Kairosoft has already made a name for itself in the United States with Game Dev Story. The game resonated with us especially because we love discussing what makes a great game sell. Kairosoft followed up Game Dev Story with Hot Springs Story. That game contained very similar gameplay, but tasked you with running a resort. Now Kairosoft is at it again with a new game that is being roughly translated as School of Pocket.

For those who wanted to attend the E3 conference center in person can now visit the center virtually on Home to see the latest updates and interviews, watch trailers for upcoming games and snag all the exclusive freebies from outfits to furniture by simply watching the trailers and visiting the VIP area every day.

The next space to make its way to Home soon is the upcoming Playground featuring a street in downtown Brooklyn, New York. There’s also a space dedicated to the 2010 Fifa World Cup called FevaArena Stadium and two new Disgaea 3 Spaces. Also look for a big ol’ list of stuff to buy to pamper your avatar…

Patapon 2: Donchaka drops in Japan on November 27, 2008, Thanksgiving! What perfect timing – give PSP owners something to be thankful for. So it is no surprise that a demo of the game has appeared on the Japanese PlayStation store, ready to be downloaded with anyone who has a Japanese PlayStation store account.

I downloaded Patapon 2: Donchaka last night, using my Japanese PlayStation account and my faithful PSP. Its a fairly substantial download, coming in at 87mb, but it only took between 10~15 minutes to download and install the demo on my system.

The demo begins with a bit of exposition, showing the Patapons and Zigoton building a ship and crossing the ocean in search of “IT”…

Title: Pet Shop Monogatari DSPrice: $48.90System: Nintendo DSRelease Date: July 8, 2008Publisher (Developer): Taito (Dream Age Collection)ESRB Rating: Everyone Pros: Simple controls, huge selection of pets to discover, variety of items to accessorize pets, many locations to explore, not having to clean any pet danderCons: Simple game play may become repetitive, trial and error pet catching can become frustrating, lack of ability to actually pet animalsOverall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 88/100; B+; ***1/2 out of five

With Taito’s infamous Mama making the leap from cooking (Cooking Mama) into gardening (Gardening Mama), it was only a matter of time before Mama would spread her bountiful cheerfulness and optimism into yet another game. Pet Shop Monogatari DS (PSMDS) revolves around the newly opened pet shop in Greentown where you, the player, and Mama are in charge.

Click through for the full review…

Japan will be the first lucky recipients of the new Nintendo DSi handheld in November 2008. North Americans will have to wait possibly until the middle of 2009 before the DSi makes its way over.

While that seems like quite a loss at first glance, Nintendo doesn’t even have games that are exclusive to the DSi ready to go. Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway did an interview with Wired on the topic of the DSi where she spilled the beans. Sorta.

In the interview, Dunaway said Nintendo currently does not have plans or announcements regarding…

As one of the Playstation 3′s defining exclusive titles, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has long been the subject of multiplatform rumors that its creator, Konami’s Hideo Kojima, has consistently sought to deny by pointing to the game’s reliance on the PS3′s hardware and the Blu-ray disc format. And yet, the rumors continue.

Speaking with Japanese stock investment research firm Morningstar, a Konami public relations representative named Yoshitaka Arai has reportedly confirmed that the company is “looking into” an Xbox 360 port of the game due to…

In Iowa, a 32-year-old man may spend 20 years in prison for possession of Japanese manga and will face penalties under the PROTECT Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1466A). Christopher Handley is still in big trouble because of the manga he purchased from Japan in May 2006 that the government claimed was obscene and depicted minors engaged in sexual acts.

Luckily for Handley, he no longer has to face the court system alone as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has decided to provide their expertise as a consultant to the defense and provide funds for use to support in obtaining…

With all this coverage of the Olympics, both on television and online, I have seen several sources that have stated that Japanese Olympic swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, after he had won the gold meal for the men’s 100 meter breaststroke, had some very interesting, very videogame-related things to say:

See, Mario does the breaststroke. And thus, it’s perfect mental training for envisioning the actual Olympic hall.

Say what!? Did he just say that videogames can actually do more than…

Title: Ninja Gaiden IIPrice: $59.99System(s): Xbox 360Release Date: June, 3, 2008Publisher (Developer): Microsoft (Team Ninja)Rating: “Mature” for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Suggestive ThemesPros: Will please fans, great weapons, plenty of upgrades, intense game play, inane difficulties.Cons: Way to hard for casual gamers, terrible story, repetitive game play, so-so graphics, lack of online features, not to different than the first game.Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb down; 75/100; C; * * 1/2 out of five

If you like blistered thumbs, splinting headaches or yelling at the top of your lungs out of frustration, then you’ll probably like Ninja Gaiden II.

Click through for the full review…

While the DS has won fans the world over with its unusual gimmicks and touching interactive games, the PSP is getting love for its mature games and practical applications. Rather than trying to beat the DS by making the PSP appear even more foolish with strange extras, developers have decided to take the higher road.

With its peripherals the PSP tries to make itself more useful in everyday life. There are no card readers or additional controllers here. Rather than relying on gimmicks, the add-ons are ingenious items that you don’t even realize you need until you see what they can do.

And while the DS add-ons are designed to work only with games, the PSP’s are designed to make life in the real world easier or more interesting. Even when the extras don’t work as well as they claim, they still deserve points for trying.

Sadly, all of the following extras are only available overseas. It is a tragedy, because each add-on could be immensely useful to PSP owners the world over. All of the extras in Japan allow the PSP to act as a translator, camera, television and GPS unit…