Yo, Agent.

In Saturday's column you mentioned that it's possible to hook up a Game Boy to an N64? How is this accomplished? Like many gamers, I suffer from hatred of small screens - but I also suffer from hatred of missing out on four Zelda titles. Not to mention the other cool-sounding stuff that's being ported to GBC, like the Dragon Quest games. So, if it is possible to play a Game Boy Color on your TV, I might actually have to get one. Now if only I could find a color that wasn't so frou-frou...

- Kaxon

Hi Drew.

I'm getting very frustrated by the huge delays between the release of games in America and release in Europe, especially here in the UK. Since we speak the same language, I would have thought it would be no trouble to release concurrently, but apparently the games companies have other ideas.

For example, why is it that Nintendo's Pokémon games, which have been doing astoundingly well first in Japan and now in America, have not yet reached us? To further confuse matters, it seems that Australia has already had a Pokémon Red, Blue and even Yellow (yes, before America), and they seem to be doing well there too. When will we be able to buy them in the shops here in Britain, and not have to resort to importing at increased prices?

Nintendo themselves seem to not even acknowledge our existence, despite the fact that one of their primary developers, Rare, is based here. While Japan, the US, Australia, Spain, Norway, Canada, Brazil, and many other countries have their own Nintendo web sites (see http://www.nintendo.com/world/index.html), the British flag is placed alongside the German flag under the heading "Europe". Which leads to a German-language site dealing only with Germany! Why no British site, why no British presence? Have we become invisible to the major games companies of Japan and America? More to the point, if we're such an insignificant market that they ignore us, why do we have different region programming in our PlayStations, N64s, DVD drives, etc.? They prevent most people from even having the option of importing at all.

I admit that RPGs seem to be a particularly neglected genre in this country, but when we get them they seem to do well. So what happened to Square's releases after Final Fantasy VII - Xenogears, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Brave Fencer Musashi, to name a few. Moreover, why oh why have we heard nothing about a release date for Final Fantasy VIII over here? Surely it at least will come across the Atlantic. And yet the US release date is less than two weeks away, but still we haven't heard a peep about UK release.

Need I even mention Metal Gear Solid, which took almost 5 months to get a tiny PAL conversion so it could be released in Britain?

I for one am getting sick of Britain being left out of the loop when it comes to release dates. The only answer seems to be importing, which is a great shame. Who wants to have to deal with mail order when we could instead just walk down to our local computer shop? On top of that, the prices are much higher, sometimes even double normal prices for games of the same type.

The only consolation is that we have sites such as yours to get information from, but even then you don't report on release dates other than Japanese and American releases. I realise that your resources are all based in those areas, and we European role-players are a minority compared to you. But aside from British shops with sites on the web, which tend to be rather behind in the news front, there really is nowhere else to turn but sites like the GIA. Please, if you can find out any information at all, keep us informed of news about European release dates.

Thanks for your time.

-Thorfinn Tait

Hi, Drew.

Your thoughts on how FFIX would be delivered and received by the masses were interesting. Even though I love Square, I wouldn't put a Fall 2000 release date behind them, because I know they're not terribly bothered by a mediocre release. They have enough commercial clout to weather such a release, and everyone will buy the game anyway.

Which brings me to my second point: If Square were to either slack off and release the game in 2001, or were to bust their asses like Working Designs and release the game in 2001, people will still buy it, magazines would still hype it, and online websites would still rave about the next biggest thing. After FFVII was released, everyone and his braindead uncle bought it, regardless of what genre or company it was made by, and since most people loved it, they'll generally be pleasantly disposed toward Square. If FFVIII is as big as it's claiming to be, that will simply further their love of the company.

Then, when FFIX is released (assuming it's released with much advertising and hype), people will flock to pick it up, even if the PS2 or Dolphin are out by that time. Even if the Dreamcast already has a secure foothold in the market. The PSX itself might be dying by then, but I believe people would still buy an FFIX if it were pushed at all.

-Matt Blackie

It's my first letter and I don't even know if I'm writing to the right place.

Anyway, what would you prefer, an early FF IX on PS1, or a late FF on PS2?

I'd prefer a FF IX on PS2 for sure. Say, what do you think?

-Mr. Cosner I would like to toss out my opinion on all these FFIX rumors. While Square stated a while back that it would be for the PSX, I believe it will be for the PSY (or PSX2, whatever you want to call it). Why? Let's think about it. First, it would most likely be the first RPG out for the PSY, and would therefore make a killing, even more than it would if it were released on the PSX (that is, assuming many people buy the PSY, which will most likely happen). Second, isn't the game supposed to be released in early '00 in Japan? That would coincide with the rumors that the PSY will be out January in Japan, making it a launch title. It was long ago rumored that Square had helped Sony decide what to put in the PSY, and if this is true, then they would surely have had enough time to work on the game. Plus, IX is said to have been in the works since early in VIII's developement. Finally, I'd like to point out that when Square moved over to the PSX, the FF series went through quite a change in style, with the setting being much more futuristic and real. Those "FFIX" pics that were leaked a while back definitely have a more "fantasy-world" look. I think that Square is once again changing the look of the series as they move to the next generation.

-CTZanderman, The fat zombie who ate the Free Parking square in Monopoly

Drew,

In this letter, I am going to state my own observations and try to keep my opinion out of it. I bet you don't hear that too often, eh?

If Square releases FFIX in Fall 2000:

They would gain a larger buying audience due to the fact that the Playstation console will be quickly superceded by the impending Playstation 2. Playstation 2 may be too expensive, but we all know that prices plummet quickly. Also, Fall 2001 may be too late for a decent-selling Playstation title...even if it IS FFIX. The diehards of course would spend the money to buy the latest of the series, but what about the bandwagoneers? Nothing against them, but that is what most companies are shooting for: a bigger audience to boost sales. The time spent on making the game better quality-wise would directly affect it's returns. It's a trade-off between quality and sales...and Square is a company, and most companies like to make more money (just ask RedHat). This plan would be in favor of better returns, at the loss of a better game.

If Square releases FFIX in Fall 2001 (or some other later date):

The only advantage to the release of the next in the Final Fantasy series would of course be quality. If they follow this path, perhaps Square intends on adding more FMVs or enhancing the quality of the planned ones. Maybe even adding another couple hours of gameplay or altering the storyline. Who knows? Some gamers may see that the short jump of only a year between titles to be too short of a "resting period" (for lack of a better term) between games. Don't forget about Final Fantasy Anthology, which may also be considered as included in the Final Fantasy collection. Putting FFIX a year or so back would give Square the opportunity of improving the quality of the game, and it would seem less "rushed", as if Square were trying to milk the PS for all it's worth before it becomes unprofitable.

I state the obvious. You decide.

-DaNk

Drew or something,

Are you guys sure this thing is FF9 anyway. Not to dis your awesome news skills but to be honest this looks more like FFT 2 or a side quest. The FF series seems to be on a trend to be more photorealistic and look more like a CG movie than a more traditional RPG. And remember that FFT was being developed at the same time as FF7 and FFT was a great game. And since Square has only grown since that point they now have even more capabilities to develop games than ever before. Also the games are being developed by different offices, Japan and Honolulu if im not mistaken, so they aren't sharing the same staff.

I figure Square can pull off another FF although I really hope it is another side quest as those tend to spice the series up with some new ideas and features

Peace out,

-Viktor Popovich, Communist Serf