this is a good bit of news; all formats will get Bioshock 2 goodness on the same day in all parts of the world!

Mark it in your calendars PC, 360 and PS3 folk, we’ll all be returning to Rapture on Feburary 9th 2010.

Now, THAT is how you launch a game; hats off to the folks at 2K.

So, anybody getting excited yet?