Sony Online Entertainment has announced plans to offer up a free-to-play model for its PC and PS3 MMO, DC Universe Online.
Starting in October, basic access to the game will be free, while paying customers will be able to hold onto more inventory, virtual currency and create more characters either by paying a monthly fee or upgrading by micro-transactions.
DC Universe Online launched last January with a standard monthly fee. The announcement puts DCUO in line with several other massively multiplayer online games that are moving to free-to-play models. Competing superhero MMO City of Heroes is also moving to a free model later this year, as is Star Trek Online.
Square Enix has announced a release date for Final Fantasy XIII-2, the direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. Japan will get the game by the end of the year, on December 15, 2011. The rest of the world will have to wait a little longer — North America will see FF13-2 on January 31, 2012, while Europe will have to wait until February 3.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 takes place three years after the events of the first game, and focuses on the search for Lightning, the first game’s protagonist, by her sister Serah and a new character. Much of the game’s development has focused on improving the gameplay style of the original based on feedback from players.
Here’s the latest trailer for Final Fantasy XIII-2 from the Tokyo Game Show (TGS).
Microsoft has announced that the Fable series will have another installment next year, a spin-off for the Kinect for Xbox 360.
The game, Fable: The Journey, will make use of Kinect gestures, in particular hand movements, as the game’s primary controls. The gameplay appears to be that of a rail game, where the character is directed along a path and interactions are made with objects entering the character’s range.
More on Fable: The Journey and other RPG news from E3 as we get it.
Getting ready for next week’s E3 exhibition, Square Enix has released a new teaser trailer for Final Fantasy XIII-2.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is under development for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. From the looks of it, the battle system and graphics will be similar to its predecessor. However, according to Square Enix, the game will be superior to the original Final Fantasy XIII.
Enjoy the trailer. More on Final Fantasy XIII-2 as we get it!
BioWare announced this week that its upcoming Mass Effect 3 will be shown off at E3 this year, and then subsequently announced its delay to early 2012.
The game was initially promoted with a holiday 2011 release date, but BioWare has pushed the date back into Q1 2012. The company cites a focus on product quality as its reason for the delay.
For those dying to see what Mass Effect 3 has to offer, June will bring more. Mass Effect 3 is listed as one of the featured games for BioWare at the E3 event, which will be held June 7-9 in Los Angeles.
Square Enix has announced a sequel to its most recent single-player flagship Final Fantasy title. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
The game was announced at a press conference this week with a new FF13-2 trailer. Not many details about the game are known, except for what can be derived from the trailer. Lightning will be back, along with a new character shown alongside her in the logo and in the trailer.
FF13-2 is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, which was released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2009. Direct sequels are uncommon for Final Fantasy games, though recently more titles have seen them.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is due out next Winter for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
