Bitmob.com

The future of Japanese video games looks much brighter than Keiji Inafune and others would lead you to believe.

Climb out of the recession by reading these articles from the Bitmob community's financial gurus.

No, it doesn't make sense that heroes collect money from wild animals. Shouldn't they skin them for pelts? And why can't they commission special weapons from all these smiths lying around? Well in Final Fantasy 12, all that was fixed.

Ding! You leveled. Feels good, doesn’t it? Almost like payday. Developers put character progression mechanics in games for one reason: incentive. Reward systems make or break games. Currency has a presence in game worlds that comes off as intuitive and natural. That’s why it’s the ideal reward system that all others imitate.

It's time to check out the results of our recent Bitmob Wants You community callout on the time-traveling adventures of Noel and Serah in Final Fantasy 13-2.

It's only in balancing the monumental and the mundane that a game becomes great. Skyrim flounders in endless side quests while Final Fantasy 13 locks players into a prison of the main narrative. But Final Fantasy 13-2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution get the balancing act just right.

The evolution between Final Fantasy 13 and 13-2 shows that developers should listen to their fans.

In this week's Community Spotlight, we've got a regular guy stuck in Final Fantasy 13, a painful divorce with a handheld, and an examination of Mass Effect's on-screen interface. Oh...and we might talk about the likelihood of a Final Fantasy 7 sequel, too. (Spoiler: Don't count on it.)

Can video games survive serious, critical examination? Read the results of last month's Bitmob Writing Challenge.

Money talks even in video games. Write about in-game currencies and point systems for this month's Bitmob Writing Challenge.

Get ready. Lightning is about to strike twice. Terrible jokes aside, Final Fantasy 13-2 is on store shelves, and we want you to write about it.

Imagine waking up one day and being stuck in a bad video game where your son was taken from you and the government wants you dead. That's exactly what happened to Sazh Katzroy. He's stuck in Final Fantasy XIII

Ever wonder what's being dumped unto the shelves of video game stores every week? Wonder no more! Karli Winata will attempt to bring to light the many releases that come out each week. Won't you join him in his self torture? Check out what's coming out on the week of 1/30/2012.

Final Fantasy 13-2 is a cakewalk compared to its predecessor. Excellent news if you're an average RPG player like me.

How can a 15 minute flash game force us to ask tough questions about who we are as gamers and why we play what we do? Is it the games that are fun, or is it something else?

Back in the 1990s, Square was one of the premiere game developers out there. What can they do to reclaim that crown?

Five great YouTube hip hop beats that sample music from Final Fantasy.

Some high-profile Japanese studios need to tighten up their development cycles before time passes them by.

Video blips for January 11, 2012. Final Fantasy 13-2's demo is out this week, UFC Undisputed 3's roster has 150 guys and zero necks, Tiger Woods might be hiding something in PGA Tour 13, and more.

Jonathan's favorite games of 2011 come from a genre that he usually loathes. Read about some of the best puzzlers that came out last year.