Wasn’t Ijust recently bemoaningmy sad fate if the most recent entry in theChocobo’s Dungeonseries didn’t make it to the US? I choose to believe that Square heard my desperate plea, rather than the more likely explanation that the announcement of the US release of this title just happened to coincide with my recent post about it. After all, Square knows how towork their fans. Consider me worked, dammit. The official press release confirms the game for a July 8th release at a price of $39....

Because the world always needs moreFinal Fantasyspin-offs, Square Enix announcedFinal Fantasy Gaiden, a DS-exclusive RPG that nobody’s really been paying any attention to. Now you may continue to ignore the game with anew batch of screenshotsthat are rather small but show off some character designs and a big dragon. There’s also a dandy chap in a top hat. Final Fantasy Gaidenis looking like it’ll be quite a charming little RPG. I’ve always got room for more portable roleplaying games, although once again I have to ask where Square Enix is getting all these developers from....

How important are we as hardcore gamers to the videogame industry now? We’re definitely the most outspoken, and we definitely buy the most games, but it seems like the industry has moved their focus away from us and put it on the casual gamer. Who can blame them? Gamer or not, we’ve all witnessed Nintendo’s pocketbook explode after focusing on the casual gamer. And with “hardcore” games costing more than ever to make, it makes sense that developers would want to focus on something that costs less and makes more....

I always thought that Gamecock’s only point was to try too hard to be irreverent, wear rooster costumes and act really stupid at award shows. Who know the companyactually released videogamesas well? The company is about to finally prove its actual value outside of a sideshow attraction with this year’s release schedule. So far only two titles have come out and I’m hard pressed to remember either of them, but a few more on the way:...

I was recently introduced to a British musical outfit known as Kunt and the Gang. I have decided that it is my favorite band in the whole wide world and that everybody should pay homage to Kunt’s musical genius. As evidence of his talent, I submit his cover version of “I Kissed A Girl,” titled “I Sucked Off A Bloke.” It is the work of a God in human form....

What’s the most essential event to attend this year if you’re a part of the gaming biz? According to a recent poll taken byGamesIndustry.biz, looks likeGDCcomes out on top. Here’s the results by percent: Not a surprise to see E3 at number 2, considering the identity crisis its gone through in the past few years. GDC’s conference director, Meggan Scavvio, offered some words in regards to the event: “I feel pretty honoured to act as host to what many consider a focal point of their year … it’s been a rough road for the games industry over the past year, and it’s not a surprise to find that travel and training budgets are the first to go....

In a double whammy of “OH, COME ON!” inducing Nintendo news, it’s been confirmed thatMetroid Prime 3will not feature online multiplayer, andSuper Smash Bros. Brawlwill not be featuring in a playable form at E3. Wired’s Game|Lifeis reporting that Nintendo will not be showingSuper Smash Bros. Brawlamong this year’s E3 Wii line-up, instead focusing on never-before-seen software. This is great and all, and with the smaller scale of this year’s E3, I can see why they’d do this....

Capcom has released a gameplay clip of its upcomingGhost Trick: Phantom Detective, and it’s not doing anything to quell my excitement. I’m not kidding when I sayGhost Trickis one of my most anticipated games of 2011. Check out theFlash demo of the gameto see if we’re on the same page. Ghost Trickis out January 11 for the Nintendo DS. I wants it. Now.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologuehas cracked the Japanese charts at number 3, selling 116,000 copies per Media Create data. However, it’s the only PS3 title in the list, which is mostly packed with Wii and DS titles. Funny enough, more PS2 games made the cut than PS3. Here’s the full list: 3.Gran Turismo 5 Prologue(PS3) 4.Prof. Layton and Pandora’s Box(DS) 7.Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games(Wii) 13.Powerful Pro-kun Pocket 10(DS)...

We received our review copy of Nintendo’sFlingSmashtoday, a Wii MotionPlus mandatory title. Packed inside every retail copy is the latest and greatest in Nintendo motion controllers, the Wii Remote Plus, which combines a Wii Remote with MotionPlus in one peripheral. Eager to get my hands on it, I pulled the remote out of theFlingSmashpackage to find that… yup, it’s just like a Wii Remote, only with Wii Motion Plus built right into it....

Apparently, Lionhead mentioned something or other about a patch forFable IIa while back, but it’s been so long I can’t even remember them promising anything concrete in the first place. Regardless of my horrible short-term memory, the all-inclusive patch I’m referring to is still being worked on. According to the Lionheaddev blog, the update is in the final stages of testing and will be certified … soon? No tentative release date is given — probably to prevent our hopes and dreams from being crushed — so there’s no tellingwhenthe update will go live....

Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!is already out on the PlayStation Network, but NIS America needs your help in getting the game out onto UMD. They need you to go to RosenQueen andplace a pre-orderon it. If they get at least 1,000 pre-orders going, then they’ll manufacture the game onto UMD. You have until November 13 to make this happen. If, however, they don’t get enough pre-orders made, NIS is also looking at getting retailer support and may end up putting the game out on UMD anyway....

Thisis the newest episode of Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’. It is aboutTrauma Center. Now that we’ve got a panel at PAX, I’ve gotten all nervous about what will or won’t be helpful to talk about, how to remain entertaining, and what sort of HAWP episode we could possibly conjure up that would justify the scene I have in mind that would involve the entire panel audience. Like, I’ve got the scene all blocked out in my head, but I have no videogame-centric context for it....