TGS 06: 360 comes full circle in Japan

2:38: Whoa, here come new additions to the service, including the Japan-exclusive Yie Ar Kung Fu, along with Rush 'n Attack, Ms. Pac-Man, and New Rally X. Yie Ar exclusive to Japan?! What about us poor Western gamers?

Wow, and in early 2007, Microsoft will conduct a Pac-Man world championship. The top 10 players on the game's leaderboard will be flown to New York City to compete for the top prize. Pac-Man creator himself Toru Iwatani from Namco is now onstage to discuss the enhancements to the game available on Live.

Seems like the big enhancement is the worldwide leaderboard. Not a mind-blowing new feature, but similar features have certainly enlivened Xbox Live Arcade competition for other titles since the 360's release.

Here's an interesting parting shot: Iwatani-san will assume the title of "professor" next spring, as he begins teaching game development at Tokyo Polytechnic University. Four Tokyo universities in total will adopt the recently released XNA Express as a tool for teaching development, joining a number of other schools around the world.

2:47: Sensui has retaken the stage to present a photo-op with the rather bulky HD-DVD drive in hand. Doesn't look like that thing and the 360 itself will fit on the same entertainment-center shelf.

	HD-DVD player with man shown for scale.

We're seeing a new trailer for Lost Planet. Let's just say there's a lot more to this one than the snowy action levels we've seen previously. The game will be out in Japan on December 22, for 8,379 yen (US$71).

Next up, a new role-playing game from Bandai Namco, Trusty Bell. Looks awfully Japanese-RPG-like. No release date for Japan or America as of yet, though.

3:04: Now, another new RPG called Infinite Undiscovery from Tri-Ace, developers of Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile, in conjunction with Microsoft's own game studios. No video here, but the art style looks more realistic than whimsical from the one screenshot on offer.

	The HD-DVD add-on will fetch about US$177 in Japan.

A CG cinematic shows scenes of a massive battle full of armored, sword-wielding knights and bizarre, mechanical engines of war. All hope seems lost, but a single warrior rises from the battlefield to take on hordes of enemies all by his lonesome.

After some flashy sword moves, the cutscene segues quite smoothly into a real-time, playable version of the battle that looks strikingly similar. Sakaguchi is able to issue RPG-style commands to this warrior to make him fight lesser enemies and a gigantic, flame-spewing tank single-handedly.

After dispatching the machine, the player character is surrounded by enemy soldiers. But then the sky opens up and spews molten rock and ash across the battlefield, obliterating the opposing armies while the lone warrior is left standing. This scene gives way to an exploration phase, but Sakaguchi has now ended the demo. Think of Lost Odyssey as Dynasty Warriors meets Final Fantasy with a little of The Matrix thrown in.

	As opposed to an untrusty bell?

Finally, the crew reaches a large chamber where a brief cutscene takes place with a couple of dastardly villain types. A boss fight against a giant, spindly legged robot ensues. In typical JRPG fashion, lengthy and lavishly animated special attacks are traded back and forth until the robot finally goes down. Shu and posse flee the hangar in a real clunker of an airship before becoming embroiled in a tense situation with a busty, piratical character with an abundance of 'tude. The game's cutscenes look nicely animated from the little we got to see before Sakaguchi ended the presentation.

The Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon demos will be available at TGS, so we'll bring you a more detailed report in the coming days.

3:30: After a lengthy promotional video for Blue Dragon, it looks like the game features all the elements you'd look for in a Japanese RPG: explosive turn-based battles, a job system of sorts, a poignant Nobuo Uematsu-penned score, even an airship! Will it secure Microsoft a foothold in the Japanese market? They sure seem to hope so. The game will go for 7,140 yen (US$61).

	Sakaguchi: The man, the myth, the moustache.

3:36: Sensui retakes the stage one last time with a quick "See you at TGS!" and a demo reel of games to look for at the show, including such high points as Epic's Gears of War, space shooter Project Silpheed, and everyone's favorite party-game sequel (ahem) Fuzion Frenzy 2. Keep your eyes on GameSpot for updates on all the hot games for the 360--and everything else--when the Tokyo Game show commences on Friday.