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The fourth main-series entry in Tri-Ace's series of RPG space odysseys is in the works, according to a recent article in Famitsu magazine. Evidently SO4 has been in production for quite a long time - the storyboards are already finished and most of the basics of the battle system are already in place. More information will be revealed at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show,

Unfortunately, one object of concern was missing from the Famitsu article - the platform on which Star Ocean 4 will be playable. The source article stated that SO4 will be on a system "capable of displaying beautiful visuals," but this is too vague a statement to make any conclusions.

But console concerns aside, the article reveals some promising details. The battle system is to be made in the Star Ocean tradition and characters and races from earlier games are confirmed to make appearances. Assistant producer Hajime Kojima stated that the previous games never felt like a true star ocean - Star Ocean 4 will feature outer space segments, spaceship battles, and a huge world containing several planets instead of only two or three. The game's protagonist is a blonde boy named Edge Maverick, and the game's principal heroine is his childhood friend Reimi.

There is currently no release date, no platform, and virtually no other information regarding Star Ocean 4 at this time - at least until we learn more at the Tokyo Game Show on the 20th of September.

Source: RPGFan

Last Monday, Square-Enix launched an English-language online store full of merchandise dedicated to various games. Most of the merch seems to be figurines, jewelry, and other accessories. This marks the first time that many of these items are available directly to the US market, if at hilariously high prices.

Source:
RPGFan
The Store

Namco Bandai's flagship franchise of RPGs, the Tales Of series, just got a bit more crowded. Earlier today we learned of a new entry to the series on the DS, a highly-anticipated sequel on the Wii, a director's cut of a recent remake, and a port to the PSP.

First off is Tales of Innocence for the DS. The game will ship in Japan before 2007 ends, and is being made by the same team that makes the Radiant Mythology games. Also, the DS has been declared officially as the "lead platform" for the Tales Of series, so we can assume to see a great many more DS Tales games in the future; hopefully they won't be made in the tradition of 2006's universally panned Tales of the Tempest.

In addition to Tales of Innocence, there was an announcement for a director's cut of the PS2 remake of Tales of Destiny, which began life as the second game in the Tales series and the first on the Playstation. We don't know what new features will be present in this re-release of a remake, and it's hard to say when we will; the game has an unspecified 2008 release date in Japan.

Thirdly, there was an announcement for a PSP port of Tales of Rebirth, a 2004 PS2 game that never had a Western localization. ToR is notable for being the first Tales game to use fewer bright colors and more realistic character anatomy than most of its predecessors; design-wise, it essentially bridges the gap between the art styles of Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss. There is no announcement yet for a Western release of this PSP port, but it is also scheduled for an unspecified 2008 release date in Japan.

Lastly, Namco Bandai announced a sequel that is sure to excite many Tales fans: Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk for the Nintendo Wii. It is set to take place two years after the events of Tales of Symphonia with in the same world, but starring two new main characters. It is unknown what roles the original cast of Tales of Symphonia will play, but it is safe to assume that they won't be completely absent from the game.

So that's four new games announced from this well-milked franchise, including a new stand-alone title and a sequel to one of the series' most popular entries. 2008 looks to be a very busy year for Tales Of.

Source: RPGamer

Revealed in yesterday's E3 conference, Sony's handheld is now undergoing a redesign. The new one is significantly slimmer and lighter, and now has a video output that lets you play PSP games on a television screen. The new PSPs also feature faster loading times and improved battery life.

These new models will be released in 2007. There is also a new package deal and price point - the "piano black" and "ice silver" color schemes will cost $199 US and come bundled with a 1-gig memory stick, the game "Daxter", and a UMD of "The Family Guy Freakin' Sweet Collection," while a "Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition" PSP (vanilla white with a black image of Darth Vader on the back) will come with the memory stick as well as a copy of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. The original PSP will retain its recently reduced cost of $169 US.

Source: Engadget

Sony officially reduced the MSRP of the 60-gig model of the Playstation 3 from $599 to $499, but you can still pay the full six hundred bucks if you want to, as they also announced plans to release a new 80-gigabyte PS3 that will sell from the $599 price point.

Five hundred bucks is still pretty expensive, but hey, five hundred is less than six hundred, right?

Source: Joystiq

Yes, you read that headline correctly. BioWare, the role-playing game ace developer behind Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, is making an RPG for the Nintendo DS starring Sonic the Hedgehog.

In a recent press release, BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka was optimistic: "as huge fans of Sonic ourselves, we're committed to delivering a truly amazing story-driven experience within the Sonic universe, focusing on capturing the character's broad appeal and placing him in a completely original adventure."

This untitled Sonic RPG is scheduled for an unspecified 2008 release, and also marks BioWare's first game on a Nintendo console (other than MDK2, all of BioWare's games are for either Microsoft systems or personal computers). Currently, BioWare is working on two much-hyped RPGs, Dragon Age and Mass Effect, for the PC and XBox 360 respectively. This BioWare/Sega/Nintendo partnership might seem strange, but those three companies have one hell of a track record, so it could turn out to be something special.

Source: Joystiq