News

Here's some news that seems to be all over the internet already, but happily won't impact, well, probably any of our regular readers. However, for those of you with ties to South Korea, note that the next time you visit you might not be able to play some games in the wee hours of the day.

The Korea Herald reports that the government is going to shut down various online games for six hour windows every night, with the windows being selected from three choices by each household. Apparently, homes in Korea have unique identifiers that are used for any sort of online registration, and this will allow the central government to shutter access as the central clock ticks over to the start of the selected window.

The government in South Korea is testing the system out now on four games, with another fifteen to be included in a few months. The entire list is unclear to me at the moment, though with the nineteen total games inclusive of "79 percent of the online gaming market," it would not surprise me to find that at some point Square Enix' online entries might soon find themselves under the restriction.

Source: Korea Herald

Yes, you read that correctly. Pokemon will officially begin its fifth generation this fall with Pokemon Black and Pokemon White for the Nintendo DS. A worldwide release is inevitable, but for now has no official date. Nintendo will reveal more in a press conference on 15 April.

The second source listed here is an unconfirmed leaked image of the Pokemon found in the game. It seems genuine, but it should not be assumed true as of yet.

Source: Kotaku, The Black & White Pokedex

1up.com published today a feature detailing the storied history of video game fansites, and among the sites discussed is our very own CoN. 1up interviewed Rangers51 for the article, which also includes discussion of and interviews with other major fansites of the past and present, including The GIA and The Mushroom Kingdom. While we're buried a bit at the back of the article, we're proud to be mentioned among these influential sites, and we'll be more than content to outlive them all and then see who is laughing and then the people who are laughing will be us ahahahahah.

Ahem. In any event, please have a look at the article over at 1up, and be sure to share it with your friends via Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, for those who might be interested in the full text of the interview beyond the abridged version, you can find the complete version right here on CoN. Thanks to 1up for talking with us, and thanks to all of you for keeping us large and relevant enough to be a part of this feature!

It's been pretty slow for Square-Enix recently - everyone's been playing Final Fantasy XIII instead of talking about it. So what's next? Well, of course they're going to release merchandise. Figurines of Snow, Lightning and Vanille, and Serah's earrings are now available from the US store. The figurines, as always, look kind of dodgy. But now that XIII is out of the way, Why, Final Fantasy XIV is of course next. The first wave of beta testers have been selected, but that does not mean there aren't still opportunities. There will be more chances in the future, so you can still sign up! And what's more, Square-Enix have started a new website containing more information, video blogs, and a wiki! Development seems to be progressing well on XIV. And here, take a look at the new "tribes" of the game. Neko Neko Mawaii.

But enough with all the newer Final Fantasys. Remember how awesome IX was? Yeah. It looks like Final Fantasy IX will be soon heading towards the Playstation Network. This is very excellent news. I still have my discs, battered as they may be, but I demand that anyone who hasn't played IX should choose that over XIII if given a choice. It would be the next game we covered if I had my way. But alas. UPDATE: Wait, it's been confirmed. Hooray! Oh, but they're still looking at Final Fantasy VII remake possibilities. Still. This has got to stop.

Yeah, that's all for now. What news will there be in the coming weeks, I wonder?

Source: Kotaku, 1UP, Square Enix

In years past, CoN has played many a practical joke on its users. They were all hilarious, and everyone enjoyed a good laugh, mostly at the expense of those fooled. However, this year, starved of inspiration and a decent amount of time, we decided to do something a little different. A treasure hunt, if you will. Easter's coming up, and who doesn't like searching around for the Easter Eggs hidden in every nook and cranny of a house? Or, in this case, a website.

Today, we have initiated a small change to every page on CoN. It's subtle enough that we're breaking tradition to tell you about it, but we've decided to challenge you to find the pieces of our puzzle, and put it all together. Of course, no competitiveness is without rewards for success. At the very least, you can win a special CoN award, and possibly more. Throughout the day, we will update this thread (But not this specific post) with any members who have fully and successfully solved the puzzle. And believe us, we WILL know. We're special like that.

We have no current intention of giving away clues either. That goes for in the forums, in a PM, or in chat. You're on your own, folks - but if you choose to band together as one mighty force, then more power to you. However you tackle it, we masterminds wish you the best of luck.

Ready... set.......... GO.

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