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Final Fantasy XIV patch 1.23 scheduled for July 26th
Final Fantasy XIV Executive Producer Naoki Yoshida has a few words for die-hard fans of the title: "Rebirth, challenge, reform, and -- last but not least -- Final Fantasy." This is in reference to the game's upcoming version 2.0 launch, which will happen not only in existing territories but also in the brand-new region of China (brand-new to Square-Enix, that is; China's been around for a few years now). In a new producer's letter, Yoshida promises a "flood of info" from now until the relaunch. The first part of that flood is news that patch 1.23 will be going live on July 26th. The patch centers around an epic battle that will cap the current storyline, as well as a new skirmish and the summer festival. Also coming to the game are skimpy bathrobes known as yukata. As you can see above, they're not for the modest amongst us!
The DS Life: Holding handhelds in public
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.Every July, over a million visitors flock to Osaka's Tenjin Matsuri, a thousand-year-old tradition and one of Japan's three biggest festivals. The city's streets are choked with wandering crowds, food vendors, and parading pageants; police officers struggle just to keep the flood of people in order. At the chaotic celebration's edges, though, quiet, romantic moments can still be found.
NIS America to sell DS Lite kimono cover
NIS America just opened their own online shop, and it's already decently stocked with neat stuff. This kimono-style DS Lite cover isn't exactly one of them right now-- it's available for preorder only-- but as soon as it's available we're considering getting one. The cover comes in eight colors, all of which add an air of serene beauty to your DS as well as a barrier against unwanted contact. Touching is good, unless it's your keys "touching" your DS in your pocket.[Via Game|Life]
Yukata-clad robots party down in Tokyo
While these robotic creatures don't have such lofty goals as colonizing the moon or caring for the elderly, there's nothing wrong with teaching a new 'bot old tricks, especially when it can turn around and teach actual humans how to bust a move. In the latest episode of Japanese robotics completely outshining the rest of the world's attempts, a group of children (and a few parents) gathered around a "wa" -- better understood as a dancing robot all dressed up for the occasion -- to bring out a gyrating side they never knew possible. The 35-centimeter tall dancing machine reportedly sports a face, arms, legs, and most of the phalanges you'd expect to see, as well as "joints" throughout the frame to give it lifelike abilities while breaking it down. While we're not exactly sure how this little guy (or girl) was programmed, nor if it would make a suitable practice partner for the vertically challenged, the possibilities here are limited only by our imagination (and its battery life). It seems that we're getting ever closer to relying on robots to convey meaningful information to other humans autonomously, and while learning how to get down on the dance floor from something that needs to be routinely oiled may seem a bit, um, unnatural, we hear the wa does an excellent job at holding back the laughter when you take a spill (and doesn't charge by the hour, either).[Via Digital World Tokyo]
