Siliconera has confirmed that a sequel to Dissidia: Final Fantasy will be coming to the PSP. The new is titled Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy and is scheduled for a 2011 release in Japan. Joining the ranks of playable characters will be Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII and Kain from Final Fantasy IV. Kain is the more interesting addition to the crew, as it indicates the the sequel will be branching out and adding characters other than the main characters. More details are expected at Tokyo Game Show. I sincerely hope this means Zack is in the game. Who do you want in the sequel?

Bad news for PSPgo owners: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep won’t be getting a PSN-downloadable version, and will only be available as a physical UMD. Because I Told You So was the first to break the story that the expensive, download-only portable won’t be getting the latest game in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Square-Enix’s public relations firm Ogilvy confirmed that there are no current plans for Birth By Sleep to show up on PSN.

This is notable because it’s one of the biggest games coming to the PSP not to get a downloadable version. While other titles, like Half-Minute Hero and Dissidia: Final Fantasy, have had a delay in the transition from disc to download, there have been no notable releases to snub PSN completely.

As a major proponent of the viability of digital distribution and a major supporter of the PSPgo, I know this is upsetting. However, I believe that there is a reason for it. As we all know, the PSP is a haven for piracy. The system sells very well, but games rarely show up on monthly top 10 charts. Herein lies the reasoning that led Square-Enix to not put Birth By Sleep on PSN. When the game came out in Japan, there was no PSN version either. The game had a firmware update on the disc and, to my understanding, was extremely difficult to get running if you used custom firmware or tried to load a pirated version. I can’t confirm any of this myself, but it sounds like a viable reason to not release your game. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep brick-and-mortar stores September 7.

Siliconera reports that The Last Story director Hironobu Sakaguchi said the game’s system took precedence over the story in an Iwata Asks interview. “During 23 years there are 3 times when I considered the [gameplay] system first” said Sakaguchi. The first was the original Final Fantasy and the second was Final Fantasy VII. “There was a considerable amount of trial and error.” Final Fantasy was when they first set up the systems that the RPG would use for decades, while Final Fantasy VII was the first shift to three dimensions.

Hironobu Sakaguchi created the Final Fantasy series in 1987 with the last of then Squaresoft’s money; the game was named ironically as Sakaguchi expected it to be his last game. He went on to be the head of Squaresoft all the way through Final Fantasy X-2, soon after which he left the company to form Mistwalker with funds from Microsoft. Mistwalker’s games have been critically successful, but haven’t been the financial hits they were expected to be. There is some speculation that The Last Story may also be ironically named, fueled by a mistranslation that Sakaguichi was quitting the industry after this title.

As many of you know, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series, is currently working on an project named The Last Story, being developed for the Nintendo Wii. It is tentatively to be released in Japan, at the end of 2010. In a interview he did about a week ago, Sakaguchi explained about his motivations and the restless feeling he had during development of The Last Story.

At least it is for Cavia. The developer of the niche trilogy of Drakengard, Drakengard 2 and Nier is being absorbing into parent company AQ Interactive as reported by 4Gamers (translated via Andriasang). The site conducted an interview which revealed that Nier will be the last title from Cavia and the Cavia branding will cease to exist after the absorption. In addition to the work they did on Square-Enix titles, Cavia also developed Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles and its sequel, Bullet Witch, KORG DS-10, and Fate/unlimited codes. Cavia titles tended to be hampered with gameplay and technical issues, but also tended to have excellent storytelling. This tends to lead to mixed reviews and middling sales. No timeline was given on ending of the Cavia brand.

One thing about me worthy of note is my love of Monster Hunter and its clones. As of right now, I own Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on PSP, Phantasy Star Portable on PSP, Phantasy Star 0 on DS, Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce on PSP and PS3, Phantasy Star Universe and the expansion pack on 360, and White Knight Chronicles which has an online mode greatly reminiscent of Monster Hunter. In addition to that, I have the Japanese demos of Phantasy Star Portable 2, God Eater, Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce 2, and .hack//LINK, which plays quite similarly to a Monster Hunter clone despite being a single player game. Before it comes up, yes, I  do have every intention of getting Peace Walker as well. If you wanted, you could actually trace my love of this type of game play back to the DreamCast days when I played Phantasy Star Online, but I digress. Considering my fandom, you can only imagine how excited I was over Square-Enix’s big reveal that they to were making a Monster Hunter type game. You can see the trailer above.

Gamer Daniel Wolf has filed a class action lawsuit against Square Enix and Sony of America. In the lawsuit (PDF), which was filed June 2nd, 2010 Mr. Wolf claims the game freezes and even breaks Playstation 3 consoles. He also claims that there has been “severe and widespread damage to his Sony PS3 system since the release of Final Fantasy XIII on March 9th, 2010. The game has caused permanent damage, causing his PS3 to become unresponsive and no longer able to play any other type of media after restarting”. Mr. Wolf is asking for $5 million dollars in damages and other financial relief. Both Sony and Square Enix have not commented on this claim, but each have repeatedly blamed the other for this known issue.

New from Square Enix. The Final Fantasy VII:AC, Sephiroth Eau de Toilette for men. This item will be available for purchase August of this year. You too can smell like a mass murdering lunatic with mother issues. You can also smell like Cloud Strife if you desire. Cloud Strife Perfume is UNISEX. Only Sephiroth makes you feel like a man.