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FF:
The Spirits Within DVD Street Date Revealed
DVDFile
revealed recently that Sony has set the DVD release of Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within for October 23. The film is slated
for a double-DVD release with a $29.95 price tag, though no
special features have been announced as of yet. Likewise, no
mention was made of the special PlayStation 2 version that was
spoken of previously.
SOURCE: The
GIA | DVDFile |
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Final
Fantasy Movie Action Figures "Sold Out"
Palisades
announced an official 'Sold Out' status for their 12-inch line
of action figures based on Square Picture's Final Fantasy: The
Spirits Within.
While final orders are still being filtered
through distribution channels, Palisades will no longer be able
to fill incoming orders for the product line. Online sales at
www.PalisadesToys.com have also halted due to the shortage.
"While Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
was an excellent film, one would think that the movie was THE
block-buster hit of the summer, the way we have sold through
our action figure line," noted Palisades' president Mike
Horn.
For those still looking to find the collectible
figures, look in the following locations; Musicland, Tower Records,
Suncoast Video, Electronics Boutique, Babbages, Software Etc.,
Toys-R-Us, FAO Schwarz, as well as all comic, game and specialty
retailers worldwide.
SOURCE: Gaming
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SITE
NEWS Fanart
Update Coming Soon
I
just wanted to let everyone know who has submitted fanart, and
has not seen it updated in the fanart gallery, that there will
be a update in the near future.
Thanks to everyone who has submitted.
Final Fantasy X Nears 2 Million Copies Sold
Square
has announced that its highly-anticipated PlayStation 2 RPG
Final Fantasy X has broken the 1.9 million sales mark. The company
initially shipped 2.14 million units, of which 70% were sold
on its inauguration and about 90% in its first four days. Equally
impressive is the fact that Final Fantasy X is selling at the
same pace as its predecessors Final Fantasy VII and VIII, which
both enjoyed a much larger user base with the PSone.
SOURCE: The
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Japan
Awaits Final Fantasy Movie
While
'Final Fantasy: Spirits Within' continues to struggle in American
theaters, the movie is generating serious buzz throughout Asia.
While the film isn't expected to hit Japan until this fall,
Square has already begun selling advance tickets through twenty-two
theaters in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Kyushu and Hokkaido.
As part of the promotion, advance tickets will be collectors
items featuring portraits of cast members and released in several
themes including 'Love' and 'Friendship.' Moreover, customers
who purchase tickets in advance are entered in a lottery to
win a Seiko watch modeled after the one worn by Aki in the film.
SOURCE: Core
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Final
Fantasy X American/European Release Details
With
the successful Japanese launch of Final Fantasy X out of the
way, Square has begun planning the European and North American
versions of the game. The development team is currently on hiatus
following the last minute scramble to get the game released
in Japan, but work will begin on the localizations as soon as
they return. Square president Hisashi Suzuki spoke to Mainichi
Interactive about the company's plans.
The North American version will feature all
the game's voice work re-dubbed in English. The company is aiming
for a release late this year or very early next year, but Suzuki
commented that sticking to this schedule may be difficult. The
European version will be localized into five languages, most
likely the ever popular combination of English, French, German,
Spanish, and Italian. Due to the amount of speech in the game,
however, the European release will probably reuse the English
voice acting with localized subtitles. No date for the European
version has been set.
As has been mentioned before, Square has high
hopes for the worldwide sales of Final Fantasy X. The game has
already shipped over two million copies in Japan and Square
is aiming for at least four million in sales in its home territory.
After the North American and European releases, the company
hopes to bring that figure up to ten million, which would make
FF X the best selling game in the series.
SOURCE: The
GIA | Mainichi
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Final
Fantasy X Hits Japan & FFXI Trailer!
Square
held a Final Fantasy X countdown with retailer Tsutaya at its
Shibuya location, which saw hundreds of fans counting down the
seconds until the stores opened for business.
At 7am the theme song from the game pierced
the ears of shoppers as stores owners witnessed a mad dash for
the counter.
In other FF related new, Korean site Ruliweb.com
has posted a Final Fantasy XI trailer, which weighs in at 46
MB. The trailer is bundled with the Japanese version of FFX
for PS2. Take a look here.
SOURCE: FGNonline
Final Fantasy Tactics &
Guide Release
Videogame retailer GameStop has verified that
the Greatest Hits version to this PlayStation classic should
reach store shelves on July 31st for a meager price of $24.99.
In addition, a rerelease of Prima's Official
Strategy Guide to Final Fantasy Tactics will be available.
SOURCE: The
GIA | Gamestop |
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Square
Plans Possible TV Series
Square
producer and Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi
went on record this morning in Tokyo to discuss his first feature
film, 'Final Fantasy: Spirits Within.' According to Sakaguchi-san,
much of the film's $130 million budget involved the development
of Square Pictures, a state of the art CG production studio.
