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Resonance of Fate destined for Japan on January 28
Resonance of Fate was given a North American release window of spring 2010 way back in May, leaving the question of its Japanese release (as End of Eternity) unanswered -- until just now. Sega previously launched a cute "count-up" site to reveal the date, which has finally arrived at January 28, 2010*. The official game site now shows this information, as well.Earlier this month, producer Mitsuhiro ShimanoIn told Joystiq that, with Resonance of Fate development on schedule, Sega had the freedom to set the Japanese release date "when it's going to be the best time to fully reach the potential." Apparently, the best time is ... a month after Final Fantasy XIII?*Note: At the time of this posting, our browser still shows that several hours remain, suggesting that the counter is based on one's local time zone.[Via Andriasang]
Jabra Stone to bring 'new shape' to Bluetooth headset field
C'mon, cut us some slack here. We're suckers for teasers, and our intuition says that you are too. Jabra, who has definitely done a thing or two for the Bluetooth headset realm, is apparently looking to reveal a "new shape" on October 20th, though it'll only be sold through AT&T (at least initially). Heck, there's even a countdown timer over on the outfit's teaser page for those who'd like to watch every second from now till then tick away, not to mention a brief video that tersely details the forthcoming excellence. So, got any bright ideas about what this thing could be? The second coming of the BT headset? Just another tchotchke?[Via Electricpig]
THQ begins a countdown to Smackdown
This might be the weirdest variant of the reviled countdown site yet. We know exactly what the countdown is for -- WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 -- and, since it's an annual sports franchise, we don't really expect surprises. But there it is, counting down three days until we'll see the roster, media, downloads, list of features, and other areas of what promises to be a bog-standard game website. Of course, the big attraction here is what the new game will look like. However, since that was revealed on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, that leaves ... the downloads? Who will appear on the downloadable desktop wallpaper. FIND OUT in three days!
Square Enix countdown reveals Final Fantasy/SaGa/Magic the Gathering crossover card RPG
The latest Square Enix teaser countdown displayed a big Roman numeral that counted down each day, causing a lot of excitement when it struck "VII." The countdown has elapsed, revealing that no, it's not the Final Fantasy VII remake, nor is it something remotely as exciting, though Lord of Vermilion II is at least interesting in its own right.Lord of Vermilion II is the sequel to Square Enix's popular arcade collectible card game, which uses real trading cards to summon monsters, allies, and such in-game. The sequel is particularly noteworthy because, as the new site reveals, it includes characters from Final Fantasy IV, Romancing SaGa II, and even creatures from Magic: The Gathering.Of course, since we don't really have card RPGs or arcades in North America, the chances of playing this ourselves are slim. Although, as Siliconera noted, Square Enix trademarked Lord of Arcana in the US. So, it's possible.
Atlus countdown pre-reveals Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Now this is a countdown site we can deal with. Atlus posted a teaser site for a mysterious new game, to be officially revealed July 24. The kind-of obscured teaser image shows Earth with a big hole in it. Fans ended the suspense immediately by finding the URL for the logo for the teased game hidden in the site's source code. It's since been removed, but not before a Japanese blogger could save it! The logo for Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey can be seen above, along with what could be a release date. There's still plenty to be revealed, like platform and, of course, what kind of game it is, but we feel a great sense of relief about not having to wait for the title.
Kojima finally explains his wacky countdown site
Remember when Kojima's countdown ended ... and started another countdown? Man, that was fun! The creator of the Metal Gear series seemingly had a big laugh as he teased gamers all the way to his E3 announcements: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for PSP, Metal Gear Solid: Rising for PS3 and Xbox 360, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.As the countdown continued, the site featured a number of symbols that flashed on the screen. Many of you attempted to break the code ... but were you successful? Kojima just revealed what each of those symbols was supposed to mean: 5 = it is an MGS5 class game S = Snake 巳＝snake in Kanji E = E3 R = Raiden 3 = 3 from 360 and E3 6 = 6 from 360 P and S = PSP and adding 3 makes it PS3 Once again, Kojima asks gamers: "Did you like it?" We think we can speak for most gamers when we say ... "no."
