Rumor Control: Final Fantasy XII yin and yang and a new PSP FAQ

RUMOR #1: Possible bad news: Final Fantasy XII has been delayed. Possible good news: There's a new Final Fantasy coming to the GameCube.

Source: Possible bad news, from import gaming news site The Magic Box. Possible good news, from the Brits at TotalVideoGames.

The official story: Regarding the possible bad news: "No comment." --Square Enix USA representative.

Regarding the possible good news: "Square Enix USA is not aware of any Final Fantasy/GameCube revealings at E3." --the same Square Enix USA representative.

What we heard: Regarding the possible bad news, now that Square Enix is one big, happy family, the company needs to think about how to leverage its different brands throughout the year. Fans know that Square Enix's two biggest properties are the Dragon Warrior (aka Dragon Quest) and Final Fantasy series, each of which was slated to receive a new installment this year--at around the same time. But how would the kids manage their time with two gigantic, new role-playing games to worry about all at once? So, the story goes that, given that Dragon Quest VIII was further along in development than Final Fantasy XII, Square Enix figured it would pad the release dates farther apart, pushing back Final Fantasy XII until later this year if not early the next. Stranger things have happened.

As for the possible good news, TotalVideoGames reported that UK-based Nintendo Official Magazine ran a story about how a new GameCube-exclusive Final Fantasy game would be revealed at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo in May and that the game would "thankfully" have a "closer resemblance to previous [Final Fantasy] titles." February's Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for the GameCube enjoyed a stint at the top of the sales charts that month, and the kids all love Final Fantasy, so wouldn't another one be great? Also, given the rash of remakes on the GameCube, the most recent being Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, FF fanboys quickly started surmising that maybe this next Nintendo Final Fantasy would be a remake of one of the old favorites.

Bogus or not bogus?: Regarding the possible bad news, you could probably take the "no comment" as a long "yes." As for us, we'll say "not bogus."

Regarding the possible good news, though there's a slim possibility that Square Enix is keeping its USA division in the dark for now, we doubt it. Bogus.

RUMOR #2: Sony has dropped the wireless networking functionality from its upcoming handheld, the PSP.

Source: CNN columnist Chris Morris' Game Over column.

The official story: "We have not made any announcements regarding the final specifications for the PSP." --an official Sony spokesperson.

What we heard: Though the bulk of Morris' column was focused on a possible IM chat functionality being included in Nintendo's upcoming DS system (perhaps another Rumor Control installment in and of itself), at the end of the column, Morris nonchalantly mentions that Sony has recently ditched its wireless functions for the PSP. The first talk of wireless technology being included with the PSP began in articles published last summer, which spoke of possible Bluetooth, 802.11, or purely infrared technology being included in the device. This info wasn't just slipped out by a nameless source, either--the info came directly from Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi. This, of course, does not necessarily make for a guarantee, as lots of high-ranking executives over the years have boasted various forms of speculative technology for upcoming systems that never quite came to fruition, but it certainly does make it much more plausible than your average Web forum rumor.

Bogus or not bogus?: When you start getting into things like rumors of cancellations of rumored technologies, you begin to enter into a realm of metarumors, the likes of which would befuddle even the most enlightened of rumor squashers. However, considering how many different types of technology have been rumored to be featured on the PSP, we can't imagine they're all going to make it into the final product. To us, it seems as though this is not bogus.

RUMOR #3: Based upon a new Web site featuring the Gearbox Software logo, it appears as though Gearbox is working on its next project, possibly titled "War Story."

Source: Every PC gamer's favorite portal news site, Blue's News

The official story: "That website will be getting some updates in the near future that should shed a lot of light onto your questions." --Gearbox president Randy Pitchford.

What we heard: This afternoon, a news blip appeared on Blue's News, talking about this warstory.net URL that featured the Gearbox logo. Upon inspection of the site, we found nothing, save for the aforementioned logo and the following quote:

"The problem with these games is that they promise to let us live the life of a soldier in combat, but they're not really putting us there. Real soldiers know that in combat, you live and fight as a team. Leadership counts. Good tactics win. Poor leadership and bad tactics get you slaughtered." - Historian, Author, Soldier: Colonel John Antal [Airborne, Ranger, US Army, Ret.]

Naturally, this quote piqued our interest. Could Gearbox be at work on some sort of new war-based game? Is it some sort of tactical shooter? What war would it be based on? How many rhetorical questions can we ask ourselves before you stop reading?

Bogus or not bogus?: Obviously Gearbox was more than happy to admit that the Web site was theirs, but as to the context of the game or its title, that's all up in the air. Still, it's rare when a game company goes out and registers a specific URL that differs from the game's at-least-tentative title. We're going with not bogus on this one.

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