Slashdot Mirror

Thanks to IGN PS2 for its short article noting Natsume has announced the PlayStation 2 action title Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters for North American release "in the first quarter of 2005." NCSX describes the Sega WOW developed Japanese version as being "a surprisingly fresh and engaging gaming experience", as "the protagonist UO (fish) is sent on a mission by an old turtle creature... prey may be gobbled up by wagging the right thumbstick... fishermen also plunk their appetizing baited lines into the water to snatch hungry fish." There are also a number of screenshots of this quirky-looking title over at The Magic Box.

Thanks to 1UP for noting that Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi has founded his own independent development company, according to Japanese magazine Famitsu Weekly. The company will be using "a small group of elite creators", planned to include "artists Yoshitaka Amano and Takehiko Inoue" - the article author also mentions: "Sakaguchi was ousted from any position of significant responsibility at Square after the multi-million-dollar boondoggle that was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." Elsewhere, RPGFan mentions a third Final Fantasy VII spin-off has been announced, following the CG movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and the mobile phone-based Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, but "no release date or platform information has been given so far" for this new title. Finally, Warcry reveals the Final Fantasy XI clock, due out Fall 2004 in the U.S., and featuring "the time, day of the week, date and year in both [Final Fantasy XI's game world] Vana'diel and also here on Earth."

Thanks to The Magic Box for relaying the unconfirmed rumor that "Capcom is planning to release the popular court simulation game Gyakuten Saiban for Game Boy Advance in US later this year, as they have applied for a [trademark] for the title in US." Searching the USPTO database certainly reveals a U.S.-specific "Trademark 78416207... [filed] May 10th, 2004" by Capcom for the Japanese courtroom adventure title with intriguing handheld gameplay, which is helpfully explained in a recent InsertCredit review: "Listen to witnesses speak; at the right time, use the L button to question them... [which] may reveal holes in their stories... Point to the right pieces of evidence at the right times (hey! you can see the victim's watch in that picture with the bottle of pills!), and look really good to the judge as the witness stutters out a confession." Although the game's release is distinctly unconfirmed, would you buy this title if Capcom opted to translate it?

Thanks to The Magic Box for their chart showing the top-selling videogames in Japan during 2003. Square Enix's Final Fantasy X-2 for PS2 tops the chart, selling a little less than 2 million copies, despite Japanese consumer discontent with the title, and Nintendo's Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire for GBA places second, with almost 1.5 million copies sold in 2003, and nearly 5 million in total. A surprise hit in third place is the PlayStation 2 action title Dynasty Warriors 4 from Koei, and further down the chart, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for GameCube can only manage a disappointing 26th place, with 310,000 copies sold, and an Xbox title of any kind is, sadly, nowhere to be seen in the Top 30.

Thanks to The Magic Box for new screenshots and details of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, as the PlayStation 2 "action shooter", developed by Drag-on Dragoon creators Cavia in conjunction with Production I.G., the makers of the original Ghost In The Shell anime movie and the new GITS: Stand Alone Complex TV show, gets an official Japanese site and brief ASX trailer video. This third-person shooter, unrelated in gameplay to an earlier Ghost In The Shell title for PlayStation 1, has you battling against "illicit arms trades, and... terrorists", and will debut in Japan in March 2004, with a U.S. release as yet unconfirmed.

Thanks to IGN PS2 for its information about the new Final Fantasy XII trailer debuting at Japan's recent Jump Festa exhibition The Magic Box has some still images from the "lengthy seven minute trailer" for the PS2 RPG sequel, which shows cinematic action and battle scenes, but unfortunately without "[revealing] much about the gameplay systems." There's also a hands-on look at the PS2 remake of Dragon Quest V, which apparently brings "a little bit of new flavor to a classic old-school game", originally released on the Super Nintendo back in 1992. Finally, 1UP has a brief overview of the festival, including pictures of a Slime-infested Christmas tree.

Thanks to IGN for their announcement of the Japanese CESA videogame award winners for 2002-2003. The videogame trade body "awarded its grand prize to both Final Fantasy XI (Square-Enix, PS2/PC) and Taiko no Tatsujin (Namco, PS2). The latter title, while still not available in America, has proven to be a sensation in Japan, with non-stop arcade play and two PS2 versions combining for sales of over a million units." Of Western titles, Bungie's Halo was given an "award for excellence" alongside several Japanese-authored games, and Grand Theft Auto III, which has already sold over 200,000 in Japan, got the 'Global Award' for overseas-developed games.

Thanks to various sources for covering Tokyo Game Show game announcements, including multiple new Capcom titles, from a Nightmare Before Christmas game for PlayStation 2, to a new multi-platform Mega Man RPG for PS2 and GameCube, and confirmed details on the Street Fighter II Anniversary Edition, which "contains every incarnation of every character from each game released under the Street Fighter II name." Apart from the Final Fantasy VII-based CG movie DVD we mentioned earlier, SquareEnix has also revealed details and initial screenshots for "Kingdom Hearts II for the PlayStation 2 and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance", and Famitsu.com has breaking news on two new SquareEnix PS2 online RPGs, the action-orientated Ambrosia Odyssey and Front Mission Online, though there'll be much more comprehensive coverage soon.

Thanks to GamesAsylum for the news that Toyota have commissioned a special car-specific version of Gran Turismo 4, to encourage Japanese consumers to buy its latest hybrid car. In this Toyota Prius-featuring deal, "Toyota have installed GT Force Pro steering wheel equipped PlayStation 2 booths running the game in their Japanese showrooms, so customers can have a virtual test drive." The Magic Box has some more screenshots of the special Gran Turismo 4 Prius Trial Version, which will be available to play next month, ahead of the game's release, and is "not for resale".

