Late Night Consoling

Just about everyone doing genre entertainment these days seems obsessed with creating trilogies, and it looks like God of War (PS2) creator David Jaffe is no exception. In a recent blog post from the designer, Jaffe indicated that there's a good chance a third God of War title will be made at some point in the future. The second game is due out for PlayStation 2 early next year, but there have as yet been no official statements regarding any further titles. SCE Santa Monica designer Cory Barlog, who worked heavily on the first game, is heading up the title, and after a recent checkup on his work, it appears Jaffe is confident about how everything is turning out. "When you are making a game, you never really know if the game will turn out good enough to merit another one in the series," wrote Jaffe. "But after last week, I can say I am very confident of our chances to be able to complete the GOD OF WAR trilogy. You never know, but that's me just putting it out there."

Presumably, such a game would appear on PlayStation 3, which is set to be out in stores before the release of God of War II.

Gadget coverage sites across the internet have been receving apparently trustworthy tips nonstop about the all but confirmed Microsoft portable device recently revealed as "Argo." It appears that Argo was only a codename; the product name, which is still obviously subject to change, is "Zune." There's even a line art logo to go with it. It also seems that the device will not have any significant gaming capability; if Microsoft is indeed working on some kind of portable Xbox, this isn't it. However, it will allegedly interface with Xbox 360 for purposes of media synchonization--that is, when you plug it into an Xbox 360 console, the console will gain access to the music on the player. The synchronization will apparently be done via a subscription service rather than transferring the music files themselves.

Essentially, Microsoft seems to be going after Apple rather than Nintendo and Sony with this particular endeavor. Zune will one-up the wildly popular iPod in certain respects. For example, it is reported to have wi-fi built in, with buffered internet radio streaming as a potential feature. Rumors also suggest that Microsoft is working on a smaller player called Pixas that is aimed at the iPod Nano market.

In a holiday lineup overview sent out today, EA gave the first official mention of a third main game in the NFL Street series. Few details were revealed about NFL Street 3, though the press release does make reference to new "aerial moves," which will allow players to obtain powerups and items hovering high in the air. The game will also feature control of the trademark Gamebreaker feature as well as new Power moves.

NFL Street, developed by EA Tiburon, will be released for PlayStation 2 and PSP later this year.

Nintendo this week announced two more DS Lite colors for the Japanese market, which also boasts Crystal White, Enamel Navy, Ice Blue, and the upcoming Noble Pink. On September 2, the company will launch Jet Black, already avaialble in Europe, and a limited edition Final Fantasy III Crystal Edition bundle containing Square Enix's upcoming DS remake of Final Fantasy III, as well as a Crystal White DS adorned with Final Fantasy III character artwork and stamped with a unique serial number (picture). Square Enix expects Final Fantasy III to be one of the biggest sellers on a system that currently already dominates Japanese sales charts. The company is reported to have recent requested that Nintendo increase production of the popular console in anticipation of the game's release.

No plans to release either variant in North America were release. Jet Black will likely arrive here eventually, but don't hold out for the Final Fantasy III version.

Sega-16 has a fascinating interview with former Sega president Tom Kalinske. Among other details, Kalinske reveals that a mid-90s proposal to jointly create a game console with Sony was rejected by Sega executives, a situation oddly reminiscent of the cancelled partnership between Nintendo and Sony that resulted in the creation of Sony's PlayStation.

GameSpot has a Q&A with Xbox Live group marketing manager Aaron Greenberg about the newly announced release schedule.