FF1 and 2 on iphone and touch

For those of you chomping at the bit for Final Fantasy XIII, here's a fun little surprise to tide you over: Both Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II are now available on the iPhone for $9 a pop.

The original Final Fantasy includes the five bonus dungeons, The Soul of Chaos pack and The Labyrinth of Time, added to later editions of the game. While Final Fantasy II contains the five bonus dungeons added with the Soul of Rebirth and Arcane Labyrinth pack.

Both games are also available for the iPod Touch as well.

Guss what I'm gonna be playing on my ipot touch for the next couple of weeks to months to forever.... this is awesome.

Alex

Love Plus Better Than Love?

A few days before last Christmas, a line stretched around a Tokyo bakery. The customers were waiting to buy Christmas cake. But they weren't waiting to buy just any cake.

In Japan, Christmas is akin New Year's in the U.S. — secular and spent with friends. Yes, there are Japanese Christians who celebrate the religious aspects, but the holiday does not carry the connotations of being with family necessarily. It's more of a "party" holiday, one for dates and one to eat cake with your mains squeeze.

The cake was part of a promotion for Konami's Nintendo DS game, Love Plus. The cakes, which were sold at three different bakeries in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, featured the characters from the game. But why were people getting these Love Plus Christmas cakes? There is a proud history (internet history, that is) in Japan in which folks take pictures of Christmas cake in front of a computer screen displaying some sort of dating sim. It is a gag of sorts, but there is a ring of truth to the loneliness. Konami had tapped directly into this subculture with the cakes.

Konami is primarily known for three series: Metal Gear Solid, Bemani and Pro Evolution Soccer. That is starting to change. Love Plus was released in September 2009 and was unlike anything Konami had done before. Sure, Konami had developed dating games — tons of them. But those titles focus on the beginning of the relationship — the wind-up, if you will. Love Plus gives players the pursuit, but then asks this question: You've got the girl, so now what are you going to do?

The game not only takes full advantage of the Nintendo DS hardware, but allows a player to talk, send emails and even "caress" her via the Nintendo DS's mic and touch screen. It's the combination of senses (audio, tactile, oral) that separates Love Plus from Konami's other dating sims. The fact that the game takes place in real time and uses tens of thousands voice expressions and over a hundred cutscenes makes Love Plus seem far more organic than anything to hit the Nintendo DS before it. The game's characters even change the way they speak to the player over the course of the game.

As columnist Tim Rogers pointed out, there was a stink about male players getting "too" in to Love Plus. This certainly could have been a publicity stunt. Konami even polled 500 Japanese men if they wanted to fall in love with a video game character. (Sixty-four percent said "yes"!) Likewise, the one about the guy who "married" a Love Plus character was a publicity stunt or performance art or both.

Love Plus is not alone. There are countless dating sims and PC visual novels that connect with players on emotional levels. Ditto for console titles that run the gamut of role-playing game to action game. Video games can move us. The bells and whistles of the Nintendo DS aside, Love Plus attempts to move player in the same way any video game does: Through an investment of time. By playing a game, you are giving a chunk of time, a chunk of your life to that game. What Love Plus has explicitly done like some many good dating games before it is turned that investment from the game itself and turned it into a character in that game. The appeal of that character for some players becomes undeniable, because when they look at that character, they see experiences, movements that they have spent together.

This week, Konami has announced that it will be releasing another Love Plus game with the temporary title Love Plus+ (Plus). Konami is running a campaign to collect people's names so the Love Plus girls will have a larger vocabulary to draw from. That's all we really want as humans: Someone who remembers our name, someone to eat cake with, someone to spend time with so that we don't feel alone. Love Plus in a small way offers just that.

Konami has plans to localize the game for us here in the west.

Alex

Stargate Resistance Dev Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Stargate Resistance couldn't ride to the rescue soon enough to save Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, which announced yesterday over its forums that it has sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company promises full continued support for the game, which released Feb. 10.


In a statement, FireSky, the Cheyenne Mountain in-house studio behind Stargate Resistance, said the bankruptcy filing was itself controversial within the company "and may be rescinded." It notes however that Chapter 11 provides for the reorganization of a company's debt into a manageable plan; it's not liquidation or the dissolution of a company. "Our entire staff is in-house working on upgrades and expansions for Stargate Resistance, and we continue to be motivated and excited by the response we've received from our customers."

The company's filing seems to be tied to the conduct and dismissal of Gary Whiting, Cheyenne Mountain's now former chairman and CEO. Shareholders have filed a complaint against him in Arizona court, according to a statement on the company's site. Cheyenne Mountain alleges Whiting put Cheyenne Mountain on the hook for a payment to a shell company he controls, and that Whiting's dealings with that company have also exposed Cheyenne Mountain to a lawsuit in Utah. They also say that Whiting and his company bought stock from Cheyenne Mountain and its subsidiaries but failed to honor the purchase terms or make payments.

"It is uncertain at this time what the affect of Mr. Whiting's actions and the pending litigation will have on the Company's operations and financial condition," the statement says.

Alex

Kitase Talks : FFVII Remake?

Final Fantasy XIII releases in less than three weeks, but people still can't stop pining for Final Fantasy VII, released XIII years ago. But Yoshinori Kitase, answering hypothetically, said a remake by modern standards might take XIV years to make.

Speaking to TechDigest, Kitase, the producer of Final Fantasy XIII (and director of VII) said a remake would be attempted if it were feasible to complete in a year. And that's hardly likely. His complete answer:

If it were possible that we had all the right facilities and the right environment to be able to make and prepare a Final Fantasy VII remake within a year, we'd very much like a go at it! But even Final Fantasy XIII has taken over three and a half years to create. If we were to recreate Final Fantasy VII with the same level of graphical detail as you see in Final Fantasy XIII, we'd imagine that that would take as much as three or four times longer than the three and a half years it has taken to put this Final Fantasy together! So it's looking pretty unrealistic! But if any such situation came about by any remote chance, then yes, we'd do it!

