So, you can't get enough of Square Enix? Do you love them so much that you would want some reminder of them to be readily available where ever you look? Would you want to decorate your home with Square Enix goodies? Well, if you answered "yes" to any of those, then Chris Kohler of Wired.com may have just the answer to your prayers: directions to the Yodobashi Camera branch in Akihabara!

As Kohler has described in his entry, the popular Japanese electronics franchise is also currently stocked up on various novelty items that are based on the popular Square Enix mascots, the chocobo (specifically from Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon), and the slime from the Dragon Quest universe. Among the items that have been discovered to bear the likenesses of these beloved characters would be cushions, floor mats, notebooks, pecils, scotch tape dispensers and various types of dinnerware (dibs on the slime plate).

Yes, they're cute, they're useful, and even though you may have to cross an ocean or two to get these things, well... have I mentioned that they're cute? So, brush up on those social skills, as it's time to finally contact that far acquaintance of your sister's friend's cousin's dad who lives in Tokyo.

For fans of the anime/manga series, Mahou Sensei Negima, then you're in for a treat as the Japanese site GPARA has just put up tons of artwork and screenshots from the Wii iteration of the popular shoujo series by Ken Akamatsu of Love Hina fame. The game, entitled Mahou Sensei Negima: Neo-Pactio Fight!, follows the adventures of our lead character Negi Springfield. Meanwhile, with him would be the 31 girls from class 3A of the Mahora Academy, as well as 8 others who are yet unnamed, who will be joining the ranks for a total of 40 playable characters.

As in the anime and manga versions, the Wii version will allow the players to choose pick their favorite characters, and use each one's unique ability once they're in Pactio mode. Then, players can go up against eachother in a four-way battle. So, half-adventure, half-versus, half-action and part dating SIM (we're not sure about this last bit, but it's Negima we're talking about here...), this game apparently also has features such as being able to equip your characters with armor, or just plain dressing them up. See? It's got something for everyone.

Developed by Marvelous Interactive and set to be released in Japan by this June, the game will retail for ¥6800 or about US$ 56. And no, unfortunately, we still don't know why the heck Asuna is wearing a hamster suit (?) in the image on the bottom right of this post...

Check out the Read link below for oodles more screenshots and images!

So what do you do when you've got a nice, clean fridge exterior and several packs of fridgets? Well, do what Annie Rush did and make a masterpiece out of it. One that brings pleasant childhood memories AND lets the whole world what you really are at heart.

In any case, for those who may not have heard of the term yet, Rush defines Fridgets as small, triangles, about "half of a square inch. It is covered in fabric and on its own is capable of holding up a drawing, grocery list, phone message, appointment reminder, or any other piece of paper." So, using 1502 of the said triangular pieces, and 12 hours of putting them all together, then you now have a wonderful conversation piece for when your friends drop by.

Now, if only someone would make a fridget mural of... DMC's Dante...

More photos after the Jump!

Now, who would have thought it?

According to the German gaming site GameFront, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun has released a report about a press conference which has just been held by Nintendo. As most press conferences go, the Nintendo officials spoke about upcoming game titles, the financial gains of the company, movements and plans in general. However, one simple statement from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata made the event a whole lot more exciting.

According to the Japanese newspaper, Iwata stated that they "would love to see Kutaragi join up with Nintendo".

Now, this may generate a lot of reactions, but then again, how this will all develop would be nothing short of interesting. After all, Kutaragi's honorary position at Sony isn't exactly a very active office, and The Father of Playstation has also stated in recent interviews that his next ventures would mostly be independent from Sony, so there MAY be a good chance that he'll take Nintendo up on his offer. After all, it cannot be denied that Kutaragi has a long history with Nintendo, since he IS the guy who gave the SNES the gift of sound, via the SPC700 chip which he designed.

However, considering the fact that Kutaragi was also once badly slighted by Iwata's predecessors (think: Hiroshi Yamauchi, CES 1989, and a botched Play Station announcement... note the space in between "Play Station"), one can't really tell what Crazy Ken will do next.

