Checkpoint: FF14 Open Beta, Rio, AGC38

Today is the day! Today is the day that the long-awaited Final Fantasy XIV open beta... didn't start. Not quite yet. A last-minute epic-fail forced Square Enix to postpone the start of the beta yesterday, leaving us without even a rescheduled date. But fortunately they already fixed that, and announced that the open beta will actually begin tonight. Yaaay! So for those of you living in North America, it starts today at 19:00 PDT, for those of us in Europe it starts tonight at 02:00 GMT, and as for the rest of the world - well, check the official FFXIV website.



Now, before I get back to staring at the clock with a very creepy look, let's just get another couple of news quickly out of the way. It doesn't look like I mentioned the upcoming anime Rio: Rainbow Gate! until now, so this would be a good time to point out that it's a TV anime series coming in 2011 and, according to today's update of the official website, studio Xebec is the one animating it. Or namely her.

Another anime project announced today - or, rather, potentially-anime project - is called AGC38, and it's being launched by studio Asahi Production as "the first talent and entertainment unit composed of 38 female characters". Which is just another way of saying "excuse us for ripping-off AKB48 and using fewer chicks". Auditions for voice actresses begin this September 11, so if there will indeed be some anime / manga based on the chosen seiyuus, we won't see them anytime soon, anyway.

And to sign off with a butt-naked rumor, Moon Phase Diary carries an unfounded report, saying that Nihon Falcom's popular games franchise The Legend of Heroes: Sora no Kiseki will receive some sort of anime adaptation. That's great... Sooo, eight more hours until the beta, eh?