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NON-SQUARE
Xenosaga Coming to Japan in December
Although
details remain scarce on MonolithSoft's Xenogears prequel
Xenosaga, word has filtered out of Japan that the game is
well on track for its previously announced winter release.
IGNPS2 reports that the game will ship in Japan sometime in
December.
Look for more information on Xenosaga after
the game's official unveiling in July.
SOURCE: IGN
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SITE
NEWS
New SquareAMP Forums!
SquareAMP
has launched the new and improved forums.
For those of you that have already registered you will need
to register again (sorry for the inconvenience). And for everyone
that has not registered yet, on either, make sure you do so.
Special thanks to Rune
for the great new forum!
Square Trademarks
"Gummy Block"
In addition to TetraMaster, another new
online project may be in the works at Square. The company
trademarked the name "Gummy Block" at the same time
as "TetraMaster" and in the same business categories.
These categories include "Providing on-line game via
computer networks", "computer programs and game
software downloadable from computer networks; game software
for home use downloadable from computer networks; video games
for home use" and several merchandise-related classifications.
"Gummy Block" was also trademarked
in one area that "TetraMaster" was not: a food-related
category including "Coffee and cocoa; tea; seasonings;
cereal preparations; sandwiches;" and several other food
items. This category may have been registered for Gummy Block
food merchandise tying into the "Gummy" part of
the title.
As for the game itself, the name "Gummy
Block" suggests a puzzle title in the vein of Tetris
-- though there's no guarantee that Gummy Block will turn
out to be an online game or even a game at all. However, the
fact that name was trademarked together with "TetraMaster"
would seem to indicate that the two are related or similar
projects.
SOURCE: The
GIA
Final Fantasy XI to
Include TetraMaster
The TetraMaster mini-game from Final Fantasy
IX will appear in upgraded form in Final Fantasy XI, reports
Madman's Cafe. The site recently detailed on some of the features
available for users of Square's forthcoming PlayOnline service.
E-mail, chat, and the TetraMaster game will all be featured
as part of the PVN -- PlayOnline Viewer Navigator -- program
that comes with Final Fantasy XI.
SOURCE: Madman's
Cafe
Square, Namco, and
Enix Project
According to Bloomberg Japan, Square, Namco,
and Enix are exchanging 5% shares in each other's companies.
The combined value of the transactions will be about 44.2
billion yen, or $36.3 million at current exchange rates. Furthermore,
the companies will finalize exchanges of the first 1% by the
end of this week.
This financial exchange is expected to help
the three companies defray some of the rising costs of development
and spread the impact of the market's financial risks. GameSpot
reports that the companies plan codeveloped projects, but
the original Japanese press release contains no such suggestion.
It is unknown how, if at all, this partnership will affect
next-generation target development and target platforms.
SOURCE: Bloomberg
Japan
Square Hints At Disney RPG
Possibilities
Square recently polled randomly-chosen PlayOnline
users on its upcoming Disney RPG. While the survey itself
can be only be taken by the selected PlayOnline members, it
reveals three possible premises for the Tetsuya Nomura-designed
title:
1. "This new game puts a new
twist inside the best-loved worlds of Disney, as you lead
the fight to save a kingdom alongside some of your favorite
Disney characters."
2. "Squaresoft and Disney join
forces in creating an entirely new adventure, where new heroes
and classic characters embark on an epic quest to free innocent
hearts and save a kingdom of lore."
3. "The latest innovation from
Squaresoft, this epic new story introduces new heroes and
challenges while journeying through familiar worlds for an
entirely new gaming adventure."
While none of these concepts are necessarily
representative of the final game, they present several of
the designs that may be under consideration. Most significant
is the revelation that the project won't necessarily feature
existing Disney characters, as had been widely assumed.
SOURCE: The
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Sony
Signs as European Squaresoft Publisher
The
good news for European Squaresoft fans is that the company
is once again taking steps to release its games for PAL territories;
the bad news is that it may take quite some time to get there.
Sony is partnering with Square to bring The Bouncer and Final
Fantasy X to Europe, and they'll be doing a thorough job.
