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Koei president Kiyoshi Komatsu, who recently spoke to the Tokyo press of an unrelated issue, noted at the time that a Sony Computer Entertainment press conference is scheduled for the 15th of this month, suggesting that "some details about the PS3 might be announced there." Sony Europe, while not implying whether or not Komatsu's prediction was true, later confirmed that a largely important announcement will indeed be made at the conference next week.

With the company's fiscal year soon coming to a close, and the San Jose Game Developer Conference only a scant week away, a major announcement made by Sony on Wednesday - perhaps even regarding a definite target date for the PlayStation 3 release - would occur at the perfect time. By revealing the revised info as public knowledge, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment's worldwide studio, Phil Harrison, would greatly benefit by being provided with several topics to divulge during his essential GDC speech; the local press and businesses in Tokyo would also receive a head start on any related news prior to the San Jose conference.

On the other hand, although Sony's recurring stance is that their spring launch schedule will continue on despite difficulties with production, a more realistic viewpoint would be that these problems can indefinitely hold back the console's release from their projected time frame, thus resulting in a possible lack of any new information of the sort in the near future. Probably even less assuring is the latest word concerning COMPEQ, the manufacturer of the circuit boards for the PlayStation 3: As of now, the system allegedly will not be ready for launch until this fall at the earliest, seeing as COMPEQ reportedly plans to do their crucial part in either June or July.

Source: EuroGamer

Famitsu Magazine, reputed to be the #1 gaming review magazine in Japan has recently reviewed and ranked Final Fantasy XII giving it a perfect score across the board, which apparently is a rare thing, when you consider that with this game included, they've only ever given 6 games a perfect 40 points.

The game looks, appears, and sounds better and better with every morsel of it I hear.

Source: Imgup (Thanks to Phunbaba for the link)

PSPWorld, crediting a so-called "anonymous source", has reported that an upgraded type of PlayStation Portable might currently be in the works, likely as a means to better rival the dominating Nintendo DS and its approaching little sibling, the DS Lite, in the handheld market.

According to the article, the "PSP 2" (an unofficial title) should mitigate previous storage frustrations by including 4GB of standard space and, like the DS Lite, will be designed as a leaner system with black, white and silver models available. The rumored EyeToy may allegedly be another addition; besides granting "PSP 2" owners the use of a digital camera, the device is said to be key in potentially streaming video from the handheld directly to the PlayStation 3 with help from the contemplated "HUB" service.

While skepticism may run amok, Sony does have a reputation for modifying its current consoles, such as it did with both the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Although limited as the info is, it's perhaps probable, if not ordained, that the company would strive to make improvements on its handheld. However, Sony's recent problems associated with the PlayStation 3 - not to mention the unwritten rule of caution dealing with anonymous sources - almost makes the possibility of a souped-up PSP launch nary a step above speculation.

Source: Total Video Games

Is it just me, or does this happen to everything I'm waiting for?

Though Sony claims that they're still aiming for a spring release of their new console, their interpretation of 'spring' is quickly stretching to include months like June, July, August, and even next December, according to some speculations.

The release date is said to be reliant upon decisions about hardware specifications for the Blu-Ray DVD technology. These decisions are made by industry consortiums, and are not within Sony's direct control.

This news does not bode well for game developers, either. Without firm specifications, they can only guess at exactly how to build their games. The final result is not likely to take full advantage of the PS3's abilities.

With soaring predicted costs and no firm release date in sight, how will Sony continue to compete in the console market? No one wants to see a repeat of the Dreamcast fiasco--but, more importantly, no one wants to own it. If Sony fans are too scared of a bust to invest in the PS3, the console is in real trouble.

Source: cnn.com

Head of the Mother series of quirky RPGs, Shigesato Itoi, has updated his Mother 3 website with a handful of new features, including screenshots of various scenes throughout the anticipated GBA game.

Judging from the screens, it appears as though the isometric view present in Mother 2 (EarthBound) has been replaced with the more standard overhead, fixed perspective used within most 2D role-playing video games. The three scenes also point out a small but satisfying amount of characters and locales, such as a blond-haired boy and his dog at a town park and museum, and a cowboy standing near a forest in the rain. At the moment it could be speculated that the game may contain some sort of day/night cycle and possibly changes in weather.

As for the additional updates to the site, there are a total of sixteen "gifts" displayed on the main page - each leading to new media. A different box opens on a particular day - about every week or so - up until the Japanese release of Mother 3, in a way similar to an Advent calendar.

There's still been no official talk of a North American or European release.

Screenshots

The title says it all. You can see the full list here. Virtually every cast member from Kingdom Hearts 2 that portrayed an FF VII character has been recast in Advent Children. I say KH 2 rather than the original because Lance Bass (Sephiroth) and Mandy Moore (Aeris) declined to reprise their roles in the much-hyped and critcally acclaimed sequel, and have been replaced by George Newbern and Mena Suvari, respectively.

Also, the US release date was finally confirmed to be April 26th, 2006. The date is fairly concurrent with what Square-Enix had announced earlier this year. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will be a 2-disc set released to DVD and UMD and has an estimated price of around $26.85 at release.

Source: RPGamer