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Both Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II [iTunes links] — two games from one of the most revered console game franchises of all time — are available for purchase in the Apple App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch right now.

We knew they were coming a while ago, but we didn’t know the pricing. Each game costs $8.99 and features upgraded graphics similar to those found on the Sony PSP versions released a couple years ago. Both titles debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System in the late 1980s.

Note that the App Store received the Japanese version of Final Fantasy II, not the American one. Japan’s Final Fantasy IV was released as Final Fantasy II in the United States for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but this is the original Final Fantasy II that wasn’t released in the States until much later — confusing, we know.

If you’re not familiar with the Final Fantasy series, it’s one of the seminal franchises of Japanese role-playing games. Final Fantasy games involve a lot of random strategic battles with monsters in addition to some dialogue and exploration. They’re difficult, but they’re rewarding if you’re willing to invest some serious time.

Chances are these early titles won’t appeal to people who aren’t already fans. Developer Square Enix is banking on nostalgia here. Folks who aren’t fans might want to wait for the later, more accessible games in the series to hit the iPhone OS — not that anything’s been announced yet.

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Tags: apple app store, Final Fantasy, final fantasy ii, iphone, iPod Touch, Square Enix, video games

Another Mashable Faceoff in our series wraps this week, and it was an appropriate one given the prevalence of online TV solutions on hand here this week at CES. We pitted two online video favorites against each other in a head-to-head battle, and have the results below.

It was a close race. Premium content portal Hulu pulled it out by a narrow 35 vote margin in the end, capturing 47% of the vote to Boxee social media center’s 45%.

What do you think of the results — did you expect a clearer winner? How do you get your online TV fix?

Who would win in a fight: Boxee or Hulu?(polls)

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Web Faceoff: Overall Results

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Week 1:
– Mozilla Firefox vs. Google Chrome
– WINNER: Firefox, 4600 votes (Chrome: 3310 votes, Tie: 911 votes)

Week 2:
– Tumblr vs. Posterous
– WINNER: Tumblr, 1809 votes (Posterous: 1496 votes, Tie: 256 votes)

Week 3:
– Pandora vs. Last.fm
– WINNER: Last.fm, 1187 votes (Pandora: 1156 votes, Tie: 122 votes)

Week 4:
– Twitter vs. Facebook
– WINNER: Facebook, 2484 votes (Twitter: 2061 votes, Tie: 588 votes)

Week 5:
– WordPress vs. Typepad
– WINNER: WordPress, 2714 votes (Typepad: 267 votes, Tie: 357 votes)

Week 6:
– Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard
– WINNER: Windows 7, 3632 votes (Snow Leopard: 3278 votes, Tie: 121 votes)

Week 7:
– TweetDeck vs. Seesmic Desktop
– WINNER: TweetDeck, 3294 votes (Seesmic Desktop: 1055 votes, Tie: 260 votes)

Week 8:
– Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs
– WINNER: Microsoft Office, 1365 votes (Google Docs: 994 votes, Tie: 315 votes)

Week 9:
– Apple iPhone vs. Google Android
– WINNER: Google Android, 3323 votes (Apple iPhone: 1494 votes, Tie: 228 votes)

Week 10:
– AT&T vs. Verizon
– WINNER: Verizon, 1161 votes (AT&T: 538 votes, Tie: 118 votes)

Week 11:
– Google vs. Bing
– WINNER: Google, 2180 votes (Bing: 519 votes, Tie: 97 votes)

Week 12:
– iPod Touch/iPhone vs. Nintendo DS vs. Sony PSP
– WINNER: iPod Touch/iPhone, 704 votes (Sony PSP: 639 votes, Nintendo DS: 482 votes, Tie: 108 votes)

Week 13:
– Digg vs. Reddit vs. StumbleUpon
– WINNER: Digg, 14,762 votes (Reddit: 11,466 votes, StumbleUpon: 2507 votes, Tie: 1032 votes)

Week 14:
– Old versus new Twitter retweets
– WINNER: Old style retweets, 1625 votes (New style retweets: 699 votes, Tie: 227 votes)

