dissidia final fantasy

I have played a Final Fantasy game here and there and was never drawn into it but there is no denying that it is one of the most popular and lasting video game franchises out there and arguably has one of the most loyal fan bases when it comes to buying new franchise titles upon release. So of course it is no wonder that Square Enix's latest release Dissidia Final Fantasy, a fighting game featuring only Final Fantasy characters from across the franchise's history, is proving to be a popular seller to FF fans. Whether it will sell to anyone not already engrossed in the franchise is another story, but hey, there's also a limited edition silver PSP bundle! Dissidia Final Fantasy is getting solidly good reviews and is just one of many big fighter-game releases over the next year.

gaming news from all over

BioWare creative officer says violence not required in games with good stories, but seems to occur more often than not. I think the distinction between games involving some fighting and games with realistic violence is an important one here.

Police are still searching for 2 gunmen implicated in video game store robbery. The men stole merchandise and over $1,000 in cash from a GameStop just before closing time armed with a rifle and a pistol.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is setting PSP sales records. The Capcom title has sold over 3.5 million copies since its release in October 2008 and is the first PSP title to reach this sales level.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be Adults Only in Japan. The M-for-mature DS game will be the first title on Nintendo's handheld console to receive the Japanese Z rating when it launches there this fall.

Sony CEO Howard Stringer dismisses claims that the PS3 is still too expensive. "I [would] lose money on every Playstation I make," Stringer responds to calls for a price drop.

final fantasy VII on the playstation network!

If you've always wanted to play Final Fantasy VII but aren't looking to spend collector's prices on a PSX copy, you're in luck: one of Sony's major E3 press conference announcements was the release of the game title for download onto its Playstation Network online community. Widely considered one of the best games ever (ever!), Final Fantasy VII was intended for the SNES originally, then for the N64, but was moved to the Playstation during development due to the lack of size on Nintendo's cartridges. Now you can download it for $10 on the PSN and play it on your PS3 or PSP. Enjoy!

the music genre is getting crowded

It's a fine line that game developers walk when they saturate the market with a certain genre. Lately, it seems like you can't blink without seeing mention of another new music game celebrating some nostalgic band. With Rock Band: Beatles on its way, Rock Band: Unplugged announced for PSP plus Metallica and rumored Van Halen and Pearl Jam editions of Guitar Hero, the music game genre is taking over the shelf space. It remains to be seen whether this flooding of music titles will help boost video game sales or cause consumers to wander off, eyes glazed over, in search of the next big thing. At left - Guitar Hero Pocket.

Will an Overflow of Sequels Dilute the Music Video Game Genre?

more handheld gaming in our household

The boyfriend made the plunge over the weekend and bought a used Madden blue PSP Slim and a bunch of games. He is thoroughly obsessed with Japanese RPGs and thus was thrilled to find good copies of Star Ocean: First Departure, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Tales of the World, plus a new copy of Star Ocean: Second Evolution. The graphics on the PSP really are pretty awesome and I'm excited to try out some games like Parappa the Rapper (LOVE on the PSX), Patapon and ultimately LittleBigPlanet! We now have five gaming platforms in our house. Rock on.

wii silent hill looks very promising

Konami's announced Wii title Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is certainly getting gamers excited all over the place. It really does sound awesome and screenshots and demo videos have the online world abuzz over how awesome this game hopefully will be. It looks like you control your view with a flashlight shining, a control system similar to Dementium 13: the Ward, a great survival horror title on the DS. This new Silent Hill game should really set a standard for great M-for-mature games on the Wii and show everyone just how cool the Wii can really be. The game will also be out on the Playstation 2 and PSP systems but the Wii's motion controls should give it an edge. Can't wait!

IGN: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Eyes-On

sony's response to the dsi

I don't usually post on weekends nor do I make it a habit of posting after imbibing alcohol but I just can't help myself tonight! I worked a late night setting up our store for the DSi launch and while I can't say I have a DSi reserved for myself, nor do I see anything super innovative from the DSi - I mean, I have a DS Lite, an excellent digital camera and an iPod - they're still kind of cool with some new features. I don't think I need one. Still, if I were the PR person for a major competitor (*cough* Sony *cough*) I'm not sure I would have gone to these lengths:

If Nintendo is really committed to reaching a broader, more diverse audience of gamers beyond the "kids" market that they've always engaged, there isn't much new with the DSi to support that. Significant gamer demographic groups are being ignored, and there continues to be limited opportunities for games from external publishers to do well on the DSi. Compare that with the PSP platform, where we have many blockbuster franchises from our publishing partners launching this year, representing a wide variety of genres and targeting diverse demographics. Games such as Rock Band Unplugged from MTV Games, Assassin's Creed from Ubisoft, Dissidia Final Fantasy from Square Enix, and Hannah Montana from Disney demonstrate the commitment that publishers have to the PSP. From our own first-party studios, we're launching unique versions of LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm, and we're also planning a steady stream of downloadable games -- both new titles and PSone classics -- to add to the content that PSP owners can already purchase wirelessly through PlayStation Store.

