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Recent XBox Bans Not Actually A Million; Lawsuit Possible Anyway

2009-11-20T21:01:48Z

There's been some talk in the past week about a pretty staggering number: one million XBox 360 units banned from XBox Live on account of being modified - presumably, of course, to circumvent those pesky new game prices with the magic of Bittorrent. Not that it ever sounded very wise to tamper with a closed, proprietary game console before logging onto a closed, proprietary online service and assume nothing could possibly go awry.

Well, despite many, many, many, many, many sites reporting that a million accounts had been banned, it sounds like there was a bit too much cross-referencing and not enough fact-checking. XBox Live General Manager Marc Whitten hinted yesterday that the actual number of XBoxes banned last month is much smaller, noting that the popular 'one million banned' statistic essentially came from one site.

Even if it ended up being a false lead, it's easy to see why the appeal of this particular number was pretty tempting for most. Piracy is one of those problems that hovers like a specter, always present and hurting the bottom line of companies who give their all for their projects, but also basically impossible to actually measure. Regardless of who is or isn't a saint when it comes to respecting generations-old IP laws in our digital age, it's both astounding and plausible that a million XBoxes could have been modified to play pirtaed games on XBox Live. PROTIP: That's more XBoxes than the population of Alaska!

Regardless of whethery they number into the millions or have their own senators, the mass of folks who recently found themselves banned from XBox Live may yet get their comeuppance, in form of a class-action suit. Hit the jump to read more!

]]> US law firm AbingtonIP has put a form on their website asking the general populace for details on their particular situations if they themselves have found their consoles banned from Live, as well as whether they've received a prorated refund from Microsoft for the amount of months of Gold account service that had been purchased.

Of course, anyone who's paused during one those easily-clickable End User License Agreements has probably seen plenty of harsh language about how Microsoft is well within their rights to ban your account, stop giving you service, negate your marriage rights, and kick your dog--all at any time and without warning. This is, one would think, one of those sad facts of living in a world of corporations and legalese: going against The Man will mean they can have their way with you, because they have lawyers and you don't.

Which is exactly why it's interesting that AbingtonIP seems to be taking the first steps to enact a class action lawsuit against Microsoft for just such an attitude. From their perspective, Microsoft basically stole customers' money to the tune of between $8 and $50 for every single Gold account that was banned. Even if it wasn't a million accounts stacking up, that's still a whole lot of paid time for which MS happily received the money and then cut the cord. Part of the lawsuit may also point out the facts that Microsoft essentially waited until around the time the biggest multiplayer games were releasing, thus ensuring more bannable accounts were racking up paid time in Gold status, before banning them en-masse without a refund; and the little detail that, unless there's some sort of disc-imprinting technology MS has perfected, it's actually impossible to prove that someone with a modded console was truly using it to violate copyright and thus deprive anyone of their licensing fees.

Again, while it's definitely easy to laugh and say, 'you done messed up' to anyone who somehow thought it was a good idea to take a modded system online, the details involved do point to some maneuvering on Microsoft's part that may be violating the good faith of those who still paid for their online service. And it's not entirely test in our legal system whether EULAs are necessarily binding agreements - generally, they are, but if a court thinks there's enough unreasonable or greedy action on the part of the license holder, the contract suddenly gets a lot less powerful.

Or, to put it differently: just because someone big puts in writing that all grass in now lavender doesn't mean it's true. Nor does it mean they won't still hold a candlelight vigil and a tribunal to ensure the voices of proudly-green grass are still heard.

In any case, class-action lawsuits tend to take years to get rolling, which means the next time we hear progress on whether the modders and the lawyers who love them actually have a case to present will be around the same time the PlayBox 4 comes out.

Resident Evil 5 Gets New Episodes, Costumes This Spring

2009-11-19T21:01:48Z

In just under a year after the game first launched, Capcom is delivering even more head-shooting, roundhouse-kicking zombie fun to fans of Resident Evil 5 by releasing two new episodes and separate costume packs.

