Yoichi Wada proves how mad pimp Square Enix is A new franchise that will cast a shadow on Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy; more things that are not games; allusions of grandeur... the president of Square Enix speaks - More inside
Over 500,000 geeks congregate to PlayOnline Square Enix announced today that the userbase for its PlayOnline game service has surpassed 500,000 users, a mark attained thanks to brisk holiday sales for the PC version of Final Fantasy XI and the insistent demand of a make-believe cyber-place where geek boys and girls could meet under the protected veil of video game penetralia. 1UP.com
Chrono Break broken as Square Enix steps on the brakes As of November 13, 2003, Squenix abandoned their registry of the title 'Chrono Break' with the US Patent Office. However, still registered in Japan is the title 'Chrono Brake'. Also notable is the fact that Chrono series creator Masato Kato left Square Enix to pursue a freelance career, and recently worked on MonolithSoft's Baten Kaitos. Whether this means a cancellation of the game itself, it's US release, or merely a delay, it's all uncertain for the time being. US Patent Office
Sony Europe predicts PSP price: YOUR SOUL "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe head Chris Deering, speaking to trade paper MCV, recently pegged the [PSP's] expected price closer to the low end of expectations.
Deering characterized the system's likely price as "closer to 200 pounds than 300 pounds." In American currency, that's towards the low end of a $300-450 range." 1UP.com
"At E3, we will rock your face," says Square Enix Shinjii Hashimoto, vice president of Square Enix, has told Japanese magazine Dorimaga that the company will be revealing more games at this year's E3 than any company ever before. And that's a good thing: "It will surprise everyone." Hashimoto also went on to comment on the upcoming Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the GBA, saying that it will "push the handheld harder than it has ever been pushed before". Other games you can expect to see at the expo are Final Fantasy XII, Dragon Quest V, Ambrosia Odyssey, and Kingdom Hearts II, as well as the DVD movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
Final Fantasy XI packaging revealed Sony has revealed the packaging of the PS2 version of Final Fantasy XI, which will finally see the light of North American day this coming March. The package includes the game itself as well as the 40-gig HDD hard drive and a 30-day trial of the online service. Final Fantasy XI will retail for an MSRP of $99.99. Media
Nintendo pulls a "WTF" with new Nintendo DS handheld "[...] it's an all new portable system tentatively called the "Nintendo DS" (our guess is "DS" means "Dual Screened" since Nintendo's press release used that terminology unofficially) that will have two 3-inch TFT LCD screens together on one portable machine." 1up.com
Final Fantasy X-2 sells 1 Million On January 20th, Square Enix announced that since it's North American release in the fall, FFX-2 has sold over 1 million copies. Worldwide, over 6.6 million copies have been sold, and this is before it's Europe release. Between the two, both FFX and FFX-2 have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Together they account for 20% of the entire series' sales, making them the most successful titles in the franchise, in terms of sales. 1up.com
Squenix: "No Final Fantasy X-4 planned." Motomu Toriyama and Takayoshi Nakazato of the Final Fantasy X-2 International+Last Mission development team, who recently completed the title that launches in Japan and Europe next month, told Famitsu that the game's Last Mission section is equivalent to what a hypothetical X-3 would be. They also said not to expect a X-4. Whether the company will pull a Nullsoft and release Final Fantasy X-5 out of the blue is unknown.
New Final Fantasy XI expansion possible Square Enix has recently registered two new trademarks seemingly related to Final Fantasy XI - "Promathia no Jubaku" in Japan and "Chains of Promathia" in the United States. The title has not been confirmed or officially announced for release by Square Enix. 1UP.com
Squenix bringing US gamers a new Legend In January, Square-Enix USA registered the title 'Samurai Legend' with the US Patent Office. Currently there is no other information as to what Samurai Legend might be, but it's this reporter's guess that it might have something to do with Samurai. US Patent Office
Final Fantasy Concert in LA this May "On May 10, the week of this year's E3, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale will perform "Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy," a two-hour selection of music from the popular RPG series arranged by composer Nobuo Uematsu." 1UP
Square-Enix finally explains Star Ocean 3 delay, and proves me right. Star Ocean: Till The End of Time, which was supposed to have been released this month, had been set back for an August release, and until now fans have been left in the dark as to why. Now, Square-Enix has confirmed that the US version will be the same as the Directors' Cut, which contains extra playable characters, costumes, a versus mode, and extra dungeons. RPGFan
Youichi Wada gives a little more insight into Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest VIII Youichi Wada, president of Square Enix, recently commented on the development of FFXII. He talked about how the development team had grown tired of the typical RPG formula of walking around, watching events, and dungeon crawls filled with random battles and item collecting. The development team headed up by Yasumi Matsuno, is trying for a more interactive experience this time around, and plans to use it with other FF titles in the future.
Mr. Wada also remarked on the status of Dragon Quest VIII, stating that it is now playable and unlike the FF series, the Dragon Quest games are going to see less change, focusing more on retaining the traditional feel of the series. Mainichi Interactive