Did you know that the lead characters in Elite Beat Agents were originally inspired by the Village People? It's true. They were even supposed to be called the Disco Rangers. Thank God for rewrites, eh?

Anyway, IGN has posted a few new bits of info regarding the sequel to the popular Nintendo DS rhythm game Osu! Takakae! Ouendan! In his GDC session entitled "From 'Ouendan!' To 'HELP!'": Inside the Elite Beat Agents", VP of Development at iNiS Corporation Keiichi Yano announced that a new rival group of cheerleaders will be introduced in the upcoming sequel. Players will be able to both encounter and play these new cheerleaders.

 

Yano also mentioned that the original Ouendan cast of characters will be returning, albeit with a subtly edgier art style. Oh, and before we all forget, the sequel will be called Moeru! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashi: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, which, Yano says, loosely translates to "Burn hot rhythm soul!" Nintendo is expected to release more details regarding the sequel later this week.

Keiichi Yano didn't reveal any details regarding a possible Elite Beat Agents (Elite Beat Agents = U.S., Ouendan = Japan, OK?) sequel, but IGN says that Yano did have some hopeful words that the series may continue in some capacity, either on the Nintendo DS or on another game platform. Yano also mentioned that he is currently in talks with Nintendo about developing for the Wii.

Japan game news may not seem very relevant to an English-language game site whose audience is largely from the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and United Kingdom and Ireland, but you know that when it comes to Nintendo games, the Japanese market is something to pay attention to.

DS. Just look at Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (Go! Fight! Cheer Squad) from iNiS - it became the "instant DS classic" Elite Beat Agents,. Japan is going to get the sequel later this year, and Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Burn! Burning Rhythm Soul Go! Fight! Cheer Squad 2) promises more fun: 4-player wireless play. Where do we sign up to demand Elite Beat Agents 2?

Mistwalker's tactical role-playing game ASH: Archaic Sealed Heart will also be released this year.

Bad news. The release date for Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is no longer 2007. It's now "undecided release date" according to Siliconera.

Wii. The brain-testing game Wii Yawasaka Ataka Juku or Yawaraka Atama Jyuku (let's just call it Wii Big Brain Academy,) looks like it will be released on April 26, 2007. The racing game DK Bongo Blast (Donki Kongu: Taru Jetto Resu - "Donkey Kong barrel jet race") is another 2007 Wii game along with Wii Fitness.

According to Siliconera, these are the Wii games that Nintendo will publish in 2007:

• Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn - Feb 22
• EyeShield 21 - March 8
• Super Paper Mario - April 10
• Wii Yawasaka Ataka Juku (Wii Big Brain Academy) - April 26

TBD Wii Games in 2007:

• Wii Fitness
• Disaster Day of Crisis
• Mario Party 8
• Project H.A.M.M.E.R
• Wii Music
• Super Mario Galaxy
• Super Smash Brothers Brawl
• Battalion Wars 2 (BWii)
• DK Bongo Blast
• Forever Blue
• Mario Strikers Charged
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (We want to add that the wait for this game has been long, but it's been justifiable. We want them to take their time with making this game perfect for the Wii.)
  

Announced with an undetermined date:

• Animal Crossing
• Kirby

Get your wacky hairdos and cheerdancing superpowers into high gear, because here's some news bound to perk you right up. IGN reports a Dengeki Online bulletin about the return of iNiS' Elite Beat Agents to the DS with a sequel.

Titled Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Tamashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, or Burn! Hot Blooded Rhythm Soul Go! Fight! Cheer Squad 2, expect the game to not have as long-winded a name as its Japanese counterpart. One thing confirmed so far, according to IGN, is "the promise of multiplayer support for up to 4 players," though no additional info has been given.

Rest assured that we'll have more for you when hear about it. Till then, GO! and FIGHT!

 

And DICE is all set to roll later this evening, over at The Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson, Nevada. Yup, the 2007 DICE Summit is the event of the month that will surely have loads of goodies for all the gamers out there.

Some of guest speakers include Will Wright, Harmonix's Ales Rigopulos, Chris Taylor, Keiichi Yano of iNiS, and Doug Lowenstein. Surely interesting will be the 20 questions session with Phil Harrison of Sony Computer Entertainment. It definitely is bound to get hot in there. Have you outlined your queries yet? Make it good and snappy. There's only room for 20.

So, expect some potential game announcements, buzz from the grapevine, leakages, news, updates, and all else that makes booze at the end of a conference day all the more welcome. Keep it posted here for updates.

