If you’ve been anticipating the release of Final Fantasy XIII since you’ve heard of its inception then you don’t have to wait long anymore. The release of the game is bound to be one of the hottest launches in the videogame industry especially now that it has been announced that it will be heralded by an event.

On March 8, an event called the Final Fantasy XIII Experience will be celebrated in San Francisco. If you’re a hardcore fan of the entire Final Fantasy franchise then this is one event that you don’t want to miss.

Guests will have the chance to be the first ones to play the game. Trailers and artwork will also be featured in the event. You will also have the chance to meet the designers, developers and other creative masterminds behind the game. A raffle will also be held where lucky winners will receive various Final Fantasy prices.

Square Enix announced that 200 of its members will have the special opportunity to attend this event. On top of that, members that already have Bronze Tier memberships will have a chance to enter a special sweepstakes. 50 winners from the sweepstakes will have the chance to attend the actual launch party of the game.

If you’re a fan of MMO games then you probably know all about Free Realms. Released almost a year ago, the game has now garnered an astounding 8 million players around the world, according to Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedly. According to Smedly, the widening fan base of the game is due to the game’s sophisticated features that allow users to easily customize their pets, houses and other aspects of their virtual world. Smedly also boasts that Free Realms is also much more than your average virtual world game. He says that it is also a “portal for the imagination”.

Aside from being free, there are also a couple of other things that make Free Realms stand out. For instance, participation in combat is not required in order for the players to move on to the next level. A player also has the option to join other mini-games that focus on other activities like raising pets, exploring or building constructions. The game is also known for its social networking feature. Users can easily share content with each other such as video, images and links. They can also chat with each other simultaneously while playing the game.

Another great thing about Free Realms is that it has available options for parents who want to monitor the content that their child is getting access to. It also helps that the game soundtrack, “It’s Your World” by The Dares is also a popular hit on iTunes. In fact, it qualified for a world record when The Dares performed the song in a game convention while a virtual version of the concert was simultaneously taking place inside the game.

It’s easy to assume that giant electronic-gadget manufacturers like Sony make a bundle of money with every gadget they sell, but did you know that Sony actually lost money when they started manufacturing PlayStation 3? If you’re a hardcore follower of PlayStation consoles then you probably know that the 3rd model of the popular consoles did appear to burn a hole through the pocket of every consumer. There was a time when it cost a whopping $500 at the very least. It’s weird to know that even in those days, Sony was actually losing about $37 for every PlayStation 3 console sold.

It’s not really a new practice among game console manufacturers. It’s common for a company to create a line of extremely expensive game consoles–so expensive that the average consumer is not likely to afford them. How do the manufacturers break even or manage to create profit? They do so by game sales.

It was reported that as of December 2009, Sony spent about $366 for every PS3 console manufactured. And each of these consoles was sold for a meager $299. Believe it or not, this is actually the good news for Sony since they were losing even more in the years before that. It was reported that the earlier generations of PS3 consoles cost Sony an enormous $49. It may not sound like a lot, but if you multiply it to the millions of consoles created, it’s apparent that Sony was losing quite a fortune. Fortunately, Sony has managed to cut down their losses by cutting back on manufacturing expenses.