During E3, Microsoft announced that Final Fantasy XIII was coming to the Xbox 360 — but only for North America and Europe. However, the Xbox 360 was not announced for Japan. Add another country to the list!

At a recent Microsoft game exhibition in Taipei, Microsoft Taiwan's Entertainment and Devices Division head Grace Chou announced that Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360 would go on sale in Taiwan, but haven't yet decided which localized version will be launched for the Asian territories.

Nintendo has just announced that it and 54 game software companies are filing a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against companies that import "R4 Revolution for DS"-type devices, using the Unfair Competition Prevention Law as the legal grounding. Nintendo is asking for the cease of marketing, sales and importation of these Chinese-made devices. The R4 allows easy software piracy by fitting right into the DS's cartridge slot. Data is stored on a Micro SD and downloaded from websites via a flash drive, and the R4 has a small slot that the Micro SD card goes into. In a statement released today, Nintendo announced that these R4 devices "allow illegal uploading from the internet", adding that "it is causing severe damage to our company and software makers, and this is something that we cannot possibly overlook." In conclusion, Nintendo adds that such devices hurts the growth of the entire game industry and steps must be taken regarding the legality of R4 carts. It's important to note that this legal injunction is for Japan only.

Back in November 2007, Nintendo announced that it was "keeping a close eye on the products and studying them." Earlier this spring, Nintendo apparently pressured Akihabara retailers to stop carrying the popular R4 carts.

Hit the jump for a list of some of the companies who along with Nintendo have filed in this suit.

At tonight's E3 2008 Nintendo Developer Roundtable, Shigeru Miyamoto quickly and casually confirmed that a new Pikmin title is under development. His words? "We're making Pikmin." The long version of that answer, when asked if the team was planning on revisiting that particular franchise was far more verbose.

"We continue investigating all types of games," Miyamoto responded. "When it's time to announce such a title, I'll announce it." Then he did. "We're making Pikmin."

Again, that's "We're making Pikmin."

Nintendo Reveals Wii Music - A Band Game Without Plastic Instruments!

More DS Strumming - Guitar Hero On Tour Decades

In case you didn't get enough of looking completely ridiculous while strumming your Nintendo DS while it plays music, Nintendo has revealed the next version of Guitar Hero: On Tour, Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades. Details were slim on the new title...basically it was Nintendo letting us know that it was on its way ...but they did reveal that the game will feature song sharing between Nintendo DS handelds, which would mean one copy of the game has the potential to have a song the other doesn't? Could there be DS downloadable tracks in the near future? The mind boggles!

Okay, who voted with McWhertor in the E3 betting pool? Nintendo has announced that Grand Theft Auto is hitting the Nintendo DS in the form of Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars, a game built with a custom engine and set in a mondern-day Liberty City. Details were vague but the the news certainly stirred the crowd at the Nintendo E3 2008 press conference.

We've had handheld GTA before, but handheld GTA on a device that can play a game for upwards of 14 hours straight? That's dangerous.

Hit the jump for the full press release from Rockstar!

It's another one of those surprises we knew absolutely nothing about before hand! At Nintendo's E3 press conference this morning, Animal Crossing Wii was revealed to a captivated audience who haven't heard the dulcet tones of K.K. Slider in such a very long time. AC creator Katsuya Eguchi appeared on screen at the conference to announce the new title. "I wanted to create a software where players could feel like they are playing together if they are playing at different times"

Like other ANimal Crossing titles, the game has no required goals - a realistic world functioning on a 24-hour clock. Other new features involve a city you can visit with an auction site, and a chat room where players can talk using Wii Speak!

Breaking news from the Microsoft E3 2008 press conference. Square Enix head honcho Yoichi Wada took the stage to announce Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360.

Yes, just take a moment to soak that up. Final Fantasy XIII coming to the Xbox 360. Holy fucking shit. Simultaneous release in Europe and North America with PS3. Wow.

More info is being revealed during Ashcraft's liveblog of the Square Enix press conference.

