[All Things 3DS] KH 3D available by the end of July

Uncle Mickey wants YOU!!

UK and US 3DS gamers sometimes get the short end of the stick, especially when we talk about games from Japan. Porting and language barriers aside, what I don't get is why the long wait.

But sometimes the wait is worth it.

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, the latest in the KH franchise since after Birth By Sleep for the PSP, will hit the shores of the UK and US at around the 20th and 31st of July, respectively. And I did say the wait was worth it, right? Coz US gamers will get a treat....

Players who pre-order their KH 3D thru Walmart or Amazon will get a pack of AR (augmented reality) cards, which is used to unlock exclusive Dream Eaters in the game. Dream Eaters are special companions that accompany the protagonist(s) in place of either Donald or Goofy, or both.

Sweet, eh? All I gotta do now is farm sell items in Diablo III for this.

Get a life, ya buncha clowns! Oh, right....

source: [My Nintendo News]

[Diablo III] Planning on buying/selling items in Diablo 3? It's legal! ....at a price.

Auction House in action: Free-for-all.

So you heard the real-money auction house coming to Diablo III eh? But it'll cost ya.

What, they didn't tell you the 'catch'? Well, way back in Diablo 2 RMT (real money trading) was done in gray channels; well, shady dealings and such that Blizzard has no control of. This time, with Diablo III, they've set up an auction house for us players. Buy-and-sell in-game items for either gold or money. Real money. Dollars. Benjamins.

But I'm not here to let your hopes skyrocket.

So what's to buy? Or sell? Well, there's loots. Gold (Gold, GOOOLD!!). Equipment. Recipes and such. After all, the main attraction of Diablo III, besides the obvious storyline and demon-and-undead-killing-spree, is looting. Be it on scattered treasure chests or the corpses of your fallen enemies. Not to mention the scattered remains of NPC adventurers and such. With the stuff that you may not use in the long run or just look around and find useable materials, why not make a profit out it. After all, it's a rave in China it's a means to break even for just buying Diablo III (be it digitally or thru retail). And maybe other players need your stuff. So sell them. And that's where the fees come in.

So here's the deal: When you sell commodities such as gems and recipes on the auction house, Blizzard will take a 15% cut of the final sales price. When you sell equipment such as weapons or armor, Blizzard will take $1 per item. Nice no? Or am I hearing wails of anguish coming from the farmers' gatherers' sector?

Blizzard will also take another 15% cut as "transfer fee" if you opt to cash out to third-party payment service PayPal. Not to mention any additional fees that PayPal imposes on its own. If you want to avoid that fee, your only option is to deposit your profits in your Battle.net Balance, which you can then use to buy digital copies of Blizzard games or more items at the auction house. Your Battle.net Balance can't be turned into cash. You can link a credit card to pay for items, but you can't use it to receive money.

So summary: if you're gonna sell and make real money out of it, Blizzard takes a hefty 15% sales fee (for gems and recipes, maybe even loots), then another 15% "transfer fee". For selling equipment and the like, it's $1/equipment sales, then 15% transfer fee. Simple to understand, right?

To quote Blizzard:

Note that the process of sending proceeds to a third-party payment service will be subject to applicable fees charged by Blizzard and the third-party payment service, Also, any proceeds from the sale of items in the real-money auction house that have been sent to the player's Battle.net Balance will not be transferrable to the third-party payment service account.

For addicted enthusiastic Diablo III item/gold farmers players, these fees could add up quickly. I can hear the cries of players hating the system, but it's a means to control the pricing system of items and such. But Blizzard says even with transaction fees, players will prefer the officially sanctioned system.

The item-based nature of Diablo gameplay has always lent itself to an active trade-based ecosystem, and a significant part of this trade has been conducted through unsecure third-party organizations. This has led to numerous customer-service and game-experience issues that we've needed to account for. Our primary goal with the Diablo III auction house system is for it to serve as the foundation for a player-driven economy that's safe, fun, and accessible to everyone.

And yeah, there's a cap on your Battle.net Balance. When you reach $250, you can't place items for auction anymore. Meaning you have to use that money if you want to sell more (do remember that you can't use your Battle.net Balance to cash out real money). The minimum amount for bid is $1.25, and the maximum is $250. Also, Blizzard will not be putting items up for sale themselves; all transactions will be left up to players.

Nicely done, Blizzard. Nicely done.

Now the question is if the choice of cashing out (ie Paypal) or thru Battle.net Balance for your profits is either a one-time deal for all succeeding transactions, or can be done on a 'per-item' basis.

Well, with 14 days to go, hopefully Blizzard will iron out the creases of the FAQ.

Sources: [Diablo 3 Auction House How-to]
               [Diablo 3 Auction House Functionality]

[Diablo III] Diablo III removes region-locks. Wheeee~

Great news, Diablo fans! Blizzard today released a full list of the region servers that will be available in Diablo III. What that means is that you'll be able to play on any region's server in the upcoming action-roleplaying game.

Servers will be divided into three regions: The Americas, Europe, and Asia. Any player will be able to pick any server to use, although you won't be able to transfer characters or items from server to server. You can switch between servers as many time as you'd like. Sweet.

The server regions are the following:

• The Americas - includes the US, Canada, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. (Hey...., what the heck?? SEA??!)
• Europe - the European Union, the Eastern Bloc Eastern Europe, Russia, Africa, and Mideast countries such as Israel and the UAE.
• Asia - for players from South Korea and the regions of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.

Auction houses, stashes, and friends lists, and most other individual info will be region-specific and won't transfer when you switch regions. Hrmm.....

This is a good break from Blizzard's previous hit game, Starcraft II. Strict region-locking prevented players from interacting from different countries (except for the SEA people, who were able to access the NA servers but not vice-versa), and people had to buy multiple copies of the game just to play in other regions.

Source: [Diablo III Global Play FAQ] 

[Around the Web] MGS 2 & 3 HD Edition trailer for the Vita

Konami shows off a better-looking Metal Gear Solid: HD Edition trailer, specifically tailored for the PS Vita.

Well, with all the previous trailers since way back last year, I suppose it's mostly for the eye-candy show and such.

By the way, the trailer's in Japanese, but you can follow along even if you don't understand the language. Believe me.

Now, where's my Peace Walker for the 3DS? Kojima, don't you dare leave me hanging out here.

Metal Gear Solid: HD Edition (features MGS 2 and 3) comes out to Japan on June 30th.

[Around the Web] Black Ops 2 is set in the....future?

Well, after several leaks and a day of rumors and stuff, Activition finally reveals Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Though I'm kinda surprised that the setting is in the...not-too-distant future? As I recall the previous Black Ops was centered during the Cold War..., well, in particular the Vietnam War.

So what's the story this time? Mason never did shoot JFK? Or if he did, what were the possible repercussions that Activision engineered for the story?

Well, hopefully more will be revealed.

PS: There's supposed to be a Black Ops 2 YouTube trailer, but as of writing it's like a private viewing. Phoeey.

source: [Official Call of Duty website]
            [Kotaku]

[Around the Web] The Dark Knight Rises Final Trailer

Oh gods, the final trailer. As if the first two weren't enough to make me sweat in anticipation.

(Yes, Anne Hathaway looking better and better as Catwoman)

Will this final Bat-Nolan film end the same way as DC's Knightfall climax?

Only on July the 20th will we ever know.

Check out here for the teaser website: [The Dark Knight Rises]

[LaLiLuLeLo] Make it Right - Arm??!

Oh gods, I got a headache after watching this teaser. As if this wasn't enough to make your brain spinning in confusion.

All I can say is, they're hyping up on Raiden's dark past.