We're starting to hear a few reports of the dreaded yellow spots disappearing from the iPhone 4's display after a day or so of use. Interestingly, someone posting on the AppleInsider forums seems to know why:
Apple is using a bonding agent called Organofunctional Silane Z-6011 to bond the layers of glass. Apparently, Apple (or more likely Foxconn) is shipping these products so quickly that the evaporation process is not complete. However, after one or two days of use, especially with the screen on, will complete the evaporation process and the yellow "blotches" will disappear. How do I know? I was involved in pitching Z-6011 to Apple.
If this can be trusted, it's very good news for those afflicted -- though hopefully Apple will keep to its usually painless replacement policy for defective phones either way. We are still seeing some mentions of the spots sticking around, fading in and out based on the heat of the phone, but we'll give it another day or two to really see how much of a problem is going to be. Let us know how yours fares.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/i...a-bit-of-time/ ...

Hiromichi Tanaka has told Eurogamer that the Final Fantasy XIV Online beta test "will be starting soon".

He - the producer of the game, and second-in-command at Square Enix - said the MMO was in alpha but on course for a 2010 release in all territories.

"We will do some final adjustments from the beta test and then we will have a launch in 2010," he confirmed.

What's more, Tanaka's confident that will be on both formats - PC and PS3.

"Yes, the current plan is for a simultaneous launch, and we're trying hard to stick to that," he said.

However, Tanaka admitted that making an MMO for two platforms and "customising" the experience for both was "very challenging" and "taking some time".

Final Fantasy XI was released eight years ago in a genre yet to star World of Warcraft. Final Fantasy XIV Online won't have that luxury, but Tanaka isn't fazed.

"The reason why many MMOs failed after WOW launched was probably because they were trying to copy WOW," he explained. "For FFXIV we're not trying to copy World of Warcraft, we're trying to choose something different.

"Final Fantasy never had any influence from World of Warcraft," he added, "so we want to continue that and try to reach a different audience."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ff...-starting-soon ...

Final Fantasy XIV Online creator and director Hiromichi Tanaka has told Eurogamer that a "closed" Xbox Live blocked the game from appearing on Xbox 360.

"The main reason why we couldn't go with Xbox 360 was the Xbox Live system," he explained at E3. "[Live is] different to the normal internet environment, so when we wanted to introduce this game in the same environment as Windows PC it had to be PS3, so that was our choice.

"Microsoft has a different point of view: they want to have a closed environment for Xbox Live. We're still talking to... We couldn't come to an agreement on Xbox Live."

Square Enix number-one Yoichi Wada told GamesIndustry.biz a similar story; he said what he'd like to see "first and foremost" was a network structure that allowed third parties to "freely design different business schemes".

Final Fantasy XIV won't be the first MMO snagged by the closed nature of a console's online service . Cryptic chucked in the towel on an Xbox 360 version of Champions Online earlier this year. Producer Craig Zinkievich told Eurogamer he was frustrated with the business side of getting an MMO on Xbox Live; the game itself, he said, ran just fine.

Ironically, Final Fantasy XI remains one of the only MMOs to be offered on Xbox 360.

Final Fantasy XIV Online is in development for PC and PS3.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/cl...-blocked-ffxiv ...

NIS America has announced that the first Atelier game created for PlayStation 3 - Atelier Rorona - will be released here in September.

That's a US date, but the region-free nature of the console means that shouldn't matter.

Atelier Rorona tells the story of a girl called Rorona. She works in an alchemy shop run by a lazy lady named Astrid. Rorona and Astrid are landed in the muck when a messenger from the ruling kingdom turns up and demands that all their assignments in the next three years must be met or the shop closed down.

A video shows pretty, minimally-animated cut-scenes as well as free-roaming exploration. Battle gameplay isn't shown, but various characters twirl and spin for the camera, presumably demonstrating their special powers.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/at...t-in-september ...

Square Enix president Yoichi Wada is looking further than the latest wave of hardware additions for home consoles, positioning the company to take advantage of networked services on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

While interested in 3D, Move and Kinect motion controls, Wada said that the new technology only marginally increases the capabilities and potential business models for home consoles, while online services will be the "true battlefield" for publishers in the future.

"The innovations that we hear about during this E3 are only minimal additions to the existing technologies," offered Wada, in an interview conducted in LA last week. "What is not visible today is the quiet change that's taking place at the network level."

"What the motion controls and other new technology will do is extend the lives of the consoles, but they themselves are not the true battlefield. The true battlefield is the respective network services that support consoles, whether or not they can truly establish these network services will have the definitive effect on the future of games consoles."

