I wanted to give the PlayStation Nation the inside scoop on some cool things we have coming up for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 this week. Starting on Tuesday, November 13th, we will be offering Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as a download on PlayStation Store for $49.99. For those of you doing the math right now, that’s $10 cheaper than a Blu-ray copy of the game. And for those of you who have not purchased the game yet and are looking for another excuse to download or grab a copy, we will be releasing the final timed character roster update this week as well! BOOM! HYPE! WISDOM!

Monday night we’ll unleash the final Tekken fighters from their cages and let them loose on the internet for our dedicated fans. The new unlocked characters for feature three returning favorites: Dr. Boskonovitch, Unknown and Violet. It’s been a while since players have been able to get their hands on these characters and play as them themselves, with Dr. B last playable in Tekken 3, Unknown last playable in the original Tekken Tag Tournament and Violet in Tekken 4. It’s been a long time, but we think it has been worth the wait when you see the changes the team has made to the new characters. These guys are absolute beasts in the ring with new move sets since the last time we’ve seen them.

And in addition to that, we will also be releasing Ancient Ogre, Angel, Michelle Chang and Kunimitsu to everyone as well. These four characters have, up until now, have only been available for players who pre-ordered the game. Now with everyone able to use them, I’m super interested to see what you guys can cook up in the lab with them. To top all that off, these characters are absolutely free and are added to your character select the next time you boot up your copy of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and are connected to the internet.

So be sure to download Tekken Tag Tournament 2 from the PSN Store this Tuesday, grab all those unlocked characters, brush up your skills in the Fight Lab and let’s take this fight online. My PlayStation Network name is Filthie_Rich if you want to go a few rounds. And make sure you sign up for a World Tekken Federation account to join online teams and receive detailed analysis of all your past fights. Also, follow @ Harada_TEKKEN on Twitter for the most recent status of the development team!

On April 10, 2012 eight qualifying players from tournaments held across the globe will be facing each other to battle it out for the SOULCALIBUR V World Championship title in Las Vegas, Nevada. With over $10,000 in prizing, arcade sticks, games and more going to the combatants, this will be an event to go down in the history books.  And we’re even giving fans a chance to win cool items by tuning into the action!

The SOULCALIBUR V World Championships will be broadcasted live by community stream evangelist Team Spooky, featuring hype and play by play commentary by Fighting Game Community leader Mark “MarkMan” Julio and myself, Rich “FilthieRich” Bantegui, to keep fans updated and entertained. Special guest and game director, Daishi Odashima will also be in attendance to chat about the game with fans at the event.

We invite you to watch this “HYPE” SOULCALIBUR V World Championships event, and for a chance to win awesome swag from our event partners – Hori, Mad Catz and Sony Computer Entertainment America! Make sure to tune into the stream on April 10 at 7:00pm PST at: http://www.own3d.tv/teamspooky. For questions you can tag me directly at http://www.twitter.com/Filthierich or check out http://www.facebook.com/SOULCALIBUR.

The Project Soul team, and NAMCO BANDAI Games have made it a priority to listen and engage the competitive fighting community during development and through the release of SOULCALIBUR V. We’re listening, taking notes and letting fans voice their opinions to help us keep the SOULCALIBUR franchise as one of the best fighting series out there. The SOULCALIBUR V World Championship is an excellent opportunity to see the passion and heart that goes into competitive tournaments and we plan to support more tournaments in the future.

Check out the video below, get hype, and get the popcorn ready on April 10. We’ll see you then!

Between the kinetic energy, the chemical energy, and the thermal energy, there’s a massive arsenal worth of firepower that you’ll be able to choose from when building your ultimate machine of destruction in the game. As we’ve said before, the team at FromSoftware has been a leader in the genre with this franchise for nearly fifteen years, and with Armored Core V, and they mean business.

Each AC you build is highly unlikely to be identical to any others you come across online since customization is key. Brand new for this game are the recon units that players are going to be able to lay out all over the map to survey the land and take out your enemies. What’s also cool are the emblems and detailing customization aspects that let you trick out your AC like no other. You can get crazy with it, and crazy you’ll need to be when taking down some of these new bosses.

Check out the video and watch out towards the end with some of the first glimpses at the MASSIVE bosses that you’ll find yourself not wanting to take down alone. The Armored Core V world is huge, and going it alone will not be recommended. Check back for more updates and start thinking about exactly how you’ll want to customize your own AC come March 20th. As we like to say around the office… COME HEAVY OR NOT AT ALL! See you online!

My fellow Ridge Racing elite, how are you? Those of you that have been following along on the PlayStation Blog know that we at NAMCO BANDAI Games have been very active here with updates on our titles for the PlayStation Vita, including Touch My Katamari and Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen. But, as many of you have been asking me, what’s up with RIDGE RACER? It’s out in Japan, and my friends in Europe are already racing… but when are we finally going to get behind the wheel, and when exactly in the ‘Launch Window’ are we going to hit the road with Reiko again? WHAT’S THE DEAL!?

