The long-lasting tradition of the Square Enix theater continued at this year’s Square Enix Party, which opened its doors for two days of public fun at the Makuhari Messe convention center, just outside of Tokyo. We’ll have a full report on what was included in the 30 minutes of trailer footage shown during the theater shortly, but we first have some cool news for Final Fantasy VII fans.
Remember that Final Fantasy VII real time demonstration trailer that wowed everyone at Sony’s PlayStation 3 E3 unveiling? Square Enix decided to head off this year’s theater with that very trailer. If you’re unfamiliar with the trailer, be sure and check it out here.
For the E3 trailer airing of the trailer, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada made it clear that the trailer was just a technical demonstration and was not for a game in development. A similar message was communicated at Sony’s recent PlayStation Meeting in Tokyo as the trailer made its first debut in front of the Japanese press.
The reason we’re getting all riled up over Square Enix showing the footage to the public is that the trailer, this time, was not appended with a similar message denouncing its use in a game. It’s likely that many who viewed the theater, walked away thinking that there’s a PS3 version of Final Fantasy VII in development (unless they were capable of understanding the English words “technical” and “demonstration” below the FFVII logo).
Or maybe we’re just thinking too hard. Whatever the case, The PS3 realtime Final Fantasy VII tech demo made its public debut today, and we hope we’ll see more of it and other similar demos in the future.
PRESS RELEASE — Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) extends license with Marvel Enterprises (NYSE: MVL) to expand and solidified their long-term, broad-based strategic alliance through an additional license agreement for aby signing non-persistent role playing game (RPG.)
Under the terms of the deal Activision is granted the exclusive rights to develop and publish cross property non-persistent role playing games (RPG) that utilize a broad, “ensemble cast” of characters from the Marvel Universe. The agreement, expected to further strengthen Activision’s leadership position in the Super Hero genre, covers both the console and PC arenas. The first game under the new agreement is expected to be released in fiscal 2007.
“We are proud of the success we have had with games based on the Marvel licenses,” states Ron Doornink, Chairman, Activision Publishing, Inc. “This agreement further strenghthens and helps to solidify our position as the number one publisher of Super Hero games.”
Ames Kirshen, Vice President of Interactive at Marvel Enterprises said, “We have had tremendous success with Activision through the licensing of individual characters and groups such as Spider-Man, X-Men and Fantastic Four. Rather than focusing on just one character, this unique license enables Activision to develop role playing games that tap a broader base of characters from Marvel’s expansive universe. We look forward to an even more successful future with Activision.”
G4 - videogame tv - tonight announced the winners of the 3rd annual “G-Phoria” awards - The Mother of All Videogame Award Shows. The esteemed winners, chosen by fans who cast more than 1 million votes online and via text message, joined Hollywood’s hippest celebs and VIP guests at the Los Angeles Center Studios to celebrate. Hosted by Wilmer Valderrama and featuring musical performances by the Black Eyed Peas and The Bravery, “G-Phoria” - The Mother of All Videogame Award Shows premieres Tuesday, August 9 at 8:00 PM ET/PT with the pre-show broadcast beginning at 7:30 PM ET/PT on G4. “G-Phoria” was presented by EB Games, Jeep and Mountain Dew.
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Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification today revoked the MA15+ classification for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas due to the now-infamous “Hot Coffee” content, according to a report at GameBiz.com.au.
According to the Australian ratings agency, the unlockable “Hot Coffee” content forced the group to revoke the game’s classification because of the “pornographic” nature of the material.
With this ruling, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas can no longer be sold or rented in Australia.
PRESS RELEASE — Matrix Games is pleased to announce that it has acquired the rights to the VASSAL Engine from Vassal Engineering and intends to improve and support it as a new platform for game publishing.
For game designers and publishers, VASSAL is software that lets you create your own, individually branded, commercial standalone application that moderates any turn-based game for human-vs-human play.
For gamers, VASSAL provides a quick and easy way to play your favorite board games online against similar players around the world. Simple mouse and keyboard commands actually simplify game play relative to an equivalent printed game, instead of frustrating players by subjecting them to the software’s nuanced interpretation of the rules. Players can play online in real time over a live server or by exchanging email files. When playing live, a player’s moves are instantly echoed on other players’ screens. Games can be begun live, continued via email, or continued further via live play.
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For its first quarter ended June 30, 2005, Sony Corporation reports a net loss of 7.3 billion yen ($65.2 million), compared to a profit of 23.3 billion yen in the same period last year. The company saw sales of 1.56 trillion yen ($13.9 billion), a 3.3% drop from last year’s 1.61 trillion yen.
The company cites quickly-dropping television prices, as well as major restructuring costs, in explaining its low earnings. More significantly, Sony is now projecting yearly net income of 10 billion yen ($89.3 million), a drastic reduction from the 80 billion yen ($714 million) forecast in April.
