SEGA of America on Friday announced plans to bring the hit anime fighting franchise Bleach to both Wii and DS this fall in time for the launch of the television show's second season on the Cartoon Network. Bleach: Shattered Blade is underway for Wii and Bleach: Blade of Fate for handheld.

"Bleach offers both fans and newcomers alike an action-packed arcade experience that delivers fast-paced swordplay in the tradition of the animated series' intense action sequences," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president of marketing, SEGA of America. "Bleach is an exciting and highly anticipated property that translates extremely well to the versatility of the Wii Remote and the DS' portable gameplay, and SEGA is proud to be the first to bring the video game series to the North American audience."

"We are thrilled to be partnering with SEGA for the Bleach Wii and DS games," stated Linda Espinosa, vice president, content management, VIZ Media. "The SEGA games have enjoyed immense success in Japan, the manga is a top seller in both Japan and the U.S., and we are expecting great fan response when these games release."

Bleach follows 15-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki, who can see Soul Reapers, warrior spirits from the afterlife charged with the task of defending humans from evil beings called Hollows. One day Ichigo meets the Soul Reaper Rukia, who lends him her powers. On Wii, Bleach is a cel-shaded 3D fighter that makes use of both Nintendo's nunchuck and remote. On DS, the game is a more traditional 2D sprite-based fighter heavy on animation and effects.

In Shattered Blade, the console enables "gamers to wield the Wii remote and nunchuk as their weapons - slashing, jabbing, and lunging in furious battles like a real Soul Reaper," according to the publisher. The title features an original story specifically created for Wii, in addition to 32 playable fighters to choose from. Each fighter can execute specials and summon supernatural allies. There is also a full-fledged multiplayer component.

The handheld Blade of Fate includes 28 selectable characters and the ability to move between upper and lower-plane battles arenas in an effort to escape from opponents. In addition, gamers can build Spirit Card Decks in the handheld iteration, enabling them to "strategically access power-ups and power-downs to perform special attacks, cast healing spells on themselves, displace opponents, or prohibit them from using their own Special Cards," according to SEGA. The title features four-player Wi-Fi support.

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LG Electronics has announced it will begin offering mobile phone handsets with an integrated YouTube client later this year, enabling users to tap into the Internet's largest video sharing community. According to LG, the application will enable users to discover and view video, as well as upload new video directly to YouTube.

"This new service will connect people like never before. For the first time, LG customers will be able to film, upload and view videos on YouTube using their mobile phone just as they would be able to from their home computer," said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, in a release. "With this agreement, LG is continuing to drive forward wireless internet services as well as consolidate its technology leadership in the mobile industry."

The agreement isn't the first between Google and LG, LG announced an agreement to pre-install Google software on mobile handsets, with the LG-KS10 (currently available in Italy) being the first fruit of that agreement. LG also has agreements with Yahoo to pre-install Yahoo mobile applications and services on selected handsets.

LG says it will develop the interface for its YouTube application, and handsets pre-loaded with the software should be available toward the end of 2007. Although LG's applications ought to work regardless of carrier, phones LG markets specifically through carriers often only bundle software and services specific to that carrier, so an LG phone which offers YouTube connectivity with one carrier may not with another.

Of course, Apple's iPhone was the first to announce (and ship with) a dedicated YouTube client. Verizon also offers access to YouTube via its VCast service, although browsing capabilities and upload access are limited.

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