Hearing about the juicy details after a long stay over at [censored] made all my misery go away. THANK THE LORD.

Anyway, yes, Imageepoch ran their press conference a couple of days ago. I ripped the trailer from the stream before they closed up the recording for good yesterday (and it isn’t too soft like the other rips), so give it a watch:

(480p’s available btw)

The game is said to be a cross between a third-person shooter and an RPG, but judging from the trailer, it looks like it’ll have some first person elements as well. I’m not sure at what point the titular main character ever wields a handgun though, so I think that’s just a cool cinematic of some sort.

The only cast seen in the trailer (apart from B★RS herself) are a muscular commando and his merry men soldiers, all of which who would’ve made Captain William Rush proud, what with their inability to take aimed shots (as opposed to spraying all over the place).

Oh yes, I forgot the aliens.

The game is set in the year 2051, where Black★Rock Shooter awakens, only to find the world decimated by an alien invasion in 2032 (remember the teaser?). There are apparently only 12 human survivors left on the planet, and your/her job is to defeat the invaders, the 7 Apostles, and their Armerments AKA their massive robot army.

The trailer doesn’t show much though; in fact, it only consists of scenes from (which I think are) the beginning of the game, when B★RS awakens in the midst of a battle. Shame we don’t get to see any live gameplay just yet, but the game engine does look promising.

I did find a couple of scans from Famitsu which delve deeper into the gameplay and even reveal the design of one of the Apostles (gasp!).

While still maintaining the art style (huke’s still in charge of the art after all), B★RS has been given a little makeover. Her katana has been replaced by a blade matching the dark, metallic theme of the game, and her Rock Cannon even has a blade attached to it. She also has what appears to be either two giant blades or wings fixed to her back.

The HUD appears to consist of only a HP bar and a heat emission bar, which will probably display that “OVERHEAT” warning if you’re too trigger-happy. The targeting reticule is that blue star. Heh.

No sign of any free-roaming here; all the battles will occur in a small area, which is expected from a PSP game. There’s no sign of any overworld or area-to-area travel a la Monster Hunter just yet, but don’t let that get you down.

And here’s the 5th Apostle, Nafe! Sporting a short skirt, giant metal arms and a hoodie with metal usagimimi, she does seem like the kind of person you wouldn’t want to mess around with. They’ve also already made her in-game model, so it looks like the game’s progressing rather well.

I’m not too sure what purpose CNRT (the red transformable mecha) serves in the game though. Translation, anyone? >_>

Also, the long metal worm-like thing in the second scan? That’s a City Eater. o_O

(Tip of the hat to duckroll for his analysis of the scans.)

There’s no sign of the second character in the poster image (the first image). Will she be a support character?

Here’s the staff and cast list for the game. Credits to cowboybibimbop for translating the entire list:

STAFF

• Director: Kazuya Niinou (Etrian Odyssey)
• Scenario: Kazushige Nojima (Final Fantasy VII, VIII, X)
• Animation Studio: Ufotable

CAST

Sakamoto Maaya
Sawashiro Miyuki
Jisen Masanori
Nakahara Mai
Sugita Tomokazu
Hikasa Yōko
Shimoyama Yoshimitsu
Kamiya Hiroshi
Shimoda Asami
Akimoto Yōsuke
Hamada Kenji
Hoshino Mitsuaki
Hōki Katsuhisa

I find it strange that they included Sawashiro Miyuki, who voiced Yomi in the OVA, and not Hanazawa Kana. I wonder who’s voicing the star of the game.

Imageepoch has also released the pricing info for the game (it’s at the end of the trailer, too). The standard edition costs 6,279 JPY (approximately 99 SGD), and comes with nothing else. Good for fans on a budget.

The limited edition (AKA the White Premium Box) costs a whopping 10,479 JPY (approximately 165 SGD), but comes with these goodies:

• A box of “gorgeous” visual works from huke.
• A Black★Rock Shooter figma, white ver. (tentative)
• A Black★Rock Shooter Art Works booklet. (tentative)
• The limited game soundtrack by Basiscape.

The game’s slated to be released in summer (around July, perhaps?), 2011. In my opinion, the game’s shaping up to something totally epic, and it’s joining my list of must-plays on the PSP, along with Patapon 3 and God Eater Burst.

Imageepoch is also planning another B★RS game, but this one’s going to be an omake free-to-play browser game on Nico Nico Douga. Titled Puchitto Rock Shooter, the game’s art will be based on CHANxCO’s style, and will be completely separate from the canon of the first game and the OVA.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but this looks like the actual overworld, with blue star buttons. Not very diverse, but hey, it’s free.

