Square Enix Message Board older than one year ago

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix is lined up for North America on September 10, and Europe on September 13. The upgrade to the autumn release window came courtesy of a Square Enix post on the PlayStation Blog, which also outlined the pre-order bonus for both regions, namely a limited edition artbook.

The PS3 compilation includes HD versions of PS2 games Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Re:Chain of Memories; Final Mix is the formerly Japan-only re-release of the original Kindgom Hearts, while Re:Chain of Memories is the PS2 remake of GBA entry Chain of Memories. HD 1.5 Remix also features the cutscenes from DS game 358/2 Days (in HD too!).

A Japanese gamer poured 2,280 days worth of playtime into this Final Fantasy XI account. That's over six years! But now, it's time to part ways. The gamer is putting his or her Japanese account on the internet auction block, giving anyone with around the equivalent of US$4,500 the chance to own it—and all the rare in-game loot that comes with it. Like what? Well, there are the Burtgang 99, Excalibur 99, Ragnarok 99, Gjallarhorn 99, among many more desirable (and time-consuming) relic weapons and empyrean weapons. Originally, bidding started at 462,000 (US$4,620), but it's since been moved down to 450,000 yen or US$4,500. As of posting, the auction has zero bids. There are three days left. If you have a couple grand to burn and really want a leg up in Final Fantasy XI, you can always pony up the cash without ponying up six years of your life. FF11アカウント ブルト イージス オハン エクス 天の村雲 [Yahoo! Auctions via 2ch] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

After ages and ages of (oddly fitting) silence, Eidos Montreal’s Thief reboot finally saw fit to break cover last month, shadows still coiled tight about it like a snake ready to strike. And yet, something seemed ever so slightly off. Adam remarked, among other things, that the demo he saw seemed a bit too scripted, and as it turns out, there may well have been a very problematic reason for that. According to a large, rather troubling report from Polygon, development troubles have left Square Enix with a half-finished game and some tough decisions to make going forward.

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There are some killer deals on Tomb Raider this weekend. On the console front, the downloadable PSN version has been chopped to $30. The deal runs until this Monday at noon PT.

On PC, you can snag the Steam version of Lara's latest adventure for $25 from Green Man Gaming. What's more, applying the code "GMG20-GGN5D-FC3NA" will knock another five bucks off the price, dropping it down to $20.

That's like a penny for every arrow-related fatality in Tomb Raider.

We'd been hearing rumors that the new Thief was in trouble, which made for a worrisome combination with the findings of our columnist/sleuth Superannuation, who last June dug up a distressing amount of turnover at the game's developer Eidos Montreal. A new report at Polygon backs up those earlier concerns, describing a laborious creative process, conflicting visions, high-level staff turnover and a generally troubled development for the high-profile sequel. Citing sources familiar with the studio, Polygon reports that the team at Eidos Montreal has been hamstrung by conflicting creative visions, most of which stem from high-level turnover, as each new senior designer would scrap old ideas and bring in new ones. The team was also sidetracked by a push to create promotional demos, reportedly spending 10 months working on a single demo, which was eventually shown to Game Informer for a cover story and to the rest of the press shortly afterward. From Polygon: The current version of Thief barely resembles the initial concept, says a source. The vertical slice doesn't load inside Thief's current heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 3. Many programming tricks were necessary to run the current demonstration, like turning off non-playable character AI — the engine has trouble when too many characters are on screen. At GDC in March, I saw the press demo of the game and couldn't quite get a handle on it; it felt as thrown-together as it sounds like it actually was. It was difficult to tell whether or not the game was truly reacting to the player, or even if it was being played at all, in places. We weren't allowed to play the game ourselves, and as with any hands-off demo, were asked to take the developers' word that the game worked as it appeared to. The demo didn't give me what felt like an accurate view of the game, though trashing a hands-off demo felt unnecessary. In the end, I decided not to write it up. Superannuation's detective work last June turned up a number of staff departures that dovetail with the Polygon report: One of the more mystifying absences from last week's E3 was Eidos Montreal's Thief 4, a game which has been in development for four years — an amount of time that encompasses the entirety of the development cycle for the studio's first game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution. If a perusal of various online resumes is anything to go by, the project appears to be rather beleaguered. After two-plus years of work on the project, Thief 4 audio director and composer Paul Weir left the Eidos Montreal in March. The month prior, lead level designer Adam Alim went to WB Games Montreal. He apparently is not the only lead level designer to hop off the team —Pierre-Olivier Clement, the previous lead level designer, apparently moved to another project at Eidos Montreal last year. Among other departures: two senior concept artists exited Eidos to a freelance career after nearly two and three years, respectively; a senior technical level designer left last month; a senior animator went back to Ubisoft last September; and a senior level designer moved to something else at Eidos in August. When contacted by Kotaku, the game's publisher Square Enix declined to comment. All in all, sounds like unhappy times for Thief.

