Late Night Consoling

Koei told IGN today it plans to release two of its titles in the U.S. market. They include the historical simulation Romance of the Three Kingdoms X and Colosseum: Road to Freedom, an action RPG based on the Roman Empire. Romance will ship in June and Colosseum will follow in July.

The official Microsoft Xbox site updated their page for Conker Live & Reloaded and a new release date appeared! According to the site, the Rare-developed title will ship on June 21 of this year. However, it IS a Rare-developed title, so who knows how true that'll turn out to be.

Codemasters announced that it will continue the TOCA series with TOCA Race Driver 2006. Set for release in the winter of this year for PS2, Xbox, and PC, the new version will feature added gameplay modes and a revamped engine. "TOCA Race Driver 2006 is a huge project and one we've had in the works for almost a year already. The team are doing an incredible job and taking motorsport gaming to a level that no one else is even touching upon and they're doing it to a hugely advanced point. The refined engine will enable players to really thrash the cars and see the real-world results of doing so: Radiators will overheat, tires will burn out, engines will blow--the works," said Gavin Raeburn, studio head at Codemasters.

Last week, you learned that Eidos' slate of promising console titles were delayed, such as the new Hitman and Tomb Raider. The same statement indicated why: "This [delay] will enable further development work to be undertaken on these titles (including additional versions of Lara Croft Tomb Raider for the next generation PSP and Xbox 2 platforms) and allow the Company to take advantage of more favorable release windows."

The latest issue of Famitsu blew the lid off on another entry into the survival-horror series, Fatal Frame. The third title revolves around a photographer who notices her dead boyfriend appearing in shots she took at a haunted mansion. There will be three playable characters this time around and the game will shift between two dimensions: reality and nightmare.

When Sony announced it was halting production on its PS2 PVR, called the PSX, everyone thought they were killing off the device. Instead, they were getting ready to start producing two new models that will become the standard. In reality, these new models are the same to their older siblings, with the only difference being PSP connectivity. The new PSXes can take recorded shows and convert them to a format readable by the PSP, allowing owners to take their programming on the go.

Ubisoft, who are trying to build their own sports empire, signed an exclusive licensing agreement with AND 1, the footwear and apparel company. AND 1 is responsible for the Mix Tape Tour, a yearly event that pits the best street ballers against each other to find the most innovative moves ever. Ubisoft will develop a game based on this tour.

Mad Catz Interactive announced plans to manufacture controllers based on Major League Baseball teams. Every team will get their own gamepad and will be priced at $29.99. The controller will be painted with team colors, have the team logo, and sport 8-foot cords and gel-grips. They'll ship sometime in the summer.

Game Informer gives us a look inside the PSP Value Pack. GameSpot talks with the head of Codemasters, Gavin Raeburn, about TOCA Race Driver 2006. TeamXbox interviews Executive Producer Andre Emerson about 50 Cent: Bulletproof.