During the Taiwan launch, Sony Taiwan gave away 150 of these special commemorative launch sets to 150 individuals who bought the PS3 Slim. Included in the bundle were one DualShock 3, one PS3 t-shirt, a limited edition PSN Card with 500 TWD and a limited edition USB card reader.

See? Much better than getting Sony execs.

台湾で新型薄型PS3初売！ [自由で気ままな日々]

They say it's enough parts to produce one million PS3 consoles in the third quarter of 2009, which is apparently twice as many as were manufactured last quarter.

DigiTimes' sources then specifically mention that alongside those "key components," shipments of time division synchronizers, also used by Sony in the PS3, are waaaayyy up as well.

What does this all mean? Well, either Sony are expecting a significant increase in demand for the currently not-that-in-demand PS3, or...well, they're building an all-new PS3.

I know which of those two scenarios I think is more likely.

Sony PS3 components demand growing significantly [DigiTimes (subscription required)]

Requirements: You must be a female, over 18 years old and play the Xbox 360 for at least 360 minutes per week. A panel of judges will select the four semi-finalists from which the internet will pick the Xbox Angel.

The winner's duties include promoting Xbox 360 via Facebook, hosting Xbox LIVE events and writing a column on Xbox 360. The gig last three months and the Xbox angel gets an Xbox 360, games, a stipend of a little over US$1,000 and a three month Xbox LIVE Gold membership. Three months? Wow, that's so incredibly generous.

天使 [Xbox Taiwan via Siliconera via Dtoid]

Interestingly enough, this announcement comes on the same day as a Rueters article reporting a new crackdown on "undesirable" online games in mainland China. According to that article, the number of MMO players in the country jumped to 40.17 million last year — a 23 percent increase.

Warhammer Online launched last September to pretty favorable reception and currently has something like 300,000 subscribers according to an EA Q4 earnings conference call. The CIA World Factbook tells me that Taiwan alone has 22.9 million people... let's see if there's an inverse relationship between the number of Taiwanese Age of Reckoning subscribers and the number of Internet Cafes in mainland China that the state shuts down.

China crackdowns on 'undesirable' games [Rueters via GamePolitics]

Star Ball has various scenarios. For example, players throw balls at mostiquotos to keep them from biting people. There's a snowball fight with polar bears and parka wearing kids. And, there's also the long overdue throw-the-plastic-ball-at-a-subway-streaker game.

Check out a clip in the link below.

Star Ball: An Arcade Game Where You Pelt Streakers With Balls [Siliconera]

A Taiwanese bus company has put classic SEGA titles on its on-board entertainment. Handhelds haven't caught on in Taiwan like they have elsewhere, and to allieve the boredom of trips outside of Taipei, this bus company offers a slew of SEGA titles:

Playable games include:

Alien Storm
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic Spinball
Ecco
Golden Axe
Golden Axe 2
Alex Kidd and the Enchanted Castle
Gain Ground
Arrow Flash
Fatal Labyrinth

Sega Licenses Genesis Roms To Taiwan Bus Company [Siliconera]

This Taipei Game Show store is packed with demo kiosks and Sony goodies available for purchase — goodies like Sony cats Toro and Kuro chocolates. Delicious.

SCE TaiwanブースレポートPS3立体視システムを参考出展 [Game Watch Impress]

According to arcade industry newsletter The Stinger Report, there are actually arcade versions of the Winner Wii clone planned. At Taiwanese game show Game Time International 2008, the coin-op incarnation, called Action Fun, was unveiled by company Song Yung, which is owned by ENG Electronic. The cabinet was packed with the Winner console running Wii Sports-like mini-games and using Wii-like controllers. No word whether this is intended for release outside Taiwan.

Hit the jump for a pic of Action Fun II as well as videos of the mini-games!

Well at least the basketball is new.

Sign Up for The Stinger Report [The Stinger Report]

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT HONG KONG LIMITED ANNOUNCES 3D ONLINE-USER COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR PLAYSTATION®3– 「PLAYSTATION®HOME」 COMING TO HONG KONG, SINGAPORE AND TAIWAN IN FALL 2008

CLOSED BETA TESTING FOR 「PLAYSTATION®HOME」WILL START FROM MID-SEPTEMBER 2008

Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong Limited (SCEH) today announced that the unveiling of a first-of-its-kind 3D online community service for the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system would be available for Hong Kong , Singapore and Taiwan region PLAYSTATION®Network users.