Final Fantasy VII has never actually been released for the PC in Japan. Square Enix will be fixing that mistake "soon" by making the Japanese version available on their online shop.

Square-Enix Japan

- Millennium Hero
- Hagun Student Council

Square Enix's 3DS role-playing game Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is coming to North America next year. Nintendo will publish the game along with Square Enix. Thanks for listening, Square!

Perhaps you noticed, but Garrett has a new voice actor in Eidos' upcoming Thief. He goes by the name of Romano Orzari. For a guy portraying a master thief, ostensibly someone who spends most of his time being vewy quiet, he sure talks a lot.

I spent a huge portion of my teenage years either playing Thief or thinking about Thief, and I’ve never really stopped. A couple of weeks ago, armed with a questioning mind, I travelled across an ocean to see Thief: No Longer Four and to talk to the development team at Eidos Montreal. The ’4′ is gone because crimes against typography and sense can only be endured for so long, and also because this is a reboot rather than a sequel. With my archaeological hat sitting atop my sceptic’s cap, I was determined to find whatever traces of the old remained and to see what remains for those who remember the original series so fondly.

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As yesterday’s trailer revealed, there’ll be no more Stephen Russell in Thief: and there was much anti-rejoicing. While the Thief/Looking Glass community is inevitably and understandably up in arms about Garrett’s larynx replacement operation (the inevitable petition is here, if you want to fruitlessly sign it), I imagine the game’s sailed too far across the development ocean for Eidos Montreal to want to turn their ship around at this point. They have at least attempted to justify their ditching of the guy who’s stoutly been with us for three Thief games previously, arguing that it’s because they wanted to mo-cap and voice record one actor simultaneously.(more…)

Tomb Raider is bolstered by more multiplayer DLC today: the 1939 multiplayer map pack, a pair of maps including Dogfight - a concrete bunker forgotten since World War 2 - and the open spaces of hunting ground Forest Meadow. The map pack costs 320 MS Points ($4) and is available for download on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC right now.

Last month's Cave and Cliffs map pack was a timed Xbox 360 exclusive. Today, Square Enix revealed that it's coming to PS3 and PC mid-April, while the Shipwrecked multiplayer map pack will debut on all platforms in early May. On top of that, some of the exclusive launch DLC for Tomb Raider is available for download across all platforms now, including those Hitman: Absolution guns and other retailer-specific content.

Good day. You might well have seen the Thief [just Thief now, not Thief 4] teaser trailer. But have you seen the full debut trailer? No? Well, it’s around here somewhere.(more…)

The premiere trailer for Thief breaks down the best ways to be a successful person in the occupation of stealing and stealth, before pulling down Garrett's ninja mask and revealing a distinctive five-o'clock shadow (and what sounds like a new voice actor). We're no experts in thievery, but that seems like a bold move for someone who makes a living ripping off rich people.

Thief is due out for PC, PS4 and "other next-gen platforms" in 2014.

