Late Night Consoling

Capcom today announced details of the planned Collector's Edition set that will be available for its upcoming Xbox 360 action title Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. Available for $69.99, ten dollars more than the standard retail game, the package will come in a special metal case and include different cover art than that of the standard game, a book of concept artwork, a game soundtrack, videos, and fan site assets.

Most importantly, however, the set includes an extra multiplayer map that will be exclusive to Collector's Edition owners for several months before it becomes widely available via Xbox Live Marketplace next summer. Capcom sent along some new screenshots taken from the exclusive level.

Capcom plans to ship Lost Planet in North America on January 12, 2007.

According to Japanese publication ITmedia, translated and paraphrased by The Pocket Gamer Blog, Silent Hill series producer and composer Akira Yamaoka has divulged the identity of his next game, and it's a far cry from his well known horror franchise. Apparently, Yamaoka is working on a Nintendo DS game inspired by a Soichiro Ishihara's book Otonaryuku ("Adult Power"), which aims to give its readers a strong grasp of manners, relationships, workplace conduct, and communication. Presumably, the DS game will have similar goals, though Yamaoka did not go into detail as to the structure or content of the game.

A few games were announced as having gone gold today. Chronilogically in terms of when the press releases game in, Atari was first with the announcement that the Wii version of Spike's Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 has gone gold, making the game one of the first launch period titles to be confirmed for the machine's actual launch day. Earlier this week, Sega's Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz earned the same distinction. Budokai Tenkaichi 2 will be available in North America on November 19. The PlayStation 2 version of the game is expected next week.

Next up was Namco Bandai with the announcement that its shopkeeping minigame sequel Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2 for Nintendo DS has gone gold. The company also sent along some new screenshots for the game, which will be in stores November 14.

Finally, Electronic Arts sent word that EA Tiburon's Superman Returns: The Videogame has gone gold for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS. EA sent over some new screenshots from the Xbox 360 version of the game. All four versions will ship on November 20. Additionally, a separately developed Game Boy Advance game entitled Superman Returns: Fortress of Solitude will be available the same day.