Diablo III RM Auction House Goes Live

Over on the game’s official Twitter feed, Blizzard announced that Diablo III‘s real money auction house is now online. As previously noted, all participants are required to use an authenticator with their Battle.net account.

What Happened This Week – Weird Acts of Corporate Theater: 2012

Well, E3 has come and gone, the convention center’s been cleared out, and it’s all over but the shouting. Who were the winners? Staggeringly few, it would seem. Who were the losers? All of us. Behold:

  • Microsoft: You kids like Kinect, right?  I hope so, because we don’t have a single new idea on stage today, so here’s a bunch of stuff you already knew was coming…
  • …and also the SmartGlass, designed for people who can’t wait until after the show or game to look up supplementary trivia.
  • Sony: Don’t worry guys, we’ll save E3!  Look, David Cage is making another movie!  And we’ve got Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed 3 DLC, and The Last of Us!
  • The Vita?  What’s that?  Oh… ohhhh, right, we were supposed to market that!  Oh god, we totally forgot!  Quick, throw some Black Ops on there, they won’t know the difference!
  • Nintendo: Pfft, amateurs.  Here’s how you save E3: Pikmin, Mario, more Mario, the balance board, karaoke, and minigames!  Bam, done!  Just hand us your money as you walk out.
  • What do you mean, “Where was the Zelda?”  Look, uh… we’re, um, still working on that.  Maybe there’s a Fire Emblem for the 3DS or something, I really don’t know.  No more questions!
  • Ubisoft: In spite of our utterly unlikeable hosts, we are the only company with a halfway decent gaming roster to show this year.  This, ladies and gents, is the face of despair.
  • My liver will never forgive me for all the drinking I put it through.

 

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Weird Acts of Corporate Theater: 2012’ »

What Happened This Week – Vengeance-Related Delay

The conspiracy theorist in me suspects that Windows has built-in functions that detect whenever you’re about to say something bad about Microsoft, and crashes accordingly. How else could one explain that happening right as I’m writing up the podcast, thus losing a large chunk of progress? Other than more reasonable explanations and simple coincidence, I mean.

So yeah, had to rewrite most of the script and I now save compulsively as a result. E3 2012 episode will be up tomorrow. Sorry, folks ;_;

Mass Media 06/09/12

Pardon me, I have nothing to say.

Continue reading ‘Mass Media 06/09/12’ »

Square Enix Confirms 3DS Mecha Racing RPG

Square Enix announced the release date of its mecha-themed racing RPG, Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter, and confirmed a 3DS adaptation of same. The arcade version – which, I might add, partly transforms as you shift Transformers-style between car and robot forms – is set for a June 21 release, while the 3DS version will hit shelves sometime in Spring of 2013.

Source: Andriasang

Final Fantasy Dimensions Announced for iOS

Not content with one portable oddity, Square Enix also uploaded the official site of Final Fantasy Dimensions. Little else is known apart from being an iOS title scheduled for a summer release.

Skyrim DLC Gets Beta Version on 360

Bethesda has announced a beta program for its upcoming Dawnguard DLC for the 360 version of Skyrim. Interested Dragonborn should direct themselves to the official site for registration, with applicants to be chosen sometime next week. The content itself is planned to launch this summer for 1600 MS funbucks (about $20).

Ni no Kuni Gets Release Date

Namco Bandai has announced, by way of an E3 trailer, that Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will see a US release on January 22. A UK release is set for January 25.

Source: Joystiq

Nintendo of America Confirms Fire Emblem 3DS for North America

On the heels of its 3DS conference this evening, Nintendo of America has revealed through its Twitter feed that Fire Emblem 3DS will be seeing a North American release. Unfortunately, no other details about its release were discussed.

Theatrhythm not Final Fantasy Specific, Says Hazama

The producer of Square Enix’s 1st Production Department, Ichiro Hazama, said that he would like to see the Theatrythm series expand beyond Final Fantasy.