Capcom creates countdown-free teaser site
Hate countdowns? Love mysterious teaser sites that barely hint at an upcoming game? Good, because Capcom cooked this one ready for your perusal. The number 1560 simply fades in and out, moving from left to right. While some are postulating it's another Onimusha game (the first game took place in the year 1560, and is based on the Battle of Okehazama), we'll use the power of Wikipedia to show us some of the more interesting things that happened in 1560: "Denmark buys the Estonian island of Saaremaa from its last prince bishop." "The first tulip bulb is brought from Turkey to the Netherlands." "Jean Nicot introduces tobacco in the form of snuff to the French court." Hmm. Okay, we'd rather have an Onimusha game, Capcom.
Revenge of the annoying countdowns: Square Enix hints at 'new game'
Yes, another countdown. Don't worry, we hate them as much as you do, but Japanese publishers seem to love them. This time it's Square Enix's turn to announce a new (or, knowing Square Enix, old) game through the medium of time itself. The countdown takes place on a blank canvas with a landscape sketch taking shape in the bottom hand corner, along with the number four. We imagine this will expand to fill the page as the countdown makes its way to zero, which will occur on July 6.There's also some very faint music, which will probably get louder as the countdown proceeds. It sounds like an old-school MIDI to us, though we, along with our pals Shazam and Midomi, don't recognize it. It could be a remake, but at this point there's not much to go on. Hopefully we'll find out more when the countdown finishes, but nowadays we can't even be certain about that ...[Thanks, Sean]
Kojima countdown reveals another countdown [update]
The countdown timer on Kojima Productions' teaser site for its next project -- launched one week ago today -- has reached zero, revealing ... another countdown! This one is set for a little more than 8 days, expiring on May 30, Tokyo time. It's also raining now, as if the sky itself is crying along with all of Kojima's patient fans. Given the news earlier today that Japanese gaming mag Famitsu will unveil a Metal Gear project for a PlayStation platform on its May 30 issue's cover, we're literally counting the days until it hits. Still, keep your eyes on the skies.Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Kojima and company were listening in on your theories of what the reveal might be. Maybe next time?Update: If you watch the scene on the site long enough, you'll see the characters "5," (what is likely the typeface's equivalent of) "@," "E" and "3" briefly flash on the screen, one after the next. "5@E3" it is, then! We've added a gallery showing the not-so-cryptic characters below. The timer has also been adjusted for 120 hours -- 5 days -- ending on May 26. Just maybe the sun will come out a little early?%Gallery-63917%
Palm Pre counting down to a June 6th launch?
Know what happens in the run-up to a major product launch? Rumors are mongered and advertisements are sold, lots and lots of ads. So we're not surprised to find the two colliding in the shape of an un-calibrated (not Pre calibrated, it's not yet in sync with the calendar) countdown timer that's destined for every tech and consumer oriented website on these here Internets. Since Engadget maintains a strict editorial separation from advertising, there's no way for us to know for sure if this is legit. However, we reached out to Notebook.com who gave us a very convincing backstory for how they came up with this timer (that we saw working) showing a June 6th launch -- smack in the middle of the June 5th and June 7th dates rumored. Still, a Saturday? How very un-Sprint-like. Come on Palm, out with it already -- make the date official.