Looking at Sony’s game division, the picture’s a bit more cheerful. That division saw sales of 172.8 billion yen ($1.54 billion), a 64% increase from last year. However, the group also saw a 5.9 billion yen ($52.7 million) operating loss — attributed to marketing and research — compared to last year’s 2.9 billion yen.
Brisk hardware performance explains the game division’s bustling sales numbers. The PlayStation Portable, Sony’s spunky newcomer, sold 2.09 million units worldwide, while the PlayStation 2 sold 3.53 million units — nearly five times as many as last year.
Foreigner Howard Stringer (a dual British-American citizen) stepped in as chairman of Sony in March. Stringer has said he plans major cost cuts at the company, which faces increasing competition from the likes Samsung and Apple. Stringer plans to unveil a turnaround plan in September.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today applauded the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for handing down a sentence including prison time for Hitesh Patel, an employee of Pandora’s Cube, a major retailer of pirated game software and modified game consoles in the Washington, DC area. Judge Peter J. Messitte ordered Patel to serve eight months for his crime, four months in jail and four months of home detention, in addition to 2 years of supervised release.
“We are grateful for the work of U.S. law enforcement and prosecutors for bringing this defendant to justice,” said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the ESA, the trade association representing the U.S. computer and video game publishers. “Sentences of this magnitude send a strong message to the pirate community that intellectual property theft is a serious crime with serious consequences.”
Patel, 31, of College Park, Maryland, pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit felony copyright infringement and to violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Patel managed one of the Pandora’s Cube locations and served as technician for all three stores. He assembled and modified Microsoft Xbox video game consoles, turning them into what Pandora’s Cube called “Super Xboxes.” These “Super Xboxes” defeated the Xbox’s copyright protection system and permitted the user to avoid purchasing and paying for legitimate video games.
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PRESS RELEASE — Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that the development team at Hypnotix, Inc. has joined EA’s Tiburon studio to develop action-oriented games, the first of which will be Arena Football based on the Arena Football League (AFL®) license. Hypnotix is best known for developing the popular Outlaw Golf and Outlaw Volleyball series of games. The team has relocated to Orlando, Florida from Little Falls, New Jersey. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“EA Tiburon shares our enthusiasm for sports and our passion for making great games. By joining EA, we are becoming part of a world-class studio organization, home to some of the industry’s top designers, best artists and most sophisticated technologists. We couldn’t be more excited,” said Mike Taramykin, President of Hypnotix.
“Arena Football will be a completely new football experience. Hypnotix’ proven ability to deliver creative gameplay and unforgettable sports experiences makes them perfectly suited to create this new franchise and develop new action-oriented games in the future,” said Steven Chiang, VP and General Manager of EA Tiburon. “They are a great addition to our studio.”
The first Arena Football game will ship at the beginning of the 2006 AFL season. Over the next four years, EA SPORTS will partner with the AFL on both media and retail marketing.
On the heels of Monday’s vote in the House of Representatives to refer the “Hot Coffee” matter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Take-Two Interactive acknowledged Tuesday that the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices is conducting an inquiry into advertising claims made for Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Take-Two Interactive, which owns Rockstar, stated that the company intends to “fully cooperate with the FTC inquiry, and believes that it acted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.” Take-Two cites its involvement and cooperation with the recently concluded ESRB investigation into the “Hot Coffee” matter and the “decisive and immediate corrective action” taken to resolve the situation.
The company states that it has taken steps to correct the issue including halting production of the current version of GTA: San Andreas and working on a version of the game that would remove the elements that resulted in the offending modification as well as taking steps to ensure that future games will not be vulnerable to such modifications. The company also pledged its continued support for and promotion of the ESRB ratings system.
The hot coffee won’t stop pouring. Just a day after the FTC opened a formal investigation of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas “hot coffee” scandal, a woman is now suing publisher Take-Two Interactive for “false, misleading, and deceptive practices.”
The Associated Press reports today that Florence Cohen, 85, of New York, has sued the publisher after learning of GTA: San Andreas’ hidden sexual content and the ESRB’s new rating of “AO” for the game. Cohen says she bought the game for her 14-year-old grandson when it was rated “M” — for its unapologetically violent gameplay and adult themes — and when she knew nothing of the “hot coffee” content.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, seeks unspecified damages for Cohen and all consumers nationwide. The chaos over a sexually-themed mini-game unlocked in San Andreas with a user-created mod has led to public outcry, a change in the game’s rating, and a full investigation by the FTC. For its part, Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive has ceased manufacturing the original version of the game, and is creating a version in which the “hot coffee” content is inaccessible. While retailers have the option to sell the current version as an “AO” game, most have simply pulled the game from shelves.
Take-Two was not available for comment as of press time, but we’ll keep you up-to-date on the ongoing “hot coffee” saga as news comes in.