Thereby, the developmental cost and financial risk associated
with future films can be significantly reduced thanks to the
infrastructure now in place. Moreover, he revealed that Square
is considering the possibility of a CG-based television series
aside from other films and commercials.
SOURCE: Core
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Final
Fantasy X Gets Rated in Japan
The
biggest PS2 game yet has been put through the test by Japan's
leading gaming magazines: Famitsu, The Play Station and Famitsu
PS2. All gave the game incredible marks. Famitsu awarded the
title with three 10s and a 9, with Famitsu PS2 echoing those
numbers. The Play Station has only three reviewers, and two
chose to give the game a ten while one gave it a 9.
As for the actual comments made by the reviewers,
some chose to mention the graphics, others stated that the story
was masterful, while still others said the movies were gorgeous.
SOURCE: PS2
IGN
Square Plans Events
Square has confirmed plans to hold a special
'Final Fantasy X: Launch Commemoration Event' at the Shinjuku
Virgin Megastore on July 19th. The day's events will include
a Q&A session with famed composer Nobuo Uematsu and a performance
by Japanese singer Rikki, who signs the theme song from Final
Fantasy X.
In associated news, Uematsu-san has confirmed
that an orchestral concert featuring the music of Final Fantasy
is being planned. Tentatively scheduled for next spring in Japan,
a definitive location and date hasn't been decided yet. The
event is being planned around the development schedules of several
upcoming games, and will be sponsored by retail chain Digicube.
SOURCE: Core
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Final
Fantasy Digital Cinema Release
The
silver screen incarnation of Final Fantasy shows from Jul. 11
in over 2,500 cinemas, with seven of these showing the movie
in digital cinema.
Only 12 theatres in the U.S. have digital
capability, which offers audiences a visually superior experience.
FF fans will be able to check out the digital version of the
movie at AMC Empire, New York City; Edwards Irvine Spectrum,
Irvine, Calif.; AMC Media 6, Burbank, Calif.; Cinemark Legacy,
Dallas; Famous Players Paramount, Toronto; AMC Barrington, Chicago;
and the AMC Van Ness, San Francisco.
These screens will be using a Texas Instruments
DLP projector, operating from a server called a QuBit,'' explained
Bill Hausch, Digital Studios Division for Sony Pictures Entertainment.
"The sensation you get with digital cinema is a picture
without a flicker, scratches, dirt or focus flutter. We're providing
the moviegoing patron a glimpse of the future of theatrical
exhibition.''
The first movie to be released digitally was
The Phantom Menace back in 1999.
SOURCE: FGNonline |
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Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within Interview
A
must read for anyone interested in hearing what the voice actors/actresses
thought of working on the movie and some thoughts about each
character. Andy Jones, the animation director of the film, also
talks about some more of the technical aspects of the film.
You can veiw the full interview here.
SOURCE: GameSpyDaily
SquareSoft Discusses
FFX Sales Forecast
SquareSoft has announced its worldwide sales
expectations for its upcoming PlayStation 2 role-playing game
Final Fantasy X. The company expects to ship 2 million copies
of the game when it launches on July 19 in Japan, Hiroshi Suzuki,
president of SquareSoft, told Bloomberg Japan. Total sales in
that territory, according to company forecasts, is expected
to surpass 4 million units, while worldwide sales is expected
to reach 10 million units. Previous games in the series have
combined to sell over 33 million copies worldwide through March
31 of this year.
SOURCE: GameSpot
VG
CT and FF4 Soundtracks Heading
to the US
Coming on the heels of the rerelease of Chrono
Trigger and Final Fantasy IV, Tokyopop Soundtrax is releasing
each game's soundtrack for the first time in the U.S. No specific
release date has been mentioned beyond "late summer,"
so look for it this August at the latest.
SOURCE: The
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New Chrono Game in Planning Stages
Although
SquareSoft's Final Fantasy series has received the brunt of
the mainstream attention, the company's Chrono series of role-playing
games is regarded by many as the epitome of the genre. Chrono
Cross on the PlayStation continued the tradition of the novel
storytelling and intuitive gameplay set forth by Chrono Trigger.
Now, that tradition is set to continue, as the next game in
the Chrono series is currently in the planning stages. Hironobu
Sakaguchi, executive producer at SquareSoft, informed GameSpot
that several members of the Chrono Cross development team are
highly interested in developing a new game in the series. In
fact, although the production on the game hasn't begun yet,
several script ideas are currently being considered.
"There has been a lot of pitching of
ideas for a new Chrono game," Sakaguchi said. "Of
our staff in Tokyo, a lot of people want to continue the series
and create a new Chrono game, especially the former director.
