The game looks quite different from the original Mushihime games. (Reco seems to be walking and not flying, for example), The object here is to blow up bugs, and chaining is possible.

Cave plans to release more games on the iPhone for the European and American market. As Hobby Blog points out, Cave has decided to use the iPhone platform because shooters are such a niche market outside Japan, and it's difficult to find a distributor for console titles.

Mushihimesama Gaiden BUG PANIC iPhone [Hobby Blog]

Dodonpachi final boss underoos. Danger, indeed. Yours for ¥4,800 — large size is already sold out! Other Cave goods were available as well, including keychains, cell phone straps and the like.

Garage kit of Ketsui aircraft.

Saucy covers of MUSHIHIME-SAMA's Reco to boot!

The matsuri was held at the Taito Hey! arcade in Akihabara.

Cave Matsuri 2009 - Modellismo e videogiochi giapponesi [Hobby Media]

Bundled with a two disc soundtrack, the game will be priced at ¥7,329 (US$85). There is a limited edition bundle with a faceplate — yours for ¥9,660 ($111).

No word whether the title is region free like Mushihime-sama Futari Ver 1.5.

Espgaluda II Shoots For February [Siliconera]

According to an April Xbox Japan press release, the game was now TBA. The 5pb Games, who was working on the port for developer Cave, listed Ketsui as TBA.

Developer 5pd handled the port of DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black Lable EXTRA for the Xbox 360 — ultimately, a messy, buggy port. When released in February, the game was so plagued with bugs that the company issued a statement. "We apologize for the trouble this has caused customers," 5pb stated in an online message. "Currently, we are investigating measures to counter this."

5pb issued a statement on its website stating that it had copied the source code from the PS2 version of DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou. According to 5pb, "We've confirmed that the source code from copied without permission and intentionally altered while making this title."

According to Cave general manager Makato Asada, the Ketsui port is in limbo. "Speaking honestly," blogs Asada, "I don't know yet if we can fix the game." Instead of simply trying to fix the farmed out 5pb port, it might be faster, Asada adds, to rebuild the game.

"We're not at a point where we can promise a release," Asada writes. However, he does add that it seems like Cave will be able to make progress on the game.

完了と自分ができる事: 開発日誌 [Cave via オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃]

While Cave's releases, titles like DoDonPachi, Mushihime-sama and Death Smiles, are readily available in Japan, getting your hands on them in the West isn't always easy. You'd typically need a Japanese PlayStation 2 or Xbox 360 to play them. But that's going to change, first with the region-free release of Mushihime-sama Futari for the Xbox 360 this November.

Asada told Kotaku in an interview that Cave is looking at global releases of its games, full-fledged Xbox Live Arcade titles of certain titles and Valve's Steam service as a means of distribution. None of that is set in stone, mind you, but Asada sounded upbeat about Cave's new opportunities.

"We don't know anything at this point with regards to Xbox Live Arcade," Asada clarified, "but we can say that the person in charge of these ports at Cave and the person in charge of XBLA authorizations for the United States met today on the TGS floor. It depends on where those discussions go in regard to Guwange on XBLA."

Guwange, for those who don't know, is a 1999 shooter with a traditional Japanese theme. It was the Cave game that readers of the company's blog chose as the title they'd like to see come to Xbox Live Arcade.

But before Guwange or any other XBLA ports arrive, Cave has some more disc-based titles planned.

"Right now, we're working on a few titles for localization," Asada said. Again, take caution. "This is currently all in talks. With regards to Death Smiles, we can say that it's currently in progress and hopefully soon we'll be able to give overseas users news about its release."

Asada also hinted at something unannounced, something not based on its previous releases. And something designed with a more global audience in mind.

"Right now at Cave we're working on a new title, and we want it to be worldwide," Asada said. "It's going to have to sell to a worldwide audience, so there might be a possibility that we would tailor it [to Western tastes] in that sense."

Does that mean no insect queens or gothic lolita girls? Well, not exactly.

"If we lost that, we would sort of lose what makes us Cave, so we'll have to keep that," Asada said.

What else does Cave have in its future? Despite Asada's personal preference for playing first-person shooters like Quake, Counter-strike, Halo, and Call of Duty 4 online, the company has no plans to enter that market.

But it's not opposed to venturing into totally new genres.