Remember the original "Dance Fever" with Denny Terrio? Probably not. His career was back in the days when dinosaurs wore platform shoes and tight pants and danced under the mesmerizing disco ball. Ask your folks about it. They were there. Anyway, let's move on to Nintendo's "Feel the Elite Beat Dance" Video Contest.

Starting December 14 up to January 2, 2007, Nintendo and Buzznet.com are inviting gamers to boogie-oogie-oogie and shake, shake, shake your booty - that's how they called dancing back when your folks were still cool. Inspired by Touch Generations' rhythm game, "Feel the Elite Beat" online video contest gives you and two of your friends a reason to dress in your best "secret agent" costume and dance to beat of the Elite Beat Agents.

Sure there's the big possibility your future kids will see your video and groan with the same kind of embarrassment you have for your parent's disco dancing days. But that's in the future. For now keep your eyes on these prizes:

• One Grand Prize: 3 Nintendo DS Lite systems, 3 Elite Beat Agents games, 3 "Secret Agent Kits" including a t-shirt, headphones, and sunglasses
• Two Runners-Up: 1 Onyx Nintendo DS Lite, 1 Elite Beat Agents game, 3 "Secret Agent Kits" including a t-shirt, headphones and sunglasses
• Five Consolation Prizes: 1 Elite Beat Agents game

So what you waiting for?  Start shaking your groove thing and show them how you did now. (We apologize for the 70s overdose. Just sat through a "That 70s Show" marathon.) For more info and contest rules check out Buzznet.

By now, pretty much everyone with a DS knows about Elite Beat Agents. You guys know the story: the super-secret bunch of dudes dubbed the Elite Beat Agents roam the world looking for people in need of 'rescue' in the form of an emotional boost or encouragement, and when they find such people they perform a song and dance number that supplies their targets with "groovy" energy to help them overcome their problems.

One very important question has remained unanswered for quite some time though: What songs will be included in the game? Elite Beat Agents is a rhythm game, and we all know that rhythm games can live or die depending on the soundtrack. Well, wonder no more because the question has just been answered. We present to you guys the Elite Beat Agents soundtrack!

1. Walkie Talkie Man - Steriogram
2. ABC - Jackson Five
3. Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne
4. I Was Born to Love You - Queen
5. Rock This Town - Stray Cats
6. Highway Star - Deep Purple
7. Y.M.C.A. - Village People
8. September - Earth, Wind and Fire
9. Canned Heat - Jamiroquai
10. Material Girl - Madonna
11. La La - Ashlee Simpson
12. You're the Inspiration - Chicago
13. Survivor - Destiny's Child
14. Without a Fight - Hoobastank
15. Believe - Cher
16. Let's Dance - David Bowie
17. Jumpin Jack Flash - Rolling Stones
18. Makes No Difference - Sum 41
19. The Anthem - Good Charlotte

Whoo! Nineteen songs! That's four more compared to the original game, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. Says designer Keiichi Yano, "We wanted everyone to have lots of songs to play, so we put in as much as the DS Card could hold! There are 19 songs you can play. As to how many levels are in the game, you will see in November."

Frankly, we can't wait to see what Yano-san means. Elite Beat Agents will hit shelves on November 8th.

With all of the Wii news that flooded the Interwebs, Nintendo's announcement of the release date for the funk-a-delic crackshow that is Elite Beat Agents was overlooked. To remedy the sacrilege, we proudly tell all of our readers who are eagerly awaiting the release of this title that Elite Beat Agents will hit shelves on November 8.

Remember, remember, the 8th of November, alright? On that day, you'll be able to use your mad cheering skillz to help a lost dog, a babysitter, and a lot of other folks in this cracked-up rhythm game from iNiS. So you better get yourself ready for some head-bobbing, stylus-tapping action, coz Elite Beat Agents is about to come your way.

Rhythm games have come a long way since the Dance Dance Revolution days. And it's a good thing for us too, as we get to play various versions of these entertaining diversions that call for rapid hand-eye coordination. 

Elite Beat Agents from iNiS is one example of a game falling into the "rhythm game" genre. It works like most rhythm games do: just follow the beat with your controller. Sounds pretty easy, eh? However, this particular game has a sort of CIA ring to it, as the lead characters work as secret agents.

Huh?!

We know you're probably wondering how the dancing part fits into this game. Well, to enable your characters to become the heroes of the day, you have to look for people in dire need of help, and give them a boost by dancing to a funky musical number. Yep, that's taking moral support to a whole new level, don't you think?

This head-bobbing-stylus-tapping-make-you-wanna-dance game will be available on the 6th of November for the DS. For now, we have the box cover art to give you an idea how it looks like. Stay tuned here at QJ for more updates on this swell game.