News

Depending on which source you trust, Sony is either working on some kind of Playstation Phone or isn't involved in a project whatsoever. Engadget has released images of a leaked prototype of the phone, which looks like a typical slideout-keyboard phone, except instead of a keyboard, there's the makings of a Playstation controller. Along with the typical Sony makeup, it also includes a long touchpad in the middle that reportedly supports Multitouch. The machine would use MicroSD cards.

However, according to Gama Sutra, the initial response from Sony said that this was "definitely fake" and didn't offer any further comment. They changed their stance later from "definitely fake" to "no comment" and saying that it was just "rumor and speculation".

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For me, this is interesting on many levels. First off, from the screenshots and the articles, the phone would be running the Android phone OS - potentially 3.0. As a current user (and lover) of the Android system, this would be a big win for both Google and Sony. Second, despite the title of the Gama Sutra article, this does NOT appear to be some sort of PSP - some commenters are speculating that this could be the PSP2, but it definitely will not have any sort of backwards compatibility with the current PSP system, judging entirely on the MicroSD technology. However, and most importantly, the system specs are much more powerful than the current PSP ("...runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 chip supported by 512MB of RAM. The current PSP, by way of comparison, has a 333MHz processor with 32MB of RAM..."), so it could be the next wave of portable gaming for Sony.

I didn't realize until last week the popularity of the current PSP - I had written it off as an unimpressive and unsupported console, but was completely floored when I wandered into the PSP section at Fry's and saw a ridiculous selection of quality games. It would be an incredible risk to ask gamers to switch their phone to enjoy the next generation of games - especially when the people most likely to enjoy this sort of gaming are probably the same people who are already owners of SmartPhones. They certainly wouldn't convert people over from the iPhone, and current users of the Android system would have to be persuaded to switch over to the new hardware simply for the addition of the gaming functionality.

I kinda hope this isn't true.

Source: Engadget, Gama Sutra

During Blizzcon proceedings today, Blizzard revealed what will be the final class in the upcoming (at some point) epic Diablo 3 - the Demon Hunter. The Demon Hunter joins the Barbarian, Sorcerer, Witch Doctor, and Monk as the five classes that will be available on release date. She appears to be ranged, with crossbows that fire exploding bolts. Not many details have been released yet.

There's a video from Blizzcon available, but it doesn't actually show the class in action - it's an introduction video, FMV-style, and while it doesn't show gameplay, it's still really cool.

Source: Joystiq, Kotaku

Nintendo has announced the next in their line of DS handheld gaming - the Nintendo 3DS. Looking to capitalize on the newest visual sensation, the 3DS will use the motion detection of devices like the iPhone to render games in 3D without any sort of special glasses required. Not a whole lot is known, but the system will continue to have two screens (my first thought when seeing "3DS" was a third screen) and will be backwards-compatible with DS and DSi titles.

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This seems like a gimmick at first, but as the article above mentions, Nintendo has always done things that seem goofy at first but typically turn out well in the end. I am skeptical that this will bring a whole lot of development to the DSi that wasn't there already, but if they make the system a full overhaul rather than just an update - meaning greater capability for larger, prettier games - it may bring more developers over. Gaming companies are a lot more creative than I think I like to give them credit for at first glance, and there could be some neat titles coming out for a system like this, but I fear that it's just going to spawn a whole lot of Brain-Age or "Find This" type of games that aren't meant for a generation of gamers that continues to get older.

We will see!

Source: Ars Technica

RPGamer.com has discovered that the ESRB has re-rated Earthbound as an 'E for Everyone' title (replacing its old K-A rating, which no longer exists) and has it marked as a Wii title. A quick search on the ESRB's website confirms these findings, which as of this posting have not been covered up or hidden. This is being taken as a sign that Earthbound will soon be released on the Wii's Virtual Console. There has been no official announcement made by either Nintendo or Ape Software, so no more details are known.

This is fantastic news. The Virtual Console, while a great concept with a few gems, has been sorely lacking in a lot of my favorite games, most notably SNES RPGs. With this release of an old classic and cult favorite, perhaps the doors will be opened for more games and companies to jump on the Virtual Console train and try to get a few more bucks out of their older titles. However, for those hoping for Final Fantasy releases, with the rate that Square-Enix is pumping out remakes, I wouldn't get your hopes up for any of those. For now, fans of the series can enjoy the game once more, and people new to the game will be able to discover their love for New Age Retro Hippies and Multi Bottle Rockets.

Those links again:
RPGamer.com
Re-Rating and Wii platform for Earthbound
The ESRB's website

Recently, bit-tech.net conducted an interview with Yoshinori Kitase, who some gamers may recognize as the director of Final Fantasy 7. The interview is mainly about the recently released Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core, a spin-off game for the PSP. However, the most interesting bit of the interview comes near the end, when the question is raised about whether or not there will be more prequels or sequels in the FF7 series. Kitase remains noncommittal, but mentions that they wouldn't even look at a remake of the initial game unless they could bring together the core of the FF7 development team, who are split among various projects, most notably FFXIII, so the idea won't be explored until at least after that game is completed.

Though I think a lot of good could come from a remake of FF7 on a system with much more power than the original PS1, I think I would much rather have the development team of such a great game working on newer projects. FF7 is getting a tremendous amount of overexposure as a new title within the universe seems to be released every year. It appears that the idea of a remake is at least put aside until after the completion of Final Fantasy XIII, so gamers who, like me, would rather see new content, will be placated to that end.

Those links again:
bit-tech.net
Interview with Yoshinori Kitase

A website for the North American release of FFTA2: Rift of the Grimoire was promised just days ago, and Square-Enix has already delivered. The company has once again put together a beautiful website for the game. As is par for the course for RPG websites by Squenix, not all of the information is available, but we already have access to a page for the story; a page for characters, which includes information about characters Luso, Adelle, Hurdy, and Cid, with spaces for 6 more; a look at five of seven races and some of "more than 50 classes"; and sections under construction for the battle system and multimedia.

In addition, some questions were answered on the Square-Enix Members Blog regarding the game, which says that the storyline of FFTA2 will be completely independent of the other FFT games, so gamers new to the series can jump right in.

The website just makes me more excited for the game. The characters have neat designs and I'm really excited to hear that there will be over fifty classes. I'm hoping that that doesn't necessarily mean class/race combinations, so they could, theoretically, give a Hume White Mage and a Viera Whtie Mage different abilities and call it two different classes, but that could possibly happen. Either way, I'm looking forward to June 24 more and more.

Those links again:
Square-Enix NA FFTA2 Website
FFTA2 Blog Entry
Square-Enix Members Blog