Gamertell

Blizzard Entertainment is really commited to its goal to bring World of Warcraft to gamers around the world. It has just announced that on August 6, 2008, the Russian version of the popular massive multiplayer online rpg (MMORPG) and the The Burning Crusade expansion pack will be released in Russia.

There will be both Windows and Mac versions of World of Warcraft and the expansion sold on the release date, as well as two different buying options. People can buy a DVD box version with a one month subscription or a CD box version with a 14-day subscription. There will also be Russian accounts with a 359 ruble month-to-month plan, a 329 ruble three month plan and a 299 ruble six month plan. (Note: All plans cost a monthly fee, but if you commit for longer, you’ll get a better price.)

MORE »

I wonder if, in Square Enix’s eyes, North America has fallen from grace. That’s the only explanation I can find for both Europe and Japan receiving the special Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII PSP and game bundle. That’s right - the exclusive, elusive bundle that includes a silver PSP with Sephiroth, Zack and Cloud’s faces and the Crisis Core game will be available in Europe on June 20, 2008 for €189.99 ($295.58).

North America did not receive the bundle, and there have been no Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII bundle announcements for that region. Instead, North Americans can find solace in the God of War or Star Wars special PSP bundles that feature PSPs with engravings of Kratos or Darth Vader. Of course we all know the Sephiroth/Zack/Cloud PSP is cooler, but at least North Americans have something.

MORE »

EA has finally announced the release date for the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band for Europe, May 23, 2008. This is roughly six months after the North American release of the popular music title. The company also clarified that PS2, PS3 and Wii versions should be available before the end of Q3 2008. Despite the delay, this news would have caused much rejoicing, if it hadn’t been for the announcement which stated that the instruments would be sold separately for £129.99 ($255.81) from the £49.99 ($98.38) game. The Rock Band game and instrument bundle in North America costs only $169.99 (£86.34).

MORE »

The UK is all set to revamp the videogame rating system according to the recommendations made by Dr. Tanya Byron, who is heading a review into the ill effects of games and the internet in the U.K. Byron told Next-Gen that the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has assured her that the government will adopt her recommendations in full.

Byron also talked about the appreciation her report has drawn from British parents but her suggestions might be…

MORE »

Dr. Tanya Byron, a clinical psychologist, who is heading an independent review into the ill effects of games and internet on kids, published a report on Thursday (March 27, 2008). In the report titled “Safer Children in a Digital World” she has made several recommendations regarding children’s safety in cyberspace and ways to keep them away from adult content.

She has recommended greater cohesion between the UK government, game industry and parents, and also prescribed a greater role for the British Board of Film Classification in assigning ratings to the game. She wants BBFC to assign rating to all games 12 and above…

MORE »

Microsoft is looking to taking a bigger chunk out of the European market by dropping the price of 360 consoles in the United Kingdom by this Friday, March 14, 2008.

Microsoft has announced an all-systems price reduction for its Xbox 360 models in the UK. The Arcade and Elite units will knock off some $80 (US), making the console now $322 for the Arcade version and…

MORE »

Microsoft is currently preparing the blueprint for its console-war domination. It has concluded that Europe is going to be a major battleground in the console wars.  But the battle of Europe is not going to be complete without an adversary, and MS has identified Sony as its main rival.

Jeff Bell, head of global marketing at Microsoft’s games division, informed Reuters that he expects more Xbox 360s to be shipped in Europe (and Japan) next year as compared to 2007.

He singled out Europe as the key battlefield and seemed happy with the 360’s showing in Britain. He also reckoned that although Xbox 360 sales were picking-up in other parts of Europe including France and Germany, Sony’s PS3 posed a serious challenge to the 360 in Europe after its recent price-cut.

He even hoped for a better show for the Xbox 360 in Japan in 2008, with many localized games scheduled to release on the platform. Bell remained true to his last name and sounded some alarm bells for Nintendo by claming that the Wii shortage will help the 360 sales this holiday season.

Read [Game Industry] via [Xbox Scene]

The news is crippling for Smash fans in Europe, as 2008 will see SSBB released in Japan on January 24 and in the U.S. on February 10. This means that Europe will have to wait at least 4 months after the Japanese release and 3½ months after the U.S. release to get their hands on a copy.

SSBB is the latest in Nintendo’s popular franchise, dubbed Smash by fans. It first captivated gamers on the Nintendo 64 with its unique hybrid fighting genre and the opportunity to pit the greatest of Nintendo all-stars against each other in spectacular dream-team battles. The selection of characters has grown widely throughout the series’ growth and SSBB is offering the largest selection yet, including popular characters from other franchises not developed or published by Nintendo such as Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Although the apparent delay will likely result in negative sentiments amongst the European gaming community, the actual release date is yet to be announced. Though pushing the release further into 2008 will likely have little effect on sales of SSBB, it may conflict with other Q2 hits, such as Mario Kart Wii. Spacing the releases out would likely do Nintendo some good, similar to the spacing between Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy and SSBB in the U.S. After all, Wii need time to play everything.

Read [ VideoGamer.com ] Also Read [MaxConsole]

A winner has been announced in Sony and Game Republic’s European “Design a Folk” competition. United Kingdom resident Jeff Read won with his original Malion folk creation. The contest, which ran from September 28, 2007 to October 22, 2007 to promote the PS3 game Folklore, was held on the European Playstation website and encouraged artists to design a mysterious new folk which would then later be created by Game Republic as a Playstation Store download.

The description in the picture above, which is difficult to read, says:

“The Malion (Spore Lion) runs circles around the enemy whilst creating an intoxicating spore cloud from its tail and thorny mane. When the prey is dazed The Malion jumps in for the kill. The tail and claws are primary attacks, but this Folk is highly poisonous… wear protective gloves! The Malion fears fire.”

