Word of a PSP version of Final Fantasy Agito XIII was one of the biggest pieces of news to come out of the DKS3713 event earlier this month. But unfortunately, the news of the platform shift came without any solid details on the game.

Enter that always-reliable source of Japanese news, Famitsu. A special PS3 version of the weekly gaming magazine has a full report on the show, with some new details that suggest Agito will result in yet another very special Square Enix PSP title.

Speaking with Square Enix's Tetsuyo Nomura and Agito director Hajime Tabata, Famitsu's editors learned that a PSP version of the game was always in the planning, right from the start. The announcement at the event was really just an announcement that the PSP version has taken priority over the mobile version.

The two addressed a few story elements of the game. The DKS3713 Agito trailer (which is currently not available for public viewing) made mention of "Lucy," a word that has been mentioned in connection with other areas of the FFXIII project. As explained by Nomura, this is one of the common points players will find connecting the worlds of the various FFXIII games.

Another term mentioned in the new trailer is PAX CODEX. This is the name of a peace treaty that exists in the Agito world. As Tabata explained, Cid, from a neighboring country, has broken the treaty and sent a Lucy (or possibly multiple Lucies) out in an invasion.

Tabata revealed that the Agito battle system will offer a mix of action and turn-based gameplay, similar to Crisis Core. He suggested that players picture a more developed version of the "super-high-speed ATB" (Active Time Battle) system from Crisis Core.

Different from Crisis Core, whose battles were solo-based, Agito has party-based battles. This, Nomura said to the magazine, gives the battles a different impression.

The party-based battles currently support infrastructure mode, Tabata revealed. Three players can currently form a party over the net. Tabata said that he cannot confirm yet if the final game will have infrastructure mode support, but this is something that Square Enix would like to offer players.

One other area of the battle system mentioned by Tabata involves summons. Plans call for giving players the ability to raise summon beasts and control them in battle.

All this sounds like the makings for a fine addition to the FFXIII saga. Best of all, players throughout the world will get a chance to play now that the title is coming to the PSP.

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/899/899549p1.html ...

News from Alek (part of Dark Alex Team, or maybe Dark Alex himself :P




Are Sony to finally win over the homebrew community with a PSP that stops Homebrew and also Piracy ? ...

The newly revised Xbox 360 Pro console will be hitting Australian retailers today, following on from its recent release in Europe and North America.

The price of the new Pro console won't change, with it still coming in at a recommended retail price of $499. The unit still comes with all the stuff in the old model - headset, ethernet cable, HD AV cable and, of course, a controller. The pricing of the Elite and Arcade bundles won't change either, remaining at $349 and $649 respectively.

http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=1...5de502e200f588 ...

Justin over at Game With a Brain wrote up a list of 25 reasons gamers annoy non-gamers. Not sure if he's a non-gamer, as the knowledge is pretty specific. But I agree a lot of these are pretty palpable reasons I get hacked off at my own people. He should have thrown something in about inscrutable Asian MMOs. I get that it's an acquired taste but, really, blowing your own head off to activate your powers? Ummm ...

Here's the first 10. The other 15 are on the jump. The comments on Game With a Brain absolutely crucify the guy. I don't know if they get the point of the satire, but they take it way too seriously, and that could be reason No. 26


1. Halo is not a sport.
2. The controllers are indeed too complicated.
3. No, I have no clue what happened in Mega Man 4.
4. I don’t need 502 ways to decapitate my opponent.
5. No, I do not need to read a FAQ to find all 502 ways.
6. Zelda games do not need to be hard edged.
7. Resident Evil 2 is not the best in the series.
8. Final Fantasy VII is the best Final Fantasy.
9. I find Wii Sports to be incredibly fun.
10. I own a PSP and have not installed custom firmware.

11. I really like Guitar Hero.
12. I don’t really like drawing maps to play video games.
13. Madden Football is good enough.
14. Portal was a fun game and not a religion.
15. I need help playing games sometimes.
16. You are not persecuted.
17. Sorry, but dressing up as Cloud makes you a nerd.
18. $600 is a lot to play video games.
19. I will ask if you have Pac-Man or Donkey Kong.
20. I don’t want to join a clan.
21. I like licensed games.
22. Game stories bore me.
23. I will not read a book or watch a film based on a video game.
24. I have no idea what a PokeMAN is.
25. I enjoy Bejeweled.

http://kotaku.com/5038043/the-25-rea...noy-non+gamers ...

Have you ever wondered how Microsoft provide those services for you? XBOX LIVE for instance surely must need more horsepower than a general website would need, wouldnt it? It's probably safe to bet that all of Microsoft's online operations doesn't run off a single server in the basement of Gates' house. However, a recent promotional video produced by Microsoft's Environmental Sustainability group may have accidentally spilled the beans.

Some quick stats: 15 datacenters hosting 148,357 servers sitting on 17,406 racks consuming 72,500KW of utility power as of the end of January 2008 (as indicated by the bar chart).

On the same page there's also an interesting graph showing the distribution of servers per "property". Live Search is in the clear lead with approximately 75,000 (50%) of the servers pushing out those less-than-desirable search results, followed by Hotmail. The other notable property occupying a large chunk of the servers would be "other" (appropriately named), which one could assume be dedicated to XBOX Live services and the like.

http://www.vgwatchdog.com/?p=35 ...

At this point, it seems unlikely that we'll be seeing an Xbox Portable any time soon. Even so, we can go ahead and pursue this pipedream, just for the sake our own imagination and curiosity. What form factor would be the most appropriate for an Xbox Portable?

Some combination of the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP would probably be the best, I think. You can map the standard Xbox controller on the bottom half, and then have a large widescreen display that flips up in a clamshell kind of way. In the center of the controller portion, you could have a touch-sensitive section that adjusts to the current situation, like the Motorola E8. I don't think a touchscreen is needed, nor is a full QWERTY keyboard. This is a gaming machine, not a messenger.

Not that it matters. I don't think Microsoft is going to grace us with an Xbox 360 Portable. Prove me wrong, Redmond. Prove me wrong.

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/345/C15969/ ...

Cineplex Entertainment is renting out downtime at its theatres to video gamers looking to play their Xbox 360 titles on a giant screen.

Beginning on Friday, gamers will be able to book two-hour sessions at 29 Cineplex theatres across the country [Canada] for $179 plus taxes. Up to 12 people will be allowed into the session to play their own games, or those from a supplied library, on the theatre's giant screen with surround sound. The Xbox 360, however, can only accommodate four players at a time.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2...-cineplex.html ...

Gamers first heard of the intriguing service that the Xbox 360 was going to offer all the way back in January 2007. At the time it was seen as a first for consoles and a very innovative step forward in the home console market but now Playstation have their own method for delivering television to the living room.

So just where did the console's IPTV go?
IPTV was supposed to allow Xbox 360 users the ability to watch and record television on their console, as well as simultaneously allowing recording and gaming. The service was meant to launch Fall 2007 but never materialized.

Towards the end of 2007 there was at least some help for people in the United Kingdom. British Telecom announced a partner ship with Microsoft which would see BT's Fusion television service available to 360 users who currently had a Fusion subscription. Fusion is essentially BT's anwser to TiVo or Sky+ and allows subscribers to record and view television content as well as granting access to Video-On-Demand.

http://brutalgamer.com/2008/08/what-...box-360s-iptv/ ...

News/release from Fred89


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