PC MMORPG and the one that started everything, resuscitated!
Seems like the past couple of years have been huge for MMOs, no matter what part of the world you live in. Aside from startups and lovely Diablo-esque tites like Mythos, some oldschool classics like Ys have been getting the treatment. Add another of those to the roster (again), as Grandia Online has just been revived.
The game was announced by Gungho back in 2005, about the time they acquired the series developer GameArts, but we haven't heard anything from them really since. Like you would, the game was presumed dead. However, the company has just posted an invitation on their website which allows fans to apply to attend a Grandia Online conference in Akihabara on May 20 (can't tell you what it's like, we've never been).
At the event, fans can meet series composer Noriyuki Iwadare and voice actors Kikuko Inoue and Mariya Ise.
In light of the announcement, the fantastic first game in the franchise, Grandia, is now available on the Japanese PlayStation Network for 600 yen (about six bucks), which owners can put on their PlayStation Portable if they like. Lucky buggers.