PlayStation®Home is the online community service on PLAYSTATION®Network. It is an evolving online social gaming service built for PS3™ users to meet and share gaming experiences. With an avatar uniquely customized according to each user’s preference, users can explore the 3D community which includes custom spaces dedicated to specific games, press releases on kotaku, event spaces or personal apartments. Each user is assigned an apartment in PlayStation®Home where they can invite others to join them as they show off their own style in an area they can personalize themselves with furniture and other items. Very rich interactive communication with others is achieved through built in text, audio chat, along with sophisticated emotional animations for each character.

PlayStation®Home official website for Asia is now available at The Closed Beta testing for PlayStation®Home will be starting from Mid-September 2008. SCEH would like to invite Hong Kong and Singapore users to participate in the Closed Beta testing. The details will be available on the official website from August 29, 2008.

SCEH will continue to further expand PS3 users’ gaming experience and create a new world of computer entertainment by offering the high quality of the world of PlayStation®Home towards the Open Beta Service in this fall along with more and more attractive PS3 software titles which will be available le in the market

台灣微軟澄清《Final Fantasy XIII》在台上市說法 表示一切仍屬未定 [GNN Gamer Thanks, Dutch!] [Pic]

At a recent Microsoft game exhibition in Taipei, Microsoft Taiwan's Entertainment and Devices Division head Grace Chou announced that Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360 would go on sale in Taiwan, but haven't yet decided which localized version will be launched for the Asian territories.

We imagine that means it should be possible for Japanese Xbox 360 owners to import the Asia version and play it on their consoles — that is, unless the Asia FFXIII is region coded so that's impossible. This version could have the original Japanese language track with Chinese/Korean/English subtitles or it might be the English language version with Chinese/Korean subtitles. According to Chou, the language hasn't yet been decided.

Click through below for pics of the Taipei Xbox 360 event festivities, including ladies in sailor uniforms and a Dark Knight Xbox 360.

Xbox 360 夏日同學會本週隆重登場 眾多強打新作首度在台公開現身 [GNN Gamer via XNEWS]

Many companies in the game industry are prioritizing mainland Asian expansions as a way to grow their business and tap into the devoted game market there. According to the Nikkei, Nintendo has reportedly been supporting a South Korean developer who's doing a number of titles including a touch screen-based DS game.

The DS reportedly sold 1.4 million units in South Korea, and 2.6 million game titles. Nintendo is looking at Taiwan as well for DS sales, and will sell localized DS systems in cell phone stores there.

Thompson Financial also reported on what Sony's doing to catch some of that audience:

Meanwhile, the game unit of Sony Corp. (nyse: SNE - news - people ) plans to work with Taiwanese authorities to train game creators starting in September, the Nikkei said.

It will dispatch personnel to a local educational institution to offer instruction, with newly developed games to be distributed online for the PlayStation 3.

Sony Computer Entertainment also intends to expand operations in South Korea, where it distributes video online for the PlayStation 3.

The article didn't specify what sort of expansion of operations Sony is planning, but console penetration has faced challenges in regions like South Korea and China where the audience seems vastly to prefer PC MMOs.

Japan's Nintendo, Sony to explore Asian game market - report [Thompson Financial via Forbes]

Wii Launching In Taiwan [Nintendo via Go Nintendo]

GigaMedia Signs Top EA MMORPG Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™

Adds to Company's leading portfolio and massive pan-Asian platform

HONG KONG, January 31, 2008 - GigaMedia (NASDAQ: GIGM) announced today it has secured an exclusive license from Electronic Arts to offer and operate the highly anticipated game Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Warhammer Online is a ground-breaking new massively multiplayer online role-playing game ("MMORPG") set in a fantasy world of war and constant combat. Based on Games Workshop's 25-year tabletop fantasy war game series Warhammer, Warhammer Online creates a rich and immersive virtual world for hundreds of thousands of players to experience the epic nature of war and the glory of battle.

