News

Though unconfirmed, reports of a Dragon Quest title for the Nintendo DS are exciting the Nintendo community. The game, a part of the Dragon Quest Monsters series, is due to be released in Japan some time in 2006, leaving only a few months before more extensive details have to be released.

Titled Dragon Quest Monsters Joker, the game will use the DS WiFi capabilities to allow players to enter their monsters in the Joker GP tournament against other players. Akira Toriyama returns as lead character designer.

Source: IGN

Square-Enix has divulged yet another arranged collection of music based on its best-selling franchise that will soon find itself on the market, only this time in DVD format. The Voices: Music from Final Fantasy Premium Orchestra Concert DVD is to be available in two editions: A one-disc version retailing at around ¥3,800 ($28.68 US), and a two-disc first print limited edition set at ¥4,800 (or $33.93 US). The DVD will arrive in Japanese stores on the 21st of this month.

Recorded from the concert of the same name - featuring the Prima Vista Philharmonic Orchestra and held at the Pacifico Yokohama this past February - The Voices, as its title implies, presents the Final Fantasy series' highly notable vocal themes performed by Izumi Masuda, RIKKI, Emiko Shiratori, The Black Mages, and more. Among the selections included are "Melodies of Life" (IX), "Distant Worlds" (XI), and "Suteki Da Ne" ("Isn't It Wonderful?" - X).

It's unknown, although doubtful, if either edition will eventually go for sale outside Japan.

Source: RPGFan

In another one of our fun, intermittent fanart updates, we've got eleven new pieces available to vote today. They're all from Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, and Final Fantasy VII this time around, and Kappa, Mimic and I have them all put together for you on the new fanart page.

Here are your artists this time around:

• bratkitty



• Rujuken



• Skangl



• SilverFork



• InkTank



• Terra_the_Mighty_Esperlet



• Kame

Some of these artists you'll recognize right away if you're a CoN regular, but we'd really like to thank Terra_tME, Skangl, and InkTank for sharing with us for the first time!

Not ending price debates, but merely modifying them, Nintendo confirmed today that the price for the Wii upon release will not be any higher than $250 US. In addition, Nintendo also predicts that they will ship more than 6 million units worldwide. Wii's price comes as a big relief to gamers looking to buy a next-generation system without emptying their entire savings account to do so - especially with the recent pricing news of Sony's PS3.

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For me, this only solidifies the decision I had already made to buy a Wii over any other system. A release price of at most $250 is a huge advantage for the system over the PS3 and even the XBox360, though a price drop is expected for the latter upon the release of the Wii.

Source: Pocket Lint

The Charismatic, Energetic, Takes-No-Prisoners Executive Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, Reggie Fils-Aime, has become the new President of Nintendo of America. The current president will become the chairman of the board. Reggie will maintain his work as the overseers of the Sales and Marketing department as well as "lead the day-to-day operations of Nintendo of America." Mentioning the name "Reggie" to a hardcore Nintendo fan will generally elicit a big smile - this move will surely draw the fanbase closer to Nintendo as well as draw attention to the company as the Wii's release date draws nearer.

Source: Games Are Fun

While very little is thus far known about Square-Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy romp (the thirteenth one, that is), Japan's Famitsu magazine earlier this week revealed a few previously masked details apparent in the screenshots featured within the article: Next to the protagonist's Hit Point meter below the screen, an ATB (Active Time Battle) Cost stat can be seen. This would not only indicate the return of the Active Time Battle system (and possibly an accompanying ATB gauge), but more importantly suggests a required "price" in points for every move each player executes. Another new feature, visible in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, is a gauge in the shape of a circle. Famitsu speculates that a number inside the circle must, through some unconfirmed means, be met and, along with varying accomplished conditions, will allow characters in battle to enter an "Overclock" status - perhaps Final Fantasy XIII's version of previous games' hyper-powered attacks attained in similar fashions. This alleged Overclock status forces all but the active character into a sort of slow-motion state, but at the same time can reportedly be quite precarious business to carry out.

Lastly, the article has informed that the words next to the ATB Cost stat read "Lighting" (although it's unclear whether or not this is a misspelling of "Lightning" by the writer) and has been judged to be the protagonist's first name. Additionally, the weapons used by the female protagonist - a gun and a sword - are in reality two weapons in one; as dictated by the predicament or the enemies involved, this changable weapon can be toggled from one to the other.

As to be expected, the subject of a Japanese release date for Final Fantasy XIII has not yet been openly negotiated.

Source: RPGFan