Thanks to a Japanese ad for Final Fantasy XIII, we now know the official release date for the game in Japan, which beforehand was given a vague Winter 2009 estimated release date in Japan.

The game will be released on December 17, 2009 in Japan. No word on the finalized North American and European release dates, which are both set for sometime in Spring 2009.

The official website has yet to reveal this information (still shows the Winter 2009) date, so it is likely this ad was leaked earlier than Square Enix was expecting.