A variety of sprites of B★RS. Too cute.

Looks like B★RS won’t be alone on this one either; she’ll have 3 more friends/enemies joining her. And one of them’s Black★Matagi. ( *A*)!

Puchitta Rock Shooter is slated for release in spring, 2011.

I can’t wait for the gameplay trailer(s) for the official game, and I can’t wait to play both games. >_<

What about you? Are you gonna get it when it comes out?

Sources:

• B★RS The Game Official Game Site: [1] [2]
• Puchitta Rock Shooter Official Details
• 2channel
• Red Blaze

Also, you can check out Danny Choo for his press conference photos and coverage. Lucky bugger.

UPDATE: Apparently NIS America’s planning to localise Imageepoch’s games in North America and Europe. How long will it be before we see B★RS in English, eh? Thanks to rrw for the heads up.

Also, pre-orders for the game (both editions) are open! Amazon (8,907 JPY for limited, 5,337 JPY for regular) or AmiAmi (8,560 JPY for limited, 5,140 JPY for regular), pick your poison. I don’t think local stores are going to have pre-orders available just yet, what with the summer release and all. There is a ~15% discount till the end of December though, just to ease some of that heartburn from splurging a little. =3

Today, the 31st of August marks a special occasion for Hatsune Miku fans who celebrate her 3rd Birthday Anniversary.. It is quite a subtle yet happy moment to celebrate her birthday after so many things that happened within just 3 short years.. From a humble beginning of just being known as just a simple Voice Synthesizer program to a “World Renown” Virtual Idol, Hatsune Miku has gone where no other character does..

Although it isn’t as grand as last year where there was a concert to celebrate her birthday a.k.a. Miku FES’09, people do still remember her till these day.. Well, ever since her last birthday, Miku has gotten an “upgrade” which is the Miku Append package..

Original Hatsune Miku with Hatsune Miku Append~

It consist of six different tones for Miku; Soft (gentle, delicate voice), Sweet (young, chibi voice), Dark (mature, heartbroken-like voice), Vivid (bright, cheerful voice), Solid (loud, clear voice), and Light (innocent, heavenly voice).

Also, SEGA has finally released the 2nd game for the Hatsune Miku Project DIVA rhythm game.. It features more new songs + new gameplay mode and of course for the first time a Max difficulty for a song, “Intense Song of Hatsune Miku”.. Not to mention a few songs by Megurine Luka when there were none in the previous game..

For figurine, there are quite a number of them which haven’t been officially announced like the “Love is War” or I would like to call it the “Tower 39″.. The recent one that was announced are the Nendo Petite Racing Vocaloids [2nd Version] by Good Smile Company (GSC) and the Tony Taka Hatsune Miku by Max Factory (Below)..

Well, thats all I have for now.. It has been a very interesting 3 years since Hatsune Miku was “born” and I quite enjoyed having her as my idol.. Alot of cosplays of her had been done, not just the default one but a variety of versions as well.. I’m hoping there would be something quite epic happening before her 4th birthday next year!! XD

As for now, do enjoy these pictures~

Source: RD@ぴくセミB組 @ pixiv

Source: ソニ @ pixiv

Souce: はなの @ pixiv

Source: 夢衣@塗りが定まらない @ pixiv

Source: スだち＠ついった @ pixiv

Source: meisa @ pixiv

Source: ほりみー＠ @ pixiv

Source: 犬飼 @ pixiv

Source: おがこっつ＠ニコ生 @ pixiv

Source: 千鶴＠ついった @ pixiv

Source: 捺妃 @ pixiv

Source: ぽんず飴沢 @ pixiv

Source: Neena @ pixiv

Sega has recently announced a new costume model of the Hatsune Miku Append Module for both the 「Project DIVA 2nd」 PSP rhythm game and the 「Project DIVA Arcade」. For the PSP game itself, it should be available on August 31st at the Japanese Playstation Store – on the 3rd anniversary of Crypton’s 「Vocaloid 2 – CV01 Hatsune Miku」 software.. XD

Left: Miku Append for the PSP ; Right: Miku Append Module for the 「Project DIVA Arcade」.

*Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- 2nd DLC:

* Module: Hatsune Miku Append
* Release Date: August 31st, 2010
* Price: 300 yen (tax included)
* Available at: Japanese Playstation Store

*Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- Arcade Add-on:

* Module: Hatsune Miku Append
* Release Date: August 31st, 2010
* VP: 300 points
* A fee is required to play

Here are some screengrabs of Hatsune Miku Append in both the PSP game as well as the Arcade version as well.. Enjoy the pictures~

Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- 2nd DLC:

Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- Arcade Add-on:

I’m so gonna get this DLC for my Project DIVA 2nd game.. Would most probably be suited for the song, “Intense Song of Hatsune Miku”.. Here is the how one get Perfect for it in “EXTREME” mode…

“Intense Song of Hatsune Miku [Perfect - EXTREME]:

Source: Miku.Sega.Jp via Moetron

After months of waiting, I finally got my hands on these wonderful collection.. Not just any standard collection; It’s the Project DIVA 2nd “Super” Collection which I painstakingly tried to get since most of the usual sites don’t offer such products.. It was thanks to my brother, “Fuzzy” for his ultra knowledge and our good friend, “Zh3us” for helping us get the stuff via AmiAmi..

If you are wondering how it got shipped here, below is what the box looks like~

If you are wondering why the box is freaking huge for such a loot, well “Zh3us” pre-ordered one more for one of our friends as well, the same whole collection as mine..

The whole collection consists of:

1 – “Super” Accesory Set and “Pouch” Set~

“Special” Accesory Set Containing:

1) Pouch,
2) Unique UMD case,
3) Cleaning cloth,
4) Special Project DIVA 2nd PSP cover,
5) PSP Strap, and
6) 4 decorative stickers (1 of each Vocaloid 2 characters, excluding Meiko and Kaito.)

“Pouch” Set Containing:

1) Monogram pouch, and
2) Another PSP strap.

2 – AmiAmi Special Goodies~

Containing:

1) Special DVD containing 2 full PV of the songs “こっち向いてBaby”　and “Yellow”,
2) Microfiber cloth printed with a Megurine Luka’s “Just be Friends” picture,
3) A card holder, and
4) A super nendo puchi Miku keychain.

To see how the items look like, we did a post 4 months back.. Total cost? SGD$283!! o.O

Well, forgot to add this one more stuff inside; the Black Rock Shooter’s “Rock Cannon” Metal Charm (below).. X3

Wait till Fuzzy comes back from Field Camp to post on the “Rock Cannon”.. Till then, here is the video that can be found in the DVD itself.. Enjoy~

“こっち向いてBaby” & “Yellow” PV – Project DIVA 2nd:

It has been quite a long while since the release of the preview for the Opening video of the upcoming game, Hatsune Miku – Project DIVA 2 - by SEGA.. Now just a few weeks before the release of the game itself, someone got a chance to grab a video of the full version of the video, with the song being played titled “こっち向いて Baby”..

Now, get ready to be mesmerized by the wonderful and awesome video itself.. Enjoy~

Project DIVA 2 Opening Full Version:

When I watched the whole video, I was totally awed by its wonderful animation, especially the band-singing sequence.. This is also a first time SEGA decided to make a whole Opening PV with a full song.. Unlike the previous “Project DIVA” which plays a shorter version of the song, “The Secret Garden”, the 2nd one plays at a more energetic note and so-called allow players to listen to the cool song composed by “Ryo” himself.. XD

I kinda love it when I saw they put Tako Luka in the video as well apart from the tiny chibi Mikus.. Another thing to note is that Miku, Luka and the Kagamine twins are more detailed in the video itself.. I hope to see something like that if it is possible to play “Project DIVA 2″ on “Dreamy Theater”.. =3

After hearing this, I’m so excited to play the gmae once I received it on its release date which is on the July 29th..

Thanks to “inferno0748″ for the info.. XD

The “Figma Megurine Luka” by Max Factory is finally opened for reservation after weeks since its preview.. A lot of people has been waiting to get her and now they get their chance to..

To those who don’t know her, she is the 3rd Official Vocaloid-2 character to appear after Hatsune Miku and the Kagamine Twins.. For more info, do visit her official site to listen to some of her demo songs.. =D

Yes, she comes with her own unique accessories, her very own tuna.. Just like Miku’s leeks, Luka can grab hold of the tuna and whack the hell out of anyone with it.. I wonder how does one attach the fish onto her hand?

Well, she is available for pre-order, priced at about 2,800yen which is about SGD$44.. Hobby Search, CD Japan and Otacute are now taking pre-orders as of today.. Don’t wait any longer, get her now!! XD

Now hoping for a 1/8 scale figurine of her.. =3

For those who already know, there is a new Vocaloid in town, though its not what you would usually think of.. According to her profiles (currently down), she is a true yandere, possesing a strong hatred and death wish for Hatsune Miku, and has a very unhealthy obsession with Kagamine Len. Tei is shown as being quite delusional and possibly insane..

Named Sukone Tei (健音テイ), she was created by none other than the VIP boards, who some of you might know created Kasane Teto, one of the famous Utauloid.. Remember how she was released on April Fool’s Day 2008 by VIP in order to make people think she was a real “Vocaloid.”