Daetrin writes "GamesAreFun.com is reporting that Namco's Tales of Symphonia RPG for GameCube sold 200,000 copies in its first day of release in Japan. It also reports that Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for GameCube has sold over 350,000 units since its Japanese release last month. Perhaps the influx of RPGs will help revitalize the low GameCube hardware sales in Japan?" IGN Cube has hands-on impressions of Tales Of Symphonia, and GamesAreFun also mention the "73,000 pre-orders in Japan" for GC farming RPG Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, which comes complete with a plush cow if you pre-order Stateside.

Thanks to The Magic Box for their report that the first set of earlier rumored Western titles for the Xbox are being released in Japan this October. According to the site, "Microsoft announced they will release the Xbox World Collection series for Xbox in Japan on October 23, five titles will be available, and a total of 20 titles will be released by summer 2004." The first five titles unveiled are Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus, Inside Pitch 2003, NFL Fever 2004, Outlaw Golf, and Outlaw Volleyball, as Microsoft tries to expand their Japanese Xbox support by importing a mass of American/European titles.

Thanks to The Magic Box for their new information on Sega's AGES 2500 Series remakes for PlayStation 2. We've covered the initial set of remakes, currently announced for Japanese release only, and including Phantasy Star, Fantasy Zone, Monaco GP, Space Harrier, and Golden Axe, but there's now a streaming trailer of the first titles (in 56k and broadband flavors), and details on the next games in the series: "Vol.6:Virtua Racing - remake of Model 1 3D racing game, Vol.7:Last Bronx - remake of the Model 2 arcade fighting game, Vol.8:Phantasy Star 2 - remake of Mega Drive RPG, Vol.9:Phantasy Star 4: The End of Millennium - remake of Mega Drive RPG."

Daetrin writes "Originally reported on The Magic Box and relayed (and edited) at Games Are Fun: 'Square Enix is currently pondering the possibility of porting their [unreleased] Wonderswan remake of Final Fantasy III to Nintendo's Gameboy Advance.' This is the only FF that hasn't been released in the US yet." However, this rumor last surfaced 10 months ago, so should probably be viewed warily - but the WonderSwan remakes of FF1 and FF2 were ported and enhanced further for Final Fantasy Origins on Playstation, so if FF3 is done, it might make sense for it to be re-appropriated as well.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to The Magic Box's item indicating that Midway are publishing a PS2/Xbox/GameCube title called Midway Arcade Treasures this fall. According to the site, "..the compilation will contain the following classic arcade games: Spy Hunter, Defender II, Gauntlet, Joust, Paperboy, Rampage, Marble Madness, Robotron 2084, Smash TV, Joust 2, Bubbles, Road Blasters, Rampart, Sinistar, Super Sprint, 720, Toobin', Klax, Splat!, Satan's Hollow and Vindicators. In addition, the compilation will include interviews with the creators and developers of these games."

Daetrin writes "The Magic Box is reporting that Square Enix will be releasing both Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Final Fantasy X-2 in America on the same day. Perhaps they figure any Americans who can afford both a PS2 and a GameCube should also be able to afford putting down the cash for both games at the same time? Usually competing against yourself isn't the best business plan." Square Insider also confirms this. I'm a huge Final Fantasy nut, and I have both a GameCube and a PS2, but I'm sure I don't have the time to play both games simultaneously, and I bet there's a lot of people who fall into this same category.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Magic Box article showing screenshots from the bootleg arcade game Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2003. Although there are few details on this title, it seems to be a South American-sourced Neo-Geo cartridge that doesn't actually have the actual movie license, but is 'borrowing' its name, along with most of the gameplay of King of Fighters 2001 and a bunch of backgrounds from the Street Fighter series. So many years after the Street Fighter II bootlegs, it's amazing to see people are still 'enhancing' arcade games for cultures where the 2D arcade fighter is still popular.

Warrior-GS writes "The final part of the Future of PC Gaming is up at GameSpy. This one deals with the future of user-created games and talks to developers and mod makers, as well as identifying tools that can assist them. There is also a Q&A with Warren Spector on where he thinks PC gaming is headed in the next several years." John Scabadone points to a "nice article featuring an update on the state of the handheld gaming industry along with a roundtable of some of the premier developers." Read on below for several more gaming updates, too.

pandrew writes "Square has openly admitted to doing something people have been asking for for many years now: a sequel! Though not what most people have asked for (i.e. Final Fantasy 7) this is still a very big step in the Final Fantasy line, since no game in the series has ever had a follow up with a connecting storyline."

k-hell writes "The Mother of All Games, Scorched Earth has been updated to allow for playing on Internet. Rendered in OpenGL, Scorched 3D now features a 3D island environment and LAN and Internet play. See screenshots here. You can download a Windows binary package and/or Windows source package here. At the same time, you should also grab the excellent server browser The All-Seeing Eye."

Lucifer writes "'Sega announced a list of new Sega AGES game titles for PlayStation 2, remakes of their classic Master System, Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn titles. Each game will retail for 2500 yen, and the first four titles are scheduled to release in Japan in summer 2003.' 15 years later and I'm going to start playing Phantasy Star again! ;-)"

Finally, bredroll writes "Attention fellow Geeks! Ever wanted to live 100ft underground in a ex British gov't nuclear bunker for three days and do nothing but geek at extreme levels and play LAN games? Well, we can help, This year's event includes food and bunks as well,

In-Bunker Events

• Battle Royale (Robot Wars-type event)
• Underground Noise Fest (see site)
• High-speed switched LAN
• Various LAN game tournaments
• NTK will be there
• + more ....

Users of all systems welcome, Linux, BSD, Windows, Mac, anything, the more diverse the better. The bunker is located in Essex (UK) near the town of Brentwood. Details about booking places and prices are on our site."