We know, we know. Launch days and RIDGE RACER usually are one and the same, and while our friends abroad are already racing, the teams have been taking every ounce of feedback into consideration for a full-throttle launch in North America. Thankfully, today we can confirm that the game will officially become available in on March 13th for $29.99 at retail and $24.99 for digital download from the PlayStation Store.

As a token of appreciation for our most dedicated fans of RIDGE RACER’s classic beauty and blistering speed, NAMCO BANDAI Games America has decided to offer a free DLC pack for everyone picking up the game at launch and while supplies last. Fans who buy the retail version of RIDGE RACER for PS Vita will find a code inside the box for a free ‘RIDGE RACER Gold Pass’ which unlocks a wealth of extra DLC content completely for free. The same Gold Pass is also available for free to all fans who purchase the digital version of the game on PlayStation Network no later than April 30, 2012.

What exactly is in this pack? How about five free additional machines, three courses, and extra pieces of pumping background music to take you across the finish line?

• Five additional machines: PROMESSA, ELENIE, DIGNISTAR, FATALITA and MELTFIRE
• Three additional courses: Old Central, Sunset Heights and Lost Ruins
• Two music tracks: NEW SONGS PACK 01
• One new extended music mix: LONG MIX BGM 01

On top of this, fans worldwide should be happy to hear that upon the North American launch date, RIDGE RACER will be updated with an improved frame rate and crisper graphics for an even faster racing experience than ever before.

That won’t be the end of the expanding world of content on PS Vita for RIDGE RACER either. In April, we’ll be releasing more content in our ‘RIDGE RACER Silver Pass’ which will allow fans to access even more cars and courses at one low price. Stay tuned to this page on our website for details on the dates when all of this content will become available.

Sound easy enough? It is. Landing a boost around a hairpin turn while racing against seven other players from across the globe from a Wi-Fi ready flight headed from London to Las Vegas? Not so easy… but now it’s entirely possible now thanks to the handy work of the team of veterans at Cellius and Namco Bandai Games Inc, along with the power of the PlayStation Vita.

The teams at NAMCO BANDAI Games can’t thank the fans enough for their patience and their feedback, and we look forward to going head to head with all of you on March 13th. We’ll see you on the road on launch day, and I challenge you all to take me down during launch week. Look for me online PSN ID: FilthieRich, and I DARE YOU to take me down. See you on the courses!

With PS Vita’s launch week in full effect, we wanted to give PlayStation.Blog readers just one more slice of Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen. Have any of you elite assassins picked up both PS Vita and this stealth-action game?

My good friend from Acquire, Hiroshi Watanabe, wanted to share his experiences in developing Shinobido 2 for PS Vita. Fans are important to us and to this industry; even Mr. Watanabe started out as a student and was a BIG fan of the first Shinobido game for PS2. In his role as programmer, Watanabe put a lot of work into making the gameplay pop — and with the new trailer, and the game now out in the wild, you can see for yourself.

Check out our trailer and screens in the update below. Oh, and newfound PS Vita owners: let us know what you think of Acquire’s latest (and bloodiest!) adventure!

Hello. I’m Hiroshi Watanabe, a programmer for Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen. Like some of the other development team members, I was also once just a student who spent my fair share of playtime on the Shinobido series. I was already a huge fan when the PS2 game Shinobido: Way of the Ninja launched. So you can imagine my excitement when I got to join the development team for the game’s newest iteration on a new handheld console, PS Vita.

Anyway, as fans of the previous Shinobido titles know, I believe that the one of the most attractive features of the series is the “Harakiri engine.” It immediately responds to the situation between the three daimyo (warlords), allowing for a variety of stories, and of course missions. And let’s not forget the game’s fast-paced action. Without a doubt, the newly added “Fukurou” and “Zankoku” definitely make this game special.

Shinobido 2’s many various objects in the game are actually what make the game stand out so much from other stealth titles — and I personally prepared them! These interactive objects provide extra spice to the world of feudal Japan, and mean that swordplay is not the only way to dispatch your enemies. The interactive objects provide new strategies, whether it’s making a pile of logs collapse on an enemy, you throwing a bucket to create a distracting sound, slashing right through sliding doors, throwing tiny Buddha statues at an enemy’s head, or detonating stacks of buckets using explosives. Of course, it was no small feat creating and adjusting so many objects. :)

Now that Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen is officially out in North America and Europe, we couldn’t be happier to finally have fans (just like I was and still am) getting their hands on the final product.

You can see what the critics are saying in the launch trailer below, but we think we want to hear what YOU have to think? Have you picked it up yet? Have you picked up EVERYTHING yet? Let us know, we want to hear from you!

