Tecmo details upcoming game plan

Tecmo held the latest in its seasonal media briefings today in Tokyo. The Tecmo Press Conference 2008 Autumn media event saw new game announcements and more from a publisher that has been troubled of late with lawsuit and buyout talks.

Taking the stage at the start of the conference was Yasuharu Kakihara, Tecmo chairman and, following the recent resignation of president Yoshimi Yasuda, newly appointed president. Kakihara explained that Tecmo is currently in the middle of the 5 year "Tecmo Visionary 2010" management plan that it outlined in 2006.

While not making any mention of Square Enix's recent buyout offer, Kakihara did touch upon one part of the company that has recently been in the headlines: Team Ninja. The team behind Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, now headed by Jin Hasegawa following the resignation of its former outspoken manager Tomonobu Itagaki, has three titles in the works for a Tokyo Game Show unveiling, Kakihara revealed. While not sharing specifics, he described the games as action titles targeting the worldwide market.

Following Kakihara's introduction, the event moved on to presentations for three titles: Winds of Nostalgio, Argus no Senshi Muscle Impact (known in the west as Rygar: The Battle of Argus), and a previously unannounced sequel to DS Kyotaro Nishimura Suspense.

During the Nostalgio presentation, Team Tachyon producer Keisuke Kikuchi revealed a release date for the RPG, which is being produced as a collaborative effort with Red Entertainment. The title will arrive on November 6, carrying a price of 5,800 yen. Tecmo is planning a Tokyo Game Show showing for the game, and will also be offering a pre-order bonus in the form of a soundtrack CD and artbook.

One of the two Winds of Nostalgio bonus items.

The Argus presentation, hosted by assistant producer Yasuaki Takahashi, failed to produce a release date for the long awaited PS2 to Wii port. Takahashi did show off a playable version of the game as he introduced the previously announced Muscle Mode. Separate from the story mode, this mode puts players up against monsters through 30 stages of play.

Argus will go playable at the Tokyo Game Show, Takahashi announced. As for a release date, he said that a release is close and hinted at an announcement of some form at TGS.

Rygar's Wii debut is almost at hand.

The final game for the show was that sequel to Kyotaro Nishimura Suspense. Fully titled DS Kyotaro Nishimura Suspense 2 New Detective Series: Kanazawa, Hakodate -- Extreme Cold, Shadow of Vengeance," the game is once again being produced by Masahiro Shidara and supervised by author Kyotaro Nishimura. As suggested by the title, the game's setting has moved from the original's Kyoto setting far to the north.

Shidara revealed that the original sold 220,000 copies following its October 11, 2007 release, with over 45% of that going to players in their 30s. This time around, they're hoping to increase the game's appeal to players outside of that age group. A release is set for November 13, priced at 3,990 yen.

Nishimura himself made an appearance at the event. During a sit-down interview session, the 78-year-old author joked that the reason for the switch to a northern setting is that criminals usually escape to the north.

Outside of these three titles, Tecmo unveiled a major promotion that it has planned for the Tokyo Game Show. Models Rika Sato, Yuko Ishida, Asami Kikuchi and Watanabe Shiho will appear at the Tecmo booth as Tecmo Supporters, lending their faces to game PR and stage shows.