This week was an exciting week for gaming, mainly in the area of game announcements. Square Enix announced that Star Ocean: The Last Hope International is coming to PlayStation 3 early next year, EA announced SKATE 3 for 2010, Atelier Rorona is currently in localization, and Way of the Samurai 3 is set for an October release.

Also in gaming news, we see the first trailer for 3D Dot Game Heroes, new trailers for Halo 3: ODST and GTA4: Ballad of Gay Tony, as well as a bunch of new screenshots for some of the most anticipated games.

Read on for this week in gaming.

Anime
• Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike gets commercial in Japan
• Japan polls in for Persona 4 anime

Box Arts
• PS3 Greatest Hits box art gets a redesign, too
• 3D Dot Game Heroes Japanese box art is epic retro

Bundles
• 250GB PS3 Slim bundle with Uncharted 2 leaked?
• Modern Warfare 2-branded 250GB Xbox 360 coming November

Calendar Check
• BioShock 2 shipping February 9, 2010
• Fallout 3 GOTY Edition dated for October, PS3 DLC starts September 24th
• PS3 version of Free Realms coming mid-2010

Clips
• Halo 3: ODST trailer walks the red carpet
• Sony R&D video three talks E3 motion control demo
• Nier RepliCant TGS 2009 trailer released
• Weazel News reports new weaponry for Ballad of Gay Tony
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 commercial hypnotizes men, jiggles [Update]
• Front Mission Evolved pre-TGS teaser trailer lands
• 3D Dot Game Heroes debut trailer is stunning

Developers/Publishers Speak
• Turbine confirms console MMO in development
• Rockstar promises Agent will be “truly spectacular”
• Bayonetta developed on 360 in-house, ported to PS3 by Sega
• Microsoft: “Ferrari exclusive to Forza 3″
• Former Uncharted designer working on Halo: Reach
• Yakuza 3 localization still a possibility, says Sega
• Enterbrain boss: Final Fantasy XIII to move 500k PS3s in Japan

Downloadable Content
• PES 2010 demo now available on Xbox LIVE
• US PlayStation Store Update: September 17, 2009
• JP PlayStation Store Update: September 17, 2009
• BUBBLE BOBBLE and Red Alert 3: Commander’s Challenge now on XBLA
• Fallout 3 Premium Theme free to DLC buyers
• Bigger Lost Planet 2 co-op demo coming to PSN
• Virtua Fighter 5, FIFA Street 3 hit Xbox 360 Games on Demand
• PlayStation 3 firmware v3.01 now live
• Insane Knight brings two new maps to Batman: Arkham Asylum

Facts and Details
• Final Fantasy XIII: Episode Zero to describe events before FF13
• First Enslaved information out of Game Informer
• Nier Replicant for PS3, differences with Gestalt explained
• Resonance of Fate characters join Twitter

Game Announce
• Way of the Samurai 3 hits US this October
• NIS localizing Atelier Rorona in English and French
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope PS3 dated worldwide (first scans)
• SKATE 3 brings skate crews to consoles May 2010
• Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype announced for PSN

Images
• Leaked ‘Halo Universe’ artwork looks good, long gone
• 3D Dot Game Heroes does female heroes, bosses
• Final Fantasy XIII scans couple Serah and Snow
• Forza Motorsport 3’s Ferrari selection in images
• GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony images are dirty dancing, skydiving
• DC Universe Online shots visit S.T.A.R., Metropolis General
• Ratchet and Clank screens are full of explosions
• FF13’s Serah Farron shown deeper in Shonen Jump

Official Sites
• 3D Dot Game Heroes website gets a makeover
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope International official site launches

Retirement
• Shane Kim announces retirement from Microsoft

Reviews
• The Beatles: Rock Band Review
• Uncharted 2, that’s a bit of a high you got there

Rumors and Teases
• Yakuza 3 confirmed for western release?
• Game Informer teases star of “epic proportions” for November issue

Sales
• Tales of Vesperia PS3 sells 147,000 units first day in Japan

Tokyo Game Show 2009
• Namco Bandai announces TGS 2009 lineup
• Microsoft announces Tokyo Game Show lineup
• Yakuza 4 complete reveal coming in ten days

Win
• Brutal Legend demo giveaway