Square Enix

Imperial Hot Has Heard of Imperial Hot

Imperial Hot is our nickname for Square Enix president Yoichi Wada. Big important guy like him, managing an international corporation, he probably has no idea about the internet meme we started, right? Wrong. See Yoichi Wada has begun twittering (feel free to follow him, he’s @yoichiw) and answering questions in Japanese from regular folks. Questions…

Final Fantasy XIII Gets Title Sponsorship of NBA All-Star Event

“The 2010 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Presented by Final Fantasy XIII.” That’s a mouthful of marbles, and we’ll get to hear ESPN announcers say it a bunch on Friday thanks to a promotional pact Square Enix inked with the league. Square Enix announced the sponsorship in a statement put out today. In addition to the…

Final Fantasy XIII Gets An Xbox 360 Bundle In North America

Square Enix has been surprisingly mum on plans to bring a limited edition of Final Fantasy XIII to North America. Japan gets one, as does Europe. What do we get? At the very least, an Xbox 360 “special edition” bundle. According to a recent retail listing, Microsoft will be backing the role-playing game’s launch with…

There Will Never Be Another Final Fantasy Game Like FFXIII

Final Fantasy XIII has been in development for over five years, has involved hundreds of staff and has cost the publisher a ton of money. So you can see why there’ll never be another Final Fantasy game like it! Speaking with Sony on the official European PlayStation blog, the game’s producer Yoshinori Kitase and director…

Relax, Square Enix Is Doing Just Fine

The past nine months have been rough for many Japanese game companies. But those companies didn’t release Dragon Quest IX and Final Fantasy XIII. Oh, and Square Enix arm Eidos released Batman: Arkham Asylum. Net sales for Square Enix are up 31 percent and net income is up 48 percent when compared to the same…

Final Fantasy XIII Case Hints at “Game-Content Download”

GameStop posted an image of the rear cover for the Final Fantasy XIII case for Xbox 360, and “game content download” is one of the highlighted features. Is this a confirmation of DLC? Honestly, I’m not sure. (Get a closer, if pixelated, look here) I’ve emailed a Square Enix rep but it’s the weekend. I…

Final Fantasy VII Remake Looking Less Likely?

Square Enix designer Tetsuya Nomura doesn’t believe a Final Fantasy VII remake will happen “for some time”. He isn’t alone. Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase is equally pessmistic about the prospects of a Final Fantasy VII remake. The reason? “This issue is related to whether a Final Fantasy 7 remake will happen or not,”…

In Just Cause 2, You Can Ride A Flying Propane Tank

Can’t say that Just Cause 2‘s brand of open world gun and explosions gameplay is the sort of thing that immediately appeals to me, but hook-shotting your way onto a helicopter or flying propane tank is undeniably appealing. Credit to Avalanche Studios for what seems to be some seriously impressive tech in the sequel to…

Nier Dated For North America

Square Enix has announced an April North American release date for Cavia-developed action-adventure game Nier, not far removed from the release date of its two Japanese counterparts. Japan is getting Nier Gestalt for the Xbox 360 and Nier Replicant for the PlayStation 3 on April 24th. Three days later, on April 27th, North America welcomes…

In Japan, Final Fantasy XIII’s Buy-Back Value Is Cheap!

On December 17, role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII went on sale for the PS3 in Japan. It was priced at ¥9,240 (US$102). Want to sell back your copy? In a little over a month and a half, the used game is fetching ¥1,500 (US$17) from major Japanese game retailer GEO. By comparison, used games Pro…

Nier Dated For Japan

The upcoming Square Enix published, Cavia developed role-playing game Nier has been given a release date for Japan. On April 22, Nier Replicant will be released on the PS3 and Nier Gestalt will be released on the Xbox 360. The games are set in the same world, but with different character design. A younger version…

Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 Ships On Three Discs, Says GameFly

Square Enix, to the best of our knowledge, has not officially nailed down the amount of disc-swapping Xbox 360 owners will need to do to enjoy Final Fantasy XIII on Microsoft’s console. But retailer GameFly may know. The online rental service notes in its product description of the Xbox 360 version of FF XIII that…

FFXIII On PS2 Cost Square Enix A Year-and-a-Half

Not only was Final Fantasy XIII originally planned for the PlayStation 2, senior producer Yoshinori Kitase says that switching the title to the PS3 cost Square Enix “a year-and-a-half”. Late last week Kotaku posted pictures of the PS2 version of the game. The game, which was released on the PS3 last December in Japan, was…

No Asia, You Still Won’t Get FFXIII On Xbox 360

In summer 2008, Xbox Taiwan announced that Final Fantasy XIII would be getting an Xbox 360 “Asia” version. Microsoft clarified that “announcement”, and then further clarified that clarification. So in 2008, Final Fantasy XIII wasn’t getting an Asia version, and a new report confirms that it won’t be getting one in 2010, too. Localized Asia…

Final Fantasy XIII On… The PS2?

Square Enix’s role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII is a PlayStation 3 game (and an Xbox 360 game!). But at one time, the game was running on the PS2. Early artwork and screens have been published in two new books from Square Enix, giving insight into the game’s design process. These test version images pre-date E3…

A Million Copies of Dragon Quest VI Shipped In Japan

When will Japan stop buying Dragon Quest DS games? When? On January 28, the Nintendo DS remake of Dragon Quest VI went on sale in Japan. Square Enix shipped over a million copies of the game to retailers across the country. The game was originally released on the Super Nintendo (aka Super Famicom) in Japan…

Scenes From A Dragon Quest Bar

Square Enix has made good on its promise to open a Dragon Quest themed restaurant in Tokyo’s Roppongi district, as proven by new photos of “Luida’s Bar” that offer a sneak peek at cosplaying staffers and Slime-themed foods. Whether you’re interested in ogling Japanese ladies in Dragon Quest costumes or simply want to see if…

Nothing Says Dragon Quest VI Ad Like Cosplay

There is a long proud history of cosplaying live-action Dragon Quest television ads. This latest ad for the Dragon Quest VI Nintendo DS remake follows that traditional. How fitting. Dragon Quest VI, originally released on the Super Famicom in December 1995, will be released on the Nintendo DS on January 28 in Japan.

Nomura: Still No FFVII Remake, but Maybe Cloud Cameos

Square Enix designer Tetsuya Nomura reiterated the no-plans watch for a Final Fantasy VII remake any time soon, although it would take much more than the nuanced way he said it to put to rest the speculation on this game. In the current Famitsu, Nomura, who designed the game’s much-beloved characters, says: Fans are looking…

PS3 Just Cause 2 Has Video Capture Built Right In

A game like Just Cause 2 is filled with explosive moments you’ll want to share with your friends, and PlayStation 3 players will be able to do just that, thanks to a PS3-exclusive built-in video capture feature. Just Cause 2 is all about emergent action, letting the player decide how he or she wants to…