Last Night Consoling

Namco's arcade classic Pac-Man today saw its first new level layouts since the 1981 release of Ms. Pac-Man with Pac-Man Championship Edition. Unveiled during the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship in New York City, the game features numerous new mazes, game modes, and gameplay changes, including shape-changing mazes, automatically replenishing dots, scoring adjustments, additional tunnels, and more. The game's main Championship Mode is time-based rather than life-based.

Original Pac-Man designer Toru Iwatani contributed to the production of Pac-Man Championship Edition, developed for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade. The game will be available through the Xbox Live Marketplace on Wednesday, June 6 for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) as this week's Xbox Live Wednesday release. Microsoft sent along several screenshots.

Square Enix is not working on a remake to its PlayStation hit Final Fantasy VII, according to character designer Tetsuya Nomura--but there is a theoretical possibility that it may do so at some point in the future. Rumors of the game's existence have reappeared constantly since Square Enix showed off a PlayStation 3 technical demo reproducing Final Fantasy VII's introductory sequence.

Speaking to Japanese publication Dorimaga in comments translated by IGN, Nomura flatly stated that the company is not developing a remake. "It appears that there are often overseas rumors like, 'Are you currently developing a VII remake?' My apologies, but we're absolutely not making [such a game]," he said. Following Nomura's comments, Final Fantasy VII franchise director Yoshinori Kitase pointed out that new Square Enix recruits frequently express a desire to develop a remake of the game. Nomura then appeared to partially recant his prior statement, admitting, "We of course know ourselves what the fans want so we'd like to continue thinking up a variety of things. As long as there are people who want to make it and people who are waiting for it, we don't want to proclaim 'the end.'" While the possibility of the game entering development remains unlikely, Nomura's comments illustrate that Square Enix is at least theoretically open to the idea.

Nomura and Kitase went on to reminisce on the development of the original Final Fantasy VII, which apparently deviated significantly from the original plan laid out by Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi, now heading up independent developer Mistwalker, is currently working on the Xbox 360 RPGs Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, as well as the Nintendo DS RPG ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat.

Despite publishing the massively multiplayer Final Fantasy XI on Xbox 360 last year, Square Enix apparently has no plans to bring any further games in the hit RPG series to Microsoft's current-generation console. Speaking to Japanese technology site Nikkei BP in comments translated by Chris Kohler of Wired News, Square Enix's Shinji Hashimoto said, "As for Final Fantasy on Xbox 360, it's currently a completely blank page." As far as the franchise's presence on current home systems, Hashimoto pointed to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers on Wii; PlayStation 3 has two Final Fantasy games announced in Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Ubisoft Montreal's Crusades-era action/adventure game Assassin's Creed may be en route to Nintendo DS, if online retailer GameStop is to be believed. According to a company product page, a DS version of the game is scheduled to ship on September 25 of this year, the same date the retailer lists for the previously announced PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game; Assassin's Creed has also been announced for PC. There is currently no description for the DS game.

While retailer release dates are quite frequently incorrect and the result of speculation, the simple presence of games in a retailer database is generally a fairly reliable indication that the game in question exists. Publishers frequently pitch their games to retailers before publicly announcing them, in order to gauge sales interest.

Ubisoft has declined to comment on the listing.