Describing home stereoscopic 3D as "not bad, but only so-so" and Kinect as "just a small extension to what is already available", Wada said he wants to see format holders relax online networks in order for publishers to experiment with alternative business models.

"First and foremost I would like them to come up with a network infrastructure that will allow the publishers like us to freely design different business schemes. For the publishers the advantage of the networks is that it allows more types of diversified revenue models and I don't want their networks to interfere with that."

Square Enix is currently looking into its own online services said Wada, drawing parallels to Valve's Steam service, but he would not be drawn on specifics, only hinting the goal is to reduce the friction between publisher and customer.

"What we are interested in is the layer or level closest to our customers, those that form communities. Anything below that level is something either we could do or we could take advantage of somebody else's technology and whatever it is we will choose the most efficient means to get there.

"The closest image I can think of is Valve's Steam service. But I do not want to end up fighting with Valve or the game console manufacturers," he added.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-home-consoles ...

A new scheme, billed as America's first official intellectual property enforcement strategy, has called for the Obama administration to dedicate 50 FBI agents to tackling online copyright infringement, including software piracy.

Supporters of the strategy include vice president Joe Biden and attorney general Eric Holder. The group, headed up by intellectual property enforcement coordinator Victoria Espinel, also aims to convince the US government to target international websites producing and distributing copied goods.

China is considered a main offender, with 79 per cent of seized counterfeited goods originating there, according to a 2009 US customs report.

While much of the scheme concerns physical counterfeiting, music, film and videogame piracy will be investigated too.

"The theft of videogame intellectual property thwarts creativity, kills jobs, and reduces economic activity throughout our country," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association. "The videogame industry is a source of tremendous innovation, creativity, artistic expression, and economic growth. Consumers win when intellectual property rights are respected and enforced.

"We deeply appreciate the efforts of vice president Biden and intellectual property enforcement coordinator Espinel and their leadership and vision in this critical area. We are grateful for Ms. Espinel's hard work to date, and appreciate the extent to which she has consulted with a wide range of stakeholders, including our industry.

"We look forward to reviewing this plan, and to doing our part to help the U.S. government succeed in its vital mission of protecting intellectual property."

The ESA has previously claimed that almost 10 million games were downloaded illegally during December 2009.

While it is unlikely that every one of those would equate to a lost sale (a 2008 survey by developer Reflexive suggested that for every 1000 pirated copies stopped by DRM, only one sale was gained), that figure did only refer to the top 200 most-pirated games at the time, and did not encompass downloads from online storage sites such as Rapidshare.

The ESA recommended that 35 countries, including Canada, Brazil and Mexico, were placed on a 'priority watch list' as a result.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-online-piracy ...

Konami has joined the sizable list of companies that have licensed Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 for an upcoming project.
The publisher has bought the rights to use the engine for Saw 2 – the sequel to the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC survival horror title.
Saw 2 is in development at Washington-based developer Zombie Studios. The developer has now licensed Unreal Engine tech nine separate times. The original Saw game was indeed built using Unreal.
"Licensing Unreal Engine 3 was an easy decision for us," said Careen Yapp, vice president of acquisitions and franchise development at Konami.
"The engine's new and improved features, time-saving tools and exceptional support system make it the best choice for the 'Saw' property."

http://www.develop-online.net/news/3...ne-3-for-Saw-2 ...

Square-Enix has announced that Final Fantasy Tactics will hit the App store on September 15.

Square-Enix has had a shakey history with Final Fantasy spin-offs, but thankfully Tactics is one of the better ones.

The iPhone and iPod Touch release of the game will be a version of the PSP re-release Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions.

Square-Enix seems to be quite taken with the iPhone, as it's previously released Final Fantasy 1 and 2, Crystal Defenders and an original RPG called Chaos Rings.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

It's no secret that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 draws heavily from Capcom's other crossover fighting game franchise, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. So it's a little strange that the company isn't keeping the community they've established happy with a Wii release of the former.

However, all hope may not be lost. In an interview with Joystiq, MvC3 producer Ryota Niitsuma suggested a Wii version of the fighter may appear in the future, depending on the success of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.

"Well, we can't get into any specifics, but all I can is that the game we made right now, as it is, it's for Xbox 360 and PS3," he said. "We want to see how it does and maybe see where we'll take it from there."

Street Fighter IV is not only available on the iPhone but was recently announced for the Nintendo 3DS. Capcom looks like they're pushing the genre as much as possible so it could be that MvC3 shows up on the 3DS or the Wii. Here's hoping.

How do you guys feel about a Wii version of MvC3?

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...