I guess after all these years, Sega still really sucks at advertising their stuff. Sonic Colors’ lead designer Takashi Iizuka is talking down the upcoming Wii game saying that anybody that liked Sonic back on Genesis should stop looking forward to Colors and firmly tries to establish the game as a “children’s game.” Um… okay… all Sonic games are technically children’s games though. Here’s the confusing ramblings of a crazy man who doesn’t like money that I’m talking about:

“We know there are sometimes opinions about control from core gamers, but we’re intending Sonic Colors to be played by children of probably between six and twelve years-old. So, with Sonic Colors we have aimed to make a game that everyone can control and have fun in. So, it’s not really a game for the core gamers. If you take the rail grind, it’s something that’s fast, not difficult but is fun to do and looks great. It’s about making a game that’s right for the core audience of the game.”

Uh huh… so what he’s saying is that this game is for 6 to 12-year olds, but is something everyone can control and have fun with, but is really not a game for core gamers. Dude, just say it’s like the daytime levels from Sonic Unleashed and people will be cool with it… as long as they fixed it up. Honestly, though, I was pretty interested in this game, but with the developer trying to make me not get excited for the game, I have a feeling its probably going to suck and he doesn’t want the backlash that comes with high hopes.

Bah, I’ll get it anyway. I want that awesome Sonic Hat.

Squeenix announced a new and exciting original game for the DS the other day, did you hear about it? Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light appears to be a(nother) remake of Final Fantasy 1 with the addition of the Crown System. The Crown System sounds like the system seen in the original FFIII, where you can change jobs by changing a character’s “crown.”

With all the creative power at Square Enix I was really hoping for a better offering than a low-rez rendition of a game I’ve played 20 years ago, but I would count it out just yet. Here’s hoping the Crown System has more to offer than what’s on the surface.

There’s been a lot of release dates changing recently with games moving back, games moving forward, developers growing a pair and moving closer to the holidays, it’s been pandamonium.

Anyway, now we know who’s behind it all: Professor Layton.

Now, after messing with the release dates of all these other games the professor has move the date of his own new game, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, up a week .

Who knows where he’ll strike next.

An interview with the president of developer Level-5 in the upcoming issue of Nintendo Power confirms that Ni no Kuni, the game being co-developped by the developer and Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli, will be released in the U.S.  While Level 5 does have an American presence (Dark Cloud, Professor Layton), many of their games have not been released stateside, making Ni no Kuni’s U.S. release far from certain.

Dragon Quest IX gameplay trailer

July 11th, people.   That’s when Dragon Quest IX hits the DS, and they’ve added a few twists this time around.  Character customization, of both your main character and party members.  Combined with a wireless “Tag Mode” (you can leave your DS on, and it will still transmit greetings, maps, and other data to anyone’s DS within tag range), downloadable content,  and up to 4 player cooperative play, Square Enix will have us forming parties and setting out for adventure in no time.

Lots of rumors have been floating about the upcoming 3DS, ranging from the system taking advantage of the NVIDIA Tegra mobile chipset (which is false) to the system playing  Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin Somethin’”  to wake you up in the morning (which I just made up).

But now the rumors are reaching a whole new level of crazy and legitimate at the same time. IGN is reporting that developers who have worked with the system have said the system’s power almost rivals that of an Xbox 360 or PS3, and far exceeds the Wii. Don’t shake your heads in denial so fast: it actually makes a lot of sense.

For any system, let alone a handheld system, to produce 3D stereoscopic effects, it must have enough power to produce two copies of the game field needed to create 3D objects. That’s a lot of power. However, as one can read from developers’ first impressions, the new DS has a ton of kick to it. Just keep in mind that “almost equal” power doesn’t translate to Xbox 360/PS3 level graphics. With all the power needed to produce 3D effects, the system’s graphical capabilities will be hampered. Hell, if we get PS2 caliber graphics out of the 3DS then we can consider that a gigantic achievement.

I can’t wait for E3 to get my hands on the damn thing. Hopefully the game’s graphical power will be able to counter the headache its 3D effects induce on me. How the system winds up landing in a reasonable price range ($200-$250) is beyond me. But if these reports continue to get crazier, it’s looking like the 3Ds won’t be.

Whoops, looks like somebody slipped up. It has been reported that Activision is working on a remake of GoldenEye for the Wii and DS, due out for release in November. Yes, that GoldenEye. Rare’s classic N64 game that changed the future of FPS games is being remade by Activision, “developed from the ground up” and will take “advantage of the latest technology to deliver the same intense experience with today’s graphics and physics. Umm .. I’m not sure if I want that. Especially if Activision is behind the helm. Development will be reportedly split between the British Eurocom and the US based n-Space (great…). Another big change will be the inclusion of Daniel Craig instead of Pierce Brosnan, which I’m also not sure if I like. Though I do admit that the possibility of a golden gun peripheral is pretty freaking sweet. Expect more details and an official reveal to come at E3.

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