Since last year, many Square Enix fans have been giddy over the news of the upcoming Square Enix Party for 2007. Well, in case you're one of those fans and you need that one last thing to convince you to finally book tickets (and a flight) for the event, then this may be what you need: the schedule of activities of this year's Party.

According to Square Enix's official site, the event which will run from May 12 to May 13 will consist of contests, celebrations, and tributes to some of its game titles. As listed on its site, one of the focuses of the first day would be the performances of some theme song artists, as well as the appearance of a special, secret guest who will be there to promote Dragon Quest Monsters: Battle Road.

Then, on the second day, there will be a special stage set up for Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors which will host a "mixed screening and recording" of the game (according to Google Translate anyway...), which will be done while previously-unreleased images of the game are being shown at the same time. After that, there will also be a competition for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, where contestants will vie for the title of Monster Master. The best part is that members of the audience who cheered for the winner will also be receiving original merchandise as prizes. Later on, there will also be another panel which will feature the people behind the Square Enix monthly manga magazine, Shonen Gangan. The panelists will be speaking about a new Square Enix anime which will be launched this April on TV Tokyo.

If you think that's a lot, well it's only part of it, as while all of those are happening, the fifth year celebration for the Square Enix MMORPG Final Fantasy XIwill also be happening. Among the activities that will be part of the celebration will be cosplay contests, trivia contests, movie contests, fan art contests, panels, mini-concerts, chocobo races, and a "Live Quest", to name just a few.

Take note that these are only SOME of the many activities that are currently lined up for the Square Enix Party, and from the looks of it, it seems that the company behind some of the best games that we have ever played is doing its best to live up to its name, by throwing some of the best events that a fan could ever wish for.

For those who haven't booked a flight to Australia yet, then the people from Eminence Orchestra would like to remind you that you still have some time left to go ahead and do so. After all, one of the most popular video game orchestral performances is headed for Sydney and Melbourne in merely a week. That's right, in case you forgot, Eminence Symphony Orchestra's A Night in Fantasia 2007 - Symphonic Games Edition, will be making waves in the Land of the Koalas, via their proven musical talent as well as their skill in performing the music from video games that we know and love.

Set to make an appearance in Sydney on April 20 and 21, then in Melbourne on April 27, the 60-piece orchesrtra will be accompanied by a 30-piece choir and will be conducted by Philip Chu. Meanwhile, tunes that fans can look forward to will include classic video game themes from titles such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XII, FF Tactics and the rest of the FF series, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Shadow of the Colossus, Tales of Legendia, Metal Gear Solid, WoW: The Burning Crusade, Super Mario Brothers and Legend of Zelda, to name just a few.

Those who want a seat for the show can either order their tickets online via TicketMaster, or those who will be seeing the Sydney performance can simply drop by the local Kinokuniya store.

Now, there's just one song request that I'd like to make... please, please, please play Radical Dreamers from Chrono Cross. Either that, or I'll be happy with whatever Chocobo theme that they put in there. So with the days ticking away until the performance begins, what song would you want to hear the Eminence folks play?

It all started several weeks ago when Take-Two Interactive finally filed a lawsuit against Florida lawyer Jack Thompson. According to them, this move was prompted by Thompson's "history of making multiple threats of legal action, whether substantiated or not". This of course, incited a reaction from the lawyer, and it was only a matter of time until the inevitable happened: a countersuit.

However, this countersuit has recently undergone an interesting development. The last time that we heard about it, Thompson has accused various websites and institutions of "racketeering", and basically just plain conspiring against him. Among those that were named were popular video game-related sites such as Gamepolitics, Kotaku, SPOnG, Joystiq, Gamespot, IGN, Game Informer, Electronic Gaming Weekly, and the webcomic Penny Arcade. Others who did not survive Thompson's countersuit were the Entertainment Software Association, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the Entertainment Consumer Association, and even Doug Lowenstein.

