Late Night Consoling

Earlier this year, Koei released Omega Force's Samurai Warriors 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. Now, the company plans to bring the tactical strategy Empires spinoff series to the same two platforms. Today, the company announced Samurai Warriors 2 Empires, the first in its Empires line to take place in Feudal Japan, where the player must unite 24 warring regions under his rule. The in-game deck of policy cards is based on Japanese history, and the game features famous battles which actually took place in ancient Japan. Samurai Warriors 2 Empires features some 400 playable characters, 11 scenarios, a "create your own warrior" mode, and cooperative play. Koei sent along some strategy screens and action screens from the PS2 version.

Koei plans to ship Omega Force's Samurai Warriors 2 Empires for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 on February 27, 2007.

IGN has translated news from Japanese publication Famitsu revealing that a version of Namco's arcade fighter Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection will be created for PlayStation 3 and offered as a purchasable download through the PlayStation Store. Previously, the game has been adapted for PSP under the name Tekken: Dark Resurrection. The PS3 version of the game will run natively in 1080p resolution and feature updates to all of the modes from the arcade game, as well as add the previously unavailable ability to play as the boss Jinpachi. It was not stated whether the game would include online multiplayer. This downloadable game is distinct from the upcoming Tekken 6, which is currently in development for arcades and will follow on PlayStation 3.

No release date or price was given for the game, which will be 800MB in size. Namco has not announced a North American release.

Interface design firm Interlink, which develops and manufactures technology and peripherals for interacting with electronics devices, has launched a lawsuit against Nintendo of America, claiming that the trigger (aka B button) on the Wii console's remote controller infringes on a patent it holds for one of its own interface devices. The Interlink product in question is essentially a mouse held aloft, whose cursor is controlled with a touch-sensitive thumb pad rather than by dragging the mouse across a flat surface. The pointer functionality is entirely different from the Wii remote's motion-sensitive interface; Interlink's objection comes from the similarity of the triggers used in both devices. Rather than a top-mounted button such as is common on most mouse devices, Interlink's mouse uses a bottom-mounted trigger similar to that of the Wii remote--and many other common gaming controllers. Illustrations depicting the product, taken from Interlink's patent, are available here.

In its filing, Interlink claims that "has sold infringing products and/or committed infringing acts" in Delaware, where Interlink carries out certain operations, causing Interlink "loss of reasonable royalties, reduced sales and/or lost profits as a result of the infringing activities of the defendant." Interlink's claim is likely to be a difficult one to maintain, as Nintendo's Wii remote is sold only for use with the Wii console itself, and unlike many of Interlink's products is not intended or supported for use with personal computers. The company is seeking an injunction against the sale of the Wii remote, compensation in the amount of three times the damages alleged to be suffered by Interlink as a result of the sale of the Wii remote, and reimbursement for Interlink's legal fees.

Nintendo has declined to publicly respond to the matter as part of its policy not to comment on pending litigation.

Sega today detailed its plans to release regular content updates for Sonic Team and Total Entertainment's Phantasy Star Universe (PS2, X360, PC). The first of the upcoming weekly updates comes today, with the addition of new character classes, weapon types, quests, and story missions.

Today's seven new hybrid classes are the Fighgunner, Fortefight, Fortegunner, Fortetecher, Guntecher, Protranser, and Wartecher. The new weapons are the Axe (Moatoob), Card (Neudaiz), Claw (Neudaiz), Crossbow (Moatoob), Double Saber (Parum), Grenade (Moatoob), Laser Cannon (Parum), and Twin Claw (Neudaiz). B and A rank weapons, gears, and boards are now available at shops throughout the game. The game's level cap is now upped to 60, with Photon abilities and TECHNICs able to reach level 30 depending on the player's class.

Those who enjoy the offline game can now download an extension of the game's single-player story with 10 new missions, though they are still available for download exclusively to online subscribers.

Two new games have hit the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Store. A version of the classic Lemmings, developed for PS3 by Lemmings PSP and Worms series developer Team17, is now available for purchase at the reasonable price of $2.99. The game includes 40 levels, supports online leaderboards, and outputs in HD resolution. A free 120MB demo is also available.

Also available is a Sudoku game entitled Go! Sudoku. The game is sold in several separate puzzle packs, with the initial pack being a free download and others sold for $2.99 each.

Finally, a demo of Game Republic's Genji 2, an action game which is based on Japanese history and features famous battles which actually took place in ancient Japan, is also freely downloadable from the PlayStation Store. It weighs in around 430MB.