Tomb Raider has achieved the highest week one sales in the franchise's history, according to Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher. Speaking at a GDC panel alongside creative director Noah Hughes, Gallagher also revealed that Tomb Raider had the most successful launch of any game this year.

"It's been the biggest week one sales in franchise history, and we're only a few weeks into that launch right now, and it's been the biggest opening so far in 2013," said Gallagher. "So, we're happy with the outcome. It's certainly in a place where we feel like we're on the road to achieving everything we wanted to."

The claim seems to be at odds with the feelings of Tomb Raider's publisher, Square Enix, which recently cited "weak sales" of its major titles, including Tomb Raider, as a reason for the company undergoing restructure. When asked about the apparent disconnect between Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics regarding Tomb Raider's performance, Hughes told us, "Certainly we're proud of what we achieved, and I think for the most part, the whole organization is happy with what we did." And for Gallagher, "Actuals and expectations, I guess, are two slightly different things. What I'm telling you is the actuals, and they're communicating expectations."

That raises the question of just what Square Enix was expecting. To put things in perspective, Tomb Raider had higher initial sales than the 1996 original, a game that went on to sell over 6 million units in its lifetime. And yet, despite receiving critical acclaim and breaking franchise records, it would appear that Tomb Raider just isn't number one enough.

If all of the short-burst Easter Egg deals are as good as this one, then PlayStation Europe's PSN spring sale is one to watch. According to the PlayStation Blog, Tomb Raider is just £19.99/€29.99 on PSN in the continent until the end of March 31, making it comfortably one of if not the UK's cheapest PS3 version at the moment.

At the time of writing, we couldn't find the deal or game itself on PSN, although this is most likely a temporary error. The link for the Easter Egg deal leads here.

Dozens of other games are discounted on PSN EU until April 9, including Persona 1-3, Child of Eden, and Driver: San Francisco.

Not that its impending arrival was much of a secret, but Final Fantasy V arrived on the App Store today and is available now for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad devices for $15.99.

As this trailer neatly shows, this version is based on the 2006 Game Boy Advance release, and so includes the additional Sealed Temple dungeon and optional Enuo boss. It also features new character designs and graphical tweaks, courtesy of veteran FF sprite artist Kazuko Shibuya.

An Android version comes to Japan this summer. Going by recent history, that indicates it'll arrive in western territories around the same time.

Only a short post, because it is only a short trailer. One of those trailer for a trailer singularly 21st century things, in fact. But it’s a chance to see the new Thief’s engine in action, sort of, and find out a date on which we’ll hopefully see and hear rather a lot more of Nu-Garrett and his light-fingered reinvention.(more…)

The president and representative director of Square Enix, Yoichi Wada, is stepping down from his position following the company revising its financial forecast.

Amazon would like to relieve your wallets of any heaviness with another one of its all-day video game Gold Box events. A number of lightning deals will run throughout the day, and you can check out the line-up here. In terms of what's confirmed or obvious thanks to Amazon's clues, Black Ops 2 is going for $35 on Xbox 360 and PS3 at 11AM PT/2PM ET, while Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Dance Central 3 are likely contenders for later time-sensitive discounts.

The all-day deal might be the one to grab your fancy, though. Crystal Dynamics' high-octane Tomb Raider reboot is down to $41.99 on Xbox 360 and PS3, and $34.99 on PC. We reckon that's decent, but if you'd prefer a chunkier version then there's still time (as of writing) to get in on the game's Collector's Edition lightning deal, which ends at 9AM ET. The CE includes a 8-inch tall Play Arts Kai figurine of Lara Croft, steel tin packaging, a 15 by 19 inch double-sided island map and poster, a lithographic print, CD soundtrack, three iron-on badges, and the Weapons Pack DLC, all for $76 instead of $100 in Amazon's deal.