Speaking with Joystiq, Mr. Hazama said, “Our company has so many other IPs that create great music, so if you ask if I want to do it? I want to do it, but nothing is determined yet.” He went on to say that it was his intention that the series should expand to other Square Enix IPs, which is why the Theatrhythm title comes before Final Fantasy.

Theatrythm: Final Fantasy is currently slated for a July 3rd release date in North America.

Source: Joystiq

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers to Include Shin Megami Tensei 4 Trailer

In an article  in this month’s Famitsu, it was revealed that the first trailer for Shin Megami Tensei 4 will be packaged with the upcoming Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, which currently has a Japanese release date of August 30th.

Source: Andriasang

Skyrim’s First DLC Tentatively Dated

According to Bethseda’s Tom Howard, Dawnguard, the first DLC package for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is tentatively scheduled for June 26th. Mr. Howard stated that the DLC would be released, “assuming nothing goes wrong.”

Source: Joystiq

Persona 4 Arena Sees DLC, Dual Language, and a Trailer

The folks at Atlus have been cranking out updates for us on the subject of Persona 4 Arena. For a start, it has been confirmed on Atlus’s official Twitter feed that the game would have a dual audio option, allowing players to choose between English or Japanese voice tracks. There’s also a super fancy trailer over at their YouTube feed, which features a rundown of a few of the available characters and some snippets of English voice work.

And finally, over at Andriasang we have the news that Persona 4 Arena will have both paid DLC and content that can be unlocked in the normal course of gameplay. Some examples given were: alternate character colors, different glasses, and new things for the announcer to shout at the beginning of a round. Unfortunately, it wasn’t made clear which of these elements were DLC and which were unlockables.

Dark Souls Updated and Confirmed for PC Release

From Software has confirmed that Dark Souls will see an updated re-release on both PC and PS3, including all DLC to date and subtitled Artorias of the Abyss. From Software will handle Japanese publishing, with Namco Bandai on the international version. Dark Souls will relaunch starting October 25.

Source: Andriasang

Persona 4: Arena Gets Major Update

Atlus has just released an update for the arcade version of Persona 4: Arena, making adjustments to basic gameplay and character balance. For those who can read Japanese, a full list of the changes is available here; likely, adjustments are being made with the console adaptation in mind.

Tales of Xillia 2 Announced

At its Tales of Festival event, Namco Bandai revealed the new entry in the series: Tales of Xillia 2. A direct sequel to Xillia, the game focuses on the adventures of main character Ludgar, his cat Lulu, and Ellie, the obligatory plot-critical little girl. Other than taking place one year after Xillia‘s ending, it’s not clear how the plot will intersect with the previous game.

Few details have been revealed, though the game will feature timed decision points that alter certain events; some subtle or conversational, others possibly leading to optional fights. Namco Bandai has uploaded the official site – available here – and indicated a Winter 2012 release window, with the specific date and price to be announced on June 27.

Source: Andriasang

Paper Mario: Sticker Star Coming to 3DS

As part of its press conference this morning, Nintendo announced a new Paper Mario game for the 3DS. The game has Mario using stickers that are found in the environment as battle commands. The player can even peel back parts of the landscape to find new objects.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star also received a general release date of “this holiday season” at the press conference.

Mass Effect 3 to Appear on Nintendo’s Wii U

Nintendo’s press conference this morning held an unexpected announcement buried in a video montage; it seems that Mass Effect 3 will be appearing on Nintendo’s new Wii U console. Bioware confirmed on its Twitter feed that ME3 would be available for the console at launch.

Code of Princess to See Western Shores

Atlus says it’s bringing over the RPG-brawler hybrid Code of Princess from Japan sometime this Fall. In fact, they’ve already got preorder bonuses lined up; a “sound and visual book,” though they didn’t specify which retail outlet the bonus would be available from.

Source: Joystiq

Fable: The Journey Gets a General Release Date

The next entry in the Fable series got a bit closer to the light of day today. Microsoft says that this Kinect-exclusive title will be released in Fall 2012. They also mentioned that The Journey is a stand-alone title, with no relation to the mainline series.