South Korean developer Phantagram worked on the title with Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment. This time Microsoft development arm Feelplus is handling development duties. The sequel has a much darker visual flair.

Fun fact: nerd idol Shoko Nakagawa appeared at promotional events for the game, cosplaying as one of the title's characters. This was back before she was a super-duper famous superstar and before we knew Ninety-Nine Nights wasn't very good.

Another fun fact: While Shoko Nakagawa claimed at the time to be impressed with Ninety-Nine Nights, she actually did not own an Xbox 360 until this past March. And then she didn't seem to play it much and later gave away some of her games. She's got more important things to do, apparently!

[Pic]

Not Shoko-tan, But Kinda Close [NSFW]

Nakazato also gives the Xbox 360 a fighting chance in Japan, the console in which his company is heavily invested:

I think most of the Japanese gamers will go to casual games on the DS and such, but there will be a high-end gamer market. For those gamers, because of a lack of Japan-made games, they're going to start playing U.S. games. Then, I think the Xbox 360 will have a better chance.

Xbox Live is so sophisticated - on that point I think even Sony is behind, even after their most recent announcements, like Home. I think their infrastructure is still behind. If Microsoft has a chance to succeed in Japan, I think the Xbox Live services and new entertainment fully using Xbox Live are important.

An amazing, and, at seven pages, long interview with great insight into the inner workings at FeelPlus, Capcom and Microsoft. Don't miss it. Michael McWhertor

Ray Tracing: A Japanese Game Market Expose With Ray Nakazato [Gamasutra]

Quoth Microsoft Games Studio G.M. Phil Spencer:

"I won't duck the question. Obviously our job as a first-party publisher is to lead on our platform and to create content not only that appeals to a broad set of customers, but also content that comes out with a regular pacing to continue to freshen the shelves," Spencer said. "But I wouldn't disagree with you that there were periods this year where there were gaps that were too long from first-party."

Microsoft swears they've learned their lesson, and bows their head contritely. Florian Eckhardt

Microsoft admits first-party 360 release bungle [Eurogamer]

Since launch, Microsoft has only offered a 39,800 yen (US $342) Premium pack to Japanese consumers. Looks like The Land of the Rising Sun is getting another choice. Microsoft Japan shoved a press release in the ol' Kotaku mailbox, saying the company will be offering a Core Xbox 360 bundle, starting on November 2nd. For 29,800 yen (US $256), consumers will get the console, a wired controller, Project Gotham Racing 3 and NINETY-NINE NIGHTS. Also on November 2nd, the company will be offering a special "Platium Collection" for 2,800 yen (US $24) a piece, which is more than half of what new games go for. The five titles in the collection include: Need for Speed, Rumble Roses XX, Every Party, PGR 3 and NINETY-NINE NIGHTS. Shortly after these reduced priced games and new system pack hit stores, 100,000 PLAYSTATION 3 consoles will go on sale. With PS3 numbers scare, Microsoft's betting (and hoping) it can ski in Sony's wake, picking up new customers along the way. Brian Ashcraft

Judging by the reviews hitting today on Ninety-Nine Nights, I'm one of the few people who seemed to like the game. That isn't to say I don't think it has issues, but I still found it a lot of button-mashing fun.

Xbox Evolved
There are a few drawbacks to the game, such as the fact that it doesn't take to long to beat it in the first place, I was able to complete the game in less than a week, and the formula of the game, while a bit more expanded than past Phantagram games, still feels very similar.
Score: 8/10

Gamespot
On paper, the multiple characters and item collection might make Ninety-Nine Nights sound like a reasonably deep action game. Unfortunately, the action starts out completely mindless and wears even thinner as time goes on. Whether you're a fan of the let's-see-how-many-guys-we-can-cram-onscreen genre or not, this one's probably not worth your time.
Score: 5.9

Honest Gamers
Ninety-Nine Nights is grand, sweeping, and epic. Each character's attack style is varied (the vengeful priest is particularly fresh), each storyline features different twists on familiar missions, and the secret character's adventure is a BLAST. At the best of times, the game's thoroughly engrossing and a joy to play. Unfortunately, because of numerous design issues, it can't fend off the bellowing swarms of other, better, older brawlers.
Score: 7/10

Rocky Mountain News
Games like N3 are to video games what Die Hard and the X-Men are to movies: Just plain fun.
Score: B

Ninety-Nine Nights (Xbox 360)
The Microsoft backed story-driven hack 'n' slash from Q and Phantagram is less than the sum of its parts.

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PS2)
Square-Enix milks the Final Fantasy VII cash cow in this third person shooter. Better than the Japanese version, but that ain't sayin' much.

Deep Labyrinth (DS)
Atlus brings the action-RPG stateside, hack 'n' slash and touchscreen spell-casting in tact.

Super Monkey Ball Adventure (PSP)
The PSP port of the lackluster Monkey Ball platformer hits stores like so much flung monkey feces.

DarkStar One (PC)
Apparently its "an open-ended action/adventure title set in a huge universe populated by a variety of unique alien races". News to me!

I'm finally going to crack into my Bit Generations games and my budget copy of Drill Dozer. After the miserable NNN reviews, I think I'll be waiting for the $10 version. You kids picking up anything this week?

What? You don't know Q Entertainment?! They're the ones responsible for games like Lumines, Meteos, and Ninety-Nine Nights, founded by heterosexual man crush, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. What?! You don't know Tetsuya Mizuguchi?! He's the producer responsible for gaming mana like Rez, Space Channel 5 and Sega Rally. C'mon, guys. Pay attention!

