Final Fantasy XIII’s Development Problems

Final Fantasy XIII was a worldwide success, but it certainly had its critics in the West for its backwards facing design decisions. Now that the game has released, writer and designer Motomu Toriyama is willing to admit that problems were present even from the beginning.

Final Fantasy XIII was first introduced through a concept trailer shown alongside the announcement of the Fabula Nova Crystallis project at E3 2006 (Fabula Nova Crystallis represents a suite of games and other entertainment media related to Final Fantasy XIII). The trailer was merely a visual concept, and we had not yet created anything playable at that point,” said Toriyama. “I felt that this trailer set the bar for the quality we were aiming to achieve, in terms of battle speed and cutscene imagery, and believed that this sentiment was shared by the rest of the team.”

“However, it became clear that, at the time, there were actually very few members who saw the trailer as a representation of what we wanted to achieve with Final Fantasy XIII,” he said. “This lack of a shared vision became the root of many conflicts that arose later in development.”

“What’s more, Square Enix was aware of concerns for Western gamers, but the feedback they got ended up being too little, too late. Even before the current generation of consoles was introduced, it was obvious that the game market in the West was gaining momentum, and we couldn’t ignore it,” noted Toriyama. “The sentiment that stood out the most to us at the time was the increasingly harsh criticism towards JRPGs. Linearity and command-based battles were two of the features being perceived negatively. This was something that the team was very conscious about, and there were concerns about whether JRPGs would still be accepted in the West. Because Final Fantasy XIII’s mission was to succeed worldwide, we could not ignore this issue, as we felt it could deeply affect the future of the franchise.”

“Around the same time, we were experimenting with Western development methods, and there were talks within the team of global focus groups, which we had rarely conducted with previous projects. At the same time, Square Enix set up international focus groups for certain titles, including Final Fantasy XIII,” he continued. “Unfortunately, we were already quite far along in development, and knew it would be too late to implement most of the feedback from the player test sessions. Even so, we still signed up for the opportunity, as this would be our only chance before the game s release to see how Western players would respond to all that we had been working on.”

“There were some minor hiccups, as we did not have much time to prepare for the focus group sessions, but we were able to successfully conduct player tests and interviews globally. Even though it was too late to apply the majority of the feedback, most team members felt the tests were worthwhile, as it gave them insight into what players wanted globally,” he noted. “With the changes that were being considered, because of the lack of a clear communication line, the development team was not receiving clear instructions. This resulted in conflicts within the team on whether it was worth forcing certain changes into an already tight schedule.”

Source: GameSetWatch

Netflix Loses Disc For Wii

The PS3 has gained the ability to stream movies without the disc and now the Wii has the same capabilities. Now, those with a Netflix subscription can download the Netflix app for free from the Wii Shop Channel, which gives easier access to Netflix’s streaming library.

“This simplified Netflix access will help bring families together more quickly, more easily and in more ways than ever before,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America president. “More than 3 million Wii systems have already connected to Netflix, demonstrating how easy the service is to set up and use.”

Microsoft Spending Half Billion Promoting Kinect

According to reports, Microsoft is going to spend $500 million in order to promote the Kinect motion sensing device. To put that in perspective, that’s just about as much as what they spent to launch the original Xbox in 2000.

“Kinect is the largest, most integrated marketing initiative in Xbox history, bigger than its launch,” said Robert Matthews, general manager of global marketing communications for Xbox. “We are going to be spending millions to launch this globally.”

Expect to see Kinect branding on 400 million cans of Pepsi and Diet Pepsi and 60 million cereal and snack boxes from Kellogg’s. Anticipate a YouTube homepage takeover, promotions on Nickelodeon and Disney digital properties, TV spots on Dancing with the Stars and Glee, print ads for People and InStyle and an outdoor event at Times Square. 7,000 retailers will open at midnight to sell the Kinect.

Source: New York Post {link no longer active}

Cataclysmic Mouse

SteelSeries is offering a new World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse in celebration of the release of Cataclysm. The new design will have 14 programmable buttons, on-board memory to store profiles and settings, along with on-board illumination.

Quite intimidating for a mouse.

“Developed for World of Warcraft players by SteelSeries and Blizzard Entertainment, the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse invokes the iconic imagery of Deathwing the Destroyer, leader of the black dragonflight and instigator of the Cataclysm,” reads the description. “The SteelSeries World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse is fully scalable to meet and exceed the requirements of even the most demanding World of Warcraft gamer.”

