Author: Trafficblast

One of the big announcements that Apple could make during its reveal event on Monday is a new video game service. According to Bloomberg, Apple is creating a “premium games subscription” service for the App Store. Unlike the recently announced Google Stadia, or PlayStation Now and Microsoft’s xCloud, Apple’s service is not cloud-based.

Instead, it will focus on iPhones and iPads and bundle together paid games from different developers that consumers can access for a monthly fee,” Bloomberg reported.

One source said Apple will pay developers based on how much time users spend playing their title. The report goes on to claim that the service would only feature paid games, not free-to-play titles. The report also says the service may not be announced on Monday, but instead during its developer conference in June. That timing would be intriguing, as it’s just before E3.

According to analyst Serkan Toto, this kind of package offering is already available in Japan. He also points out that, if free-to-play games are indeed excluded, then Nintendo’s upcoming Mario Kart Tour wouldn’t be eligible. As you may recall, Apple partnered with Nintendo in a big way to promote and release the free-to-play Mario game Super Mario Run.

Go to Bloomberg to get the full story.

An earlier report suggested the March 25 Apple news conference will include the formal reveal of Apple’s plans for its own Netflix-style TV streaming service. All should become clear soon.

Today during Day 2 of the Final Fantasy Fan Event in Tokyo, Square Enix announced a brand-new arrangement album featuring songs from Final Fantasy XIV Online.

The album is titled Journeys, and it goes on sale June 10 this year for $39 USD. “We’re pleased to announce our third band and piano arrangement album,” Square Enix said.

The disc also comes with in-game footage alongside the music; there are 18 tracks in all. Some are performed by Final Fantasy veteran Susan Colloway, while there are also “extra bonus tracks.”

The piano arrangement was performed by Keiko, while the band performance was done by the band The Primals. Those who pick up “first-run” copes of the album will get in-game extras.

You can learn more about the Journeys album here on its official website. You can order the album from Square Enix’s website or from Sony Music.

Perhaps the biggest news from Final Fantasy Fan Fest are all the new details about Shadowbringers, including a new race, Job, raid, trailer, screens, and more.

The Final Fantasy Fan Fest continues today, so keep checking back for more. For now, you can check out some recent stories linked below:

Square Enix paid for GameSpot’s flight to Tokyo and accomodation.

A movie version of the Japanese TV show “Dad of Light,” which tells the story of a father and son who rebuild their relationship thanks to Final Fantasy XIV, is in the works for Japan.

Announced at Day 2 of the Final Fantasy Fan Festival here in Tokyo, the movie is coming to Japanese theatres, but there is no word on if it’ll be distributed internationally.

The show premiered in April 2017, and it’s available now on American Netflix if you’re interested in checking out the well-received drama. The story was inspired by real-life events.

The actor who played the father, Ren Osugi, passed away in February 2018. In the movie, he’s being played by actor Kotaro Yoshida. More to come…

Disclosure: Square Enix paid for GameSpot’s flight to Tokyo and accomodation.

The next character for Final Fantasy fighting game Final Fantasy Dissidia NT has been announced. Revealed at the Final Fantasy Fan Festival in Tokyo today, the character Zenos from Final Fantasy XIV is coming to the PlayStation 4 and PC fighting game starting later this month.

Zenos will be available first for Final Fantasy Dissidia in Japanese arcades starting March 26, while the character is coming to the PlayStation 4 and Steam editions on April 11. People attending the Fan Fest this weekend in Tokyo can have a first crack at playing Zenos.

Zenos is the main antagonist from Final Fantasy XIV: Online’s expansion, Stormblood.

More to come…

Disclosure: Square Enix paid for GameSpot’s flight to Tokyo and accomodation.

Today at Day 2 of the Final Fantasy Fan Festival in Tokyo, Square Enix made a series of announcements about Final Fantasy XIV Online, including the start-date for the game’s crossover event with Final Fantasy XV.

The crossover event, which was announced previously, is called A Nocturne For Heroes, and it begins April 16. This news was confirmed during a behind-the-scenes “Letter From the Producer” event featuring producer Naoki Yoshida. The event brings a number of Final Fantasy XV gear and items to FFXIV, including the game’s first-ever four-player mount. You guessed it, the mount is the Regalia, which is the car the main characters drive in FFXV. The other items include FFXV-themed gear and a hairstyle from the game.

In other news, Square Enix confirmed that Final Fantasy XIV patch 4.56, which is called “A Requiem for Heroes Part 2,” will launch very soon–it’s due out Tuesday, March 26. Coming after that is Patch 4.57, which adds the new World Visit system, and it’s launching on April 23.

You can see a full schedule of important dates in the graphic below, which covers all the big proceedings leading up to the release of Shadowbringers on July 2 (or June 28 with Early Access):

Yoshida and main scenario writer/world lore creator Banri Oda answered a series of fan questions during the panel covering a range of topics. You can re-watch the panel here on Twitch.

Fan Fest Day 1 yesterday brought a lot of big news as well, including the next race for Shadowbringers, a new raid, more screenshots, and a fresh trailer–get all the details here.

Keep checking back with GameSpot for more from Fan Fest today and Monday, including a gallery of some of the best cosplay we’ve seen. Disclosure: Square Enix paid for GameSpot’s flight to Tokyo and accomodations.