The first episode was teased in the middle of RE5 and given more light in a recent TGS trailer - longtime fans of the series will get to jump back in time to Raccoon City, as Chris and Jill hunt for biohazardous baddie Albert Wesker in the original Spencer Mansion. This episode, "Lost In Nightmares," will be available February 17-18 as DLC on consoles along with the first costume pack. The second episode, of which no details are currently available, will be available a few weeks later starting March 3-4.

If you're like me and can enjoy a whole new experience just by having your character in a different outfit, the costume packs alone will mean quite a bit of added replay value, and apparently they're only going to put you out $2 for each pack. The episodes themselves also seem rather reasonably priced at $5 apiece. When one considers that RE5 itself was made up of only six chapters, it does seem to be a winning proposition, even if the new episodes don't end up quite as long as a full chapter.

Gamers who are getting into next-gen Resident Evil for the first time, or those who've already given up their copy to a friend, zombie, or second-hand retailer, will still have an opportunity to jump back in the game. Capcom has also announced a disc-based version of the original game plus all the bonus content listed here, bearing the moniker of Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, which should see a retail release on March 9 for a beefy $50.

While some of the new content was announced in conjunction with Sony's Glowing-Ball-On-A-Stick motion device, and a playable build of the RE5 has been shown off using it fairly effectively as a pointer, no word has been offered by Capcom as to whether Gold Edition will coincide with the motion controls or whether they'll be patched in later.

EA Shockwaves: Pandemic Studios Dissolved

2009-11-18T21:01:48Z

Last week we got word that over 1500 lives would be profoundly affected by this deadly economy as Electronic Arts became unable to support those employees, having to let them go in order to keep its future bright for the rest of the staff. Unfortunately, it looks as though the aftershocks are still being felt through the company, as EA subsidiary Pandemic Studios has been confirmed by Kotaku to have just laid off 200 of its best employees, including former Pandemic CEO Andrew Goldman and President Josh Resnick. An internal memo documents the migration of a "core IP team," supposedly to keep some of the original brand identity for Pandemic's more popular franchises, to the EA Los Angeles offices. EA originally acquired Pandemic along with BioWare when it bought VG Holding Corp. in 2007.

Meanwhile, here's a sad fact that's easy to miss - Internet message boards are already alight with commenters vilifying EA for its supposed 'habit' of buying up smaller devs and then killing them off as needed. What those baiters must come to grips with is this: while it definitely sucks for everyone when a beloved studio gets closed down, it's almost assured that an independent developer attempting to work on the same level of projects as was Pandemic would likely have hit rock bottom far earlier without the buoyancy of a larger parent company to absorb some of the blow from even one undersold title. Not to say that EA is a knight in shining dragon armor who can do no wrong, but--let's face it--we're in an economy where even well-known and well-loved studios can fail. Just in the past two years, we've seen the closing of such greats as Ensemble (Age of Empires), GRIN (Ghost Recon: AW, Bionic Commando), Factor 5 (Rogue Squadron, Lair), Flagship Studios (Hellgate: London), Pivotal Games (Conflict series), and Turtle Rock (Counter-Strike: Source, Left 4 Dead), among others. It's not a good time to be a lone dev out in the world with no safety net or larger brand to help try and find work for one's experienced employees in other studios. As long as a company is run in relative sanity, with healthy doses of optimism, realism, and hope... well, the industry can only benefit from its existence.

Pandemic's past offerings include the Mercenaries, Destroy All Humans!, and Star Wars: Battlefront franchises, as well as Army Men RTS and Lord of the Rings: Conquest as standalone games. Their latest title, Saboteur, is getting some decent press recently but might still have some work left before its release date in early December, so we'll find out in the next few weeks how the closing of the studio might affect the game's launch.

Regardless of how the closedown affects us gamers, it will undoubtedly mean plenty of long nights ahead for those formerly employed developers who've worked hard under the Pandemic banner for up to 11 years now. We'll continue to keep these folks in our thoughts and hope they find footholds in the gaming industry again soon.