The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse will be available for $99.

Source: SteelSeries.com

Facebook Apps Sharing ID Info

An investigation has found that certain Facebook apps are providing companies with personal information. This is despite what users set their privacy settings at and despite what Facebook says their regulations are.

“A Facebook user ID may be inadvertently shared by a user’s Internet browser or by an application,” the spokesman said. “[Knowledge of an ID] does not permit access to anyone’s private information on Facebook. Our technical systems have always been complemented by strong policy enforcement, and we will continue to rely on both to keep people in control of their information.”

The study also found that the top 10 most popular apps were transmitting personal user data to outside companies, including Zynga’s FarmVille, Mafia Wars and FrontierVille. “This is an even more complicated technical challenge than a similar issue we successfully addressed last spring on Facebook.com,” a Facebook spokesman said, “but one that we are committed to addressing.”

Source: Wall Street Journal

Kinect Comes To Oprah

Microsoft announced today that there will be 17 games to launch with Kinect during November, 12 of which will be available at launch on November 4. Pre-orders are apparently selling out, though no hard numbers were provided.

“The very first time we saw Kinect, we knew it would be a must have item for the holiday season,” said Richard Barry, vice president, general merchandise manager, Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. “There is no better place in the world to introduce innovative new products than Toys R Us, and we are excited about the full day of activities planned in New York City, building up to the much anticipated sale of the first Kinect sensor at our flagship store in Times Square.”

The Kinect Experience Tour will continue while the Kinect global ad campaign launches this week. Kinect will also be featured on The Oprah Show on Tuesday, Oct. 19 as part of Susan Boyle, Jackie Evancho: What Happened to the Next Big Thing and it will even be showcased on The Ellen DeGeneres Show later this month.

“The Xbox 360 team created a multiyear, integrated campaign showcasing real people at the heart of the experience,” said Mike Delman, corporate vice president of IEB global marketing, Microsoft. “Kinect puts consumers at the center of their entertainment, and our marketing efforts follow that same charter.”

Hobbit Greenlit With Jackson At Helm

It’s been confirmed that the two films based upon The Hobbit have been greenlit. New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer proudly announced that principal photography will begin in February 2011 under the direction of Peter Jackson.

“Exploring Tolkien’s Middle-earth goes way beyond a normal film-making experience,” says Jackson. ‘It’s an all-immersive journey into a very special place of imagination, beauty and drama. We’re looking forward to re-entering this wondrous world with Gandalf and Bilbo and our friends at New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers and MGM.”

Both Hobbit movies will be filmed in Digital 3-D utilizing all of the latest filming technology. The screenplays were writen by Jackson, who worked with Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.

“Peter is a filmmaker of incomparable ability; having him return to Middle-earth to produce and direct is a dream come true. A true original, Peter is a gifted story-teller, visionary director and pioneer in film technology,” said Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer for New Line Cinema. “Reuniting with Peter, Fran and Philippa truly makes it feel like we are going there and back again. ”

The Hobbit films will be co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production, Warner Bros Pictures handling domestic distribution and MGM distributing internationally. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films, with Phillipa Boyens as co-producer and Ken Kamins as executive producer.

“There is no human being on the planet as qualified as Peter Jackson to direct these films,” said Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer for Warner Bros. “Peter is incredibly talented and has the creative vision and experience to bring this beloved property to life in a way that no other filmmaker could. And the team of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens has proven through their work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy that no one is more skilled at transforming Tolkien s written words into a vibrant, living language that makes the audience believe they are not merely visiting Middle-earth, but actually living in it. We couldn t be more thrilled and look forward to seeing The Hobbit take shape under Peter’s stewardship and the team he is putting together.”

Super Mario DSi XL U.S. Bound

Nintendo will be offering a special DSi XL in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. While previous confirmed in Japan and Europe, they have finally revealed the special model the North American market, with the same red color and etched on Mario power-up items.

It’d be great, if only you could pretend the 3DS is coming soon.

The pack includes two variations of Brain Age and Photo Click pre-installed as DSiWare in addition to Mario Kart DS. Additionally, Walmart is throwing in two value titles for the price of $199.99.

Source: Walmart.com {link no longer active}