We haven't heard any big announcements from Mistwalker recently, so this should come as good news for Hironobu Sakaguchi fans. Apparently they're heading into the "finishing" stage for a mysterious new project.

 Is there any truth that there's a bitter rivalry between Square Enix icons Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura? Is this the reason why they're supposedly working on separate Final Fantasy Versus XIII games? What does he think of former boss Hironobu Sakaguchi's work with the Final Fantasy franchise? All the answers in the full article.

Famitsu sent questionnaires out to gamers and retailers in Japan to let them be heard, and decide which developers, video games, and industry figures did exceptionally well in 2007. Find the results at the full article.

Have you ever wondered what Hironobu Sakaguchi and his development team went through while they were developing the very first Final Fantasy RPG?

It wasn't a walk in the park, that's for sure. In a recent interview, Sakaguchi admitted that he and his team were off to a rocky start at the time. Sakaguchi has more of a story to tell after the jump!

Whether it's Turkey Day or Christmas, we feel the need to thank the greatest figures in video game history for their contributions that made gaming as fun as it is today. For decades, we've seen creative minds emerge and bring forward games that amaze the world, but they don't get much recognition. But now, we have enough time to list down some of the greatest geniuses behind phenomenal landmarks like Mario, Wolfenstein 3D, and even The Sims.

We're barely three weeks away from what could be the world's biggest game expo after the E3 downsizing of 2007. Yup, it's an event most of us would love to be in: The Tokyo Game Show 2007!

It's no secret that TGS has always been the Far East's answer to E3 in terms of big announcements and sneak peeks of exciting projects. If there's a shindig that the big game publishers are saving their aces for, this one has to be it.

Here's a short list of just some of the stuff we expect to see. Feel free to add your own wishes at the comments, though, because we're sure you have some big ideas of your own:

1. An apparition of Final Fantasy XIII - Square Enix was mum on this big PlayStation 3 project in E3 and even in during GC 2007 in Germany. Could they be saving the best for the year's last huge show? They better be because we're all aching to see more than just screenshots. A new trailer and some details would be terrific.

2. More of Wii Fit - There's no doubt that the most anticipated release for the fastest-selling console in history is next year's exercise game Wii Fit and its accessory, the Balance Board. We saw a bit of this with Reggie Fils-Aime in E3 and we can expect a bit more for the Japanese crowd.

3. More Metal Gear Solid 4/ Metal Gear Online teasers - You know a big game is about to hit when its PR machine is getting noisier by the day. We've been seeing new MGS4 trailers from Santa Monica to Leipzig and it would be almost a travesty if its hometown Tokyo doesn't get one. Also, the multiplayer MGS Online is looking hot and we won't be surprised if there are more details soon.

4. A big Halo 3 showing - So maybe the Halo franchise isn't quite as big in Japan as it is here in the US, but with the TGS just a few days away from the big game's Japanese release, is there any reason why Microsoft should hold back? The game, as we all know, is already at gold status, so expect it to be shown off in full force.

More of our wishes and expectations after the jump!

Renowned game developer and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi recently expressed his distaste for former Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Ken Kutaragi, criticized Microsoft's marketing strategy in Japan, and expressed no plans to make games for the Nintendo Wii as of yet.

The founder of, arguably, the most successful RPG franchise in history told Electronic Gaming Monthly that he didn't like Kutaragi and his creation, the Sony PlayStation 3. "The machine's architecture is tricky, and I don't like Ken Kutaragi," says Sakaguchi. He offered no explanation as to why he's no fan of the father of the PlayStation line of game systems.

When asked about Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sakaguchi said he found the games in the platform far superior to those of its rival's. Microsoft's problem, he says, is how to reach out to Japanese consumers. He said Gears of War is a great title but nobody knows what it's about. He then describe the Windows Vista commercial as a "terrible" one.

Next on the plate was Nintendo. Amazingly, Sakaguchi had a high regard for the Wii. He said "The system is intriguing, but right now, I have no plans on making a game for the Wii."

We've seen lots of stuff happen during 2006. The next-gen consoles alone got the the gaming industry at the edge of its seat. The handhelds also had their own booms, bangs, and whistles, too. There were thrills and spills, exclusives and not-so-exclusives-anymore, and lots of other gory stuff to mix into the whole brew. Of course, none of this would be possible without the movers and shakers of the gaming industry themselves.

The recent edition of Japanese magazine Famitsu published the final roundup of their biggest Japanese industry presidents. They took the presidents of Japanese companies and asked the vox populi to vote on how they each gave an impact on the industry and how much influence they held sway on the market. Here's the final list:

1. Nintendo's Satoru Iwata - 201 votes
2. Sony Computer Entertainment's Ken Kutaragi - 181 votes
3. Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi - 126 votes
4. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto - 41 votes
5. Konami's/Kojima Productions' Hideo Kojima - 33 votes

We're sure you have your own thoughts and opinions about this list. We're just reporting how things tallied up at Famitsu. It's not much surprising - these people really are the industry's biggest movers and shakers. As to the ranking of these five, yeah, you can say it's contestable. But the fact still remains that, no matter how you jumble around this party of five, you'll still end up with these guys topping the list.