Video: Left 4 Dead 8-Bit In Development By Indie Dev; Left 4 Dead 2 8-Bit Boycott Forthcoming

2009-11-17T21:01:48Z

As you can see above, some experiences only really pop with 16 colors and four-channel sound. Solo dev Eric Ruth of PixelForce is working on an 8-bit "demake" of the original Left 4 Dead, promising all four campaigns, all five special infected, and two-player cooperative action à la Smash TV. So far only the Boomer seems to be included, but hopefully the rest of the cast will work their way into our hearts and brains before long.

Ruth's project hopes to see a release as early as next January, which would make it an excellent option for those of us with PCs not buff enough to run the just-released Left 4 Dead 2. It's unlikely that Valve will protest the use of their property, since they seemed quite fond of the 2D-Portal indie project and countless fan allusions to classic Team Fortress 2 characters. And who knows? Maybe they'll have the 2D version of L4D available as a pre-order bonus for Left 4 Dead 3 about a year from now.

No word yet on whether the Australian release of Left 4 Dead 8-Bit will feature heavy censorship of red pixels to make it MA-15 safe.

See What Left 4 Dead Would Have Looked Like on NES [1UP]

Play Some Valkyria Chronicles 2 In Japanese For Free

2009-11-16T21:01:48Z

It's a good week for demos! If you've gotten your investigation fix with the latest free try of Ace Attorney Investigations, consider that it might be time to switch over to the other shiny non-phone handheld gaming device in your life. That's right: Valkyria Chronicles 2's demo is available via Playstation Network Japan!

In the same tradition as the recent Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker's overseas demo, this one is full of Japanese text and explanations, making it a somewhat obscure way to enjoy the next iteration of a beloved game. I suppose devs like Sega and Konami don't see the point in offering Western gamers an opportunity to get an early hands-on with games like this, as even a little menu or subtitle translation would be nice.

Still, we'll take what we can get - and if seeing the stunning Valkyria Chronicles style working on the small screen means futzing my way through menus by counting kata, I for one am more than willing to try! If you're up for trying, too, the demo can be downloaded at the link below.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 Demo Available Now [PlayStation LifeStyle]

Vagrant Story Confirmed For PSN Release

2009-11-13T21:01:48Z

It's good news time for Squaresoft fans who also happen to be Sony fans! Following in the fine tradition of Final Fantasy VII, Playstation Network will soon see the release of the classic Squaresoft RPG Vagrant Story, easily playable on a PS3 or PSP system.

As the first game to take place in the fantasy world of Ivalice (later the setting for Final Fantasy Tactics and XII), Vagrant Story sets a dramatic pace with its opening cutscene and continues from there, telling the story of mercenary, rogue, and all-around vagrant Ashley Riot as he navigates a kingdom on the edge of a feudal conflict. Its practical elements include range-based action-RPG combat and one of the deepest weapon-fusing systems to be found in a Playstation game. More astute readers might remember that it was also one of the first games ever to receive a perfect score in Famitsu, back when it was hard to do.

It was originally hoped that Vagrant Story would see a PSN release as early this week, but that date has disappeared, so gamers looking to step into Ashley Riot's shoes and get medieval will have to wait at least another week.

Vagrant Story out on PSP and PS3 [VG247]

[via: Destructoid]

Outfit Your Avatar In New Assassin's Creed Outfits And/Or DJ Gear

2009-11-12T21:01:48Z

If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that some ways of playing dress-up are more expensive than others. Whether it's ogling designer clothes or thrift store-hopping, purchasing garments to put on your actual, real-life body can be expensive. And what if you change sizes? Then you've got to go through the bartering mini-game to try and get a decent price back for your now-defunct clothes, otherwise they'll just take up valuable space in your pack.

Luckily for us more progressive slaves to fashion, the digital age has a solution for all these problems: clothing and accessories for your ~~Mii~~ Avatar! For anywhere between one and five American dollars, you can garnish your little six-inch CG clone in a variety of premium outfits, the latest of which feature some dapper hats and deadly robes from the Assassin's Creed games, as well as signature accessories and generic decks from DJ Hero. Certain items, especially the more flamboyant renaissance masks and raver-angel wings are female-only, while the hip-hop-hat-on-a-hat and oversized DJ jacket are only wearable by male Avatars. (These restrictions seem wholly unnecessary, at least until Microsoft patents and implements a gender-switching button. Though once they do I'm sure to abuse it certain weekends.)

