- PlayOnline investment returns as Square Enix profits hit the ceiling
 Gamesindustry.biz reports a lot of numbers and sales figures which on the whole conclude that Square Enix' PlayOnline venture has paid off in no small amount -- profits have doubled over the past six months thanks to the introduction of Final Fantasy XI - which now commands a community of over 550,000 - as well as an increase in operating profits in the Square Enix Mobile division (Before Crisis naysayers be damned). And while other (offline) sales saw a slight decrease in performance, this has more to do with the lacklustre line-up than anything else, and should be wholly negated in the upcoming 6 months with Dragon Quest VIII, Advent Children, Kingdom Hearts II and possibly Final Fantasy XII to make what appears to be the company's strongest sales period in its history. gi.biz
- Radiata Stories theme song now with shameless bribe for artist
 According to 1Up, Japanese pop artist Nami Tamaki has been signed to perform the opening theme to Tri-Ace's Radiata Stories, "Fortune". Naturally, in return Tamaki has been provided her own in-game character, though to what end has yet to be revealed. For now, we can only marvel at what lengths developers will go to obtain a licensed theme song. 1Up
- New information on Dragon Quest VIII mobile conventions
 Square Enix, in one of its regular Dragon Quest VIII updates, has recently described the game's various modes of transportation. Ranging from "killer panther" to a supposed arial flight method, vehicles are varied, and, in the case of sea-faring, not free of random encounters. Bummer. Look for Dragon Quest VIII come November 27. 1-Up
- Square Enix offers gifts for reserving Radiata Stories
 Square Enix has started to offer a nice little gift to those in Japan who pre-order Radiata Stories: an audio cd. The album, entitled tri-Ace Battle Sound Collection, will feature music from Valkyrie Profile, the Star Ocean series, and Radiata Stories. RPG Fan
- Advent Children taking forever and a day
 According to The Magicbox, Square Enix has recently commented on the completion of Advent Children. They state that the current 60% rate is due to the alleged intent to preserve best the Final Fantasy VII world existant in the minds of fans without, say, throwing another continent in the middle. The CG DVD movie is scheduled to release in Japan and America come 2005; yet all is quiet about a prospective European release. The Magicbox
- New Dirge of Cerberus details to further quell any suspicions of blatant Polymorphism™. Not.
 Earlier this week The Magic Box had some new details on Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, the upcoming PS2 action title starring Vincent Valentine: "It seems that the mysterious organization D.C. is doing a large scale man hunt, murdering people who they think were worthless. D.C. sends cyborgs and mechanical beasts to attack people. You control Vincent Valentine in a third person perspective, you can also switch to a first person perspective when using rifles. There are several weapons available, such as shotgun, machine gun and rifle." More on our gamepage. Dirge of Cerberus coverage
- More OST re-prints
 A number of reprints of classic Final Fantasy OSTs have become available through NTT Publishing. Full List
- Square Enix considering PlayOnline implementation on Nintendo DS?
 According to British adult gaming magazine EDGE, several companies have been busy working on getting the upcoming Nintendo DS working with internet multiplayer gaming. Although nothing has officially been announced, Nintendo has stated on its website that "the future" will hold Internet gameplay for Nintendo DS. Square Enix has purportedly been testing the system with PlayOnline, which could mean very interesting things indeed -- and adds to promise to recent speculation that Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII is scheduled to appear for the handheld.
- Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories fucking rocks.
 Famitsu has awarded Chain of Memories, upcoming Kingdom Hearts successor for the GBA, a score of 36/40 (10/9/9/8), making it superior to Halo 2, which was awarded only 34/40. I don't know where I am. The world is ending. Bush has won!
- Romancing SaGa site update; characters and junk
 SquareEnix has updated the official Japanese Romancing SaGa - Minstrel Song website with new character details and information concerning the game's voice actors, so pop on over if that's your thing. official Minstrel Song site
- Advent Children voice actors announced
 Onimusha 3 and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children are amongst games industry titles appearing at today's Tokyo International CG Image Festival. Besides new footage of the upcoming movie, Square Enix also announced voice actors for the movie, but since I'm not interested in having it all spoiled, you can go read it yourself. Gamefront coverage (spoilers)
- Dragon Quest VIII footage comes as release date nears
 SquareEnix has graced us with a superb Dragon Quest VIII trailer featuring an overview of the main characters as well as in-battle abilities and other cinematics. The trailer, which is currently being aired in several Japanese gameshops, arrives in anticipation of the 7 A.M. November 27th release. Specific, ain't they? SquareNet
- Uematsu leaves Square Enix (updated)
 Nobuo Uematsu has ended his nearly 20 year position at Square Enix in favour of a career where he can define his own deadlines and not work by such strict schedules. The power is going to his head! Nevertheless, Yasunori Mitsuda opted for the same direction and is now fated to make music for second rate anime, crappy RPGs, and irrelevant Mario Party games. Uematsu will be founding his own company to support his compositions and his band The Black Mages, but leaving Square Enix doesn't mean he won't be working with them in the future as a freelancer: indeed, some of the Final Fantasy soundtracks are his personal favourites. SquareDream
- Cover art, release date for Black Mages II: ~The Skies Above~
 Uematsu's Black Mages homepage has updated with a short flash intro, cover art and release date for the upcoming second album in the series. Black Mages II: ~The Skies Above~ will be released on December 22nd in Japan, and feature at least renditions of FFX's Skies Above and FFVIII's Man with a Machine Gun, though whether it will be received as enthusiastically as the original with such dodgy operatic vocals remains to be seen... TBM2 @ Square Enix.co.jp
- Hori releasing slime PS2 controller in time for Dragon Quest VIII
 Japanese peripheral developer Hori will release a PS2 controller in the form of a blue slime in time for the Japanese release of Dragon Quest VIII on November 27. The controller features dual shock vibrations, while the face of the controller is located on the slime's ass. 1UP
- 4th Final Fantasy VII spin-off, Crisis Core, underlines PSP launch announcement
 While Sony wasted no time blowing the industry away today with its PSP launch date and price announcement, our favourite Polymorphic presence has completed the predicted AC/BC/CC/DC sequence of Final Fantasy VII sequels with the news of Crisis Core - FINAL FANTASY VII, a PSP Action RPG to be released in 2006. Crisis Core - FINAL FANTASY VII
- Front Mission development
 In an update on the offical Front Mission website, Toshirou Tsuchida, head of Square Enix's sixth production team, talked about the development of Front Mission 5. The team behind Front Mission 4 will be developing this new project with the addition of a few new members. The team in charge of Front Mission Mobile, however, is the same one who developed the PlayStation One version of Front Mission 1st. Both titles will be hitting the shelves in Japan somtime next year. RPG Fan
- More re-release albums join the evergrowing list of Polymorphism™ applications
Square Enix, going along with the already growing list of albums, has announced three more soundtracks to be re-released. The Final Fantasy IX OST Plus album, Seiken Densetsu 4: Legend of Mana OST, and Sword of Mana OST are set to be available on October 20th in Japan.
- Middle Earth: Ring of Po-- er.. Fantasy Earth: ~Ring of Dominion~ announced
 The newest online game from Square Enix, Fantasy Earth ~Ring of Dominion~, now has an official website. This new title has been described as a blend of MMO, Action RPG, and Real Time Strategy. Also, according to sources, Fantasy Earth is in fact True Fantasy Live Online, a MMORPG that was, until recently, being developed for the Xbox.
- Before Crisis sells 200k
 As if it wasn't obvious when the game was first announced, Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis has become the top selling cellphone game ever with 200,000 users registered on the first day alone.
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19 Nov 2004 by 
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