SGcafe

AFA Press-con Date Announced

oOgA — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:16:01 +0000

13th September 2010

“Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International” Confirmed For Xbox 360 Japan

oOgA — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:09:29 +0000

Xbox 360 owners of Japan will prolly rejoice (or prolly be cursing and swearing) as Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy XIII will be coming for Xbox 360 in Japan. The game will be titled as “Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International”

Well, that is one long name for a game title, Square Enix will be launching the game for retail on December 16 this year at a price of 4,980 yen. Having said that, the game features English voice acting with Japanese subtitles (explains the curse and swear). The game will also feature an “easy mode” and “Final Fantasy XIII – Episode 1″ (a short novel)

The English version of Final Fantasy XIII will feature the theme song “My Hands” by Leona Lewis

Hatsune Miku To Appear In San Francisco’s “J-Pop Summit Festival 2010″

oOgA — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:49:06 +0000

Virtual Idol “Hatsune Miku” will be making her “first US appearance” in J-Pop Summit Festival 2010, held in San Francisco on September 18 this year. Miku has appeared in concerts previously before such as the Thanksgiving event in Japan as well as Anime Festival Asia 2009.

Hatsune Miku is created by Crypton Future Media using Yamaha’s Vocaloid 2 technology.

AFA Press Conference Soon

oOgA — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:42:50 +0000

Anime Festival Asia 2010 (AFA X) will be holding its press conference soon where details of the event will be unveiled. You know it is coming and I can say it is coming very soon. We have setup a dedicated forum setup for AFA discussions, located here

AFA started since 2008 with artistes such as May’n and Ichirou Mizuki gracing the event, it further expanded in 2009 with the presence of Nakagawa Shoko and Fukuyama Yoshiki as well as virtual idol “Hatsune Miku” along with guests such as Danny Choo in the event.

What could be in store for 2010 ?

We shall find out soon

Dissidia Final Fantasy Sequel Confirmed

oOgA — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:12:00 +0000

The sequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy has been confirmed in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Final Fantasy XIII’s Lightning and Final Fantasy IV’s Kain will be joining the roster. Titled “Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy”, the game is set for the PSP in Japan, targeting a launch in 2011.

Teenage Cosplay Shortlisted Candidates !

oOgA — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:29:43 +0000

Teenage Cosplay competition have shortlisted 70 for the next round of selections ! The 70 will qualify for the next round of auditions on 18 or 19 September. This is the second stage, all the best and congratulations if you have entered this stage !

Teenage Cosplay is part of Teenage’s upcoming event “Teenage Big Day Out” held in Suntec Convention Halls 403 on 7-9 November 2010.

Audition details are as follows:

Venue: *SCAPE, Level 5, The Cache*
Date: 18 OR 19 SEPTEMBER 2010 (To Be Announced)
Time: 9.30AM to 6PM

THINGS TO NOTE:

• All participants for TEENAGE COSPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS should have received your email confirmation on your AUDITION DATE & TIME. If you did not receive it, please call or email us at marketing@key-editions.com. To know if you have been shortlisted, please check The Official Teenage Facebook Page album (TEENAGE COSPLAY – SHORTLISTED)

• All participants will be informed if they advance to the NEXT STAGE of the competition after the AUDITIONS. The next stage of the competition will be during TEENAGE BIG DAY OUT! on the 5 to 7 November 2010.

• Please bring your identification (NRIC) during the Auditions.

• Auditions will be based on your assigned timeslot (in your email) but it will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

• There will be a PHOTOGRAPHY session so please come dressed to impressed (for TEENAGE COSPLAY 2010, come in your cosplay costume and made-up).

• PLEASE BE PUNCTUAL

All other AUDITION details such as judging criteria are in the email so do check it out! If you have any questions, please call us at 6546-7756 or email us at marketing@key-editions.com.

Hope to see you all on the 18 and 19 September! All the best to everyone at the AUDITION STAGES and remember to HAVE FUN!

Here is a list of cosplayers who have qualify !

CLANNAD For PS3 Announced

oOgA — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:39:02 +0000

One of Key’s flagship titles is heading towards the PlayStation 3 after launching on PC, Xbox 360 and the PSP. It is CLANNAD.

