Archive for September, 2006
Square Enix wants more 3D Final Fantasy remakes on DS
Cubed3 noticed Square Enix’s RPG developers want to make more 3D remakes of 2D classic Final Fantasy games for the Nintendo DS, now that Final Fantasy III is finished (and coming out for the first time outside Japan on November 14th in the US).
1UP: The Wi-Fi features in the game — I haven’t really been able to use them much, but they seem to be based largely around Final Fantasy IX’s Mognet. What are some of the advantages of using the communication function of the game?
Asano: The Wi-Fi features allow players to communicate with other people, or to use Mognet to communicate with NPCs in the game, which lets you unlock special features in the game. The onion knights, which was originally the default job in the NES version, can actually only be unlocked through the wireless feature.
1UP: Playing through FFIII DS, it reminds me a lot of FFIX. The look and feel of it…. I feel like you’ve created something with an excellent sense of the classic Final Fantasy feeling. So I have to ask — if the opportunity arose, would you want to use the game’s technology to create remakes of other classic FFs, or maybe even original titles?
Asano: Hopefully, yes!
Tanaka: Given that the game has been received very well here in Japan, we’ll make something along the same lines.
This is further confirmed by Gamesradar asking: Article continues »
2 comments »Wii Opera browser a free download worldwide until June 2007
Opera Software today announced details on its browser for Nintendo’s soon-to-be released game console, Wii. Opera’s full Web browser is available for download from the “Wii Shop Channel”. Nintendo has stated that they will offer Opera free of charge as a temporary promotion for all Wii users until June 2007.
With support for Flash and AJAX-based content such as Google maps, Wii users will benefit from a feature-rich Internet experience that is uniquely customized for the Wii. Opera for Wii boasts the same complete standards support as the Opera 9 Desktop browser, and includes the added functionality of “Zoom” and “Bookmarks”. The Wii remote control will also be an integral part of browsing, allowing users to intuitively control the Web with their Wii remotes. Take a look at what it looks like running on the Wii:
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PSP gets new colors in Japan: silver, pink (after black, white) and shows off yellow, red, blue, army green
After launching the PSP in black last year and introducing a white color PSP earlier this year, now Sony showed new color variations.
Earlier this year, Sony Europe announced the release of a pink PSP on October 27, 2006. Now Sony Japan will follow, as it showed off a pink version of the PSP on the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) show floor last week. However, SCEJ is doing Japan one better, as a silver PSP was also on display. Both the silver and pink versions were confirmed to hit the Japanese market sometime soon.
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New video game releases week 39
Here’s a list of this weeks US game releases. All the websites are listed for you to check out.
Monday:
Baten Kaitos Origins (GCN)
Battle B-Daman: Fire Spirits! (GBA)
Disney’s Little Mermaid: Magic In Two Kingdoms (GBA)
Disney’s The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure (DS)
Dora the Explorer: Dora’s World Adventure (PC)
Family Feud (PC)
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (GCN, PS2)
Hidden Expedition: Titanic (PC)
Hollywood Posh Pets (PC)
Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (DS)
NBA 07 (PS2, PSP)
NBA 2K7 (Xbox, PS2, Xbox 360)
NBA Live 07 (PC, Xbox, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360)
Pacific Storm (PC)
Paparazzi (PC)
ParaWorld (PC)
Pony LUV (PC)
ShopMania (PC)
Tuesday:
Backyard Basketball 2007 (GBA)
Backyard Football 2007 (GBA)
Barbie: Diary Mysteries (PC)
Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2007: 10th Anniversary Edition (PC)
Caesar IV (PC)
Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA (PS2)
Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Max’d (PS2)
Harlem Globetrotters World Tour (DS)
Import Tuner Challenge (Xbox 360)
Just Cause (PC, Xbox, PS2, Xbox 360)
Mage Knight: Apocalypse (PC)
Mage Knight: Destiny’s Soldier (DS)
MotoGP (PSP)
Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 (GCN)
Spectral Souls (PSP)
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2)
Wednesday:
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker (GBA, DS)
Unfabulous (GBA)
Friday:
DEFCON (PC)
Bubble Bobble Revolution (DS)
Rainbow Islands Revolution (DS)
Rockstar announces LA Noire detective game
Rockstar Games today announced a partnership with Team Bondi (formerly supported by Sony) to publish the ground-breaking next generation crime thriller L.A. Noire. Developed by Team Bondi, a new Australian based studio founded by Brendan McNamara, of The Getaway. In this case next-gen meant the game’s a PS3-exclusive.
L.A Noire is an interactive detective story set in the classic noir period of the late 1940’s. L.A. Noire blends action, detection and complex storytelling and draws players into an open-ended challenge to solve a series of gruesome murders. Set in a perfectly recreated Los Angeles before freeways, with a post-war backdrop of corruption, drugs and jazz, L.A. Noire will truly blend cinema and gaming.
