video game chats

Capcom recently released an original DS-based adventure game in Japan. While the popular Gyakuten Saiban (Phoenix Wright)
series puts its player in control of an attorney, in Kabu Trader Shun
the player assumes control over stock broker Shun Aiba. The young,
bright man wants to follow in the footsteps of his father Ippei, a
legendary broker. In order to achieve this lofty aim, Tooru Narasaki,
one of the country's top brokers, has become Shun's teacher. Another
student of Tooru's is Hanako Kirikagura. The self-confident girl's
family has built a large securities company. Hanako has strong feelings
for Tooru. Yamabue is a veteran trader, who used by to be famous.
Recently he has moved to the brokerage where the protagonist is
working. The real intention behind this move however is unknown.Kabu Trader Shun
features an adventure part and a brokerage part. The former allows Shun
to freely walk around the city, gather information and do some
shopping. In the latter Shun must try and successfully complete
Narasaki's various challenges, for instance by engaging in stock
trading with other brokers.Kabu Trader Shun has been available in Japan since June 7th.

After watching Rush Hour 3, which was like an overstretched lolcat, I
decided to pay my local gamestop a visit to see if they had the new
premiums with HDMI. Here is the transcript of the conversation below.

Me: Hey, do you have the Premiums with the hdmi?

GT: Those are called the elites. They are right there.

ME: No, I mean the premiums, *points*, with hdmi.

GT: They're not making them yet till like later.

ME: They're making them now, I've seen pictures of them online.

GT: No, they're not. You got it wrong.

ME: Nowai.

GT: Let me explain, they're making the elites into premiums, and dropping the core.

ME: WHAA..

GT: Microsoft told me they're making the elites into premiums, and later they're releasing xbox ultimate.

ME: WTF is that?

GT: It's the xbox 360 that has a hdmi, and a HD-DVD drive to compete with blu-ray.

ME: Are they putting HD-DVD games on it?

GT: Yeah, Microsoft is competing against Blu-ray.

ME: Orly, what about the 9 million people that bought 360 last year. They're fucked! lol

GT: No, they're fine.

ME: The 360 can't play HD-DVD right now.

GT: Well it could, sort of. The xbox ultimate and the HD-DVD drive just makes it more HD.

ME: ...

ME: ...

ME: ...

ME: Uh, so who do you think will win the war.

GT: Blu-ray or HD-DVD, too early to tell.

ME: Not that one. The other one.

GT: Uh, 360 man.

ME: The Wii is kicking it's ass right now.

GT: Well, you see, the wii is in another market by itself on the side.

ME: It's new-gen.

GT: Yeah.

ME: It's nice talking to you. I tell my forum about xbox ultimate.

GT: Peace out.

Heard here first, XBOX ULTIMATE with HD-DVD coming out in 2008. More HD than ever before!

UBISOFT REPORTS FIRST-QUARTER 2007-08 SALES RESULTS

PARIS, July 24, 2007 - Today, Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video
game publishers, reported its sales for the first fiscal quarter ended
June 30, 2007.

Sales for the first quarter of 2007-08 came to €134 million ($180.66
U.S.), up 90.5%, or 94.5% at constant exchange rates, compared with the
€70 million ($94.37 U.S.) recorded for the same period of 2006-07.

First-quarter sales for 2007-08 exceeded the forecast of approximately
€120 million ($161.78 U.S.) announced when Ubisoft released its sales
figures for fourth-quarter 2006-07

This performance was primarily attributed to the following:

o The continued success of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas on Xbox 360 as well as its launch on PLAYSTATION 3 and PSP.

o The release of Surf's Up, Prince of Persia , Oblivion and Call of Juarez.

o Back catalog games, which accounted for over one third of total sales
for the period, particularly thanks to the Petz series and Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In first-quarter 2007-08, 79% of the Group's sales came from games for
new-generation consoles, compared with 42% in the comparable prior-year
period. This increase particularly reflects a sharp rise in sales of
games for the PLAYSTATION 3 (21% of sales) and the Nintendo DS (16%,
versus 3% in the first-quarter 2006-07).

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft stated "Ubisoft has made a solid start
to the year, and continued to win market share. Momentum was
particularly strong during the period for European sales, which climbed
109% thanks to the ramp-up of new-generation consoles and the impact of
PS3 game sales, including Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas and Oblivion.
Our performance during this quarter has once again proved the relevance
of our early positioning in the casual gaming sector, as demonstrated
by the success of our DS and Wii games. Lastly, we were able to present
one of the best game line-ups in the industry at this year's E3, in
terms of both quality and diversity. Assassin's Creed, Brothers in
Arms, Haze, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction and Tom Clancy's End
War are some of the most highly anticipated games of the year. At the
same time, our portfolio of upcoming casual games will enable us to
strengthen and broaden our current offering, and to reach new
consumers."

Outlook

Ubisoft expects second-quarter 2007-08 sales to remain stable at approximately €105 million ($141.56 U.S.)

The period will see the following main releases:

· Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 on PLAYSTATION 3, PC and PSP.

