Ninja Gaiden 2 official, Rez and Ikaruga XBLA-bound
Microsoft publishing Team Ninja-developed sequel for 360 in 2008; two Dreamcast classics coming to download service; Sakaguchi dates Lost Odyssey.
Well, that didn't take long. Just hours after Ninja Gaiden 2 screens appeared on the Japanese edition of Xbox.com, Microsoft has officially unveiled the game. Set for a worldwide release in 2008, it is being worked on by Team Ninja, developer of the 2004 Xbox Ninja Gaiden, the 2005 Xbox rework Ninja Gaiden Black, and the 2007 enhanced rework Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PlayStation 3.
Currently, Ninja Gaiden 2 is set for a worldwide release on the Xbox 360 sometime in 2008. However, unlike its predecessors, it won't be ported to other consoles down the line. Instead of being published by Tecmo, holder of the Ninja Gaiden license, the game is being bankrolled and distributed directly by Microsoft Game Studios. Exact terms of the publishing deal were not made public as of press time, nor were any details on the title's story or gameplay.
Tomonobu Itagaki, head of Tecmo-owned Team Ninja, was on hand at a pre-Tokyo Game Show event this morning in Japan to make the Ninja Gaiden 2 announcement. He was joined on stage by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series and founder of Mistwalker, the publisher of the 360-exclusive role-playing game Blue Dragon.
Though Blue Dragon hasn't been a commercial or critical hit in the US or Japan, Sakaguchi used the event to tout--and date--his latest 360 RPG, Lost Odyssey. The game will be released on December 6 in Japan, where the 360 runs a distant third to the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii in terms of market share. Lost Odyssey will then ship in the rest of Asia in January 2008, with a North American and European release the following month.
Another famed Japanese game designer enlisted by Microsoft is Q Entertainment head Tetsuya Mizuguchi, creator of Ninety-Nine Nights and fan favorite Space Channel 5. Today Microsoft announced that another Mizuguchi-developed classic, Rez, is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Though not dated or priced, when Rez does arrive, it will join two other Mizuguchi-developed games on the service: Lumines Live and the forthcoming Every Extend Extra Extreme.
Though it eventually was ported to the PlayStation 2, Rez was originally released for the Sega Dreamcast. Microsoft also announced today that another Dreamcast classic, Ikaruga, is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Available "soon" according to Microsoft, the game will sport a "slow-motion" training mode and online co-op play for two persons.
Finally, Microsoft revealed two other titles for Xbox Live Arcade: a port of the PSP puzzler Exit (Taito) and the arcade shooter Triggerheart Exelica (Warashi). Three other games--the puzzle-platformer Braid (Number None Inc.), four-player RPG Castle Crashers (The Behemoth), and co-op focused actioner Schizoid (Torpex Games)--were confirmed for early 2008 launches.
"We continue to evolve our strong relationships with Japan's best and most innovative developers, and we're looking forward to delivering exclusive high-definition titles for consumers worldwide, this year and beyond," said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, in a statement.
[UPDATE] For more on the game, check out GameSpot's on-the-scene report of the Ninja Gaiden II unveiling at Microsoft's Xbox 360 event in Tokyo.
795 comments
oh well i have to say this is the only game im pissed that wont come to ps3, looks like il have to buy it for my (makeshift footrest) *ahem 360 i mean
NGII is GOD and I shall wait for ti as I'm waiting for NGDS. I'm playing Ikaruga for the GC and I'm getting my arse kicked. LOL
Balls. After I spent forever finding Ikaruga on DC, now I can play it on HD (fingers crossed) and with a training mode? Again...balls.
I think this one will be a killer game! and quite possibly way better than Devil May Cry 4.
I'll state this without any hesitation, and all those gamers who played through and finished it, will undoubtedly back me up when i say that it f*cking felt damn good, like you'd accomplished something after you finished Ninja Gaiden/ Ninja Gaiden Black. It makes my blood boil, just imagining decapitating foes then dismembering the limbs in their own pool of blood in Ninja Gaiden 2. Definitely will be taking some days off of work when this comes out.
Come on GIF, This is only the second build. Tomonobu Itagaki wanted to show the game was real. It going to be sweet, plus don't let your PC monitor lie to you, most people don't own HD PC monitors so you will not see the true quality of the videos. You should always keep that in mind about any game.
Ninja Gaiden 2, FINALY the first one waz amazing and remember the games got a nother years worth of time to get finished, so hopefuly the grafics will get better
They aren't using the hardware, it looks no different than Ninja Gaiden on the first Xbox yet here they have 3 processors and a 512 mb video card. What is the problem here? I expect visuals close to if not on par with their cinematics.