Right now we're throwing around a few different ideas for the
game, but there hasn't been a green light for production yet."
A specific console platform for the next game
in the Chrono series is not being discussed publicly at this
time, and given the early state of the project, we don't expect
to see the game for some time.
SOURCE: GameSpot
VG
FFX Confirmed to Use PS2 Hard Drive in Japan
Sony
Computer Entertainment yesterday officially announced a release
date and price for the PlayStation 2 hard drive. The peripheral
will ship on July 17th in Japan in two different versions. SCPH-10210
is a 19,000 yen ($152 US) external version for older PS2 consoles.
SCPH-10260 will retail for 18,000 yen ($144 US) and is an internal
unit designed only for the new SCPH-30000 and SCPH-35000GT models.
Both hard drive models will have a storage capcity of 40 gigabytes.
Eight released and upcoming games have been
confirmed as supporting the unit. The titles are Artdink's train
sim A-Train 2001 (already released), Gust's anime RPG Atelier
Lilie (also already released), Final Fantasy X, Train Kit for
A-Train 2001, Jade Cocoon II, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Beatmania II
DX 5th Style, and the Guitar Freaks / Drummania combination
GitaDora. All but the A-Train titles will simply use the hard
drive to speed loading; A-Train 2001's support for the peripheral
includes data exchange with the Train Kit and the ability to
take snapshots.
SOURCE: The
GIA
Square Announces The Sky: The Art of FF
Over
the years, Square has released a great deal of Yoshitaka Amano's
Final Fantasy artwork in various art books and collections,
but there has never been an attempt to comprehensively document
the famed illustrators work on the series, until now. Square
recently revealed a new limited edition box set, titled The
Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy, that will attempt to do just
that.
Weighing in at 6 kilograms and comprising
over 700 pages, the boxed collection will contain 3 full volumes
covering the entirety of Amano's involvement with the Final
Fantasy series. Design art, sketches, and paintings from all
the games, including as-yet unreleased material from Final Fantasy
X, will be included. A fourth volume will include a comprehensive
biography, interviews, and a guided tour of Amano's New York
and Tokyo studios. Two limited edition postcards and a small
animated flip book round out the collection.
The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy will be
released in Japan on July 19 for 28,000 yen (about $225 US).
As usual with this sort of merchandise, don't expect to see
the collection show up on this side of the Atlantic.
SOURCE: The
GIA
Final Fantasy Movie Soundtrack
Now Available
SquareSoft has revealed that a preview of
its upcoming PlayStation 2 game Final Fantasy X is included
in the release of the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within film
soundtrack. Elliot Goldenthal, who composed the score for such
films as Heat and Cobb, created the soundtrack for the Final
Fantasy film. Vocal scores on the soundtrack include songs by
L'Arc-en-Ciel and Lara Fabian. The Final Fantasy: The Spirits
Within soundtrack is currently available at retailers nationwide.
SOURCE: GameSpot
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Final
Fantasy Chronicles in Stores Now
Final
Fantasy Chronicles, the collected PlayStation ports of Final
Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger, is now available in many stores.
While the game's official release date is not until July 10th
and Square has not announced the title's release, most retailer
have already begun selling the package.
SOURCE: The
GIA
Square Board of Directors
Interview
During the company's annual meeting with shareholders
last week, Square gave investors the chance to pose a few questions
to the board of directors. And, with Square posting its first
ever losses last fiscal year, they had a lot to answer for.
Our good friends at the web's hippest indie gaming site, Video-Senki,
have translated the full
Q&A session.
Company president Nao Suzuki was honest about
Square's poor performance over the last year, and admitted that
the future would bring a reevaluation of the company's priorities,
including "whether [it] should continue with movies or
not. " The huge expense of The Spirits Within seemed the
sorest subject for the investors, but company director Yoichi
Wada explained that the film need only finish between 20th and
30th in ticket sales to be profitable. One of the lesser goals,
however, is to simply raise worldwide brand awareness of the
Final Fantasy name and, in that respect, the company already
considers the movie a success.
When asked if the company has "anything
new to replace Final Fantasy," Suzuki responded that Square
has a "fervent desire to have a brand that can exceed the
success of the Final Fantasy name." Suzuki pointed to the
Disney licensed Kingdom Hearts as an attempt to find a brand
that would succeed around the world. Wada also explained that
one of the losses for last year was a canceled game in development
for "overseas markets." It seems likely this project
was the mysterious Silent Chaos, unseen since we first learned
of its existence last year.
It was also mentioned that development for
FF XII is currently underway and the company is aiming at a
March 2003 release for the sequel.
SOURCE: The
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