· The Settlers 6 for PC.

· Jam Sessions on Nintendo DS.

· The European launch of the game based on the animated movie Surf's Up.

Future games releases:

· Far Cry 2: The multi-million selling brand will be back for the
fourth fiscal quarter of 2007-08, as announced on July 19, 2007.

· Tom
Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction: originally scheduled for the third
fiscal quarter of 2007-08, this game will now be released in the fourth
fiscal quarter.

Outlook for full-year 2007-08

In light of our first-quarter performance, which exceeded forecasts, as
well as the positive feedback for our games at this year's E3, Ubisoft
has raised its performance targets for full-year 2007-08. The Group's
2007-08 sales target is now appro...

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Square Enix plans to bring remakes of Dragon Quest IV, V and VI to Nintendo DS. The studio behind the PlayStation 2 remake of Dragon Quest V, Arte Piazza will be handling the development of the three remakes. Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi will be available in Japan this winter. Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome and Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi have yet to receive official release dates.

Level 5 president Akihiro Hino has sat down with Famitsuu to talk about his company's highly anticipated PlayStation 3 debut, Shirokishi Monogatari (White Knight Story).
The game's story will center around the relationship between the
protagonist and the princess. Early in the game, the protagonist comes
to the princess' rescue and from there on they begin to develop a close
relationship. One scene apparently will show the couple dancing
together in a forest. Apart from the relationship between the two main
characters, the story will also shed some light on the huge knights,
explaining why they exist and what kind of influence they exert on
their world.As for gameplay, Level 5 aims to make it as accessible
as possible. The game's control scheme during battles apparently only
makes use of the circle button (and we suppose, the SIXAXIS' analogue
stick). Furthermore, Hino confirmed that the segment shown in
the recently released second promotional trailer will indeed be
playable during Tokyo Game Show in September.Shirokishi Monogatari has yet to receive an official release date in Japan.

Next month Alchemist will bring Pure x Cure
to Japanese PlayStation 2s. This love adventure was originally released
by Chuable Soft for the PC platform in February 2005. The game's
protagonist is Hiromi Yonekura. The young man has been assigned to
become a part-time teacher in charge of an infirmary at a girls-only
school. The game features the following heroines:Karin Tachibana is
a bright third-year student brimming with curiosity, who often stops by
the infirmary. Karin's older sister, Yuzuri, was the protagonist's
first girlfriend. She died in an accident eight years ago.
Mizuki Yoshino is a classmate and good friend of Karin's. She has a firm character and is very helpful.
Haruna Kaburagi is a transfer student who has not attended classes at her new school even once.
Tsukino
Kagurazaka is a second-year student. She also happens to be the
daughter of the school board's chairman. The physically weak girl is a
regular patient at the infirmary.
Sheemei Chiyu is an elite exchange
student from Taiwan. She is strong-willed and stubborn, but even the
smallest trifle results in her getting red in the face.
Shouko Saibara is a second-year student with a habit of simulating illnesses in order to relax at the infirmary.
Ayako Gunji is a popular Japanese teacher and childhood friend of the protagonist.

The
game's console version will feature several scenario edits as well as a
completely new scenario. To go with the new scenario, Alchemist has
added several new CG scenes. Existing CG sequences have also been
improved to look more realistic. Furthermore, potential buyers can look
forward to a new intro sequence and opening theme. Last but not least,
a new playable bonus scenario for each heroine will become accessible
after the player has successfully beaten the game.Pure x Cure Recovery
for PlayStation 2 will be available in Japan on August 23rd. The game's
standard version will retail for 6,800 yen ($56.66 US), while the
limited edition will carry a price tag of 8,800 yen ($73.33 US). The
latter will ship with an artbook, a maxi single, and a drama CD.

Atlus USA has released the following statement in regards to the shipment of Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3:"The new scheduled ship date for Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is August 14th, 2007. This is the very soonest that manufacturing of the Persona 3 art book can be completed, and also takes into account the time required for assembly of the final package.The
manufacturing issue with the art book was brought to our attention mere
days prior to the initial ship date, and was a scenario both unforeseen
and beyond our control. Our disappointment and frustration is tempered
by the knowledge that the final product will live up to our standard of
quality and also the expectations of our fans.While many are
willing to sacrifice the art book in favor of the game alone, the
package we have spent the last few months designing, one intended to
honor the series and reward fans for an eight year wait, would be
irreparably compromised if we were to revise or abandon the deluxe
package. Without the art book, the outer box would lack the structural
integrity to endure shipping; all extras would need to be discarded.
Again, this deluxe set was created for the fans of Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, and we are determined to see the special release through to the end.We apologize for the delay, and we ask for your understanding."

Square Enix has announced some more details regarding its upcoming PlayStation Portable title Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Two classic Final Fantasy VIIcharacters,
Aeris and Hojo have been confirmed to appear in the game. Aeris
apparently gets to meet her lover Zack in the same church, where she
met Cloud in the beginning of Final Fantasy VII. Hojo, the head of Shinra Company's science department, hasn't changed much since Final Fantasy VII.
He is still the mad scientist who conducts his experiments without
regard for casualties. In one screenshots released today, he tells Zack
that Soldier's role simply was to protect him without thinking.Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII will be available in Japan on September 13th for 5,800 yen ($47.84 US).

