News

Yes, we all knew it was coming. Who couldn't? But now we have a real date: 22 July 2008. On top of that, the new site for the North American release is up and ready, with a pretty-cool splash page as well.

Unfortunately, AmaCoN doesn't yet have the title ready for preorder (merely the OST), but I'll keep everyone posted once it shows up.

From what I've seen and heard, this game is a must-play for DS owners. If anyone would like to buy me a DS, I'll be inclined to try it out and agree.

Source:
Square-Enix Blog

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Famitsu information

As far as I can tell, this information must be taken with a grain of salt, given that no writing that this newsposter can read is visible in either screen. Given the translation or further information at the info link, it appears that we will be getting a new attorney game in the Phoenix Wright world, but this time it's through the (third-person!) eyes of Miles Edgeworth, "Perfect Prosecutor." The game appears to be similar to the Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice series, except you're on the other side of the courtroom. Returning characters thus far are Edgeworth and detective Dick Gumshoe.

As a HUGE fan of the series, I can't begin to write how excited I am to see a game from the prosecution's side. Since Edgeworth captured my heart and became one of my favorite characters in the first few games of the series, I always hoped for a game where we would be able to play as the ruthless prosecutor. It looks like this wish will finally be granted. Though they could very well be a new sort of cutscene, it appears that the action outside of the courtroom will be third person, allowing you to move Edgey around and search for "overlooked" clues.

I can't wait.

DeviantArt, the well-known online artistic community that has a lot of nice Final Fantasy fanart, a lot of nice Final Fantasy fan artists, and increasingly toes the line of defining the phrase "too much Anime fanart" is currently hosting a competition that might be of quite a lot of interest to the people here who make nice Final Fantasy fanart and our own nice Final Fantasy fan artists.

DA want people to submit works based on the upcoming Square-Enix game "The World Ends with You" and to make this very intresting, they're doing it in conjuction with Square-Enix themselves. Square-Enix have given DA special permission to distribute concept art from the game for use in this contest. Your role as the artist asks for your best works inspired by the art. Ten winners will recive a copy of the game, a six month subscription to DA, a DA t-shirt and a DA Accessory pack. The grand prize winner recives all that plus a written critque of their prize-winning submission from members of the game's development team. For the full information and rules, check the Announcement for the contest on DeviantArt.

"The World Ends with You" is an Action RPG from the same team behind Kingdom Hearts, set in and inspired by the Shibuya district of Tokyo. The game sees amnesiac Neku awake in Shibuya, and told that he must play the "Reaper's Game" or face erasure. Presumably, this is some sort of code for "you're dead," so obviously Neku wants to avoid said erasure (and as the player of the game so do you). To do so, he (and you) must complete a series of missions, and find badges that will let him (again, you) unlock new powers and abilities to help him (that's probably still you) succeed. The game is for the Nintendo DS and will be released in North America on the 22nd of April and in PAL regions on April 18th.

External Links:
Contest Rules and Information
DeviantArt Homepage
Official US Site for The World Ends with You
Official EU Site for The World Ends with You

Some of you will note that it is April Fools' Day. Some of you may also note that we have dropped the ball, as usual. We throw our hands up: we simply didn't have any good ideas for this April 1st. But, we figure, our members are an imaginative bunch. And so, we have decided to hold a quick CoNtest to find next year's gag and spare us the embarrassment 365 days hence.

The rules are simple: Suggest a joke in 3000 words or less by midnight tonight. The entries will be read by CoN staff and we'll pick out the best one for use next year. The lucky winner shall receive a small prize as well as the knowledge that they will be in on the joke next year!

Entering is also simple: Just fire off your idea to [email protected], before midnight Eastern time. Note that we won't accept any jokes that might be offensive or illegal, as even a joke must have limits. But other than that, anything goes, so get the ideas coming fast!

Good luck, and hope we get some good suggestions!

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, the DS sequel to the GBA game Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, will hit the United States on June 24th, 2008. FFTA2 boasts touchscreen mechanics, more character classes than its predecessor, and several tie-ins to the larger Ivalice Alliance spinoff-series. For example, Vaan, Penelo, Al-Cid, and several other characters from Final Fantasy XII will also play a role in this storyline.

FFTA2 stars a hunter named Luso, who players of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions may have already seen in a playable cameo role. FFTA2 also marks the fourth Square-Enix game as part of the Ivalice Alliance and the third to be released in the United States, after FFT: War of the Lions, FF XII: Revenant Wings, and the Japan-only FF XII International. Set those calendars and charge those DSes for June 24th.

Source: RPGFan

This coming June, American gamers will be able to pick up an 80-gig Sony PlayStation 3, a single DualShock 3 controller, and a copy of the hotly-anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4 at a price point of $499.99 US. If anyone was already planning on eventually picking up a PS3 and MGS4, then it just got a little cheaper.

Source: IGN