Look, we honestly don't care what you think about the Disgaea franchise and its peculiar, thoroughly unhinged take on role playing. All we know is that if the description of its upcoming spin-off -- a side-scrolling platformer starring a tenacious, twirling penguin who, by the way, occasionally pilots an enormous tank -- doesn't do anything for you, then we'd like to ask you to leave. Leave the internet.

The internet is also where you'll find the game's official website, along with word that Prinny: Is It Okay If I Am The Main Character? is due to arrive on Japanese PSPs on November 20th. If you have a "friend" with a Japanese PlayStation Store account, you'll also want to check out the demo as of September 29th.

Resistance Retribution was a surprise hit last month at E3, and we had another chance to play it at last week's Penny Arcade Expo. With more playtime, however, come burning questions that need to be answered. Thankfully, Sam Villanueva, Senior Designer at Bend Studio, was at hand to answer our queries and make sure we could sleep soundly again.

Will you be optimizing Resistance Retribution for the PSP Brite?

That's a good question. We'll be evaluating this. We're pretty deep in development right now. We'd like to optimize, but that could potentially mess with launch time. If we can do it without affecting the date our game comes out, we will.

How does the game fit into the series?

Retribution fits nicely between Resistance 1 and Resistance 2. It's a continuation of the European campaign, whereas Resistance 2 is the start of the American campaign. You are James Grayson and you're going in to destroy another Chimeran tower. We wanted the story to deal with some pretty deep, dark stuff. Lots of drama and mystery. The game starts with your brother being infected and you're forced to kill him, for example.

Is there a multiplayer mode?

Absolutely. We've got lots of cool multiplayer stuff which we'll be announcing soon.

Purchasing this month's episode of Qore unlocks the door on the Motorstorm: Pacific Rim Rift demo when it actually releases on Sept. 11. It also includes an "exclusive" LittleBigPlanet theme. Beyond that, it's a relatively quiet week on the PSN, but it is worth checking out the Pure demo. The details about this week's PSN update can be found after the break.

Those rugged stallions over at PS3 Fanboy have the details on this week's European update. Why "rugged stallions?" What happens at PAX, stays at PAX, friends.

Despite a higher percentage of broadband penetration in Europe, and the introduction of a PC-based PlayStation Store for the PS3-less, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has still opted to wrangle up the bits of some of the PSP's download-only titles for UMD distribution in themed "packs".

The first two packs (there are "more Collection Packs to be released throughout 2009") are the Puzzle Pack – cramming the mischievous Lemmings with the excitable Go! Sudoku and Go! Puzzle – and the Power Pack – an odd grouping of Syphon Filter: Combat Ops, the more contemplative stylings of flOw, and the rhythm-happy Beats. The Puzzle Pack is slated for a European debut in "mid" October while the Power Pack will come along right behind it, in "late" October. We've asked the fine folks at SCEA to comment on a North American release so, until then, let's just assume this is Europe-only.

We're starting to head into the holiday season, which means our collective capitalist guilt tells us it's time to start thinking about the less fortunate for five seconds as we spend $4 on a Frappuccino. Electronics trade-in site VenJuvo.com is now offering its Trade4Cause program. The program appears to be fairly painless: Pick your console from the list (we did the PS2), get a quote on its value ($35), choose the charity from the dropdown menu to receive the donation, print the shipping label, pack and send. The company tests the product once it's received and donates the payment on your behalf to the charity.

Another nice touch is that if the charity you're looking for isn't on the company's list, there's also the option of filling in the organization's information. Obviously, we're big fans of Child's Play, but there are plenty of other worthwhile gamer-centric causes out there. VenJuvo also has a no-cost recycling program for products that qualify, just in case you're looking to be charitable to our little planet this holiday.

You gotta tip your hat to modern medicine. It just five short days the diagnosis of PSP Brite's battery life has gone from dim to, um, serviceable. PSP hardware marketing director John Koller dropped his latest prognosis on PlayStation.Blog today, assuring all that his original evaluation was incorrect. "The new PSP will have equivalent battery life to the current PSP," Koller writes. He estimates:

• 4-6 hours for games
• 4-5 hours for UMD movies

Well then, looks like we'll be returning that Nyko snake oil we bought last week. And does this mean we can stop storing our PSP in the freezer?

Sony Japan has announced release dates for several PSP titles that all eyes (or in case of Patapon, "eye") have been on. Dissidia: Final Fantasy will sneak in right before Santa Clause shows up on December 18. Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam and the rhythm soldiers of Patapon 2 Donchaka will march in November 20 and 27, respectively. No word yet on North American or European release dates.

Meanwhile, Final Fantasy Agito XIII looks like it's still a long way off from coming to a Sony portable near you. Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura explains the game isn't expected to release until after PS3's Final Fantasy XIII and Versus arrive. In short: We're looking at 2010 or later before Agito's release. Will the PSP, as we know it, even exist at that point?

