You know it's a slow sales week in Japan when there are no Wii games in the top 10 games. The new game sales charts for Japan are in from Media Create and they indicate that the Nintendo DS has dominated the charts for the week ending on October 21. The PS2 is in second place, and a lone Xbox 360 and PSP game also were thrown in the mix.

The slow down may very well be just the eye of the storm that is Super Mario Galaxy, which will hit in just a few days. The first Wii game to enter the charts is in Wii Sports in 12th place. The first PS3 game to enter is Lair, in 21st place. Here are the top 10 games in Japan for last week:

1. Seaman 2 (PS2, Sega) - 33,000 units
2. DS Literature Collection (DS, Nintendo) - 32,000 units
3. Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Meteor (PS2, Bandai-Namco) - 20,000 units
4. DS Nishimura Kyotarou Suspense Detective Series: Deadly Intent (DS, Tecmo) - 20,000 units
5. Gundam Battle Chronicles (PSP, Bandai-Namco) - 19,000 units
6. Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon: Time Expedition Party (DS, Pokémon) - 19,000 units
7. Beautiful Katamari (Xbox 360, Bandai-Namco) - 19,000 units
8. Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon: Shadow Expedition Party (DS Pokémon) - 16,000 units
9. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS, Nintendo) - 15,000 units
10. Racehorse Owner Life Game: Winner’s Circle (DS, Genki) - 15,000 units

If you haven't grabbed Kengo: Legend of the 9 for Microsoft's Xbox 360 yet, a gameplay video might be what you need to decide if Majesco Entertainment and Genki's video game is worth the bucks. Prepare to engage in sword-clashing samurai action set in feudal era Japan because this will be wild.

The video shows how environmental factors come into play. Throw your enemies down the water or slam them to solid walls - the choice is yours. Effective use of surroundings can turn the tide of battle before enemy goons can say "harakiri."

Time to draw blood. Make sure to watch the video of Kengo: Legend of the 9 below.

 

Kengo Zero, or may be more known to many as Kengo: Legend of the 9, first arrived in Japanese shores September of last year. The title is actually the fourth entry in the relatively successful Kengo franchise from development studio Genki.

It was announced a couple of months ago that it will be released in North America and Europe this fall. To help you guys become more familiar with the game, here are a couple of new screenshots for Kengo Zero, straight from its publisher Majesco Entertainment.

Judging from this new batch, we have to say that Genki still hasn't lost its touch in providing gamers with quality titles set in Feudal Japan. Since this is the first time that this particular iteration is gaining popularity in other markets, details are still rather scarce as of now.

We only know that the objective of the game is to become the best damn samurai warrior in the land. There will also be several character customization options as well as a two-player head-to-head mode. For those who care about background stories in any particular game, you are also covered because Kengo Zero also sports an exciting mission mode.

As always, enjoy the screenshots for now until we give you the next update.

See the rest of the screenshots after the jump!

 

If you're going to purchase Lumines Live!, then you may have a chance to save our planet. Apparently, the developer and publisher of the game, Q Entertainment, has hooked up with Live Earth. This organization is dedicated to preserving our planet from global warming and mass climate changes.

To help out, you can purchase the Tokyo Club Mix Pack (also known as the SOS Charity Campaign Pack) for a paltry 350 Microsoft points on Xbox Live between June 27 and July 17. A portion of your purchase will then be donated to "climate protection NGOs and causes."

The downloadable content will net you four new beats and visuals from four DJs, artists, and even VJs. It includes "Heavenly Star - SOS Remix" by Genki Rockets, "House66" by Sugiurumn, "4x4 Bricks" by Techriders, and "Cosmic Humming" by Muku.

If you own Lumines Live, there is no reason (aside from being broke perhaps) not to log on and purchase this pack. Aside from getting the cool skins and beats, you'll be saving the planet in the process. Now that's what we call a perfect combo.

Majesco Entertainment has announced that Genki's Kengo Zero is now slated for a fall release in the UK. Reminiscent of the old Bushido Blade series for the Sony PlayStation, Kengo Zero drops players smack dab in the middle of feudal Japan. The mission? Become the best samurai warrior in the land.

"Kengo Zero's stunning high definition graphics bring the game's nine real samurai to life," said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. "With its 2-player head-to-head mode, attribute upgrades and fighter customization, Kengo Zero gives every player the opportunity to be the fighter they want to be and to test their metal against the very best."

For a closer look at the game, check out the fact sheet -- minus the PR-speak -- behind the full article link below.

Click the full article link to check out a Kengo Zero fact sheet.

We know that there's a lot of you who are big fans of Lumines, be it Lumines 2 on the PSP or Lumines Live on X360 via the Xbox Live Arcade. Actually, so many things have been said already about these two versions. Being on different platforms, not to mention from opposing companies, things such as those can't be avoided.

