With the recent excitement of Blizzard Entertainment's Starcraft II closed beta release, apparently Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG alpha testing is going live next week on March 11, 2010. Reports are flying in about people already having received an invitational email. In addition, a beta test site for the game has popped up online. As a reminder, this is an alpha testing, typically done to check to see if everything is running properly. Players who have not received an invite do not need to worry, as Square Enix has announced several closed beta tests as well as an open beta months after the end of alpha.
"Additionally, several closed Beta Tests and a larger-scale open Beta Test are scheduled to take place in the months following the conclusion of the Alpha Test. As an Alpha Test participant, you will be able to take part in all of these."
Interested participants who have not signed up for beta can still do so on the official homepage.
At the Arcade Operators Union Entertainment Expo, Namco Bandai has just announced a fall 2010 release date for the follow up to Gundam vs Gundam NEXT and Gundam vs Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Currently, details are slim, but the announcement trailer seemed to be laced with previously unplayable mobile suits like the GM and suits from Crossbone Gundam, which is a strong sign that they will be included in the mobile suit roster this time around. The end of the trailer also includes a teaser website. 
With only four months until the event, E3 has finally released a list of exhibitors. The list includes big names, like Capcom and Sega, and smaller companies alike. Sadly, some names seem to be missing from that list, such as BlazBlue publisher AkSys Games and Bayonetta developer Platinum Games. Since registration is still open, hopefully those companies, and others, will begin popping up in the coming months. The current list is available here.
Square Enix's new action adventure game, Nier, will be coming to American shores on April 27, 2010 - a mere three days after its Japanese release date. Details are sparse at the moment, but with the game coming out in a couple of months, we should find out more as the release date nears. With so many games having such short periods between American and Japanese release dates recently, one has to wonder why game developers haven't been doing this longer. The game stars Nier as the main character with his controversial partner, Kaine who apparently is a hermaphrodite. Note, that the game is being developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix. For more information, visit the game's official website here.
First shown on the official Japanese Street Fighter IV's Nakky blog a week ago, a keychain that replicates voice clips from Street Fighter II will be available in March. Bandai has also released a video showing the keychain in action, which includes the generic battle sound effects and voice clips feature we've seen in other gadgets before it. However, this one also includes an "imaginary battle" feature that allows users to fight against "imaginary opponents" and progress through the arcade mode using only the keychain. Better yet, different people who own keychains can fight against each other! Players who don't want to see their characters lose on screen should definitely look forward to these. Sadly, the previous set of Street Fighter IV keychains didn't make it to American shores, so these probably won't have much luck either. Hit the jump for the full video from Bandai.
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