So why no review of Nobunaga's Ambition Online?

Famitsu's survey for the week asks users which hardware bundle catches their eye the most: the Dino Crisis 3 Limited Xbox (Xbox and Dino Crisis 3 in a special box), the Enjoy Plus Pack (GameCube and Game Boy Player in one package -- this is actually the only way to buy the GameCube now) or the PlayStation 2 BB Pack (PS2, hard disk and broadband adapter). 42.7 percent went the GameCube route with 46.1 percent wanting the PS2 and 11.2 percent wanting the Xbox. Bunch of biases!

SQUARE TOUR TAKE!
One day, videogame companies will be big enough (and maybe interesting enough) to open their doors to the public for tours. Until then, we're stuck waiting for the occasional television program to take its cameras into the secretive labs that produce some of Japan's biggest games.

This past week, a TV Tokyo digital business program did just that, taking us briefly into the offices of Square Enix. The segment was mostly a discussion of issues facing the newly formed company, but it did provide a few glimpses into the halls that make Final Fantasy and, uhh, manage sales of Dragon Quest.

Let's have a look:

	This is Mr. Wada, head of Square Enix making his way to a press conference. He never learned to drive. Or, maybe he learned by playing Square's Type S racer and was deemed too dangerous for the roads.

	A look into Square's development lab where the drones slave away at mini games for FFXII

	The former Enix development lab. Err, perhaps it's the Enix sales department?

	These are the Final Fantasy XI game masters. They're the masters of Final Fantasy XI.

	Mr. Wada in a meeting. Smoking is allowed in the work place, meaning you'll have to put up with that kind of crap if you get a job at a big-time Japanese game company some day.

	It's not all hard work, though! Here's Mr. Wada at a after-hours get-together for new Square Enix employees.

	This young man reveals that he gained an interest in Japanese thanks to Final Fantasy. Meanwhile, Mr. Wada continues to smoke.

	No one seems to be smoking at this table. Wait a minute... is that...? Nah... can't be!

• Square Enix out to drink (MOV, 6825KB)

But what about the Japanese? Famitsu, Japan's leading gaming publication, polled 635 readers, 102 retailers and 51 game developers for their opinions and comments on a variety of things PSP related. The results are for the most as one would expect, but the comments are certainly worth the read.

QUESTION 1: Are you excited about the release of PSP?

USERS:
yes - 49.6%
no - 18.0%
not sure - 32.4%

RETAILERS:
yes - 48.4%
no - 7.4%
not sure - 44.2%

DEVELOPERS:
yes - 70.8%
no - 2.1%
not sure - 27.1%

One developer commented, "I was surprised by the specs. It seems to be a piece of hardware with much charm." Another developer commented "I expect it to be targeted towards adults. It seems that it will get a difference user group than the Game Boy Advance." A retailer commented, "More important that ability is software. I'll have to wait until a more detailed announcement before getting excited." On the user end, one confused person commented "It has so many features that I'm not sure what direction they're taking with it. Is it a game machine? Is it a multimedia player?"

QUESTION 2: Which area of the system draws your attention the most?

USERS:
1. High capacity optical disk (360 votes)
2. 3D Polygons (264 votes)
3. Memory Stick compatibility (208 votes)
4. MPEG4 compatibility (170 votes)
5. TFT LCD Monitor (167 votes)

RETAILERS:
1. High capacity optical disk (56 votes)
2. Memory Stick compatibility (33 votes)
3. TFT LCD Monitor (26 votes)
4. USB port (26 votes)
5. MPEG4 compatibility (26votes)

DEVELOPERS:
1. High capacity optical disk (32 votes)
2. 3D Polygons (23 votes)
3. Memory Stick compatibility (18 votes)
4. MPEG4 compatibility (16 votes)
5. TFT LCD Monitor (11 votes)

One retailer commented "I believe many people will want the product simply as a result of the impact of 3D visuals." Another retailer commented, "I'd like to see how the USB port is used with PCs and Digital Cameras."