For online clothing, the appeal is obvious! Not only can you stock your virtual wardrobe with game-related items that simply disappear when not in use, but unlike that one pair of gym shorts, these are truly one-size-fits-all! Plus, your Avatar won't be nearly as exposed to the harsh static environments inside your TV or the cold wind that whips by as you rapidly flip through XBox menus.

No word yet on whether the items in question will be available for free through simply playing the games in question, nor on the rumor of the opening of an XBox Live Goodwill Marketplace where one can find bargain clothing left behind by those trendy Avatars whose parents buy them all the new stuff.

DJ Hero, Assassin's Creed 2 Avatar clothes on XBox Live [Destructoid]

Sony Considering New Color Choices For PSP Go?

2009-11-11T21:01:48Z

For all those handheld gamers out there who've been eager to forego all their old UMD games and go to a strictly digital platform, but who've held off so far because of the lack of tempting color options, you may (theoretically, eventually) be in luck!

As you well know, the only way to rock a new PSPgo currently is to be stuck with a shiny black or a shiny white finish. Perhaps Sony would like to believe, however, that the flagging sales and lukewarm reception to the PSPgo don't come from its steep price or lack of features, but rather its limited color options. A Destructoid reader noticed a survey on a UK opinion site loosely associated with Sony that asks for, among other things, users' relative love levels for a myriad of potential PSP palettes, as seen above.

It should be noted that the precedent set by the PSP Slim and PSP-3000 is one of offering new colors only with bundle packs, which include a sometimes-desirable game and always cost more. Among the rather nice silver, white, red, and deep blue releases for Western PSP fans, some of them also had printed images of Kratos or Darth Vader, so branding may come into play with the new colors as well.

Personally, I'm no stranger to picking out my systems based on what they go with (as my pink DS or red 360 could tell you, were they sentient), so these options do give the PSPgo more appeal more on a base, vain level with which I am quite familiar. Given that I already own some UMDs and have no qualms about engaging in the secondhand market for my games, however, I think I'll stick with what I've got.

What about you, faithful readers? Do these potential options make the PSPgo just a little more tempting, or will Sony need to change the hue even more before they see commercial success?

Spirit Tracks' New Instrument Promises Fun New Avenues For Self-Embarrassment

2009-11-10T21:01:48Z

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks definitely looks like a blast to play as word comes out of its innovative controls and interesting characters. One of the most recent details of the game's features, however, has me both excited and worried: the Spirit Pipes.

Link has gotten his hands on plenty of magical instruments in his day, from ocarinas that control the weather to recorders that summon fairies. Their latest reveal keeps with this theme, but adds new elements of interactivity that may or may not equate to more musical fun. From what's been gathered so far, it sounds like the Spirit Pipes are akin to a set of pan pipes, which will be played by choosing notes with the stylus and physically blowing into the DS' microphone.

Now, I'm all for immersion and seeing games reach new levels of player interactivity. But there's a crucial difference between the kind of immersive experience that has a gamer flailing their arms to feel like an expert swordsman and the kind that has a them blowing a tune into their portable game system until they make themselves dizzy. Especially since portable systems are best enjoyed on the go, by which I mean 'in public,' by which I further mean 'in the presence of people who may be freaked out upon seeing a person who is compelled to blow on an electronic device.' Personally, I think we should all be able to practice any act we want as long as it's behind closed doors and with consenting game systems. Bringing that kind of action to the bus stop, however, may be pushing the boundaries of public decorum.

Despite my firm stance against public shaming, I do hold out some hope of discretion for myself and other pipe-blowing enthusiasts. Nintendo may have a bit of a Thing for encouraging use of their optional peripherals--whether it's microphones on portable systems or barrel-shaped bongos--but they do have at least some awareness of how silly it looks. Take, for example, a similar situation in Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: when you meet the jolly NPC who can craft a cannon for your steamboat, he demands that you yell your enthusiasm for his product into the microphone for a few seconds as a way of begging him to lower the set price.

