Good news, puzzle poppers, an Xbox 360 listing for a new Bust-a-Move title has been spotted on the ESRB database by Siliconera. The new entry in the bubble-popping puzzle series is entitled Bust-a-Move Live! and ... we don't know much else about it. Given that it's on Xbox (probably Xbox Live Arcade), we would certainly hope it contains Xbox Live play. Siliconera notes that the WiiWare release, Bust-a-Move Plus, has downloadable puzzles, so it's possible we'll see them in the Xbox release as well.

Even without downloadable puzzles, Bust-a-Move is one of the better puzzle series out there, and we're glad to see it heading to Xbox 360.

If you've got a hankering for some more alien destruction with a musical twist, you'll be happy to know that some new DLC for Space Invaders Extreme has landed on Xbox Live Marketplace. Entitled, simply, Space Invaders Extreme Expansion Pack, the DLC grants players access to the original versions of Space Invaders and Space Invaders II. According to Shacknews -- though not mentioned on the XBLM description -- the DLC will also include new stages and bosses for the main game as well. The price of entry is 240.

The expected Arkanoid Live DLC arrives today as well. There are two bits of DLC, Episode Add-on Pack 1 and Episode Add-on Pack 2. The Xbox.com descriptions of the DLC are pretty vague, but we're just going to go out on a limb here and guess that each pack adds one of the two missing episodes -- the ones that are grayed out in the main menu -- to the game. Each piece of Arkanoid DLC runs for 240.

Source - Xbox Live Marketplace: Space Invaders Extreme
Source - Xbox Live Marketplace: Arkanoid Live

A set of recently-filed Japanese trademarks found by Siliconera reveal potential plans for new games by Taito. Most notably, the company trademarked the name Lost Magic: Shouryu no Kyousoukyoku, which Siliconera translated as Concerto for the Fallen. The original DS game was just Lost Magic, and the recent Wii sequel/spinoff was called Takt of Magic, so this is likely to be intended for a new game.

In addition, the company re-registered titles Darius Twin and Metal Black, which lead Siliconera to predict Virtual Console releases for the two arcade shooters. The company also registered Samurai Ninja, which is a bit of a
mystery. Taito had a game called Samurai Nihon-Ichi, and a game called The Ninja Warriors, but nothing that we could find called Samurai Ninja. How could you be both a samurai and a ninja? The two occupations seem at odds.

We may have known it was coming, but now we have a nice, official press release announcing Cooking Mama 3 for DS. 505 Games said that it will release the latest in Cooking Mama Ltd.'s surprisingly popular culinary minigame series "in time for Christmas."

The new game will feature "over 80 recipes, 200 mini-games, four player multiplayer," and "two totally new game modes." "What Dish Can You Make" mode lets you and Mama create a new recipe from two recipes you choose. "Let's Go Shopping" gives you a shopping list to buy, with confusing signs and irritating store employees trying to hinder you!

Majesco hasn't officially announced a US release date for Cooking Mama 3, but we expect a fall or holiday release here as well. It's basically Majesco's biggest title of the year!

Square Enix just sent out what may be the biggest news of the year for Taito lovers, confirming North American releases for two anticipated DS games and three more WiiWare games (in addition to Bubble Bobble Plus!, which launched this week).

Most exciting of all: Space Invaders Extreme 2 is on the way to the DS this fall. We aren't all going to have to import European copies! Space Bust-a-Move will precede it in stores, releasing on July 28.

In WiiWare, we can look forward to all the Taito games we've seen in Japan so far. Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! will be available for download on June 15. Bust-a-Move Plus!, which features 135 new levels and 270 levels from previous Bust-a-Moves as DLC, is expected later this summer, as is Arkanoid Plus!

We're looking forward to an all-Taito summer as we await the release of Space Invaders Extreme 2!

Nearly a year after we first heard about Raiden IV heading to Japanese Xbox 360s, 1UP brings word that the game is on its way to North American consoles as well. The impending release was confirmed by UFO Interactive, which released Raiden Fighters Aces to North American audiences earlier this month. As players of the series might expect, Raiden IV includes lots of shooting, explosions and explosions caused by shooting. The game is set to hit this August.

Another strange week for DSiWare arrives, as Photo Clock appears on the store, doing little more than charging two dollars for limited functionality additions to the DSi. If you were looking for a good alarm for the DSi, this could be your week! Thankfully, American Popstar: Road to Celebrity is picking up the slack and ... wait, American Popstar? What?! Forget it, DSi! We're sticking with the Wii and snagging the remake of an 8-bit classic in Adventure Island: The Beginning instead. As always, jump past the break for all the messy details.

We've been getting a lot of tips in the last week informing us that the full version of Arkanoid Live only comes with the first two episodes, despite the fact that there are four shown in the game's menu. While some have cried foul, claiming that the "full" version of the game (800) is really only half of the game, we should point out that both the trial version of the game and its Xbox.com page note that the full version contains only the first two episodes.

