Konami puts PSPs in check

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Jan 25, 2006 4:06 pm PT

Familiar black-and-white armies get black and blue this fall in Konami's Chess Battle.

The game of chess has endured for centuries solely on the appeal of its unfathomably deep strategic aspect, but the original sport of kings (and queens) is about to get a makeover, courtesy of Konami. At the publisher's press event in San Francisco today, it announced the development of Konami's Chess Battle (working title) for the PSP.

Scheduled for release in the fall, Konami's Chess Battle will add such modern trappings as a story mode, animated battle sequences, themed armies (magicians, cybernetic creatures, forest spirits, and more), and wireless online play with PSP owners on the other side of the room or across the country. The game will also include a speed chess mode for gamers who don't have time to ponder the infinite permutations of 32 pieces arranged on a board of 64 squares.

Konami's Chess Battle is being developed by Leviathan, a company started in 1998 that specialized in the development of corporately sponsored titles, or "advergames." For more on Konami's Chess Battle, check out GameSpot's coverage of Konami's press event.

17 Comments

  • knnth

    Posted Jun 28, 2006 12:44 am PT

    You folks are missing the point. "Battle Chess", back in the day, was the coolest-possible game of chess. It actually made people who were not previously interested in this staple of pre-MTV civilization interested in playing, and it will do so again if they really bring this to market.

    You haven't really lived until you've see a Rook eat a Queen by lifting her into the air and shoving her head-first into his stone mouth, with her legs wiggling all the way down. The strength of this franchise is that it gives the pieces personality.

  • fmcuk

    Posted Jan 26, 2006 11:31 am PT

    PSP owners don't need innovation, they just need nice graphics....
    If you see almost all the titles announced for PSP, it is just the-same-old-krap with a fresh coat of paint....
    That's why UMD movies sell more than games....
    But game publishers still think it will be as successful as PS2.... Ha!

  • DancnDude

    Posted Jan 26, 2006 11:16 am PT

    Kinda surprised that this is on PSP and not DS since touchscreen support would be great for a chess game.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jan 26, 2006 6:43 am PT

    chess on psp: $40...... chess the traditional way: $10....... hmmmmmmm.

  • Orasion_Seiz

    Posted Jan 26, 2006 12:27 am PT

    its nice to have a chess game on the psp

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Jan 26, 2006 12:21 am PT

    a chess game by Konami. I don't think i want to play it

  • Viquist

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 7:58 pm PT

    Another Konami game for PSP... WTF? I mean, I'd love to play chess on a handheld... but more like on a Dual Screen Handheld. PSP has nothing to offer to this game except graffix... whatever... Konami is smart, so maybe they know what they're doing. (I hope I don't have to eat those last words anytime soon)

  • 1nme4u

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 6:08 pm PT

    im interested...especially the infrastructure aspect

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 5:27 pm PT

    If done right, this could turn out to be a very good game.

  • Cz-100

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 5:18 pm PT

    I'd get it just for the Cybernetic Creatures peices, that's awesome.

  • Donkeljohn

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 5:16 pm PT

    Konami is hitting all of the existing game ideas: Poker, chess, comic books. . . innovation is afoot

  • a_tru_christian

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 5:09 pm PT


    $5, yeah right, u wish. i'm guessing $20-25, if its more than that than its a rip (unless the game is really awesome). looks interesting though. has infrastructure so that's cool.

  • LTomlinson21

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 5:01 pm PT

    I'd get it if its no more than $5.

  • Raeldor

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 4:54 pm PT

    Chess on-the-go and no magnetic pieces to fall in your lap. Nice!

  • 0diablo0

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 4:15 pm PT

    kinda wierd, fun with friends maybe....

  • 0diablo0

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 4:14 pm PT

    chess for the psp sound kinda wierd but could be fun with some (nerdy) friends......

  • downlink

    Posted Jan 25, 2006 4:13 pm PT

    Wow, um.... how great?

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