At any rate, we have something today that will make both sides happy. If you are a Lumines fan, it is highly probable that you are familiar with the in-game hit song Heavenly Star. Developer Q Entertainment excitedly announced today that the song is available for download both in U.S. and Japan via iTunes. According to the company's Chief Creative Officer, Tetsuya Mizuguchi:

We are delighted to introduce our first self-produced song Heavenly Star on iTunes. It is an important element in Q Entertainment's global entertainment and distribution strategy. As the world's most popular digital download store, iTunes is a key platform for serving our existing audience as well as introducing our work to others around the world.

Heavenly Star is currently being employed as the background music for the PSP version. On the other hand, it will be introduced to Live early this coming January as the Heavenly Star Pack. The said track was performed by the band Genki Rockets and was produced by Mizuguchi himself.

Genki's Import Tuner Challenge, which is being published by Ubisoft, is a street racing title that lets players customize licensed sport and concept cars using authentic tuner parts and race against rivals on the streets of Tokyo. Mad customization features, intense racing action, as many as 400 distinct opponents, online multiplayer... Sounds great, if you ask us. Okay, with that said, let's skip the formalities and get right down to business.

The achievements list awaits after the jump!

Import Tuner Challenge's release looms toward the end of September. This racing game developed by Genki and published by Ubisoft (a game reminiscent of Shutokou Battle) allows you to customize your ride with millions of controls and hundreds of online racers (available when you subscribe to Xbox Live). Now, you can get the latest videos featuring hands-on quest career mode.

You get 3 million credit points to buy your first car. You can unlock other vehicles as you proceed in the game. More than the game itself, the vehicle customization can attract you because the garage alone turns into a car tuning haven where you  can tweak every single car settings to your racing advantage. Car aesthetics also play a huge part in this game. You don't want to see your car look like a dumpy lemon beside a roaring Mazda. Also, take advantage of the traffic and stall your opponents by honking - this causes other motorists to give way to your car.   

The race takes place at C1 Loop, but if you're getting ahead, other roads such as the Shinjuku Line, the Shinkanjo Circular, and the Shibuya Line can be accessed. Collisions don't really destroy your car, but take note of your spirit-point (the equivalent of health points) as they are likely to diminish.

Download: [Import Tuner Challenge Gameplay Video 1]
Download: [Import Tuner Challenge Gameplay Video 2]
Download: [Import Tuner Challenge Gameplay Video 3]

Import Tuner Challenge (also known as Tokyo Extreme Racer and Shutoku Battle) is a street racing title developed by Genki and being published by Ubisoft. The game lets players customize licensed sport and concept cars using authentic tuner parts and race against rivals on the streets of Tokyo.

This game's got mad customization features, having more than 5 million (whoa!) customization possibilities. After tuning their cars to peak performance, players can race offline against as many as 400 distinct opponents or go online and pit their skills against other players.

Honestly, we can't stop thinking about those 5 million customization possibilities. Most likely, we'll be spending more time playing around with the car's look and performance than actually racing. Anyway, the gameplay video's looking quite pretty, and the customization menu looks interesting. Plus the car is right-hand drive. That adds a few points to authenticity.

Check out the video and see for yourselves if this title's worth looking out for.

Download: [Import Tuner Challenge Gameplay Video]

Import Tuner Challenge may not sound all that exciting as a game's title, but wasabi also looks so darn harmless on a plate. The game goes beyond just picking a car and racing through Tokyo's underground racing scene. Players can modify and race licensed import sports cars using real tuner parts and tuning techniques. More than five million combinations are possible in tailoring a car’s interior, exterior and engine. Tuning your car right is extremely important since you're going to go up against the fastest street-racing teams imaginable.

The five million customizations are made possible by selecting from a vast warehouse of specialized parts to customize a car’s interior, exterior and engine. Players can fine tune the parts of their cars to suit a specific race against 400 unique opponents, each with varying degrees of strengths and weaknesses around real Tokyo highways and regions. You can test your masterpiece versus other players through Xbox Live's online gaming service.

“Import Tuner Challenge brings unprecedented car customisation and speed to the racing genre,” said Jay Cohen, vice president of publishing at Ubisoft. “The game offers more tuning possibilities than any other street-racing game to date on Xbox 360 and will submerge players into Tokyo’s thrilling underground.”

Import Tuner Challenge is being developed by Genki of Japan and is scheduled to ship in Europe in Autumn 2006.

Download: [Import Tuner Challenge Introduction]
Download: [Import Tuner Challenge Customization]
Download: [Import Tuner Challenge Xbox Live]
Download: [Import Tuner Challenge Racing]