The maxim says, "imitate, then innovate." Perhaps Fantom Entertainment Group imitated Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children a little too much.

In any case, Square Enix has won the reported copyright infringement case against Fantom Entertainment Group. For more legal details, turn to the full article after the jump.

They say that imitation is a form of flattery. But sometimes, imitation can unleash on you a Beat Rush + Somersault + Water Kick + Meteodrive combo (and very well into Final Heaven too). Last March, Square Enix filed a law suit against Korean media company Fantom Entertainment Group for releasing a music video that's been ruled to have plagiarized FF7: Advent Children. Exhibit A, if you please: Korean pop singer Ivy's music video for her song, "Temptation of Sonata". Read more to see the video and for more details.

How is the console race doing in South Korea? According to Microsoft Korea's marketing coordinator, the Xbox 360 is doing much, much better compared to its rival, the PS3, which sold 200 units in a record time of 3 minutes upon launch. The Xbox 360's estimated total sales numbers? 100,000 units.

Electronic Arts' CEO, John Riccitiello, has given a hint that the superstar publisher may soon experiment with new pricing models in the near future. Riccitiello has predicted that the usual pricing and revenue models will soon need to change, after emerging markets have defeated the US$ 59.99 premium price point for video games.

"In the next five years, we're all going to have to deal with this. In China, they're giving games away for free," said Riccitiello. He believes that soon the rest of the world will reach the forked road and accept change. "People who benefit from the current model will need to embrace a new revenue model."

At the start of 2007, Electronic Arts became one of the major worldwide publishers to have given away a current game for free. EA Sports' FIFA 07, Electronic Arts' previous bid in the virtual soccer market, was practically given away to gamers and fans in South Korea.

It must be noted that the game was at first downloaded for free within piracy rings, but soon EA accepted that there was a growing trend in a much larger gaming market (in population) that Western companies would soon have to face. Gamers now want something for nothing, and EA was generous enough to oblige.

FIFA 07 no longer appeared for retail on shelves, and the game was offered free for download over the Internet. In order for EA to gain something out of the gesture, the publisher marketed game "enhancements" for a minute microtransaction fees. Unsurprisingly, it was widely accepted. Korea's gaming economy flourished with microtransaction business models.

Riccitiello notes that as more publishers accept the online distribution model, Electronic Arts may begin testing out different pricing models for its wide lineup of games.

  

  
Sony Computer Entertainment Korea (SCEK) is currently employing a relatively familiar strategy in South Korea to promote the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable consoles. Gaming kiosks have reportedly been put up in certain movie cinemas and a bank.

Yep, you read right: a bank. Even until now, we're still wondering why aging businessmen would want to have a little PS3 fun while waiting for his/her financial transaction to finish. Maybe SCEK is targeting the parents here, egging them on to by a console for their beloved sons and daughters.

The PS2 and PSP kiosks, on the other hand, are positioned in the movie house known as Megabox located in Mokdong, Seoul, South Korea. This is actually part of SCEK's "Zam Zone" marketing campaign for the PS3's predecessor - which is still very hot in that part of the globe - as well as the handheld console.

It has been confirmed that the 80GB PlayStation 3 models originally released in South Korea will soon be available to North American consumers. It'll have a price tag of US$ 599 and a copy of video game title MotorStorm will be bundled with it.

Aside from that, we also got word that the new model will do away with the Emotion Engine chip. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) spokesperson Kimberly Otzman explained,

The current 60GB model utilizes a hardware and solution for backwards compatibility, namely the Emotion Engine chip. The new 80GB PS3 will use a software solution for backwards compatibility, similar to that currently found in the PAL model.

The spokesperson noted that the Emotion Engine chip will not be phased out as it will continue to ship with the 60GB models. However, those who will purchase the new model in August will "likely need to download system updates to ensure backwards compatibility".

For purposes of discussion, keep in mind that Nintendo has made the Wii hardware compatible with GameCube software while Microsoft has always offered updates to make the original Xbox titles run on the Xbox 360. This will be the first time PlayStation 3 owners in the U.S. will have to download updates for backwards compatibility.

The Entertainment Software Association has applauded the recent forging of a free trade agreement between the US and South Korea which will not only make it easier for publishers to bring games to and fro, it also helps fight software piracy.

According to the USA, opening better trade relations with one of the most economically-successful countries in Asia will result in "non-discriminatory and duty-free treatment for all digital products." This means that both countries will enjoy equal opportunities in the market to sell their wares.

