Also dropping the 'Versus XIII' part of the title.

According to some rumors, Square-Enix's Final Fantasy Versus XIII will now arrive to next-gen platforms in 2014, and without the Versus XIII suffix...

According to a rumor from NeoGAF user 'Verendus', Final Fantasy Versus XIII will actually be launching in 2014, but it will now arrive on the next-generation of consoles. Also, it looks like the game will drop the "Versus XIII" suffix that it's sported so far.

He also goes on to say that work is underway on both Final Fantasy 15 and Final Fantasy 16 for the next-gen consoles, with 15 looking likely to be "an exclusive release. Kind of."

I can spill the following comfortably though since I think this developer is a bit of a joke, and I think people are beginning to suspect this anyway. Versus XIII will have another unveiling later this year regarding development for the next generation. It won't have the "Versus XIII" part in the title. It will definitely release in 2014. You can have my account deleted if this information turns out to be inaccurate. News is fresh on this and I'm really confident about it. FF15 and FF16 are underway, both next generation projects. There's a chance FF15, in particular, may be an exclusive release. Kind of. And with that, I'm off to sleep.

Right now, this is just a rumor. But, considering the troubled development of this title, the above could make sense. If true, do you think this would be a good move from Square-Enix?

NEWS SOURCE #1: Forum Post #47013591 (via) NeoGAF
NEWS SOURCE #2: Final Fantasy Versus XIII possibly shifting to next-gen in 2014 (via) IGN

Our thanks to 'Gauss' for this news item!

There is alot of buzz on the 'net the last few days, that the upcoming new Playstation console will be launched at the $400 price range this year, here is the details on this latest PS4 rumor:

playstation_4_2.jpg

The PlayStation 4 will launch this year for over 40,000 yen (about $428), according to a report in major Japanese daily the Asahi Shimbun. That's the first clear indication we've gotten on how much the new system might cost, and suggests that while Sony isn't pricing the PS4 too aggressively next to the likes of the Wii U, it may have learned its lesson from the shaky PlayStation 3 launch.

For comparison, upon release in 2006 the PS3 cost around 60,000 yen in its more expensive configuration, and $599 in the US. Meanwhile, the cheapest PS3 now costs 24,980 yen in Japan versus $269 in the US. Were the PS4 to launch at 40,000 yen in Japan, we'd expect an American price point of around $400 or more.

Has Sony learned its lesson from PS3?

The Asahi Shimbun further corroborates things we've heard from other reports, such as a 2013 launch for the US and Japan — no mention was made of Europe, suggesting the release there may well slip into 2014. Elsewhere, the report says that the PS4 controller will feature a touch pad and be "roughly the same shape" as the current Dual Shock 3. Finally, the Asahi Shimbun states in no uncertain terms that February 20th is the date when we'll hear all this information confirmed for real.

NEWS SOURCE: PlayStation 4 report suggests $400+ price

Showtime is a media player for HTPCs and Sony PS3s

Its been a while since an official Showtime release, and this one kills tons of bugs!

Andreas Öman has released an update to his PS3 media player

Some highlights:

• Virtual keyboard
• Integration with thetvdb.com
• Chapter support for movies
• Support for subtitle plugins
• And as usual, a lot of bugs squashed

Changelog:

#1594 (Fixed): Automatic standby causes a system check in Rogero 4.30 CEX v2.05

NEWS SOURCE: Showtime News (via) LonelyCoder
DOWNLOAD MIRROR: Ps3SceneFiles

Our thanks to 'steveo1978' for this news item!

Now at Version 1.60 Beta 3 Release!

Iris Manager is a game manager for modded PS3s

Estwald over at elotrolado.net has released an update to Iris Manager.

What's new:

1.60 Beta 3:

• Improved emulation ps1_emu. Fixed some bugs, besides adding security enhancements. There is no sound cuts so annoying.
• Fixed problem with Internal_MC that were wrong (which should have got 0x0a 0xa0)
• Added ability to create a formatted Internal_MC (Video / Others)
• Added the ability to run and ps1_netemu.self ps1_emu.self from Iris directory (if copies / dev_hdd0/game/IMANAGER4. This opens the possibility, reaffirming, using emulators firmware lower than one, except that can be patched or not)

1.60:

• Added PSX emulation syscall level: it is no longer necessary to patch the emulators and versions can delete "patched"
• Works with ps1_netemu. Moreover, it is my choice RECOMMENDED smoother and games will I have to go wrong with ps1_emu, here are perfect
• Files are needed. Cue with the same name as the. Bin. Img, etc, to describe the audio tracks. If it contains only the binary data, Iris Manager generates its corresponding TOC. psx_storage default also generates a TOC enough for this type of game. As I can complete wakefulness psx_storage operation.
• Ability to load an external ROM to allow access to the transmission Memory Card (getting into a file dev_hdd0/game/IMANAGER4 ps1_rom.bin).
• If you press CIRCLE + EQUIS with external ROM enabled, runs ejected disc so you can access the PSX MC Manager without having to disconnect the USB device. Unplugging / replugging once, the disc will be mounted and run.

PLEASE NOTE: More IMPORTANT details within the RAR file, please read 'iso.txt psx 1.60'

Regards

NEWS SOURCE: Iris Manager (via) Elotrolado
DOWNLOAD MIRROR: Ps3SceneFiles


Our thanks to 'steveo1978' for this news item!

The Ultimate Retro System Emulator Is Now Officially Updated to 0.9.8.1

Two of the retro gaming emulator coding veterans who go by the aliases of Squarepusher and Themaister have released version 0.9.8.1 of the multi-retro gaming system emulator that is RetroArch, which now fixes the game-bootup issue on the Final Burn Alpha core that causes the game to suffer from graphical corruption or end up getting stuck in Service Mode, and includes the now-working Mednafen Wonderswan core and has a stability-improved PS3 core.

For a full changelog, read below:

——————————————————————————
v0.9.8.1
——————————————————————————
- (Android) Lots of changes – too numerous to list
- [FBA] Fixed serious bug that would cause a lot of games to get stuck
in service mode or to display graphical corruption (CPS1).
- [NEStopia] Now outputs in mono sound mode.
- [FCEUmm] Uses RGB565 now – should no longer flicker on RMenu.
- [Mednafen PC Engine Fast] Fixed libretro issue where certain games
had totally wrong pitch
- [Mednafen Wonderswan] Core fixed, works again.
- [Genesis Plus GX] Set audio samplerate at 48KHz (from 44KHz).
- [PS3] Fixed serious bugs where it could get ‘stuck’ or the app could
‘hang’ while toggling between ingame and quickmenu/file browser.
- [PS3] Added ‘Menu Skins’ to ‘Retro Settings’ – will allow you to
select a different background for the menu. Captain CPS-X’s menu skin
is also included.

PS3 STANDARD PACKAGE LINK: RetroArch PS3 0.9.8.1 - Mediafire

PS3 SINGSTAR REPLACEMENT PACKAGE LINK: RetroArch PS3 0.9.8.1 - SingStar GameID Spoof - Mediafire

MORE LINKS:
Libretro Homepage
Libretro Github
Libretro @ Twitter

NOTE: This official release is not compatible with multiMAN feature to directly launch a retro game. But I will release a unofficial build with that fixed soon.