Atlus USA has announced a slight shipping delay for their title Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3.
Due to an issue with the completion of the art books, the title will be
delayed for an indefinite amount of time. Atlus USA released the
following statement, and will announce when the title has shipped."Presented with the choice of compromising on the quality of the art
book, or shipping the game without said extra, we decided to have the
art book redone with a higher quality binding, which will cause a very
short delay in the ship date of the title.While all other materials and packaging related to the game are
complete, we were unwilling to sacrifice the art book, and as such will
expedite the manufacturing process to the best of our ability in order
to release the title as soon as is possible."

Bandai Namco Games today announced the following four new Tales games for PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, DS and Wii in Japan:Tales of Innocence, DS, winter 2007
Tales of Destiny Director's Cut, PlayStation 2, early 2008
Tales of Rebirth, PlayStation Portable, early 2008
Tales of Symphonia Ratatosk no Kishi (Knights of Ratatosk, tentative title), Wii, spring 2008

Sony Computer Entertainment America has made Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
available for download via its PlayStation Store. 1997's classic
PlayStation game can be played on either PlayStation 3 or PlayStation
Portable. Downloading Konami's classic 32-bit title will cost you $9.99
US and 356 MB of memory on your hard disk and/or memory stick.

Nippon Ichi Software today officially announced Makai Senki Disgaea 3
for PlayStation 3. Judging from the two screenshots which have been
released so far, the company's newest strategy RPG offering will retain
the comic style visuals of its PlayStation 2-based prequels.Makai Senki Disgaea 3 will be available in Japan sometime this winter for 6,800 yen ($55.80 US).

At today's PlayStation Premiere event in Japan, Square Enix announced a limited edition bundle including its upcoming RPG title Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
and a PlayStation Portable unit. The hardware shipping with this bundle
will be the new PlayStation Portable, which Sony Computer Entertainment
announced during last week's E3. The silver-colored handheld will
feature a Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary
logo as well as an illustration showing Cloud and Zack. Potential
buyers can also look forward to a special cellphone strap. Square Enix
and Sony Computer Entertainment will offer a total of 77,777 units in
Japan.The Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII/Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Limited Edition bundle will be available in Japan on September 13th for 25,890 yen ($212.45 US).

During Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation Premiere event, Sega
announced four titles for PlayStation 3. Of interest for RPGFans are
the previously announced adventure titles Imabikisou and Senjou no Valkyria. The latter is an original RPG by the Sakura Taisen
development team. The head of Sega's consumer game division, Toshihiro
Nagoshi stated the game's main point would be its dramatic content.
Furthermore, Senjou no Valkyria will
incorporate action and strategy elements. Its anime-like visuals look
like a watercolor painting in motion. Sega plans to release more
information on this new project at Tokyo Game Show.Meanwhile, the Chunsoft-developed horror adventure Imabikisou has been confirmed to go on sale in Japan on October 25th.

At today's PlayStation Premiere event, Level 5 showed off its PlayStation 3 RPG Shirokishi Monogatari (White Knight Story)
for the first time since last year's Tokyo Game Show. Level 5 president
Akihiro Hino not only demonstrated a new trailer, but also played the
game himself to reveal a previously undisclosed feature. The game will
allow for players to create a virtual alter ego of themselves. This
character can then be added to the player's party. This "character
making" feature will offer a great amount of customization and in fact
has been used by the development team to create the protagonist and the
approximately 1,000 NPCs.Famitsuu described White Knight Story's battle system as being similar to Rogue Galaxy's (with the notable exception of the White Knight
transformation feature of course). Japanese fans can look forward to a
playable demo of the game at September's Tokyo Game Show 2007.Shirokishi Monogatari has yet to receive an official release date.

The makers of To Heart, Aquaplus will be bringing Tears to Tiara
to PlayStation 3. Originally released for the PC platform on April 28th
2005, the console version of the strategy RPG will carry the title Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi.
The game takes place in a fantasy world of swords and magic inhabited
by humans, elves and demons. The game's protagonist is the Demon King
Arawn. For more than a millennium he had been sealed away. At first
glance he just looks like an evil kid, but his powers by far exceed
those of human beings. As a result of his 1,000-year long sleep
however, Arawn can't use those powers right away. Riannon is a shrine
maiden who was set to be sacrificed at a ceremony celebrating Arawn's
revival. Before being sacrificed, she is rescued by her older brother.
Afterwards, she becomes emotionally attached to Arawn and joins him on
his journey.Thankfully the PlayStation 3 version of Tears to Tiara will be more than a simple port, as Aquaplus is remaking CG sequences, systems and scenario for the console release.Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi for PlayStation 3 will be available in Japan later this year.