You see, The King and @FilthieRich go way back to the PS2 days. It was there when I first met The King, much like many of you. We’ve had plenty of adventures together over the years, but we’ve never quite had a handheld frolic across the land of candy, crayons, robots, and cephalopods quite like this one. Definitely not one with two analog sticks… and definitely not one that lets you stretch and squeeze the Katamari for crazy new rolling maneuvers. The King has been pretty self-conscious lately – and he’s been on a mission to make sure he’s once and for all cooler than a school principal. And today, he’s seeking your approval.

Check out the trailer and sound off in the comments. What outfits have you unlocked? Which mission has been your favorite so far? Have you run into any other players using the “near” functionality? Are you wearing a pile of pink ice cream on your head? Come one, come all, and sound off… ROYAL RAINBOW… AWAY!

Armored Core V hits consoles across North America on March 20th, and when it does, we at Namco Bandai Games want everyone up to be up to speed on all of the ins and outs on what it will take to survive while piloting the Armored Cores (or “ACs”) in the dusty, shrapnel-laden world full of limitless online gameplay possibilities.

I’ve been learning more and more from the team about Armored Core V over the last few months between bouts in Soulcalibur V , and the sheer level of detail and customization here has put my jaw on the floor. Make no mistake; Armored Core V is deep. Very deep. So deep, in fact, that the team has introduced an a new Operator Mode that will enable players to actually oversee multiplayer battles from overhead, calling the shots live amid battle as they watch the action and dictate their strategies on the fly to their teams.

There’s more. A lot more. So much more that we’ve made a video to help give you an idea of what’s on the surface and slightly just beneath, but there’s still more to come. Watch our first walkthrough video to get a glimpse of how you’ll be evolving your strategies on the fly, and stay tuned right here to the PlayStation.Blog as well as Facebook.com/armoredcore for more details as we boost our AC’s ever closer to March 20th.

Check the video above for a look at the slice-and-dice action, as well as a glimpse at my favorite new mode of transportation: the glider suit! Sound off in the comments below with your thoughts on the latest trailer, and stay tuned right here to the PlayStation.Blog for more sneak peeks and updates on all of the PS Vita titles from Namco Bandai Games through launch next month. Until then, watch your back for the blades of your enemies — they’re everywhere!

We’ve already been over how the new core gameplay mechanics will work: You’ll stretch and squeeze your katamari using the rear touchscreen, changing the shape of your rolly ball of fun to better maneuver around each level. What we haven’t yet shared is the story! Watch the prologue video below to get a look at the terrifying revelation uncovered by the King of All Cosmos at the beginning of our stretchy tale. Once the greatest in the universe, the king finds out that his level of cool is now only on par with something he simply won’t stand for… thus beginning a redemption tale for the ages!

Check the clip above and be sure to sound off in the comments. February 22nd will be here before you know it!

Hello again, PS Vita fans! Hoping you enjoyed our premiere of the first Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen details not long ago. As promised, I’m back to share a post with you from our friends on the development team ACQUIRE Corp. Our friend Toshiko Tazaki has more details to share on how they shaped the tension and atmosphere in their upcoming assassin-thriller. Have a look and a listen down below, and stay tuned to PlayStation.Blog as we lead up to the game’s launch on February 22nd for more in-depth looks at how the team brought this killer game together on the PS Vita.

Toshio Tazaki, Sound Artist, Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen (PSVita)

You may not think about it much when you are playing games, but creating tension and atmosphere takes a lot of work on the development side. I wanted to share with you a bit about how we did this in our game, Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen.

Music and sound production of Shinobido 2 was actually started with a mandate from our director, Abe-san, who asked us, “Why not enhance the melody and atmosphere on our music unlike any game we’ve done before?” Every day, I made considerable efforts to adjust the melody balance to make it better than the day before. Composers tend to be desperate to give their music something different when preparing soundtracks for a whole game.

When the project began, I aimed to produce a song each day…but sometimes I got stuck and more than a little bewildered! Once I finished half of the song writing, I came to realize more details of each character by checking each of the key event scenes in the game.

When I listened to the completed songs at first, I was very clear where they would be used in the game…but I sometimes changed my mind and replaced them with more suitable arrangements or created new songs for the parts that needed more emotion. It was quite enjoyable to produce the music for game events, and the more I thought about each character, the more inspired I was to really get the music right!

It is unusual for me to say this, but I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to keep composing and developing the sounds even after the project wrapped! I would like to thank the director for letting me take part in this title. :-) By the way, I’ll show you a photo related to the sound development here. Please have a look at this snap shot of music data displaying what it looks like when the main character is found by enemies in the game.

You may be asking yourself, “What in the world is this?” What looks like just a pattern of .wav files is actually the full song, which I’d love to share with you below. It’s called “Detection.”

Well, that’s it from me. We’ll be back to share more on the development of Shinobido 2, and we hope that you enjoy the sounds of assassination when our game launches this February in the US and Europe. I can’t wait until you can all hear the rest! If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know, and if I can’t respond immediately, our friend FilthieRich can chime in! See you soon!