Square-Enix posted a message/anagram on their North America website earlier today:

A puzzle for FINAL FANTASY XIII fans!

Solve this anagram to find out what lies ahead: A Henchmen Inventor Tent Unto. Check back Monday for the answer!

Well, there’s no need to wait until Monday, as hintonmj and Squirrel Emperor, two finalfantasy-xiii.net forum users, figured it out in just under an hour. The hidden message unscrambles to read “Announcement Nov Thirteenth”.

Could this be the North America release date we’ve all been waiting for? My cardboard Buster Sword sure hopes so. Stay tuned.

According to Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett, Nintendo’s North American President and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, wouldn’t commit to a 2010 release of a new Zelda title during his recent Q&A session with GameTrailers TV host Geoff Keighley, stating:

“We haven’t committed to Zelda in 2010″

I must admit, I watched the same video earlier today, however I lost focus around the part where Reggie said that the New Super Mario Bros. would “absolutely” outsell Modern Warfare 2. At that point, I thought my time would be better served doing something more productive like holding my breath and counting to one thousand. This proved to be only marginally true.

As for thinking a new Zelda title would be released in 2010, I’m with Luke in saying that’s just “stupid”. You can’t realistically expect to see a title released next year when it hasn’t even been shown off formally yet. We need time to do things like pace back and forth. Sheesh!

Tired of your unimpressive World of Warcraft pet collection? Would you rather die than be caught in Iron Forge with a run of the mill cat following your every move? Well if you answered yes, Blizzard has just the thing … the World of Warcraft Pet Store!

“Today we’re pleased to introduce the Pet Store for ‘World of Warcraft,’ a new way for players to obtain in-game pets to join them on their adventures in Azeroth … Two brand-new companions are now available for purchase exclusively at the Pet Store in the online Blizzard Store: Lil’ K.T. and the Pandaren Monk.”

Each pet will cost $10, with 50% of proceeds earned on Pandaren Monk sales during 2009 donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Here’s your chance to trade in some of that useless real money burning a hole in your pocket and make miniture Kel’Thuzad your bitch!

I haven’t been following Avatar closely, outside of seeing a few movie trailers that didn’t make a lasting impression on me, but today I came across the trailer for the game below (which just so happens to be the most recent one). My first impression of what I saw (considering I didn’t remember much from the big screen counterpart) was sort of a mix between Predator and Jurassic Park. Have a look at it yourself. Read more…

Sega is offering early access to the Bayonetta demo to registered Sega Pass Members. Signing up for the Sega Pass is free and takes about 10 seconds (I did it while posting this).

They have a limit of 40,000 codes and they will be given away on a first come first serve basis. If you aren’t a Sega Pass Member, you can sign up right here.

The holiday season is closing in and that means the corporate figure heads we know and love are loosening their jaws to allow for some serious product pitching.

Direct from the hefty predictions department come two haymakers. The first hails from the lips of Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick, and the second comes from Nintendo’s North American President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. Have your popcorn ready. Read more…

Every week, I research all the best new video game releases to find the one game you need to play and the one you need to stay away from: my Video Game Winners and Losers of the Week. Who will win this week? Dragon Age: Origins? Band Hero? Five Minutes to Kill Yourself? Read more…

I’m about to head out the door to grab some dinner and maybe catch a movie, but before I go, I’d like to know what you all plan on playing this weekend?

I’ll be digging into Uncharted 2 and finally cracking open Batman: Arkham Asylum. You can find me on PSN and XBL under the ID “Darkhieser”. Maybe I’ll see a few of you online.

Our friend Sal over at Scrawl got his hands on some early scans of Shonen Jump (shown above). In addition to showcasing the Chocobo new look and giving us a glimpse at yet another summon, the magazine reveals that Japanese versions of Final Fantasy XIII will come with a beta code for Final Fantasy XIV.

This of course doesn’t mean we will experience the same good fortune here in the states, but I for one will be keeping my fingers crossed. Either way, there will be plenty of leaked internet footage for us to drool over when the time comes.

EA announced today that free trial access to their MMO Warhammer Online will be available to gamers on an unlimited basis. Jeff Hickman, the game’s executive producer, states:

“With the introduction of the endless free trial and streaming client, we are making it easier than ever for a new player to join the WAR,”

“… we are giving players an unlimited amount of time to explore the early parts of the game at their own pace. We are confident that players new and old will find all the enhancements we’ve made to WAR over the past year worthy of their time and commitment.”

