Update: Giveaway has come to a close, folks! Thanks for entering and be sure to keep an eye on your email!

We have a nice little bit of Joyswag set to unload on a few lucky readers, courtesy of our friends at TOMY. Up for grabs is one grand prize featuring a copy of Naruto Ninja Council 4 ($30 ARV) and a Crimson DS Lite ($130 ARV), and two runner-up prizes each featuring a copy of Naruto Ninja Council 4. Not too shabby, eh? To enter, follow the easy steps below:

• Leave a comment telling us who your favorite Naruto character is
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
  
• Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day
  
• This entry period ends at 11:59 am ET on Monday, June 29
  
• At that time, we'll randomly select one grand-prize winner to receive a Crimson DS Lite ($130 ARV and Ninja Council 4 ($30 ARV), and two runner-ups who will each receive a copy of Naruto Ninja Council 4 ($30 ARV)
• For a list of complete rules, click here

Do you have the day off? Why not take a quick vacation down to Miami ... Law. Miami Law. On the DS. There's a demo on the Nintendo Channel, we mean. Okay, that didn't work. We'll start again: "Oh, hey, look, there's a demo for Miami Law on the Nintendo Channel. Let's all download it."

Promisingly, the demo is labeled "Vol. 1." We have yet to try the demo to see if it's a good thing, but there seems to be more coming!

It's been a while since we've seen you on PSP, Naruto -- and it looks like you've grown up. PSP will getting its own fighter based on the Naruto Shippuden series later this year, courtesy of Namco Bandai. According to IGN, Naruto Shippuden: Legends: Akatsuki Rising will feature a simplified control scheme that allows players to easily create "ultimate combos" with two support characters and easy-to-use Jutsu attacks. In addition to an Ad-Hoc versus mode, there will also be two-player co-op.

The story will take players through the Gaara Retrieval arc while the titular Akatsuki Mode will let you play as the Akatsuki organization. It looks like Naruto fans will have a lot to look forward to.

[Thanks, David B.!]

The makers of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Forest, CyberConnect2, are planning to unveil something soon. At the moment, we don't know what that 'something' is; however, we will know that info within the next four days when this countdown off the CyberConnect2 website runs out. It's interesting to note that since making the .hack titles for PS2, CC2 has shifted its focus onto Naruto titles for both the PS3 and PSP in 2008.

The impending revelation could be related to either Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3 or Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Forest for the PSP (the only two titles from CC2 in 08'). It's possibly related to DLC for either title, or it could be something completely different. We'll keep watch. In the meantime, discuss.

[Thanks erico316!]

The makers of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, CyberConnect2, are planning to unveil something soon. At the moment, we don't know what that 'something' is; however, we will know that info within the next four days when this countdown off the CyberConnect2 website runs out. It's interesting to note that since making the .hack titles for PS2, CC2 has shifted its focus onto Naruto titles for both the PS3 and PSP in 2008.

The impending revelation could be related to either Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3 or Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Forest for the PSP (the only two titles from CC2 in 08'). It's possibly related to DLC for either title, or it could be something completely different. We'll keep watch. In the meantime, discuss.

[Thanks erico316!]

Chances are, if you're an anime fan, you've picked up the PS3-exclusive Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. The most recent game by Namco Bandai has rightly deserved its fair share of attention due to the fantastic graphics crafted by the CyberConnect 2 team. The secret behind the new graphics is surprisingly simple: add more polygons.

Take for example the Naruto character model. In the PS2 Naruto games, the rascally ninja contained 3,723 polygons. However, for the PS3 iteration, he's made up of 16,927. His face alone takes 4,013 polygons, making his face more complex than the entirety of the PS2 model.

As hardware gets more powerful and tech gets better, we wouldn't be surprised if animation studios just used game engines to render episodes. Heck, we wouldn't mind watching real-time generated episodes of Naruto using this game engine.

If there's one thing we love in our demos it's disembodied Republic Commando heads. But if there are two things, they're disembodied Republic Commando heads and bitter, cruel irony. Take, for instance, this morning's announcement of an Xbox Live demo for Naruto: The Broken Bond, which included the following line:

"Not available in Asia."

