Backstory: It's been a rough road for Koei's Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War. Originally both titles were PS3 exclusives, but they've run into snags and now will hit the Xbox 360 sometime this year.

Now, Koei announces that these games won't be ready for Europe's PS3 launch. Instead, they'll be out sometime this summer. Until then, Koei says it will be working on both games to achieve the "highest levels of quality possible." Props to Koei for taking its time and (fingers crossed) not shipping a half-baked product. Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Euro Launch Titles Delayed [Kikizo]

I don't think Koei is going to gain a new reputation for their graphics prowess, but you should decide for yourself. Michael McWhertor

Bladestorm The Hundred Years War

Well, Mike called it. As of the Tokyo Game Show, both Koei titles Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War were PS3 exclusives. But the games ran into probs and were delayed, with the futuristic SIXAXIS-tilt-controlled racer Fatal Inertia missing the PS3 launch.

The games are exclusives no more. Microsoft Japan rattled the rusty ol' Kotaku mailbox, sending word that both games will make their way onto the Xbox 360 next year with Fatal Inertia taking advantage of the system's Xbox Live service. Boy, Sony's having crummy luck with keeping those exclusives. Better hang on to Metal Gear Solid 4 and TIGHT. Brian Ashcraft

Xbox Japan [Official Site]

I just got out of a group interview with the producers of Koei's Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War where they told the group that the company's first racing game wouldn't make the November Japanese launch. Citing problems with the Unreal Engine 3.0, the group was actively working to remedy their development delays to ship the former launch title before the end of '06.

When I asked about internet multiplay for the futuristic racer, the producer told us he was "dreading this question", as issues they were having with their middleware platform was causing delays, but was quick to stress that Sony and Epic were working quickly to help them get back on track. It sounded like online play is still being planned, but not a definite. Bladestorm online play sounds like it won't be happening due to bandwidth issues.

Further, both games will be 720p and only Fatal Inertia is currently taking advantage of the PS3's tilt controller.

Both games are PlayStation 3 exclusives at this point, but the company indicated they're in discussions with Microsoft to bring the game to their platform as well. Koei devs drove home the point multiple times that they're looking to appeal to Western tastes, so don't be surprised when the 360 announcement hits. Michael McWhertor