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Final Fantasy III: DS vs Original
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo DS, Retro, Role Playing Games, Screenshots,
An enterprising poster in the Dreamwiz forums has put up a image detailing the differences between Final Fantasy III on the DS and the NES release. The differences are quite striking when one can compare the two directly, and despite the relatively low quality of the scans, the game appears to be close to its next generation counterparts in graphical quality.
While previous re-releases in the series have been straight ports, the DS version of the game will be an upgrade, with everything moving to 3-D. There have also been rumors that the touch screen interface will be used in the game as well, signifying a possibly gameplay update, and other rumors suggest some kind of wireless play.
Squaresoft is targeting a Summer 2006 release for the game in Japan. No US release has been announced, but it is hard to imagine a modern Final Fantasy release not making its way to North America.
Read More 
| Dreamwiz.com
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March 2006 Game Sales Down 8%, Hardware Down 31%
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Culture,
Gamasutra posted some excerpts from the latest NPD report on game and hardware sales for the month of March. Game sales slipped year over year by 8%, dropping to $499 million. Hardware dropped 31% to $220 million. Last year had some very high profile titles for the PS2 ship, and also saw the launch of the PSP, making for an unusually high hardware and software sales. Of course, this year is being marked as a transition year for game consoles, since the Xbox 360 has already shipped, and gamers wait in anticipation for the PS3 and the Revolution to hit the stores. March was still a bad month to try and buy an Xbox 360, since Microsoft still really hadn’t had their distribution and manufacturing situation ironed out, and this definitely contributed to lower software sales, since some eagerly anticipated titles for the Xbox 360 shipped, including Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. Titles like Metroid and Tetris probably helped make the drop less than expected, but aside from Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence there weren’t a lot of widely-appealing games shipping on the PS2. The next few months probably won’t bring much relief to this situation, particularly as the next generation console launches from Nintendo and Sony grow ever closer.
Read More | Gamasutra
MLB 2K6 Freezing Workarounds
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Mods/Hacks, Sports, Xbox 360,
2KSports posted an update on their official forums, describing a couple of workarounds for the MLB 2K6 freezing issues users are reporting:
In the meantime, our dedicated 2K Sports QA team has tested and confirmed two work-around methods for those consumers who are experiencing the “freeze” issue:
1) Remove or disable the HDD
or,
2) Load three different Xbox 360 games to the main title screen of each game then load Major League Baseball 2K6 on Xbox 360. All three Xbox 360 games must be completely different before loading Major League Baseball 2K6.
Those people with the Xbox 360 hard drive and no memory card to save their games probably won’t find the first solution to be a very good one, and the second is cumbersome to say the least. The 2KSports team is still working on developing an official patch for the game, indicating that there is probably not a media-based issue with the game, but something code-based changed between the review copies and retail versions went out. No mention was made about fixing some of the control issues reported in many of the published reviews for the game.
Read More | 2ksports.com Official Forums.
Design Your Own Xbox 360 Faceplate
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Accessories, Mods/Hacks, Xbox 360,
Pelican Accessories has an on-line faceplate designer for the Xbox 360. Users can select from a variety of solid colors, as well as a number of pre-set backgrounds. There are a few different colors for the power button on the console, and there are some pre-set “tattoo” patterns that can be applied as well. Those really looking for a personal touch can add custom text in three different graffiti-like fonts. For those bemoaning the lack of a hot pink faceplate with a gold tattoo can now have all their wishes come true.
Read More | Pelican Accessories
Related: Nyko Xbox 360 Faceplate Maker Video Review
Power Stone Collection Preview
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Fighting, PSP, Retro, Screenshots,
Capcom showed off some video of Power Stone Collection for the PSP in February, showing off the classic gameplay of the Dreamcast game in portable form. IGN recently got some hands-on time with a playable preview of the game, and post some impressions.
The game does seem to capture the essence of the Power Stone series, albeit with some scale down for the PSP and its smaller screen. “Collection” means that both the original Power Stone and its sequel are included. Part of the most addicting part of the series was multiplayer; the four-player madness of Power Stone 2 made the game an exceptional party game, and it looks like gamers will be able to play with up to four players via the ad-hoc wireless connection. Capcom also thought to include game sharing, so not everyone will need their own copy of the game to play.
