Microsoft’s Brian Prince has told a panel at GDC China “you will be seeing things in the Xbox platform that’s cloud-specific. I’m already doing it, it’s really exciting, but I can’t tell you about it or else I’ll get fired.” [Gamasutra]
Sony gives PlayStation Plus subscribers the ability to store game saves online via the PlayStation Network with tomorrow’s 3.60 system software update, allowing up to 1000 data files to be stored on 150MB of space as long as the money keeps coming in. Check out the PlayStation Blog for more details.
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The latest episode of GameTrailers’ Mythbusters-esque Pop Fiction series adds a few more nails in the coffin of Final Fantasy VII’s flower girl. More »
A streaming games service—”cloud gaming”, as the buzzphrase has it—is on Microsoft’s horizon but, for the near-term, it’s not something that can be reasonably delivered to a local-machine user, said the Europe boss for Xbox Live. More »
Thrilling non-scientific poll time! Online research site Oricon polled 1000 men and women about their favourite video game character. The results?
10. Squall Final Fantasy VIII 10. Yuna Final Fantasy X 10. Professor Layton Professor Layton series 8. Toad Mario Kart 8. Doraemon Doraemon series 7. Chocobo Final Fantasy series
Huh. I’d think of Doraemon as being more an anime character than a video game character, but whatever. There are Doraemon video games. (Trains, too, it seems.) Hit the jump for the rest!
4. Slime Dragon Quest series 4. Solid Snake MGS series 4. Pikachu Pokémon 3. Yoshi Mario series 2. Cloud Final Fantasy VII 1. Mario Mario series
The top three breakdown for men and women is rather interesting. For men, it was 1). Mario 2). Cloud and 3). Solid Snake. For women, it was 1). Mario, 2). Yoshi and 3). Cloud. Everyone loves Mario and Cloud!
好きなテレビゲームのキャラクター、1位は”マリオ” [Oricon Life via Alafista][Pic]
When I checked my Kotaku email this morning I was nearly buried under the dearth that three weeks away brings. But ,one that seemed to keep coming in repeatedly over the last several hours were reports of an extended FF XIII trailer that was unceremoniously ripped from a DVD that was included in a Japanese Final Fantasy “Cloud” book. Much of this footage was seen at E3 and TGs, but there is some new footage in there as well. As an added bonus, there’s an extended FF Versus XIII extended trailer after the jump. The quality on these isn’t the best, but I’m sure with a little searching you can dig up some higher quality footage.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in ] More »
Tis the season for lots of stress – the holidays and end of semester hysteria usually leave me wanting to crawl under a rock and hibernate for a few weeks – so Ian Bogost’s latest Persuasive Games column for Gamasutra was a welcome read through. The topic this time is on what makes a truly relaxing game. fl0w and Cloud, for all their appearances of being ‘meditative’ and relaxing games, are what Bogost terms “lean forward games”. That is, they’re twitchy and responsive and don’t exactly lend themselves to a truly relaxing experience, no matter how soothing the visuals may be. He also gives a nod to my favourite series of relaxation-through-repetitive-task games:
… the most Zen gardening in a video game by far is in Harvest Moon. The daily reaping, milking, chicken lifting, and related chores require precision, duty, and calm. The crop watering is my pick for the most calming, especially on the Game Boy or DS where the tile-based graphics more explicitly frame which square is which.
Harvest Moon emphasises the repetition of simple tasks as much as, if not more than, their outcomes. Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon are games that invite the player to complete these tasks independent of the long-term goals they facilitate. Both are games one might boot up late at night, before bed, to wind down.
Nothing like infinitely repeating tasks that includes flinging chickens around the barnyard to make for a soothing play experience. It’s a nice little article and a shift from the usual Bogost fare, and he makes some interesting points on the nature of relaxing games.
Persuasive Games: Video Game Zen [Gamasutra] More »
Square fans, you’re suckers. I can see it in your eyes. So don’t try and pretend you won’t be interested in this: Cloud, on his trusty, Hardy Daytona, imported from Japan, just for you. By Kotobukiya, the figure’s 8 1/4″ and is fully articulated, while the bike’s got all its proper working bits like moving, rubber tyres, springy shocks, etc. No clue on price just yet, but prepare for “lots”, and you should get the chance to add this to your already preposterous collection of Squeeinix adult collectible keepsakes when it arrives in the US, Europe and Australia early next year. More »
Who is going to save the land of Catz 2 for the Wii from the wrath of the Sephiroth of wolves? Who will stand up to his house-splodey, animal crazy-making ways? How about a pretty pony who thought he was a soldier but turned out to be living the life of his dead best friend? This custom My Little Pony figure comes complete with spiky blond hair and Advent Children sweater outfit, complete with the lion emblem dealiebob. The creator has him up on eBay right now, with a $US 45 starting bid and no bidders as of yet. You have four days to decide exactly how much of a Final Fantasy VII fan you are. Once you buy a custom Pony there ain’t no going back.
Cloud Strife Final Fantasy VII Custom My Little Pony [eBay - Thanks Brian!] More »
