A few days ago, SEGA did an online video broadcast talking about the remaining games in their Model 2 Collection (of which the classic Virtual On is one). The important information is that the remaining games will be released on February 13th for 800 yen or 800 MSP a piece. The slightly odd and saddening aspect to this is that, unlike the other games in the collection, these last two games will be released in Japan only. Now it’s not clear whether this just means limited release or that the games will be regioned too. Naturally we’ll know for sure when they’re eventually out in the wild.

Whilst we weren’t very happy with the Zone of the Enders HD Collection, one of the main reasons for this was done to the appalling framerate that crippled the games (especially the second). However, Konami have made the collection available for download via Xbox Live and PSN. At a pretty reasonable 3,600 yen it’s not badly priced but more importantly the fact that you’re installing it to your HDD may alleviate some of the framerate/loading issues. Currently this is Japan only but what with the dire American voice acting in the Western release, that’s the only version you should be buying anyway.

On January 29th, Archer Arios and Gundam GP-03 will be added to the Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost roster. As you may know, these two units were previously released as DLC for the PS3 version of Gundam Extreme Versus. The units themselves felt very much like they were made specifically for the sequel, so it will be interesting to see how well they both perform with their intended gameplay mechanics.

In addition, Bandai will be releasing a Robot Damashii version of the Extreme Gundam (Type Leos) Xenon Phase unit found in Full Boost on April 13th. Obviously taking cues from G Gundam units, the Extreme Gundam Xenon Phase is aesthetically similar to the GF13-017NJII God Gundam in this particular evolved form. I’m sure we’ll see the rest of the Extreme Gundam forms as the year continues.

At the recent Nintendo Direct, Satoru Iwata announced a new Monolith Soft RPG for the WiiU tentatively titled “X”. For those of you who may not know, Monolith Soft recently worked on Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii and other “Xeno” RPGs including the Xenosaga series, Xenogears, on top of Super Robot Wars OG: Endless Frontier. If you recall, previous Xeno RPGs featured controllable mecha called Gears the protagonists used to fight off their enemies. This new project seems to give the mecha (tentatively known as Dolls) more utility outside of combat and basic travel to include traversing the world in different modes including the usual mecha mode to a wheeled vehicle, all while engrossing the player in the game’s massive scope. As a huge fan of the Xeno series of games and Xenoblade Chronicles (which I spent around 120 hours on my first playthrough), I am really looking forward to how this game will play out. Also, Hiroyuki Sawano of Gundam Unicorn fame will be composing the soundtrack to X.  Hopefully we can see more information regarding this game and how well ingrained the mecha are in the lore, but until then please watch the trailer below.

The next DLC pack for the PS3 version of Gundam Extreme Versus has been announced. On February 7, players will be able to download the MBF-P01-Re Gundam Astray Gold Frame Amatsu and the AMX-011S Zaku III Custom for 500 yen each. This will be the first time we see any of these units grace the Gundam Versus series and have a unit cost of 2000 and 1000 respectively. We’ll be looking forward to seeing how well they mesh with the already massive lineup of mobile suits. This pack should be the last of the new wave of DLC units to hit Gundam Extreme Versus since the recent release of the Best version last December. When you get a chance, make sure to check out the DLC video announcement below!

As of tomorrow Rev 3.15 will be rolled out for Senjou no Kizuna, the newtorked Gundam game with the amazing cockpit setup. The notable additions to this revision, bar balancing tweaks, are two new mobile suits; the RX-78-5 Gundam Unit 5 and MS-09RII Rick Dom II. The former was featured nearly 10 years ago in Meguriai Sora (or Encounters in Space) on the PS2 as part of sidestory campaign. Seeing it here again is a welcome sight. It was based on the 5th Gundam from M-MSV. It’s still impressive to see Senjou no Kizuna keep on getting this kind of support, as the hardware it uses is awfully dated now.

If we’re honest, when we saw the sample limited edition boxart for the forthcoming Macross 30 weren’t exactly all that impressed. However, we now have the official box art (shown above) as penned by Hidetaka Tenjin. It looks really rather lovely and if it weren’t for the godawful limited edition skins, we’d probably buy this version just for the boxart. The game is still on track for its February 28th release and you can pre-order the limited edition boxset here

There’s a quick update over at Famitsu for the upcoming Super Robot Wars UX. Featuring Mazinkaiser SKL (pictured above) as well as Tobikage, the game does look pretty dated compared to the recent PSP offerings. We’ll still be getting this obviously, along with the limited edition 3DS too most likely, but we do feel that Banpresto are milking the GBA/DS tech and assets a bit far here.

In the mad rush towards the end of last year, we neglected to mention that the excellent Carnage Heart EXA had been picked up by Natsume for a digital release in the West via PSN. No details on when this will happen (except “early 2013”) or how much it will cost but this is still resoundingly good news. Especially as EXA was received very well in Japan when it was released back in 2010 and it’s just nice to see Artdink’s classic mecha series still trundling on.

Famitsu has a piece on the forthcoming Gundam Breaker game. Explaining how you can kitbash mobile suits together, as killing enemies drops their model parts which you can then use later. Despite showing all manner of in-game shots, we also get to see some of the arenas now too. The interesting omission in all of this is the fact that the Vita version is no longer mentioned, leaving only the PS3 game. However, the official site still lists both platforms. In any case, we still have no word one when this will be released (bar sometime this year) nor how much it will cost. That aside, the game has an interesting premise and we’re definitely curious about it still.