Whoa!! Raiden III News for the U.S...

Zach Keene · Post by **Zach Keene** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:05 pm

Just noticed this got an ESRB rating recently, with "UFO Interactive" listed as the publisher.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:37 pm

Zach Keene wrote:Just noticed this got an ESRB rating recently, with "UFO Interactive" listed as the publisher.

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp
tis' true, tis' true

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 12:20 am

Zach Keene wrote:Just noticed this got an ESRB rating recently, with "UFO Interactive" listed as the publisher.

Who the hell is UFO Interactive?

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 12:37 am

Fighter17 wrote:
Zach Keene wrote:Just noticed this got an ESRB rating recently, with "UFO Interactive" listed as the publisher.
Who the hell is UFO Interactive?

From IGN:

U.F.O. Interactive is a privately held publisher based in Irvine, California. The company was established in March 1999 and concentrates on publishing videogames for Sony, Nintendo and Sega platforms.

Company Info
Web Site http://www.ufointeractive.com (doesn't work)
Address One Park Plaza, Sixth floor
Irvine, California 92614
Phone 949-833-7130 (also doesn't work, relocation)
Email [email protected]

Yes... Sega platforms...

I've never heard of them either.

gameoverDude · Post by **gameoverDude** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:34 am

This news has to be fairly recent, since the E10+ rating is quite new, with its first appearance in March 2005. UFO Interactive had published Industrial Spy (Espion-Agents) for Dreamcast. More recently they've brought out Sudoku Mania for the DS and have Hardcore Pool coming on the 15th.

The site http://ufo-interactive.com does work, but what you see there is dated with info on nothing but Industrial Spy and 7th Cross Evolution.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:44 am

gameoverDude wrote:This news has to be fairly recent, since the E10+ rating is quite new, with its first appearance in March 2005. UFO Interactive had published Industrial Spy (Espion-Agents) for Dreamcast. More recently they've brought out Sudoku Mania for the DS and have Hardcore Pool coming on the 15th.

The site http://ufo-interactive.com does work, but what you see there is dated with info on nothing but Industrial Spy and 7th Cross Evolution.

I wonder what the hell happen to XS Games.

And this publisher all of the sudden came out of no where and graped the Raiden III US rights.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:13 am

I sent them an email (knowing they won't respond or answer my questions if they do but hey...)

Xexyz · Post by **Xexyz** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 5:35 am

Alright, looks like an NA release of Raiden III is going to materialize after all.

Also, non-shmup related, but is anyone else excited about the ESRB rating proof that Hudson/Konami will be releasing Kororinpa in the U.S.? It's like a Super Monkey Ball/3D Marble Madness for those who haven't heard of it. Also, Jaleco just got R-Type III rated and Hudson got Devils Crush and Soldier Blade rated as well. A few more quality VC releases for the near future.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:12 am

Man, I can't believe how long it's been taking for Raiden III to receive a U.S. release. Americans who don't even know what a shmup is at least know about Raiden.

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:16 am

Dylan1CC wrote:Man, I can't believe how long it's been taking for Raiden III to receive a U.S. release. Americans who don't even know what a shmup is at least know about Raiden.

Unfortunately, about half of them say, "Oh. That's the guy from Mortal Kombat, right?"

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:07 am

The Coop wrote:
Dylan1CC wrote:Man, I can't believe how long it's been taking for Raiden III to receive a U.S. release. Americans who don't even know what a shmup is at least know about Raiden.
Unfortunately, about half of them say, "Oh. That's the guy from Mortal Kombat, right?"

Unfortunately, the other half say, "Oh. That's that girlie Snake wannabe in MGS2, right?"

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:01 pm

My frothing demand for this game increases.

Xexyz · Post by **Xexyz** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:50 pm

Turrican wrote:
The Coop wrote:
Dylan1CC wrote:Man, I can't believe how long it's been taking for Raiden III to receive a U.S. release. Americans who don't even know what a shmup is at least know about Raiden.
Unfortunately, about half of them say, "Oh. That's the guy from Mortal Kombat, right?"
Unfortunately, the other half say, "Oh. That's that girlie Snake wannabe in MGS2, right?"

