Final Fantasy XIV has been given a release date, at least for its PC version. The Square Enix MMORPG will be out worldwide on September 22, 2010 for the Windows PC platform.

Meanwhile, the PS3 version needs more work, and Square Enix has delayed its release until March 2011.

Final Fantasy XIV will have a monthly fee of $12.99 U.S., with additional fees for adding extra characters.

Final Fantasy XIV is now available for pre-order from Amazon at, offering a standard edition for $50 U.S. and a collector’s edition for $75. Amazon.ca also has the same offerings at the same prices in Canadian dollars.

A few new details about the PS3-exclusive Final Fantasy Versus XIII have emerged.

Perhaps most interesting is that Final Fantasy Versus XIII will have an open-world environment. After the linear gameplay of Final Fantasy XIII, this is very welcome. Players will be able to go anywhere in the game’s world, except for certain mountain areas which are reserved for later.

One of the cities in Versus XIII is modelled after the real-life Shinjuku, a dense commercial ward in Tokyo.

The game will feature objects found in the field that are subject to your destructive forces. Final Fantasy Versus XIII also put attention into modelling the sky. A physics engine is being applied to the clouds in order to render a realistic skyscape.

The game promises seamless battles. Certain large areas will require some loading, but for the most part the game aims to be seamless in all transitions. The game’s designers also claim that these will be the highest-quality battle scenes yet.

A few screenshots have been scanned in as well. These are all captured in real-time from the PS3 console, not pre-rendered.

As a bonus, we’ve also learned that in the PSP title Final Fantasy Agito XIII, chocobos and airships will appear offering travel around a world map in the way we’re used to with Final Fantasy games.

Snowblind Studios is hard at work on a new RPG based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The new game is called The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

The game takes place in the northern areas of middle-earth, providing some background lore to go with the books and Lord of the Rings movies. The game will feature heavy character customization, upgradable skills and action-RPG gameplay including a co-op mode.

The game also promises to have dialogue in the style of Mass Effect, where options have effects later, as well as moral consequences for the characters.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is due out in 2011.

At E3 this week, Nintendo announced the next version of its handheld hardware, the Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS features special 3D effects along with an analog stick, a larger top screen and various other features. A few RPGs have been announced for it.

Square Enix has announced both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games for the Nintendo 3DS, as well as a new Chocobo Racing 3D game. But the most developed 3DS title announced is Kingdom Hearts 3D, an entirely new Kingdom Hearts game starring the characters Riku and Sora.

Altus has also announced that it will release some of its Shin Megami Tensei games on the Nintendo 3DS, including the original Shin Megami Tensei, as well as Devil Survivor and Persona. The Shin Megami Tensei series is very popular in Japan, after Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

Nintendo will also release Paper Mario 3DS for the new handheld, taking the series back to its roots with turn-based RPG battles. And, of course, a new Pokémon title is on the way for the 3DS as well.

Not quite an RPG in the traditional sense, but The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time will also be remade for the 3DS.

The original DS got some love, though — Golden Sun: Dark Dawn was announced for the Nintendo DS.

It looks like the Nintendo 3DS will be friendly to the RPG gamer. More on this new handheld as we get it.

Final Fantasy IX (FF9) is coming to the Sony PlayStation Network in North America. The game will be up on June 15 — that’s next Tuesday.

Final Fantasy IX was originally released in 2000 for the original Sony PlayStation. With the PlayStation Network, the game will now be playable on the PS3 and PSP systems.

IGN has a look at Fallout: New Vegas, offering some footage of gameplay. 

New Vegas offers a new game in the Fallout universe using the game engine from Fallout 3, but set in a new location (can you guess where?). Actually, the location is perhaps the feature that most stands out in this game. In the Fallout universe, Las Vegas was not a direct victim of a nuclear attack, so unlike the decimated locales in Fallout 3 and its expansions, Vegas is still standing.

I have to question the voiceover in this video, though. “Fallout: New Vegas; it’s just like Fallout 3, only totally new.” I’m not quite sure that the writer behind this little gem is aware of what the word “totally” means. This is equivalent to saying, “it’s just like Fallout 3, only not”. The thing that makes it feel like you’re playing Fallout 3 is that it’s not totally new: this is the Fallout 3 game engine, gameplay style, look, feel, etc.

Anyways, here’s the video:

Fallout: New Vegas is set for a release by the end of the year.