We haven't heard any big announcements from Mistwalker recently, so this should come as good news for Hironobu Sakaguchi fans. Apparently they're heading into the "finishing" stage for a mysterious new project.

 Is there any truth that there's a bitter rivalry between Square Enix icons Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura? Is this the reason why they're supposedly working on separate Final Fantasy Versus XIII games? What does he think of former boss Hironobu Sakaguchi's work with the Final Fantasy franchise? All the answers in the full article.

Last week, we had a mammoth of a game release with Devil May Cry 4. It's not going to be any different this time around, with the much-awaited Lost Odyssey by Mistwalker finally making its US debut. Other noteworthy games in this batch are Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts, RPG Maker VX, and a slew of other titles. Hit the full article for the rest of the list.

* Article originally posted Feb 11, 2008 at 01:12AM

Nobuo Uematsu's record label Dog Ear Records just announced that The Black Mages' third album is finally nearing its release. The Japanese band led by the man behind Final Fantasy melodies we all grew to love is going to unleash The Black Mages 3: Darkness and Starlight, which will contain more than remixes of magical FF music. Learn more by checking out the full article.

After last week's new releases, it doesn't come as a surprise when Media Create's latest software sales chart for December 3 to December 9 is almost dominated by previously released titles. Some newcomers such as Tales of Innocence and Lost Odyssey, however, fought for the top ten and came close to claiming Wii Fit 's throne.

Find out what's hot in Japan by checking out the full article!

We're barely three weeks away from what could be the world's biggest game expo after the E3 downsizing of 2007. Yup, it's an event most of us would love to be in: The Tokyo Game Show 2007!

It's no secret that TGS has always been the Far East's answer to E3 in terms of big announcements and sneak peeks of exciting projects. If there's a shindig that the big game publishers are saving their aces for, this one has to be it.

Here's a short list of just some of the stuff we expect to see. Feel free to add your own wishes at the comments, though, because we're sure you have some big ideas of your own:

1. An apparition of Final Fantasy XIII - Square Enix was mum on this big PlayStation 3 project in E3 and even in during GC 2007 in Germany. Could they be saving the best for the year's last huge show? They better be because we're all aching to see more than just screenshots. A new trailer and some details would be terrific.

2. More of Wii Fit - There's no doubt that the most anticipated release for the fastest-selling console in history is next year's exercise game Wii Fit and its accessory, the Balance Board. We saw a bit of this with Reggie Fils-Aime in E3 and we can expect a bit more for the Japanese crowd.

3. More Metal Gear Solid 4/ Metal Gear Online teasers - You know a big game is about to hit when its PR machine is getting noisier by the day. We've been seeing new MGS4 trailers from Santa Monica to Leipzig and it would be almost a travesty if its hometown Tokyo doesn't get one. Also, the multiplayer MGS Online is looking hot and we won't be surprised if there are more details soon.

4. A big Halo 3 showing - So maybe the Halo franchise isn't quite as big in Japan as it is here in the US, but with the TGS just a few days away from the big game's Japanese release, is there any reason why Microsoft should hold back? The game, as we all know, is already at gold status, so expect it to be shown off in full force.

More of our wishes and expectations after the jump!

While Microsoft is readying up a media barrage for North America to promote Bungie's Halo 3 game (Xbox 360), it looks like Japan's populace may not be quite as receptive. Famitsu's latest "Most Wanted" polls of the region indicate that the game is gone from the poll's top 20 list, being overrun by Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends for the PlayStation 2.

Games making another appearance in the list include White Knight Story and The Last Remnant (PS3, Xbox 360). And in case you're wondering, the lists' top five stalwarts are still there, solidly rooted to their current places - at least until more developments arise.

1. Dragon Quest IX (NDS, Square Enix)
2. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Square Enix)
3. Biohazard 5 (PS3, Capcom)
4. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3, Konami)
5. Monster Hunter 3 (PS3, Capcom)
6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, Nintendo)
7. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360, Microsoft)
8. Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII (PSP, Square Enix)
9. Devil May Cry 4 (PS3, Capcom)
10. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo)  
11. The Last Remnant (PS3, Xbox 360; Square Enix)
12. Animal Crossing (Wii, Nintendo)
13. Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3, Square Enix)
14. Final Fantasy IV (NDS, Square Enix)
15. Ash (DS, Mistwalker)
    
16. Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends (PS2, Koei)
17. Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii, Capcom)
18. White Knight Story (PS3, Sony)
19. Gran Turismo 5 (PS3, Sony)
20. Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (NDS, Level 5)
    

The battle has come a long way. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft fought valiantly to invade Japanese households. Numbers for May are finally here, and Ninty dominates across the board.

Bloomberg reports that the Wii outsold the PlayStation 3 five to one. 251,794 more units have been sold to further increase Nintendo's market share. In the handhelds race, the DS took the lead with 620,670 - 123,673 against PSP.

With limited third-party support, Microsoft's hefty Xbox 360 sold only 11,082. Will Mistwalker titles win the hearts of Japanese gamers? It doesn't look like Halo 3 is enough to be a driving force, even if it's expected to bring Microsoft's gaming division its first profitable quarter ever.

As if its huge lead wasn't enough, Nintendo believes that their Wii will reach thrice the households at the end of this fiscal year. Some believe that a number of PS3 games will "murder" the Wii, Microsoft is deadset on spreading its influence in the Land of the Rising Sun - will tides change? Time will tell.

As IGN reports, it turns out that Mistwalker is apparently getting down and dirty with the PlayStation 3. Yep. During the GDC, Hironobu Sakaguchi of Final Fantasy fame talked about Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360. However, when asked about working on the Sony console, he mentioned that his team is already doing some tests on the PS3.

With that statement alone, one can't help but ecstatically ask: Blue Dragon for the PS3?!

Sakaguchi didn't seem to say anything more than that though. Much less given any other hint on what they were testing on the PS3. He did say that they're not developing any game (aaaw...) for the PS3 at the moment - or at least, any that he was willing to reveal (what, what?!).

Upon asking what it was like working with the system though, Sakaguchi said quite simply without the help of a translator: "PS3 is difficult." Sure wish he'd care to elaborate though.

In spite of all the issues surrounding the future of EGM, the business still has to go on. And go on, it did. EGM has some rumors and reviews in their upcoming issue (#213, March 2007). Going over NeoGAF, we have found an interesting thread which talks of the said EGM reviews and rumors. Let's start with the rumors first, shall we?

• Rumor 1 - Square has another MMO Final Fantasy (à la FFXI) in the works for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. It is said that it won't be set in Vana'diel, but rather a world from a previous FF game.
• Rumor 2 - Tekken 6 pushed back until 2008.
• Rumor 3 - Mistwalker planning Blue Dragon 2, depending on U.S. sales. A DS spin-off is also possible.
• Rumor 4 - Wipeout PS3 to hit in 2007, uses the MotorStorm engine. (That's one sizzling combination!)
  
• Rumor 5 - Mizuguchi working on a Space Channel 5 follow-up.
• Rumor 6 - EA making a kiddie Madden.
• Rumor 7 - Indiana Jones game to hit with movie in 2008.

Another MMO Final Fantasy would be really nice, in my opinion, and may even give Blizzard a run for its money. A handheld version of Blue Dragon also sounds appealing, but I am a bit skeptical about a tykes version of Madden. Well, what do you guys think?

On to the reviews. Virtua Fighter 5 was deemed as EGM's Game of the Month. They also have good reviews for Crackdown, NBA Street Homecourt (PS3, Xbox 360), and Battlestations: Midway among many other games.