Square Enix announced today it is bringing Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes Of Time to North America in Spring 2009, an interesting cross-platform multiplayer action-RPG that is playable on the Nintendo DS and the Wii.
Press Release: Wii and Nintendo DS Owners Unite! Square Enix Announces FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Echoes of Time for North America
The Latest in the Franchise Breaks Down the Walls between Handheld and Console Platforms
LOS ANGELES (December 1, 2008) – Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in North America, announced today that FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Echoes of Time™ will be released for both Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ in Spring 2009.
Players can choose to play alone or with friends, whenever and however they like in FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Echoes of Time. Arriving simultaneously on both Wii and DS, this latest entry in the FINAL FA... More »
It was only meant to be a prototype. But 40 years after the computer mouse first scrolled its way into the public consciousness, new touch-screen technology could be about to consign the mouse to the annals of history.
The computer mouse was the creation of Doug Engelbart and his team at the Stanford Research Institute in California, who needed a simple way of controlling their computers. The result was a carved wooden block mounted on wheels, with a long cable trailing out the back. One researcher nicknamed it a mouse, and the moniker stuck.
"We thought that when it had escaped out to the world it would have a more dignified name," said Mr Engelbart. "But it didn't."
The mouse made its debut at a presentation in San Francisco in 1968 to show off a working network computer system. Before the invention of the mouse, people working on computers used a light pen, similar to those wielded by radar operators during the war, to navigate around... More »
Empire: Total War, is the new installment in The Creative Assembly’s Total War RTS franchise and will maintain the series 3D battles, grand turn based campaign map and rich historical flavor; while for the first time introducing 3D naval combat into the series.
Below is an interview with one of the game's developers:
WP: Who has the honor to speak with us? State your name, rank, and occupation!
Kieran Brigden, studio communications manager for Creative Assembly.
WP: Empire Total War marks the first time that the Total War series has had really intricate naval battles. Why have them now?
KB: Well, it's a combination of factors. One, we've wanted to do it for a while but the technology was ready now. Two, it's the period that's right for it. When you add naval battles to the game, you have to do it when it's interesting, enjoyable, and fun. The 18th century was the absolute height of cool naval warfare. You had thi... More »
Courtesy of Sierradev comes update v0.2 of the Nintendo Wii Homebrew Disc Channel today. Using the Homebrew Disc Channel, you can load homebrew programs from regular ISO9660 DVDs. It supports (sub)directories.
Note: the name Homebrew Disc Channel is actually wrong; the program was intended as either an add-on to the Wii Disc Channel or a separate channel, but due to the fact that BootMii will need an SD card to load, turning this program into anything other than a regular homebrew program will be useless in a couple of months.
The name will be changed at the next release to Homebrew Disc Loader.
Usage - Rename programs to boot.dol and put them in separate (sub)directories on the DVD.
- Burn as ISO9660 DVD.
- Put disc in console and start program.
- Follow on-screen instructions.
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Are Sony and Blockbuster looking to form an alliance to bring Blockbuster's streaming video offer to the PlayStation 3? We'll know by 'early next year' says Blockbuster Video.
Sony and Blockbuster have some history together already. You may recall that Blockbuster was one of the first retailers in North America that they were going to be supporting Blu-ray on a much bigger scale than HD DVD. That announcement really got the ball rolling in Blu-ray's favor at the time.
Fast forward a year and we have Netflix signing streaming deals with every manufacturer they can find including an exclusive game console deal with Microsoft. Netflix has signed deals with TiVo Inc, Samsung, LG Electronics.
Now comes word from Blockbuster that, in the wake of their launch of Blockbuster OnDemand, they are actively seeking a partnership with Blu-ray player manufacturers. With Samsung and LG already in Netflix's corner, could this lead Blockbuster to seek out Sony as a... More »
Ever Since Sonic Adventure 2 on the Sega Dreamcast, the hedgehog has suffered some pretty piss poor releases. Sonic fans have been hurting for a long time now with titles like "Sonic Riders" and more recently "Sonic The Hedgehog".
What little good will gamers had left for the blue blur is quickly evaporating thanks to Sonic Unleashed, an otherwise decent Sonic game ruined by brawling levels that turn Sonic into a werehog combatant.
So why exactly do the development team keep screwing things up exactly? Turns out it's an entirely conscious decision.
In the latest IGN Three Red Lights podcast at the 19:40 mark David Clayman recalls a time when he talked to a member of the Sonic Unleashed team about this very issue...
"I asked one of the developers at TGS, you know I was like, come on everybody just wants Sonic running, li... More »
Just under a week ago we featured a Compulsive Gamers Not Addicts article, and today a related topic of dicussion is Video Games Versus Real Life.
Since the dawn of time, there have been conflicts. Men Vs Women, Right Vs Wrong, the list goes on. But have we really gotten to the bottom of any of these? Well now, it’s time to solve a conflict so steeped in history that some of you just might not be old enough to remember when it began.
We all know the stereotypes that come into play here. There’s the typical ‘nerd’, complete with sweaty palms and dorky glasses. The other being the ‘jock’. The sports loving, woman seducing bully. Obviously, recent times have changed this situation.
More and more ‘regular’ people are playing games, and the nerd stereotype is becoming less of a crux of gaming. But whenever you picture the Real L... More »
It feels as though I’ve been writing about PlayStation Home for years. I haven’t, it’s only been months in reality, but with its release being delayed constantly, known and unknown development issues, and questions still remaining, it feels like the service has been a long time coming. Which makes any official word from Sony very interesting indeed.
Jack Buser, the director of PlayStation Home, recently sat down with IGN to discuss Home. He talks about why we should care about it, what experience it will give us, and what is it with all these delays.
He explains that Home is going to be a place to meet friends online, to find gamers of the same skill level and into the same games as you. It’s going to replace the arcade as the place to make new friends and share your hobby with them. All in all, Sony is excited about Home, and so, apparently should you be.
Great, so where is it and when can we, the great unwashed who haven’t been ... More »
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