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America gets not-special Limited Edition Dissidia PSP bundle

by Jem Alexander { May 14th 2009 at 7:15PM }

Click for high-resolution box art.

Square Enix loves bundling its PSP games with hardware. It's the company's way of single-handedly getting more systems into the wild so that more people will buy its next game -- and there's always a "next game." Strangely, these bundles tend to be more common in Japan and Europe, but not anymore. The PlayStation Blog has just announced that a Dissidia bundle is headed to the US of A, exclusive to Gamestop.

For $199.99 your new Dissidia bundle, available on August 25, will contain a copy of Dissidia, a copy of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a 2GB memory stick and a ~~special branded Dissidia PSP-3000~~. Oh, wait -- it's just a bog standard Mystic Silver system. Where's the limited edition Dissidia unit that was available in Japan? Oh well, if Crisis Core is anything to go by, Europe will probably get it when it finally releases there in the year 2051.

Gallery: Final Fantasy Dissidia

Opinion piece says Crisis Core blends gameplay, narrative in revolutionary ways

by Majed Athab { Jan 21st 2009 at 9:00AM }

Since the beginning of cinematic gaming, there has always been this struggle between balancing the experiences of both narrative and gameplay. For some games, there's too much traditional story-telling which detracts from this core gameplay fun factor (take PS3's Metal Gear Solid 4 for example) and other titles get a bad rap for having paper-thin plots. So how do these two seemingly opposed forces integrate smoothly? Christian Nutt has an interesting opinion piece about this on GameSetWatch which takes a look at Crisis Core's DMW system as an excellent solution to this "narrative-gameplay divide."

Nutt points out that the Digital Mind Wave (DMW) system revolves around the story-driven emotional state of Zack (protagonist), which in turn results in affecting his chances for bonuses and his overall performance in battle. Furthermore, the DMW's slots reflect important characters in Zack's life which, when aligned, often play cut scene memories in the heat of a fight. What this does, according to Nutt, creates a reminder of how important the story is to the actions Zack carries out. This style of integrating stories, focusing on memories and short bursts, while maximizing both emotional impact and interactivity is revolutionary in Nutt's eyes.

A lot of his points make a whole lot of sense and we agree, though perhaps not as fervently. But what about you? Do you agree, disagree? Perhaps before you make that decision, best read up on the entire Crisis Core redefines narrative/gameplay article.

Metal Gear Solid 4, Crisis Core receive Gold PlayStation Awards

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Dec 3rd 2008 at 2:30PM }

Those would be "Gold" awards in Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's annual PlayStation Awards, not actual gold PlayStations. No, we think excellent sales are reward enough to render the composition of a congratulatory gong irrelevant -- the Gold award only goes to those games that sold over 500,000 copies in Japan over the last year.

This year's PlayStation recipients: Senior citizen stealth sim Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots; pointy-haired sword swinger Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII; and Sega's Phantasy Star Portable, which we failed to include in the headline. Similarly snubbed but given a fancy "Platinum" award was Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which sold over two million copies and completely messed up our Japanese hardware sales charts.

Source -- PSP awards
Source -- PS3 award (singular)

MTV: Crisis Core is 'The whole world in your pocket'

by Majed Athab { Nov 24th 2008 at 8:30AM }

According to MTV Germany's 2008 Game Awards show, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is this year's best handheld title (AKA, "The Whole World in Your Pocket" Award). The Square Enix game that prequels the popular PSOne title, Final Fantasy VII, beat out other franchise software such as God of War: Chains of Olympus, and Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Guitar Hero: On Tour.

It even had beaten Patapon to a pulp -- which was an all new, original title that came out this year. Overall, Crisis Core overcame some tough odds beating out strong competition. Congrats go out to you Crisis Core.

