Gitaroo-Man hitting the road

A product posting on Sony's Japanese PlayStation site today announced a second installment in Koei's cult-hit rhythm game franchise, Gitaroo-Man.

Gitaroo-Man Live! for the PlayStation Portable is the follow-up to Gitaroo-Man, which was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002 (2001 in Japan). Expect demos of this game to be in high demand at this year's E3; the original won positive reviews in both the US and Japan, though a very limited US release helped make the game something of a collector's item.

Though the Gitaroo-Man Live! product page is light on detail, it does reveal a few new features for the upcoming PSP game. It allows ad hoc network play (though, unfortunately, does not appear to be online compatible), and players can either compete head-to-head or cooperative in the new Duet mode. The game balance has been tweaked for the PSP version, and the game's music and vocals will be provided by well-known Japanese pop stars.

When the game launches in Japan on May 25, it will retail for 5,040 yen ($42.50). Koei has not yet made any announcements on a US release.