At first glance, you can tell that they share a common domain name; The connection between Kasane Teto and Sukone Tei~

Source: 夜宵@Pixiv

Well, there are quite a number of videos sung by her, one of which is an original song.. You can check them out below~

“Last Night, Good Night” – Sukone Tei:

“Kanashimi No Mukou E” – Sukone Tei:

“ていていにしてあげる” – Sukone Tei:

“胡瓜情歌” – Sukone Tei:

Here are some of the fanarts of her.. Hope you like them.. XD

Source: YORU☆夜月★TUKI@Pixiv

Source: 無念堂オワタ丸@Pixiv

Source: もっさりポテト【犬男】@Pixiv

Source: ぺこに@Pixiv

Source: 七海かずさ@Pixiv

Source: 蒲江@Pixiv

Source: さく@Pixiv

Source: まりえ@Pixiv

NOTE: There is a fan site created for her, so do check it out~

Thanks to: Inferno0748 and plasma

Source: Moetron

As you all know, Sega’s PSP rhythm game DLC data for your PS3, titled 「Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- “Dreamy Theater“」 will make your gaming experience more interesting. You’ll be able to play as your favorite virtual singing idols in full HD, from Hatsune Miku to Megurine Luka~ All you need is your PSP and the 「Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA-」 game, connected to the Playstation 3 system.

Although there isnt any news if this will also be compatible with the upcoming 「Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- 2nd」 PSP game which is coming out in July, I doubt Sega will forget about doing the same for the 2nd game.. XD 「Dreamy Theater」 will be available for purchase on June 24th at the Japanese Playstation Store; priced at 3,000 Yen or at about SGD$45.

A promotional video was just released quite recently by Sega and its available to view below. Enjoy~

Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- “Dreamy Theater” PV:

UPDATE: Longer version here:

By the way, it’s out right now.

Just a few days after SEGA released the opening movie preview of the one of their anticipated game, 「Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- 2nd」, they released another new video.. This video showcases some of the songs that will be available for play in the new game.. Not only that, you can play the songs with the characters in their respective unique outfits..

Project DIVA 2 – New Songs + Costumes:

There are a total of 5 songs showcase in the video and I have to say they are quite interesting to try when the game is out.. To those who don’t know the songs, they are~

*Video song list (By order in video):

* 「Colorful x Melody」 – Team MOER ~ (Illustration by nezuki)
* 「Roshin Yuukai / meltdown」 – iroha(sasaki)/kuma(alfred) ~ (Illustration by nagimiso.SYS)
* 「Just Be Friends」 – Dixie Flatline ~ (Illustration by Yunomi)
* 「Yellow」 – kz (livetune) ~ (Illustration by redjuice)
* 「Kocchi Muite Baby」 – ryo (supercell) ~ (Illustration by KEI)

Preorders for the game are still open, so do order before they are out of stock.. Project DIVA 2 will be in stores on July 29th.

Source: Moetron

To those waiting for the next release of the highly popular rhythmic game, Project Diva, rejoice! Sega has recently announced that a special bundle of a Hatsune Miku themed PSP will be released along with Project Diva 2 game itself..

FUZZY EDIT: Pre-order details are now available! Check out the bottom of this post for details!

For 26,800 yen or around SGD$390, you will get the “Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd Ippai Pack”. This includes a turquoise-coloured PSP-3000 (Better than having a PSP-GO!), a soft pouch, cleaning cloth, and wrist strap and of course, the game itself~

For those who already have a PSP, don’t fret.. Sega came out with a Miku theme kit… The kit contains a pouch, UMD case, cleaning cloth, PSP cover, strap, and decorative stickers for just 3,980 yen or at about SGD$58..

Want more stuff? Add another 1,980 yen (bout SGD$30) for a monogram pouch and another strap.. XD

The Project DIVA 2 game will be released on July 29th.. So don’t wait, order them when they come out~

FUZZY EDIT: Pre-orders for all the bundles are out!

You can get the PSP bundle set (also known as the “Full Pack”) at Ami Ami (26,980 JPY). It’s also up on Amazon.co.jp, but for some reason the price isn’t showing. The PSP bundle set appears to be sold out, sorry guys. =(

You can also get the accessory set (the more expensive of the non-PSP sets) at Ami Ami for 3,250 JPY, or Amazon.co.jp for about 3,383 JPY.

The pouch set (the one with only the pouch and strap) is going for 1,620 JPY on Ami Ami and 1,980 on Amazon.co.jp.

It’s kinda obvious that they’re milking our money here, so if you’re a big fan, you better have a big wallet ready!