SOE invited us to their suite at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica
to check out their upcoming MMORPGs slated for the PC. While only one
is new to SOE, all three titles, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, and EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark had something new to offer gamers.Gods and Heroes
has been through quite a bit since we last saw it at CES in January.
Players are no longer locked into position during melee combat,
although the impressive grappling and fighting animations remain in the
game. The squad control, which forms a main part of the gameplay, has
been greatly improved and placed into collapsing menus. A horizontal
menu allows players to give global commands to their entire force,
while a vertical menu allows players to micromanage each individual
minion, from healing threshold to how aggressive they are. Perpetual
Entertainment is looking at squads not like World of Warcraft's
pets, where a hunter or warlock focuses on a small group of pets or
minions and never shifts, but rather more like a catch 'em all style,
akin to Pokemon.The individual
minions, of which the game contains over one hundred, will gain levels,
skills, and abilities and will level up alongside the character.
However, that's not to say that all of the minions are easy to gets, as
there are both rare and epic minions with a power level that's much
higher in comparison to other NPCs. Perpetual also is planning to offer
minions for players reaching milestones both inside and outside the
game. There will be minions for pre-ordering the titles, post counts in
forums, activity in bug fixing, and all sorts of things. No date has
been set yet for Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising.Pirates of the Burning Sea
is a recent acquisition for Sony Online, having recently joined up with
the developer Flying Lab Software to publish the title. Players take
the role of a swashbuckling seafarer either under the British, French,
Spanish, or Pirate flags. Players gunning for one of the major empires
will have three different classes to choose from, the officer, trader,
or privateer, while pirates will have a single class: Pirate. There are
fourteen individual categories of customization for a player's avatar
itself, not to mention nearly endless customization of that avatar's
ship. Interestingly enough, Flying Lab is denying eye patches, peg
legs, and hooks to those initially creating their character - to gain
the look of a grizzled old pirate in Burning Sea, players must level up and complete missions.Ship
to Ship combat is a big part of this title, but Flying Lab CEO Russell
Williams let us know that level was not as big of a factor as tactical
play. While, certainly, a higher level player will have a bigger ship,
better crew, and niftier toys, a lower level player won't have his
chance to hit reduced, and will be able to make tactical decisions to
inhibit enemies from attacking allies. When a player is targeting
another ship, if any ship travels between the two, an attack cannot be
initiated, so a smaller, weaker ship can act as a barrier while his
ally reloads and rearms. Players will not only need to watch the
condition of their own ship's armor and condition, but they'll need to
keep watch over the battle as a whole to see where his or her ship will
be most needed.Players will be able to view their ship from any
number of angles with a fully positionable camera, and will be able to
make their ship's sales transparent if they wish to play on the deck
itself. While weapons make a great deal of difference in the power of a
ship, there are several different types of ammunition, such as grape
shot or...

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Electronic Arts had a demo of their upcoming FPS/RPG/MMOG hybrid Hellgate: London running in their Barker Hangar booth, and we had an absolute blast. While not a lot has changed in Hellgate: London since the last time we took a look at it, the Flagship representative had an explanation for it. Previous demos of Hellgate
showed off material from zero to fifteen percent of the game. The E3
2007 demo explored the material all the way up to seventeen percent.That's
far from bad, however, as we had a chance to look at a brand new
environment. One of the generated levels takes place in the synapses of
one of Hellgate: London's inhabitants.
Unlike the fantastically-styled demons and city destruction that's made
up most of the game we've seen so far, everything in the mind of this
inhabitant is very organic with a very rounded, wet look. The level
will feature several mini-bosses that represent parts of the brain's
psyche, with the boss battle against the ego.The game now
features six unique classes as opposed to three classes that specialize
at level 10. Players will be able to take these characters online
regardless of their subscription type. Flagship is still looking to
bring over a hundred unique weapons to the table, on top of an armor
generation system similar to Diablo or World of Warcraft.
The demo running at the Barker Hanger booth was running in DirectX 9,
and still managed to look great. Since Flagship wasn't showing levels
that took a great advantage of DX10 technology, they weren't displaying
this version of the title.Flagship also went a bit more in-depth
into the Elite versus Standard subscription system. Standard players
will have access to both the complete single player campaign and online
multiplayer. Elite subscribers, who will be paying ten dollars a month,
a bit below industry standard for an MMORPG, will continue to receive
new content, have access to things like auction houses, and gain access
to hardcore mode after defeating the game once. Hellgate: London's
hardcore mode means that if a character dies once, that character is
dead forever, never to be in the game again, aside from a ghost that
can wander the cities, proving to other inhabitants that you, indeed,
made it to level 50 as an Engineer on hardcore mode.We're stoked for the release of Hellgate: London later on this year.