Crisis Core inches towards 2 million sales

by Andrew Yoon { Nov 7th 2008 at 5:56PM }

Let's talk about the good sales of a PSP game that isn't called Monster Hunter for one second, if you don't mind. The PSP-exclusive prequel to Final Fantasy VII has made quite a bit of dough for Square Enix, as the company revealed updated sales numbers for the game. Since its release, it has seen nearly 2 million units sold across the world, with Japan buying the largest amount: 820k units. North America resulted in 610k sales, and Europe is responsible for 460k.

The strong figures for Crisis Core may be why Square Enix has such a strong lineup of games planned for PSP. Compared to their DS games (Final Fantasy IV) and Wii games (Dragon Quest Swords), Crisis Core has easily resonated the most with its audience.

[Via NeoGAF]

Sony's new PSP strategy: 'You cannot have ports.'

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Sep 25th 2008 at 6:00PM }

With third-party PSP support dwindling and becoming increasingly coveted -- even by Sony's own Shuhei Yoshida -- it seems that a new plan of action is in order for the high-tech, twice-revised handheld. Speaking to Edge Online, SCEA's director of hardware marketing, John Koller, provided just such a strategy: "You cannot have ports."

Sony hopes to guide publishers and developers down a better path, enabling them to produce PSP games that take a cue from their console versions, but leave the identical content and gameplay behind. "The recipe for success on the PSP resides simply in providing franchise games that are strong brand names like on consoles, but have unique gameplay on the system," said Koller, listing Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, God of War: Chains of Olympus and the forthcoming Midnight Club as titles that stand on their own, despite their recognized branding.

Koller went on to predict that 2009 would see "significant growth" for the PSP, with "a number of very strong franchise games" on the way and revitalized hardware sales bringing publishers back from the brink. And who knows? Maybe those persistent petitioners will finally get their Assassin's Creed PSP game.

Deal of the Day: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for $29.99

by Alan Tsang { Jul 27th 2008 at 8:45PM }

Still haven't picked up Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII? Don't want to pay full price? It ain't much, but Circuit City is offering the PSP exclusive prequel to Final Fantasy VII at $10 off, making the total $29.99 including shipping. Take advantage of this offer here.

Crisis Core PSP bundle heads to Europe June 20

by Ross Miller { Jun 10th 2008 at 12:06PM }

Click to embiggen

Square Enix is releasing a Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII PSP bundle for Europe to coincide with its June 20 release. The bundle includes a PSP Slim with the above art and a copy of the game for 189,90 Euros (US $293.43). According to Amazon France, if you bought a PSP Slim (169,20 Euros) and Crisis Core (36,99 Euros) separately, it'd cost you 20,70 Euros (US $32) more, so it's definitely a good deal to pick up the bundle (assuming, of course, you don't already have a PSP).

Fun fact: When the title finally reaches Europe, it will have been over 9 months since the Japanese launch and 3 months since the North American debut.

Crisis Core limited edition PSP hitting Europe

by Andrew Yoon { Jun 10th 2008 at 10:45AM }

Click for high-resolution image.

The limited edition Final Fantasy VII silver PSP is leaving Japan, and going to Europe, just in time for Crisis Core's release. A special bundle, which includes this engraved PSP and a copy of the PSP-exclusive action RPG, will hit European retailers on June 20th for 189.99 Euros.

Combined with a special edition version of the game, Square Enix is trying its hardest to make up for the delayed release over the Atlantic. For many jealous fans in the US, it looks like they're succeeding.

Gallery: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

Deal of the Day: Crisis Core for $26

by Andrew Yoon { May 29th 2008 at 10:30AM }

Online retailer amazon.com is offering the PSP-exclusive prequel to Final Fantasy VII for only $26 -- that's $14 off its standard price. This limited time deal won't last long, so those that missed out on this adventure may want to jump on this deal.

[Thanks, Peter D.!]

