News roundup: It's time to take a break from playing and update this blog!

I've been a little busy recently so this is a bumper update summarising lots of different news. Since my final 'launch' items arrived I'm going to tweet KobaP today saying that I bought the game; I hope some other foreign fans have been doing the same thing!

By the way, I happen to have an extra set of preorder weapon codes (Yoshiteru/Masamune/Yukimura/Masamune/Ieyasu) which came with my PS3 edition. If you have bought the game, didn't manage to preorder the weapons and play on a Japanese PSN account, please let me know and the codes are yours. There's only one set so it will have to be first come, first served.

Edit: The codes have now been claimed, thank you!

I tested and all of the weapons are recognised across platforms; in fact, since I preordered the game on PSN and then redeemed my PS4 weapon codes on PS4 as well, I actually have two copies of Yoshiteru's element-changing weapon stored on my PS3 save now plus the spare code. So for the purpose of this giveaway it doesn't matter whether you're going to use the PS3 or PS4 version so long as you're using a Japanese account.

Celebrate the Sengoku Basara series' tenth anniversary with more commemorative goods

Two new items have been announced for fans who don't have enough Sengoku Basara merchandise in their life.

The first is a commemorative 2016 calendar which features a different warrior on each page and looks back at the selected characters over the course of the last ten years. It's priced at ¥2,000 before tax and will be widely available from the start of October 2015.

The second new item is a luxury 10th anniversary fountain pen from Sailor. It's based on the Pro Colour 500 model and features a lot of small details which pay tribute to the series. Three different designs are available to suit fans of Masamune, Yukimura or Mitsunari.

The pens don't come cheap at ¥14,800 before tax apiece. They'll go on sale in late November 2015 and the Entersis Factory website is already accepting preorders.

There's not much to report in this week's gaming magazines

I didn't post a magazine summary yesterday because Dengeki PlayStation isn't coming out until next week and Weekly Famitsu had barely any coverage at all. Interestingly Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi picked up a recommendation in the editorial team's internal ranking for the week where it came in sixth place and was singled out as a particularly noteworthy title. There was no update on the game's website either; hopefully some of the staff are taking a well-earned rest!

KobaP, however, doesn't seem to be resting at all. The Famitsu website has posted a report where he guides readers through the Sengoku Basara collaboration event which is currently running at Nikko Edomura (Edo Wonderland). It looks really fun.

Preview for the next issue of Sengoku Basara Magazine

Now that the tenth issue of Sengoku Basara Magazine has been listed on the e-Capcom store, we have a few more details about what it will include along with a glimpse at the rubber strap and cover - though I anticipate that the cover artwork will be changed at the last minute as usual.

The lead 18-page article is all about the 32 new stories in Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi, including an interview with KobaP and YamamotoD all about how they were created. The Katakura Kojuurou coverage will span 17 pages and incorporate an interview with seiyuu Morikawa Toshiyuki as well as the usual detailed character information.

The new 17-page scenario novel about Sen No Rikyuu now has an official title: Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi: Riten Daisanoe ('The Grand Tea Ceremony Cast Out From Heaven'). It tells the story of the events which caused Rikyuu to leave the Toyotomi army from his point of view, and there will be appearances by Mitsunari, Ieyasu, Sakon and Keiji. The illustrations will be provided by Ashika Nozomu once again.

It's also been confirmed separately that the upcoming chapter of the Sengoku Basara 4: Bontenmaru-hen manga is to be the finale, as I was expecting from the general direction of the story. I wonder whether they'll really go ahead and replace it with Benmaru-hen as some of the staff have been hinting?

New merchandise is revealed - exclusively for visitors to specific Marui stores this month

The Sengoku Basara series is returning to the Marui building in Kitasenju, Tokyo with a pop-up shop which opened for business this week. It closes on 18th August 2015. There will also be a similar pop-up store in Shizuoka's Marui building between 12th August and 23rd August 2015. Fans will have to be quick; as well as activities and merchandise from other Capcom titles, some special limited edition goodies will be available.

Canvas artwork of Date Masamune (¥6,000):

Four different Sengoku Basara felt mascot keychains (¥700 each):

Four different Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi clear files themed around the Touhoku, Kantou/Chuubu, Kinki/Chuugoku and Shikoku/Kyuushuu regions (¥400 each):

Four different Sengoku Basara playing card hand towels (¥1,200 each):

A set of four Sengoku Basara postcards (¥700):

There's also a special 'Date & Sanada' canvas illustration which is among various prizes on offer at the stores. Visitors who spend more than ¥3,000 using an Epos card will be entered into a prize draw, so it's likely to become a highly coveted item.

Reminder: This month's V Jump magazine can now be preordered

If, like me, you're one of those people waiting to complete their collection of element-changing weapon DLC for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi, it looks as though the upcoming October issue of V-Jump can now be preordered on sites such as Amazon Japan ahead of its release in a few weeks. This is the volume which is slated to come with a DLC code for Shibata Katsuie's dark-elemental weapon.

A chat show event is planned for fans in the Kitakyuushuu area

The next real-life event related to Sengoku Basara has been announced. Sengoku Basara ga YATTEKURU ('Sengoku Basara is COMING') is a live talk show which will be held on Saturday 5th September 2015 at the Aru Aru YY Theatre in the Aru Aru City complex in Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture. The guests scheduled to attend are Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura), Miki Shinichirou (Gotou Matabee) and series producer Kobayashi 'KobaP' Hiroyuki. Advance tickets go on sale on 8th August 2015 for ¥3,500 (plus an extra mandatory ¥500 drink) each.

The latest Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi videos

The game may be out now but we still have another two weeks of Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi video clips planned for the official website. Monday's was a Sasuke cutscene clip titled (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: Monkey Show.


And yesterday's new video was (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: Get Costumes With Tenka Medals!