Atlus USA announced their intent to bring several games to North America before E3, but only one fell under the eye of RPGFan, Touch Detective 2½. On top of that, Atlus was also showing off the Marvelous-developed SRPG Luminous Arc. Both of these titles are slated for release on the Nintendo DS, which Atlus USA has been showing a great deal of support for.It's
incredibly difficult to show off exactly why a point and click
adventure title should appeal to gamers in a ten minute demo. There's
no flashy action sequences in Touch Detective 2½
and the gameplay itself isn't of any great matter. We had a chance to
play around with the title a bit, and while I was totally lost, the
gameplay looks very similar to what North American gamers saw late last
year. The dialogue looks great, as well, and Atlus USA promises to
bring another top-notch localization with fantastic writing to the
American version. Touch Detective 2½ has yet to receive a release date.The other Atlus title that will have DS gamers salivating is the Strategy RPG Luminous Arc. Developed by Marvelous Interactive, who also created Contact and various Harvest Moon titles, Luminous Arc
is controlled entirely with the stylus, with button and d-pad roles
relegated to camera control and similar functions. Aside from the SRPG
standards of tactical combat and character customizations, players will
be able to craft new weapons and armor via what is known as the Vitae
Imbuing System. Also of interest is the friendship system, which allows
players to change relationships outside of battle, making certain
combinations of characters more effective on the battlefield.The
game will also feature Nintendo DS Wi-Fi capability, with players able
to battle each other to see who has tactical mastery. Quite possibly
the most advanced feature for the Nintendo DS is the fact that most of
the dialogue is accompanied by voice acting. While we couldn't hear a
whole lot of anything on the floor of the Barker Hanger, it didn't
sound as if the quality of the voice was any lower quality than the
music of Elite Beat Agents or Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!. Luminous Arc is headed for retail shelves on August 14, 2007.

NCSoft was running a beta version of Richard Garriot's newest game, Tabula Rasa in their booth at Barker Hanger. Developed by Destination Games, Tabula Rasa
is an action-oriented, science fiction MMORPG. Players will be able to
do all of the industry standards for an MMOG, with level-up systems,
character customization, and the like. What sets Tabula Rasa apart is
that movement and positioning matter greatly, and the game feels much
more like a shooter than a game in the same genre as World of Warcraft.Players
are able to jump into the game with its WASD-and-mouse control scheme
and start taking potshots at enemies. As with many first person
shooters, running around will cause a player to be more difficult to
hit, though the player's own accuracy will drop. On the other side of
the coin, a crouching player gains an additional ability to aim, but
he's a sitting duck for enemies. The AI will also take advantage of the
combat system, attacking not just based on an aggro table, but changing
its tactics based on what the players are doing.

D3 Publisher of America had a playable version of the upcoming DS RPG, Naruto: Path of the Ninja. Based on the Naruto franchise, which is the most popular show in America in the 8-14 male market, Path of the Ninja is an amalgam of the story from the original Naruto RPG for the GBA and the improvements seen in the Japanese-only RPGs for the DS.With six playable characters, Path of the Ninja
spans the first three seasons of Naruto, all the way up to the Chuunin
exams. Players need no previous knowledge of Naruto to play, as the
story starts from the very beginning. The game features a combat system
oriented around positioning, offering each character an offensive,
neutral, and defensive position as they attack and use over ninety
jutsus found in the game. Some of these jutsus, which function much
like spells in other games, have the player doing minigames on the
touch screen, which can range from simple rubbing of the screen to
drawing runes, similar to Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.Naruto: Path of the Ninja is currently slated for release in October.

Electronic Arts has announced that the id Software-developed Orcs & Elves series will see both a mobile sequel and a conversion to the Nintendo DS. Orcs & Elves II is the upcoming mobile release, while the DS conversion will be titled simply Orcs & Elves. Both titles are spearheaded by id Software and developed by Fountainhead Studios."Orcs & Elves
was a perfect fit for the DS," said John Carmack, founder and technical
director at id Software. "We were able to take excellent advantage of
the 3D hardware and unique user input capabilities, and expand the game
to include a lot of wonderful features that we just couldn't fit on the
cell phones. Orcs & Elves II is a
polished gem of a game for the mobile platforms, opening up new parts
of the world to explore, while carrying forward and improving all the
elements that were loved about the original game."The DS iteration of Orcs & Elves
will feature smoother graphics, and more of everything, from monsters
to quests to items. The action-oriented gameplay brings both twitch
gameplay and tactical RPG play together in a single package. Orcs & Elves II,
on the other hand, continues the story in the first title, now playing
as a young thief who has stolen the famous wand Ellon. Players will
venture through a game with combat reminiscent of the first title, but
with a great deal of improvements.Both titles are slated for release this coming holiday season.

Atari, the North American publisher of the CD Projekt-developed The Witcher was showing off the title at this year's E3. Based on the literature of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher has made a great deal of progress since we last saw it in May of 2006.Combat
has been fleshed out a great deal since we were last introduced to the
title. While combat itself is governed by a deceptively simple
two-button control scheme, timing, as well as context sensitivity,
provide a great deal of depth to the Aurora Engine-based title. It's
not as if having one attack button and one magic button makes the game
a Diablo clone. Far from it, as players are
easily able to switch between stances and magic at will, allowing the
timing-based combos to change, and players to shift between attacking
single targets and multiple targets.Atari also mentioned that there would be an alchemy system for creation of items in The Witcher,
but the most notable new feature is the WASD-based control scheme.
While it was initially slated to have mouse-driven controls, those who
have played Oblivion or other such first-person RPGs will have no issue jumping right into The Witcher to slay some foes. While The Witcher
has been made much more accessible since we last saw it, Atari
confirmed with us that the title will still have an incredibly deep
dialogue system that tracks not just good and evil, but shades of grey.
Players' actions will not always have a directly obvious outcome right
away, it may be hours before discovered that a somewhat neutral action
earlier in the game caused something horrendous or something great to
happen.Atari is currently slated to release The Witcher
during the fall, and the Atari representative at their Barker Hanger
booth said that Halloween would be the perfect time to see release.
While the title has yet to be rated by the ESRB, expect it to receive
an M for Mature rating.

