With Final Fantasy XIII finally releasing in North America, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada has touched upon the always controversial decision to port the game to Xbox 360. According to Wada, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. His team wanted to do it, and the install base was such that it was essentially a no-brainer.

“The Xbox team has been asking us to have a [Final Fantasy] game developed on our platform,” explains Wada. “Also, the Xbox 360

While Black might not have blown people away as much as the hype leading up to might have made us believe it would, it was still a technically impressive FPS and those behind it showed true potential. So it shouldn’t be that surprising that people are looking forward to the devs behind it next game, which OXM seems to have accidentally outed.

In a post that has since been taken down (here is the Google cache) the magazine’s online component announced that the next issue would be revealing all about the game. The game is being developed by Codemasters Guilford, which has brought in several of the team members from Black including Stuart Black. There is no other information shared in the post, but they do state that if you like shooting guns and destroying things you’re probably going to enjoy Bodycount.

Let’s cut right to the chase: Boulder Dash is getting yet another revival. Xbox LIVE Arcade is the place, Q3 of this year is the time, and Catnip Games is the handler of development duties.

No screenshots were given out, but we did get a nice piece of Rockford art. On the off chance that the people who are making this game read this and are open to advice: guys, please don’t go overboard with the art style. Less is more for these newly-updated old-school games, trust me.

Usually, I’m all about bringing enthusiasm to the table — not this time, sadly. Boulder Dash is one of those games I don’t have any fond memories of from my childhood. It was before my time, honest! So really, the most excitement I have the ability to muster up is “okay, sure.”

Via Destructoid

While Epicenter’s Rock of the Dead has only been announced for the Wii, the developer states “there’s no reason why” we couldn’t see it on other platforms.

Talking with Epicenter’s Bryan Jury for my preview, I’m told that there’s a definite possibility we could be seeing its “kill monsters with your guitar peripheral” on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

“We’re also looking into other platforms as well,” he tells me. “Nothing’s finalized at this point, but we feel like there’s no reason why this kind of gameplay wouldn’t be able to work on other platforms with, you know, the obvious graphical and other enhancements. We’re definitely checking out all of our options at this point.”

When the game was first announced for the Wii, my reactions were blended. The concept certainly appealed to me, but since I do my rock gaming exclusively on another platform, I thought I’d be left out in the cold. Judging from your comments on our preview, you felt the same way. According to Jury, they’re listening.

“People listen, publishers listen, people with money actually do listen and read message boards,” he admits. “And because people were really interested in this game for the 360 and PS3, we are talking to people to actually bring it out on those platforms.”

I also wondered if there’d be any chance I could use my other peripherals — a microphone or even a drum set — to rock the dead. I advocate letting out a blood-curdling metal howl, in the style of Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, to explode a zombie’s skull. Jury laughs at my brilliant idea, and admits that it’s something the team had considered.

“These are things we’ve completely explored,” he states, “and kind of seen how it plays out. Currently we only have guitar support, but you never know what we’ll be able to announce in the next couple of months.”

In the meantime, I’ll work on my falsetto. Just in case.

Via Destructoid

Hiding in the bushes just off the lake, I could see them. They were having a good time, listening to music and dancing in the cabin, but it wouldn’t be that way for long. Knowing that they always had to have things perfect, I went to the

Square Enix has confirmed the first details on the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition, which is set for a European release on March 26.

The package will come with six extra challenge maps on the disc, which is set to hit Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Personal computer. The maps will have players facing off against Arkham’s inmates in locales such as Crime Alley and Scarecrow’s Nightmare.

But beyond that, the game will also support 3D on all three platforms. Citing an “innovative new technology” called “TriOviz 3D,” console players will be able to view the game in 3D, compatible with standard definition and HDTV sets.

The Arkham Asylum GOTY will ship with a pair of 3D glasses, insuring that you’ll see Bats and the Joker in all their 3D glory. No word on whether or not insurance will cover migraine treatment as a result.

Via Destructoid

Remember those old-timey fragfest FPSes? The ones that got your mouse-palm all sweaty as you reduced opponents to giblets and sprays of viscera on poorly textured arena walls? A new (old) one is set to hit Xbox LIVE Arcade and PSN. It’s called Nexuiz, and if you’re familiar with the Computer scene, you might have checked it out.

Developed now by IllFonic, Nexuiz is the kind of teeth-rattling FPS experience that isn’t too common on the downloadable platforms. It was originally an Alientrap Software open-source joint, but now IllFonic is taking it to the next level, polishing up the visuals and ostensibly making it a console-friendly experience. Anticipate it to hit at some point in 2010.

Via Destructoid

The headline basically states it all. Enterbrain has released the Japanese lifetime sales numbers for the current generation of home consoles,

and here’s how it all plays out as of February 28th:

Wii: 10,007,736

PS3: 4,766,408

Xbox 360: 1,235,049

The Wii took 170 weeks to break the 10 million mark, which was 39 weeks longer than the PS2 took back in the day. They’re not “winning” by any means, but it’s nice to see that the Xbox 360 passed the 1 million mark. Microsoft made a mark with their system, perhaps gaining a foothold for their next release.

Japan: Lifetime Wii, PS3, 360 Sales Revealed [EDGE], photo via Akibablog

Via Destructoid

This week’s Deal of the Week isn’t a 3D Realms or an EA DICE joint. Hell, it’s not even a downloadable game or add-on. According to Major Nelson, this week’s offer at a reduced price is Gears of War Avatar crap. Until next Monday, Gold members can download the COG armor and decorative helmet for 240 MSP and 80 MSP respectively in the Avatar Marketplace.

We’re not sure what kind of savings this is. We’re not nerd enough to consider making our digital likenesses look like nerds. That’s not to halt you though. Do your thing and be proud. Nerd.

Deal of the Week: Gears of War Avatar Items [Major Nelson]

Via Destructoid

[UPDATE: OMG THIS IS LIEK SO TERRIBLY OLD. By the way, the "Top Secret" beta was for Blur.]

Our console MMO sense is tingling. This afternoon, FilePlanet announced that it has coupled with a “secret partner” in order to offer Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers a shot at an exclusive beta. The catch is that you’ll need sign up. The kicker is that all the available spots are now full. No beta for you.

So what’s this thing? We’re not sure, but it seems like it’s time for Cryptic Studios’ MMO Champions On the web to finally hit the console. We’ve asked Atari and haven’t heard back as of press time. However, we’ll know soon enough: “gameplay” is in this exclusive beta is slated to start today.

FilePlanet Exclusive Xbox 360 Beta Event [FilePlanet]

Via Destructoid