1UP's article is a great primer on the company and their philosophy, which is to exploit the best aspects of the platform for which they are developing. A preview look at their remake of Gunpey for both the PSP and DS, each with different interfaces and visual styles is a perfect example. Taking puzzle hit Lumines to virtually every viable platform is an indicator that the company knows how to capitalize on a hit.

Don't miss Mielke's interview with Mizuguchi and Q CEO Shuji Utsumi for thinly veiled hints at reviving Rez, developing for the Wii, and so much more.

Northern Lights - A Week With Q Entertainment

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]

Now that Q? Entertainment is freed of the soul crushing Microsoft shackles, having met their obligation to the company with the coolly received Ninety Nine Nights, it's time to focus on the stuff that made them famous. Hot puzzle X music action!

Check out the official site for screenshots, wallpaper, artist info and more. Michael McWhertor

Gunpey-R Official Site

Despite listing a hard drive as a requirement for Ninety-Nine Nights on the official Xbox.com site, the game apparently doesn't require the core-pack add-on.

Microsoft blogger Cesar Menendez says you will be able to play the game with or without the harddrive. He says he spoke with the Xbox.com production team and found out they just screwed up when the created the listing. Brian Crecente

N3 Doesn't Require a Hard Drive [Gamerscore Blog]

Lumines creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's RPG Ninety-Nine Nights requires a hard drive, according to its official Xbox homepage. Make that, Canadian page, which clearly states "Hard Drive Required." The US one says nothing of the sort.

While 360s are only sold with HDs in Japan, not every single owner in North America has one. Creating "Hard Drive Required" titles might be another hidden cost for consumers. That doesn't seem to be the case for the error different requirements on the American and Canadian N3 sites. We assume the metric system or ice hockey is to blame. Brian Ashcraft

Mistake, Eh? or No Mistake, Right? [Xbox Canada & America]
More Here [Gamer Andy]

UpdateTurns out a HD isn't needed after all, Msoft just screwed up on their official listing of the game. Whoops.

Hong Kong game blog Genie the FlammableWheel Alpha (you cannot make up such goodness) sends word of a special Ninety-Nine Nights pre-order present for the Chinese market, I assume. Nothing quite says next-gen Xbox 360 RPG gaming like a NN3 snow-globe. Nothing quite says anything like a snow-globe now does it? Save for Genie the FlammableWheel Alpha. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [GTFWA]

Thanks to this Microsoft English language page, folks have been assuming Tetsuya Mizuguchi's RPG Nintey Nine Nights is hitting the States June 9th. Wrong, the release date is for Singapore. Game site Siliconera points out that the URL clearly says /zh-SG/ for Singapore and not /en-US/ for America. At E3, Mizuguchi hinted the game would be out in North America in either August or September. Until then, wait.

More Here [Siliconera]

Legendary game creator Testuya Mizuguchi (Lumines, Meteos) tells news site Eurogamer he's considering making sequels to two of his most famous games. When asked if he's up for Rez 2, he said:

I'm currently seriously considering it. It's always there. I'm always thinking about it. [Grinning] Also Space Channel 5.

I'd take one Rez or a Space Channel sequel over any of the four Lumines games Mizuguchi was promoting at E3. Talk about misdirected time and energy. —Brian Ashcraft

Full Interview Here [Eurogamer]

Take it as a good sign. Japan's geekiest adult video actress Ann Namba bought Ninety-Nine Nights, even name dropping Mizuguchi. "I'm so glad I bought it," she blogs as a glimmer of hope flashes in the eyes of Peter Moore. The *literally* hardcore actress-come-gamer has already impressed many by previously lining up for a DS Lite, gushing over Final Fantasy 12 and doing others unmentionables.

Fairly Innocuous But Still NSFW [Ann's Blog]

So Mizuguchi's RPG Ninety-Nine Nights just launched in Japan, and MSoft has licensed N3 tees, mugs and bags. Guys, shouldn't we be more focused on selling actual games?

Goods Here [Dengeki Online]

Over the weekend, Microsoft held a Ninety-Nine Nights cosplay event in Akihabara. The game's resident genius Tetsuya Mizuguchi was on hand to promote the 360 title, a co-production between Japanese and Korean designers. The event also marked the pairing of clothing maker COSPA and Microsoft. When Akiba idol Shoko Nakagawa appeared on stage in witch gal Tyurru costume, the crowd of otaku went gaga.

Shoko-tan (Shoko-chan) even live blogged the event from her cell phone.
Her guerilla journo efforts went something like "Kitaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (SMILE FACES) I'm on the stage. There's a buncha people here. (SMILE FACES) Cosplay is great! (SMILE FACES) Wow (SMILE FACES)"

Regular readers of her blog will notice a significant stylistic change. Her posts typically vacillate between photos of herself and her cat. Her N3 post were of her costume or herself. Now that the event is over, she's returned to regular cat coverage.

She's Quite Vain [Shoko-tan Burogu]
More HereMore Here [Game Watch]

Lumines creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's high profile Xbox 360 RPG Ninety-Nine Nights just went on sale here in Japan. Television ads and in-displays (see above) are leading the big marketing push. When I spoke to Mizuguchi last year, he seemed genuinely excited about the game. Too bad this anonymous retailer (Yodobashi Camera in Osaka) doesn't share the same excitement. The posters and flat screen look hot; the original Xbox housed in a green case ain't. Microsoft, deploy the PR goons and quick!

Yay, Coming To America [Kotaku]

Microsoft sponsored Xbox Night at the Tokyo Dome in an game between the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the Softbank Hawks. The new Xbox Japan boss threw out the first pitch, kiosks were set up with playable Ninety-Nine Nights demos and consoles were given to the captains of each team in a pre-game ceremony that was met with thunderous applause. Whether or not these were quickly turned around and sold isn't known.

Full Story Here [Famitsu]