The two latest updates from Japan are both Square Enix-related, with some news about the forthcoming Itadaki Street DS and the Famitsu Most Wanted chart update. First of all there is the Monopoly-style Nintendo DS game, Itadaki Street DS, featuring characters from the Mario world, as well as the Dragon Quest series. In this week's Shonen Jump Yangus has been revealed as a character in the game that has previously seen massive success on the PS2 and PSP. For those unaware, Yangus in the young barbarian from Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, as well as the Japanese-only PS2 release 'Dragon Quest Yangus'.
The game still only has a very loose '2007' release date for Japan, but considering the deluge of coverage it was given in Japanese magazines pre-Christmas 2006, you would assume a release cannot be too far away. Whilst you wait, why not check out Cubed3's preview of the DS title: http://www.cubed3.com/preview/229/
In other news, the new edition of Famitsu comes with an update for the Most Wanted chart over there. Whilst not always a firm indicator of what will actually sell in high quantities (due to the low number of people that vote on the whole), it is still quite interesting to see what the readership of the publication has its eye on right now.
Check out the list, led by Square Enix's DS A-RPG Dragon Quest IX, below:
Famitsu Most Wanted - 26th January to 1st February, 2007
1.) Dragon Quest IX (NDS, Square Enix) - 2,152 Votes
2.) Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Square Enix) - 2,005
3.) biohazard 5 (PS3, Capcom) - 1,504
4.) Gundam Musou (PS3, Bandai Namco) - 1,420
5.) Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3, Konami) - 1,328
6.) Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (PSP, Capcom) - 975
7.) Persona 3: FES (PS2, Atlus) - 878
8.) Gyakuten Saiban 4 (NDS, Capcom) - 802
9.) Super Robot Taisen: Original Generations (PS2, Banpresto) - 769
10.) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, Nintendo) - 672
11.) Lost Odyssey (360, Microsoft) - 572
12.) Higurashi no Naku Kei ni Matsuri (NDS, Alchemist) - 558
13.) Super Robot Taisen W (NDS, Banpresto) - 537
14.) Musou Orochi (PS2, Koei) - 513
15.) Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii, Square Enix) - 509
16.) Zelda no Densetsu: Phantom Hourglass (NDS, Nintendo) - 447
17.) Monster Hunter 3 (PS3, Capcom) - 440
18.) Shining Wind (PS2, Sega) - 391
19.) Fire Emblem (Wii, Nintendo) - 387
20.) Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ (PS2, Square Enix) - 384
New Entry: 30.) Godfather (PS2, EA) - 151
Keep it locked to Cubed3 for further updates...