Another news week has past with a couple of updates on the Final Fantasy XIV front again. The first bit of news that came around on Monday was Square Enix turning on what they had initially said about FFXIV being PC and PS3 only. At first, director Hiromichi Tanaka said that it was their decision due to the nature of Xbox Live; however, he then said on Monday that it was Microsoft who turned down Final Fantasy XIV.
Anyway, moving on, Square Enix's Yoichi Wada acknowledged on Wednesday that not all was dandy with the launch of Final Fantasy XIII. While the game did move an exceptional number of units sales-wise, it wasn't exactly well received by all fans of the franchise. Some loved it, others not so much. Personally I think it's a pretty fun experience, what do you guys think?
Speaking in a meeting with investors yesterday, Yoichi Wada, CEO of Square-Enix, was asked about the platform exclusivity of Final Fantasy Versus XIII and if it an Xbox 360 release would ever be possible.
Since Versus XIII's reveal in 2006, the title has always been advertised as a PlayStation 3 exclusive worldwide. The reply that Wada gave however, was a complete contradiction, saying that Square-Enix would be "looking into it."
Keep reading to find out exactly what he means by "looking into it."
Square Enix, the bunch of teases, have confirmed that PlayStation Classic, Final Fantasy IX, is on its way to the Japanese PlayStation Store. The company have been bit by bit talking about that potentially happening since Producer Shinji Hashimoto asked fans via twitter to give him their opinions of the game.
The release was confirmed by Square Enix President, Yoichi Wada, in a six second twitvideo post on Twitter. There was no word on a Western PSN release, but it's likely safe to assume it will follow the Japanese release by a few months.
Pricing was not announced, and neither was the Japanese release date.
In a recent interview with Edge, Square Enix has signaled that they may be open to a western-developed Final Fantasy title, a shift from a company which has as of yet kept almost all of their games development centered in Japan.
When the president of Square Enix, Yoichi Wada, was asked about other Japanese publishers giving out their franchises, such as Silent Hill, he said: "That is one of the possible paths, but it's not something that we would shift completely over to. There is always a possibility that Final Fantasy could be produced with the input of our Western developers, overseen by our Japanese developers".
Check out the rest of the interview in the full story.
On this past Friday the 13th, Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XIII's North American and European release date in a promotional video featuring an unnamed host. Of everything the unnamed host said, one line was particularly interesting to hear, especially on the heels of Modern Warfare 2 having the largest launch sales of any video game ever, "...Final Fantasy XIII, quite possibly the most anticipated gaming experience of all time."
Yoichi Wada, CEO and President of Square Enix headlined the first day of the Montreal International Game Summit, and GamingUnion.net caught up with Wada-san for a brief interview to ask if the supposed highest anticipation for a game will reflect in the game's sales.
GamingUnion.net: In Friday's announcement of Final Fantasy XIII's release date it mentioned that Final Fantasy XIII is possibly the most anticipated game of all time. Do you think Final Fantasy XIII will be the best selling Final Fantasy ever?
For Yoichi Wada's response, check out the full story.
In a keynote at the Montreal International Game Summit, Yoichi Wada, CEO and President of Square Enix, spoke to the possibility of Final Fantasy IP being exhausted, specifically Final Fantasy XIII's compilation Fabula Nova Crystallis, and how Square Enix keep the Final Fantasy series as a whole from becoming exhausted.
"Too much IP use is not good." Wada stated, "Having memorable characters and back story is crucial to having a powerful IP."
Wada followed up with a statement referring to Mickey Mouse and how his character has not become exhausted, and people still see the character everywhere after over sixty years.
We all know that Final Fantasy XIII is released in just over a month in Japan, but its Western release date is still relatively unknown. There has been a lot of speculation, but nothing concrete has arisen so far (although that could change on Friday!).
In terms of its development though, Yoichi Wada has stated that it's actually almost complete. When speaking to GI.biz he said "development [of the Western version] has been very steady, and they are just adding the final touches to the game".
Definitely good news, and hopefully it points towards a Q1 2010 release in the West for Final Fantasy XIII.
In an interview with Square Enix president Yoichi Wada, he informs us that the development of Final Fantasy XIII is going steadily. Square Enix has completed the master of the Japanese version and they are putting on the finishing touches to the US and European versions.
According to Wada, the last stage of development has gone very smoothly. When asked if the the Final Fantasy franchise will be a step forward on the 360 and PS3, Wada repied, "It took us a tremendous amount of time to develop the software for this generation, so that's a lesson for the creators."
Wada also goes on to say that while the development of XIII has been a very long one, this isn't necessarily a good thing. Very true, since fans of the series have been waiting for a very long time for the release Final Fantasy XIII.
If everything is going smoothly as Wada says, then the US and European versions of Final Fantasy XIII should hopefully come out in Spring 2010.
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