On the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop this week are two titles that will test your mental agility: one based in space, the other much more down to earth. On WiiWare is the futuristic-styled action-puzzle game Spaceball: Revolution, while Nintendo DSiWare is treated to not one but two of the world's most popular card games, in 2-in-1 Solitaire.
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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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CVG:

New download content for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord is live on WiiWare today.

There are three new packs containing new monsters and wardrobes full of items and clothing to boost your characters.
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In this week's packed Wii Shop Channel update, return to the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles universe on WiiWare, and celebrate the 300th Virtual Console release as the Hanabi Festival continues. Meanwhile, the Nintendo DSi Shop welcomes the return of a much-loved puzzler.
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No, the Wii unfortunately can't run games in resolutions higher than 480p, a sad fact for audio/visual connoisseurs. But in this fantastical age of technological wizardry and workarounds, that doesn't mean we can't have a glimpse of what could have been.

Using the Wii PC emulator Dolphin, YouTube user renebarahona (via Kotaku) has uploaded a few videos showing some Wii games running in 720p, including Super Smash Bros. Brawl (above) and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (below). Naturally, be sure to click the HD button to get the full effect. Not bad, huh?
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Square Enix released five downloadable add-ons today for their WiiWare title Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King. The downloads vary from new dungeons to costumes for the main character.

The new downloads bring the total downloadable content to 14 items, most of which are new dungeons and outfits.
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Square Enix launched a new site today for Square Enix Members (no charge to join). The website is called Everyone's Kingdom, based on last week's release of the WiiWare game, FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King.

From the Square Enix blog: "Today we opened a mini site within MEMBERS called "Everyone's Kingdom," which is based on the world of FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King. As more peope visit the little kingdom, more content will become available. The kingdom currently offers a couple of downloadable items, so check it out!"
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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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See the announced WiiWare games launching today and details on the WiiWare service.

From Nintendo: "Starting today, Wii owners with an Internet connection can download new, creative games from a wide range of developers, from large publishers to indie shops. By reducing the barriers that make console game development prohibitively expensive, WiiWare showcases original ideas in the most democratic environment in industry history, connecting the people who make games more directly with the people who play them."
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Today's Famitsu issue revealed another batch of new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King additions:

- [100 Points] Castle Update
- [200 Points] Library: Allows your people to memorize race-specific abilities. Coming in June.
- [300 Points] 11 Dungeons Pack: Adds 11 new dungeons. Coming this month.
- [300 Points] Tower of Eternity: New dungeon - Once one of your adventurers beats the powerful creature that's inside you gain an "unvaluable treasure". Coming in June.
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After the launch of WiiWare in Japan last month and the revelation that Square Enix would be providing downloadable content for their first title on the service, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King, today the firm has revealed just how much gamers will have to cough up to purchase new buildings, clothes and races in the so-called "country building" adventure - ranging from 100 to 800 Wii Points and totalling $28 USD.
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Gaming Target writes: Guess what America? Nintendo's WiiWare service has gone live over in Japan. Yes, we have to wait a little bit longer, but thankfully we have the people at Game/Life that don't. So what were they greeted with upon starting their first WiiWare download, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King?

A notice informing them that the product they are downloading will require more points for either additional content or services. While we expected Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King to have additional content for sale, we aren't expecting a service fee.
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The Wiire reports that an update on Square-Enix's Japanese developer blog for the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series revealed that My Life As A King will support four control methods. Those include the Wii Remote held vertically; Wii Remote and Nunchuk; GameCube Controller and Classic Controller.

Square-Enix did not provide details on how each scheme will work exactly. The developers did confirm widescreen support for the game, however, which initial screenshots did not indicate.
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Instead of rolling out a game every week, Nintendo is stocking the WiiWare store with nine games on day one. The other good news is not all of them are 1,500 Wii Points! Only Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King rings in at $15, which makes it the most expensive game on the shop. Arc System Works' Okiraku Ping Pong Wii and Tenshi Solitaire (Angel Solitaire) cost the same as a Famicom game.

Siliconera has a list of what Japan will get on later this month.
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The Wiire writes: A Square-Enix representative has informed The Wiire that the company intends to release Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King in tandem with the May 12 launch of WiiWare in North America. The game will sell for 1,500 Wii Points.

My Life as a King will follow the style and scenario of the original Crystal Chronicles for GameCube. Players will assume the role of a young king, Leo, who must rebuild and restore his kingdom. Instead of an action RPG like the first Crystal Chronicles, however, My Life as a King will focus more on simulation elements.

The release date coincides with Nintendo's previously announced launch date for its WiiWare downloadable game platform. Other studios currently developing software for the platform include Nintendo, Frontier Developments and Telltale Games.
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Famitsu have released new screenshots and artwork of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King in their website.

The artwork lets us have a first look on the king's father, and a creature that's probably the first enemy in the game.
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TSA, a NeoGAF forum member, has attended the WiiWare session of Toshiro Tsuchida and Fumiaki Shiraishi, and was able to record a two minutes video of never seen before Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King gameplay footage.

The developers have made a "tour" of the city they built, and if earlier Forever Fantasy assumed the game won't make it for the North American and European WiiWare launch, this video surely makes it seem like it will; the development is far more advanced than what they had in mind.
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Three new images from Square Enix's developers session regarding My Life as a King's were taken using a camera, one of them reveals the final logo of the game.
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Square Enix didn't get to be Japan's powerhouse RPG developer by taking many risks. After the massive success of the big-budget cinematic RPG Final Fantasy VII, says producer Toshiro Tsuchida, the production model for Square Enix games has remained mostly unchanged: Big budgets, huge teams, 2-4 year development cycles, and an emphasis on visual arts.

But Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King has flipped all of that on its head. In a Game Developers Conference session on Thursday, Tsuchida and programmer Fumiaki Shiraishi talked about the lessons they learned creating the small game for WiiWare, Nintendo's upcoming downloadable game service.
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Nintendo has released a statement to the press regarding their WiiWare service, and confirmed that the North American and European name of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Young King and the Promised Land is, in fact, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King. Here's the text from the press release:

"...WiiWare will be a repository for all types of experiences ¿ literally, something for everyone. Early WiiWare games will come from celebrated developers like Square Enix, which is creating FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King, a simulation game for all ages. Also watch for games from up-and-coming developers like Frontier with its fresh, enchanting platform adventure LostWinds and a new episodic game series from Telltale. The first U.S. WiiWare games will be available on May 12..."
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