Read and the four runners-up will all be receiving a copy of Folklore and Folklore goody bags. The Malion will be available for download in 2008. It has not yet been announced if Malion will only be for European gamers, or if it will be made available overseas as well. In October, 2007, the Quasarilli by Lisa K. was picked as the winning folk from the North American version of the contest.

Read [PS3 Fanboy] Also Read [Siliconera] Also Read [Kotaku] Site [Folklore]

Welcome to the first installment of Important Importables, a new column that will appear exclusively on Gamertell. Each weekend, Jenni Lada will point and stare like a giddy tourist at some the best, weirdest or simply her favorite videogame goodies not sold in the US. So get your PayPal password ready and clean out your mailbox, it’s time for some Important Importables.

If you own a PSP or a Nintendo DS, you probably know the great little secret behind each system. No, not that one, perverts. All PSP and DS games are region-free meaning that someone can buy a game from a different country and run it on their own machine. It also means that someone could purchase a handheld system from another country to use.  It’s complete and utter freedom.

The bad news is that there are a lot of incredible video games out there that never make it to North America for one reason or another. Not to mention the delayed and limited releases European and Austrailian gamers can get.

Console importing has also become quite popular. The Japanese PSPs and DSes are available in different colors and styles than North American ones, like the popular and recently released Crisis Core: Final Fantasy PSP in Japan. Plus, if someone wants to play a Japanese PS2, PS3, Wii or Xbox 360 game, they first have to buy a console from that region. (Of course they could mod the system they already own, but that can be tricky and voids the warranty.) The trick to importing is finding a safe, reliable, and well stocked online store that carries the games and systems you want.

Japanese Imports

I’ll begin with my favorite online store , Play-Asia. This site is the best for import gamers for a number of reasons. First, the service is incredible. If you have a problem or issue, you’ll likely get an email response that same day, even though the company is located in Hong Kong. Second, the shipping is dirt cheap. I always choose the cheapest option (at times it ends up being under $3.00), and yet it will always arrive at my home in a week. Next is the selection. They have games, domestic and import, for every system, including the classics. If there’s a game you want that is old and out of stock, they’ll even find it for you. Plus they also sell toys, music, movies, and magazines. I saved the best for last though: the Bargain Section. Many a day have I come home, popped on just to browse, and ended up with a steal. This week’s reckless splurge: the limited edition version of Audition Portable for the PSP. Normally its $99.99, now its $49.99.

Next up is NCSX, also known as the National Console Support, Inc. This company is located in the US, so your game will arrive a little faster and you won’t have to worry about your items making the overseas trips. Despite my rabbid fangirlism up there for Play-Asia, NCSX was the first place I imported from. Ever. That’s a special, sacred bond. NCSX doesn’t have as wide a selection as Play-Asia, and the shipping is a bit more, but occasionally they will have a game that Play-Asia doesn’t carry any more. They also have other video game related imported paraphernalia, like toys, books, music. NCSX really focuses on games though. Once again they have great customer service.

European Imports

The next site I have mixed feelings about. I’m including it because eStarland is really the only trustworthy site I have found for getting European imported games. (Occasionally Europe will get games North America should have gotten, but didn’t including Freshly Picked: Tingle’s Rosy Rupee-Land for the DS or Tales of Eternia for the PSP.) Like NCSX, eStarland is another online video game retailer based in the US. Their primary focus isn’t on imports, but they carry most of the really popular ones at reasonable prices. The bad part is their policy on constantly confirming the information you’ve supplied. It can be horribly annoying and can keep your purchase from being shipped for three to four days. The good part is that they carry European imports and also stock used copies of all imported games when they can. Since import games for the DS and PSP can run between $39-49, a preowned copy for $29-39 starts looking pretty good.

From time to time you might also be able to find European versions of games on the NCSX site. The thing is, when they are on the site they won’t be marked as European under region, so you need to be aware of what titles are European exclusives. It isn’t too bad when they are PSP or DS games, since those are region free, but European games won’t run on the North American console systems. Also you will usually have to search for the exact title, because the game might not show up in the normal game list. A good example is the Tingle game for the DS mentioned earlier. If you look through the general DS game listings, it won’t show up, but if you check for it with the site’s search engine, you’ll find it. Another thing worth noting is that a European game at NCSX will cost more than the identical game at eStarland, provided eStarland has it.

Other Sites to Consider

These are just my favorite sites and they aren’t the only shops online out there. YesAsia is also a great, reliable site for importing video games, music, books, toys, and other items from overseas. The only reason YesAsia doesn’t have a paragraph up there with the other Japanese import sites is because they tend to focus focus on other imports.

If you’re an eBay fan, a lot of import games and systems can be found there as well. You have to be cautious when dealing with vendors there though - you never know what condition the game is or if it is a legitimate copy and not a knock-off. Sure it looks like a good deal initially, but it won’t be once you get it home and discover it is a knock-off. At times it is worth the risk though, because eBay sellers will have the lowest prices.

JBox/JList is also a great retailer who I have personally purchased items from, but like YesAsia they specialize in items, accessories, computer games, toys and magazines. So at JBox/JList you will find many licensed Nintendo items, video game related novelties and Japanese iTunes card, but you won’t find any actual games (except dating sim PC games) or systems. In fact, J-List/J-Box is the only site I have come across so far that carries the Japanese iTunes cards, which, when purchased, allow you to download music from the Japanese iTunes store.

Coming Next Week

Next week we’ll start talking about some import DS and PSP games which are worth your money. First up, the best import game available for the best handheld console on the market, the Nintendo DS. The great thing about this game is if you look carefully online, you may just find it on sale.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [NCSX] Site [eStarland] Site [RenChi] Site [YesAsia] Site [JBox/JList]