Fans who are still itching for some hack-and-slash action after the generous amount Ninety Nine Nights (N3) delivered may have something to look forward to, or at least if this supposedly Famitsu Taiwan scan holds true.

If you take a closer look on the photo on top, Ninety Nine Nights Rondo is slated for a November release. Being under the same section as Unreal Tournament 3 (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) we are led to believe that N3's sequel will be arriving later this year. An announcement at Tokyo Game Show this September sounds feasible, but release two months after? It doesn't seem to be likely.

Critics weren't too fond of N3, but having hundreds of enemies on screen screams guilty pleasure. Unfortunately, we'll have to tag this under rumors. We're all eyes on any updates or confirmations, so watch this space.

At the beginning of this month, we reported that Microsoft updated its Platinum Hits series for Japan. This is highly impossible but in case some of you are still not aware what the Platinum Hits is all about, these are re-packaged games that are being sold for a much lower price.

Anyway, the company announced today that it has updated the series as well for North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. Here's the list:

• U.S. Platinum Hits (US$ 29.99 each): Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Burnout Revenge, Call of Duty 2, Dead or Alive 4, Fight Night Round 3, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Top Spin 2, and Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis
• Asia Pacific Platinum Hits (pricing depends by region): Dead or Alive 4, N3: Ninety-Nine Nights, Project Gotham Racing 3,  and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
• Europe Platinum Hits (EUR 29.99): Call of Duty 2, Dead or Alive 4, Project Gotham Racing 3, Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend

If you ask us, that's a pretty good line-up. The European version was actually released at the beginning of this month while the Americas and the Asia Pacific Region will get theirs on March 16.

Microsoft has just thrown a pre-TGS press conference as a headstart for the musch-anticipated Tokyo Game Show. In the conference, video presentations of game titles like Gears of War,Viva Pinata, Project Sylpheed, Winning Eleven, Lost Planet, and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 were delivered by Takashi Sensui, the General manager of Microsoft's Xbox Division in Japan. Sensui also unveiled a new bundle of the core version of the console which will come along woth two games, Project Gotham Racing 3and Ninety-Nine Nights which will be available in Japan by November 2 of this year for 29,800 Yen or the equivalent of around $ 254.

Peter Moore, head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division, also made an appearance in the conference, stating that more than 100 titles are expected in Japan, 50 of which will be exclusive to the Japanese market. Moore also promised that more games developed by Japanese studios will later be released.

Another person who graced the event was Hironobu Sakaguchi, the Director of Planning and Development for Square Co., Ltd. and the creator of the Final Fantasy series. Sakaguchi's company, Mistwalker, was reported to be working with Microsoft Game Studios in February of last year to produce three RPGs for the Xbox 360. In the meantime, Sakaguchi announced announced the details for the launch of Blue Dragon which will be available by December 7 for 7,140 Yen (about $ 61). A bundle with the Xbox 360 core and Blue Dragon will also be released the same day, with the same price as that of the Xbox 360 Core bundle that includes Project Gotham Racing 3 and Ninety-Nine Nights.

Other announcements during the pre-TGS conference includes the HD-DVD which is set for Japanese release by November 22 for 20,790 Yen (around $ 177), and the released of Rush' N Attack, Ms.Pac-Man and New Rally X via Xbox Live Arcade in Japanese territories.

View more photos from the event after the Jump!

'Allo, mates! Ol' St. Nicky will be coming around in a few short months, and if you're reading us from Oz, then we here at QJ will be glad to help you with your Chrissie wish lists! We have this courtesy of your fellows over at PAL Gaming Network Australia who've compiled this list. After all, the Pacific should never be a barrier to people who share the passion for gaming.

All dates are subject to change if their respective game publishers decide to change them, though (it's happened before, right?). Stay tuned to QJ for any new updates to this list as we find them.

September 2006:
21: Just Cause, Test Drive Unlimited
22: Xbox 360 Joytech Control Center
28: Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged, Ninety-Nine Nights, Samurai Warriors 2
30: LMA Manager 2007

October 2006:
  5: Xbox 360 Genuine Wireless Entertainment Pack Bundle
  6: NHL 2K7
12: Import Tuner Challenge
13: Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (DVD ROM)
15: Crackdown
19: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, NBA Live 2007
20: NBA 2K7
26: Xbox 360 Genuine Xbox Live Vision
31: Sonic The Hedgehog, Phantasy Star Universe, Bomberman: Act Zero, Eragon

November 2006:
  2: World Series of Poker, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, FIFA 2007, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
  9: Tony Hawk's Project 8, Superman Returns
10: Championship Manager 2007, WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007
16: Need For Speed Carbon (and Collectors Edition), Call Of Duty 3, Rainbow Six: Vegas
22: Xbox 360 Genuine Wireless Headset
24: Viva Pi?, Gears of War
29: Xbox 360 Genuine Wireless Steering Wheel

January 2007:
31: Battlestations Midway

Microsoft have today announced that they will continue to spread their budget Platinum Collection across the world as they lower the cost of next-generation gaming in Japan. They announced the Platinum Collection in Japan for Xbox 360 titles, with the collection launching on November 2 this year.