Once this opportunity for horrific embarrassment has passed, assuming you made enough noise to satisfy this madman's craving for your shame, he adds insult to injury by noting, "You do know you could've just made any noise at all, don't you? You didn't have to actually shout!" Well played, cannonsmith. Well played.

...Anyway! Aside from whether I may or may not have actually cheered on demand for a character in my DS, the point stands that Nintendo knows their microphone peripheral can be a bit tough to use in public by those who still have some manner of self-awareness left in them, and that scratching or tapping near the mic isn't a reliable workaround. It stands to reason that there will be, with any luck, an option to simply press a button to simulate the act of blowing rather than to get down and physically do it.

At least, I hope so. Otherwise this may be yet another expensive electronic with which I'm only willing to play in my bedroom.

We'll find out more, and whether I have to make the critical choice between my pride and my love for Zelda, when the game releases on December 11.

1 vs 100 Starting Second Season Next Week, Featuring New Categories

2009-11-09T21:01:48Z

Despite still wearing a 'beta' tag, the XBox Live prize show 1 vs 100 is gearing up for its second season, to start next Thursday. Along with a whole host of new trivia questions, the updated game-show experience is going to feature new Mob- and One-choosing algorithms, an introductory runway walk for the avatars chosen as The One, and new theme categories, including "Finish the Lyrics," "80s," and "Vampires"--which does make one wonder which generation of vampire lore is going to be considered for the question base.

We've voiced our excitement about 1 vs 100 before, but for those who haven't yet added their virtual faces to the sea of contestants, here's the concept: players who are in the 'Crowd' by joining a live game get to watch the show taking place and answer the game's trivia questions alongside both the 1 and the 100, all the while improving their own chances of being chosen for one of those positions in the next game. Those lucky 101 who are chosen are then competing for prizes meted out in Microsoft's popular space currency. Mob members who hold on and outsmart the One usually only get a few hundred points, while a One who scores every question spot-on long enough for all 100 of the Mob to fail can walk away with 10,000 points (or $125 of your Earth dollars).

It's a neat concept just for the novelty of being part of a live game show, complete with chatty host, while actually earning the chance to win prizes - even if the contestants, host, and most of the prizes are all digital. It's also a great experience with a partner, testing each other's knowledge and scoffing at the dozens of people in the Mob who somehow don't know which album that one Beatles song is on.

The next fourteen-week season of 1 vs 100 will start on November 19 and is free to play for XBox Live Gold members.

1 vs 100 season 2 details [Official XBox Magazine UK]

[via: Kotaku]

Next ShinMegaTen DS Game Gets Western Confirmation, Release Date

2009-11-06T21:01:48Z

While its existence is old news, the latest game in the Shin Megami Tensei series, featuring a sci-fi setting and a return to form by going back to direct negotiation, coercion, and bribery to convince a host of demons to your side, will now definitely be seeing Western shores and bringing happy smiles and determined grimaces to English-speaking gamers.

For those RPG fans unfamiliar with the concept, the SMT series started on the SNES and has kept a familiar theme throughout. Seemingly ordinary (but customizable!) protagonists often find themselves in the midst of a crisis with but one tool to help their survival: the ability to summon, control, or negotiate with myriad demons and folk creatures, often with their own personalities and motivations, who are infinitely collectible with the bonus of being able to be combined to form a new, upgraded demons. Think Pokémon, but with 100% more sacrilege, interesting battle systems, and around half a dozen endings per game.

The latest offering by Atlus, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, has already been pretty thoroughly examined here, but it's only recently that we've gotten a solid promise to see the game in English, possibly because of how well other recent games sold. SMT: Strange Journey will let Western gamers start making first contact with the demonic dimension on March 10th of next year.

A Few Times Been Around That Track: Activision's Getting Sued Again For Band Puppetry

2009-11-05T21:01:48Z

Activision just can't seem to stay out of trouble.