What is shady is the way in which episodes 3 and 4 are offered. Apparently, the only way to download the new episodes is to complete the first two, at which point the game will ask if you want to purchase episodes 3 and 4 (reportedly 400). According to a comment on this story and the Arkanoid forum on Xbox.com, the DLC is not offered upon completing episodes 1 and 2. It appears the DLC will be available at a later date. The DLC itself is not listed on Xbox Live Marketplace, so it's not surprising that many gamers are confused.

It's important to note that the extra episodes are not required to get all of the game's Achievements. Also, even with only two episodes, the full version is no slouch, containing 62 levels and plenty of mutliplayer options. We'd say it's more likely that the unorthodox nature of the DLC is the result of bad marketing decisions (remember Lumines Live?) and not a nefarious plan to bleed gamers dry.

All of our requests for comment from Square Enix (parent of developer Taito) have gone unanswered as of press time.

[Update: Clarified that the DLC is not yet available, even upon completing episodes 1 and 2.]

It's a totally exciting week for Space Invaders Extreme. First, the Xbox Live Arcade port was released in North America. Now, the DS sequel is officially headed to Europe, with Square Enix releasing this fall. We guess the company decided not to use the Space Invaders Extreme 2Remix title under which the game was previously listed. SIE 2 features a new "Beginner's Course" in addition to a weird "Bingo" system for unlocking the game's Fever Mode. New music, new power-ups, and "higher stage volume" are also included.

To help tide lucky European gamers over until fall, Taito also announced that it will release Puzzle Bobble Galaxy this summer. It's Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move, with online play and new gameplay modes, including one in which you have a limited number of bubbles, and one in which you have one bubble per stage. The first English screens of both games are available in our galleries!

If we really stretch, we can see a bit of a theme in this week's PAL downloadable releases. Both Fantasy Zone II and Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure are classic franchises known for being super-cute and brightly colored, and both titles feature locations (Islands, Zone) described by very cheery, but intangible, visions (rainbows, fantasies). We said it was a stretch. Okay, here's another, less tenuous connection: both series are totally great.

There's also one of those Master of Illusion/Magic Made Fun tricks this week.

• Fantasy Zone II (Sega Master System, 1player, 500 Wii Points)
• Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
• A Little Bit of ... Magic Made Fun: Deep Psyche (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)

It's no secret that we're big fans of Taito's DS lineup. The revamps of Taito classics have ranged from good (Arkanoid) to surprisingly great (The Legend of Kage 2) to the very best of the DS (Space Invaders Extreme). When Taito unveiled a new DS version of Puzzle Bobble (known here as Bust-a-Move), we couldn't wait to hear news of a localization.

Well, there still hasn't been any announcement, but a box art image has popped up on GameFly for what is now called Space Bust-a-Move, which is official enough for us. The Bub and Bob on the box are even competently drawn, which hasn't always been the case.

Even though previews suggest that the game didn't turn out that great, we're still too tempted by the combination of Bust-a-Move, online play, and paddle support to move this off our radar.

According to Shacknews, Taito has announced that Space Invaders Extreme will release on Xbox Live Arcade next week. Previously released on the DS and PSP, the game adds musical and graphical flair to the original Space Invaders. The XBLA version also brings the new addition of Xbox Live multiplayer (which you can see in the video above). The game is expected to cost 800.

Keep in mind that Microsoft has yet to confirm next week's release. Expect official word on Monday.

Siliconera noticed a trademark for a game called Babysitting Mama in the US Trademark Database. The last time we saw a trademark for a Mama game, it was for Pet Shop Mama, which was just a possible rebranding of what was released as My Pet Shop.

This new trademark, however, was registered by Cooking Mama Ltd., the company that develops the Mama games for Square Enix and Majesco. That strongly suggests that this trademark is intended for a new game. So Mama is babysitting now? The fast-paced, task-oriented minigame format transferred pretty well from cooking to gardening, but will it be fun when you're taking care of some kids? And just how mad is Mama going to get when she has to come in and fix your botched diaper change?

Your wardrobe could use a bit more gamer chic. One of Japan's more popular clothing brands is introducing a new line of t-shirts in collaboration with a number of gaming companies. The store is offering tees based on Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega-Man, PaRappa the Rapper, LittleBigPlanet, Resident Evil and more. The shirts retail for 1500 yen (about $15) each.

The designs are simple, often featuring very subtle references to these gaming franchises . This way, you can make a nerdy statement without actually having to look like one.

[Via Offworld]

We last heard about Takt of Magic (and first heard about Takt of Magic) when Nintendo slipped the game into its Japanese media conference lineup video. The latest Shonen Jump, as reproduced by Siliconera, finally brings another mention of the Taito-developed action RPG, revealing a Japanese release date of May 21, along with a few screens and a bit of character art.

The exact relationship between this game and the DS's LostMagic is unclear -- it could be a sequel or a "spiritual sequel." The new game, which stars new characters Charlotte and Orville, uses a gimmick similar to LostMagic's touchscreen spell input: spells are done by drawing runes onscreen with the Wiimote pointer. We'll have to wait until Nintendo says anything at all about this game to find out more.