Sony has called the Australian release of the PSP Go a "soft launch" amid low sales numbers. In its first week, the PSP Go managed to move only around 1,000 units in the region.

Here's a basket of goodies from the land down under. Sony Computer Entertainment Australia is happy to announce that they will be bringing two of the land's biggest sporting codes exclusively to the PSP. Come July, you will be enjoying AFL Challenge and Rugby League Challenge on your fave handheld.

It seems that New Zealand has its own game-hating Jack Thompson counterpart. Get a load of New Zealand Chief Censor Bill Hastings, who says parents who purchase violent video games for their children should be prosecuted. More in the full article.

We've got here today QuickJump QuickPeek 60 carrying the second installments of our QJ QuickGuide and How-To Series, the continuing impact of the recession on the industry, awards and recognitions to deserving names in the industry, console make-overs, and of course, the run-up week to the biggest title to hit the PS3 as of yet. Let's get this quick rundown of the past week in QJ, via our brave Weekend Warriors, shall we?

At the conclusion of Game Connect: Asia Pacific, the Game Developer's Association of Australia awarded the best game developers from Australia and New Zealand.

As Medieval II took home the most awards last year, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS, PSP) swept up this year's awards with five awards, including Best Game.

North American gamers are in for a classic-filled fun this coming Q1 of 2008 after Marvelous and Ignition Entertainment reached an agreement to bring upcoming DS titles Bubble Bobble Revolution and New Zealand Revolution Story as well as PSP game Rainbow Islands Revolution to North America.

The said DS video games are actually remakes of the original with upgraded graphics and a few level additions. Rainbow Islands Revolution for the PSP, furthermore, is a new entry in the Bubble Bobble franchise. Marvelous owns the rights to these titles and the North American versions will be published by Ignition.

"These games have such classic arcade appeal you will be looking for the slot to put your quarter. They are iconic classics that every DS and PSP system owner must have and we are honored to partner with Marvelous to bring them to North America," commented Ignition USA President Ajay Chadha.

 

Ignition Entertainment puts a new twist in the term "old school." In a recent announcement, the long time publisher of interactive software has teamed up with Marvelous Interactive in a long-term partnership which aims to bring many of its Japanese cult classic arcade games to locals here in North America.

Ignition is aiming to bring back some of the old time favorites a lot of newer gamers have yet to experience. Many old timers (you can include me in that list, sad to say) will remember gaming classics like Bubble Bobble, New Zealand Story and Rainbow Islands when they first came out on their respective consoles providing them with lots of arcade action for hours on end.

Soon, you'll be able to catch all of them in their newest incarnations for the next gen handhelds. Everyone can expect to see Bubble Bobble Double Shot and New Zealand Story Revolution on the Nintendo DS, while you can catch Rainbow Islands Evolution on the Sony PlayStation Portable.

All three games will be an exact port in terms of story content and gameplay, however you'll be blown away with some of the new upgrades all three games will be coming out with when they finally hit video game shelves. In any case, it's nice to know that Ignition is still willing to reintroduce games which would otherwise have fallen into the cracks of gaming obscurity. Hopefully, we'll all be seeing these titles soon enough on handhelds everywhere.

 He's not David Beckham, but in EA Sports' upcoming premiere soccer sim, FIFA 08, Melbourne Victory striker Archie Thompson will be the flag bearer for the A-League as it joins the FIFA series as one of the official playable competitions in the game.

Small compared to its other European counterparts, the A-League will finally get a chance at the limelight as it joins 29 other international leagues in this long-standing football sports franchise.

Also joining the roster of new leagues are Gambrinus liga of Czech Republic and FAI Premiere Division of Ireland. Archie Thompson will be carrying the name of Australia and New Zealand as their official ambassador for the game.

Thompson, perhaps most known for breaking the world record of most number of goals scored in a soccer game, was excited with the A-League's inclusion in FIFA 08. He had this to say:

I know that plenty of the boys at Melbourne Victory enjoy playing video games so it’s fantastic that we can now play as our favourite Hyundai A-League club either in a league or against other international Clubs.

Expect the release of EA Sports' FIFA 08 by September. It will be released on multiple platforms, namely the PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, DS, PSP, and Wii.

MTV has released a PSP-compatible flash game based on their reality comedy show Rob and Big. This Flash game was of course made to further promote the series, and was developed by New Zealand-based company Zodal.

In the game, players play as Rob Drydek, skating through three different levels while doing their best to avoid whatever stuff gets in their way. Along the way, players also collect DC logos. Each level also features a level boss that players have to take out by pressing certain key combinations before a timer runs out.

You can download the PSP version of the game below. Just extract and place inthecribpsp.swf into the root of your PSP's memory card and point your browser towards it. If you prefer the net-based version, click on the "via" link below.

Download: Rob and Big: In the Crib PSP Flash Game

As wee little QJ younguns, we used to love that stupid ninja who had an unlimited number of shuriken to lob around. Now, we're glad to see that The Legend of Kage has come back from the land of the dead to grace our PSPs in the upcoming American release of Taito Legends Power-Up!

A representative from Destineer Studios confirmed that the previously European-only release would be headed to U.S. shores. While this is great news for Taito fans looking for a compendium of games on their PSP, Xbox 360, and PC owners will still have to wait for any word of a Legends release for them.

In the meantime, we've listed the games that'll be part of the lineup for Taito Legends Power-Up below. Enhanced versions indicate that the game will be getting both the original version of the game and an updated game, though you can assume that it's going to be a graphical upgrade beyond anything else.

Taito Legends Power-Up Games List:

• Alpine Ski
• Balloon Bomber
• Balloon Bomber (enhanced version)
• Cameltry
• Cameltry (enhanced version)
• Chack 'n Pop
• Crazy Balloon
• Crazy Balloon (enhanced version)
• Elevator Action
• The Fairyland Story
• KiKi KaiKai
• Kuri Kinton
• Legend of Kage
• Legend of Kage (enhanced version)
• Lunar Rescue
• New Zealand Story
• Phoenix
• Qix
• Raimais
• Rastan Saga
• Return of the Invaders
• Space Chaser
• Space Dungeon
• Space Invaders
• Space Invaders Part 2