Games Industry Wire

It’s E3 Time once again and Square Enix’s offerings are some of my personally anticipated showings. One SMALL question though: WHERE IN THE WORLD IS FINAL FANTASY XIII?
Here’s a list of what’s on the floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center for E3:

On display at the Los Angeles Convention Center at Concourse 401 from July 15 – 17, the following titles will have playable kiosks: CHRONO TRIGGER®, DRAGON QUEST®: The Chapters of the Chosen™, FINAL FANTASY® IV, INFINITE UNDISCOVERY and
SONG SUMMONER: The Unsung Heroes.

E3 2008 Line-up
(Square Enix)
Multiplatform
THE LAST REMNANT
Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360® / PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system
Genre: RPG
PAL …read more

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*Drumroll* Here are the best selling games of 2008 in Japan so far….
10. Wii Play (Wii) 411,416 copies
9. Mario Kart DS (DS) 416,935 copies
8. Mario Party DS (DS) 497,547 copies
7. Wii Sports (Wii) 544,958 copies
6. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) 576,437 copies
OMG Mario Kart FTW!

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The Wii’s Smash Bros. isn’t the the only game getting a a tiny delay. Capcom has announced a delay of its own over in Japan today, pushing back PSP’s Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G by two weeks from March 13 to March 27. According to a statement issued by by the company, the delay was made in order to improve the quality of the game.

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Sony confirmed today that the Skype IP phone service will be joining the growing list of things you can do with your PSP when not playing Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. The Skype software will be automagically added to your PSP following a firmware update. Once you’ve downloaded the update, set to be released later this month, the “network” header of the PSP’s XMB interface
will house a new “Skype” option. Click on this, and you’ll be able to create a new Skype account, or log into your current PC account.

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Sony has recently announced rebounding profits of 73.7 billion yen ($645 million) for the July-September quarter, thanks to increased sales of TVs, PCs, and cameras, with 1.31 million PlayStation 3s sold, but the game unit’s losses are widening due to the cost of PS3 hardware and its inability to sell enough units. Sony’s game segment (the SCE division), sales did increase 42.9% year-on-year, primarily as a result of the contribution to sales of the PlayStation 3. However, an operating loss of 96.7 billion yen ($841 million) was recorded, significantly larger than the previous year.

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Sony has recently revealed that the recently launch PSP Slim & Lite has sold around 17,000 units on its first week of release in the UK. The Slim & Lite PSP launched on September 14 and was backed by radio and online advertising campaigns that have helped boost Sony’s handheld sales going into the holiday season.

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The PSP will likely be getting a redesign (not quite a complete overhaul) and Kotaku has the details. The 1.x is something I thought up but this is not a PSP 2 but is instead a redesign of the original PSP. Similar to how the DS was redesigned into the much more successful DS Lite, Sony too is hoping a redesign boosts the system’s sales. Here are the notable changes the handheld will likely undergo:

 New LCD screen will have better image quality but allow for a slimmer design
Faster UMD drive to improve load times
8GB internal memory
Improved D-pad
Possibility for a camera …read more

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PSPFanboy has released the first of 60 reasons to own a PSP. I personally have yet to shell out the money for one of the systems hoping for a redesign but perhaps this list will sway my mind. Here are excerpts from their first 5 reasons:
1. The Games
People used to say that the PSP had no good games. Obviously, that’s no longer the case.
2. PSone classics
With a PS3, we’re able to download and play some great PS1 classics.
3. Downloadable demos
Who doesn’t like playing games … especially when they’re free? The PSP has dozens of free demos.
4. Great homebrew games
Titles like …read more

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- The PS3 edition of karaoke game SingStar is set to be released in June with 30 tracks to get you started. Additional content will be made available each month after for an unknown (hefty?) price. (source)
- Industry stats:

$1.1 billion sales in March
Up 33 percent in March
Wii was the top selling console at 259,000 units
Xbox 360 – 199,000 units
PS3 – 130,000 units
DS – 508,000 units
PSP – 180,000 units

- GameDaily has a list of the top 10 planet friendly video games
- The US Army is being criticized over its choice to use video games as a recruitment tool by groups claiming …read more

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Sony has released their complete list of Q2 (April-June) releases. Here’s the list from Neogaf.com:
PS3 – BR disc
- F.E.A.R. (Vivendi)
- Spider-Man 3 (Activision)
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma (Tecmo)
- MLB 07 The Show (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Disney Interactive Studios)
- The Darkness (2K Games)
- The Bigs (2K Sports)
- Transformers: The Game (Activision)
PS3 – PSnetwork
- Calling All Cars (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- Championship Sprint (Sony Online Entertainment)
- Gauntlet II (Sony Online Entertainment)
- Joust (Sony Online Entertainment)
- Rampage World Tour (Sony Online Entertainment)
- Super Puzzle Fighter II HD Remix (Capcom)
- Rampart (Sony Online Entertainment)
PSP
- Alien Syndrome …read more

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