Round-Up: FF on iTunes, Louisiana Research, Bible Game

Today's round-up includes news of Final Fantasy soundtracks on iTunes, exploration of tax incentives for game developers in Louisiana, and Crave's announcement of a new biblical game duo. - Square Enix has released a generous selection of Final Fantasy soundtracks in America, in electronic form through the iTunes Music Store. The entire selection of original soundtracks for the series, save for the Japan-only Final Fantasy III on Famicom and 2003's Final Fantasy X-2 side story, is available for download, at significantly lower prices per album than importing the discs. Also available are a smattering of re-arranged albums, including both hard-rock discs by The Black Mages and the 20020220 live orchestral performance disc. "I am thrilled that our soundtracks will finally be available to all the supportive American fans who have enjoyed our music over the years," said series composer Nobuo Uematsu. - The Louisiana Technology Park and the city of Baton Rouge are working with a Andy Redman, a Cambridge graduate student, to assess potential avenues of developing a videogame industry within the state. The findings of the researchers are intended to give weight to a bill currently before the Louisiana state legislature on possible tax incentives for videogame developers who set up shop in Louisiana. Redman's research will take place around Cambridge and Baton Rouge, as well as current centers of videogame development such as Silicon Valley and Austin, TX. Developers interested in assisting with the research can do so with an online survey. - Crave Entertainment has announced The Bible Game for PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance, a trivia-based game based on knowledge of the Bible, and catering to the significant Christian market in North America. The PS2 version is a straight quiz-show version of the concept, complete with smarmy announcer, while the GBA version works its knowledge tests into "action-adventure gameplay" that has the player character protecting the Armor of God. Both the handheld and console versions are due for release in October. - Also updated today: newly posted jobs from companies including BioWare, Chewy Software, Laerdal Medical Corporation, MTV Networks, and The Art Institute of Portland.