Yeah. Maybe 9-10 years ago, when Mortal Kombat II & III were still fresh in peoples minds, and Mortal Kombat 4 was on its way to the PS1, most people would have associated Raiden with that character. Nowdays, most people associate the name Raiden with that MGS character...

Gungriffon Geona · Post by **Gungriffon Geona** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:23 pm

Turrican wrote:
The Coop wrote:
Dylan1CC wrote:Man, I can't believe how long it's been taking for Raiden III to receive a U.S. release. Americans who don't even know what a shmup is at least know about Raiden.
Unfortunately, about half of them say, "Oh. That's the guy from Mortal Kombat, right?"
Unfortunately, the other half say, "Oh. That's that girlie Snake wannabe in MGS2, right?"

That changed to "badass cyber ninja" with the MGS4 trailer. how Hideo managed to turn that character around is still mind boggling.

but I digress, I want to play Raiden 3, and I don't feel like modding my PS2 or pirating the PC version only to have no music for it.

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:01 pm

ugh.... what about the red star

Bloodreign · Post by **Bloodreign** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:54 pm

If this is so this is great news, and would complement my recent Raiden Project purchase really well.

gameoverDude · Post by **gameoverDude** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:00 pm

Dylan1CC wrote:Man, I can't believe how long it's been taking for Raiden III to receive a U.S. release. Americans who don't even know what a shmup is at least know about Raiden.

It's ridiculous how long it has taken. Raiden IV has loketested already and probably is coming to PC sooner than you think (hell, probably even PS3 or 360). It's a shame the Raiden IV page has nothing at the moment.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 11:32 pm

Gungriffon Geona wrote:
Turrican wrote:
The Coop wrote: Unfortunately, about half of them say, "Oh. That's the guy from Mortal Kombat, right?"
Unfortunately, the other half say, "Oh. That's that girlie Snake wannabe in MGS2, right?"
That changed to "badass cyber ninja" with the MGS4 trailer. how Hideo managed to turn that character around is still mind boggling.

but I digress, I want to play Raiden 3, and I don't feel like modding my PS2 or pirating the PC version only to have no music for it.

Same here; I want to play the game as well, but it is indeed ridiculous how long this has taken.

And this latest news doesn't up my spirits much, seeing as how there's no working website for UFO Interactive. Someone on this site contacted XS via phone last fall, and was told by a person who works for XS that they'd be updating their website around the begining of this year. I really wish they would!

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP · Wed Jan 10, 2007 11:48 pm

Bloodreign wrote:If this is so this is great news, and would complement my recent Raiden Project purchase really well.

oh wow..cool..u r teh sex

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:17 am

Ahem... i'm playing it on pc as we speak. Cause like... i uh... bought it and stuff. Or at least i will be buying it when it finally gets a release, but until then... screw waiting any longer. So far it's really great, a bit easy - but we all read the reviews

The music is killer! I haven't heard tunes like this in awhile...

Bloodreign · Post by **Bloodreign** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:57 am

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP wrote:
Bloodreign wrote:If this is so this is great news, and would complement my recent Raiden Project purchase really well.
oh wow..cool..u r teh sex

I know.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:04 am

The Coop wrote:
Dylan1CC wrote:Man, I can't believe how long it's been taking for Raiden III to receive a U.S. release. Americans who don't even know what a shmup is at least know about Raiden.
Unfortunately, about half of them say, "Oh. That's the guy from Mortal Kombat, right?"

D'OH! rimshot

Seriously though, MK and MGS crowd aside, wouldn't even the most mainstream and non-informed arcade player who knows at least something, anything about shmups more likely see/recognize a Raiden machine rather than a Gradius cab (not accounting the Konami code's fame of course)?

