News

Prime time television ratings may have taken a considerable blow from the video gaming industry this season, according to a recent article posted at CNN.com.

Nielsen Media Research reported that viewership among the men 18-34 demographic were down some 10% since last television season. It attributes part of this decline to an expanding video game industry.

Indeed, Sony has noted that over half of its prime time (8 p.m. - 11 p.m.) online gaming community consists of men aged 18-34.

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I largely prefer gaming over television, especially online gaming.
I see online gaming with friends as a social event, and as so it is far more valuable to me than a television program--or its advertisements.

In an apparent effort to get gamers to play in the great outdoors, Konami has released it's latest GBA title: "Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand."
The Action/RPG title, designed by the creator of the Metal Gear series, requires players to expose their GBA unit to direct sunlight through a small solar sensor contained within the game cartridge. Sunlight both affects key events in the game and provides energy to the game's weapon, a pistol named the "Del Sol."

Boktai sells for about $35 USD, and is available for purchase.
Further information about the title can be found at Konami's Website.

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Go! Outside! Expose your pale skin to the glory of the sun... and... continue your gaming out there!
Or you can sit next to a window as you play.
At least it's been programmed to only "accept" real sunlight: Desklamps, flashlights, and such don't affect the sensor.

Anyway, I'm surprised the technology for the sensor is so compact and cheap enough to warrant mass production on a video game cartridge. And furthermore, the gimmick behind the game is unique. While the game can be played in the absence of sunlight, Konami notes that it becomes significantly harder since players must be conservative in use of their gun's stored energy.

Apex Digital and Infinium Labs, companies new to the gaming market, have each designed a console to compete with the industry giants: Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.

Apex's machine, called the "ApeXtreme," will be released within the next four months and will carry a price tag just under $400.
Details about the ApeXtreme can be found at PCReview.co.uk.

Infinium has yet to give a specific date for release of the "Phantom;" however, the Phantom debuted at the Ultimate Gamers' Expo in Los Angeles last August. The console's expected price range is from $300 to $500.
Details about the Phantom are available at Infinium Labs.com.

Both the ApeXtreme and the Phantom use a modified version of the Windows XP OS and support broadband Internet connection.

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Neither of the machines sound like anything amazing to me; so far they have minimal publisher relationships. However, at least one of the two consoles will have some degree of support for running games designed for PC play, which is an interesting attempt at melding desktop to console gaming.

One other noteworthy piece is the price of each console--compared to the $99 Gamecube, it's hard to see how these virtually unknown companies can compete.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, scheduled for release on February 9, 2004 on the Nintendo Gamecube, will be the first FF title released in the US on a Nintendo console since the 1994 release of Final Fantasy III US (aka FFVI).

Crystal Chronicles features a large emphasis on multiplayer gaming, supporting up to four players simultaneously via Gameboy Advance consoles linked to the Gamecube.

Gamespot features a collection of screenshots of the Japanese game release.

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The story sounds a little weak, the battle system has moved from turn-based to real-time, the magic system is apparently "item-based" like FFVIII, and Square wasn't even willing to give it an "official" spot in the series with a Roman numeral of its very own.

Thus, I'm a little skeptical about the game, but nevertheless would give it a shot, assuming I could find a Gamecube and GBA to borrow.

Sony has scheduled release of it's Playstation 2 unit in China for December 20, despite massive potential for game piracy, according to CNN.
Sony will be the second company to begin console sales in China; Nintendo recently introduced it's iQue to the Chinese market and expressed intent to begin GameCube sales in the country as well.
The Chinese Playstation 2 will sell for about USD$240, and only two or three games will be available for the system upon launch.
In an effort to thwart game piracy, which is rampant in the Chinese market, Sony intends to sell it's Chinese releases of games at competitive retail prices of about USD$20.

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I find it interesting to keep an eye on this emerging "official" Chinese gaming market, as opposed to piracy; I wonder if it will take flight?

Square Enix has announced that it will re-release a few of its Playstation 1 titles under Sony's Greatest Hits this coming December.

The titles being re-released are all Square titles: Final Fantasy Anthology, Final Fantasy Chronicles, Vagrant Story, and Xenogears. Being under the Greatest Hit means that the titles will be reasonable priced, each costing around $20 US. For those who don't know, Final Fantasy Chronicles consists of FFIV and Chrono Trigger while Final Fantasy Anthology packages FFV and FFVI together.

Source: Games_Are_Fun

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I might just have to pick up Chronicles and Anthology. I can't see myself buying either at the ridiculous price they go for on EBay and used game stores, but I can see myself plunking down 20 bucks. I think it is a good move by Square Enix. They might as well be making the profits off the games instead of the EBay-ers if there is still a big demand for them.

(Note from Phoenix: This news update is courtesy of SSJ_Cloud; he is currently unable to access the forums, and asked me to post for him.)