Septimus, you just stink, and this game is in its very early stages, so the visuals now wont do the game justice when it releases
Not impressed by the look of Ninja Gaiden 2. It seems as though they can't improve on the look they managed on the remake for PS3. I like the idea of Ninja Gaiden, owned the XBOX and PS3 one, may get this even, but when it actually comes to playing it, it eventually just pisses me off by having some really crap game mechanics, especially around boss fights (and respawning enemies is a pet hate).
looks cool. just need a 360 and i can play when it comes out. and damn stop *****ing over whether the 360 is better or the PS3 is. keep your opinion to your self, i doubt anyone cares.
as always, the game is looking great, but I wish they showed more footage of interacting with the environment rather than pure hack and slash... is it just me or does there look like a LOT more blood in this one :roll:
This is great, can't wait to play it. We 360 owners get a true sequel and it's only going to be for the 360. Sorry PS3 fanboys you guys just got a remake of a remake.
action was incredible in the first game i hope they keep the gameplay and just change some minor stuff like add an online or co-op or just make some use of live...
this wont be on PS3 because microsoft will be publishing it!!! I hope they keep the amazing combat system like the first game but add more environments and stop with the back tracking stuff!
Excellent news! 2 thumbs of for all the producers and of course to MS. MS really doing what the X360 users want this time... keep it up! awesome... really looking forward to the Ninja Gaiden 2 now...
This ****'s eventually gonna end up on the PS3 for those who are concerned, named something like Ninja Gaiden: Omega Edition or something like that , you know how it is. They eventually just want more money. Unfortunately for me I don't have either platform so the possibility of me getting to play this looks rather bleak.
PS3 owned. It's not that fact that i love the 360 but the fact that I hate SONY and the ps3
Its sad to say but i have to repeat the statement AGAIN FOR THE SLOWER PEOPLE, SO HERE IT GOES......AGAIN; For the people who are very slow at understanding i will type in big letters. I SAID NG AND GOW; BOTH ARE GOOD GAMES!!!!! I like them both, but i felt more action in Gow of war due the the HUGE level design, INTENSE boss fights, and excellent story. I own NG black too, dont get me wrong, NG black is a very good game, but i found myself having to see the DAMMMMMMM game over screen way tooooooooo many times which can be frusterating. playing NG black on hard was like sucide. thekey "And I was wondering if you would make the same foolish comment if Ninja Gaiden 2 was PS3 exclusive?" the answer is yes, if you would of saw my previous comments you would have seen that i said i owned BOTH NG AND GOW. They are both very good games, but all i'm saying is that NG difficulty challege made it less enjoyable to me. that's all
I personally like GOW slighty more than NG because of level design and boss fight and in-cutscene action. But NG i will admit is harder than GOW espically when you fighting multiple enemies. Its more challenging but GOw have better puzzle solvng and story than NG but not by much. But i really excited to hear that there will be NG2 because i wont able to play GOW 3 because i have a 360
God of war series will not be on x360 because it is a SONY published title. NG 2 will not be PS3 or any other console because MS is publishing it. I doubt NG2 would be on any other platform anyways even before MS decided to publish it. Team Ninja has been very good to xbox owners. those that can't deal with it go buy a x360 or go without!
Ok Testament your living a world called fantasy. There is no way the majority of people in the world of gaming are going to agree with you on God of War being better and more intense then Ninja Gaiden. There is no way! And I was wondering if you would make the same foolish comment if Ninja Gaiden 2 was PS3 exclusive?
I hope they dont ban the dismembering of human enemies like they did in the first xbox one.
ninja gaiden 2...lets see who can beat it in hard mode..xaxaaxax the challenge begins now
Testament why are you posting stuff about god of war on a ninja gaiden news story oh and id rather play Mysims than gow 3 this soon it needs time to like be announced P.S. sure its in development thats why the whole team from the first two are making Chains of olympus and last time i checked they didnt didnt announce it yet
Does Sega count as one of those Developers??? I'm asking because, apparently Sega is NOT going to release Virtua Fighter 5 in Japan for the Xbox 360...and that is TERRIBLE, because that is where it would have had the largest impact, since Virtua Fighter 5 is the #1 3D Fighting games series in Japan. Microsoft, if Sega doesn't want to Publish Virtua Fighter 5 in Japan, then allow Microsoft Game Studios to volunteer to do it for them!!! Allowing a game that has been Developed to not be Published in the market where consumers want it the most is a sin that does NOT deserve to be forgiven!!!
Delgun82 God of War II was released on the 13th of March this year. As for comparisons between the two, I'd say they are both AAA titles, that God of War has a better storyline and that Ninja Gaiden is a much more challenging game.
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