Really? Asia loves Naruto. Did you know that Sakura Haruno was recently elected mayor of Asia? It's true. So, denying them the demo just seems ... mean. In fact, we're not even sure the game's being released in Asia! Of course, North America never got Pepsiman, so we guess it all works out in the end.

Here's a fun fact: Did you know that The Broken Bond will support 30 different Naruto characters and be the first and only Naruto game on a gaming console to feature online multiplayer? Did you also know that we spend too much time researching The Broken Bond in an effort to lengthen this blog post? Well ... we did.

[Thanks, yanya]

Massive HDD installs are back in fashion for the fall season. Leading the charge is PS3-exclusive Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm's 3.9GB doozy. According to Gamers Platform, who are currently playing a retail build of the game, the install takes about 15-20 minutes. You might want to clear up some space if you're planning to pick up the game on November 4 when it finally hits stores.

If you've got limited space on your hard drive, then you must be looking out for other titles with mandatory installs. Here's a brief list of other popular fall titles which have the space-eating "feature": LittleBigPlanet (500MB), Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (1GB) and Fallout 3 (4.3GB).

In addition to a stunning new trailer, a recent blog post on the PlayStation.blog revealed that PS3's exclusive Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm will feature post-release DLC, which will add additional support characters and missions to the game. While Namco Bandai is usually notorious for their overpriced DLC offerings, we're surprised to hear that it'll be all free. Seriously. "It will mostly focus on new support characters and missions and best of all, it will all be FREE!" If the beautiful graphics and exclusive PS3 support haven't convinced you, perhaps this announcement will.

Ultimate Ninja Storm is available next week.

Update: DLC schedule, after the break.

Surprise, surprise. A Namco Bandai game with DLC? The hotly-anticipated Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm will be getting DLC in the form of "Storm Packs." Thankfully, if you want to get the first DLC pack for free, all you have to do is pre-order the game at GameStop (or EB Games). According to the site: "Reserve Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm and receive a code to download Storm Pack 1. Storm Pack 1 contains the new Ultimate Mission and gives you the ability to unlock the legendary First Hokage as your support character in battle."

You may not be terribly excited about some of this week's releases, but it's safe to say we can all agree on one thing: there's a lot of them! My Japanese Coach may actually hit this week, as well as Korg DS-10. What'll you be buying?

• Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs
• Bratz Girlz Really Rock
• Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer
• FIFA Soccer 09
• Korg DS-10
• Littlest Pet Shop: Garden
• Littlest Pet Shop: Jungle
• Littlest Pet Shop: Winter
• Lovely Lisa
• My Japanese Coach
• Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2
• Prey the Stars
• Rock Revolution
• Smart Girl's Party Game
• Tak: Mojo Mistake
• Ultimate Card Games

We probably don't need to say too much about this game. It's only about a month away, but this new trailer still amazes us. Strangely, it will be available in the US before Japan even gets it. Why? It doesn't have a release date here.

Seemingly every high profile video game gets a Limited Edition these days. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm is no exception. The gorgeous PS3-exclusive anime fighter will be getting its own primo pack. It'll come packaged in a deluxe SteelBook™ (it's really trademarked) case featuring alternate artwork with a protective slip cover. Each Limited Edition bundle will include an exclusive soundtrack music CD featuring 18 original tracks, an individually numbered limited edition Laser Cell™ depicting Naruto and Sasuke in battle, and two exclusive limited edition collectible cards. The Limited Edition will go for a $10 premium, with a retail price of $69.99. It will be available through GameStop, Best Buy, GameCrazy, Amazon.com and other select retailers this November (not October, as previously announced).

Download to PSP

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm made a big splash when it launched its debut trailer a few months ago. The visuals were simply unparalleled by other cel-shaded games at the time. A new batch of videos released by Namco Bandai have us squinting, bewildered by the dazzling visuals on display. Ultimate Ninja Storm looks absolutely fantastic, there's absolutely no doubt about it.

There are a number of videos released, and we're working as quickly as possible to get them uploaded to you. For now, enjoy this one video of Tsunade's battle -- and then check throughout the day for more videos as they're ready. Update: Two more videos added.