#finalfantasy " title="Here's The First Official Trailer For The Final Fantasy X HD Remaster" alt="Here's The First Official Trailer For The Final Fantasy X HD Remaster" style="display: none;" /> We only just got confirmation that the HD remasters of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 are coming to North America, and already the first official trailer has surfaced. So what if it's partly in German? More »

#finalfantasy Square Enix has just announced that both Final Fantasy X and X-2 are getting the HD treatment not just in Japan, but here as well. The PS3 will receive a one-disc bundle of both games, while the Vita will receive each game separately. Here's Square Enix: More »

#finalfantasy Also there are sand dragon things, which are not soft and smooth. The latest batch of screenshots for Final Fantasy XIII Sequel Two: I Guess You Guys Wanted to Play as Lightning shows off the Dead Dunes, a land of dunes and deadness in the world of Nova Chrysalia. More »

#kingdomhearts More »

Oh my stars and comets, Final Fantasy V is on its way to iOS and Android devices in Japan! Well, it's not news that should surprise given the previous four main FFs' appearance on smartphones, and especially given this blatant tease late last year, but hey.

As Famitsu reports, a remake based the GameBoy Advance version of the 1992 JRPG, with redesigned sprites, comes to iOS by the end of this month, with an Android release around the summertime. It's priced ¥1,800, which is around $19. There's no word yet regards outside of Japan, but previous entries have had same-day worldwide releases. It's not unlikely we'll see FFV hit the App Store by the end of the month.

When approached about a western release, a Square Enix representative told Joystiq, "We don't comment on rumor or speculation."

Tomb Raider's DLC will be multiplayer-orientated only, based on developer Crystal Dynamics' current plans. Speaking in a Reddit AMA, director Noah Hughes and global brand director Karl Stewart said there are no planned single-player DLC expansions.

"Currently there are no plans regarding single-player DLC," said Hughes when first asked about upcoming DLC. "Now that Lara is more experienced, we are excited to take her on new adventures that challenge her new strength and confidence. It is important that even as Lara grows as a character, so do the challenges she must face."

"There are currently no plans in place for any single-player expansions." Stewart later followed up. "All of our DLC is based around the multiplayer experience for now."

Tomb Raider received its first expansion this week in the form of the 'Caves and Cliffs' pack, which added three new arenas to the game's multiplayer. That arrived on Xbox 360 yesterday for 400 MSP, and remains as yet undated for arrival on PS3 and PC.

Thief just got its second unveiling last week, now retooled to be more traditional and in-line with the original games in the franchise versus the grammar grotesqueness of the announced-in-2009 Thi4f. Eidos Montreal offered further insight into Thief in a blog post, confirming that protagonist Garrett will be able to get through the entire sticky-finger adventure without taking lives.

Eidos Montreal's previous offering, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, also allowed players to make it through the game as a pacifist - save for bosses - a good example considering it too was a modern entry in a franchise that had been dormant for quite some time. Thief is currently slated to launch on PC, PS4 and "other next-gen platforms" in 2014.

[Art from the official Thief Facebook page]

#tombraider Tomb Raider's PC version is generally strong, offering a better-looking, higher resolution, smoother tomb-raiding experience than its console counterpart. That said, if you're using an Nvidia graphics card, the game could be pretty unstable, though that instability is usually fixed by turning tessellation off. More »

#finalfantasy Ah, the world of fashion! The clothes. The models. The typos? According to Japanese clothing brand Roen, that's exactly what caused a recent kerfuffle. More »

Square Enix recently shared some interesting stats it gathered on the way gamers are playing Tomb Raider. As of the developer's posting, players have killed 5,294,879 deer and 1,417,750 crabs.

Lara Croft has narrowly avoided death 13,742,891 times and has dodged the attacks of 11,067,764 enemies, killing 147,675,058 enemies with a bow. Roughly 13.95 percent of those kills were with fire arrows (20,601,083 to be exact). Keeping with the game's namesake, Croft has also raided 3,570,956 tombs in total. That's a lot of tombs.