Excuse me while I weep quietly into my hands. See, I am not in Tokyo right now enjoying the XBLA riches that flow forth from Japan. And that is why I hate Eurogamer so much.

Not only do they get to play games filled with exiting, extending, shooting, more shooting, and even trigger hearts (whatever those are), but they decided to post up their impressions just to rub it in my face. That's right. To spite me. Specifically.

Damn them.

[via Eurogamer]

We already heard that E4 won't be coming to the US until Q1 2008. Now, Kotaku has confirmed that Rez HD, and Ikaruga will be joining the fray (in the US) around the same time (Q1 2008).

On one hand, I am disappointed that I won't get my hands on these games before the end of the year. On the other hand, I am already so backlogged with games that the thought of adding more to my plate is scary. Oh yeah, and there's a certain game that I might be playing quite a bit of very soon.

Luckily, we can take comfort that Ikaruga's new visual bar is "head and shoulders above the original." I guess that's a good reason to be patient. Then again, January would be much better than March.

[via Kotaku]

A preview for Every Extend Extra Extreme (aka E4) has popped up on 1UP. It seems music can be streamed off your HDD which will be automatically beat-mapped for your extending and extreming pleasure. There will also be a more geo-wars-addict-friendly mode that actually involves shooting as opposed to blowing yourself up.

While that all sounds good it's not the truly newsworthy tidbit. Here is what they say about a release day for E4:

Japan is first to throw down the E4 beat, but the game should be stateside by Q1 next year.

Could this be the first region specific XBLA launch? To my knowledge, no game has been rolled out successively in different regions like this. And why do this to a game with little to no text to translate? Is this a sign of things to come? I certainly hope not. I need more Miz in my life. And soon.

[via 1UP]

In an effort to bring you as much content in as short a timeframe as possible I have decided to take a massive collection of links and dump them all onto you straightaway.

Long story short: Kotaku invades Q Entertainment, they grill Tetsuya Mizuguchi (hilarity ensues), they see Rez HD, Every Extend Extra Extreme, and the Holiday Pack for Lumines Live!, and they take lots of photos. Enjoy!

Hands-on with Rez HD here. Now, with more impressions.

Lumines Live! Holiday Pack details here.

Q Entertainment's HQ in photo form.

And finally, The Miz justifies his "life theme" (aka Rez).

[via Kotaku, thanks Blue Falcon]

"...let’s go to synaesthesia."

A strange command, but perfectly suited to Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Rez. Soon, many who never got the chance to experience the original will be treated to a remastered direct port of the original with an HD makeover and Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

Now that the game is finally confirmed, the media has begun to flow like wine at a Bacchanalian feast. Admire the rich chocolatey undertones (and hints of oak) in these screens for Rez HD.

Are you prepared for "the ultimate audiovisual experience?"

(Click for full size)

Full Press Release after the break.

Okay, so we all know now how wrong I was about the Brutally Fun site. However, it was not a total loss. Alongside the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 2 was a bevy of Japanese themed XBLA games that are coming.

And guess what is among them? Ikaruga. It even says "available soon."

As awesome as it is to hear Ikaruga's solidly confirmed (not that we didn't expect it), I must say the surprise story for me is the announcement of Rez coming to XBLA. Then again, maybe it shouldn't surprise me after all.

The full list of mentioned XBLA games is as follows: Every Extend Extra Extreme (Q Entertainment), EXIT (Taito), Ikaruga (Treasure Co. Ltd.), OMEGA FIVE (Hudson Entertainment), Rez (Q Entertainment), Triggerheart Exelica (Warashi), Braid (Number None Inc.), Castlecrashers (The Behemoth), and Schizoid (Torpex Games LLC).

I'm too tired to say anything else of value, so just read the details after the break and let all this all sink in.

News Flash from xbox.com after the break.

[via xbox.com]

No, Lumines Live! hasn't turned into some game where you have to shoot hordes of invading aliens to save Earth. Q Entertainment has hooked up with Live Earth. Genki Rockets (aka that Heavenly Star girl) will be performing at Live Earth and Q will turn a portion of your DLC purchases into a charitable donation to combat global warming.

Purchase the Tokyo Club Mix Pack (aka SOS Charity Campaign Pack 4 skins, 350 MSP) between June 27th and July 17th and pat yourself on the back. A portion of your purchase with be donated to "climate protection NGOs and causes." Sure that sounds vague, but who cares? You're experiencing the music of the Tokyo Club scene and saving the world to boot! So, put down your digital guns and start dropping blocks.

For those heartless types out there that like the idea of an impending ice age, there are other ways to give Q your money without helping out Mother Earth. Arriving along side the Tokyo Club Mix Pack are the Booster Pack (20 skins, 600MSP), four Gamerpic Packs (5 pics/pack, 100MSP/pack), and a Lumines Theme (150MSP).

Full press release after the break.

Computer and Video Games is reporting that Mizuguchi of Q Entertainment will be unveiling a new title at GDC 07. Q Entertainment previously released Lumines Live to the service. Although their previous release was controversial, there is no doubt that this is one of the best titles available to date. It will be interesting to see if this is a totally new game or a port/semi-port of a previously released game. This breaking news comes less than a week after the latest EGM's rumor section contained a rumor that Mizuguchi's Every Extend Extra and Rez will be coming to XBLA. In addition to these rumors, I do recall a Space Channel 5 rumor from a few months ago.

What game do you hope Q Entertainment will bring to XBLA? Would you like a "retro" title, a new title, or one of their recent games (Gunpey, Meteos, Every Extend Extra)?