Round Up: Final Fantasy III, Activision Goes Retro, UK Extras

Today's Gamasutra round-up includes news on Square Enix announcing the ship date for Final Fantasy III for the Game Boy Advance, Activision bringing Atari 2600 titles to the PSP in an upcoming compilation UMD, and extras to be included with the UK versions of Disgaea 2, Atelier Iris 2 and Gitaroo Man Lives, as well as the latest GameSetWatch posts, product news, and Gamasutra job postings. - Major developer and publisher Square Enix today announced the release date for its upcoming much anticipated remake of Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS. The game, which will feature new 3D graphics, will ship in North America on November 14. In addition to the revamped visuals, the remake will feature a new touch screen interface, allowing players to move, fight, and cast spells by using the stylus. The game will also support The Nintendo WiFi Connection, and allow players to access the game's online component, called Mognet, in order to communicate with other players as well as NPCs, and uncover hidden dungeons, quests and items. - Activision today announced that it will release a compilation of classic Atari 2600 released for the PSP in a collection titled Activision Hits Remixed. Scheduled to ship this fall, the game will include 40 Atari 2600 titles, such as Pitfall, Kaboom!, Chopper Command, Stampede, and Keystone Kapers. Multiplayer games included in the collection will take advantage of being able to be played using a single UMD via “game share” functionality, or on a single PSP by taking turns. Activision Hits Remixed will also include a soundtrack of music from the 1980s, as well as modernized front-end graphics, classic game manuals which include tips and photographs, and several retro unlockables. - Koei announced today that the upcoming UK releases of Disgaea 2:Cursed Memories and Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny for the PS2 and Gitaroo Man Lives! will see a number of added extras added. Atelier Iris 2 has been tweaked by the developers following user feedback received after the game’s Japanese and US releases, resulting in improved monster AI and balance issues. Like its upcoming North American release, Disgaea 2 in the UK has been given the added choice of hearing the original Japanese voices in the game. Finally, Gitaroo Man Lives! in the UK will include two brand new levels not previously found in the PS2 release. It is unknown if these levels are UK exclusives. Atelier Iris 2 and Gitaroo Man Lives! will be released this September, and Disgaea 2 will follow in October. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister weblog GameSetWatch include shameless promotion found in Dungeon Siege 2: Broken World, life imitating art at the recent Second Life Community Convention, and a 'wacky' new blog focused on working at a small game store. - Also updated today: Product news concerning announcements by Ageia at the GC Developers Conference in Leipzig, as well as the latest Gamasutra job postings, featuring openings from Applied Research Associates, Firaxis Games, Spark Unlimited, Sucker Punch Productions, Terminal Reality, Volition, and Walt Disney Internet Group.