Never missing an opportunity, Japanese gamers will see 5 titles in the Platinum Collection on launch day for the program including Need for Speed Most Wanted, Rumble Roses XX, Every Party, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Ninety-Nine Nights.

Here's the all-important part: the price. Japanese gamers will have to find 2800 Yen, approximately $23 for the budget games, so start saving now. With titles this cheap, you could buy all five games on the day (If you live in Japan that is).

Due to the current struggle of Xbox 360 sales in Japan, Microsoft has announced a new Core Pack to be released for their market. They're going to cut its price down to 29,800 Yen (that's around $255). Well now, it seems that the unit's price is steadily going down!

Anyways, the Japanese 360 Core Pack will include the unit itself (of course), and two games: Ninety-Nine Nights and Project Gotham Racing 3. Powerhouse combo, huh? Also, a separate HD drive will also be sold for around $85. All this goodness available on November 2. Gosh. With all these price adjustments around the world, who knows what will happen next? Wonder what Christmas is going to be like this year!

Hacking, slashing, and cleaving its merry way comfortably into the 8th spot in UK's Top 10 Video Games chart is Ninety-Nine Nights (aka N3). A lot of gamers aren't surprised though, even if it was the only new game which debuted this week. Most of the gaming community has been anticipating this exclusive-for-Xbox-360 title ever since its release in Japan.

N3 is a tactical action-RPG which pulls the player into a massive war involving around, oh, just about a sea of 1,000 enemies. What's fun about it is that arms, legs, and limbs really fly around in the battlefield, and corpses that fall just remain there (not disappear into the soil or burst into an orb of light). Wo0t.

In the UK Top 10 Video Games chart, Cars still remains as the lead driver at the top position, followed by Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, with New Super Mario Brothers occupying the third spot.

For people who are on the look-out for new games they can pick up from the game store shelves, here's a quick list of games that have been released or are going to be released very soon in the USA:

Xbox 360:

• 8/15 - Ninety Nine Nights
  
• 8/22 - Madden 07

PSP:

• 8/15 - Payout Poker Casino
• 8/15 - Super Monkey Ball Adventures

Nintendo DS:

• 8/15 - Deep Labyrinth
• 8/15 - Konductra
• 8/15 - Freedom Wings

With these in mind, get ready to make that dash to the mall! Or for those who pre-ordered it, you can start harassing your mailman within the next week or so...

It's a good thing that Ninety Nine Nights refrained from being a Japanese-only title. A game as good-looking as this definitely deserves a wider audience don't you think? Ninety Nine Nights, for those of you who have no clue, is a fantasy/strategy role-playing video game currently being developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by acclaimed video game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi and his development team at Q Entertainment.

It's impending U.S. release this coming Tuesday is only a few winks away, and to help you in that waiting process are tons of the games screenshots and art. The images you see in this article doesn't even account for half of them, so you'd have to get them and see for yourself (link below).

The screens feature some of the game's characters like Myifee, Inphyy, Dwingvatt, and Aspharr. Character arts are also included. So before getting N3 next week, do your homework and scan 'em screens. Enjoy!

Download: [Ninety Nine Nights Screens]

The Nintey-Nine Nights Demo is finally available on the Xbox Live Marketplace! After waking up this morning, I decided to fire-up my 360 to see if any new demos came out, and low and behold the demo of my most anticipated game became available! I was filled with excitement as I waited for the download to finish and roughly finished in about 30 minutes!

Nintey-Nine Nights was under the gaze of everyone at E3 this year as we saw more of the outstanding action game in videos and screenshots. The game was originally a Japanese-only title, but in late March, it was announced that this game would be coming to the US. So, after a few months of it being announced, the English version of the game is in our hands with the demo! The demo did not disappoint me one bit and I was immediately taken in by the game. Slashing hundreds of enemies at a time without a single frame drop just seemed to be too good to be true! If you do not believe me, then go ahead and download the demo - "Playing is Believing" (Wii Moto).