Earlier this evening in Tokyo, Microsoft held a media presentation showcasing the company's efforts in bringing role-playing games to the Xbox 360. Microsoft Japan General Manager Takashi Sensui opened up the meeting by reassuring the crowd that Microsoft was dedicated to the RPG, Japan's most popular genre. The games presented included Tales of Vesperia by Namco Bandai as well as Infinite Undiscovery, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and The Last Remnant, each from Square Enix. The Japanese market will also be receiving localized versions of BioWare's Mass Effect and the upcoming Fable 2 from Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios.

Tales of Vesperia is the thirteenth game in the long-running "Tales of" series, the first in the series on a high-definition platform, and the first in the series to launch "nearly" simultaneously in North America and Japan. Tales of Vesperia should hit stores in Japan on August 7th, and sometime in August in North America. European gamers will have to wait until 2009 for their copies.

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tri-Ace's Infinite Undiscovery

Microsoft has partnered with Namco Bandai in producing a special edition "Tales of Vesperia Premium Pack" hardware bundle that will include an Xbox 360 console (with hard drive), a copy of the game, a custom faceplate, and other extras that include a replica of the original game script. The special edition system bundle will retail for 36,000 yen (about $335 U.S.) before taxes.

Square Enix's Infinite Undiscovery is an Xbox 360 exclusive, and will be available in North America on September 2nd, 2008 and shortly thereafter in Europe and Japan on September 5th and 11th, respectively. The Last Remnant, another original property from Square Enix, will be launched worldwide this winter. While this title isn't strictly an Xbox 360 exclusive, it will be available on that platform first, and dates for its release on the PlayStation 3 haven't been revealed. Star Ocean: The Last Hope, which takes the "Star Wars" approach as a prequel of sorts to the first three Star Ocean games, will be coming in 2009. No specific release date was mentioned.

Be sure to check back soon for previews and developer interviews from the Microsoft Xbox 360 RPG premiere.