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Ikaruga coming to Xbox Live, other shmups follow

By Spencer . September 12, 2007 . 8:05am

The Ikaruga rumor is confirmed! Microsoft announced it is coming to Xbox Live “soon” along with Trigger Heart Exelica (sometime this year) and Omega Five (this November). Also there is Castle no Shikigami 3, which is getting a full retail release from Arc System Works. Point blank shmups are coming in droves to the Xbox 360. To be fair some of these are ports and others have not been confirmed for North America. The line up is quite strong though and more importantly the door is wide open for companies like Treasure to develop new games after testing the waters with their classics.

TAGS: Microsoft, Treasure, Xbox 360

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3 Responses to “Ikaruga coming to Xbox Live, other shmups follow”

Alexander Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 11:40 am

I’m hoping Ikaruga makes it over. That game is so awesome. Besides my GC version, I still have my dreamcast copy.

Veilknight Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

About time Ikaruga finally gets confirmed for XBLA, it naturally makes for the perfect follow up to Trigger Heart Exelica’s announcement considering they both fall under the same category of being bullet hell shooters. Castle no Shikigami 3 is still up in the air, as this particular shmup will need a publisher in America since it’s going to be a retail release, but Ikaruga is almost guaranteed because there hasn’t been a single XBLA title exclusive to Japan. Being up for download on XBLA means developers can avoid the hassle of having a publisher altogether and simply release the game when ready.

After all, Yie Ar Kung Fu was originally announced as a exclusive for XBLA in Japan, and even that 2D fighter found its way to Western shores. It helps that the 360 has been pretty successful in America, while on the other hand has basically flopped in the East. If Microsoft wants to make a bigger profit, there’s no choice but to release these shmups to the market where the 360 actually has a strong presence amongst gamers

Andaryu Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 4:31 pm

I wonder if it will make it to the PS3?

>_> Sounds unlikely now….