Japanese Xboxes getting new arcade ports

TOKYO--According to Famitsu, Microsoft's Xbox will be receiving three new Japanese game ports. Kids Station will be releasing its popular arcade shooting game The Castle of Shikigami II in April at the retail price of 4,800 yen ($45). Developed by Alpha Systems, the Xbox port of The Castle of Shikigami II will include a new practice mode where the user can freely select a stage, and play through them with an invincibility option. The game will take advantage of the Xbox live, but it is unknown if users can play together online.

As part of their Xbox-publishing partnership, Sammy and SNK Playmore will be releasing two fighting games for the console. Sammy will be porting its arcade game, Guilty Gear XX #Reload in late April--no price has been set yet. In addition to the standard arcade mode, Guilty Gear XX #Reload will also include a story mode, and also allow users to compete with each other online via Xbox Live. SNK Playmore has announced that it will be porting their NeoGeo’s SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom on the Xbox. Like Guilty Gear XX #Reload, the game will be playable against other users on Xbox Live. The release date and price for SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom is unannounced at this time.