SCEA was displaying a near-final version of the Level 5-developed Strategy RPG Jeanne D'Arc
at their Barker Hanger booth at E3 2007. The demo features a battle,
the Burning of Domrémy, where Jeanne learns of her ability to transform
into a powerful, armored warrior. Jeanne D'Arc,
based on the fifteenth-century French maiden known most well in western
culture as Joan of Arc, features fully 3D environments which can be
rotated every which way, as well as cel-shaded characters in these
environments.The battle system itself is fairly straightforward, with grid based combat similar to what players are used to in Final Fantasy Tactics or Front Mission titles. Whenever players attack a target, the target is also able to counter-attack, similar to combat in the Fire Emblem
series. Most notable is the fact that Jeanne has the ability to
transform during battle for a number of turns, giving her an incredibly
heightened power level, as well as the ability to attack again if she
slays her target.Between battles, there are anime FMV sequences
that show off key story points, though it wasn't clear exactly how
common they were based on SCEA's demo. Level 5's cel shaded touch
wasn't quite as obvious here as it was on titles like Rogue Galaxy and Dark Cloud 2, but it looks as if Jeanne D'Arc is shaping up to be a fantastic addition to the PSP's library. SCEA will publish the title this coming August.

While Namco Bandai Games America didn't make any massive announcements
at this year's E3 Expo, they were showing off many of this fall's
upcoming RPGs, from .hack//G.U. vol. 3//Redemption, to their upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive, Eternal Sonata.
While there weren't any new RPGs announced, we were happy to sit down
and play around with five of Namco Bandai's latest titles.Most notable was the final iteration in CyberConnect 2's .hack//G.U. series, vol. 3//Redemption. Wrapping up the cycle of games, Redemption
returns with the Random Area Words gamers saw in the previous titles.
With two new cities, many more AI NPCs to interact with, as well as an
expanded e-mail, forum, and news system, Redemption is slated to be much more engrossing than either of the first two .hack//G.U. titles. Redemption
also features twenty-two party members while questing, almost double
from the previous title. Haseo also gains new weapons and a new form in
the last third of his story. He now has the ability to wield gunblades,
giving him a long range attack, and has a new form called the Xth form.Haseo can use these new abilities in the two new dungeon typed added specifically for Redemption.
For those who are looking to get more bang for their buck, on the other
hand, the Forest of Pain will fill that role. After players complete
the main story, this 100-level dungeon will open up, and is much more
difficult than any dungeon in the .hack series, living up to its name. .hack//G.U. vol.3//Redemption is slated for release in September.Namco Bandai's other big RPG is their Xbox 360 blockbuster Eternal Sonata.
While editor Dennis Rubinshteyn delved a little deeper into the title
last month, we had a new chance to play around with a near-final
version of the battle system, which is a hybrid real-time/turn-based
system. Players are limited by time, but are able to select their
targets without starting their turn timer. Players will chain together
attacks to create more powerful special moves, and if a player reaches
twenty-four consecutive attacks in their Echo Meter, they're able to
create a Harmony Chain, a string of up to six special attacks to
annihilate an enemy. One of the unique things about the free-roaming
battle maps is that enemies will shift and change based on whether or
not they're in the dark or the light. Not only that, but the player's
special abilities will shift depending on whether or not they find
themselves shrouded in shadow.For a more in-depth look into Eternal Sonata, check out Dennis' preview of the game, and watch for its release exclusively on the Xbox 360 in September.Namco
Bandai's next two titles aren't exactly targeted toward hardcore RPG
fans, but are viewed, rather, as introductions to the genre. Both Digimon World Data Squad for the PS2 and the two versions of the DS Digimon World, Dawn and Dusk, were being shown off. Digimon World Data Squad
shadows the upcoming anime series of the same name, allowing players to
command their favorite Digimon, as well as digivolve them into
different creatures. The Galaxy Evolution screen looks much like a star
chart and is far from linear, so it’s not as if there will always be
one Digimon that is directly superior to another. Most interesting is
the fact that the battle system doesn’t simply list commands that a
Digimon can take. The Digimon will have preferences on which moves it
wants, and will display what it wants to do on a hex grid covering the
screen. The more a particular command appears, the more the Digimon
wants to use it, and the more powerful the move will be.Digimon World: Dawn and Digimon World: Dusk
follow Team Dawn and Team Dusk, respectively, as they battle each other
over a misunders...

