You ever wanted to be manly?

So manly that you punched things so hard that they go into other dimensions?

Hell yeah, you have!

Well, Tecmo Koei’s rendition of popular manga Fist of the North Star will be seeing Japanese shores this month, but will also be released in Europe in the summer.

Needless to say, you get to punch things.

Full PR after the cut.

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News is currently circulating that European game retailer GAME is already refusing to trade in recently affected PS3 which were affected by the PSN / PS3 hardware failures which occurred earlier today.

Owners who have been attempting to trade in their “fat” PS3s for the currently-unaffected slim models are apparently being refused, reliable reports have indicated to us. GAME is refusing trade for those consoles at this time.

We have received word directly from consumers regarding this as well.

We’ll keep you informed on any more updates regarding the PS3’s recent problems as we get them.

According to a recent report by Nikkei, Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii has managed to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.

3 million of these sales come from Japan, with more than 4.5 million units being sold in the US, and over 3 million in Europe.

That’s a lot of copies for one singular game to sell.

Looks like Mario still has what it takes to beat the best.

This is the one everyone has been waiting for. Square Enix has just announced that Final Fantasy XIII will hit US and European shelves March 9, 2010.

In a uniquely inventive twist, Square has stated that it will announce new information on the game on the 13th of every month as part of its “Lucky Number 13″ campaign.

The announcement was made in an official video. I dare you to watch this and not feel at least remotely excited.

Sony’s new all-digital, all-download handheld rendition of the PlayStation Portable went on sale today, one definitely can’t complain about a lack of content, thanks to the addition of over a hundred PSP titles to the PlayStation Store!

Check the full list after the cut. It’s long, trust us.

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EuroGamer is reporting that Uncharted 2 has received a confirmed European release date; it will touch down in the region on October 16th.

The game hits the US a day sooner, on October 15th.

Not much longer to wait now, people!

PQube has announced today that they’ve picked up the European publishing rights to 2D fighter BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. The title is set for release on PS3 and 360 in Q1 of 2010.

The fighter has been out in Japan and the US since late June, and for a while it seemed like a European release was unlikely. But in order to make up for the delay, players will get several things not included in the US or Japanese releases. They include:

* The OST for the game
* Character strategy guide
* New characters and moves

As in most European games, Germans, Frenchmen, Italians and Spaniards will be catered for in addition to the rest of us who can understand English.

A very solid line-up for the European PlayStation Store update this week, with the WipEout HD Fury add-on pack and Killzone 2 DLC being the most noticeable additions amongst today’s generous helping.

Full list after the cut.

Games:
Crystal Defenders (£7.99/€9.99)
Shatter (£4.79/€5.99)

Demos:
Crystal Defenders (Free)

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Eidos owners Square Enix has decided to form a new European entity called Square Enix Europe, which will be headed up by the current Eidos CEO Phil Rogers, with the Eidos publishing brand being “vaporised”.

Yeah, you’re not the one surprised by this decision.

“Unfortunately we are expecting some jobs to be impacted directly by this in both Europe and North America,” read a statement from the company. We are hoping to minimise this wherever possible and offer support and advice to any employees directly affected.”

In the US, marketing and distribution is to be transferred from Eidos Inc to the region’s Square Enix office, which will be headed up by John Yamamoto.

Apparently, the current Eidos development studios will still carry the Eidos brand, Eidos itself will simply not exist as a publishing division, and this priority will be handled by Square Enix Europe.

You can find more information on GI.

Here’s something that’ll thoroughly annoy most of us. It seems us Europeans will have to wait a while in order to play Ghostbusters: The Video Game on our 360s and Wiis.

Sony announced yesterday that Ghostbusters would be a PlayStation exclusive in Europe, releasing only on PS3, PS2 and PSP. Atari has clarified that this exclusivity is only exclusive to Europe, and that gamers in North America will be able to enjoy Ghostbusters on all platforms.

While Atari confirmed later that the 360 and Wii versions of Ghostbusters will be released in Europe “at some point”, they don’t know when. Until that point, it’s PS3 exclusivity all the way.

Metal Gear Solid Touch, the iPod/iPhone version of Metal Gear Solid (obviously) will be released in Europe on Thursday, 19th March. The game will cost €4.99, comes with 12 and will be boosted with another 8 for free in the second quarter.

If you’re one of those Apple types, you might want to try it. It is, after all, Metal Gear Solid. We will reserve judgement for when we never, ever play it.

In amongst Nintendo’s financial reports, which were released to us earlier this evening, was a nicely tucked away and hidden morsel of information; a vague release date for the DSi on European shores.

Previously slated for a “spring” release date, Nintendo’s dimunative handheld / MP3 player / web-browsing hybrid thingamabob, the DSi, is now set for a “spring / summer” launch in Europe.

Will you be getting your hands on one, or will you be sticking with your reliable DS Lite or DS Phat?

Kotaku has published a huge release schedule from Nintendo, listing all announced games, in all territories, for early 2009 and late 2008.

There are some promising titles, so take a look. Though I must admit it seems like Japan is getting the most of coming Nintendo titles.

Konami UK has sent out the very surprising news that the next instalment of Silent Hill, Homecoming has slipped to 2009 in Europe… despite already being on sale in the US.

The 360, PS3 and PC horror instalment was originally due out in Europe for Halloween – and hit North American shelves late last month. It’s currently down for release in Europe next February, 2009. No reason was given for the delay yet.

Homecoming, which has had its development moved over to US studio Double Helix from Japan, received average reviews from North American press, suggesting to some that the slip this side of the pond could be a quality issue.

More than likely though thanks to the many language spoken by our European cousins, is some problem with translation. Or it could be, they can’t be bothered.

The new release puts Silent Hill almost head-to-head with Capcom’s Resident Evil 5.I wish them good luck with that.

Though nothing has been confirmed by Microsoft directly just yet, a number of new Xbox 360 bundles have been showing up on the retail websites across the internet, giving us a hint of Microsoft’s Christmas strategy this year.

Clearly Microsoft is to break the deadlock of the format in certain regions and catch up with the runaway success of the Nintendo Wii. – good luck with that – and these bundles are set to release in Europe (and presumably the UK) to help with that.

Consumers who purchase the arcade system will receive copies of Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1 and Sega Superstars Tennis. Meanwhile, purchasers of Premium or Elite will receive Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda: The Game.

The bundles look to be available from October 17th.

Not exactly a bundle for the hardcore, but it’ll definately attract the soccer moms.