Blue Dragon takes flight August 28

Microsoft's inability to crack the Japanese market with its first-generation Xbox was widely attributed to the console's dearth of classic role-playing games. Eager to buck this sentiment, Microsoft tapped Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger creator Hironobu Sakaguchi for an entirely new, and entirely Xbox 360-exclusive, role-playing property, dubbed Blue Dragon.

Sweetening the pot for Japanese gamers, Sakaguchi's newly formed Mistwalker studio would feature other all-star contributors, such as Akira Toriyama, creator and character designer of the Dragon Ball series, and Nobuo Uematsu, who composed the music for much of the Final Fantasy series.

However, much to Western RPG fanatics' dismay, the high-profile title would initially be confined to a Japanese release. During this year's Game Developers Conference, Microsoft revealed it would indeed be bringing the highly anticipated title stateside this August. Today, the megapublisher pegged that date to an exact number, August 28.

Blue Dragon has been rated T for Teen and will retail for $59.99. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.