Late Night Consoling

North American PSP owners will have the opportunity to play through revamped versions of Square's Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II, publisher Square Enix announced today. The remakes were first revealed earlier this year by the Japanese press, but had not been acknowledged by Square Enix's North American operation until now.

Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II on PSP will feature widescreen presentation, updated graphics, higher resolution sprites, pre-rendered CG cutscenes, and a new tilted camera perpsective on the overworld. They will also contain the content that was added for the 2004 release of the Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls collection on Game Boy Advance.

The two PSP releases are part of Square Enix's celebration of Final Fantasy's twentieth anniversary. "So much has changed within the video game industry since the first console was launched, and Final Fantasy has always pushed the envelope, creating the most advanced graphics and immersive storylines possible," said executive producer Shinji Hashimoto. "It is amazing to see how far Final Fantasy has come in the past twenty years, and we cannot wait to continue bringing fans more Final Fantasy titles in the next twenty years." So far, the series has seen a total of 28 game releases.

Square Enix sent over several screenshots and a piece of character artwork from Final Fantasy, as well as several screenshots and a piece of character artwork (pictured left) from Final Fantasy II.

Final Fantasy for PSP is set to be released in North America on June 26, 2007, with Final Fantasy II to follow on July 24, 2007.

Jet Black Games, a new Vancouver-based independent development house, formally announced its existence today. The company, stealthily founded last year, intends to develop for Wii and Nintendo DS. Both original properties and licensed franchises are planned for development at the studio. Veterans of nearby Electronic Arts Canada are responsible for Jet Black, claiming experience from two generations of console development as one of the staff's strongest assets.

"With the launch of our new studio we've brought together all the key elements to develop top games: proven experience and talent, the desire to push the creative envelope, commitment to making games we ourselves want to play, and all the resources and support systems needed to perform," said co-founder and CEO Roger Freddi. "Both the Nintendo DS and Wii's WiFi capabilities provide an advanced medium for Jet Black to bring already popular franchises to an even broader worldwide audience. These recognised licensed properties serve to ensure that Jet Black is a name to affiliate with Nintendo games, and nicely complement the original IP on which we're working."

Though Jet Black's own games are planned for Nintendo systems, the company has also ported A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games' engine, intended for "a yet to be announced XBOX Live Arcade game," from PC to Xbox 360. That game may be Rocketmen: Axis of Evil, the top-down shooter announced by Capcom last week.

Jet Black has not released any details pertaining to its Wii or Nintendo DS games.

Bungie today released the two new Certain Affinity-developed Halo 2 maps, available for $4: a remake of Halo's Hang 'Em High, entitled Tombstone, and a remake of Halo's Derelict, entitled Desolation. Though the maps were originally announced as Xbox 360 exclusives, Microsoft and Bungie later relented and stated that both Xbox and Xbox 360 users would have access.

Due to the cross-platform concession, however, the maps are being offered only through the last-generation Xbox Live sales mechanism, meaning that they must be purchased with an actual credit card rather than with the Xbox 360's Microsoft Points system. Xbox 360 users whose Xbox Live accounts are tied not to a credit card but to Xbox Live point cards will be required to enter credit card information to purchase the maps.

Next week, Bungie will be introducing an updated set of playlists, with Rumble pit, Team Slayer, Team Skirmish, Team Snipers, and Team SWAT requiring the new maps. Double Team, Team Training, Team Hardcore, and Big Team Battle will not require the new maps.

For more information on purchasing and playlists, check out Bungie's official update on the matter.

Konami Digital Entertainment plans to streamline its two California offices into one location, the publisher announced today. By the end of July, the company's Redwood City operations will be moved down South to its El Segundo offices, which will become the company's North American headquarters.

"In order to grasp the rapid change of entertainment trends and take timely strategic action, having all functions under one roof is critical," said CEO Kazumi Kitaue. "Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. will continue creating and innovating in order to provide its customers with dreams and excitement which have never before been experienced."

Atlus sends word that it has launched the official site for its upcoming Nintendo DS RPG Etrian Odyssey. The game's staff features several notable names, with direction by Kazuya Niinou (Trauma Center: Under the Knife [NDS]), story and world design by Shigeo Kobayashi (Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner [PS2, PSP]), monster design by Shin Nagasawa (Final Fantasy IX [PS1]), and music by Yuzo Koshiro (Actraiser [SNES], Sreets of Rage [SMS, GEN]). Previous screenshots are available here.