"Our development teams have worked
very hard to get the very best quality games for PlayStation
2 and we are sure that SCEE will do a great job for us in
the PAL territories."
Indeed, SCEE is going so far as to localize
both games into 5 new languages, which one may assume includes
new voice acting. The Bouncer is due this summer, while Final
Fantasy X is currently set for the middle of next year.
SOURCE: The
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Additional
Final Fantasy X Details
GameSpot VG today
reported on a second Final Fantasy X mini-game. In addition
to playing the underwater sport Blitzball, hero Tidus will
be tracking down pointers to help him learn the fictitious
language Al Bhed. (This language is very likely the one used
by Ryukku in the Tokyo Game Show demo.)
GameSpot VG also reported that Final Fantasy
X now has a tentative North American release date of "early
2002." Previous announcements had pegged the title with
a November 2001 release.
SOURCE: Videogames.com
HOT NEWS
Final Fantasy Chronicles!
Square
Electronic Arts announced today the company's plan to release
Final Fantasy Chronicles: Final Fantasy IV & Chrono Trigger
in July 2001 for PlayStation. The special bundle package includes
updated versions of Square's Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger
role-playing games that were originally released in North
America for the SNES in 1991 and 1995 respectively.
"We are pleased to deliver these two
titles to our North American fans on the PlayStation game
console," said Jun Iwasaki, president of Square Electronic
Arts. "Since the release of Chrono Cross last August,
we've received an overwhelming number of fan requests to re-release
Chrono Trigger for the PlayStation game console. We have added
a variety of new features to both Final Fantasy IV and Chrono
Trigger for this compilation and believe this set will appeal
to fans of the original games and introduce a new generation
of gamers to some of our classic titles."
The Final Fantasy Chronicles set includes
new opening and closing cinematic sequences for Chrono Trigger
as well as several recreations of key sequences during the
game, which add to the game's emotional impact, answers lingering
questions, and offers insight into the game's success, Chrono
Cross.
Final Fantasy IV will feature a new dash
feature to allow players to quickly move through dungeons
and towns, plus a new two player mode that allows two players
to participate in the battles together. And in a move that
should please fans of the original that weren't too thrilled
with the mediocre writing found in the SNES version, Square
has opted to use a completely new and improved localization
of the original unedited storyline. Final Fantasy IV will
also feature new cinematic sequences and some original monsters,
abilities, items and scenes that were not seen in the SNES
version.
Final Fantasy Chronicles: Final Fantasy
IV & Chrono Trigger will be released in July 2001 for
PlayStation and will carry a suggested retail price of $40.
It carries an ESRB rating of "T" (Teen).
SOURCE: IGN
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Square Talks Strategy
Following
Square's announcement this morning regarding plans to release
Final Fantasy X for the PlayStation 2 on July 19th, president
Hisashi Suzuki went on record regarding the company's managerial
plans. In particular, Suzuki-san reaffirmed plans to release
Final Fantasy X in America and Europe this November. Square
projects sales for Final Fantasy X to reach 3-3.5 million
in Japan, 1.4-1.8 million in America, and 1.2-1.5 in Europe
this year.
More intriguing, Suzuki-san also revealed
that Square is planning to re-release Final Fantasy VII, VIII,
and IX for the PlayStation 2 this year. Moreover, he confirmed
that portions of the PlayOnline network have been finished,
including the browser which will allow for chat, email, and
gaming functions. The PlayOnline network will support Final
Fantasy XI, the first exclusively online sequel in the series,
scheduled for release next spring for PlayStation 2 and Windows
PC in Japan. According to Suzuki-san, Square projects a profit
from PlayOnline assuming 495,000 people subscribe for one
year contracts. Considering the popularity of the Final Fantasy
series, Square is confident they'll reach at least that many
subscribers when FFXI is released next year.
SOURCE: Core
Magazine
FFX
Release Date, Price Announced For Japan
Square
confirmed today that Final Fantasy X will indeed meet its
projected Japanese release date and is now set to launch on
July 19. More surprising is the announced price for the game
-- 8800 yen, which converts to over 70 US dollars and is well
above the 6800 yen average price for PlayStation 2 games.