As usual, Prototype is behind the remake of the original PC visual novel and the PS3 title will feature some awesome features which include 720p visuals, 5.1 channel surround and also including a 16 episode CLANNAD exclusive “光見守る坂道で (hikari mimamoru sakamichi de)” picture novel .

Availability and pricing is not known yet.

Note: The game is in Japanese

Tales of Graces F Launch Date Announced

oOgA — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:36:26 +0000

That’s pretty fast for Namco Bandai after announcing details for Tales of Graces F demo on the PlayStation 3. Their official website has been updated again, this time with the launch date being announced and also the goodies that come with the retail.

click for larger image

Tales of Graces F will be retailing on December 2, the game will be available for the PS3 and will be selling in Japan at a price of ¥8,379. Pre-order bonuses include the following:

Skit Drama Disc “Mamoritai Download Version”

A skit drama titled “Mamoritai Download Version” contains a special message from the seiyuu (voice actor) of main character Aspel Lant and also promotion videos. The DVD jacket has illustrations from character designer Mutsumi Inomata.

Costume Download Codes

The back of the DVD jacket contains codes where you can download Tales of Destiny 2 costumes for Aspel, Sophie and Richard

PS3 XMB Theme Download Code

This is code where you can use to get a PS3 XMB theme for Tales of Graces F, very beautiful.

Note: The game is in Japanese.

Sony NEX-5 Review

oOgA — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:44:26 +0000

Navigation
Page 1 – Introduction and Specifications (This Page)
Page 2 – Designs and Looks
Page 3 – User Experience and Features
Page 4 – Image Quality & Conclusion

Mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) are getting popular these days as they are designed for users who want the form factor of compact cameras, with performance that is as good as the digital SLRs. The NEX-5 is Sony’s first mirrorless interchangable-lens camera in the Alpha series lineup and VR-Zone has the chance to get one in for review.

Does it live up to expectations ? Let us take a look.

The NEX-5 is powered by a 14.2-megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, 49-segment exposure meter and a 25-point contract detect auto-focus system

At first glance, the Alpha NEX-5′s sleek design comes with a 3-inch tilting LCD panel at 921,000-dot resolution.

The Alpha NEX-5 looks like a worthy competitor against the Micro Four Thirds cameras in the market as it is also to equip different lens using Sony’s proprietary E-mount. The existing Alpha lens can also be fitted with an optional LA-EA1 adapter.

In the retail package of the Sony NEX-5, we have the following:

Battery charger
Power cord (for the charger)
Rechargeable battery
USB cable
Shoulder strap
External flash unit in a case
CD with software and instructional manual
Lens (dependent on package)

Here’s a look at the specification tablet:

