Sony announced this week that it will be releasing a new SKU for it’s Playstation 3 line that will include Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, a DualShock 3 wireless controller, and an 80GB version of the PS3 for only $499.  An amazing deal.

It seems the big game retailers have already responded; Best Buy and Gamestop have since removed the 80GB version of the PS3 from their websites.  One would only suspect they did this in preparation for the massive customer interest in the MGS4 bundle near the game’s supposed launch in the 2nd quarter of this year.

For those who’ve been holding out to buy a PS3, this is probably what you’ve been waiting for.

PS3 Bundle with MGS4 (via Playstation Website)

By Joshua C. Harris

NYU’s Asian / Pacific / American Studies Department is hosting a special screening of works by the renouned anime director Shinichiro Watanabe, 6:30pm tomorrow at NYU’s Cantor Film Center. His series, Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, are two enduring titles in the anime world, both heavily involved with music and influenced by Western culture.

This screening of episodes from Samurai Champloo, and the feature-length Cowboy Bebop movie, will also feature a panel discussion following the screening.

This event is FREE and open to the public. RSVP HERE.

By NYT

It’s long been common knowledge that Hollywood big wigs are huge fans of Anime. An upcoming Dragon Ball adaptation is taking things further, and now Variety sends word that Warner Brothers is remaking Akira. Katsuhiro Otomo’s post-apocalyptic epic is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential pieces of Japanese animation in history. It was certainly many a young Westerners’ first glimpse of Anime back when it was released stateside in 1989.

The remake will come in two parts, each based on Otomo’s original manga, with a controversial twist: the story is now set in “New Manhattan” instead of “Neo-Tokyo.” With first time director Ruairi Robinson, producer Leonardo DiCaprio, and executive producer Katsuhiro Otomo himself attached for a speedy 2009 release, fans will find out soon enough whether the beloved story will be lovingly retold, or raped and pillaged for a box office buck.

WB takes franchise turn with ‘Akira’  (via Variety)

By Jesse Mann

For those who’ve been wondering just how exactly Otaku culture managed to jump continents and spread like a super-deformed candy-fed virus, your chance at enlightenment is at hand. Roland Kelts, the author of Japanamerica, will be stopping by at the New York branch of Kinokuniya Book Store to share some insight and sign some books to mark the release of his book in paperback form. But that’s not all, kids! There will also be a reading and discussion panel featuring Tokyopop manga artists Hiroki Otsuka (Boys of Summer), James Barry (Warriors) and Melissa DeJesus (Sokora Refugees). Not enough, you say? Well, how can you resist a cosplay contest? There’s one of those too! You may want to bring a camera.

When and where: Kinokuniya Book Store - Wednesday, February 27^th, 6pm - 2nd floor near Zaiya cafe

More information HERE.

By Justin Keesey

N+ (a nifty new game out for Xbox Live Arcade, and coming soon for Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable) isn’t your average ninja game. You’re not cutting through swarms of robots or monsters or even trying to stealthily make your way through a mission undetected. Instead, N+ is all about agility and finesse as you find the quickest route to the exit, nabbing small pellets (for a time bonus, naturally) as you go. I imagine if Toru Iwatani had created Pac-Man as a ninja instead of a round, yellow…thing, this is what might’ve been the result.

You can also download, or play right in your browser, the original flash game on which the console versions are based HERE.

By Stewart Smith

Just today, word of a collaboration between Nintendo and Bape has hit the proverbial streets. Naturally, this comes in the form of a specially designed DS Lite, as the above pic (courtesy of High Snobiety) illustrates. Being that the DS is a must have gadget for Japanese and Americans of all ages, already available in myriad colorways, is it really much of a surprise to see this collaboration? We think not. High Snobiety also reports on a custom DS collaboration between Fragment Design and Honeyee, which, unfortunately, is not nearly as cool. What next? Maybe Shepard Fairey can design us a DS Lite: Obama Edition!

Bape X Nintendo DS Lite (via High Snobiety)

By NYT