Namco Bandai recently hosted a media event in Las Vegas that showcased a slew of upcoming titles coming to PS3 in 2012 and beyond. Based on the lineup, there are a number of games in the works from the veteran publisher that warrant attention from PS3 owners. See below for a full round-up, and keep an eye out for in-depth previews of these games right here on the PlayStation.Blog!
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch
A dream-team development collaboration between Level-5 (White Knight Chronicles, Dragon Quest VIII) and animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli undeniably evokes the highest of expectations from fans of the two studios. And with PS3-exclusive Ni No Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch, the partnership looks to have paid off in spades. A sprawling RPG set in a rich, colorful world, Ni No Kuni is easily the most impressive demonstration of the cel-shaded graphical style that’s become popular in recent years, which complements the animation cutscenes created by Studio Ghibli (see the trailer above). The story follows Oliver, a young boy dealing with the loss of a family member, as he traverses between his world and a fantasy world in an attempt to bring his loved one back to life. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch will hit in early 2013.
Check out our full preview for more details.
Star Trek
Taking place between the 2009 film of the same name and its sequel coming in 2013, Digital Extremes’ upcoming third-person shooter focuses on two of Star Trek’s most beloved characters: Kirk and Spock. The game allows for online and split-screen co-op with each player taking control of one of the two characters, while each character is equipped with vastly different weapons and abilities. Digital Extremes showed off Star Trek’s impressive 3D capabilities, and PS3 gamers who own a 3DTV can take full advantage of this feature. The developers also showed an impressive in-game sequence where both Kirk and Spock rocketed through space towards the Enterprise, which had fallen under attack by an as-yet-unknown enemy.
Check out our full preview for more details.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
The storied fighting game series is finally headed to PS3. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 features all of the improvements Namco included over its predecessor in the arcade version, and throws even more characters into the mix: the final game will include over 50 playable combatants. Series director Katsuhiro Harada said that they have no desire to make these characters available through paid DLC, which is good news for fight fans. The console version also throws in a new mode called Fight Lab, a training mode that incorporates many mini-game elements from past games, while simultaneously teaching players new skills to add to their repertoire.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors
Arriving in November 2012 as a simultaneous digital and Blu-ray release, PS3-exclusive One Piece: Pirate Warriors takes the insanely popular manga/anime series to new heights in this stylized brawler. Players take control of One Piece protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, with his stretchy, rubber-like limbs, to do battle against a number of series villains with his Straw Hats pirate crew. The game offers both story and battle modes, among others, and the ability to fight dozens of on-screen enemies simultaneously (a la Dynasty Warriors).
Looking forward for alot of these games! i still live on moments i had back in the Ps1 era playing Tekken! Ooooh the joy of being young and having no other problems but how many hours i would spend kicking ass in Tekken ^^
Hope you announce a new Klonoa game at E3.
Not a single Vita game (though who am I kidding, I’m sure we’ll get a late port of some Tekken game no one would buy on a handheld), and the only Dragon Ball game coming this year is the hilarious Kinect game.
only 4 games to look for? and one of these games are slated for 2013.what about a new pacman DX or dig dug 2 for psn,namco?
inb4 tales fans complain “booh hoo a game released last year in a series that gets games localized quite often hasn’t been announced yet booh hooo” trying being a fan of a game series of 20+ tiles, and 3 localized. Now imagine two of those three being spinoffs that no one asked for.
not a hardcore fighter guy but i do love me some Tekken. Looking forward to seeing the new characters, which I’m sure will be excellently designed as usual.
I’m patiently waiting on Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Namco Bandai bring back Forrest Law.
@2, Street Fight x Tekken for the Vita is being released 3rd Qrt of this year. Hrm, that One Piece title got some good reviews in Japan… I may pick it up even when after watching only episode 1- which was the oddest animation I’ve ever seen.
My post was meant for comment #3, actually.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch and Tekken Tag 2 oh mah goodness! Been waiting to hear about those two!
One Piece: Pirate Warriors Prayers answered. Now give us Monster Hunter and every reason I bought a ps3 will have come to fruition :)
Namco Bandai doesn’t make Monster Hunter games…
why ni no kuni was DELAYED!!!! AAAARRRGGGGg!
you i was just ion their page last night.. They get alot of flank but they put out the goods. I like how they have re adjusted onthe dlc things.. I really like the buisness model they are doing. Its show they do care and they are fan friendly..
I have one request from a few around the ps universe.. andy If you ask then to release more dlc car pack for ridge racer vita.. Maybe a few rr7 courses as well. Its not a demand or anything just wish and if time permitting request from a few long time fans to staff of bandi namco..
thank you alot
mcbuttz78
vp-psn legionairee group
@10 capcom makes monster hunter games/ One of the top guy on sony brand said send them aletter asking why its not ps3 when they had a agreement or announment to amke one I dont if they was cancelled or not..
.. i think it really sad what capcom is doing. . They could make more money. i understnd wii and xbox has one comingout.. I dnt know what going on with them.
capcom is really cool and all but i just dnt understand why they dont bring monster hunter to ps3..?? but lets not derail the good thread with sorrow..
mcbuttz78
vp-psn leioniaree group
Hopefully they add Tales of Xillia to that list in the near future.
I will wait for Tekken 7, I dont like story-less games. Hopefully the game will be better than tekken 6.
Please release all the games on PSN first day.
OH MY GOSH…. Once Piece on November 2012 ???? that’s much much longer than I expected.
and I want Tales of Xillia. please!! Bamco!!
oh and I hope One Piece will be undub. English voice over is awful in this anime.