Week 15:
– Gmail vs. Outlook
– WINNER: Gmail, 3684 votes (Outlook: 980 votes, Tie: 590 votes)

Week 16:
– Boxee vs. Hulu
– WINNER: Hulu, 626 votes (Boxee, 591 votes, Tie: 106 votes)

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Reviews: Bing, Boxee, Chrome, Digg, Facebook, Firefox, Gmail, Google, Google Docs, Hulu, Pandora, Posterous, Seesmic Desktop, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, TweetDeck, Twitter, TypePad, WordPress

Tags: boxee, hulu, internet tv, ONLINE VIDEO, polls, social media center, software, tv, web faceoff

Now that Gran Turismo is widely available for the PSP, we decided that it was time to check in with our own racing super-fan to see what he thought of the game. You can read the original review to get started, and his thoughts are below.

Picture the scene: central Kentucky, about five years ago. A
friendly neighborhood purveyor of games and game-related accessories (who may
or may not now be a well known games editor at a likeable tech website) was all
aflutter about a new handheld platform, the Sony PSP. “You should really
get one. I know how much you love driving games, and Gran Turismo is just about
to be released.”

Apple has both quietly and not-so-quietly been going about the business of tackling the portable gaming market. Perhaps presaged all the way back to the original iPod’s hidden easter egg game of Brick, the iconic and primarily music-playing device has acknowledged the powerful role of fun on a portable device.

Of course, with the advent of the App Store ecosystem and the iPhone/iPod touch lines of hardware, Apple’s ability to go head to head with the likes of Sony and Nintendo went up more than just a notch.

The “Funnest iPod ever” ad from about a year ago exemplifies Apple’s strategy in the marketplace. The focus is purely on fun, the target demographic extends way beyond the typical range of the “hardcore gamer,” and the easy over-the-air access to thousands of game titles is starting to set the iPod touch apart from Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PlayStation Portable.

Today’s Apple event continued the company’s push into more traditional portable gaming territory, with an entire segment from SVP Phil Schiller on how the iPod touch stacks up against the portable playing field.

Image courtesy of Engadget

Phil reminded everyone that the PSP and DS have “no multi-touch, expensive games, and no app store.” As compared to the mostly sub-$10 pricing of iPod touch/iPhone games, typical handheld titles for those two consoles can run from $25 to $40 a pop.

Speaking of titles, Phil shared an interesting statistic about the number of games available on all 3 platforms. Here’s how it stacks up:

Sony PSP: 607 games
Nintendo DS: 3,680 games
Apple iPhone OS: 21,178 games

Wow. Even given that a large percentage of those iPhone/iPod touch games are relatively simple and casual titles, it’s still an impressive number. And with some full-featured AAA titles already out (take Civilization Revolution’s faithful translation of the console version of the game as a prime example) and on deck as well, the iPhone OS ecosystem is looking impressively like a viable handheld gaming experience even to the more hardcore gaming set Sony and Nintendo regularly compete to win over.

Schiller’s segment included a number of game demos as well, with Gameloft’s upcoming first-person shooter named Nova (pictured, below) looking very Halo-like, with stunning graphics and excellent framerate. Phil said much of what’s coming next to iPod touch gaming is possible because they’ve built-in support for OpenGL ES 2.0, “great for those next-generation games.” Blockbuster publishers Ubisoft and Electronic Arts also shared the stage to demonstrate two franchises already hugely popular on consoles, Assassin’s Creed and Madden ‘10.

With both established major console publishers and insanely talented independent development teams all lined up to make games for Apple’s platform, Sony and Nintendo had better be concerned. The latter has already indicated that Apple’s iPhone ecosystem is having an impact on its business. Sony seems to be a little bit slower in understanding the market shift, or at least continues to put on a brave bluster in public.

What do you think: is the iPhone OS ecosystem giving traditional handheld gaming a run for its money? Have you already or would you consider the iPod touch or iPhone as your handheld gaming rig of choice?

Tags: apple, handhelds, iphone, iphone os, iPod Touch, nintendo ds, playstation, portable gaming, Sony PSP