News

New details have surfaced about Squeenix's follow-up to their successful Kingdom Hearts title.

These details mainly focus on gameplay. The basic game mechanics will remain mostly unchanged in the sequel. One aspect that will have some changes is the summoning system, though. The changes will make it easier to use summons in a battle. There are also plans to rework the Gummi Ship.

There is still not even a Japanese release date for the game, however.

Source: RPGamer

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I have only played about two hours of KH1 or so, and it seemed like a really good action RPG. Hopefully, the sequel will be just as good (if not better) than the original. What I hope even more though is that I can finish KH1 before the second is released in the North America.

A Sony representative has revealed some details concerning the design of the Dual Shock 3, the controller of the Playstation 3.

Maybe not shocking is that there are only a few changes made from the Dual Shock 2 in its design. One change that a trigger button is most going to be added under its right handle. Wireless capabilities are also going to be added in order to better compete with Nintendo's Wavebird controller. Other than this though, the controller is basically going to remain the same as the Dual Shock 2 as the latter was with the PS1 controller.

Source: Games_Are_Fun

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Sounds good so far to me. The Dual Shock 2 is a decent controller. No reason to drastically change a good thing. The additions are nice are handy too. Even with the addition of the trigger button, I think the N64 controller is still going to be my favorite to use with First Person Shooters (besides a keyboard and mouse) though. The N64 controller just feels right for them.

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.

RPGamer has a few new screenshots of Final Fantasy XII

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Most of the new screenshots look to be from FMV sequences. If they're not shots of FMV, Squenix must have found some way to get some more out the rapidly aging PS2. I doubt that though.

The battle mode almost looks FMV-ish too though. We'll keep you informed of any new Final Fantasy XII screenshots or news as we find it.

Courtesy Gamespot

It has been reported that sales of the Playstation 2 console have exceeded 5 million and are continuing to increase, particularly with the holiday season. The article leaves much to the reader, however, about how this will affect game releases in the UK.

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I know from our UK forumgoers that very rarely does a game get a release in the UK before it does the US, let alone at the same time as the US. This news should demonstrate to game producers that the UK is a bigtime market for games and there's no reason to put off a UK release until later. All it does is frustrate gamers and make them lose confidence in the developers. The only game I can think of off the top of my head that was released in the UK before the US was FF:Origins. The only other game that I can think of that had an excuse for a delayed European release was FF9, where some dialogue was changed to add the UK's unnecessary vowels and all that jazz. What does everyone else think?

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?