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Final Fantasy XI Fan Festival 2008 website goes live
The official website for Square Enix's yearly fan-gathering for the Final Fantasy XI dedicated, Fan Festive 2008, is now open. This year's event is being held at the Renaissance Hollywood, Southern California and is only 54 days away with the whole thing kicking off on Friday, December 5th. There's a giveaway featuring an ultra-cute Nomad Moogle Sheild and other bits. In addition to the giveaway there will be contests aplenty. Attendees can expect a fan art contest to enter drawings and sculptures into as well as a costume contest. And finally, it wouldn't be complete without a sneak peek at an upcoming version update and a developer panel.With all the current hubbub about BlizzCon 08, it's always nice to see community gatherings for other MMOs are as strong as ever before. We hope everyone at Fan Festival 2008 has a wonderful time, although we're sure that they will regardless of our say in the matter.%Gallery-10466%
Passes on sale for The Party at the Top of the World
CCP has finally opened their war declaration on boring game conventions, opening up the sales for the much-anticipated passes to the EVE Online Fan Fest. Also known as "The Party at the Top of the World", this year's Fan Fest looks to be a continuation of the excitement and fun of years past! Events scheduled for this year include all the regular events that EVE Online fans have come to love, such as PvP tournaments, lots of different presentations and panels, the Jita meetup and a silent auction. Additionally, this year players will get a chance to check out a special hands-on demo of the incoming Ambulation technology, which will allow players to finally break free of their pods! (You know, without the use of someone else's weaponry.)Passes are on sale for $75 USD, which nets you a confirmation code to bring to the event for badge pickup. Spouse passes aren't available yet, but will only be available if you've already purchased a regular EVEnt pass. Also, if you need travel and hotel there are still some spots open in Icelandair's group packages, so be sure to book soon before they all run out!
Square Enix's next MMO may not be Final Fantasy related
In a recent discussion with Gamasutra at the Final Fantasy XI Fanfest, the developers behind FFXI confirmed that they are still working on a new MMO, but revealed that it might not be a part of the Final Fantasy series -- and then again, it might be. Producer of FFXI and Square Enix vice president Hiromichi Tanaka said that the new game could either be part of the FF series, a sequel to an existing FF game, or something entirely new.The Gamasutra interview also includes comments from the dev team about World of Warcraft and how they feel it has impacted their game. Their answer? Not much. They note that FFXI was at its peak in subscribers close to WoW's launch, and there was no notable drop in numbers after the soon-to-be industry giant was released.
Make your own FFXI dungeons, Fan Fest recap
Writing for Gamastura, freelance writer Emily Balistrieri has a lengthy run-down on the biggest party of the year for Final Fantasy XI fans: Fan Fest. She offers up two features for the price of one. The first is an interview with some folks from the development team, including Hiromichi Tanaka, and Global Online Producer Sage Sundi. The second is a breakdown of the events of the Fest itself, from the introductory speech to the obligatory game music concert. Another very popular event returning from last year was held Friday at 3:00 PM: The Tarutaru Marathon. Registered players were each assigned one tiny, adorable, level one Tarutaru character to send hurtling through a perilous dungeon. Monsters there could smite these wimpy Tarutaru into dust with just one hit, so stealth -- well, more so just running like hell -- played a big part in advancing the furthest. No one actually managed to cure the goal Galka character before the 20 minutes was over, but the closest three were awarded pretty sweet tech prizes. In fact, the top prize for many of the contests was a new PC.One additional element not covered in her writeup, but touched on in an update to the official site: the prospect of player-created dungeons! This idea is so out there that the language on the site sounds especially cautious:The development team hinted at the possibility of a function that would allow players to design their own dungeons. These adventurer-created dungeons could then be attempted by and traded between friends. However,this idea is still in the early planning stages, and there is a chance it may not come to fruition.If this was of interest, don't forget to check out our own Jason Dobson's gallery of photos from the event, and his own chat with the dev team.
Final Fantasy XI Fan Fest 2007 gallery, from cosplay to concert
While we enjoyed speaking with the Final Fantasy XI dev team regarding the MMO and its latest expansion, Wings of the Goddess, that was certainly not all that took place during the Final Fantasy XI Fan Festival 2007 in Anaheim, CA. From seeing planner Kenichi Iwao in a samurai helmet to rubbing elbows with more cosplayers than I care to admit, this past weekend's event was certainly a memorable experience, and we have the pictures here to prove it. Our thanks to event attendee Johnathan Perkins for the above pose, which had us rolling.Mithra tail-grabbing antics aside, other highlights include a costume contest that saw an attendee dressed as the venerable Cid taking first prize, as well as an eclectic concert featuring both North American video game cover band The Smash Bros. and The Star Onion's own Kumi Tanioka. Click through to feel as if you were there, one frame at a time.%Gallery-10466%
Final Fantasy Fan Fest reveals new expansion details
We've already talked about the big news from this past weekend's Final Fantasy XI Fan Fest - the announcement of the Scholar class. We've also noted the ease with which you can revisit the game, as deleted characters can be restored for folks coming back. But there were several other minor details dropped by the Square/Enix folks in the last few days.A few of the moves for the other new class, the Dancer, were announced. They'll be a front-line melee class - hitting mobs to build up TP, and then expending it to fuel their healing dances and enfeebling steps.Some more random details were also announced, affecting all players, like the expansion of the macro pallet to 4000 buttons. Little things make the game, right? I know I for one will be happy that players can now invite others into their Mog houses.The developers also confirmed what everyone already assumed, that portals to the past will be opening across Vana'diel. Known as 'cavernous maws', they will allow adventurers to move some twenty years into the gameworld's past.Finally (just in case you'd forgotten), the game will be shipping on or around the 20th of this month. There are so many new features that all players (regardless of whether or not they're buying the expansion) will need to endure a pair of updates. The first dropped earlier this week, while the next is scheduled for about the 12th.
EVE Fan Fest Details
EVE Online's annual Fan Fest kicked off on Thursday, and reports are now streaming out to the web about what a good time everyone is having without us. Winterblink has been one of the most prolific posters, with wrap-ups of Day One and Day Two of events there, as well as some information on the upcoming EVE novel. Destructoid's Aaron Linde is reporting from the ground as well.EVE Vault has a great gallery of photos up from the festivities, including a great shot of Dr. Bartle's lecture to the masses. It sounds like it was very interesting, but the man himself sounds like he may have been a bit put off by the setting.Sounds downright fascinating. For more of a sense of what's going on this weekend, check out the official Fan Fest trailer.
EVE Fan Fest is here
Amarr and Minmatar come together at the top of the world for what CCP touts as a "party like no other." For those of you not familiar with EVE Online, this means that the 2007 Fan Fest has started in CCP's hometown of Reykjavik, Iceland. And from the sounds of it, this one is going to be a lot of fun!While I didn't have the clams to travel to the Fan Fest this year (and you know, busy with this really massive new site that y'all should check out) I have to admit, it looks like something I would totally get into. The Fan Fest boasts lots of great events for Gallente and Caldari alike to get together over a glass of Quafe and get either their battle or their business on. The event hosts a huge PvP tournament, round-table discussions, panels, and what looks to be a seriously kickin' dancefloor in a new venue.For those of curious, you can find all the details here. And to all of you going, be sure to have some Quafe for me, eh?
