The hostesses of D3's hostess simulator Dream Club will be joined by newcomer Haruka for the new Dream Club Zero. But Haruka won't be the only new character in the Xbox 360 sequel.

Famitsu.com shared first screenshots of the new game today. The hostess select screen posted by the site shows blurred icons for two additional characters:

Haruka is second from left in the lower row.

The two characters also appear in the silhouettes in a teaser image that was posted today at the Dream Club portal. Can you figure out who's who?

As detailed this week in Famitsu, Dream Club Zero is a prequel to the original Dream Club. It's set five months prior to the original in the same "Dream Club" hostess club.

Past hostesses Amane, Mio, Setsu, Reika, Mion, Rui, Nao and Airi are all shown in the magazine, but the big focus is on Haruka. The new character, whose voice is currently being kept secret, is the heiress in a rich family. Her "self PR" phrase reads something like: "What type of delightful story will you tell me today? Hey... how long are you going to make me wait? Hurry up and make me have fun! Hey! Hey! Hey! Ha ha, just joking."

With all the new characters and the past setting, players of the original should have a lot to look forward to as far as scenario is concerned. Famitsu says to expect some new situations. Additionally, the scenario may end up cluing us into the unknown past of the girls.

Joining the returning characters, your favorite Dream Club gameplay systems are returning in improved fashion.

The IIS system, or "Interactive Inshoku System" ("Inshoku" is Japanese for drinking and eating), is a system through which you and your hostesses eat and drink together. By adjusting your drinking pace, it's possible to get your hostess drunk, although you need to be careful about not getting too drunk yourself, as you could get thrown out of the club. Zero adds the ability to drink while your hostess is performing karaoke.

Also returning is the ETS, or "Emotional Talk System". This is just a fancy name for the game's interactive conversation system. You can select your preferred topic of conversation as you speak with your hostess, but she may also end up asking you a question. Using this system, you can get to hear private information about the hostesses.

The karaoke system is being improved for Zero, with advancements in camerawork and cinematics. You'll now be able to view the hostess from the back as she sings away.

Zero also adds a number of new elements to the mix. A menu screenshot shows options for "customize shop," "customize clothing" and "view mail." The latter option lets you reply to e-mails sent from the hostesses. You'll also now be able to request hair arrangements from the girls, selecting between a number of styles.

Dream Club Zero is currently 60% complete and is set for Winter release.

Zero was actually the second Dream Club game announced in as many weeks. The announcement of PSP's Dream Club Portable, a port of the original, came last week. Now one week later, D3 has gotten around to opening a teaser site and sharing official box art:

If the pattern continues, we'll get a teaser site for Dream Club Zero next week.