Valentines Day is slightly different in Japan, than it is here. Fans of import video games, or of manga and anime, probably know all about the concept of Valentines Day and White Day. On February 14, girls give chocolate to the guys they know and like. Home-made, special chocolates, referred to as honmei choco, is given to the people girls love. There is also giri chocolate, which is most likely store-bought, that girls give to their friends, co-workers, male relatives and men that are important, but not number one.

So how does this factor into video games? Well, mainly you’ll see this special kind of Valentines Day celebrated in dating sim games. Simulation games that tend to go day by day have the concept of Valentines Day and White Day appear most. For example, both the Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side DS games have characters buy or making chocolate for the male characters on February 14, and then receiving White Day gifts in return on March 14. The recent Vampire Knight DS release also has players giving Valentines chocolate to one of the six vampire characters on February 14.

Some game companies in Japan also try to capitalize on these two holidays…

If you’ve been shying away from Idea Factory otome games because you’re not a big fan of visual novels, it’s time to turn to the company. Idea Factory has just announced that on May 12, 2009, it will be releasing Ore ga Omoe o Mamoru aka I Will Protect You, an action otome game. It’s going to cost 5,040 yen, roughly $56.

Siliconera has a few screenshots from the game, which show a white haired warrior journeying through a Castlevania style labyrinth. The official website just shows a gorgeous teaser image with the logo and a picture of a pensive looking Ren, who may be the main character.

Ore ga Omoe o Mamoru is the first title in Idea Factory’s brand new Otomate Forte line of otome (girl’s) games. The brand just launched, and unlike the established Otomate line, will focus on otome games that are more than visual novels…

Idea Factory is certainly going to be bringing some joy to otome (girl’s dating/life sim) and visual novel fans in 2009. A quick visit to the company’s Otomate website, which reveals the company’s upcoming otome titles, shows that both Will O’ Wisp and Ouran Koukou Host Bu (Ouran High School Host Club) will be receiving portable ports.

We don’t know as much about Ouran Koukou Host Bu DS aka Ouran High School Host Club DS yet. Its official website doesn’t offer a release date, but the Otomate site states it will be out on March 19, 2009. That’s all we definitely know so far. It could just end up being a direct port of the PS2 game. Idea Factory has been really good about adding in additional scenes/content for the ports of its PS2 titles, so we’ll have to wait and see what kind of extras also appear. I’m sure more information will be gradually revealed to build up hype as the release date comes closer.

The DS and PSP ports of Will O’ Wisp and Will O’ Wisp: Easter no Kiseki will come out shortly after. Both Will O’ Wisp Portable and Will O’ Wisp DS will debut on March 26, 2009…

Brian Ashcraft, of Wired and Kotaku, discovered and wrote about an interesting new Japanese toy for both sites – Tomy’s LCD video game banks. There are three varieties released so far, a virtual life game called Jinsei Ginko, Ikemen Bank and BANKQUEST, and Ashcraft was lucky enough to get to play and invest with all three of them.

The three different banks all represent three different gaming genres, and each one is primarily played by inserting money. Jinsei Ginko is a life simulation, where your thriftiness can help a virtual man find his way to a better life. Ikemen Bank is actually an otome (girl’s dating sim/life sim) style bank, where saving money helps make the guys like you more. BANKQUEST is an RPG where you help the hero advance by contributing cash…

2008 has definitely been a big year for DS otome (girl’s life/dating sim) games. Looking back, I can see at least eight recent games which fall solidly into the otome catagory. Plus, another – Vampire Night – is supposedly scheduled for December 2008. There’ve also been a few games released in North America which can even qualify as otome style games.

If you’ve been waiting until the holidays to start picking up your titles, you’re going to have some tough decisions to make. Plus, some of these games may be difficult to find, so you’ll want to order them early to make sure they arrive in time.

Here’s a quick compilation of all the recent otome games released, divided into English and Japanese so you can quickly jump to the section you desire

These are just too cute. And yet, somewhat disturbing. Konami is teaming up with Figumate to create Metal Gear Solid figures. No big deal, right? I mean, video game companies team up with Japanese figure companies all the time in Japan. Except that Ocelot, Snake, Raiden and Otacon will be represented as girl in the collection.

The series, known as Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots X Figumate Sweet Snake will be sold through Konamistyle as a set of four. Each one is only 7 cm, so they’ll really be the perfect size to put anywhere. The set comes out December 11, 2008 for ¥2,940, roughly $30, and if you really must have them, I’m sure you’ll find a set on eBay or some in some Japanese online hobby shop.

I suppose it’s better late than never in the case of Bully, which is finally going to be released in Japan on July 24, 2008. Bethesda Softworks will be publishing the PS2 Bully and the Xbox 360 Bully: Scholarship Edition overseas.

In case you’re curious, the PS2 version of Bully was released in the US, Europe and Australia in October, 2006. Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Xbox 360 hit those same countries in March, 2008. So it isn’t too bad a delay for the Xbox 360 edition, but very belated in the case of the PS2 one.

I wonder how this game is going to do overseas. It may sell well, but it might also touch a nerve. Bullying in schools in Japan is a sensitive issue…

JList is now taking preorders for two new, Star Wars USB hub characters – R2D2 and Darth Vader. They are pretty much decorative statues that move, light up and make noises. Both items are expected to be released in Japan before the end of July 2008, but people can preorder one (or both) of the $75 items to make sure they’ll get one.

While both R2D2 and Darth Vader look cool, they do have an addition function. Each one has four additional USB ports – very handy in an age where practically every computer peripheral attaches via a USB port. In fact, this could be an essential for a desktop owner, so you don’t have to stretch around to reach for an outlet. The computer powers each of them, so no batteries are needed, and they work with Macs and PCs.