411mania talks about this week's game releases. Highlights include Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Cursed Mountain, and Harvest Moon: Magical Melody.
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Kotaku writes:

Square Enix honcho Yoichi Wada (above, left) is worried. Western game companies are doing really well! Meaning that competition is getting harder. Yet, Wada hopes to capitalise on the Western market, aiming to increase the ratio of overseas sales from its current 50 percent to 80 percent in the next three years. According to the exec:

"We face competition not only from Japanese videogame companies but from game companies worldwide. We also see some new players from outside the videogame industry coming in... Economies of scale and breadth of scope is getting important. It may be a business alliance or it may be us taking a stake in others, but we need to go beyond traditional Square Enix."

That business alliance sounds nice and all. But, how about stop calling everything Final Fantasy? Or make things other than RPGs? Or if you are going to make RPGs, why not make the games people have been asking for for the past decade?
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On April 4, Square Enix is launching a contest inviting all players of the company's recently released DS title, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, to express their creativity using the game's built-in Moogle Paint feature.
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From the article: "Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Ring of Fates® will be on sale from tomorrow exclusively on the Nintendo DS system."
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Square-Enix has a special message for users running pirated copies of newly released Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - "Thank you for playing!" Flashcart versions of the game found their way online within hours of its release this week, but pirates reportedly soon found that the game would randomly cut to a screen displaying the thank you message and would not allow them to progress further. ... » Read More

Mere hours after Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates hit store shelves today, pirated copies of the game appeared in the shady corners of the internet, posted for all the picaroons out there to download and transfer to their flashcarts.

Twenty minutes or so into the ARPG, however, many of those pirates found themselves greeted with this "Thank you for playing!!" screen and unable to progress. Players have the option of restarting the game from the last save point and playing on, but the screen reappears at random intervals. Clever!
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Exophase.com: "Square Enix's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, which shipped to North American retailers today for the Nintendo DS, includes a new copy protection scheme that attempts to discourage users from running an unauthorized copy of the game on certain DS flash cards."
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Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates will be released in Europe on March 21, however a promotional E-mail they sent to their newsletter subscribers says the game is scheduled for release on March 20, 2008, one day earlier.
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Square Enix just sent Shack News over 31 new shots and piece of artwork from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (NDS), showcasing the portable action-RPG's battle, dialogue, and cinematics.
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A number of Nintendo games score very well in EGM this month including Professor Layton and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Full review scores and rumors below.

Wii:

Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed - C+ D+ C+
No More Heroes - B A- B-
Obscure: The Aftermath - D+ D D+ (Shame of the Month)

Multiplatform:

Sega Superstars Tennis - B- C+ C

DS:

Professor Layton - A- B+ A- (Silver)
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword - A- A- B (Silver)
Ace Attorney 4 - A- B+ A- (Silver)
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - A B- B-

Rumors

EA plans on making a mixed-martial arts game
Wii Fit delayed in the US because Nintendo is making a bigger Balance Board
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Square Enix Ltd. has today announced that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates will be released across all PAL territories from 21st March 2008, exclusively on the Nintendo DS.
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Game giant promises at least 65 new Wii games and 80 new DS games in the first half of the year.

"Our momentum is not limited to one system or one game," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's marketing replacement for Perrin Kaplan. "We're going broad and bold in 2008, with something for every member of the family."

First-party highlights from the release list include Advance Wars: Days of Ruin and Crosswords for DS, with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, and Wii Fit headed to Nintendo's fifth-generation console.
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Square Enix has today announced details of its schedule for the fresh end of 2008, with Final Fantasy I and II on the PSP and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings on the DS both being given firm street dates.

Details of the release dates for other UK-bound Square Enix titles are somewhat more vague, with DS titles Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates and The World Ends With You due as the leaves begin to sprout, while we can expect Odin Sphere on PS2 and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker on DS sometime before said leaves turn brown.
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Crisis Core, Crystal Chronicles: Rings of Fate, Dragon Quest Swords and more due up very soon. Official details and dates announced for North America.
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Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates will be released across Europe in Spring 2008 exclusively on the Nintendo DS handheld. Here is the official press release:

London (30th October 2007) ¿ Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Ring of Fates will be released across all PAL territories in spring 2008 exclusively on the Nintendo DS system.
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Crisis Core makes its debut at number one this week but Pokemon is no slouch, both versions combined outsell Final Fantasy by quite a large margin.
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Square Enix's Tokyo Game Show lineup, announced today in Tokyo, is full of surprises, both good and bad. It turns out, for instance, that Dragon Quest IX will be shown, although in video form only. Also surprising is the video-only showing of The Last Remnant. That game appeared to be far enough along at the Square Enix Party earlier this year that IGN was expecting a playable debut.
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1. Samurai Warriors 2 : Xtreme Legends - PS2 - 182.000 - (182.000)
2. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles : Ring of Fates - NDS - 178.000 - (178.000)
3. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney : Trials and Tribulations - NDS - 57.000 - (57.000)
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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is the latest installment in the action/RPG franchise, playable for up to 4 players with a strong multiplayer focus, but if you go solo you can use AI characters to perform combos...
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Square Enix and Nintendo are preparing a Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates bundle for the Nintendo DS in Japan. The 'Nintendo DS Gemini Edition' will be available on the 23 of august when the game releases in Japan. The production is limited and is priced for 21.840 yen (131 euro's and 176 USA dollars).

A picture of the special Nintendo DS is available at the source.
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