Sony's Ludicrous Response to Nintendo DSi Launch

new bundles rather than price cut for ps3?

Rumors have been swirling for months about a potential Playstation 3 price drop but according to some insider knowledge at Target it looks like perhaps instead we will just see a new 2-game bundle (Resistence: Fall of Man and MotorStorm) with the same old $399 price tag. Personally I think game bundles are a bunch of crap and I can tell you from experience that some of the most traded-in titles out there are Lego Indiana Jones/Kung Fu Panda (comes with the 360), Motorstorm (previously bundled with PS3) and National Treasure and SuperBad, UMD movies that came with PSP bundles. We’re not fooled, game companies, these games don’t make these systems any cheaper. Try picking less boring stupid games rather than cool fun simple ones like Wii Sports (Wii bundle), Brain Age or Super Mario Bros. (DS bundles), and people might actually be motivated to buy your consoles FOR the games.

Target receives new PS3 SKU to release after GDC

americans heart the gba

Nintendo just released numbers for sales of the Gameboy Advance, both hardware and software, and it turns out that we Americans are responsible for an overwhelming proportion of GBA profits. Nintendo clearly has figured out the formula for getting us to keep buying stuff by continuously improving upon and releasing new models of their handheld systems. And while GBA games don't sell new anymore, from personal experience I can state that they still sell like crazy used, thanks agains to Nintendo's smart strategy of putting the GBA port in the DS (although the DSi will say goodbye to that benefit). Sony wishes it could keep up with its iterations of the PSP but for now Nintendo is clearly the boss in the handheld market.

Hardware
Japan: 16,950,000
The Americas: 41,640,000
Other: 81,440,000
Total Life-to-date hardware sales worldwide: 140,030,000

Software
Japan: 72,940,000
The Americas: 217,240,000
Other: 87,060,000
Total Life-to-date software sales worldwide: 377,240,000

Nintendo Financials: Are People Still Buying the Gameboy Advance?

japan's top 5 ps3 sellers

It's no secret that despite slumping numbers in the US the Playstation 3 and PSP dominate the Asian video game market. Here's the top 5 best-selling PS3 games in Japan:

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (sold 671,706 units)
2. Minna no Golf 5 [Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds] (408,175)
3. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 [Dynasty Warriors 6] (371,443)

4. Gundam Musou [Dynasty Warriors: Gundam] (317,580)

5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 [PES 2008] (316,533)

And now you know what to buy your Japanese PS3-loving friends for Christmas, assuming they don't already have every title on the list. I couldn't find any pictures of Japanese people dressed up as PS3 controllers so here's one of a dude dressed like a Wiimote.

Enterbrain: Best Selling PS3 Games in Japan So Far

this is ridiculously cute

I love cute games but I think this one might send even me into fits of cute-abetic shock with its sweet adorableness. The Tale of Despereaux is apparently a new animated movie featuring a brave little mouse that doesn't know fear and wants to be a hero... I guess? Sounds as likely as a rat that wants to prepare delicious fine cuisine but then again that one was actually pretty awesome. Anyway, of course the Tale of Despereaux is already a video game for pretty much every system (DS, Wii, PS2, PC and Xbox 360, so actually, everything except PS3 and PSP). I may have to try this one just for the cute factor as the little mouse's ears really remind me a lot of my baby ferret Oscar, who has huge floppy ears himself.

nintendo to launch ipod-challenging ds

Set to premiere in Japan on November 1st, Nintendo's newest handheld DS (I believe called the DSi) will feature photo-taking and music storage/playing. This is a clear move to get the DS competing with iPods and camera phones and whatnot. The new DS will be 12% slimmer than its predecessor while featuring 17% more screen display space (photo compares DSi on left with DS lite). Part of reducing the size means removing the Game Boy Advance game slot so the DS will no longer play GBA games.

"We are finding ourselves in an unprecedented stage where one of every six people (in Japan) has the DS," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a news conference on Thursday.

"We will strive not only to appeal to those households without the DS, but to promote a shift to 'one DS per person' from 'one DS per household'."

The DS has in the past been outsold in Japan by Sony's PSP but that hasn't stopped Nintendo from cementing itself as the fifth most valuable Japanese company. And I have to say, I've seen more DS being played on my last few public transportation ventures than I have PSP. I have not played much DS although I did just snag my sister's abandoned DS recently. All we have for it is Mario Kart which is pretty sweet.

Nintendo to Launch Camera, Music-Ready DS in Japan
PC World - Hands on With Nintendo's DSi