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Dolby surround sound details for next-gen
Dolby Laboratories confirmed formal support for both the PS3 and Wii last Friday. The Sony PS3 gets Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound support for games (up from Dolby Pro Logic II) and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround for Blu-ray movies.
The Nintendo Wii gets Dolby Pro-Logic II support (same as GameCube) which is 5.1 surround sound (where available).
For reference, Dolby Digital 5.1 interactive encoding for games is built into the Microsoft Xbox 360.
TGS booth by booth breakdown and attendee numbers
GameSpot has just posted a text breakdown of the major TGS booths by all the major publishers, from Square Enix to Microsoft & Sony to Capcom to Koei. Keep reading for the full breakdown.
Before that though, let’s talk some numbers. It has been revealed by Japan’s Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association that the attendee numbers for TGS this year were triple that of E3, although the reason for that has to do with the fact that TGS is completely open to the Japanese public while E3 is largely an “industry-only” event.
While the Los Angeles convention where E3 is held drew about 60,000 to the city’s convention center in May 2006, Japan’s largest gaming event saw 192,411 walk the halls of the Makuhari Messe September 22-24.
By comparison, 2005’s TGS clocked in at 176,056 visitors. Broken down by day, there were 39,645 visitors on this year’s business day (the first day, which is open to press and media only), 84,823 on the first general-admission day, and 67,943 on the last day. CESA also believes an increasing number of couples and families attended the event, noting that 22,883 of the 2006 TGS visitors were children, up from last year’s tally of 18,577.
TGS Booth by Booth Breakdown
Koei
The first booth most Tokyo Game Show attendees laid eyes on was probably Koei’s, which commanded a prime location directly in front of the general admissions entrance. Koei’s booth featured two huge illuminated panels . . . Article continues »
Wii launches with 1 million units in America, 30 games available in 2006
The Nintendo Wii will have one million units available on the North American launch day, according to Ron Bertram, vice president and general manager for Nintendo of Canada.
“We’re looking at a million (units) for North America at launch,” said Bertram. “When Sony came out (with their PS3 announcement), they said 400,000. If we get what we’re supposed to get, this will be our most plentiful launch in the 15 years I’ve been at Nintendo. All signs are actually extremely positive.”
The confident statement from Bertram echoes UK general manager David Yarnton’s belief in a strong launch for the Wii in Europe, who stated last week that he expected to see “more stock than we’ve ever had.”
Nintendo promises 30 Wii games will be available by December 31, 2006. “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” will be available at launch for the Wii.
The Wii will launch in America on November 19th priced USD $249.99 and in Europe on December 8th priced EUR 249 (GBP 179). Via Mackenzie
TGS game videos galore: walkthrough of the showfloor last week & best of show list
A lot of games for show on TGS are discussed in this videocast. These games from the PS3 & Xbox 360 are shown: Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega, PS3), Virtua Tennis 3 (Sega, PS3), Metal Gear Solid 4 (Konami, PS3), White Knight Story (Level 5, PS3), Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom, PS3), Lair (Factor 5, PS3), Ninja Gaiden Sigma (Tecmo, PS3), Lost Odyssey (Mistwalker, Xbox 360), Blue Dragon (Mistwalker, Xbox 360), Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (Tecmo, Xbox 360), Ridge Racer 7 (Namco Bandai, PS3), Motorstorm (Evolution Studios, PS3), Coded Arms Assault (Konami, PS3). Watch all the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) videos in one go:
A committee chaired by Tokyo University Professor Emeritus Takeshi Yoro counted votes from TGS attendees and awarded 11 games from a field of 650 titles not yet in Japanese stores for best in show status. So while Nintendo (who won a ton of game of the year awards in Japan) didn’t attend, here are the “best games showing particular promise”:
* Elebits (Konami) for the Wii
* Gyakuten Saiban 4 [Phoenix Wright] (Capcom) for the DS
* Gran Turismo HD (Sony) for the PS3
* The Eye of Judgment (Sony) for the PS3
* Seiken Densetsu 4 [Dawn of Mana] (Square Enix) for the PS2
* Tales of Destiny (Namco Bandai) for the PS2
* Blue Dragon (Microsoft) for the Xbox 360
* Heavenly Sword (Sony) for the PS3
* Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops (Konami) for the PSP
* Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom) for the PSP
* Lost Planet (Capcom) for the Xbox 360
Via Gamevideos, Japanese gamer list via CESA and Joystiq.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon crazy intro
The 7th game in Midway’s fighting series brings together every character in Mortal Kombat history, that’s over 60 playable characters! Take a look at what chaos that brings to Mortal Kombat Armageddon’s intro:
Release dates on Xbox & PS2 are: US on October 9, Europe on October 27. Wii version follows early 2007. Via Destructoid
