LOS ANGELES — Final Fantasy XIV Online was announced at Sony's press conference at Electronic Entertainment Expo on Tuesday morning, but Square Enix wasn't exactly forthcoming with information about the PC and PlayStation 3 MMORPG.
At a Q&A session at E3 Wednesday, the *Final Fantasy *publisher shared a bit more information about the massively multiplayer 14th installment in the Final Fantasy series.
Shinji Hashimoto, senior VP of Square Enix, started the session off with comments about the game's exclusivity. Although Sony said at its conference that the game would be exclusive to PlayStation 3, Hashimoto clarified this remark: "The game will be coming to the PS3 and the PC," he explained, but Square Enix is "considering all options."
Square Enix's last MMO,* Final Fantasy XI,* began life as a PlayStation 2 and Windows PC title, but eventually found a home on Microsoft's Xbox 360. XIV could experience a similar fate.
The game, due for release in 2010, is a sharp turn away from the upcoming sci-fi-tinged, single-player game Final Fantasy XIII. It returns to the series' medieval fantasy roots. XIV will see a simultaneous worldwide release in four languages — English, Japanese, German and French. There are plans for cross-platform gameplay, but Square Enix said that whether the servers are divided by region will be decided after extensive beta testing.
While* XIV* is similar in design to XI, the game will take place in a distinct world. Hiromichi Tanaka, the game's producer, explained that porting Final Fantasy XI to a new console generation would have been a laborious exercise. He said that Square Enix decided that its time would be better spent creating a brand new game, particularly in regard to the solo player's experience.
While* FFXI*'s development emphasized groups of players working together as a party, FFXIV is aimed at accommodating a wider variety of play styles. So whether you'd like to spend hours exploring with friends, or only have 40 minutes a day to spare and prefer being alone, Tanaka said that there will be content for you.
*Final Fantasy XIV *has been in development alongside the constant growth and expansion of FFXI, and customer feedback from Square Enix's current MMO is serving as a guide for its successor. Square didn't divulge much information about the changes in play, but director Nobuaki Komoto emphasized that the growth and development of a player's character will be important to the experience.
Expect changes to the ways characters advance, and a new take on the Jobs system — FF XI's take on traditional role-playing game classes. There's no word on the combat system, however — will it be turn-based? Or action-oriented, like World of Warcraft? We'll have to wait and see.
With FFXIV's launch about a year away, fans of Square's currently running MMO have no need to worry that their game will be shut down in favor of the new one. We were told that there are no plans to quit development on FFXI, which has over a year's worth of content waiting in the wings. And while Square Enix plans to support both MMO communities, it's making the transition to FFXIV easy for fans: Many of the races and character designs will be similar to those available in FFXI, so if you're attached to a particular avatar, there's a good chance you'll be able to re-create its likeness.
Final Fantasy XIV Online has been in development for five years, and there's still a year's worth of development to go. For now, with little information beyond a title, a trailer and a general release window, we'll just have to wait and see what Square Enix has in store.
See Also:
