Square Enix launches "variety" TV show in Japan

Japanese RPG giant Square Enix is set to branch out into yet another area of the media - with the launch of a new TV show on popular station TV Tokyo in early April, called Heavy Metal Thunder and hosted by popular idol Yoko Kumada.

The show is to be announced today at a special public event in Tokyo's Shibuya district, which will feature a live chat between Yoko and a selection of unnamed guests, as well as a performance by popular Japanese rock band Sex MachineGuns, who play the theme song for the show.

It's an intriguing new move for Square Enix, which also plans to announce a game based on Heavy Metal Thunder - although how exactly that will work is as much your guess as ours, frankly.

The company has previously branched out into other media areas such as manga publishing (with the hugely successful Spiral and Fullmetal Alchemist series) and animated TV shows (Fullmetal Alchemist again, and the Final Fantasy Unlimited show).

The first episode of Heavy Metal Thunder will broadcast on TV Tokyo at 1am on April 6th - what would be a graveyard slot in the UK, but is actually a popular late-night slot on Japanese television, with many popular shows airing after midnight.