This also means, according to software publishers, that the campaign against piracy has been bolstered because intellectual rights will be safeguarded whether they're in retail stores or up for sale in the internet.

Both the US and South Korea have populations where gaming is a big business. They also have extensive broadband connections among the citizenry to make them two of the world's most wired nations. Business opportunities abound as the game makers in the regions are innovative and successful at what they do.

Sony has repeatedly maintained that the super behemoth PlayStation 3 unit carrying a 80GB hard drive will only be available in South Korea. For now. Spokesperson Satoshi Fukuoka was once quoted saying they are looking into the possibility of the said version of the console being released in other territories.

Despite all these, online site Sony Protection Group (SPG) claims that some people have sighted a listing of the 80GB PS3 at Best Buy Canada. What's weird is that all features are the same (SKU, Web Code, not to mention pricing) except for the HDD capacity. SPG went back to the site and, what do you know, the listing was gone.

Could this be a slip-up from Best Buy? Is the 80GB PS3 already hiding somewhere here in the West only waiting to be unearthed? Or is this the work of a truly skillful hand well-versed in Photoshop magic? To be quite frank, there are still many questions surrounding this matter and only Sony can provide the answers.

While the company is still keeping mum about this, why don't you check the screen capture of the page first and tell us what you think about it?

We all still have to wait until June 21 before Sony gives its official word on the much talked-about 80GB behemoth PS3 that is going to be released in South Korea. However, provided that this is a reality more than a fanboy's dream, have you ever thought what purpose the extra space is going to serve?

No, we're not talking about your media files, or saved games, and whatnot because it seems that Sony is planning something better. According to the company's affiliate in SoKor, Sony is in fact "in talks with multiple local telecom operators to enable people to enjoy video-on-demand (VOD) services via PlayStation 3 consoles."

The spokeswoman refused to elaborate on specifics or what companies are involved with this. But should things push through, it is very likely that domestic landline telecom carriers Hanaro Telecom and KT will be part of the project. One representative from Hanaro commented,

We are negotiating with Sony and the atmosphere is pretty good. We hope we will be able to reach an agreement in June. Should we strike a deal with Sony, PlayStation 3 users can watch all the HanaTV programs after downloading software, without having to buy a dedicated set-top box.

 

Hanaro's VOD service started July last year and had attracted more than 430,000 clients as of April 2007. The representative commented that PS3 owners will enjoy HanaTV content at the same price as regular subscribers when they reach an agreement with Sony.

Hanaro is currently charging its customers 10,000 won (US$ 10.72) per month when they pledge to continue subscription longer than three years. These consumers are entitled to download various kinds of videos, including movies, music, soap operas and news.

There's been plenty of talk lately of an amped-up Sony PlayStation 3 carrying an 80GB hard drive being made available in South Korea and possibly the United States. More than U.S. availability, the question being raised now is "why South Korea?"

The question stands because it's a well known fact that South Korea is one of the most wired nations in the planet and is sin ply crazy about MMORPGs. Why then, would a console want to venture in a PC-gaming stronghold?

Satoshi Fukuoka, a Sony spokesman, explains that South Korea has an ideal status in the sense that broadband internet access is available to the vast majority of the population. He stresses that broadband enhances a good number of the games in their platform and that could be good for the machine's performance in the region.

Fukuoka goes on to explain why they're increasing the disk space of their flagship product, saying "Increasing capacity for models is one of the options. We make such decisions depending on the needs of the market, and every country is different."

Yahoo! News reports that no decision has been arrived at regarding the possibility of an American launch for the machine, but analysts and other supposed experts on the economics of the video game industry have theorized that sooner or later, Sony will make its move on the U.S. plane. What does that mean for average users aside from additional disk space?

Some actually believe that the move is actually a precedence to a price cut on the relatively pricey game machine. Spong, however, has another take on that perspective. In an article dated May 22, 2007, the site explained how it sees things:

Sony is capable of sourcing 80Gb drives at a similar price to 60Gb versions and in greater supply. The cost difference at manufacture is, however, little or no different to the overall cost of the PS3 unit. So despite calls from such luminaries as Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot, for a cut in price, we can't see this happening - officially - based on 20Gb of hard disk space - in the near future.

Sounds possible. We're still hoping for the best, though. Do you think there will be price cuts any time this year? Post your takes on the comments section.