Final Fantasy XIII Fastest FF Release Ever
Posted on 2009/11/13 by Kyle
Fans of Final Fantasy should be pretty happy with Square Enix right now, not only because of the announcement of the March 9, 2010 release date, but the facts behind it.
Previously the Final Fantasies with the closest Japanese and North American release dates were Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IX. Both IV and IX came out in July in Japan, in their respective years (1991 and 2000), and then North America in November, again in their respective years. Four months isn't a bad wait, but Final Fantasy IX took another four months to reach Europe, and Final Fantasy IV didn't make it until years later on the PlayStation.
Final Fantasy XIII however is releasing in North America and Europe less than three months after it's Japanese release. Never before has a Final Fantasy's regional release dates been so close together, and never before has a main series Final Fantasy launched in both North America and Europe simultaneously.
In January 2009 the Guardian reported Square Enix saying Final Fantasy XIII would be after April, 2010. However, in May 2009, Producer Yoshinori Kitase told VideoGamer.com that they would like the Japanese, North American, and European release dates as close as possible.
Article continues in full story.
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Final Fantasy XIII
FF Localization Record
Signs Point To Final Fantasy XIII Simultaneous Release
Posted on 2009/07/08 by Ronin90
Towards the tail end of last week, Square Enix announced that Dissidia: Final Fantasy would be released in Europe on the 4th of September, 2009. While this doesn't sound overly significant in itself, the date is only a week after the North American release.
For those who have been following Final Fantasy for some time, especially those in Europe, delays between regions are usually quite substantial. It's not uncommon for there to be a 4-5 month delay between the North American and European versions, and it's something that's always been very disappointing to European gamers.
However, the announcement that Dissidia: Final Fantasy will be coming so soon after is huge. Square Enix have gone on record numerous times about how much more detailed Dissidia's dialogue is than Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII's and if they can get the localisation done so efficiently on a game like Dissidia, it definitely looks positive for Final Fantasy XIII. There is of course The Last Remnant too, which was released worldwide on the same day and while Square Enix have claimed it's something they're striving to do, up until now it hasn't been overly evident.
Tags:
Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Release Date, Dissidia, Weekly Musings
Final Fantasy XIII Release Date
No DLC Planned For Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Posted on 2009/05/07 by Kyle
Welcome to Part Two of Final Fantasy Union's Dissidia Interview series. As mentioned in yesterday's Part One, Final Fantasy Union very recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dissidia: Final Fantasy Director Takeshi Arakawa and Producer Yoshinori Kitase and ask them about the forth coming Dissidia's western release.
One particular area PSP games have surprisingly early roots in is downloadable content. Thanks to the Playstation Store and Xbox Live, downloadable content has become a well worn term to gamers of today, with such extra content as Fallout 3 story expansions, maps in Halo 3, and added sack boys in LittleBigPlanet.
WipeOut Pure, one of the first PSP games launched, featured a multitude of extra downloadable tracks and racing ships long before the PSP even had a web browser. Killzone: Liberation went as far as to add online multiplayer and a whole 20% more story as downloadable content, and free at that. Most PSP games would work with downloadable content, so why not the ever technologically leading edge Square Enix in their first Final Fantasy brawler on PSP?
Continues after the jump.
Tags:
Final Fantasy Dissidia, Dissidia II, Square Enix
DLC a No-Go
Square Enix Now Mainly A Portable Developer
Posted on 2009/04/26 by Ronin90
When looking through a list of Square Enix games that have been released or are in development on their official Japanese website, it was actually quite surprising to see how things have changed so dramatically in one generation. Squaresoft, Enix and then Square Enix were all strong supporters of the Playstation 2 and other home consoles such as the NES and SNES. However, this generation has seen a stark change in Square Enix's process and they've gone completely against their strategy for the previous 20 years.
For the first time, Square Enix has chosen to support hand-held consoles over the home console and they have shown their support mainly by backing the Nintendo DS to extreme proportions. According to Square Enix's Japanese website, Square Enix are majorly involved with 95 titles on nine different platforms. It was actually quite amazing to see that 54 of these (56.8%) were for the Nintendo DS. A further 13.6% of titles were also concerning the Sony Playstation Portable, which brings their total involvement to just over 70% of all Square Enix's activity.
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Weekly Musings, Square Enix
Square Enix Product Distribution
The Decline Of Square Enix Since 2003
Posted on 2009/02/15 by Ronin90
Before 2003, Square Enix didn't literally exist. Instead, two companies called Square and Enix did, both producing competing RPGS; Square with their famed Final Fantasy franchise, and Enix with their insanely popular Dragon Quest franchise. However, when Square came into financial difficulties due to the ill-fated Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within movie, the two merged and formed Square Enix.
The president who took Square down its slippery slope (Tomoyuki Takechi) left the company, and Yoichi Wada was promoted to be the new president of Square, and then Square Enix. Since then, many people have become more and more disillusioned about Square Enix's conduct and the games it produces.
More after the jump.
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Weekly Musings, Square Enix
Weekly Musings
The Last Remnant Director Will Now Take Your Questions
Posted on 2008/12/04 by Ronin90
Now that The Last Remnant has been released worldwide on the Xbox 360, director Hiroshi Takai is looking to answer any questions people have about the game. Fortunately, we've been given the opportunity to ask Mr. Takai some questions, so if you have anything you want to know about the game, please head over to the forums and ask away.
We have a very flexible limit to the amount of questions we're able to ask, so feel free to ask as many questions as you like, no matter how big or small.
Ask Hiroshi Takai Your Questions
Tags:
The Last Remnant
The Last Remnant Questions
Multi-Disc Final Fantasy XIII On 360 Looking Likely
Posted on 2008/11/23 by Ronin90
Anyone who bought The Last Remnant on Thursday will have noticed one blatantly obvious thing, it comes on two discs. Now, this might not be that concerning to too many people, but it could hint that this could be the way things will be done in the future.
As everyone is now aware, Final Fantasy XIII is being released on the Xbox 360, as part of Square Enix's new "let's make money" strategy. It's more than likely that Final Fantasy XIII will dwarf The Last Remnant in size, and if they couldn't compress that game down, it is likely that they will struggle for Final Fantasy XIII as well. The only thing that might discount this, is that The Last Remnant was developed using an external engine (Unreal 3), whereas Final Fantasy XIII is being developed using Square Enix's own Crystal Tools.
More after the jump...
Tags:
Weekly Musings, The Last Remnant, Final Fantasy XIII
Weekly Musings
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