Though third-party console exclusives are an endangered species, first-party titles remain in fairly abundant supply. One of the best-regarded PlayStation 3-only games is Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, developed by Crash Bandicoot studio Naughty Dog. After receiving solid reviews in 2007, the game sold over 507,000 copies on Sony’s console. That’s despite the third-place installed base of the PS3, which took the bronze again in October US sales, according to the NPD Group. (The game is also included in the recently launched 160GB PS3 bundle.)

Despite the not-quite-stellar sales, Uncharted is getting the sequel treatment. Today, two sources revealed new details about the Tomb Raider-esque archeological action-adventure’s follow-up, titled Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Game Informer teased its January edition, which will feature the game as its cover story. According to the Minnesota-based magazine, which is owned and published by retailer GameStop, the sequel will be an all-new adventure focused on 13th-Century Venetian explorer Marco Polo.

Polo became famous for his books recounting his travels across central Asia and time in the Beijing court of Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. The explorer’s route might explain the snowy setting for Uncharted 2, a teaser trailer for which has appeared on GameTrailers. The 30-second cinematic shows now-series hero Nathan Drake, bloodied and exhausted, wading through snow on a mountainside to recover a mysterious dagger. The original Uncharted featured a tropical locale.

According to the teaser, a “world premiere” for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will be staged during the 2008 SpikeTV Video Game Awards. The awards will be broadcast on Sunday, December 14 at 9 p.m. EST/PST. The ceremony will also sport the first footage from Fight Night Round 4 from Electronic Arts.

However, the title was actually renamed Aquanaut’s Holiday and released in Japan as a Blu-ray only title this September. Yes, September; three months ago. And if you can believe it, the game already supports the English language in the Asian release.

Just like Afrika, Sony Japan don’t think the title will be saleable across the water, even despite the intrigue and interest displayed after early PS3 press conferences. You’d think Sony would support their own in-house developers.

Perhaps it will be left to the National Geographic to release it for PlayStation 3 gamers worldwide.

Come take a look at the Space Stage of Spore! Get a taste of Spore’s Space Stage in this video featuring brand new gameplay footage as well as an in depth interview with Producer Kip Katsarelis. Spore available in stores September 2008.

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The Spore Team proudly presents the E3 2008 trailer.