[ Full reading ]

Disney Interactive Studios has announced that they will be creating a sequel for the DS collect-'em-all RPG Spectrobes, to be released in 2008. While there wasn't a great deal of information on Spectrobes II during Disney Interactive's press conference, it was made known that the title would be released for the Nintendo DS.

At their E3 booth, Eidos was showing off an early version of their upcoming MMORPG, Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures. Developed by FunCom and slated for release at the end of October, Age of Conan
is slated to be one of the most action-oriented MMORPGs ever. FunCom
has cut their teeth on the MMO market before, with their successful
science fiction title Anarchy Online, but it looks like they're going above the call of duty for Age of Conan.While World of Warcraft
has set the bar for just about everything in the current massively
multiplayer market, Blizzard doesn't hold a monopoly on new features. Age of Conan's
most redeeming feature is the fact that every player will be involved
in combat, no one left on the sidelines. Every class can do some sort
of melee attack, and it's not the pitiful auto-attack that WoW
paladins are used to. In fact, there's no auto attack for anyone � each
attack is designated by the player. Targets are obtained by pointing a
character at an enemy, and the game�s targeting system will select the
target for an attack. Players' attacks won't always hit the same place
with the same frequency, as combos can be strung together by using
different types of attacks. It's not as if the same combo will keep
working over and over, either. Each enemy will learn the enemy's combat
style and adapt, as well as having different weaknesses that can be
exploited.Players worried about being stuck as the healer are in for a surprise, as most of Age of Conan's
heal spells work over time, allowing them to tick away as the healer
does other things in the thick of battle. Positioning matters for
everyone in any of the fourteen classes, so while most of the classes
are hybrid, it's not as if a necromancer should be standing in the
thick of a melee battle.The game's world follows Robert E.
Howard�s view of Hyborea, with an embellished realism. Game buildings
will not look perfect; there will be uneven stairways and other such
imperfections. Other buildings may have snow surrounding them that make
it look as if they've weathered quite a few storms. Character models
look good, and there's quite a bit of gore when a character gets killed.Since
the world of Conan isn't a happy place, PvP is a large part of the
world. While there are battleground-style PvP objectives in Minigame
PvP, most of Conan�s PvP is oriented around Border Kingdoms and Drunken
Brawling. Border Kingdoms is the name of Age of Conan's
massive PvP system, allowing players to capture territory and build
battle keeps, defending territory from enemies. However, there are no
set factions like the Horde and Alliance in Conan, a player's faction
is determined by his guild and friends. Drunken Brawling, on the other
hand, discards most hallmarks of RPGs. There are no regular statistics
or gear in this brawl. All of a player�s stats are based on what
they've drunk and how drunk they are. A player who�s had a bunch of
tequila will fight different than a player who�s been imbibing mead.
It's a unique idea, and it�s an interesting way to balance PvP duels.There
are a few things that Conan is sneaking in that aren't expected,
either. On top of the 14 regular classes, there are five prestige
classes which allow players to specialize in increasing group size or
other similar things. There will be some sort of support for the G15
keyboard from Logitech, though the team didn't go into great detail
about what it would be. Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures is slated for release on October 30th, and will more than likely be rated M for Mature.

At Sony Computer Entertainment's E3 press conference, SCEA president
Jack Tretton announced, that NCsoft has joined the "PlayStation camp".
Under the agreement announced today, the South Korean makers of Lineage
will be bringing multiple online games exclusively to PlayStation 3 and
PlayStation Portable. While no details were available, the titles will
be based on both new and existing intellectual properties.

Square Enix has released its showcase for this week's E3 Expo. Only a
few of the titles slated for show at E3 are for the home consoles;
Square Enix is throwing a lot of support behind both Sony and
Nintendo's handheld systems. The games being shown include:Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - Nintendo DS - TBA
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors - Wii - TBA
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - Nintendo DS - Spring 2008
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions - PlayStation Portable - October 9, 2007
Final Fantasy II - PlayStation Portable - July 24, 2007
Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess - PC/PS2/Xbox 360 - Winter 2007
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - Nintendo DS - November 20, 2007.
Front Mission - Nintendo DS - October 23, 2007
Heroes of Mana - Nintendo DS - August 14, 2007

Square Enix has released its showcase for this week's E3 Expo. Only a
few of the titles slated for show at E3 are for the home consoles;
Square Enix is throwing a lot of support behind both Sony and
Nintendo's handheld systems. The games being shown include:Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - Nintendo DS - TBA
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors - Wii - TBA
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - Nintendo DS - Spring 2008
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions - PlayStation Portable - October 9, 2007
Final Fantasy II - PlayStation Portable - July 24, 2007
Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess - PC/PS2/Xbox 360 - Winter 2007
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - Nintendo DS - November 20, 2007.
Front Mission - Nintendo DS - October 23, 2007
Heroes of Mana - Nintendo DS - August 14, 2007

At this year's Microsoft E3 Press Briefing, there were quite a few
surprises, such as the availability of Disney films on the Xbox Live
Marketplace and the Halo 3 Xbox 360 console. However, most of Microsoft's announcements for RPGs were simple date announcements.Both Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey
will appear during this holiday season, with Bioware's title pinpointed
for release in November. However, aside from these two titles, as well
as the other Mistwalker game, Blue Dragon, there was little to be said on the RPG front, other than fleeting mentions of Peter Molyneux and his upcoming Fable 2.