Even more suprising is the price for the
Limited Edition version of the game, as the 2-DVD deluxe set
will retail for over 10,000 yen, a price not seen since the
SNES-era heyday of cartridges.
Expect official announcements regarding
the US version(s) of Final Fantasy X to be made at next month's
E3.
SOURCE: The
GIA
Final Fantasy IV Piano
Collections Re-released
Just when you start to think Square doesn't
listen to its fans, out comes a re-release of the long-clamored-for
Final Fantasy IV Piano Collections. Though the hardcover book
of sheet music is not included in the new release, fans of
the game's music will be relieved to hear that it's no longer
necessary to pay upwards of $300 for the disc on eBay.
SOURCE: The
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Two New Final
Fantasy X
Characters Revealed
As
previously announced, Square is once again promoting their
latest Final Fantasy with collectable figurines. The promotion
began at the start of this month with four variations of Tidus
and Yuna available with the purchase of bottles of Coca-Cola.
Now pictures of the super-deformed versions of all eight characters
in the promotion have leaked out on the web, revealing two
new additions to the game's cast.
Joining the six known characters are a sword
fighter named Aaron and a mage whose name we've tentatively
translated as Shimora. The Japanese text that appears above
the characters identifies Aaron as a party member, while Shimora
is an NPC. What role Shimora will play in the story is currently
unknown (as is his/her sex), but the character's stern demeanor
does seem to indicate an antagonist.
The name of the mysterious woman seen in
the Virge Temple section of the TGS demo has been revealed
as Ryukku, not Zorenne as had been previously reported. As
previously speculated, she will indeed be joining as the party's
thief, complete with the "steal" skill.
SOURCE: The
GIA
Japanese Final Fantasy X
Commercial
Check out the new high quality commercial
being shown in Japan of Square's upcoming epic, Final Fantasy
X.
The commercial can be downloaded here
(MPEG, 320x240, 0:52min, 21.1MB).
SOURCE: Ruliweb
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Site News: SquareAMP Radio IP Changed
For
anyone that has bookmarked the SquareAMP Radio station in
your Winamp players the IP address has now changed (if you
were wondering why it would always time out this is the reason).
The new IP is: http://64.152.82.191:15362 |
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Final Fantasy X Coca-Cola Promotional Figurines
In
the grand tradition of last year's Final Fantasy IX cross-promotion
with Cola-Cola, Square has announced another series of collectable
figurines to promote the company's latest Final Fantasy. Starting
this month in Japan, select 500ml bottles of Coca-Cola will
include one of thirty-two figures modeled after the cast of
Final Fantasy X. Each character will be available in realistic
or super-deformed style in both fully-painted or crystal (clear
red) variations.
Only lead characters, Tidus and Yuna, have
been revealed so far, but presumably new members of the game's
cast will follow. If the set continues the trend of having
four variations of each, at least three new characters should
be revealed over the course of the promotion.
SOURCE: The
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Post-TGS: Additional Final Fantasy X Details
New
details have been discovered from the Final Fantasy X demo
shown at TGS regarding characters, monsters, locations, the
battle system, the victory screen and the transparent field
map.
Click here
to view the list of new details.
SOURCE: The
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Post-TGS: 'Tidus and Yuna's Theme' MP3!
Thanks
to Square Source for this great MP3, composed and conducted
by Nobuo Uematsu, of 'Tidus and Yuna's Theme' from Square's
upcoming PS2 masterpiece. The MP3 was taken from one of the
various CD's distributed at Square's TGS booth.
Click here
to download the song (3:25 min, 3.13MB).
SOURCE: Square
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Post-TGS: 5 Awesome New Movies of FFX!
If
you thought the footage of FF10 was great from IGN PS2 just
wait until you see what Daily Radar got ahold of! Click here
and scroll towards the bottom of the page for the section
of movies labeled '03/30/01' and be prepared to be shocked
with beauty.
Two definitely worth checking out are the
ones called 'The Best CG of all Time (13.5MB)' and 'Mind Boggling
Ice Spell (NOT CG 14.5MB)'.
SOURCE: Daily
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