AU News Wrap, September 12 - What happened today

Something of a quiet day today, for which I thank the gaming gods most profoundly. This trip isn't planning itself, worst luck.

Let's see, let's see: passport, check. Laptop, check. Dictaphone, check. So many yen, check. Chargers, check. Ability to walk past famous Japanese devs without squealing like a schoolgirl: ... where did I put that? Do I even have one?

Today's header image is Beck. I want to like him a lot more than I do.

• Two new FIFA 12 videos demo skill moves, Football Club
  I hope Pat does a video of the demo.
• Black Knight Sword trailer shows slice-and-dice gameplay
  Mm. Dishy.
• EA headlined in US tax break report
  Interesting that there's no mention of Activision Blizzard. Go look up "Vivendi" on Wikipedia sometime.
• Persona 2: Innocent Sin advises on chatting up demons
  "Can I buy you a drink?" "I don't have a mouth. "Uh."
• Final Fantasy XIII-2 90 percent done, release date reveal at TGS
  I was so excited about Final Fantasy XIII, but somehow, in the interim, I've gone off the series.
• Bastion director: Player choice makes for richer, rewarding play
  By all accounts it worked, too.
• Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney to appear at TGS
  Must resist urge to cancel all appointments and attend.
• Hayes: Sega can't rely on nostalgia and classic IP
  Mike Hayes is a really interesting bloke. I always look forward to reading his interviews.
• Trenched to take Iron Brigade rename worldwide
  In the days before the Internet, you could release games under different titles in every territory if you so pleased. Edit the s**t out of 'em, too. It made for a lot of headaches.
• Dragon Quest X's playable races and story premise unveiled
  I can't type Dragon Quest correctly on first attempt. It always comes out "Draqon Guest".
• Aonuma: Wii U tech will help Zelda "change and evolve"
  So it's kind of a shame the buying public apparently wants it to stay the same forever.
• It’s official: Syndicate coming in early 2012
  Not the way it's usually done. Either EA isn't firing up the marketing train for this one - a concerning possibility for a number of reasons - or yesterday's leak really threw it off its game..