Final Fantasy XIII to launch December 17 in Japan

Japanese videogame creator Square Enix Holdings Co said it would launch the latest edition of its "Final Fantasy" game series on December 17 in Japan, which may help sales of Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 in the key shopping season.

The "Final Fantasy" role-playing game series has sold more than 85 million units worldwide since it was first launched in 1987.

Square Enix is developing "Final Fantasy XIII" exclusively for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) for the Japanese market, while in North America and Europe the game will be playable on the PS3 as well as Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360.

"Final Fantasy XIII" will sell for 9,240 yen ($100) in Japan, Square Enix said.

The game software maker said it plans to launch the new version overseas in spring 2010.

Sony and Microsoft are hoping that the launches of long-awaited game titles such as "Final Fantasy XIII" will help drive sales of their game consoles, which are running behind Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii.

Both Sony and Microsoft recently cut the prices of their game hardware to spur demand in the run-up to the holiday season.

In July, Square Enix launched the latest installment of its "Dragon Quest" role-playing game series for Nintendo's DS in Japan, reinvigorating demand for the dual-screen handheld player.

Sales of the "Final Fantasy" series have easily outstripped the 55.5 million units sold of Konami Corp's "Pro Evolution Soccer" series and the 41 million units of Capcom Co Ltd's "Resident Evil" horror titles.

Japan studies noisier hybrids to protect blind

An appeal of a hybrid or electric car is its super-quiet drive. But worries are growing blind people may be endangered by their silence.

The Japanese government has set up a panel with automakers, organizations for the blind and consumers groups to come up with a solution, which could have such vehicles emitting what sounds like engine noise or musical sounds like a cell-phone ring-tone, officials said Tuesday.

A legal change would be needed to equip the vehicles with such special features.

"We are still listening to different opinions and trying to figure out the best solution," said Yuta Kaga, spokesman for Toyota Motor Corp., which makes the hit gas-electric Prius hybrid and is represented on the panel.

The panel, which began meeting in July, plans to have a proposal by the end of the year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

It was set up partly in response to worries voiced by the blind. The Japan Federation of the Blind, which submitted a request in June, is asking the government to instruct hybrid-makers to make the vehicles safer for the blind.

An informal survey of 52 blind people carried out by the group last year found that more than half of the respondents said they were terrified of hybrids because they were so quiet, although none reported being in an accident.

The Yomiuri, Japan's biggest newspaper reported Tuesday that such measures may be available on Toyota cars going on sale in 2010, possibly with radar to sense nearby pedestrians and making noise only at slow speeds.

Such measures are more useful for Japan's crowded streets than the U.S. and other nations where cases of pedestrians getting hit by a car are fewer.

Sales of hybrids are booming in Japan because of government incentives and tax breaks to encourage green car sales.

Toyota's Prius has been the top-selling car in Japan for four months straight. Honda Motor Co.'s Insight hybrid is also selling well, and hybrid models are expected to keep growing.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. began selling the i-MiEV electric car this year, and other makers are planning electric vehicles.