Of course, the trial does not grant access to the game’s top-tier content, but considering all the enhancements they claim to have made, it will probably allow for enough quests and grinding to keep you occupied and unbathed long enough to ensure total and absolute seclusion from society.

Valve continues to show their love for the “it only does everything” PlayStation 3 console. The latest show of support comes from a CVG interview with Valve’s writer extraordinaire, Chet Faliszek.

“In hooking up with your friends and the community aspects, I think the Xbox 360 is head and shoulders above the PS3 …  it’s all about playing with your friends.”

Apparently the PS3 isn’t friendly enough for Valve. Chet digs the knife deeper by telling gamers that they shouldn’t not buy Left 4 Dead 2 with the hope that it will eventually come out for the PlayStation 3. Read more…

Activision’s highly anticipated Modern Warfare 2 can already be found on a multitude of internet torrent sites (so I’ve been told), but the quick work of Dallas based IPCybercrime (hired by Activision) helped move one cyber-thief out of his spacious gadget filled hacker pad into something a little more “cozy”. Read more…

Nintendo’s President and Chief Operationg Officer in North America (better known as Reggie), firmly denied rumors of a Wii HD, telling GameTrailers TV:

“I don’t know how forcefully we can say there is no Wii HD.”

Well Reggie, you could pull the Wii HD out and beat people over the head with it while screaming “IT DOESN’T EXIST! DO YOU HEAR ME!?!” That might do it.

Infinity Ward’s decision to utilize Steamworks exclusively (it will handle updates, saves, achievements, etc) for the PC version of their Modern Warfare 2 title has IGN’s Direct2Drive download service refusing to sell it.

Valve’s Steamworks platform is a direct competitor to IGN’s Direct2Drive service, and considering the fact that you won’t be able to play the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 without installing Steamworks, this really doesn’t come as a huge surprise. Read more…

The team at BioWare released a few new Mass Effect 2 screens for us to chew on over the weekend. How nice of them. Read more…

In a recent Twitter status update, Gears of War mastermind, Cliff Bleszinski, expressed his admiration for the new first person shooter based RPG “Borderlands”.

“Borderlands, I adore you. You’re Diablo for a generation raised on first person shooters. I want a Claptrap statue.”

Interesting analogy. I guess that means Twitter is the same as human interaction for a generation raised on computers.

The 2009 Today’s Gamers Internation Survey tells us something that a lot of us could of guessed: most Americans love playing videogames more than anything else. Read more…

The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York inducted the Nintendo Game Boy, created by the late Gunpei Yokoi, into the ranks of play time immortal. The “Toy Hall of Fame” is a distinguished and elite honor which includes other childhood favorites such as The Ball and Big Wheel (both inducted this year) as well as LEGOs, Rubik’s Cube, Transformers, Silly Putty, and Dan Landis’s favorite — the Easy-Bake Oven.

Since we are on the topic, I feel the need to issue an impromptu PSA. Don’t race down a paved hill on your Big Wheel and try to stop on a dime while wearing shorts. The skin on your legs will thank you for it.

Seriously though, “The Ball” only just made it in this year!?! That baffles me considering it makes things like football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and even dodge ball possible. Oh well, congratulations to the Game Boy, Big Wheel, and that ball thing.

Thanks GoNintendo

The wrap up of a recent Square-Enix Financial meeting featured CEO Yoici Wadam assuring smooth development of the Western release, adding that there was a possibility the game could release globally before the end of the fiscal year.

The Japanese fiscal year runs from April 1st to March 31st, so if development continues as smoothly as Wadda anticipates it will, there’s a good chance we may see Final Fantasy XIII in the United States sometime before the end of March. Keep your fingers crossed.

Thanks Siliconera

Short and sweet, the boycott laden announcement of Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2 has made it’s way through the shit storm of hate to amass a pre-order amount four times greater than that of the original. Setting aside the hurtful past, Valve’s Chet Faliszek comments on the pre-order numbers telling CVG “I think people are just excited now,”

Aww, I just love stories with a happy ending. Maybe now is a good time for Valve to announce the development of Left 4 Dead 3. Too soon?