Japanese Final Fantasy XIII site spoils countdown surprise
Thanks to the official Japanese Final Fantasy XIII website we now have some idea of what to expect when those countdown timers finish on Thursday. While the North American and European countdowns were shrouded in mystery, the Japanese site isn't nearly as vague. The countdown (which ends at the same time as the other two) points directly to the "trailers" section of the website.So, expect to see at least one trailer once the countdown ends tomorrow. We expect it'll be the one shown in the Closed Mega Theatre at Tokyo Game Show last year, but hopefully there'll be something new in there too. Who knows, maybe we'll even see some gameplay footage. Yeah, we're not holding our breath.[Via Siliconera]
Final Fantasy XIII countdown promises 'a new vision'
Fancy another countdown? Square-Enix is happy to oblige. The official European Final Fantasy XIII website now features a ticking clock which promises to end on January 28th at 4pm GMT. What happens then? Apparently "a new vision will soon be revealed to the world." If you don't want to risk relying on your memory you can register your details and Square-Enix will email you a reminder when the countdown ends.We've no clue what this could be. We already know the game won't be out in Europe or the US until 2010, so this seems a little early to start hyping the game up. More than likely it'll be the same info that's been revealed in Famitsu over the last month. We'll find out what it is for sure next Thursday.Update: America also has its own countdown page. Square Enix says it's "the first of many countdowns to come."[Via CVG]
Great, another Sega countdown; Marvelous, too
Sega's got another teaser page up, with a countdown set to expire in 10 days and a handful of hours. All we know is that there's a pixelated mushroom and that the "produce" belongs to Phantasy Star Universe's Takayo Myoshi. Perhaps it'll be the first game that mushrooms can play. If that's not enough countdown for you, Marvelous has one, too. The page features a floating Triforce-infused medallion, which means that whatever the announcement ends up being, you'll be disappointed that it's not Legend of Zelda.Source - Sega teaserSource - Marvelous teaser
Ninja Heroes 2 makers put up countdown website
The makers of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Forest, CyberConnect2, are planning to unveil something soon. At the moment, we don't know what that 'something' is; however, we will know that info within the next four days when this countdown off the CyberConnect2 website runs out. It's interesting to note that since making the .hack titles for PS2, CC2 has shifted its focus onto Naruto titles for both the PS3 and PSP in 2008. The impending revelation could be related to either Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3 or Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Forest for the PSP (the only two titles from CC2 in 08'). It's possibly related to DLC for either title, or it could be something completely different. We'll keep watch. In the meantime, discuss.[Thanks erico316!]
Ultimate Ninja Storm makers put up countdown website
The makers of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, CyberConnect2, are planning to unveil something soon. At the moment, we don't know what that 'something' is; however, we will know that info within the next four days when this countdown off the CyberConnect2 website runs out. It's interesting to note that since making the .hack titles for PS2, CC2 has shifted its focus onto Naruto titles for both the PS3 and PSP in 2008. The impending revelation could be related to either Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3 or Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Forest for the PSP (the only two titles from CC2 in 08'). It's possibly related to DLC for either title, or it could be something completely different. We'll keep watch. In the meantime, discuss.[Thanks erico316!]
The winner of the Mark Jacobs Award for Corporate Community Achievement is...
Yes, you didn't blink when you read the title. Of course, the award was made by Alex Litel of "Bell, Game, and Candle" at GameSetWatch and it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but it really shows how connected Jacobs is with all of the Warhammer Online hype.Litel's article showcases the many press release quotes that just make you tilt your head in confusion and wonder why exactly someone wrote that for marketing purposes. Quotes such as Cliffy B calling the original Gears of War "...just a tease, an appetizer to Gears of War characters and new style of gameplay" just to ramp up marketing for Gears of War 2.Litel inserted the Mark Jacobs award because he thought it would be unfair to include Mark Jacob's quotes in with the other quotes he gathered. With all of the passion Mark puts behind his marketing promises, including Jacobs's quotes would turn the article into a countdown of Mark Jacobs moments. So, the quotes were left out, but the spirit of Jacobs remained alive and well.If you want to see all 50 quotes, and which quote got the coveted award, head on over to GameSetWatch and check out Litel's article. We certainly got a few chuckles out of it.
