[OMG] Tetsuya Nomura Talks FFVII Remake

Ok, I'll let you down slow, first. That headline is... rather misleading, yes.

When the premier Square Enix art director spoke to Japanese gaming pub Famitsu recently, he wasn't confirming that they were considering remaking one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time, he instead gave some insight into why it'll never happen. :[

Read on to see what the zipper-happy character designer had to say - there's also a previously unheard behind-the-scenes tidbit about FFVII that may interest you... :]

[UPDATE] 38 Studios Pleads with R.I. Gov't for More Assistance

Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, center, is followed by members of the media as he departs the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation headquarters, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling asked Rhode Island for additional help to save his video game company Wednesday, prompting state leaders to consider whether the firm is viable enough to justify further investment.

[BEHOLD] Halo 4's Box Art Revealed

There she is. The Halo 4 box art. Mmmm.

Snippets of this overall image were sent to Xbox Live users earlier today, requiring them to put their pieces together to make the magic you see above (ew, that sounded dirty.) 

Wait - how, exactly, does Master Chief's armor keep getting upgraded? As I understood it, he was on the other end of the galaxy - faaaar, far from any humans that could provide him with a shiny, new set.

This reeks of retcon... 

To quote NeoGAFfer "monsterfracas": "Got to say, that is some fine boxart."

Yes, yes it is.

SOURCE: NeoGAF

[UPDATE] R.I. Gov't: Kingdoms of Amalur's 38 Studios in trouble

Screenshot from 38 Studios' Kingdoms of Amalur

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Associated Press) — Rhode Island leaders are working to help former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's video game company remain viable after it failed to make a scheduled $1.125 million payment to the state's economic development agency.

[WATCH] Leaked Beyond Good & Evil 2 Footage

Take a spinning tour around this back-alley market from Beyond Good & Evil 2 - the exorbitant amount of detail and rich texturing was rendered using the in-game engine

What a rollercoaster ride this one's been - Beyond Good & Evil made a quiet splash when it dropped for all the last-gen platforms in 2003. 

A messianic sequel has long been rumored, but official announcements and concrete details are scant and fleeting, leading many to wonder where the projects stands today.

Currently, EGMNow's getting riled again over footage that surfaced on Unseen64. Ubisoft lead Michel Ancel claims the clip is from 2009 (above). Read more to see more video of BG&E2 that has trickled in over the last few years.

[WHOA] XBLA Minecraft Breaks Day One Digital Sales Records

One hour - that's all it took before Minecraft started officially filling Notch's wallet. No more than 60 minutes after the block-stacking smash hit made its XBLA debut, profit had surpassed the budget of even the PC version, which was millions.

[WATCH] Diablo 3's Animated Short, "Wrath", from Titmouse

Diablo is coming...

... In about a week. BUT - here's something that might tide you over: a six-minute animated short from Titmouse Inc., of Metalocalypse fame. 

Borrowing heavily from Eastern stylings - who doesn't nowadays - the plot follows Tyrael, Archangel of Justice and a recurring character in the Diablo series, and his angelic comrades. 

The production quality is reminiscent of Avatar - which stands high above material from other Western studios.

Diablo 3 will descend from a swirling, fiery rift in the sky on May 15. Enjoy!

SOURCE: Joystiq

Play Diablo 3 This Weekend Only

Blizzard's open beta for Diablo 3 kicked off at 3 p.m. Friday. If you weren't one of the lucky kids to get a golden ticket for the closed beta last month, now's your chance to get your grind on.

Anyone with a Battle.net account can join - if you don't have an account, click here to set up a new one. Each account can hold five characters up to level 13.

The beta will only run through 1 p.m. EST on Monday, April 23 so make sure you stop by your local Mountain Dew retailer before your weekend bender.

Diablo 3 is set to be released May 15, to a moaning, odorous sea of outstretched arms.

SOURCE: EGMNow

Hands-On with Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

In case you hadn't heard, Level-5's Studio Ghibli collabo, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, is coming stateside Q1 2013. That means we get all its hype-a-licious trailers in our native tongues - for better or for worse. 

That also means American vidya journo outlets will start getting their time in on Namco Bandai's demo unit. Siliconera posted their 20-minute joyride with the game that is shaping up to be the pinnacle of the JRPG.

Halo 4 Announcement on Tuesday's Conan

Word on tha street is 343 Industries are planning to make an announcement regarding Halo 4 on Conan O'Brien's late night talk show.

Skyrim + Kinect = FUS ROH MY GOD YES

Look here. Look at this video above. Consume it. 

This is why you bought Kinect - aside from Kinectimals. After mysteriously trademarking "Fus Ro Dah" yesterday, Bethesda announced today via press release that its 2011 Game of the Year will soon enjoy Kinect voice command support for the Xbox 360 version.

[LISTEN] To Halo 4's Soundtrack

Meet Neil Davidge, the Halo franchise's new composer

Bungie no longer owns the rights to the Halo franchise and 343 Industries is the new sheriff in Blood Gulch. You may be wondering what's going to happen to the series' iconic soundtrack, now that Bungie's Martin O'Donnell will no longer be scoring the Master Chief saga.

Filling in for Marty and his liberal use of E Dorian is Neil Davidge, formerly of Massive Attack. He's joined by orchestrator/arranger Matt Dunkely, of Inception, Black Swan and The Dark Knight. Davidge says their direction for Halo 4's soundtrack is less of a "revolution" and more of an "evolution."

Read on for more details on Davidge and have a preliminary listen of one of Halo 4's finished tracks.

[RUMOR] Next Xbox has no disc drive

We've already learned that something about the Xbox 720 would undermine the used game market. It was initially speculated that there would be some sort of rights management that could detect a used disc in the machine.

Now, following information from a heavily-NDA'd source, British gaming pub MCV is reporting that Microsoft's next-gen console might shun disc media entirely.