The month of June isn’t just for big news and demo conferences, as Japan is ready to get quite a few big software releases, one of which is a sequel in a series that consistently sells out during its first few days on shelves.
The first week of June doesn’t include much outside of Sengoku BASARA 3 and Tekken 6 hitting the PS3’s Japanese “Greatest Hits” line, called “PS3 The Best.” The 9th is when things really get interesting, and not just because of a new Evangelion simulation title hitting both PSP and PS3. That’s the day Yakuza: Of the End finally sees its release, special box and all. Since its story is presumably less important as those of other Yakuza games, importers can probably jump right into this one. Sega will be donating a portion of the profits to disaster relief, so hey, you can look at it as you being charitable too. Last but not least for the June 9 releases is Red Faction: Armageddon for PS3.
The immortal PS2 will get a new game on June 16, in the form of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Art of Otome. This strategy series and subject matter are a lot more popular in the far East than in the Western world, for the same reasons American Civil War Chess Sets aren’t often seen outside the US. Level-5’s hotly anticipated RPG Tiny Battlers hits PSP that same day.
June 23 is when PlayStation is makin’ it rain software. The PS2, PS3, and PSP add up for 11 games that day, while all five other systems combine for seven. The PS3’s haul has five games, headlined by a pair of RPGs, Atelier Meruru and the port of Mass Effect 2. Meruru is a lock for high sales, as its predecessors Rorona and Totori were nearly impossible to find for about the first week that followed their releases. Hard to imagine the same happening in North America, isn’t it? Anyway, PS3 will also be getting Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition, Hunted： The Demon’s Forge, and Bleach: Soul Ignition. The lone PS2 game arriving that day is the adventure title Scarlet Riders X.
PSP’s June 23 is packed with Stein’s Gate and Mother Goose’s Secret House for adventure fans, Gundam Memories for the action seekers, and Gloria Union to satisfy RPG lovers. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories will be re-released on Rockstar’s own personal favorites line, the “Rockstar Classics.”
The last day of the month will continue to bring the heat, with PSP getting ToHeart2: Dungeon Travelers and a whole mess of adventure games and Initial D Street Stage moving onto “The Best” lines for both PSP and PS3. Also becoming great for PS3 is Senjou no Varukiria, or Valkyria Chronicles. (Well it’s about time.) PS3’s lineup is rounded out by tennis title Power Smash 4 and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.
Check the periodic sales updates to see how well these games do on the charts.