"Capcom Vs. Cave would be a pretty interesting fighting game," Asada said.

I'm guessing they're going to need to sell a few more copies of Death Smiles before that happens. But, hey, Capcom asked.

"We had a lot of good feedback from overseas users," Asada told Kotaku, happy with the strong response to the insect-themed, vertically-scrolling shmup. "So for this time, as a test, we're going to make the game region free so that overseas users can play it." Previous Cave games for the Xbox 360 like Do Don Pachi Daioujou Black Label Extra and Death Smiles have been limited to Japan only. So, why the change?

"By making Mushihime-sama Futari region-free, what we're doing is measuring the amount of overseas users," Asada explained. And if you care about your Cave shooters, it's probably a good idea to import a copy. Or two.

"This will have a direct impact on whether Espgaluda II and other titles will be localized for America," Asada warned us. "So it's probably a good idea to pick it up!"

The Japanese release of Mushihime-sama Futari is planned for November 26. We got a chance to play the home port at Tokyo Game Show this week, with our impressions right here.

We'll have more news on the future of Cave from our interview with Makato Asada later this week.

I'm not saying that Cave's arcade shooter is the best, but it's a title I'll always pop into an arcade to play, a title that I have some sort of connection to, a title that I can enjoy.

The recent spate of Cave bullet hell shooters that have been ported to the Xbox 360 by developer 5pb have not lived up to the standards Cave has for its games—and that Cave players have for Cave games.

There have been ports from 5pb — ports so buggy that apologizes had to be issued.

For Mushihime-Sama Futari Ver. 1.5, Cave is handling the development internally. And it shows. The Xbox 360 demo looks crisp and runs smoothly with updated art and tweaked animation.

As Cave has done with other shooters, it has released on the Xbox 360, there is a safety net of sorts, providing players with co-op bots play of sorts as they find their footing. On Original Mode, the Xbox 360 version is more forgiving than the arcade version. Of course, the 360 game has harder modes as well.

As someone who plays and has played the arcade original on a joystick, the Xbox 360 controller's thumbstick is responsive, and while not a replacement, it does the job.

Mushihime-sama Futari Ver. 1.5. will be released on the Xbox 360 in Japan on November 26.

Keep in mind, that Cave is asking Japanese users to send in Japanese emails for which games they want on Japanese Xbox 360s. But! Cave shmups can't be that hard to localize, and we're fairly confident that Cave would be interested in knowing if players outside Japan are interested in having Cave shooters on consoles outside Japan.

Here's the email address: blog360@mail.cave.co.jp

We imagine emails in English are okay, too!

Cave Blog [Official Site]

MUSHIHIME-SAMA FUTARI Ver 1.5 will be out November 26 with a standard edition and a limited edition pack with a two disc soundtrack set.

Espgaluda II Black Level will be out next Spring.

Spotted at the Cave Matsuri, they're priced at ¥4,800 (US$50) and come in two sizes: medium and large. Sorry fat Japanese people!

Strategically placed cone not included.

ゴスロリSTG『デススマイルズ』のキャラクターの絵がプリントされたパンツ [はちま起稿]

Let's recap: The game was slated for release on Christmas day, but was delayed because it needed extra time. Then it was dated for February 19.

When released in February, the game was plagued with bugs. It was so buggy that Japanese developer 5pb, who did the port, issued a statement. "We apologize for the trouble this has caused customers," 5pb stated in an online message. "Currently, we are investigating measures to counter this."

5pb issued a statement on its website stating that it had copied the source code from the PS2 version of DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou. According to 5pb, "We've confirmed that the source code from copied without permission and intentionally altered while making this title."

The company apologies and states it is reviewing its internal development and quality control structure to prevent something like this happening a second time.

5pb Games [Official Site via はちま起稿]

Bratwurst, from the Sega-16 forums, has made his own copy. With a box, box art, a manual (in authentic, faded black & white) and, most amazing of all, he's made his own working Genesis cartridge.

These aren't the first custom productions he's knocked up - there are also copies of Monster World IV and Pulseman out there somewhere - but it's definitely the most impressive. Because it's Alien Soldier.

Alien Soldier Finally Sees US Cart Release [GameSetWatch]

Not free for me or you, we've still gotta pay. But rather, free for arcade owners. Instead of having arcade owners buy costly arcade set-ups and then trying to make money back on the machines, Cave is planning to offer its arcade games for free. Nothing is free, what's the catch? Cave gets a percentage of the take earned by game center operators.

