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Why Final Fantasy 7 is (still) unstoppable 25 years since its release, the cultural phenomenon is still generating headlines.
Search “Final Fantasy 7” on YouTube and some of the titles coming back at you read “The Life Changing Impact of Final Fantasy VII,” “What Made Final Fantasy 7 A BIG DEAL?” and “Why FFVII Is So Important To So Many People” – and videos along this theme have hundreds of thousands of views. There is no denying the impact of FF7 on its fans. And, in fact, 25 years since its release, the original PlayStation and Square masterpiece is still generating headlines. There is no denying that the game has also made a cultural impact. Apart from the multiple spin-off gaming appearances, movies, remakes and merchandise, the story of…
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It’s time to admit that Ocarina of Time sucks Ocarina of Time is responsible for many awful trends that, like a bad cold, games have been unable to shake. Here's the case against Ocarina of Time.
Ventrilo Harassment: Duke Nukem (Balls of Steel) The funniest Ventrilo harassment video ever produced.
10 hilariously offensive Steam games you aren’t allowed to buy any more In memoriam the best of the worst banned games in Steam's storied history.
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The heartbreaking story of how one man spent $16k on Final Fantasy and nearly lost his family Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius' combining of characters that people love with gacha-esque monetization can end up going very badly.
Everyone knows that Square Enix’s favorite activity is milking Final Fantasy. And fair enough, the fans love it too — for the most part. Personally I find the ‘extended universe’ of Final Fantasy a bit of a turn-off, and I suspect others do too, which is why Square Enix increasingly focuses on bringing its most iconic characters into any new title – such as the announcement, a few days ago, of Cloud coming to Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Good old nostalgia, eh? Thing is, when you combine characters that people love with a gacha-esque monetization model, which is what Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius does, it can end up going very…
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The 11 craziest video game feats ever captured on video These 11 videos show people taking ordinary video games and making them truly extraordinary.
No Man’s Sky versus the actual universe: a scientific inquiry Time for some mind-blowing space facts.
The history of Wing Commander Wing Commander’s paved the way to the modern video game industry, and its design continues to influence game development to the present day.
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Year in Review: 2016’s biggest freakouts over video games A shortlist of all the video games moral crusaders lost their minds over in 2016.
From sexy clothing to political references, no video game is without sin when you’re on an eternal search for content to be outraged by. The moral crusaders, who embed themselves firmly within the games press, blast their outrage to millions in the form of “hot takes” across social media and video game publications. Here are some of the many things they lost their minds over in 2016. Tracer’s Pose in Overwatch Given that Overwatch has one of the most diverse casts in any game, you’d think social justice warriors would love it. They do, to the extent that people who shoot at health packs can enjoy a video game – but…
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The World of Warcraft legacy server that is no more In closing Nostalrius, Blizzard finds itself the bad guy despite having the law on its side.
You’ll never be able to afford these top gaming battlestations MOM! BATHROOM!
Under the thumb: the evolution of buttons How the buttons we press daily were formed over many decades.
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The only way to save Final Fantasy was to change it: talking FF with XV’s Hajime Tabata Final Fantasy XV’s director Hajime Tabata talks about his approach to the series, the necessity of change, and reading the comments.
Final Fantasy is in the midst of a comeback… though of course one shouldn’t call it that. Final Fantasy XIII sold millions and Square-Enix has been doing gangbusters with its various mobile and handheld releases (and re-re-re-releases), but the series’ reputation took a steep dive after XIII and the original version of XIV left fans disappointed. Since then, Square-Enix has taken a rather odd decision for a studio of its size and pedigree and changed things up, making cuts and moving the people around in order to restore the name of Final Fantasy. The key moment when everyone realized Square-Enix was listening to people came back in 2010, when Naoki…
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The untold story of PlayStation Home, Sony’s most successful disaster Plagued by problems from the start, PlayStation Home never officially made it out of beta before it was shut down. But it was also very profitable. This is its story.
Metroid Prime like you’ve never seen it before An extract from the new issue of Heterotopias.
Why Final Fantasy 7 is (still) unstoppable 25 years since its release, the cultural phenomenon is still generating headlines.
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Sitting down with World of Final Fantasy director Hiroki Chiba We sit down with the man behind the gorgeous-looking Final Fantasy monster collecting game.
At E3, Square Enix unveiled World of Final Fantasy, a monster-collection RPG based on the Final Fantasy series. As a huge fan of Final Fantasy, this is a game I’ve been dreaming of for a long time, and I’m honestly quite surprised it hasn’t happened before now. With the outrageous popularity of games like Pokémon and Yo-Kai Watch, and Final Fantasy’s impressive roster of recognizable critters, it seemed inevitable. I had a chance to sit down with Hiroki Chiba, the director of World of Final Fantasy. Previously, Chiba held scenario writer and event planner roles on the likes of Final Fantasy Type-0, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, and Final…
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Could Watch Dogs’ smart city ever become a reality? A smart city, driven by the Internet of Things. Is Watch Dogs merely a sci-fi vision, or a real glimpse at the future?
Paypigs revolt after glitch reveals “cute goddess”‘ real face — and age "Her Royal Highness" Qiao Biluo's false online representation tricked Chinese men out of oodles of cash, and now they're trying to charge it back.
5 plot twists that would have made great games even better When done right, a twist can be truly spectacular. Here's what they should have done...
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Square Enix’ shift to mobile gaming is good, actually Square is doubling down on what its doing right in a surprisingly self-aware move.
If you’re aware of the much-maligned Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, you most likely know that Square Enix’s console efforts have fallen far below the bar the company set for itself with its classics. However, if you’re an avid mobile gamer (or toilet gamer, which is basically the same thing), then you’ll know that Square seems to dominate the mobile gaming scene. Square Enix knows that too, and that’s why the company announced that it’s now shifting its main developmental focus from console games to mobile. Using the 2007 release of the original iPhone as a point of reference, Square Enix has been involved with the release of over 70 mobile games in North…
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The many, bizarre emotions of FIFA 15’s emotion engine Thanks to FIFA 15’s new Emotional Intelligence, all 22 players on the pitch can now employ 600 new emotional reactions. It's... not always the most natural-looking thing.
Seditionis: Tower Defense reinvents while making love to the classics Seditionis harkens back to classic tower defense games while adding gripping new features—and we can't stop playing.
We are producing way too many (good) video games There more good games out there than ever before, and they're getting longer. Let's look at the numbers.
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Catacombs: the inside story of Square Enix’ canceled shooter It’s always a great shame when a game is cancelled, but much more so when a genuine original is lost.
It’s always a great shame when a game is cancelled, but much more so when a genuine original is lost. Catacombs, the Square Enix shooter that was revealed by Siliconera in April of this year, fell firmly into that category: its fast-paced, team-based shooting owed a debt to Valve’s Left 4 Dead, but its narrative was distinctive, dealing with themes of perception, existence, and social and cultural disharmony in an uncommonly bold manner. What began as a simple story of four treasure hunters exploring a mansion became something much more interesting. The Siliconera leak was satisfying for the man behind the transformation, narrative director Brandon Sheffield, who had worked on…
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Repetition as a feature: gaming’s best groundhog days When repetition is used as a narrative technique, it can be super effective.
Are your kids experimenting with Minecraft sex? YouTube is brimming with videos of Minecraft sex targeted to kids.
The many, bizarre emotions of FIFA 15’s emotion engine Thanks to FIFA 15’s new Emotional Intelligence, all 22 players on the pitch can now employ 600 new emotional reactions. It's... not always the most natural-looking thing.
