The latest column over on the Oratan 5.66 site show the wondrous new HORI TwinSticks in the flesh. Despite the immense size (almost twice that of the Xbox 360 itself) they also look suitably sturdy. Considering the sticks are based off the Real Arcade Pro range, the size and build quality are hardly surprising. Unfortunately, if you didn’t pre-order these sticks then you’re pretty much out of luck as they were literally made to order for the very much eager Japanese fanbase.

Update: 4Gamer has some nice coverage for the release of the sticks as well.

The latest in the epic Perfect Grade range of model kits has hit Japanese stores. Considering the last PG kit was a few years ago, Bandai have gone a bit nuts with their latest entry, that of the 00 Raiser. Despite the crowd pleasing lights display, the engineering for the endoskeleton is always far more impressive. The 0 Raiser and and 00 Gundam can also separate, as they do in the series. Naturally, the timing of this kit’s release is suitably fortuitous as the design is exclusively featured in the almost released Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus. For those that want this, the kit costs 25,000 yen and you can buy it here. Here’s also some footage from the series of the first time the 0 Raiser and 00 Gundam dock to form the mighty 00 Raiser…

The official site is now hosting a collection of player created AI arena opponents for Silent Line Portable (there’s even a staff page too). Some of the user created AI are actually quite challenging, so get stuck in.

For the upcoming launch of Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus, a 5 metre tall Christmas tree adorned with Gundam model kits will be erected in Akihabara. The first 100 people to buy the new PSP game will have a chance to be pictured with Tohru Furuya, the voice of Amuro Rei. Furuya was also present for the opening ceremony for the 1/1 scale RX-78-2 Gundam in Odaiba, unfortunately he wasn’t allowed to pilot it (something about recent regulations on Newtypes apparently).

At 8pm this evening (Japanese time) you’ll be able to play one of the developers on Oratan 5.66. Their gamertag is “SEGA VOOT360”. The semi-regular official blog also hints at a port of Virtual On Force as well, as there have been many requests by fans apparently (this would also make sense, considering the upcoming HORI TwinSticks would be usable on that port too, making their price tage slightly less painful). Bear in mind that Force has never really received a proper port either, as Virtual On Marz was a remake effectively with a suitably dodgy singleplayer campaign too.

Niche gaming news site SiliconEra posted a veritable deluge of Sakura Wars screenshots, this time with English text. We don’t have a solid release date for Sakura Wars’ release date yet other than a vague “Winter 2009/2010”, but the English screenshots imply that the localization is coming along nicely.

The official site for Sakura Wars has been updated fairly regularly, and unlike a few other Nippon Ichi America official sites, it seems to be written by someone with a good grasp on English, so feel free to give it a read. If you’re interested in a strategy RPG with beautiful girls and stubby mecha, it’s probably worth at least a look (fans of beautiful mecha and stubby girls need not apply). Keep in mind the game we’re getting as “Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love” is really Sakura Wars 5 in Japan, as the West have never before received a localized version of the game, and presumably Nippon Ichi America doesn’t want customers getting scared off by the lack of the other four installments. It’s kind of like how America’s Final Fantasy 3 was really Japan’s Final Fantasy 6.

A few places are reporting the upcoming release of a PC only 2D shooter in the same vein as Masaya’s much loved Assault Suits games. Called Gunhound, it basically ticks many of the boxes in terms of a spiritual sequel to something like Leynos II on the Saturn. The game will be released on the 18th December either online (for 4800 yen) or on disc (for 6090 yen).

It looks like G.rev’s Senko no Ronde Duo will be receiving an Xbox 360 port, much like its precursor, sometime early next year. It also looks like there will be a collector’s edition again, which is always nice. As yet, there is no word on a Western release.

Late last week, Silent Line Portable saw its Japanese release. The official site is now also taking AI Arena Battlefield entries, so if you have a copy of the game and have already birthed an AI AC or two you should try and share your creations.

DokoGaTV recently did an interview with mecha designer Shoji Kawamori and it makes for very interesting viewing. Considering that Kawamori is very prolific in both anime and games, his take on how he went about handling the designs for Armored Core are particularly enlightening and that the use of “core” in the game title’s name is by no means an accident either. It also again shows how integrally linked mecha gaming is to the overall pantheon of mecha and that it very often has a tangible functional outcome. Separately, he talks about his early work on Transformers (or Diaclone as it was originally known in Japan) and his hand in creating possibly the most well known design, that of Convoy (or Optimus Prime). His comment about how the mecha in the recent live action Transformer’s films operate, in that they use henshin (shapeshifting) rather than henkei (modular transformation), was also quite interesting as well as being depressingly very accurate.