Maybe it's just because we have crap arcade selection here in most parts of ND (where the Deer Hunter and Cruisn' USA/World cabs outnumber everything 3-1, bleh), but I have never seen a Gradius cab in my life. Yet I see Raiden I and II machines a lot. For those in other areas of the country, are Gradius cabs (any title in the series) still somewhat common to find?

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:23 am

Only when it's called "ray-din" duhrrrrrr, otherwise nobody knows what a Hell you're talking about.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:46 am

Dylan1CC wrote:Maybe it's just because we have crap arcade selection here in most parts of ND (where the Deer Hunter and Cruisn' USA/World cabs outnumber everything 3-1, bleh), but I have never seen a Gradius cab in my life. Yet I see Raiden I and II machines a lot. For those in other areas of the country, are Gradius cabs (any title in the series) still somewhat common to find?

Sounds exactly like Mississippi... and for that matter, Arizona. I never thought about it but i haven't seen a Gradius cab here at any point in the last 5 years but i know of multiple Raiden cabs, even the Raiden Fighters series.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:32 pm

iatneH wrote:Only when it's called "ray-din" duhrrrrrr, otherwise nobody knows what a Hell you're talking about.

That's so true! If you pronounce it that way, there are people who know what game you're talking about. I was at a friends place about 2 years ago, and mentioned Raiden III to another friend who didn't even know there was a Raiden III-but he sounded somewhat enthusiastic about it.

@ Cirtuitface, please keep us all updated regarding any replies you get from U.F.O. Interactive. Sounds like they're in the process of moving to some new location.

In any case, there are no shmups listed as coming out for the PS2 this year; and I was hoping we'd see some!:

http://ps2.ign.com/index/release.html

Some new port could always get announced, and they still have Raiden III up there, but this just stinks!

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:49 pm

dave4shmups wrote:http://ps2.ign.com/index/release.html Some new port could always get announced, and they still have Raiden III up there, but this just stinks!

I don't see Raiden III listed on there. I do, however, see that both MSA and Red Star are listed for February 6.. but I'll believe that when I see it.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:24 pm

Kiken wrote:
dave4shmups wrote:http://ps2.ign.com/index/release.html Some new port could always get announced, and they still have Raiden III up there, but this just stinks!
I don't see Raiden III listed on there. I do, however, see that both MSA and Red Star are listed for February 6.. but I'll believe that when I see it.

My bad. I should call XS again, sometime. If they get enough calls, maybe they'll update their blasted website.

I have no intention of getting pushy or rude, but I'd like to know whether or not they've dropped Raiden III.

In any case, it certainly doesn't look like SCEA's going to relax their 2D policy despite the PS3 being out-not from the looks of that release schedule, at least. Maybe it has something to do with Business Week's projection that the PS2 will outsell the PS3 this year, and in 2008.

As far as MSA is concerned, the Wii port made it out, so I see no reason why the PS2 one won't; even on that date. SNK-P probably didn't sell as many on the Wii as they thought they would due to so many complaints about the control scheme.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 5:33 pm

Still no reply. Hell, if the phone number was no longer good then the email address may be the same.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 1:34 pm

I've been playing this on my pc for the last couple of weeks and i just beat it for the first time last night. While i can say it's not as good as Raiden II this game is definetly awesome. It's really taking me back to the Raystorm days...

I was disappointed to see that free play got unlocked the first time i beat it though.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 5:27 pm

Kiken wrote:
dave4shmups wrote:http://ps2.ign.com/index/release.html Some new port could always get announced, and they still have Raiden III up there, but this just stinks!
I don't see Raiden III listed on there. I do, however, see that both MSA and Red Star are listed for February 6.. but I'll believe that when I see it.

The official PS site (although now of dubious accuracy) lists The Red Star for 2-16 with no mention of Raiden III:

http://www.us.playstation.com/ps2/new

Metal Slug Anthology was pushed back to 3-1 everywhere, and that's reflected on the PS site too. And everybody's favorite Taito Legends 2 is still out in the middle of nowhere with a supposed release date of 3-27.