Round-Up: Xbox 360 Japan, Non-Union Voice, Trollz Alert

Author: by Nich Maragos, Simon Carless

Today's round-up includes information on a vital Microsoft Japan event dealing with the Xbox 360, opportunistic voice acting services advertising non-union talent, and Ubisoft's latest landmark Trollz game, as well as today's product news and the latest Gamasutra job postings. - According to consumer website IGN, Microsoft will host an Xbox 360 event in Japan on July 25th designed to debut the product in that territory. The event will focus on Japan-developed games for Microsoft's next-gen console; already-announced titles such as Blue Dragon and 99 Nights will be on display, as well as yet-unrevealed games. The Xbox Summit 2005, as the event will be called, is invitation-only and will last from 1:30 to 3:00, Japan time, in Tokyo. In addition to the games, Microsoft will reveal other details of its plans to strengthen its presence in the Japanese market, its weakest point during the Xbox's lifespan. - As the Screen Actors Guild talks continue, with the SAG initially accepting game companies' offer of a 36% increase and then turning it down, game producers seem to be turning toward more opportunistic sources for their voice acting needs. Interactive Voices, a voice acting service based out of Toronto, is advertising its non-union talent pool in particular to an industry currently unable to use the striking SAG work force. Claiming "talent of equal caliber with less strings attached," the agency may represent a tempting alternative to some should the controversy continue. - Ubisoft has announced Trollz: Hair Affair for the Game Boy Advance. The title, based on the new-school girl-friendly troll dolls with big hair, stars popular female Trollz such as Amethyst, Sapphire, Onyx, Ruby, and Topaz. Hair Affair's storyline tasks the Trollz girlz with a mission to go back in time and stop the boyz from being framed in school, resulting in their expulsion and enrollment in hair-free military school. The game will be available in fall 2005 in North America. - Also updated today: product news including the confirmation of plant simulation and modeling tool natFX 3 for 3ds Max from Bionatics, the announcement of In-Fusio's mMAP Mobile Media Solution for mobile phones, and the latest job postings from companies including Factor 5, Midway Games, Resource Management Group, Rockstar San Diego, and Surreal Software.