Sony Alpha NEX-5
Camera Type	Interchangable lens digital camera
Lens Compatibility	Sony E-mount lenses
Image Sensor	APS-C type (23.4×15.6mm), Exmor APS- HD with CMOS sensor RGB Primary color filters
Megapixels	14.6
Recording Media	Memory Stick PRO Duo / Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, SD memory card / SDHC memory card / SDXC memory card
Recording System (Still Image)
Recording Format	JPEG (DCF Ver.2.0, Exif Ver.2.3, MPF Baseline compliant), RAW (Sony ARW 2.2 format), RAW & JPEG
Image Size	3:2 Aspect Ratio - L: 4592 x 3056 (14M), M: 3344 x 2224 (7.4M), S: 2288 x 1520 (3.5M) 16:9 Aspect Ratio - L: 4592 x 2576 (12M), M: 3344 x 1872 (6.3M), S: 2288 x 1280 (2.9M)
Creative Styles	Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, B/W (Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness adjustable in +/-3 steps)
Dynamic Range	Off, D-Range Optimizer (Auto, Lv 1-5), Auto HDR (Auto Exposure Diff., Adjustable Exposure Diff.: up to 6EV between 1.0EV to 6EV in 1 EV steps)
Color Space	sRGB, Adobe RGB
Recording System (Movie)
Recording Format	AVCHD, MPEG-4
Video Compression	MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)
Image Size	AVCHD – 1920×1080 (50i / average bit rate 17Mbps) MP4 – 1440×1080 (25fps / average bit rate 12Mbps) VGA – 640×480 (25fps / average bitrate 3Mbps)
Features
White Balance Modes	Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash, C. temp./Filter (2500- 9900k with 19-step Magenta/Green compensation)
Facial Detection	Up to 8 faces detectable automatically
Smile Shutter	Selectable from 3 steps
Precision Digital Zoom	1.1x – 10x
Print	Exif Print, Print Image Matching III, DPOF setting
Focus System and Exposure Control
Focus Type	Contrast-detect AF with a sensitivity range of EV0-20 (ISO100 equivalent, with F2.8 lens attached)
Auto-focus Mode	AF-S (Single-shot AF) / AF-C (Continuous AF) selectable
Focus Area	Multi (25 points) / Center / Flexible spot selectable
Other Focusing Features	Predictive control, Focus lock, Built-in AF illuminator (Distance: approx. 0.3-4.0m with E 16 F2.8 lens, approx. 0.5-3.0m with E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS)
Metering System Type	49-zone metering with a sensitivity range of EV0-20 (ISO100 equivalent, with F2.8 lens attached)
Metering Modes	Multi / Center / Spot selectable
Scene Selection	Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports Action, Sunset, Night portrait, Night View, Hand-held Night Shot
Exposure Bracketing	+/-2.0EV in 1/3EV steps
ISO Sensitivity	AUTO (ISO200-1600?, ISO200 to 12800 selectable (in 1EV steps, Recommended Exposure Index)
Screen Display
LCD Monitor Type	7.5cm (3.0-type) wide type TFT, Xtra Fine LCD with TruBlack technology
Total No. Of Dots	921,600 dots
Field Coverage	100%
Brightness Control	Auto / Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2) / Sunny Weather
Adjustable Angle	Up by approx. 80 degrees, down by approx. 45 degrees (from the camera back)
Audio
Microphone	Built-in stereo microphone or ECM-SST1*5 attachable to Smart Accessory Terminal
Speaker	Built-in, monaural, Volume settings in 8 steps between 0 and 7
Shutter
Shutter Type	Electronically controlled, vertical traverse, focal-plane type
Speed	1/4000 to 30 sec, Bulb
Flash Sync Speed	1/160 sec
Drive
Shooting Modes	Single-shot, Continuous shooting, Speed-priority continuous shooting, Self-timer, Remote commander
Self Timer	10/2 sec delay selectable, Cont.: with 10 sec delay, 3/5 exposures selectable
Continuous Shooting FPS	Continuous mode: max. 2.3 fps, Speed-priority continuous mode: max 7 fps
Interface
PC	USB2.0 Hi-speed (Mass-storage, PTP)
HD Output	HDMI mini connector (Type-C), BRAVIA Sync (link menu), PhotoTV HD
Compatible OS	Windows(R) XP SP3, Windows Vista(R) SP2, Windows 7, Mac OS X (v10.3-v10.6) 64-bit editions and Starter Edition not supported. Windows Image Mastering API (IMAPI) Ver. 2.0 or greater is necessary to create disks
Flash
Type	External flash (supplied), attachable to Smart Accessory Terminal
Flash Coverage	16mm (focal length printed on lens body)
Guide No.	7 (in meters at ISO100)
Control	P-TTL metering
Flash Modes	Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync.
Red-eye Reduction	On/Off selectable for Autoflash and fill-flash mode
Recycle Time	Approx 4 seconds
Power and Size
Battery Type	One rechargeable battery pack NP-FW50
External Power	Battery charger BC-VW1(supplied), AC Adaptor AC-PW20AM
Battery Performance	Approx. 330 images (CIPA standard)
Camera Dimensions	110.8 x 58.8 x 38.2mm (without protrusions)
Camera Weight	Approx. 287g
Operating Temperature	0-40°C / 32 deg. F to 104 deg. F

Let us move on to the next page.

Tales of Graces F Demo Preview

oOgA — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:11:56 +0000

Tales of Graces F is more than just a remake of the original game for the Wii, it is targeted for a PS3 release introducing new features and HD visuals, you can learn more about it here

Namco Bandai have announced some details of the demo for the PS3, the demo will set the player in a dungeon “Forest of Mystery” and you will be able to select from seven playable characters. The game’s character specials such as “Accel Mode” and new “hi-ougi” specials are also found in the demo too !

No specific date was mentioned when the demo is available in PlayStation Store but with Tokyo Game Show around the corner and the official website stating “soon”. You can get a rough hint