Someone at Sony is trying way too hard. Can you believe an ambitious young stooge has dared to decipher the mysterious toggle on the left side of the PSP? And wouldn't you know, the thing's a Wi-Fi switch! Now all hell's broken loose at Sony HQ, as the discovery has ushered in a new era of brite possibilities for the handheld. Imagine: shopping for themes and wallpaper directly from your PSP. It's true folks, PlayStation Store is coming to PSP sans hand holding (so long PS3, so long PC!) this fall in Japan -- probably worldwide, PSP Fanboy speculates. And there's a free game in it for anyone smart enough to flick the "on" switch.

But that's not all. Sony has announced (and pictured) a new Infrastructure mode, enabled by connecting PSP to Playstation 3 ... wirelessly. In essence, ad-hoc multiplayer modes will become online-enabled through a PS3 connection for some games (like Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G). In addition, text and voice chatting capabilities can be added through the new online mode. Add to this the rumor of PS3 gamepad support for PSP Brite, and Sony might as well slap a UMD drive on the next PS3 SKU.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Wow. We know we talked about it in our weekly new games post, but the fall is in full swing. We're featuring 17 big releases this month, and we didn't even have room for all of the ones we wanted to talk about. Is the first time we're going to go broke in September?

By the way, we're not complaining.

Like PlayStation? Like doughnuts? PS3 Fanboy loves both, so a PlayStation Blog PAX meetup at a local doughnut cafe in Seattle seemed like a match made in heaven. Check out the PS3 Fanboy photo gallery from the event, which shows off the many attendees, competitive WipEout Pulse players (one of whom won a MGS4 PS3) and swag. Did we mention there were many free and tasty doughnuts as well?

It was an easy enough mistake to make, really. After forty-eight hours of driving, the exit to Tacoma, Washington, looks terribly similar to the exit to Seattle. Eyes made weary from two straight days of travel could easily confuse a radio tower for the Space Needle. The absence of a Starbucks on every street corner should have been a dead giveaway, but my typically keen observation skills weren't at their sharpest following my lengthy PAX-bound pilgrimage. Yes, unrelenting fatigue had brought me to Tacoma -- but some other force, be it fate or coincidence, had arranged for the 2008 Packs Convention to kick off in tandem with my accidental arrival.

I would later discover that the Packs Convention (or PacksCon, as their annual attendees have affectionately nicknamed it) was not, in fact, a video game expo hosted by the creators of a certain wildly popular webcomic. It was a celebration of portable textile containers; an unparalleled trade show for backpacks, fanny packs, attache cases, satchels, purses, man purses, handbags, duffel bags, gym bags, totes, luggage, and rucksacks. Booths lined the halls of the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, representing major players in the industry and their experimental designs. Though not my intended destination, I was fortunate enough to witness the future during the past 72 hours -- and the future involves edible briefcases.

It wasn't until I was halfway through yesterday's Jansport panel that I had realized the mix-up. Cursing my ambitious travel arrangements, the PacksCon administrators, and the concept of homonyms, I began to wonder if there would be a major gaming convention this year that I wouldn't miss out on. However, I found some small amount of solace in my newfound knowledge of the textile container industry -- and, following a number of grief purchases, how incredibly easy it was to store my belongings for the long trip home.

- DS Lite: 55,995 22,671 (28.82%)
- PSP: 47,604 16,809 (26.10%)
- Wii: 35,173 17,863 (33.68%)
- PS3: 9,020 2,373 (20.83%)
- PS2: 8,420 1,748 (17.19%)
- Xbox 360: 3,551 3,807 (51.74%)

[Source: Media Create]

See: The travel-weary archives

It happens to all battery-operated devices that burn too bright. They die so young. Oh PSP Brite, it was just 3 short hours ago when we powered you on, cradling your Slim body in our palms, eyes numbing from the vibrant images dancing upon your screen. And then, you went dark. (Well, that's how we're imagining it at least.)

PSP know-it-all John Koller has diagnosed the new PSP model with short-term battery disorder. Koller estimates PSP Brite will burn through its charge 20-30 minutes faster than current PSP-2000 series units. That's not a good thing, you know. Luckily, Sony's bringing back "the bulge" (the now-discontinued extended battery) to combat the crippling disorder. We hear playing close to a power outlet also helps to ease the symptoms.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Das Gamer has posted a thought-provoking piece on the current (gloomy) state of PSP outside of Japan, where game releases on the platform can be heard grinding slowly to a halt. The site spoke with games industry analyst extraordinaire Michael Pachter, of Wedbush Morgan, for his thoughts on the root cause(s) of the situation.

Pachter says that the platform's troubles began early on. "PSP struggled to have marquee titles at the beginning, and it's costing it in the long run." The recently announced "PSP Brite" will do little to help things, in his opinion. "Constant tech tweaks and upgrades might work for telephones, but they're not what gamers want," he said, adding "It creates confusion, and leaves many users with older models feeling inadequate."

The real problem according to Pachter, however, is general mismanagement of the platform out of Sony Japan, who he says is, "Instructing the US to play catch-up with Microsoft on Xbox Live, step up its online game with Home, offer movie downloads and push the Blu-ray home theater initiative just to begin with. Something had to give. The company has been spreading itself too thin." That "something," according to Pachter, is the PSP. It's a great piece of hardware, sure, but without key software titles – the lack of which at E3, apart from Resistance: Retribution, was staggering – it will continue to run on fumes. But for how long?

[Via PSP Fanboy]