January: Two massive releases this month: Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii and Devil May Cry 4 on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Smash Bros. is out on the 24th, DMC4 on the 31st. There isn't much of a delay between the Japanese and Western releases of these games (the U.S. and will get them both in mid-February), but a fortnight feels like a long time when contemplating games of this caliber and I'll do my best to remind everyone back home in the UK that I'm playing Smash Bros. Brawl when they don't even have a release date to look forward to. (What is Nintendo of Europe's deal?) Smash Bros. seems almost certain to become the best-selling "traditional" Wii game in Japan, and the TV ads have begun already.
Sonic Team's classic remake NiGHTS Into Dreams will be in shops across Japan on February 21st.
February: February is all about NiGHTS' comeback as a PS2 remake, which should in theory be the definitive version of the game. The 21st is the day that NiGHTS returns, and after the relative disappointment of Journey of Dreams on the Wii I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with the true NiGHTS, especially as it will be prettier than ever before. If you visit this page on Sega's Japanese site, it's easy to see the graphical improvement of PS2 NiGHTS' Brand New Dream over the original Sega Saturn Dream mode. Heck, the core game is eleven years old and still looks better than Journey of Dreams. And the limited edition "Nightopia Dream Pack" is bound to have Sega fans in a frenzy of nostalgia, even though it appears to be nothing more than the standard game bundled with a book of NiGHTS illustrations. (Of course I'm going for the LE.)
