Today's round-up includes news of
Red Steel being scored by Tom Salta, Square Enix's
Final Fantasy XI Vana’diel Collection 2007 for the PC, and Konami's plans for Digital Life in New York, as well as the latest Game Career Guide updates, Serious Games Source posts, GameSetWatch posts and Gamasutra job postings.
- Representatives from Ubisoft have announced that composer and music producer Tom Salta has created the musical score for the upcoming Wii-exclusive
Red Steel. The score will draw from traditional and contemporary Japanese influences, mirroring the landscape of the game, which is set against the backdrop of Japan's criminal underworld. Salta arranged and recorded traditional live Japanese instrumentation including koto, shamisen, shakuhachi and taiko performed by Japanese musicians including the specialist percussion group Taikoza. The score also features performances from conservatory-trained Japanese opera singers and renowned violinist Lili Haydn. Salta further added to the soundtrack with a wide array of music styles – such as orchestral, electronic, rock, hip hop, dance, easy listening, jazz, lounge, and Japanese pop. Tom Salta’s previous video game credits include the Ubisoft's popular Xbox 360 action title,
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, which was nominated for Best Video Game Score at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
- Square Enix announced that it will release
Final Fantasy XI Vana’diel Collection 2007 exclusively for Windows on November 7, 2006. This collection will contain the company's popular MMORPG stand-alone product as well as the
Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and
Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion packs. The box, which will carry an MSRP of $29.99, will also include a new foldout Quick Manual that includes a world map and a starter’s guide.
- Konami has confirmed the list of titles that will be featured at Ziff Davis' annual DigitalLife Summit, to be held October 12-15 in New York. Covering an assortment of current and next-generation consoles and handhelds, Konami plans to bring thirteen titles at the event, including
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the Nintendo DS,
Elebits for the Wii, and
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops for the PSP. Other confirmed titles include
Xiaolin Showdown (PS2, DS),
Winx Club (DS),
My Frogger Toy Trials (DS),
Death Jr. 2: Root of Evil (PSP),
Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol (PS2), and
Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (Xbox 360, PS2). Konmai will also feature a trio of titles from its long running
Dance Dance Revolution franchise, including
Supernova (PS2),
Ultramix 4 (Xbox), and
Universe (Xbox 360). Finally, the company will also host a special 'Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Virtual Contest' at its booth during the event. Attendees can compete with the game on a special stage for a chance to win prizes, including an all-expense paid trip to the taping of an 'American Idol' TV show in Hollywood.
- The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog
GameSetWatch include news of
a website devoted to covering "space games",
Parappa the Rapper 2 McDonald Special Edition being sold on eBay, and
a competition to win Capcom's Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins for the PSP.
- The latest updates on Gamasutra's sister site
Game Career Guide include a new feature covering Dartmouth College's Tom Eastman's
path into game industry, and news of Chris van der Kuyl
appointed to chairman of Add Knowledge Ltd.
- Also updated today: the latest
Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Blizzard, Blue Fang Games, and Green Monster Games.
