Late Night Consoling: Wordy Edition

Though it's not quite the media hype event we're obviously seeing with X05, Nintendo held a conference today in Japan to discuss the future of the DS. There were some new game announcements and some details about previously mysterious games. And here they are:

Mistwalker Studios, founded by Final Fantasy creator and former Square head of development Hironobu Sakagushi, announced an RPG for DS entitled ASH, short for Archaic Sealed Heart. Sakagushi explained that he wants to convey realism with the game's 3D graphics. ASH is the story of a flame whose touch would turn people to ash, leaving their bodies destroyed but their heart and memories intact. The flame was sealed away long ago, but as the game begins people who were turned to ash are being revived. The player must unravel the strange events, solve ancient mysteries, and meet supposed time travelers. It is a "simulation RPG", with character design by Final Fantasy veteran Hideo Minaba and music by FFXII's Hitoshi Sakimoto. Mistwalker is also developing two RPGs for Xbox 360.

Nintendo of America also made some concrete announcements regarding Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Nintendo will be setting up thousands of hotspots around the country, and is also sponsoring the Free Spot Council, an organization which sets up free wireless access points in Japan and around the world. Obviously, other free wireless access points can be used as well. For those without a home wireless network, Nintendo will sell a small USB dongle which plugs into a computer with internet access and sends a wi-fi signal to the DS (or Revolution eventually). Anybody you've played against using the DS' local wireless will be added to your friends list. Every DS owner will also have a "Friend Code" which can be used to add others to your list. Most games, such as Mario Kart DS, will have several online options: create a game with friends, get put into a matchmade game, or join a random game with people from all over the world. In Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS), on the other hand, only your friends can visit your town (and vice versa) due to the game's more personal and open interactions. It seems that all games will be free to play online, even third-party games. Vicarious Visions' Tony Hawk's American Sk8land (DS) will ship alongside Nintendo's Mario Kart DS on November 14 as the first online-enabled games. Animal Crossing will follow a few weeks later, and Metroid Prime Hunters (DS) will ship in early 2006.

Several upcoming Nintendo-published DS games were announced, most of which with few details:

Many third-party games were also announced at the conference, likewise with few details given:

I initially had all of this Square Enix news in the above story, but the developer/publisher had so much Nintendo-related stuff to say that I figured it justified its own story. Read on:

The main topic for Square Enix was the Final Fantasy III remake on DS. It was first mentioned almost a year ago, and finally has some concrete details. Apparently the game has changed quite a bit in that time. For one thing, it will be in 3D, both the character models and backgrounds, which explains why it's not appearing on GBA. Mana veteran Koichi Ishii and Chrono Trigger producer Kazuhiko Aoki, both also FFIII team members, will be supervising the project. FFXI's Ryoskusuke Aiba will be handling art direction and Xenogears/FFXII's Akihiko Yoshida will do character design.

The company released some updated information regarding Children of Mana (DS). The game's release date has been moved from the end of 2006 to this coming winter. It will also feature wireless multiplayer cooperative mode, though it was not specified whether this will be available through the upcoming Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or just local wi-fi. Fans of the series should be pleasd to hear that multiplayer is considered a crucial aspect of the game. The game will employing an item-based customization system in order to allow players to better suit themselves on the fly to their multiplayer partners. Finally, it was noted that the stylus will be used, but all the main action will be controlled with the d-pad and face buttons.

Square Enix also announced Final Fantasy V and VI for Game Boy Advance. It was noted that as expected the games will receive visual and other upgrades along the way. Along with Final Fantasy I+II: Dawn of Souls (GBA) and Final Fantasy IV (GBA), which will be released this year in Japan, today's announcements ensure that all pre-PlayStation Final Fantasy console titles will have made it to current Nintendo portable platforms.

Somewhat surprisingly, Square Enix is also currently developing Mario Basket 3 on 3 (DS), which is of course a Mario basketball title. According to Square Enix president Youichi Wada, his company actually approached Nintendo with the proposal, and Nintendo agreed. The game is rendered in real-time 3D and promises to feature a deep ball handling system made possible with the stylus. It will feature a variety of courts themed around the Mushroom Kingdom. This will mark Mario's first basketball title, not counting the appearance of Mario, Luigi, and Peach in NBA Street. The game is set for release next year, and it seems likely it will make it out of Japan.

Joystiq has uncovered a research report filed by Deutsche Bank employees suggesting that Microsoft may be concerned about Xbox 360 shortages. This would explain why Japan is not getting a stripped down version of the console; once supply is at an optimal level, Microsoft may introduce the hard drive-less version in that country. The manufacturer is already planning to offer the premium bundle at an approximate discount of $50 in Japan as compared to the North American price point.

If true, this would run contrary to Microsoft's stated goal to have no problems supplying sufficient quantities of the console come launch.

Forbes has a comprehensive look at the pricing plans and strategies for Xbox 360 consoles and software. The article seems to indicate that Microsoft is actually requiring retailers to "to sell only bundles for the Xbox [360]", which would explain why you can't seem to find anything online that's just the boxed console itself.

Forbes also quoted Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who indicated that $60 standard pricing for next-generation games should hold true. When Activision set this pricing scheme for their products, other publishers followed suit. Said Kotick:

"We've said we're to going sell those products at higher price points until ... the market forces us to sell them at lower price points, which we don't think is likely. We don't really think that there's a lot of price sensitivity on the part of the consumer, if you're delivering value."

First-party Microsoft titles will be priced at $50; first-party console publishers frequently sell their software for cheaper than third-party publishers because they are already receiving console rights royalties on all software for the system.

Eidos has confirmed that Crystal Dynamics' upcoming Tomb Raider: Legend (PS2, Xbox, PSP, PC) has in fact slipped to 2006, both for Xbox 360 and Xbox. Presumably, this also applies to the other console versions. The fact that the confirmation was made at X05 explains why they were not mentioned.

WarCry's Shannon Drake compares Nintendo's next-gen strategy to Muhammad Ali's Rope-A-Dope ploy.