Not even two days after the rainbow-infused Band Hero started piling up on endcaps of stores worldwide, it's already got a lawsuit filed against it, and we've heard this verse before. The artist No Doubt is suing for unauthorized use of their name and likenesses.

While it's always fun to make a unique avatar of rock stardom and sing covers, and it's similarly fun to unlock in-game versions of actual artists during their songs, it doesn't seem like a difficult step in the coding process to limit these virtual versions of platinum artists to--I don't know--only playing songs they actually choose to play.

That's at the heart of No Doubt's outrage, no doubt, since they don't appreciate seeing their band "transformed [. . .] into a virtual karaoke circus act" who can "sing, dance and perform over sixty songs." Supposedly, they have an extra-special vein-bursting moment when the game forces Gwen Stefani's lips to utter forth the voice of Mick Jagger singing "Honky Tonk Woman."

The lawsuit might not smell of success, but it does smell like teen spirit. Only two months ago, when Activision released its sequel-tastic Guitar Hero 5, this exact same issue of celebrities-gone-marionette came up as well. Unfortunately, it was even more bizarre and sad then, since the virtual likeness lovingly created and then trotted out to bleat hits of every decade and genre was the late Kurt Cobain, who once lamented, "famous is the last thing I wanted to be." His widow was the first to raise an objection and come at Activision with lawyers a-swingin', but Kurt's old bandmates also agreed (with no lawsuit-happy motive) that seeing robo-Kurt like that was something he never would have wanted.

Regardless of what one believes about the hectic stupidity of a society addicted to lawsuits, these cases have merit, at the very least, in the eyes of those who adore Nirvana and No Doubt. Creating a successful band is as much about image and attitude as it is about music anymore, but once that image is solidified, it deserves to be considered as sacred as the songs crafted by that same artist. It's easy to imagine that artists signing on to have their likenesses used in a game which should be a tribute to music and bands did so only by assuming the negotiators at Activision understood what should, frankly, be a basic idea of why fans love the bands they do.

Activision's response makes no apologies, though. Let's see just how their defense rests, after the jump...

]]> Activision has a written agreement to use No Doubt in Band Hero - an agreement signed by No Doubt after extensive negotiations with it representatives, who collectively have decades of experience in the entertainment industry [. . .] Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit.Well, they make almost no apologies. Last month, a YouTube user was banned and his videos deleted for "copyright violations," even though they only contained footage of Guitar Hero, which by itself gets about a quarter-million video hits on the site. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that these particular videos featured the Kurt Cobain character cloned three times and jamming out to rap hits, like "Bring the Noize," and also Bon Jovi.

So it looks like Activision knows they give love a bad name with this potential for dearly departed or even alive and prolific artists to be mixed-and-matched into songs and styles their real-life counterparts would hate. Maybe it's a subtle commentary on how we're all becoming distant and desensitized by interacting via virtual spaces and online communities... or, more likely, it's someone at Activision deciding the way to get the most out of the money they spent on a particular artist's likeness by making sure it could be used in every possible way by gamers, whether loyal to the band's image and integrity or not.

And while I suppose there is a certain subset of gamers who only bought Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero specifically so they can pretend to be their favorite band even while playing hits from shamefully-unrelated bands, the simple fact that Activision has only offered legal platitudes instead of sympathy and restitution shows that these artists' trust in them to maintain a musician's image as part of their music was misguided.

And just as Bobby Kotick's simply unbelievable comments don't seem to make a dent on the sales charts, this matter of shutting up confused artists by waving a contract in their face will just look like a flash in the pan to most gamers. It's just disappointing to think that those musicians who want to see their craft represented through the medium of video games now have one less potential partner for the task who might actually respect them. At some point, all those musicians might be singing, "I've had it up to here."

Deals: Free Wallace & Gromit Episode This Week

2009-11-04T21:01:48Z

Telltale Games has been making some headway into the long-forgotten wilds of point-and-click adventure gaming recently, going so far as to reboot a couple of classic franchises and give love to some properties that have been begging for their own games for years.

One of these latter, Wallace and Gromit, is also coincidentally celebrating its 20 year anniversary, and Telltale Games is letting everyone help celebrate by giving away a full fourth of the episodic season of the game tribute. And if you're worried about getting hooked on the charming story of a man and his dog, they've also discounted the full season - normally $35 for all four episodes, the whole series now goes for only $20 during the sale.

The adventure genre is not yet dead! However, it looks like the place it thrives is still the place it was born: on PC. Only PC gamers get this deal, as XBLA W&G fans will still be paying $10 for each of four episodes.

Getting the free episode of Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures requires a free login on Telltale Games' site, but the freebie and the sale only last until next Monday, Nov. 9. So go out and get adventuring!

[via: 1UP]

Next Zelda On Wii To Implement MotionPlus Targeting

2009-11-03T21:01:48Z

Shigeru Miyamoto seems to be a fountain of intersting tidbits about upcoming game features, especially those about which he's particularly excited. And he definitely seems to get his way when he's excited.

While it came out that Miyamoto was the only one at Nintendo on board with the idea of a MotionPlus-enabled Legend of Zelda back before the new plug-in technology had found its way onto store shelves and behind couch cushions, it looks like the Mario Mastermind won out in the end. A semi-annual sales report had Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata discussing some plans for the future, including some details of their implementing MotionPlus controls for a new Zelda.

We've managed to gather quite a few creative team members for Zelda Spirit Tracks, so I'd like Zelda Wii to also enjoy creative development as much as possible. About MotionPlus: we're implementing it so that players can feel like they themselves are holding the sword. In the previous Zelda (Twilight Princess Wii) the targeting was based on the IR pointer. This time, however, we'll be using MotionPlus for a variety of more convenient targeting systems that will allow for more pleasant gameplay.

The atmosphere and characters in Twilight Princess already made it a blast to play, and it's still one of the longest Wii games since launch. The targeting systems were generally tolerable with the IR-sensing technology, and I know the waggle-to-attack mechanic tired more than a few practiced forearms. Given Nintendo's track record for still, basically, having the best-polished and -implemented games using the vanilla Wiimote and then the MotionPlus (as featured in Wii Sports Resort), I once again have visions dancing in my head of a solid and fun swordfighting experience on a platform for which it seems especially suited. Or, failing that, an exciting new way to aim arrows at those hilarious cuckoos.

There are still precious few details about the next Zelda title on Wii, but we'll keep you posted when anything good pops up.

First Details Of Final Fantasy XIII's Character Upgrade System Appear

2009-11-02T21:01:48Z

I can't speak for any of you, but one of my favorite parts of playing a new RPG is learning the ins and outs of a new upgrading system. Whether it involves Skill-Linking, Magic-Drawing, or Materia-Slotting - if it's nuanced enough to make choices fun and rewarding enough that I can't wait to ding that level up, a good stat system can keep me hitting the menus like a lush at a bar that stocks only numbers.

Which is part of why the new details announced for Final Fantasy XIII's system intrigue me so far - apparently, it foregoes specific 'levelling' of characters in favor of a general XP-currency called Crystalium, which is used to choose upgrades (like +1 strength) or powers (like Blizzara). The scans just released by Shonen Jump show the choices being arranged in a ring, which branch off to open up new nodes once unlocked. From the first details, it sounds like a blend between FFX's Sphere Grid with its branching paths and FFXII's License Board, which used exhaustable points to unlock bigger and better upgrades.

One can imagine what this might mean for the gamer staring at a menu - rather than try to grind their LVL number higher, they can adjust the battle difficulty on their own by either focusing on easy-to-unlock skills and HP boosts, or toughing it out without those stats and going for the motherlode skill on the circle which requires rather more points to unlock. It's these sorts of character-specific choices which make the grind of any good RPG worth it, and it seems to reinforce the same unrestrained style which shines out from the dynamic-looking battle system.

For now, we can only wait for more details and hope these new elements come together to make this Final Fantasy worth the wait.

Shonen Jump reveals FFXIII Crystalium -growth- System [The 13th Crystal]

[via: Destructoid]