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Square Enix announced the release date of its mecha-themed racing RPG, Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter, and confirmed a 3DS adaptation of same. The arcade version – which, I might add, partly transforms as you shift Transformers-style between car and robot forms – is set for a June 21 release, while the 3DS version will hit shelves sometime in Spring of 2013.

Source: Andriasang

Not content with one portable oddity, Square Enix also uploaded the official site of Final Fantasy Dimensions. Little else is known apart from being an iOS title scheduled for a summer release.

Bethesda has announced a beta program for its upcoming Dawnguard DLC for the 360 version of Skyrim. Interested Dragonborn should direct themselves to the official site for registration, with applicants to be chosen sometime next week. The content itself is planned to launch this summer for 1600 MS funbucks (about $20).

Namco Bandai has announced, by way of an E3 trailer, that Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will see a US release on January 22. A UK release is set for January 25.

Source: Joystiq

On the heels of its 3DS conference this evening, Nintendo of America has revealed through its Twitter feed that Fire Emblem 3DS will be seeing a North American release. Unfortunately, no other details about its release were discussed.

The producer of Square Enix’s 1st Production Department, Ichiro Hazama, said that he would like to see the Theatrythm series expand beyond Final Fantasy.

Speaking with Joystiq, Mr. Hazama said, “Our company has so many other IPs that create great music, so if you ask if I want to do it? I want to do it, but nothing is determined yet.” He went on to say that it was his intention that the series should expand to other Square Enix IPs, which is why the Theatrhythm title comes before Final Fantasy.

Theatrythm: Final Fantasy is currently slated for a July 3rd release date in North America.

Source: Joystiq

In an article  in this month’s Famitsu, it was revealed that the first trailer for Shin Megami Tensei 4 will be packaged with the upcoming Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, which currently has a Japanese release date of August 30th.

Source: Andriasang

According to Bethseda’s Tom Howard, Dawnguard, the first DLC package for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is tentatively scheduled for June 26th. Mr. Howard stated that the DLC would be released, “assuming nothing goes wrong.”

Source: Joystiq

The folks at Atlus have been cranking out updates for us on the subject of Persona 4 Arena. For a start, it has been confirmed on Atlus’s official Twitter feed that the game would have a dual audio option, allowing players to choose between English or Japanese voice tracks. There’s also a super fancy trailer over at their YouTube feed, which features a rundown of a few of the available characters and some snippets of English voice work.

And finally, over at Andriasang we have the news that Persona 4 Arena will have both paid DLC and content that can be unlocked in the normal course of gameplay. Some examples given were: alternate character colors, different glasses, and new things for the announcer to shout at the beginning of a round. Unfortunately, it wasn’t made clear which of these elements were DLC and which were unlockables.

From Software has confirmed that Dark Souls will see an updated re-release on both PC and PS3, including all DLC to date and subtitled Artorias of the Abyss. From Software will handle Japanese publishing, with Namco Bandai on the international version. Dark Souls will relaunch starting October 25.

Source: Andriasang

Atlus has just released an update for the arcade version of Persona 4: Arena, making adjustments to basic gameplay and character balance. For those who can read Japanese, a full list of the changes is available here; likely, adjustments are being made with the console adaptation in mind.

At its Tales of Festival event, Namco Bandai revealed the new entry in the series: Tales of Xillia 2. A direct sequel to Xillia, the game focuses on the adventures of main character Ludgar, his cat Lulu, and Ellie, the obligatory plot-critical little girl. Other than taking place one year after Xillia‘s ending, it’s not clear how the plot will intersect with the previous game.

Few details have been revealed, though the game will feature timed decision points that alter certain events; some subtle or conversational, others possibly leading to optional fights. Namco Bandai has uploaded the official site – available here – and indicated a Winter 2012 release window, with the specific date and price to be announced on June 27.

Source: Andriasang

As part of its press conference this morning, Nintendo announced a new Paper Mario game for the 3DS. The game has Mario using stickers that are found in the environment as battle commands. The player can even peel back parts of the landscape to find new objects.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star also received a general release date of “this holiday season” at the press conference.

Nintendo’s press conference this morning held an unexpected announcement buried in a video montage; it seems that Mass Effect 3 will be appearing on Nintendo’s new Wii U console. Bioware confirmed on its Twitter feed that ME3 would be available for the console at launch.

Atlus says it’s bringing over the RPG-brawler hybrid Code of Princess from Japan sometime this Fall. In fact, they’ve already got preorder bonuses lined up; a “sound and visual book,” though they didn’t specify which retail outlet the bonus would be available from.

Source: Joystiq

The next entry in the Fable series got a bit closer to the light of day today. Microsoft says that this Kinect-exclusive title will be released in Fall 2012. They also mentioned that The Journey is a stand-alone title, with no relation to the mainline series.

The new South Park RPG entitled The Stick of Truth got a release date at the Microsoft press conference earlier today. THQ and Obsidian will be shipping the little bugger out on March 5th, 2013.

If covering the news has taught me anything, it’s that companies would openly shoot at each other Syndicate-style if only they could get away with it. Anyway, welcome back, on this lovely evening before E3 kicks off! Here’s what’s happening:

• Silicon Knights loses in their lawsuit against Epic, and then loses the countersuit for damages.  Expect Denis Dyack to insist that Too Human will continue… somehow.
• Epic, by the way, rescued members of Big Huge Games, rolling them into a new studio and tasking them with another fantasy action-RPG.  Talk about paying it forward.
• Meanwhile, Activision settles out of court with West and Zampella, thus freeing Activision to keep making Call of Duty and spying on its own people.  “But the future refused to change…”
• CD Projekt reveals their non-Witcher property: Cyberpunk.  Apparently that’s the title of a pen-and-paper game easily confused with Shadowrun.
• Nintendo hosts a pre-E3 video demonstration showing off the Wii U… the exact same aspects we saw last year.  Oh, and a classic-style controller and Nintendo-centric social network.
• E3 predictions: Nintendo needs to have some game demos ready, Sony’s going to spin like an overclocked centrifuge, and Microsoft will be my cue to go get a drink.
• A Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer is mistaken for FFXV, Sony may have picked up Gaikai for PSN-related announcements, and more!

Are you ready?

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By way of retail pamphlet, Atlus has revealed they will be releasing a demo for the upcoming Etrian Odyssey IV. The date has not been announced, though it is known that players will be able to carry data from the demo to the retail version.

Source: Andriasang