Red Octane founder Kai Huang took the stage today at Microsoft's E3 2008 presser to toss out a few pertinent Guitar Hero related tidbits. First up, REM DLC is coming, and Xbox 360 owners will get first shot at it when it drops. Then Huang revealed that Van Halen and The Eagles will be completely exclusive to Guitar Hero: World Tour. No Hot For Teacher for Rock Band? Not fair.

Finally, Metallica is coming to Guitar Hero in a big way, with DLC being readied to release alongside their new album, Death Magnetic, which is guaranteed to completely make up for Saint Sinner...as if any album could actually contain such power.

The game that launched, captured, and recaptured a million ships is getting its first official sequel, 20 years after the original release. Microsoft has announced Galaga Legions for Xbox Live Arcade at their E3 2008 press conference. It looks to do for Galaga what Pac-Man Championship Edition did for Pac-Man. Considering that Pac-Man CE was on the tops of several different XBLA charts last year, we could be in for something special.

Or they could poop on a cherished childhood memory. I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

Microsoft's John Schappert took the stage today at Microsoft's E3 2008 press conference to reveal the new face of Xbox Live. Coming this Fall, your gamer tag will now be linked to an avatar, designed by the folks at Rare, who will then be customizable with any of thousands of pieces of clothing, accessories, etc., all available via Xbox Live Marketplace. What a surprise!

The avatars, much like Miis, will be playable in many upcoming Microsoft games, including Uno on Xbox Live and the new Scene-It!: Box Office Smash.

There's also a new community channel called Live Party, where you can add up to 8 friends to chat and share content, such as photos.

Yet another release date dropped during Microsoft's E3 2008 press conference as Cliff "Dude Huge" Bleszinski took the stage to show off the next chapter in the Gears of War story. After extensively showing off the game in action, Dude Huge took the stage to announce the release date for the title...Gears of War 2, launching worldwide November 7th. So we have Fable II in October, Gears 2 in November, and the Resident Evil 5 in March. It's release date-o-rama!

Fable II Coming In October

Looks like those obsessive folks who paused Lionhead's latest Fable II developer diary to see what Peter Molyneux was writing on his notepad were on to something, as Peter Molyneux announces the release month for the game at Microsoft's E3 2008 press conference, and surprise - it's October! Ah, the lovely fall season, when a boy's thoughts go to spending time with his dog and choosing between good and evil paths.

The Microsoft press conference at E3 2008 saw a game demo of Capcom's Resident Evil 5, after which Jun Takeuchi announced the release date for the eagerly anticipated title. Resident Evil 5 will be launching worldwide on Friday, March 13th 2009, except for Japan who get it a day earlier. Friday the 13th? Really? How many months do you think they pushed it back just to get that special, more-evil Friday the 13th release?

At Microsoft's 2008 E3 press conference this morning, Bethesda announced that the eagerly anticipated next chapter in the Fallout series will feature extensive downloadable content that is exclusive to the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game. No details on what the DLC will entail, but according to Bethesda's Todd Howard it will be "substantial."

Portal: Still Alive Dated 2008 For Xbox LIVE Arcade

Microsoft community manager Chris Paladino does a video walk through of Microsoft's E3 line-up. Games mentioned in the clip include: Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Rockband 2, Lips, Uno Rush, Galaga Legions and Portal: Still Alive. Wait, wait, wait. Portal: Still Alive? The game is hitting Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008. It will feature single player and "a new challenge mode." Last April, Valve's Doug Lombardi stated, "You won't see a new Portal at retail this Christmas because of that. That's the trade off. People want more, but we don't want to give them more of the same right away because that would just be boring."

Thanks Brian for the tip!

Nintendo's just announced Wii MotionPlus, an accessory for the Wii Remote. The add-on attaches to the bottom of the Wii-mote and more accurately traces motions in 3-D space by better orienting the controller. Hit the jump for the full press release details.

We expect Nintendo to divulge more at its E3 press conference tomorrow.