Mom's Minute

Distant Worlds:  Music from Final Fantasy

Originally composed to set the tone for Final Fantasy, the music of the video game will be featured at the Boston Video Game Orchestra (VGO) and Choir Forca on March 10, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. at Symphony Hall, Boston.

The Final Fantasy video game music will be conducted by Grammy award-winning artist, Arnie Roth.  The music is by Nobuo Uematsu who is one of the most celebrated video game composers in the field whose music has been played by some of the most well-renowned orchestras  around the world.

Also featured at the symphony will be new music composed by Nobuo Uematsu from the recently released Final Fantasy XIII.

His  video game song, "Eyes on Me" which is the theme song from Final Fantasy XIII sold a record number of copies and is the only video game song to win the song of the year at the Japanese Gold Disc Award in 1999.  Nobuo Uematsu was also included in Time's Magazine's "Time 100: The Next Wave Music" feature.

Scene from Final Fantasy XIII 

The live performance will include HD video presentations from the video game using  state of the art technology.

Final Fantasy, produced by Square Nix with music exclusively represented by Columbia Artists Management Inc., is currently in its 14th edition. The video game has sold more than 97 million units.

Tickets to the Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy concert are $43.50 - $76.00, with a VIP cost of $126.00 and may be purchased at the Boston Symphony Hall box office, online at bso.org or by calling (888) 266-1200.

Top soccer player Lionel Messi on cover of FIFA Street

Are you a hardcore Konami PES video game fan with no desire to change your allegiance to a competing sports game?  Then you are  among the targeted video game players Electronic Arts (EA) is trying to change with its release of FIFA Street.

Scene from FIFA Street

Gary Patterson, the game's creative director wants to introduce you to the EA sports family by way of FIFA Street.

The inference from his statement that he hopes the "last remaining hardcore" PES fans move over to FIFA Street is that some players may have already changed over in the past.   Units sold will reveal the true story when sales figures are available after the game has launched.

 FIFA Street scene

FIFA Street is the first game after a four-year break in this particular video game franchise by EA. Among the changes -- there is more emphasis on play and skill moves and there will be more realistic characters as well.

The video game will be playable on the Xbox 360 and the PS 3.  The demo will be available for online play on PSN and Xbox Live on February 28, 2012.

FIFA Street will be released in the U.S. on March 13, 2012, and in the UK on March 16, 2012. 

Young Justice: Legacy video game is on its way

A new video game is in the works from Cartoon Network for gaming systems Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo WII and DS.  The game is Young Justice: Legacy, based upon the television show. 

Young Justice: Legacy will have both single and multiplayer modes, playable with a cast of 12 characters.

Some of Young Justice: Legacy characters

The Young Justice: Legacy's characters will include Robin, Artemis, Miss Martian, Superboy, Aqualad and Kid Flash.

The video game's storyline will be a mix of Seasons 1 and 2 premises.  There is no official word as to the type gameplay; however, speculation is that it may be a fighting game. 

Young Justice: Legacy is published by Little Orbit, and has a scheduled release date of early 2013.

Adam Adamowicz created the world of Fall Out

Adam Adamowicz, a concept artist who envisioned and painted fantasy worlds along with the exotic landscapes, as well as the elaborately costumed heroes, trolls, and villains passed away on February 9, 2012 from complications of lung cancer in a Washington hospital.  He was 43 years old.

He was the imaginative and artistic brains for two of the most popular games in the video game genre -- Fall Out and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Both games are extremely sucessful.  Together the games amassed an astounding 15 million units in sales and earned over $900 million since they were released -- Fall Out in 2008 and Skyrim in 2011.

With his powerful imagination and skill, he conceptualized everything in Fall Out 3, including the crumbling Washington Monument, personal bomb shelters and items such as the Pip-Boy 3000, an electronic watch for players which contained maps, menus and other vital information.  Todd Howard of Bethesda Softworks, the games' director,  states that Adam Adamowicz drew just about every image of Fall Out which equated to thousands of images over the years.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's look and feel were created by Adam Adamowicz

Adam Adamowicz worked with fellow concept artist Ray Lederer on Skyrim and came up with the look and feel of the game's marquee monster and fearsome dragons.

Adam Carl Adamowicz was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York on March 9, 1968.  He graduated from the University of Boulder, Colorado, earning a degree in Psychology.

In 2002 and 2003, Adam Adamowicz studied oil painting, figure drawing and palette mixing at the Boulder Academy of Fine Arts.

Before landing a position at Bethesda Softworks, Adam Adamowicz's work included being a free lance illustrator for Dark Horse Comics and Malibu Graphics.

During an interview available in the bonus content of Fall Out 3, Adam Adamowicz states that due to his interest in the 50's, when designing characters in the wasteland in the post-apocalyptic world, he used humor to depict how Ward Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) would react to arising from sleep [sic] and seeng a raider on top of the horizon.

Mom's Minute sends deepest condolences to Adam Adamowicz's family.

Sony's PlayStation Vita is available for sale in the U.S. on February 22, 2012

The handheld console, PlayStation Vita was released in Japan in on December 17, 2011 and is now available for sale in the U.S. as of February 22, 2012.

The PS Vita had strong initial sales in Japan of 325,000 units during its first week of release, which fell to 72,249 during its second week. Of course these are Japan's figures, and may not mirror the projected U.S. sales.

Here's what you can expect from the PS Vita:

--Advanced display -- PS Vita has innovative technology which provides an organic light-emitting display purported to be brighter, thinner, and with a higher contrast than other handheld video game systems.

--Joysticks -- PS Vita is the first handheld to have a pair of joysticks, one for each thumb, similar to the PS 3.  Players may also use the touchscreen and rear touchpads for game interactions.

--Cameras -- Cameras are on the front and back of the PS Vita which allow you to transport your characters to your real surroundings. With games such as "Wipeout", your picture is taken as you play, and shows up on the screen of other players.

--Connectivity -- There is a Wi-Fi only model and one that adds 3G connectivity from AT&T with monthly charges of $15 to $30. Updates can be posted on face book.  When playing some games, you can start playing the game on your PS3, and continue the game on the PS Vita. One such game is MLB 12: The Show which is due out March 6, 2012.

--Mobility in Play -- The PS Vita has a motion sensor and acceleromoter that lets you add movement to your games.  For example, when playing Uncharted 3, you may tilt the PS Vita to balance Nathan Drake, or move it forward or backwards to execute rope swings.

--GPS -- With the GPS feature, you can connect with nearby players for special rewards.

--Memory Cards -- For more memory, cards are available at an additional cost.

--Games -- There are over 100 games in development with 26 games currently available. Some of the current games available for the system includes Uncharted:  Golden Abyss, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Wipeout 2048, Rayman Origins, Super Stardust Delta, FIFA Soccer and Escape Plan.  Coming this fall is Call of Duty and a music game (Sound Shapes), with no release date yet.

The PS Vita sells for $249.99 for the Wi-Fi model, and $299.99 for the 3G/Wi-Fi Model.

Sony is offering at launch a PS Vita Bundle for $299.99 which includes the 3G/Wi-Fi system, as well as an 8GB memory card, an AT&T data connection pass and a PSN game. The bundles are available while supplies last.

Game designers were brought into the development of the PS Vita before the features were decided. According to Sony's Executive Shuhei Yoshida, the aim of the PS Vita "is to provide the gaming experience you cannot get on a smartphone."