Not to rest on their laurels with the super-awesome MLB 2K7, the folks at 2K Sports have announced today the their brand-new baseball title The BIGS has gone gold today and will officially be shipping next week (June 26th to be exact).

Sporting a completely different take on major league baseball video games, The BIGS is an over-the-top, fast-paced experience heavy on speed and power ups. Are you thinking “this is just Slugfest ‘07?” Well, don’t. The producers have emphatically stated that they do not consider the game based at all upon that franchise. Which is good - believe you me.

You can check out our preview here very soon, based upon my chat with the game’s developers today. In the meantime, you can be assured that the game looks incredibly interesting, especially considering the wide variety of platforms on which it will appear. It’ll hit the next generation (Xbox 360 and PS3), current generation (PS2), waggle generation (Wii), and handheld generation (PSP).

Namco Bandai has announced Tales of the World Radiant Mythology (man, that’s a mouthful) will be making its way to the PSP this summer. (You can all let out a collective “whoo hoo” now). I know Pete, our resident Tales fan will be ALL over this one the moment it hits stores. There isn’t a great deal of information readily available at this time, but here’s a brief synopsis stated in the press release. Hit the link below to read more and to check out our gallery and featured gameplay trailer.

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The garage sale known as Sony’s price drop extends to European consumers on May 4th, only a month after price cuts in the U.S. Big brother always seems to get the best toys first, but eventually ends up sharing with everyone else. The PSP will retail for £130 / €170. Sony’s sudden generosity suggests the PSP is failing internationally, and it’s time for desperate measures. While the company would say connectivity with the PlayStation 3 is the main reason for dropping the price of the PSP, it’s obvious the popularity and dominant sales of Nintendo DS systems has forced Sony into swallowing their pride. They should hope the same fate won’t befall the PS3.

Not only has the hand-held unit become cheaper, but more platinum titles are emerging as well. UMDs are also growing wildly unpopular. If Sony doesn’t put more effort into supplying more quality games, the PSP may become the next VCR, and a once powerful gaming machine will be the next purchase at a dollar store.

Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) and its American presence, NIS America, have built a huge reputation over the past couple years as the torch-carriers for the 2D RPG fan, with Ar Tonelico recently offering a great dose of traditional, albeit excellent, action; lots of interactions with cute girls; and an item creation system that is simple and fun.

Here’s a quick look at a handful of titles coming out this year…

Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos (release date: April 24, PSP). Here’s what I hope will happen, this game will rock the PSP like the previous NIS games were supposed to. We need more solid, 2D RPGs on the PSP and I’m crossing my fingers that this will be it (and we know there’s a killer app coming too, more on that below). From the site: “Long, long ago, battles were waged with blade and spell. The lush island of Aedis was constantly submerged in bloodshed. Eventually, this hatred and anger gave birth to an entity known as Mugen, which brought an end to all things. Mugen’s dark lightning scorched the land, split the earth, and shattered the vessels of life. The few survivors fled to an ancient relic, the Otherworld Tower. As they entered, some descended into the earth, while others climbed to the heavens. Some, however, still had faith in their land, and remained in Aedis. Thus has the legend this world has passed down. Now they call it a fairy tale, a mere child’s fantasy.”

Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm (release date: May 29, PS2) is the 3rd in a series of alchemy RPG games by Gust. With a strong focus on item creation and good old-school battles, the 3rd time may be the charm for this great series. From the site: “Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm tells the story of two young adventurers, Edge and Iris. They accidentally discover a fragment of a magical book that can grant any wish, once all 8 pieces are brought back together. On their quest to find all the pieces, they are joined by a rag-tag team of alchemists and warriors.”

Soul Nomad (release date: August 2007, PS2). Is this Disgaea 3? All kidding aside, the trailer makes this look like an awesome SRPG. From the press release: “This latest project from Nippon Ichi Software combines the infamous grid-based strategy engine of Disgaea with the deep game play of a traditional style RPG for a new and unique experience. Crime apparently pays well as players are encouraged to steal, abduct, and kick villagers in the butt to get what you want.” Consider this on my most anticipated list!

Dragoneer’s Aria (release date: summer 2007, PSP). Another PSP RPG coming our way. According to the press release: “Developed by Hit Maker, Dragoneer’s Aria takes advantage of PlayStation® Portable’s advanced hardware providing an compelling story telling with flawless transition between adventure and battles. Players can now battle enemies as a team through PlayStation® Portable’s ADHOC function. Up to 4 players can play at the same time.”

GrimGrimoire (release date: June 2007, PS2). According to the press release: “The fantasy real time strategy game (RTS) is scheduled to release in summer 2007, and is co-developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Vanillaware. In the game, players will take on the role of Lillet Blan, a young magician who is admitted to a prestigious yet mystical magic school; however, on the 5th day of school, everyone mysteriously vanishes. Lillet, awakens the next day to find out she is once again living out the first day of school; however, her memories from the previous days are intact, giving her the opportunity to solve the mysteries behind the disappearances and prevent the tragedy from occurring.” Definitely check out the trailer for this one, it looks amazing.

Disgaea PSP (release date: summer 2007, PSP). Not only is this the Disgaea we know and love, but there is additional content and a new multiplayer mode!!! According to the press release: “Gamers will now be able to play their favorite game on the go. And premiering with the North American release, Disgaea® PSP will feature a multiplayer mode, enabling players to pit their armies against each other. There will also be a brand new Geo Cube feature, which will alter the rules of battle, bringing a brand new element of strategy to the game, and spicing up player vs. player battles. A new story mode has also been added, allowing players to play as their favorite vassal.” Will this lead to perhaps some SRPG presence on Xbox Live with multiplayer? I’ve long thought the future of the 2D SRPG was on places such as Xbox Live where downloadable content would be available at intervals and where there could be human against human battles. It looks like even players who have put more than their share in to the original will have some new things to play with on the PSP version.

Note: all content taken from the NIS America website: http://www.nisamerica.com/