This means arcades have much lower risk than with traditional arcade games.

Cave is planning to kick off its "Revenue Share Plan" with Gothic Lolita shooting game DEATHSMILES II. Arcade operators getting "free" arcade games, thus reducing the risk and increasing incentive for them to carry the games and Cave to keep making them? Now that's something to smile about.

Another thing is smile about is the DeathSmiles prequel getting a console release developed by Cave and not ported by someone else. Hooray.

『デススマイルズII』を0円で店舗に設置!? ケイブ新作発表会で新プラン発表 [Dengeki Online]

Originally an arcade game developed by Cave, DEATHSMILES was the company first effort at self-porting and self-publishing an Xbox 360 title. Previously, Cave had brought in developer 5pb to handle the porting duties.

The second highest shooter debut for this generation is Konami's Otomoedius G, which sold 15,000 copies in its first week. Check out the DEATHSMILES trailer here. It's fantastic.

Death Smiles (Xbox 360) hits #6 on the sales charts - tops for a shooter this generation [Arcade Renaissance]

Thing is developer 5pb has been doing these ports — and not doing a very good job. DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black EXTRA is so buggy that sales of the game have been halted in Japan.

Ketsui ~Kizuna Jigokutachi ~ EXTRA, likewise, seems plagued with problems. The game was originally scheduled for release on May 28 in Japan, but according to a recent Xbox Japan press release, the game is now TBA. The 5pb Games page also lists Ketsui as TBA; however, the game's actual page still carries the old release date.

There is an upside. Cave, not 5pb, is porting Mushihime-sama Futari to the Xbox 360. THANK GOODNESS.

Xbox 360® 向けタイトルラインアップがさらに充実 [Xbox Japan]

Several Cave shoot 'em ups have already been ported over to the Xbox 360 with varying degrees of success. Take the 5pb ported DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black EXTRA, which is so buggy that sales of the game had to be halted.

Good news: Cave will be porting Mushihime-sama Futari itself. The Xbox 360 version is currently 20 to 30 percent finished and will be built upon the arcade's 1.5Ver. According to Cave, the game's graphics will get an upgrade.

Cave is trying to balance the game for the Xbox 360 console, however. It will include a "Normal" mode for beginner players as well as an "Abnormal" mode for more experience, abnormal players. There are plans for downloadable content as well as online ranking and online score attack.

The release date and pricing for Mushihime-sama Futari are still forthcoming.

『虫姫さま ふたり』がXbox 360に移植決定！　開発スタッフ一問一答も [Famitsu]

Starting April 18, DeathSmiles boob-shaped mousepads. While the game is not played with a mouse per se, those who like DeathSmiles might use computers, so it ALL MAKES SENSE.

There are three different versions of the pads, which are priced at ¥4,500 (US$45.60). This bit of information comes our way from a blog that covers only boob mousepads. They're specialists!

デススマイルズ立体マウスパッド3種類 [立体マウスパッド監視ブログ NSFW via 読みゲー]

Junya Inoue, who did the DeathSmiles II character design, jokes that the reason why the recently announced title takes place a month after the first game is that they would have to age and "we can't have that."

According to Inoue, DeathSmiles was originally dubbed "Death Lolitas", but that name was scraped over concern on how it would go over with arcade operators. DeathSmiles is a great title, but not nearly as bad ass as "Death Lolitas".

Cave has released several ports of its bullet hell shooters and is very much interested in releasing packaged 360 titles and games on Xbox LIVE — helping to solidify the 360 as this generation's shoot-'em-up console

DeathSmiles [shmups.system11.org]

Starting this week, Japanese developer 5pb, who did the port, has ceased shipment of the game. 5pb issued a statement on the DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black EXTRA Xbox 360 webpage back in February. Users had been reporting "several bugs," which 5pb confirmed in-house.

"We apologize for the trouble this has caused customers," 5pb stated in an online message. "Currently, we are investigating measures to counter this."

In its most recent update, 5pbs stated it would be announcing details about an Xbox LIVE update for the game shortly. Currently, the game is filling up the bins at Japanese retailers.

Xbox 360『怒首領蜂 大往生 ブラックレーベル EXTRA』出荷中止のご案内 [5pb via はちま起稿]