Namco please also bring Tales of Xillia PS3 and Tales of Vesperia PS3. i know you can do it and i’ll keep on supporting you!
First of all, I’m happy to hear some news about Ni no kuni, I had a lot of fun with my imported version. The game is awesome, I can’t wait to get it in english.
Last thing I want to say is : Is it true that One Piece will release simutaneously on PSN and on bluray? I know that Namco Bandai did state that One Piece was to be release exclusively as a digital title, so I’m confused how. I would be really happy to actually see a physical release. Updates ?
cant wait 4 tekken tag 2. loved the 1st tag game ;)
Thank god for this. A friend of mine has got a One Piece fetish, and I was gonna import the game for his birthday since it did so well in Japan, but this is even better.
Tekken Tag 2! “Switch”
Will there be anymore old-school Namco games coming to PSN soon? Like say – ‘Namco Museum Essentials 2’? :P Come on Namco! I want ‘ALL’ of your Classic old-school games on PSN PLEASE;)
I cannot wait for One Piece. I almost bought the import but ultimately decided against it in hope of a western release. I doubt you guys will be dubbing the game, but if you do please keep an option to switch to Japanese voices.
Can you confirm that when you posted that One Piece will be “a simultaneous digital and Blu-ray release” that your information is indeed correct. The only reason I ask is because both Namco’s facebook post of the news and Funimation’s press release of the news both tagged it as a digital only release, and I want to be sure before I start celebrating that it will get a physical release.
i want tekken tag 2 on the vita with online cross play multiplayer!
Could we get a Dragon Ball Z game with Move support?
I enjoyed Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 on Wii way back when. I think it would be cool to do specials in glorious HD with move and I also want to share the experience with my son who was a baby when I owned DBZ: BT 2.
awsome!
if One Piece: Pirate Warriors better have retail release and japanese voice in the US I’ll buy it day one namco!
not even a single words about tales is a bit a letdown :(
I wish Namco, Capcom and Sega could try to create an original fighting game for a change. I am pretty sure they have the talent for that! We have been playing Street Fighter, Tekken and Virtua Fighter forever. If this is the future of hardcore gaming, releasing sequels and nothing else, then I think this would be the last generation for me and makes me really sad… :(
Where’s Tekken x SF?
I look forward to the new Tekken game. It is about time it comes to PS-3/
Sadly One Piece: Pirate Warriors is the only one of these I’m interested in, but seeing it announced here as getting a Blu-Ray release must mean that it will be getting a dub. If this is true, it’s the best news possible! I was fully planning to have to get an undubbed download-only version like Warriors Orochi 3. If it does get a dubbed and physical release, I know quite a few people who will be extremely happy about this. I’ll probably still go with the digital release just to help support Namco-Bandai, but it’ll make it much easier to swallow with a dub on there.
Thanks, Bamco!!!
@17 There is NO Tekken 7… And at this RATE there NEVER will be!
TTT2 OH Yeah Gotta get that One. Just to Bad we have to wait until Dec 2012 for it. That’s a really long WAIT!
And still no NEWS on Tekken X Street Fighter Come on NAMCO let’s get some work done on it already and stop putting so much time into TTT2 LOL!
I Do Hope that TTT2 is also in 3D like the Prologue… That was on Tekken Hybrid. The 3D version of that ROCKED! So make sure u put the 3D Feature in TTT2 as well. OH YEAH!
No Ace Combat news…. I’m really disappointed in that. :( Not really interested in these other Namdai games.
OH, Just watched the Video for TTT2 thought it was an old one but guess it was new… And they moved it to Sept 2012 now. OH YEAH! now were Talkin’
Not sure if ill get a reply or not, but there are different places saying the One Piece game will be digital only. is it right to assume that since this blog posted a Blu-ray release it will have a physical copy released when it hits the states?
Anyway i love these news. Ni no Kuni looks beautiful, and Level 5 has yet to disappoint me in any games they have made so i know ill enjoy this. Tekken is something ill be getting no doubt, and Tag game is long overdue and cannot wait. And lastly One Piece. Yes. Ill admit im not a big fan of the series, but i do enjoy their games!
wow it looks good
One Piece Musou looking awesome. CAN’T WAIT!! (I’m just gonna call it Musou btw.)
No new Gundam game?! I was hoping Namco Bandai would bring Gundam Extreme VS. to western shores. Or what about Saint Seiya: Sanctuary Battle?
@8 Street Fighter x Tekken isn’t made by Namco Bandai.
Hey, I bet the Tales fans!
namco has really lost its spark.. bring out a decent tekken and another ace combat thats good as 4 was.. the rest sucked
This is a very good line-up. You guys at Namco are doing great, but you are missing just one thing: it starts with “Tales” and ends with “Xillia” =D
Namco, it would also be really nice if you could bring Tales of Symphonia II over to the ps3, i always wanted to see how it ended :(
Namco, don’t let me die without being able to play ToS II on my ps3 and in english of course, no more only japan stuff =( or no more not bringing some games to America, like what happened to Sanctuary Battle at some point
Excited for One Piece: Pirate Warriors!
It seems like it will be Japanese voices only (which I have no problem with), but I’m hoping we’ll get dual audio, as some of us DO like the Funimation dub of the anime. I’d love to hear the newer characters (past the current point in the dub) in English. You have until November, so make it possible Namco Bandai!
One Piece: Pirate Warriors nuff said
TT2 I HOPE ITS IN 3D
Ni No Kuni IS IT TURN BASED?
STAR TREK IN 3D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES