RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

As part of the franchise’s 25th anniversary, Capcom announced Mega Man Xover, a social RPG for iOS. Appropriately for the title, Xover crosses over all Mega Man worlds. Players take control of a new robot tasked with rescuing the series’ existing heroes, who have been trapped in a separate dimension by Dr. Wily and Sigma.

Xover is set for a Fall release in Japan, under the title Rockman Xover. For the curious, the official site is here.

Source: Andriasang

Well, I suppose this shouldn’t be a huge surprise. Yes, after frequent delays, false starts, and lack of time to search for a new job, I’ve decided to put What Happened This Week on hiatus.

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – On Hiatus’ »

I appreciate Persona 4: Arena including a lot of fourth wall jokes regarding Mitsuru and Akihiko’s outfits.

Continue reading ‘Mass Media 08/11/12’ »

The previously announced 1.7 update for Skyrim has finally hit 360s worldwide and PS3s in North America. The European PS3 update will follow next week.

Source: Joystiq

With the last round of Fire Emblem: Awakening DLC released at the end of July, Nintendo has announced that a second phase of content is in the works. Apart from maps with more challenges and special situations, the DLC will partner you with characters not featured in the main game.

Downloads have just begun releasing, with two maps priced at ¥200 and ¥250. The ¥200 map will be discounted to ¥100 through September 30.

Source: Andriasang

More information about Bravely Default continues to emerge, through a combination of official site updates and live presentations. Prominent among the new details is the Friend Summon system. As the name implies, this lets you bring a friend’s character into your battle to perform a particular move. These summons are accessible either through local/internet data transfer with friends, or through StreetPass.

On DLC matters, bonus costumes will be available for those who buy the game and the soundtrack; Square Enix has indicated that more is on the way. Additionally, the animations for summon spells are skippable, and those who play the fifth demo can carry over “some elements” into the final build.

Source: Andriasang

Persona 4: Arena hit the ground running with its console release. The Atlus/Arc System Works collaboration sold some 138,000 copies in its first week in Japan, roughly 90% of stock. This trumps the previous record set by a fighting game, 103,000 for Tekken 6 in 2009.

Of further interest for the series: Famitsu leaked an interview with Team Persona producer Katsura Hashino, stating that the next numbered Persona game is in development. While this likely means Persona 5, it was not explicitly stated thus, and a remake of a past game is not out of the question.

Sources: Andriasang, Joystiq

Care of Famitsu is the news that the prevously unnamed Nippon Ichi RPG now has a title: Kamisama to Unmei Kakumei no Paradox. A product of Team Disgaea, Kamipara was originally believed to be a Vita title due to the “Vita” in the code for the teaser site; it is, in fact, scheduled as a PS3 release. The game hits stores on December 20 in both standard and limited editions.

Source: Andriasang

A sequel to the dungeon crawling ToHeart offshoot Dungeon Travelers has been announced. Developer AquaPlus confirmed that Dungeon Travelers 2 is in the works for the PSP, and is planned to release sometime in Winter.

Source: Andriasang

Namco Bandai has announced a new release date for 2nd Super Robot Wars OG: November 29, priced at ¥8,379.

Source: Andriasang

Dragon Quest X sold some 420,000 copies in its first week in Japan, an expected drop in comparison to its offline predecessors. For reference, Final Fantasy XI also sold significantly fewer copies on launch than prior entries, yet is currently the most profitable Square Enix title to date.

As part of post-launch updates, Square Enix doubled the number of servers for the game, with modifications under way for each server to increase their capacity. Furthermore, the company announced plans to support the game about ten years, with revisions and updates roughly every ten weeks. Downloadable content is also planned, though no details were given at this time.

Source: Andriasang

With the freeware Pokedex 3D going offline October 1, Nintendo will release the Pokedex 3D Pro on the eShop starting November 8. Apart from covering some 640+ Pokemon, this new version will include a trivia-based challenge feature. The price in Japan has been set for ¥1,500, about $19 US; no actual US price has been announced just yet.

Source: Joystiq

All right, back in business once more.  Hopefully we won’t be hit by another freak storm this weekend, but really it seems like the power dies if someone so much as coughs too loudly.  Let’s get to the news before it happens again.  Here’s what’s going down:

• Zynga starts getting hit with lawsuits regarding allegations of insider trading, with underwriters paid to help insiders offload stock before it fell.  Also known as “Tuesday on Wall Street.”
• Not to be outdone, EA has also filed suit that Zynga copied The Sims Social to create The Ville.  Man, who do you root for in that fight?  (The answer is EA, seriously.)
• Ubisoft’s Uplay exposes players to an exploit that allows websites access to, and control over, a user’s computer.  It’s like they want people to pirate their games.
• The Old Republic pulls the pin and goes free-to-play.  Should’ve kept the base, BioWare!  And the base I mean your playerbase.  By making KotOR III instead.
• Sony posts a sizable loss of some $312 million for the first quarter of 2012, including losses in the games division.  Tempting to blame the Vita, but their true problems run deeper.
• Squenix has an ambitious ten-year plan for Dragon Quest X.  It sounds crazy until you realize they’ve been running Final Fantasy XI for at least that long.
• Rumors abound regarding Bethesda and the STALKER series, Take Two posts a lower earnings report due to unrealistic expectations, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – The Cold Calculus of Microtransactions’ »

Once again, my evening was brought to a screeching halt by a combination of mother nature and the inadequacies of our local power grid. This time it tricked me into a false sense of security, as we didn’t lose power during the actual storm, but instead three hours later when it had cleared up. As I was gathering news links at the time, you can imagine my surprise.

Anyway, didn’t come back on until this morning and I had to start from scratch. Long story short, WHTW will be up tomorrow. Sorry, folks!

Square Enix announced today that Final Fantasy III will be among the launch titles for the Ouya, the Kickstarter-funded console scheduled for a March 2013 release. The title will see optimization for the droid-based platform, and Square Enix is also looking into DLC support, though nothing specific was confirmed at this time.

Source: Andriasang

And so it begins: EA BioWare has announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic will transition to free-to-play this fall. Players will have free access to a majority of the game – up to level 50 and all eight classes – with microtransactions to remove restrictions and expand the content. The standard subscription is still an option, granting players an allowance of in-game currency to buy customizable gear; current subscribers (and those who sign up before the change) are also eligible for special rewards.

Source: Joystiq

Skyrim‘s 1.7 patch has left beta phase and is now being applied to all Steam versions, with console version updates to come this week. In addition, the Dawnguard DLC has officially launched for the PC, with only the PS3 version left unreleased. A representative on the Bethesda blog said they were “not satisfied yet with Dawnguard‘s performance on the PS3.”

Source: Joystiq

News time, everybody! Get it while it’s hot, metaphorically speaking as the transfer of information is not linked to temperature! In tonight’s episode:

• Zynga’s stock takes a nosedive due to slashed earnings estimates and insiders dumped the stock months ago.  Pardon me, I’ll be over here doing my “I called it” dance.
• Boston Magazine provides an in-depth postmortem on the many, many warning signs leading up to 38 Studios’ closing.  Short version: Schilling mixed up baseball and business.
• Key developers come out strongly against Windows 8, with Gabe Newell saying Valve may encourage Linux development as a hedge.  Mr. Newell, hedges are supposed to save money.
• Crunchyroll breaks down a Japanese poll showing the Japanese are no longer bullish on their own gaming industry.  Clearly, the industry needs more ara ara~
• Square Enix takes to Twitter to confirm Versus XIII is still alive.  CEO Yoichi Wada has to stop himself from saying it’ll be done “when it’s done.”
• FFXIV gets rebranded, Irrational Games uses Metacritic as a hiring requirement, OnLive joins up with the Ouya, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Naysayers Right and Wrong’ »

Capping off the round of Square Enix news, the company will reveal future plans for Final Fantasy XIII on September 1, during the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event in Shibuya. More news about the 2.0 release of Final Fantasy XIV is also planned for that same day.

Source: Andriasang

Having previously mentioned the 3DS would factor into Dragon Quest X, Square Enix announced the handheld would receive a series of apps for the game. The first of these, which will be free for download, allows players to perform StreetPass exchanges with their characters, monitor game news, send messages to other players, and check product information on the Traveler’s Bazaar. Follow-up apps have been confirmed but not elaborated at this time, and it is not known when the first will be available.

Source: Andriasang