QUESTION 3: What do you want from the PSP?
This question included a set of responses from the three groups. Samples include:

USERS:
1. I'm worried about load times, sound from the drive and battery.
2. I want a feature that allows for output to a TV.
3. I want a writable UMD. Also, I'd like for them to start a Play Station game download service.
4. To prevent shortages, I want there to be a big shipment on launch day.

RETAILERS:
1. I'd like camera features to be added.
2. I'd like for them to release music and movie software using the UMD
3. I'd like to see numerous color variations for the system itself
4. I'd like a built in television tuner. Even better if you could record, eh?

DEVELOPERS:
1. Communication features. I'd like Online games playable as you walk to be realized.
2. Just as the PS2 played DVDs, I'd like for PSP to be MD compatible.
3. I'm not interested in too many features, so I'd like for the price to not be too high.
4. I'd like for them to make small and light hardware.
5. I'd like business software as well.

Outside of these comments, a few developers actually went on record with their own names and opinions. Yuji Naka, of Sega's Sonic Team division, commented "The announcement of the PSP made me extremely excited. I'd like to see the results quickly. Because you can play it anywhere, I'm very much interested in portable game hardware, and because this is the first time the optical disk format is being used in a portable game machine, it seems like something very interesting could be made."

Not all opinions were bubbly, though, with the producer of the Super Robot Wars series at Banpresto commenting "We developers tend to look at portable software as being easy to develop. Users look at portable software as being quick and easy to play. If we were to make Super Robot Wars for the PSP, we'd have to put in effort even beyond what's required of a PlayStation game. Personally, more than ability and price, I'm worried a bit about the size of the system.

In closing, Famitsu featured one final question for all: are you interested in buying the PSP? 27.6% said they'd like to purchase it, with 27.6 percent saying they weren't sure, 31.7% saying they were considering it and 13.1% saying that they were not planning on purchasing it. Perhaps we'll have to wait for Sony to show more of the system.

STORE JOUTAI GET
Well, there isn't much of a store joutai to be gotten as there's nothing going on worth getting. We still managed to get our asses off our futons and onto the streets of Shibuya and Akihabara for a few shots around retail, though.

	Microsoft held a Soul Calibur 2 competition in Akihabara over the weekend, but we, uhh, sorta got there too late. So, we had to take this shot of a Dino Crisis 3 poster and a guy's back instead.

	Sega's new soccer title was the big thing at retail this week, especially with its cover star being one of Japan's most favorite soccer players.

	Cute Sega reps took to the store fronts to push the game in a more grass-roots style

	But you're not the only soccer game in town, Sega. Konami put this display up just in time to reign in on Sega's party.

	Fire Pro Wrestling and Max FramerateDrop were also released during the week. Max Payne was getting lots of hype at the retail front.

	Don't forget to get the latest Final Fantasy Ultimania guides. This one comes with a cute figure.

Currently, the system retails for 26800 yen regular retail price with the DVD remote bundled in. This effectively brings the game back down to 20000 yen. A good deal, don't you think? Especially if they'd start bringing out some of the cool US software over here.

	Ad for the Xbox Cash Back Campaign

• Castlevania - GBA (JPG, 251KB)
• Dino Crisis 3, ad 1 - Xbox (JPG, 237KB)
• Dino Crisis 3, ad 2 - Xbox (JPG, 251KB)
• Famistar Baseball - GBA (JPG, 233KB)
• Fire Pro Wrestling - PS2 (JPG, 192KB)
• Giftpia music CD - GCN (JPG, 263KB)
• Hanjuku Heroes VS 3D - PS2 (JPG, 244KB)
• Initial D - PS2 (JPG, 251KB)
• Initial D - GT Force - PS2(JPG, 177KB)
• Kung Fu Panic - Xbox (JPG, 219KB)
• Mech Assault - Xbox(JPG, 301KB)
• Monolith Software fan day - PS2/GCN (JPG, 105KB)
• Mother - GBA (JPG, 127KB)
• Nobunaga Online - PS2 (JPG, 170KB)
• Pokemon Box - GCN (JPG, 214KB)
• Rune 2 - GCN (JPG, 307KB)
• Sakatsusku - PS2 (JPG, 155KB)
• Virtual On Marz - PS2 (JPG, 212KB)