The X-girl PS Pictogram Genki Rockets Porter PSP case and purse are now on sale for the low, low prices of 9,975 yen and 16,800 yen respectively. Together, that'll set PSP fans of the female persuasion back about $220 USD. Now, that's a bargain. Did I mention each comes with buttons?! Buttons!!! Michael McWhertor

X-girl PS Pictogram PORTER [PlayStation.jp]

While the American version of Lumines II featured the likes of Beck, Gwen Stefani and New Order, the Japanese release looks set to have totally different tunes. The game's creator Q Entertainment just announced that Japanese reggae band Def Tech will be lending it its tune "KONOMAMA" to the game. Never thought of it before, but Def Tech's music should vide well will Lumines puzzling. Hit the jump for the band's smash hit tune "My Way," which won't appear in the game but is still kewl. Brian Ashcraft

Def Tech Lends Tune To Lumines II [Famitsu]

While Lumines II may not be winning the hearts and minds of PSP gamers quite like the first one did, at least you can maybe get a free trip to Miami out of it. All you need to do is suffer through the Lumines II Remixer at the official site then send in your remix.

What do you get if you win? Sadly no games! Instead the winner will receive a trip for two to Miami for the Winter Music Conference, a VIP "experience" with Junkie XL (hopefully no awkward passes from the artist), hotel accommodations, round-trip airfare, car rental and $500 spending cash. I suppose you could do worse. If only Tetsuya Mizuguchi were there I'd spend all night on my remix.

Go on aspiring DJs! Get your virtual wiki-wiki, scritch-scratch on. Michael McWhertor

Lumines II Video Mixer

In this 17 minute interview from September (but posted today), Lumines creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi talks music, sequels and Pong. And all in a pink shirt! Brian Ashcraft

He Makes Puzzle Games [VGB]

Swedish game site Spelbeber shot this video of Lumines luminary Tetsuya Mizuguchi playing Lumines II at Nordic Game 06. Here, Miz shows never-before-seen tracks. Very cool, even if Lumines II still looks like, well, Lumines. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Spelfeber]

In Lumines, the music matters. A lot. Game site 1Up has a peak at the sequel's soundtrack with this track called "Heavenly Star." While the video was inspired by A-ha's "Take On Me" music vid and was designed by Japanese visual artist Glamoove, the song is sung by the Genki Rockets and was co-penned by game creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi. This must be twenty colors of coolness. Brian Ashcraft

Eds Note: 1Up sent word that the video had to be taken down.

More Here [1Up]

Big-in-Japan Korean pop princess BoA apparently didn't make the final cut for Lumines II reports game site Siliconera. At E3, the songstress's tunes appeared on the floor demo for hip designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi's latest puzzler. Logic tells us that her music should find its way into the finished product, but Buena Vista Games PR says this isn't going to happen. As the US version and the Japanese version could be different, there is a chance BoA could still make an appearance. She's a logical choice as the singer appeared on Mizuguchi's Ninety-Nine Nights for the Xbox 360. And we all remember how that turned out. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Siliconera]

I can't friggin wait until Lumines II hits the Playstation Portable. It's going to sport 60 skins, wireless two-player, battle modes and streaming video. Can't wait! Unfortunately, we're all going to have to, because the game doesn't hit until November.

To rub salt in our wounds, Buena Vista just sent out the list of music videos that will show up in the game.

Music videos appearing in the game will include (artist and song):

* Beck - "Black Tambourine"
* Black Eyed Peas - "Pump It"
* Chemical Brothers - "Star Guitar"
* Fatboy Slim - "Gangster Trippin'"
* The Go! Team - "Bottle Rocket"
* Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl"
* Hoobastank - "Born to Lead"
* Junior Senior - "Take My Time"
* Missy Elliott - "Lose Control"
* New Order - TBD

The will also include exclusive music by Japanese artist Shinichi Osawa, aka Mondo Grosso; Ken Ishii, Techriders and songs Breezer by Junkie XL and Reality Check by Stigmato Inc.

"In order to showcase my vision for 'Lumines II,' we needed to find music and videos with just the right tone, mix and energy to incorporate into the game," said Tetsuya Mizuguchi, chief creative officer of Q ENTERTAINMENT. "I couldn't be happier with the result and am excited to get the game into players' hands."

Mizuguchi is, of course, completely right, Lumines is almost as much about the music as it is about the gameplay. This is the only way I can imagine myself watching music videos. Brian Crecente

While the first Lumines featured the hypnotic groves of Japanese band Mondo Grosso, the sequel will get some "pretty big names" says creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Those artists will be revealed in the upcoming weeks, but my money's on the likes of Fatboy Slim or the Chemical Brothers as Mizuguchi's a big fan of both acts. And those guys could use a boost. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Eurogamer]