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The Xbox 360 has long been the black sheep of the console war in Japan, but it got a bit of a boost this week with the release of Tales of Vesperia. The latest installment of the Tales series debuted on the charts at #4 selling 108,000 copies in its first week. The 360 meanwhile quadrupled its normally low weekly sales numbers, moving 20,000 units rather than the regular 5,000.

Tales of Vesperia is one of five RPGs on the top ten for the week of August 4-10 in Japan. Phantasy Star Portable for the PSP took top spot with 148,000 units sold (for a total of 490,000). Fire Emblem DS was close behind with 145,000 in its first week on the market. Dragon Quest V DS stands at #5, selling 73,000 units this week, putting its total sales past the one million mark. And Summon Night 2 for the DS, also released this week, managed to sell 30,000 and grab spot #7.

Source: Gamekyo

Namco Bandai announced today a special edition of Tales of Vesperia in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Tales series. It will be packaged in a special steelbook case featuring art by Kosuke Fujishima. Included with the game is a CD with twenty-five tracks spanning the Tales series. Fourteen songs will be from Tales of Vesperia itself along with three from Tales of the Abyss, four from Tales of Symphonia, two from Tales of Phantasia, and two from Tales of Destiny.

The limited edition will be available only at certain retailers at a suggested price of $69.99.  Tales of Vesperia is due out on August 26 for the Xbox 360.

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Source: Famitsu & Game Watch

Namco Bandai made a couple of RPG-related announcements today. Tales fans have something to be excited about as a playable demo of Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and it’s free for Silver and Gold account users. Tales of Vesperia is due out on August 26 and is rated “T” for Teen.

It was also announced that the PlayStation 3 version of Eternal Sonata will be making its debut on the system this fall. The new version will come with some in-game goodies including new events, music, and two new playable characters: Crescendo and Serenade.

Xbox 360 owners living in Asia or India can download a 278 MB demo for Tales of Vesperia. Don’t live in Asia or India? As long as your Xbox thinks you do, you can still download it. Those afraid of foreign languages need not worry; the demo comes in English.

Source: Kotaku

Microsoft hasn’t given up on the Japanese. At the same event where a ton of new RPGs were announced, a brand new Tales of Vesperia Bundle was unveiled. On August 20, Japanese gamers with ¥37,800 (US$353) burning a hole in their pocket can pick up a 360 with 20GB HDD, a copy of Tales of Vesperia, a Tales faceplate and a copy of the game’s script. Only time will tell if this will convince anyone to buy the system on that half of the world.

Source: Kotaku

As is supposedly common knowledge, the Xbox 360 has a dearth of RPG titles available for it. Sure there’s Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Culdcept Saga… ok, maybe not a dearth. Still, it could always use more! To that end, Square Enix, Namco-Bandai Games, and Microsoft announced quite a few interesting bits at the surely well-populated Microsoft Japan RPG Press Event, held, well, about an hour ago. Continue reading ‘X360 Japan RPG Presser: More RPG goodness than you can shake a power brick at’ »

With every new Tales game comes a new battle system, and Tales of Vesperia is no different. Each game in the series offers a new take on the Linear Motion Battle System, better known to fans as LMBS. The newest iteration is called Evolved Flex Range-Linear Motion Battle System, or LFR-LMBS. Strongly resembling the system from Tales of the Abyss, it features a 3D battlefield where characters can move about at will. The player will control one character, and up to three others will use AI for their moves. There will also be an “overlimit” system that allows for powerful abilities once the bar on the appropriately named overlimit gauge is full. Continue reading ‘Vesperia Tells Tales of its Battle System’ »

Japanese pop star BONNIE PINK will be performing the theme for Namco Bandai’s upcoming Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 when it releases later this year. This marks the first time in the series’ history the same artist will be doing the doing both the Japanese and English versions of the theme. The song is titled “Ring a Bell” and is now available for download at the iTunes download store.

In yet another series first, this will be the first installment to be released simultaneously in both North America and Japan.