RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

During their press conference last night, Sony announced that Final Fantasy XIV would be heading to the PlayStation 4. Alas, we have no release date as of yet.

Shoe polishing human, soon you will pay! Continue reading ‘Mass Media 06/01/13’ »

Square Enix has at last set a date for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. The MMO redux will launch on August 27, with the PS3 version priced at $39.99 and the PC for $29.99. A collector’s edition was also announced, to be available only through Square Enix’s online store.

For an extra $40 ($79.99 PS3, $69.99 PC) you get the following with the CE: an 80-page artbook, a “Sounds of Eorzea” musical album, collectable character art cards, a branded security token, bonus in-game items (most notably a Coeurl mount), and a special “Waning of the Sixth Sun” video disc that depicts the events leading up to the world’s destruction.

Source: Gematsu

Square Enix has released yet more details about the rebuilt world of Final Fantasy XIV, specifically its non-playable inhabitants. Of particular note are the following: Continue reading ‘More Final Fantasy XIV World Details Emerge’ »

If there isn’t a super saiyan mode in Puzzle and Dragons Z I’ll be very upset. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 04/27/13’ »

Speaking of setting matters right, Square Enix plans to launch Final Fantasy XIV for PC and PS3 this summer. The game went into beta testing on the 25th, and for the curious, the offical benchmark has been released and is available here.

Source: Gematsu

The much-talked-about beta test of Final Fantasy XIV: Let’s Try This Again will begin on February 25 according to Square Enix. The playable area will be limited to Gridania and its surroundings, with limited storyline quests, sidequests, and a level 30 instanced dungeon among the content to be tested.

Source: Gematsu

In a rather explosive finale, the original release of Final Fantasy XIV has officially come to a close. The weekend event drew enough players to overwhelm servers, leaving several – such as yours truly – unable to log in and witness the final battle firsthand. Fortunately, Square Enix arranged the final minutes of the Seventh Umbral Era in a CG trailer, available for all over on YouTube.

This marks the shutdown of the original servers, to be replaced next year with the Realm Reborn content. I’ll just be waiting over here, not at all impatient or anything.

*twitch*

With the cut-off for saved character data already past (October 31), Final Fantasy XIV itself will be taken offline for the Realm Reborn changeover starting November 11. The first of four waves of alpha testing on ARR is now underway, and current active players can join the alpha test by applying here.

Source: Gematsu

Final Fantasy XIV producer/savior Naoki Yoshida revealed that the alpha test for A Realm Reborn will take place in October, with an exact date to be revealed later. The current FFXIV will remain available at this time, however no character data after November 11 will be converted to the new version.

Source: Joystiq

SlayerGhaleon: I was reading DMWL and they had these two gag comics that featured Minatsuki playing evil tricks on people.
SlayerGhaleon: And every comic ended with her giving an evil grin.
Sicondera: Heh
SlayerGhaleon: So they literally translated the descriptor as the Japanese word, and then explained that it meant “Evil grin” in Japanese.
SlayerGhaleon: And I’m like “Why not just put down ‘sneer.’ It means the same f-ing thing, you f-ing morons.”
SlayerGhaleon: If you’ll pardon my language, dear lady.
Sicondera: Dictionary-itis.
Sicondera: It’s a common ailment among translators.
SlayerGhaleon: In other words, “Look, I know what this word means, and I’m going to explain it to you! Ooh! My e-penis is so big!” Continue reading ‘Mass Media 09/08/12’ »

Via Twitter, one Kazuya Niinou – former Atlus and Imageepoch developer – announced he is the assistant director on Final Fantasy XIV. As he explains it, health issues (and surgery, apparently) kept him from keeping up as a full director elsewhere, so he opted for the assistant position under Naoki Yoshida at Square Enix. Though XIV is currently front and center for him, he did say “If I get the chance, I would like to release my own game again.”

Source: Andriasang

While Final Fantasy XIV had time on stage during the Final Fantasy 25th anniversary event, details specifically about the PS3 version are planned for the Tokyo Game Show later this month. User interface and targeting differences were briefly mentioned, but will be explained during TGS from 9/20 to 9/23.

Source: Andriasang

In their ongoing quest to dominate the news cycle, Square Enix has issued a statement that old retail copies of Final Fantasy XIV are being discontinued and will no longer be sold. This move is in preparation for the game’s relaunch as A Realm Reborn, and particularly for the upcoming alpha and beta tests.

Source: Joystiq

Amidst the presentation at Gamescom, Final Fantasy XIV‘s producer/director Naoki Yoshida stated the original servers will be taken offline “some day in the near future” before the Realm Reborn update. This will parallel in-game events regarding a certain apocalyptic thingy players may have noticed in the sky; the shutdown will coincide with the end of the pre-update storyline.

Yosida added that players will be warned in advance of the exact date and time, and existing players will be prioritized in access to the upcoming beta queue.

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

FFXIV producer/director Naoki Yoshida announced that the game’s next major status update will occur sometime in mid-August, with weekly updates to follow shortly afterward. An alpha and subsequent beta test will follow the start of these updates, with Yoshida planning to release a benchmark program around the time of the alpha.

Source: Andriasang

In preparation for the 2.0 release of Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix has updated the official site to reflect the coming changes. Check it out here if you’re so inclined. Additionally, Famitsu revealed this week that the PS3 version, which releases on or after 2.0′s launch, will feature a customized user interface specifically for console controls.

Source: Andriasang

If covering the news has taught me anything, it’s that companies would openly shoot at each other Syndicate-style if only they could get away with it. Anyway, welcome back, on this lovely evening before E3 kicks off! Here’s what’s happening:

• Silicon Knights loses in their lawsuit against Epic, and then loses the countersuit for damages.  Expect Denis Dyack to insist that Too Human will continue… somehow.
• Epic, by the way, rescued members of Big Huge Games, rolling them into a new studio and tasking them with another fantasy action-RPG.  Talk about paying it forward.
• Meanwhile, Activision settles out of court with West and Zampella, thus freeing Activision to keep making Call of Duty and spying on its own people.  “But the future refused to change…”
• CD Projekt reveals their non-Witcher property: Cyberpunk.  Apparently that’s the title of a pen-and-paper game easily confused with Shadowrun.
• Nintendo hosts a pre-E3 video demonstration showing off the Wii U… the exact same aspects we saw last year.  Oh, and a classic-style controller and Nintendo-centric social network.
• E3 predictions: Nintendo needs to have some game demos ready, Sony’s going to spin like an overclocked centrifuge, and Microsoft will be my cue to go get a drink.
• A Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer is mistaken for FFXV, Sony may have picked up Gaikai for PSN-related announcements, and more!

Are you ready?

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – War By Other Means’ »