Created by the acclaimed studio EA Mythic, developers of the hit title Dark Age of Camelot™, Warhammer Online is one of the most highly anticipated games of 2008 according to numerous industry publications. Over 500,000 gamers have registered for its closed beta test, one of the most successful closed betas for any MMORPG ever.

"We are very excited to work with EA to bring such a blockbuster title to Asia," stated GigaMedia President Thomas Hui. "We expect Warhammer Online's Realm vs Realm™ combat and Public Quests™ to be enormously popular with hard-core gamers."

"We are thrilled to bring Warhammer Online to Asia and further strengthen our collaboration with GigaMedia as a strategic partner - bringing the hottest digital entertainment to millions," stated EA Asia President Jon Niermann. "We are confident that, together with GigaMedia, Warhammer Online will be a tremendous success."

Warhammer Online thrusts players into a grim world of perpetual conflict to fight for the Realms of Order (Dwarfs, High Elves, and Empire) or Destruction (Greenskins, Dark Elves, and Chaos). Next-generation Realm vs. Realm game play ensures that players are never fighting alone. With an army of allies at their back, players will defend their homeland, invade enemy realms, and ultimately lead the siege of their enemy's capital city. Every aspect of the game - every player, every quest, every encounter, and every battle - can turn the tide of the ongoing war and mean victory for a player's realm!

In Warhammer Online, for the first time ever, players can engage in Public Quests - multi-stage, communal quests to be completed by allied players fighting together against overwhelming odds. They can also embark on an epic quest to complete the Tome of Knowledge and unlock Warhammer lore, detailed monster information, new abilities, rewards, and major story plotlines. Drawing from a quarter century of highly detailed source material, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will bring Games Workshop's fantasy world to life in a way that will allow players to create characters destined for great deeds on the field of battle.

To learn more about the game, please visit www.warhammeronline.com.

Warhammer Online is expected to launch in the second half of 2008.

"Game mission can teach gamers Chinese philosophy," said Tan Teck Seng, CEO of iG-Interactive Sdn Bhd, adding that the quizzes in the game will also be localized for the local gamers.

Chinese online games have developed speedily in the recent 10 years, which are benefit from the hardworking personnel of science and technology and the support of the government, said Gu Hongxing, first secretary and head, cultural office of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia.

I love poorly translated press releases. The interesting part about all of this is that Chinese developers are really ramping up international efforts - it was a big week for several companies. I wonder when this stuff will hit the US, if ever?

Chinese online game to be launched in Malaysia [Xinhua]

Not even in Taiwan, where the Wii isn't even officially out yet. I thought we were done with these a few months after the name was announced, but I was so very, very wrong. Spotted at the Dunhua North Rd. branch of my favorite Taiwanese bookstore chain, Eslite - along with giant cardboard cutouts that were hanging above the magazine display cabinet. Inside were articles, interviews, and pictures of cute Taiwanese people playing (what else?) Wii - you know, the ones imported from Japan or America that cost nearly as much as a PS3. Wii will rock you - or maybe just your wallet in Taiwan.

Thanks to Kat for yet another photo. Maggie Greene

Snapped by my friend Kat W. as we wandered around Ximending - one of Taipei's painfully hip and trending shopping areas, as well as a great place to nose around for video game related stuff, but that usually happens in stores, not on benches.

The application apparently didn't manage to hold on both benches, but I thought it was pretty cute and clever, all things considered. The people sitting on the bench next to us thought we were crazy as we took a photograph; I've gotten the same reaction photographing some of Taipei's astonishingly cool regular paint-on-wall graffiti as well. Maggie Greene

Japanese developer Ongakukan, who released the train simulator Railfan last year for the PS3, is getting another installment due out in July - this time featuring the high-speed bullet train that opened recently in Taiwan, running from Taipei to Gaoxiong.

These are the sorts of games that perplex me. Apparently the sole point is to drive the train and make sure it gets to the station on time; I guess the main lure is realistic scenery and a camera that bobbles up and down like you were on the train (if you weren't, you know, sitting on your couch). I like riding high-speed trains as much as the next person, but I can't imagine coughing up $60 for the pleasure of simulating it on my couch. Maggie Greene

Japanese firm to sell Taiwan bullet train video game [The China Post]