Atlus USA announced today that they will publish Touch Detective 2½
for the Nintendo DS. The point-and-click adventure title will feature
many design enhancements over the first game as it continues to follow
the story of Mackenzie, who has become a fully accredited sleuth. While
Atlus USA has yet to reveal a host of details about the upcoming title,
it has been announced that the title will hit this holiday season.

Square Enix has launched the English-language website for its upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 RPG, The Last Remnant. The website features the newest screenshots, as well as the debut trailer for the Unreal Engine 3-based title. The Last Remnant has yet to be rated by the ESRB and has not yet received a release date.
The Last Remnant Website

[color=White]Sony Corp. announced a revised PlayStation 3 console Monday with a
bigger hard drive for storing downloaded content such as video games
and high-definition movies.

The new $599 PS3 increases the system's storage capacity from 60 to 80
gigabytes and also includes a retail copy of the online racing title
``MotorStorm,'' a company spokesman said.

Starting Monday, the current 60 gigabyte model will cost $499 _ a $100 price drop.

The larger capacity machine won't be available in the United States and Canada until August.

It plays into the company's upcoming strategy of eventually offering
downloaded high-definition movies, video games, movie trailers and
demos, Sony spokesman David Karraker said.

Karraker said further details on high-def movies for download would be released at a later date.

The announcement comes two days before the E3 Media & Business
Summit in Santa Monica, Calif., where dozens of industry heavyweights
including Sony rivals Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. are expected to
show off their latest games and related products.

In April, Microsoft began selling a version of its Xbox 360 with a
120-gigabyte hard drive and a souped up high-definition video
connection. Called Xbox 360 Elite, the black-colored system sells for
$479.99.

Xbox gamers who already own the $399.99 20-gigabyte model can buy a snap-on 120-gigabyte hard drive for $179.99.

Karraker said Sony would use the E3 show to focus on two areas: ways to
increase the number of consumers who own PS3s and other products such
as the PlayStation Portable handheld system, and expanding the system's
library of available games.

He said Sony would be releasing 100 new video games during the current
fiscal year, including 15 titles that are exclusive to the PS3 such as
the hack-and-slash action title ``Heavenly Sword.''[/color]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160812

MS admits problems with 360s, extends warranties 3 years, and is
paying back customers for however much they've had to spend on repairs
in the past.

This all equals to about a one billion dollar hit for MS. ka-zing

Not sure if anyone saw, but MS showed more
RE5 footage which included what appeared to be african villagers.
Looked damn good. Beyond that, Halo 3 single-player footage which
looked awesome, Assassin Creed which was even better, and a CoD4 beta.
So far so good.

Anyone else looking forward to Assassins Creed? The trailers for it have been sick. Wonder when they will get an exact release date.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6171244.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;2

Who plans on spending the extra money? or is it even worth the extra 30
bucks? I am considering it especially if they add extra content.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/788/788655p1.html

Here is some info on the new splinter cell exclusive to xbox 360. I
have always enjoyed the series and now xbox 360 owners can enjoy it
exclusively, if you dont own a 360 there is always the PC version

And this one's a big'un:

http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20...blu-ray-discs/

If Target Tech manages to drive the final nails in sony's already
nail-ridden coffin, my laughter will know no end. No doubt they'll
settle, though. Too bad.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6171292.html

They will never lay off of violent games.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/789/789618p1.html

if not for the gamecube PS3 would have been dead last in sales. They
beat the gamecube but let's face it not by much. When shouls Sony start
to worry? or do they really have nothing to worry about?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6170827...stnews;title;1

OUCH that can't feel too good. Not looking good for those who want a
price drop anytime soon. Sony just has a cocky attitude and it may
easily sink them.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/789/789405p1.html

Sony caught using Project Gotham Racing 3 again as if once wasnt bad enough. When will sony learn to get it right.

This was inevitable with the DVD maxing out at 8.5 GB. Many people said
"oh by the time games will go higher than that, compression will be
good enough for it not to matter." Next time you go ranting that the
PS3's blu-ray was unneccesary think of it this way, GTA IV is now worse
because of the DVD limitations of the 360. Ok, let me explain myself,
Rockstar games has admitted that the 360's DVD and lack of HD are
holding back the full-potential of GTA IV and giving it limitations.
yea its not bad for Rockstar and 360 fans because they will still be
getting the money flowing with over 10 million consoles sold, but it is
bad for the people who want GTA IV to be all that it can be. Sorry for
totally pulling a Sony fanboy rant, but I was fighting for a year that
blu-ray was actually worth it with little proof that the blu-ray was
actually going to be worth something to videogames. Now I have
something and it makes me feel better. lol. here's the article that I
got my story from:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/785/785344p1.html