Symphony of the Goddess Dates Added

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Image by ZeldaQueen. Properties © NintendoThat is right Zelda fans. You have a few additional chances to check out the Zelda based concert called "Symphony of the Goddess". 

  • Sept. 15: Toronto; Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
  • Sept. 22: Minneapolis; Orpheum Theatre
  • Oct. 12: Dallas; AT&T Performing Arts Center
  • Oct. 18: Boston; Wang Theatre
  • Oct. 25: Chicago; The Chicago Theatre
  • Nov. 3: San Antonio; The Majestic Theatre
  • Nov. 6: Calgary, Alberta; Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
  • Nov. 28: New York; The Theater at Madison Square Garden
  • Dec. 8: West Palm Beach, Fla.; Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
  • Dec. 9: Miami; Adrienne Arsht Center
  • Dec.14: San Jose, Calif.; San Jose Civic
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Random Rumors - Wii U Leak

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The rumors have started to hit full force for the holiday gaming season. To start things off we, have a possible release date on the Nintendo Wii U along with price point before the 09/13 press event. The rumor goes that the system will launch Sunday, November 11, 2012. This would be about right for Nintendo. A weekend sale just before the full Christmas season starts.

Next in the leak was three different SKUs for the Wii U. One at $250, $300, and $350. These numbers are based on a leaked shot from YouTube user H0undd0gg. This seems to be the sketchiest part of the rumor to me, but lets work with what we have.  If you want to inspect the video it can be found here (The video has been removed).

All three systems are pretty similar in name, but lets guess what the differences could be.  I see the $250 model being the base with a system and one Wii Pad. The $300 will add a Wiimote and nunchuck (wow I have not typed that in a long time) and more onboard storage. The $350 will add a second Wii Pad. Looking forward to confirming or breaking this rumor next week.

Wii U Experience

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Recently Proteus, Humming Bird (Proeus' brother), ZeldaQueen and I had the opportunity to visit the Wii U experience that was put on by Nintendo when it came through Denver the past weekend. So what what are impressions of the new system? It was mostly positive for use. We got to play around 5 games each (not all the same games). For the fact of linearity I an going to split this article up by game.
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OnLive's Changes

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As many of you may know, I am a fan of the OnLive service. I have a number of games with them and have had an account since they launched two years ago. So you can bet that I was not too happy to hear about their difficulties as of late. On Friday their entire staff was laid off. As of that moment the future of OnLive was a mystery to all. Then Lauder Partners purchased the company and rehired half the staff. The others are going to be given options to work as consultants for the new OnLive company.  The former CEO and founder, Steve Perlman, is getting nothing from the sale of his company. He is taking full responsibility for being unable to keep his company afloat. In fact all the executives have not received any compensation for the sale and, in fact, all are taking pay cuts to rehire as much of the former staff as possible.  This is something that I can, and do, respect. They are taking the blame for bad decisions and trying to allow their employees to survive. They are not blaming bad economies or anything like that.

So that is the internal stuff, but what about us? Well, there is good news for those that have purchased games through OnLive. The new OnLive has confirmed that user purchases will still be available. As of now we don't have to worry about losing our games. OnLive will continue to be on the Ouya system. So here is hoping that things work out for them under the new company.

Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Celebration

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That's right; starting today Square Enix is celebrating 25 years of Final Fantasy. In its 25 years Final Fantasy has been launched over 40 titles on dozens of systems and has become a household name in the gamer community. All gamers, even if they have not played a Final Fantasy game, they know about them and the iconic music that is played when you are victorious in a battle. To start the celebration Square Enix has launched the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary site as a main site to announce the events that will be happening through the rest of the year.

A few of these activities include an event happening at PAX Prime with the first "Experience Final Fantasy". This event will be happening Friday, August 31 from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the ACT Theatre in Seattle (700 Union Street).  This is open to the general public where there will be several games setup for play. There will also be prizes such as fan favorite plushies, special 25th Anniversary poster and Xbox 360 or PS3 consoles that are themed after Final Fantasy XIII-2.  Hopefully this will be one of many events they have, which will hopefully be announced on the above website. Want more on the celebration? I think you know what to do!

 

Game Over - Darksiders

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Darksiders 2 releases on August 14, 2012. Now I am going to bet that more than just a few of you have not played the original Darksiders yet. While I think you are all horrible people for having skipped this game, I am not without mercy. I will allow be benevolent enough to give you a quick recap of what happened in the original Darksiders so you are caught up when you purchase Darksiders 2 (you are purchasing it by the way). SPOILER ALERT!
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Fistful of Rupees - Western Legend of Zelda

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So what do you get when you take a beloved Nintendo Franchise and recreate it as a spaghetti western? Well you get the masterfully done "Fistful of Rupees". Created by The Game Station this different view on the Zelda series is actually really entertaining. Check out all three parts below (part 2 and part 3 after the jump.

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Game Over - Assassin's Creed: Revelations

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Desmond has seen all that Ezio has to show him. He has seen Ezio join the Assasin's Guild as a result of his father's death in Florence. He has seen Ezio climb to the leader of the Assasins in Rome and reclaim the Apple of Eden. Desmond has experienced so much in such a short amount of time that he mind has literally fractured, and the only way to repair it is to see more of Ezio's life, this time it is about his adventure to discover what is inside Altair's library. Read on for the abridged version of the last story that Ezio Auditore da Firenze has for Desmond. WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUND.
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SWTOR Goes Free-to-Play(ish) this Fall

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A Cartel CoinEA has tried their hardest to keep Star Wars: The Old Republic profitable. They have culled servers and moved users around to increase populations. They have given free weekends to get people in the game. They have kept the game moving forward with patches and game play enhancements such as their legacy system, but it has not been enough. Starting this fall SWTOR will have a free-to-play option to it. The free players will be able to start a character and get all the way to level 50 (level cap) without dropping a dime. Now this does not mean to say that the subscriptions will not have a value. Subscribers will have unlimited access to game features such as character creation, warzones, flashpoints, space missions, travel locations, and the auction house that are free players only have limited access to. Subscribers also will have priority access to logging on.  

They are also adding a new item call Cartel Coins. These can be used to purchase customization and convience items. Current subscribers will get coins to start with and more can be purchased in varios price packs. This is basically their big money making plan to get some cash from these free players. It will interesting to see how this goes for EA and SWTOR. It worked for Star Trek Online so it may work for SWTOR. More information on this can found at the their FAQ located at http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/6449.