As GamePolitics has found out, the latest revision of Thompson's countersuit has omitted the racketeering allegations. In fact, the original countersuit was 37 pages long, while the revised version has been trimmed down to a slimmer 14 pages. For those who may be interested, GamePolitics has put up the two versions of the said countersuit for everyone's perusal, so you can see the difference for yourselves.

In the meantime, speculations on the reason why the allegations were suddenly removed are now flying left and right among members of the gaming community. We're sure that everyone has his guess.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has just announced that besides the usual array of high-class services that its liners can offer, it is adding yet another attraction to its cruises. This new attraction is nothing less than the Wii.

The resident Nintendo consoles are now happily installed within the newest member of NCL's fleet, the Norwegian Pearl. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet will also be getting their own Nintendo Wii units by next month, when the system is rolled out. As for which games passengers can play, their Wii game library is currently stocked with Wii Sports, Wii Play, WarioWare: Smooth Moves, and Excite Truck.

As for the reason why the Florida-based cruise line chose the Wii, they have pointed out that besides having an easy-to-use controller - a real plus when you have to keep a crowd of adults, retirees, and pensioners entertained - it also encourages group involvement. To take advantage of these characteristics, the Wii units were installed in the atrium and various public areas of the ship, and were then connected to wall-sized video screens.

The children's area of the ship has also been fitted with two Wii kiosks, and NCL has also announced that it will be holding Wii-related tournaments and activities for its passengers. In fact, NCL's president and CEO Colin Veitch has also noted that "Cheering, yelling and high-fives will be highly encouraged".

In the meantime, George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, is also pleased with the partnership.

A great partner, as they offer us direct access to non-traditional gamers. Our partnership reinforces how Wii's social phenomenon continues to grow, from the centerpiece of gaming parties, to a workout supplement, to a fun facet of vacation cruises.

Big Bubba, from King of Clubs is back, and we finally get to see him in all his chain-wearing, Elvis-impersonating 3D glory. In this trailer that has recently been released by Oxygen Games, Big Bubba himself tells us the secrets to his success. And yes, that secret involves cyanide-laced toothbrushes and the like, so you might want to listen up.

Bound to be released on the PSP, the PS2, DS, Wii, and PC, King of Clubs is a "trick-based action puzzle game" which features a vintage Americana feel, as well as a kooky multiplayer mode which should make the players give out a chuckle or two. With 96 levels, 10 multi-level stages as well as bonus areas, this game offers hours of fun. On top of that, players will also get the chance to test their tycoon skills, and see if they can transform the dustiest patch of land along Route 66 into a major tourist attraction.

The game is to be released in the UK for £ 24.99 (all versions), and the PS2 and PC versions of the title will be out by July 20. Meanwhile, Oxygen Games promises that the PSP, DS, and Wii versions will follow soon after that. While we wait for the game's release, just sit back and bask in Big Bubba's words of wisdom.

Another loss to the gaming community has occurred once again, as Ocarina Of Time 2D forum admin brings sad tidings. According to Revenant, Richard Denton (better known as Dampe among the forum members) has passed away, after having been involved in a vehicular accident. At the moment, no details are being given about the said accident, as Denton's friends and family are still coping with the loss. As explained by Revenant,

I'm not feeling up to explaining detail of the accident, and how it happened, I'm just here to notify everyone since his family would be devastated, and his brother probably wouldn't want to explain the loss to a bunch of guys on the net.

In the meantime, the future of the community which was built around Denton's work remains uncertain. As of this writing, we have noted that the official website of Ocarina of Time 2D has been taken down upon Denton's family's request

Richard Denton was the creator of the much-awaited fan-made title, Ocarina of Time 2D. As the name of the video game suggests, the aim of the project was to reproduce one of video game history's most successful games, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in 2D instead of 3D. This move has made the game look like the original Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, thus managing to merge two of the most-loved Zelda games into one.

Dampe will be missed. May he find his Hyrule.

For those who may be unfamiliar with Dampe's work, here's a video to show you what it was all about, and why so many people will miss him badly.