Granted, we're extrapolating his offhand calculation that a remake would take 4 times as long to create as an original on a three-and-a-half-year development cycle. The operative concern here seems to be whether Square Enix could pull it off in a year. And no, that doesn't sound likely.

Alex

VR Stuff From Edsel

So holy crap I know I haven't posted in, like, a year, but I've been researching a bunch of new stuff for all of you guys (well that, plus I'm really flippen lazy). Anyhoo, just wanted to give you the updates in the VR world for a bit. So if you read my past posts about the VR technologies coming from some of the greatest minds in science (I think most of them are GT grads...), you'll know that I've looked into mostly game related stuff. This next piece of beauty is, as far as I can tell, not originally designed for games, even though it could easily take them to the next level. I will pray for the developers who need to put up with this crap, though.



These images I have so lovingly shown before you are the new form of Virtual Reality. The completely immersive (maybe I made that word up) technology causes the user's 5 senses to all be reacting to different stimuli to make the user truly feel as though he is in the world that has been creates. Smells, feels, sights, sounds, and (according to all I have read) tastes will all be incorporated into this "Cocoon" of computer generated reality that will give the user a realistic and unique feel. Now, I think I may have posted something on this before, but I still hope that this will help all of you who find this facinating enough to program it. I know I'm just going to enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor.

Edsel

P.S. To Anonymous about the question of Neko animes. Alex will soon post about what he finds, though I can't really help you with this. Unfortunately, the only anime I have any interest in in that genre is Black cat, which I'm sure any Neko fan has already seen, but I will keep my eye out and let you know if something comes up. Best of luck and keep on enjoyin, Otkus :).

Well done!

In November, Blizzard released a Pandaren Monk in-game pet for World of Warcraft on the company's online store, with half of the proceeds from the sale pledged to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The $10 item generated $1.1 million for charity.

The Pandaren Monk, an adorable little anthropomorphic panda that follows players around as they explore Azeroth, was one of two in-game pets Blizzard introduced in early November, the first virtual items for World of Warcraft offered in the Blizzard store. Both the Monk and Lil' KT were priced at $10 apiece, but only the panda man there would split his proceeds with the Make-A-Wish Foundation until the end of the year.

Doing a quick bit of math, that means that Blizzard sold 220,000 Pandaren Monks between the release in November and December 31st. That's some impressive numbers right there.

"We've had a long relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and we're proud to support the priceless work they do for children," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "This donation also reflects the spirit and generosity of our players – their enthusiasm for World of Warcraft and for supporting a good cause made this possible."

Let's keep in mind that this promotion also generated $1.1 million in sales for Blizzard, who I am certain didn't spend that much creating an in-game pet. Everybody wins!

Blizzard teasing aside, this is a tremendous show of support from World of Warcraft players, adorable in-game pet or no, generating an impressive amount of money in a short period of time for those who need it the most.

"Thanks to Blizzard Entertainment and World of Warcraft players around the world, we will be able to grant the heartfelt wishes of even more courageous children with life-threatening medical conditions," said David Williams, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America president and chief executive officer. "This generosity is helping us bring hope, strength and joy to children when they – and their families – are facing an unimaginably difficult time in their young lives."

Well done, WoW fans!

Alex

Demon's souls 2????

It's not confirmed, but a Demon's Souls sequel would seem like a no brainer, especially considering the attention the game got.

As web forum NeoGAF points out, a podcast from Japanese gaming news source Dengeki hints that a sequel for a challenging and hard game released last year would be coming out this fall. The game is said to have very "interesting" gameplay systems. Sounds like... Demon's Souls!

This is not official confirmation, however. It is from Dengeki, would could be hinting as information it has under embargo or something.

Word on the street is that Sony signed a first look deal if developer From Software made a sequel. The game is a PS3 exclusive and Sony Computer Entertainment published the title in Japan. Apparently, From Software was relentless in its refusal to bend to Sony's suggestions to change game play, save system and make the title easier. Rumor has it that nobody thought the game was going to be the sleeper hit it eventually became, which is why Atlus, not Sony, distributed the game in North America.

The game was a hit. And if rumors are true, Sony has a first look at the sequel. If there is a sequel and From Software doesn't or isn't able to develop the title, then we'd imagine Sony would farm it out to an in-house developer.

Actually hope that Dengeki Online is not hinting at Demon's Souls 2. Fall 2010? Wouldn't that be rushed?

looking good

I think i may just go pick this up after work today...




Alex

Snowboarding in hapan is over 9,000!!!!(Why i love the japanese)

See this is why i love the Japanese...


Alex

FFXIII on ps2 cost SE a year and a half?

Not only was Final Fantasy XIII originally planned for the PlayStation 2, senior producer Yoshinori Kitase says that switching the title to the PS3 cost Square Enix "a year-and-a-half".

Late last week Kotaku posted pictures of the PS2 version of the game. The game, which was released on the PS3 last December in Japan, was formally announced as a PlayStation 3 title at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles back in 2006.

"Final Fantasy XIII was originally meant to be a PS2 title, but we had to switch systems due to the arrival of the PS3," says Kitase. "That cost us about one and a half years and was constantly a case of trial and error."

So this is a bad thing, right? Not necessarily.

"However, because we worked so hard at the beginning, we got to a cruising speed much faster then anticipated and therefore could start on the translation and international voice recording process at an early stage of the development," Kitase continues. "It's because of this that we can release both the European as well as the American version barely three months after the Japanese release."

Taken from Kotaku

Alex