Who doesn't like a good little bit of Weird Al every now and then?

Download the Trailer here.

Now who here doesn't enjoy a little ATHF action? This is a series that I really enjoyed and laughed my ass off the entire time. The things that come out of Shake's mouth are just too fucking funny. I can't wait to see the movie.

Square Enix Licenses Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3

Middleware to be Utilized in Square Enix's Next-Generation Game Development Process

Tokyo, Japan, (Jan. 25, 2007) – Square Enix Co., Ltd. today announced a licensing agreement with Epic Games that enables Square Enix to introduce Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 middleware into its next-generation game development process.

Square Enix has built its highly successful franchises such as FINAL FANTASY®, DRAGON QUEST® and KINGDOM HEARTS by pushing game consoles to their limits and providing unparalleled user experiences for more than 20 years. This was achieved through the company’s proprietary technologies, which were mostly optimized for each game given the limited resources of game consoles. However, in order to ensure both game quality and development efficiency for next-generation game systems including consoles, PCs and network titles, Square Enix is now building a technology platform to be used throughout the company utilizing proprietary technologies as well as introducing third-party solutions such as Unreal Engine 3.

“The complexity of next-generation game systems featuring HD graphics and multi-core parallel processing poses a number of technological challenges to our game development. However, we can expedite our game development process significantly while allowing extra time and resources to be spent on game design and mechanics by establishing an effective technology platform,” said Taku Murata, General Manager, Research and Development Division, Square Enix, Co., Ltd. “The technology platform for game development is becoming more important than ever. I'm excited to be partnering with Epic Games in such an important area.”

“We’re extremely excited to be working with Square Enix,” said Jay Wilbur, Vice President, Epic Games, Inc. “Square Enix is one of the biggest and most influential companies in the world-wide game business, and having them work with Unreal Engine 3 is a major honor for us and something we’re very proud to be announcing.”

SOURCE

So does this mean we'll be seeing Gears of War looking Final Fantasy games? Probably not, but it should mean that we won't be seeing 4 years between each of the Final Fantasy installments. I really hope they use these combined

Kotaku is reporting that the 20GB PS3 is down by 20% the the Akihibara district of Tokyo. Reports from both here and in Japan would seem to indicate that PlayStation 3s are sitting on shelves, as gamers wait for price drops or new games. The Tokyo merchants are anxious, it seems, and ready to get their consoles out the door. From the article:

"The 20GB version originally books at 49,980 yen (US $412), but is being offered for 39,980 yen ($329) in a sale ending February. The shop is knocking a flat 10,000 yen ($82) right now. Japanese bulletin board 2chan reports that this at other Don Quijotes as well. It's interesting to check out the PS3 vibe at 2chan; Reasons for not buying go from 'there are no games I want' to 'video stores don't rent Blu-ray movies.' Well, not yet that is."

IGN.com has released a 10 page article about the history and all the greatness that is the Castlevania series of games (excluding of course the Castlevania64 games). If you are an old fan or a new fan, I highly suggested giving it a read. I know I've played all but about 3 of the games in the series over the last 20 years.

Using the Wiimote, Project64, GlovePIE, my homemade sensor bar, and a Bluetooth USB dongle, I've set up OoT to play with Twilight Princess controls.

Special thanks to Carl Kenner for making GlovePIE and writing the script for TP.

Some people complained that it's hard to see, so here's a clearer video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q-mILj_vKA

Now here is what looks like a lot of fun. Now if only Nintendo would release this on the Virtual Console so that the rest of us could enjoy it.

In the latest issue of Dengeki, Square Enix confirmed that a Final Fantasy XIII demo will be out sometime this year.

When questioned about the release of the demo, the Square Enix dev team stated, "'We are hoping to have a playable demo ready for E3 in 2007." Since E3 has been downsized as of this year, only invited studios, press, and retailers may attend the event, which may cause Square Enix to hold off a public showing until the Tokyo Game Show, for example, later this year.

Until further notice from Square Enix, we can expect the demo to appear at E3 2007.

SOURCE

Now this is great news for those PS3 drooling fans out there. Hell even I can't wait to see what it is like. I liked FFXII but I wasn't a fan of the new combat system. Thirteen looks like is is going back to the good old Computer Tech/Magic mix and I'm really looking forward to it. When it launches we'll probably find that the PS3 is finally in the reasonable price range, but I'm not keeping my fingers crossed.