Round Up: FFXI Next-Gen Sequel, Riding & Outso, Wii Remote

Today's round-up includes news of an upcoming sequel to Final Fantasy XI, Steve Riding joining European outsourcing company Outso, and detailed information concerning the Wii remote, as well as the latest GameSetWatch posts, product news, Serious Games Source news, and Gamasutra job postings. - Japanese news website Nikkei Net has reported, as partially translated by consumer website IGN, that developer Square Enix has plans to release a sequel to the PC, PlayStation 2, and most recently Xbox 360 massively multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG), Final Fantasy XI. According to the report, the new MMORPG is in development for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows Vista platforms. Details are scarce, and it is currently unknown if the game will be a direct sequel, or, like other single player Final Fantasy games, will be set within its own self-contained universe that is altogether separate from Vana'diel (Final Fantasy XI's setting). [UPDATE: GameSpot reports a Square Enix official statement of a "completely new MMORPG", denying that the new MMO is in the Final Fantasy series, as originally reported.] - Steve Riding, who was up until recently Studio Manager of Travellers Tales Oxford (Crash Twinsanity) has now joined European outsourcing company Outso. The management of Outso has more than 60 years worth of collective experience, developing games for publishers such as Sony, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sega, Universal, Disney and others. Steve has been in the games industry for over 26 years, starting as a programmer until reaching positions such as Director of External Development for Sony Psygnosis before starting Travellers Tales in Oxford. As the former Director of External Development for Sony Psygnosis, Steve led the external development for Psygnosis in Europe, USA and Australia and headed the acquisition and development of many companies for the Sony label. - According to IGN, the major consumer website has obtained documentation concerning the controller for Nintendo's upcoming Wii console. According to the report, the Wii remote will be powered by AA batteries, and will feature battery life between 30-60 hours. LEDs on the controller will depict battery life, as well as illustrate which controller is currently communicating with the Wii. The report noted that the controller will use Bluetooth on a 2.4GHz bandwidth to communicate with the console, and will contain 6KB of “non-volatile” memory for a purpose that is not entirely clear. The remote will feature a button labeled “SYNCHRO”, which will be used to identify usable Wii remotes within the vicinity of the Wii. Finally, the IGN report listed that the controller will include a rumble feature that will be can be enabled or disabled by the player. The Wii itself is expected to launch sometime before Thanksgiving, with some speculating it could arrive at retail as early as October. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister weblog GameSetWatch include news of the completion of the Oblivion Book Jacket Mod, an interview with Richard Meurling on his unofficial fan remake of the NES title The Legend of Zelda for mobile phones, and a freely downloadable physics toy called Souptoys Toybox. - Also updated today: Serious Games Source news on Ben Sawyer delivering a lecture at the upcoming EIEF this August and a new report examining games for social change, plus Gamasutra product news including the release of Tira Jump Version 3 and Bigfoot Network's Killer NIC, and the latest Gamasutra job postings, featuring openings from Amaze Entertainment, Backbone Entertainment, BioWare Corp. Austin, Blue Tongue Entertainment Limited, Endeavor Consulting, Heavy Iron Studios, Hi-Rez Studios, Irrational Games Australia, and SDI Media.