As part of a distribution agreement with Atlus, YUKE’S today announced its plans to publish PSP strategy RPG Neverland Card Battles in North America. Previously seen on PS2, this handheld edition of the title features updated sound and visuals presented in 16:9 widescreen, along with all-new cut-scenes, enhanced controls, and ad-hoc multiplayer modes.

Players assume the role of Galahad, a young Dominator who sets forth on a quest to defeat an evil god known as Hellgaia and save the inhabitants of Neverland from impending doom. The Dominators are a formidable race able to wield the unnatural power found in the Spectral Cards scattered throughout the land.

No real details were provided on the gameplay, but as previously stated, it’s a strategy RPG. From the looks of it, expect these so-called Spectral Cards to play a prominent role in battle sequences. Neverland Card Battles is due out in North America this fall. Hit the jump for screenshots.

Neverland Card Battles Screenshots

Microsoft Game Studios has sent word that Lionhead’s highly-anticipated Xbox 360 action RPG Fable II will hit retail shelves October 21 in North America, with a European release following on three days later on the 24th.

Fable II will be sold in two separate packages, a standard and limited collector’s edition. Retailing at $79.99, the latter features bonus in-game content, along with a bonus “making of” DVD, a collectible Hobbe figurine, five Fate Cards, and an Xbox Live Gold trial card good for 48 hours.

And just as a reminder, those Fable II pub mini-games will arrive on Xbox Live August 13, allowing players to rack up gold and transfer it to the full retail release come October.

The long-promised PlayStation Home beta expansion is rolling out soon. How soon? Sony announced today that users who download a Home branded PS3 theme from the PS Store will be automatically entered in for possible participation in the ongoing beta program. Straight from Home director Jack Buser:

Later today, the PLAYSTATION Store will be updated with a PlayStation Home theme. By downloading the theme, users are submitting an application to join the PlayStation Home Beta test community. We will be using a variety of criteria including activity on the PLAYSTATION Network to determine eligibility for the Beta community.

Existing Home beta users worry not, as your accounts will transfer over to the extended beta period. Keep in mind that this all applies to North American folks only. Over in Euro-land, SCEE will be targeting the most active users on PSN.

Want into the PlayStation Home Closed Beta test? Here’s How to Apply [PS Blog]

The SOCOM team today announced that the public Confrontation beta test, briefly mentioned back in June, will go live on September 1. There’s going to be two ways to get in on the action.

Firstly, if you pre-order the game at GameStop — online or at retail, you’ll be able to access the beta on day one. Additionally, you can share your beta access code with up to two friends.

Another ticket into the beta will be given to Qore viewers. Subscribers of the service and those who purchase the June issue will be able to download the SOCOM: Confrontation public beta from within Qore on September 8 through the 30th. Keep in mind that all of the above information applies to North American residents only. Sony plans to announce public beta details for other regions at a later date.

Public Beta info… no really! [SOCOM]

Ubisoft has announced that the original Driver will be making its way onto the European PlayStation Store next week, August 14. Developed by Ubisoft Reflections, the game follows Tanner, an undercover cop who has been given the task of infiltrating a shady crime syndicate using his mad driving skills.

Driver puts you in the driving shoes of Tanner, an undercover cop tasked with infiltrating an illegal syndicate through his impressive driving skills in a variety of cities across the globe.

Europe-only for now, unless Ubi has plans to throw this up on the U.S. store next week as well. As with most PSOne classics, it’ll be priced at €4.99.

Publisher Ubisoft has reportedly filed suit against Optical Experts Manufacturing, a disc reproduction plant located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The suit accuses the company of failing to comply with a number of security procedures, ultimately resulting in a premature leak of the PC version of Assassin’s Creed, which turned up on torrent sites nearly two months before its retail release.

Since the game calls back to Ubisoft’s servers when accessing certain features, Ubi was able to trace internet connections made with the pirated version back to an OEM employee. Following this, the employee’s residence was later searched and a copy of the game was found. Uh-oh.

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Sony has announced that its interactive PSP linguistics guide Talkman Travel will hit the North American PlayStation Store in digital form tomorrow.

It’ll be sold in three separate city packs (Tokyo, Paris, Rome), each priced at $5.99 and featuring over 100 pre-translated phrases, complete with an audio enabled on-screen pronunciation tool. Geared towards tourists and vacationers, the phrases will range from simple questions like “Where is this restaurant?” to pick-up lines such as “May I sit next to you?” and “Can I buy you dinner?”

Even though Talkman Travel has been available in Japan since forever (obviously with different languages), it’s good to see Sony finally bringing it over to the states.

Parlez-vous Talkman Travel? Interactive Travel Guide Coming to PSP [PS Blog]

Namco Bandai today announced that first week sales of its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 fighter Soulcalibur IV have totaled two million units worldwide.

An impressive figure, that’s for certain. But then again, with the winning combination of landmark figures from Star Wars franchise and female characters with enormous boobs, how could this not sell well? And of course, doesn’t hurt that it’s a good game either.

With sales like this, we have little doubt that Namco is already planning a fifth installment in the series.

Update: Looks like the deal has been shot. Price is back up to $449.99.

Mistake or not, this is one hell of a deal. Dell of all places is selling the Xbox 360 Elite bundle that includes Forza 2 and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for just $299.

If you recall, the Xbox 360 is rumored to receive a model-wide price reduction later next month. The price of the Elite is said to drop to $399, and even then, this deal at Dell is still $100 less. Might be wise to jump on this one quick — who knows how long it’ll last.

Xbox 360 Elite System - Massive 120 GB Hard Drive [Dell]

While Square Enix’s Chrono Trigger DS port is scheduled for a holiday release in Japan and North America, folks living in European territories will have to wait till “early 2009.”

Why? Believe it or not, Chrono Trigger was never officially released in Europe before, so this will be the first time Square is translating the game to PAL languages. At any rate, if waiting a couple more months bothers you, importing is always an option. Good thing the Nintendo DS is region-free.

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