Hasta La Gadget!

Square Enix has pulled the veil off the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box, a massive collection spanning most of the main series. Sadly, spin-off titles such as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Final Fantasy Tactics seem to be missing from this compilation, but all of the main series games to Final Fantasy XIII are present. It sounds like the perfect collection for die-hard Final Fantasy fans, but it’s going to cost quite a bit of money if you want to take one home with you.

Andriasang says that the Final Fantasy Ultimate Box will cost ¥35,000 in Japan, which works out to right around $447. That’s assuming that it even makes it to the United States, as at the moment, the Final Fantasy Ultimate Box is only confirmed for Japan. There’s no word on if it will launch in other regions yet, but it wouldn’t surprise us to hear that Squeenix wants to keep this Japan-only.

The first nine Final Fantasy titles will be offered on PS1 discs (with Final Fantasy VII through IX spanning four discs each) except for Final Fantasy III, which is included as a PSP game. Final Fantasy X, XI (Vana’diel Collection 2 to be specific) and XII are on PS2, and finally, we’ve got Final Fantasy XIII on PS3. It wouldn’t be much of an “Ultimate Box” if it only included games though, so Square Enix has added a number of extras, including an anniversary video, an art collection dubbed “Crystal ArtWorks,” a two-disc anniversary soundtrack, and a “mini replica of Amano FF 25th Anniversary visual.”

It definitely isn’t a bad collection, and it’ll be hitting Japan on December 18. It will only be available on the Square Enix e-Shop, which reinforces the idea that this is a very limited release. If that’s the case, then it isn’t looking good for a US or European release, but Square Enix might just surprise us – it is Final Fantasy‘s 25th Anniversary, after all. Keep it tuned to SlashGear, as we’ll have more information for you once there are new details to share.

Final Fantasy Ultimate Box collection heading to Japan is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

To mark 25 years of dungeon crawling (and soft-resetting), Square-Enix has packaged together all of its core Final Fantasy titles for this elaborate fan-baiting package. Alongside discs for Final Fantasies I through XIII, the games-maker has packaged a numbered presentation plaque — replete with new artwork from renowned character artist Yoshitaka Amano — alongside a two-disc soundtrack and commemorative DVD. The price of a limited-edition slice of Final Fantasy heritage? A total of 35,000 gil yen, (around $450) will net you the compilation, which lands on December 18th. Japan residents can hit the source for preorder details, while global enthusiasts can read up on the full title (and format) breakdown — there’s no news of an international release just yet.

Filed under: Gaming

Final Fantasy Ultimate Box goes from PSOne to PS3: All 13 games for $450 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eager to get your hands on a top-of-the-line set without shelling out five figures for a super-slick 55-inch OLED? Sony’s Bravia HX950 may have caught your eye, with its Intelligent Peak LED Backlight that’s said to deliver “the best contrast Sony has to offer.” According to representatives at IFA (who don’t always tend to offer the most consistent specifications), the full-array system includes 196 individual zones, letting the television adjust backlighting on a more granular level, resulting in brighter whites and deeper blacks. We caught up with both the 55- and 65-inch flavors of Sony’s HX950 at the company’s booth, where several demo stations were arranged to highlight the backlighting, along with features called 3D Super-Resolution, Internet Video Super Resolution and HD Super Resolution. All of the side-by-side demonstrations provided noticeable improvements, though all three Super Resolution settings may be a tad too sharp for some viewers.

The set itself is as gorgeous as you’d expect for a flagship model, with a black glossy bezel and a narrow design that’s sufficiently svelte without stepping into ultra-thin territory. The specially designed glass panel does indeed help to reduce glare, as we experienced in the visually congested IFA booth. Perhaps most interesting is the price — €2,999 (about $3,800) for the 55-inch model, and €4,999 (about $6,300) for the 65 incher — a steep drop from the 650,000 yen (about $8,270) the HDTV is commanding in Japan. We weren’t able to confirm US availability or pricing, which will likely come in below the European tag, but reps did quote a November 1st ship date, which seems to be in line with the November 10th date we heard for Japan earlier this week. You’ll have but two months to wait before adding this monster to your collection, but you can snag a look today in our gallery below and hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Sony demos Bravia HX950 flagship HDTV at IFA, confirms pricing from €2,999 (hands-on video)

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD

Sony demos Bravia HX950 flagship HDTV at IFA, confirms pricing from €2,999 (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While it might not be as huge as the Super Hi Vision panel lingering in the same darkened theater, Panasonic’s new 103-inch demonstration display has the ability to offer up a 3D view to five different viewers — as long as they’re in the right visual sweet spot. The effect is subtle, natural, although colors felt little bit muted compared to the 145-inch prototype, with the demo videos drawing us in to its demo reel, rather than pushing out an image. The plasma display panel prototype is also glasses-free, with the 4K2K screen able to push out enough pixels to offer these multiple viewing angles. Again, there’s no substitute for being there yourself.

Filed under: Displays, HD

Panasonic’s 103-inch glasses-less 3D plasma panel arrives at IFA (eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Emergency services are embracing technology as new ways to investigate, send alerts and receive reports of crises. And now, the Japanese are looking at social networks to support communication in disaster scenarios, especially when traditional services fail. The local Fire and Disaster Management Agency put together a panel discussion on just that topic, with representatives attending from the likes of Twitter, Yahoo, Mixi and NHN Japan, as well as various government and emergency bodies. The talk was motivated, in part, by the March tsunami, when the internet was the sole means of information for some, and with initiatives like Google’s Person Finder playing a role in the aftermath. Any formal implementation of the ideas discussed is probably a long way off, and this is the first of three planned meets to hash it out. In the meantime, however, Twitter’s Japanese blog posted some suggestions on how their network could be used in emergencies — we just hope they won’t be needed anytime soon.

Filed under: Internet

Japan considers using social networks in disaster situations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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