Sony teaser site says "revolutionary new VAIO" coming January 9th
Look, we're not going to speculate on what Sony has coming on January 9th. Let's just say that it wouldn't be totally surprising to see some weird, long netbook. Okay? Okay.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
XBLA's Quarrel will Countdown to a Risky Scrabble
Denki, the Dundee-based developer behind the well-received GBA puzzler Denki Blocks, might just be the Girl Talk of board game mash-ups. Their upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, Quarrel, is an amalgam of three "off-the-grid" titles: Risk, Scrabble and Countdown (a popular UK game show). The game, which is Denki's first title in seven years, is reportedly about a year away -- but gaming news site Square-Go got their hands on an early build of Quarrel in order to see just how these three great tastes taste together. The main objective of the game is to gain control of territories (in Risk-esque fashion). Skirmishes between players are hashed out in a round of Countdown, where players make words out of tiles, which are assigned different point values (ala Scrabble). Further strategy includes managing the number of "quarrelers" you have stationed at a particular territory -- more quarrelers means more tiles with which to form longer, point-garnering words. A game where vocabulary, not physical prowess, dictates strength? It's a pulchritudinous dream come true![Via GamerBytes]
Wrath of the Lich King: Pre-launch roundup
So hey, it's really happening. Sure, Wrath went live in Europe already (kind of like those raid bosses and world firsts, huh?) but it's about to go live in about an hour stateside. Well, it's ground zero. We over here at WoW Insider went a little crazy with some giveaways, while silly little 7-11 jumped the gun and sold stocks earlier than was allowed. It's been kind of a whirlwind. Let's take a look at all the stuff that's happened this month leading up to Wrath of the Lich King.COUNTDOWN TO WRATH Of course, this November, we celebrated our excitement by giving away lots of swag in our Countdown to Wrath contests. And I mean lots. We gave away some Collector's Edition boxes, some pre-paid game cards, a few Polar Bear Mounts, and some super sweet Razer gaming accessories. Cool, right? Well, guess what. We're not yet done. Keep your eyes peeled for more contests to come. A couple of guys got in line really early in New York. You know the drill. Those guys wouldn't have had to wait in line so long if they had just swung by a 7-11, which apparently sold a whole lot of copies ahead of schedule. Some people needn't even venture out of the house, actually. Blizzard (inadvertently) made the game available for download despite announcing the contrary. You'll still need a CD-key, though. As if you needed any more incentive, there have been a bunch of deals for Wrath all over the world. With all this excitement, the fully packed launches, and Collector's Editions selling out everywhere, the analysts seem to be right on the money by predicting that Wrath will sell five million copies within one month. If you're wondering why Blizzard bothers to sell boxes at all, maybe this article about Activision-Blizzard's September results will clear things up for you. Mike will be documenting his installation of Wrath as well as the first few minutes of his time in Northrend through a live netcast on ustream. If you don't have the game yet and want to live vicariously, it's really something worth checking out. If you don't want to feel the pain of watching Mike install and play live, you can always check out the Wrath installation gallery. It's kind of the same thing, but less drool-inducing. On the other hand, if you're a real glutton for punishment, you can drool over the unboxing of a Collector's Edition box in this video by some lucky guy who's sitting comfortably at home waiting for Northrend to unlock. Blizzard is getting ready to migrate everyone to the new and improved Battle.net. Well, everyone except those guys they banned for cheating. You know, if you've been paying attention to WoW Insider, you really should have been preparing for Wrath all this time.
Wrath manual hidden in latest WoW files
If you just can't wait to read the Wrath of the Lich King manual, Maeglin of Khadgar made an interesting discovery -- it's already on your computer. Inside your World of Warcraft folder, if you go to the Data folder, and then "enUS" and Documentation, you'll see a PDF file called Manual_WLK. It's the Wrath manual in black and white -- there are good writeups in there (spoiler-free, as far as I could tell) on the story so far and Northrend, and some cool concept art for weapons and other sights of the next expansion. The credits are in there, too, and make sure to go to the very end to read all the thanks from Blizzard -- some of them are pretty funny.This likely isn't the final manual -- there's something in the Death Knight description that still says runes can be customized, and while we heard that earlier in development, it's since been removed from the class. And it's in black and white, while we'd expect the full manual to have color when it's finally printed. But it's a cool find, and something to tide you over until you can get the real thing on release day (which, as you can see from our countdown, is growing ever closer).Thanks, Wes R.!