Today's Amazon Gold Box deal: Crisis Core for $26

by Ross Miller { May 29th 2008 at 9:30AM }

After enjoying Amazon's Xbox 360 deals yesterday, it is with much dismay that we report the online retailer is throwing yet another wallet-busting offer our way, this time for our oft-neglected Sony PSP. The very awesome (if you don't believe us, ask the podcast) Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is today's Gold Box deal, down from $40 to $26. Unlike yesterday's lightning deals, though, you have all day to order a copy. If tomorrow brings another video game bundle, we may very well go broke. Oh, Amazon, why do you curse our bank accounts so!

Crisis Core coming to Europe in June

by Andrew Yoon { May 15th 2008 at 2:00PM }

As usual, Square Enix took their time localizing a game to Europe. Crisis Core, the exciting PSP-exclusive prequel to Final Fantasy VII, is finally coming to Europe in June. Of course, the delay may be worth it for those picking up the Special Edition version of the game (pictured, above).

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. commented in the press release, "CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII- is one of the most anticipated FINAL FANTASY releases of all times. Pushing the boundaries of the PSP hardware, it offers a truly fantastic gameplay experience to not only existing fans, but new ones as well."

Gallery: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

How Crisis Core fixed Final Fantasy VII canon

by Andrew Yoon { Apr 29th 2008 at 2:30PM }

It may be a mere handheld game, but Crisis Core serves as a vital part of the Final Fantasy VII universe. It doesn't just simply expand upon the story, but actually fixes an error made in a different part of the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII."

Hideki Imaizumi, producer of Crisis Core, talked about the "Last Order" anime OVA (pictured) with IGN. Released as a bonus with Advent Children in Japan, the animated short also focused on Zack and the role he played in Nibelheim. "When we made that feature, we changed the presentation of that event from the original Final Fantasy VII. And the fan response was - well, there was considerable negative feedback in regard to changing a part of the story that they considered integral to the whole lore."

Thankfully, Crisis Core was able to set things straight, restoring the canon that so many Final Fantasy VII devotees pore over. "So we listened to that and learned from that. And in fact the Nibelheim incident is presented again in Crisis Core, and we were careful not to make the same decisions that we did in Last Order."

Why Crisis Core is on PSP, not DS

by Andrew Yoon { Apr 24th 2008 at 12:30PM }

Square Enix is a firm supporter of both handhelds, with a number of great titles available on both Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. However, why was (arguably) their biggest game developed exclusively for PSP, instead of the more-popular DS? Pocket Gamer talked to producer

Hideki Imaizumi and executive producer Yoshinori Kitase about exactly that:

"Yes, there are a lot of DSs out there - but does that mean that our products sell in relation to that? That our sales grow with how many DSs or PSPs there are out there? It's not really the case."

The PSP seemed appropriate for a number a reasons, one being the more adult age group the PSP seems to attract: "the demographic was higher teens to young adults as opposed to small children. The PSP seemed closer to that demographic than DS in general. So we feel we really made the right choice."

As a joke, he added "We'll make a DS game called Brain Age: Final Fantasy for DS [laughs]." To be honest, we wouldn't mind trying that out.

Interview with Crisis Core's Tabata describes hopes, aspirations

by Nick Doerr { Apr 8th 2008 at 1:00PM }

If you've tired of playing as Zack from Crisis Core, now would be an adequate time for a reprieve. We've caught wind of a short interview with the game's director, Hajime Tabata, and what his thoughts are on some random bits of the game, as well as any future plans he has or would like to get involved in.

Tabata uses past influences to generate his ideas, citing the Japanese comic "Doraemon" specifically as an influence. Unlike Zack, Tabata claims he could probably only do 50 squats in succession and unlike Sephiroth, uses less than a bottle of shampoo per shower. Yep. It's that kind of interview.

He also says he would not be interested in working on spin-off titles for other Final Fantasy games -- only the world in VII seems to interest him. Tabata said that, if anything, he'd like to create a gun-action game in the VII world with a new character who uses both guns and magic. Like Dirge of Cerberus, but less horrible. Currently, Tabata is working on Agito XIII as well as some other unnamed titles. Maybe he'll get his wish someday!