Read More | IGN PSP
Half-Life 2: Episode One Preview
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, First Person Shooters, PC,
ComputerandVideogames.com have published some new details for the upcoming expansion, Half-Life 2: Episode One. Given that the ending for Half-Life 2 lacked a little closure, gamers may find some of their questions answered by the new episode. Of course, since that this is an expansion from Valve, one can be assured that the new content will raise new questions.
CVG lets drop that the new episode takes place almost directly following the events of Half-Life 2, within the Citadel that is rapidly crumbling. Players once again take on the role of Gordon Freeman. Alyx is much more of a key player, acting more as a partner for Gordon. Other characters, like Barney, make an appearance. Valve hinted at a mysterious “third power” rising up and disturbing the balance of power in the HL2 universe. With Half-Life 2: Episode Two now a given, it looks like Valve is trying to ratchet up both the action and the drama in their new expansion.
Read More | ComputerandVideogames.com
Heroes of Might and Magic V Demo Available
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: PC, Role Playing Games, Strategy,
Gamespot.com is hosting the newly released Heroes of Might and Magic V demo, which clocks in at 685 mb. According to Ubisoft, the Starforce copy protection should not be present, so there should be no risk to the user’s system from that installation.
The latest entry in the HOMM series has not been without controversy. This is the first game of the series that was not developed by New World Computing; after 3DO filed for bankruptcy, Ubisoft bought the rights and handed development to Nival Interactive, a Russian developer known for the Rage of Mages and Etherlords games. The latest entry will also be fully 3-D, a departure for the series. There was also a large outcry from the beta customers of the game. Ubisoft had initially planned an early April release, but the beta users insisted that the game experience was so horribly bad that the game release date needed to be pushed back. Eventually, Ubisoft caved, and the release was re-scheduled. Hopefully, the extra time has been worth it, and will show in the demo.
System Requirements and download link follow:
Click to continue reading Heroes of Might and Magic V Demo Available
Another World Remastered
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Adventure, PC, Retro,
Gamers who cut their teeth on games of the early 90s will probably remember Another World, called Out of this World when published in the United States. The game was extremely unique for its time (and some might argue that it still is.) The game environment captivated its audience through its stark alien landscapes, and its look, created from two-dimensional polygons instead of the sprite graphics used by most games of the era. The game tightly integrated story and gameplay, blending the two masterfully. Another World was published on most of the popular platforms of the time, including the Amiga, PC, Genesis, and Super Nintendo. Most recently, the game’s creator, Eric Chahi, gave his blessing for a non-commercial Gameboy Advance version by Foxysoft.
But April 14 will bring the release of a remastered edition of the game for Windows XP, in higher resolution and with more detailed background, this time developed by its original creator. On Anotherworld.fr, there are also hints of an entirely new game in the works.
Read More | Announcement at Idlethumbs.net
Read More | Anotherworld.fr
World of Warcraft: 5400 Accounts Banned
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Internet, MMORPG,
Blizzard announced today on the World of Warcraft homepage that since patch 1.10 was released, 5400 accounts have been banned, and 10,700 have been suspended for violating the WoW terms of use, including using third-party applications to farm items and gold. Gold and item farming have been an issue in most of the MMORPGs on the market, with users trading virtual items and characters for real money since the first online RPGs hit, but Blizzard has tried to be aggressive in stopping this. How effective these actions will be will remain to be seen, as most of the large-scale gold-farming sweatshops are probably already generating new accounts.
Read More | WorldOfWarcraft.com
The Game Over column at CNN is reporting on analyst predictions of a Sony price drop. Most of the current rumors point to a price drop announcement at E3, but Game Over quotes one analyst as predicting a price drop earlier than E3, to allow the focus of the game expo to be squarely on the PS3. Overall consensus appears to be a price drop from $149 to $129.
This could theoretically force Microsoft to drop the price of the Xbox to match, however, when the Xbox 360 launched, the Xbox technically received a price increase. Since non-bundled Xboxes are no longer available in market, the only real option was the Xbox Forza bundle for $179.99. With Forza available separately for $19.99, the effective price of an open market Xbox is $159.99, ten dollars higher than the core unit. The Xbox has definitely been pushed to the background with the release of the Xbox 360, so a price match is hardly definite.
Ahead of the analyst predictions of a price drop come an interesting thread on the Cheap Ass Gamer forums, where Gamestop stores have been reported as receiving new signage advertising a PS2 price drop, but without any markings indicating what the final price drop will be.
Read More | Game Over at CNN
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