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Final Fantasy XIII exclusive to Japan in 2009

By Mark Walton, GameSpot UKPosted Jan 16, 2009 7:57 am PT

Square Enix's highly anticipated JRPG won't be released outside of island nation until sometime after April 2010 on PS3 and Xbox 360.

At this year's Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix debuted a new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII, its highly anticipated role-playing game slated to arrive for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Aside from the eye candy, Square Enix's trailer also offered the tantalizing promise of a 2009 launch date.

Unfortunately, that promise of a 2009 release apparently applies only to Japan, given that the game isn't going to make it to the US or Europe until the second quarter of 2010 at the very earliest. The news emerged as Square Enix, the game's developer, delivered projections for the remainder of its current fiscal year, which ends March 31.

Square Enix president Yoichi Wada told Reuters that the game was on track for a 2009 PS3-exclusive launch in Japan, with international launches for the Xbox 360 and PS3 coming "in the business year from April 2010 or later."

Final Fantasy has been one of the most successful franchises ever to hit the console market. Since its first incarnation on the NES, the series has sold upward of 85 million units worldwide, with numerous spin-offs and even a feature-length movie adding to its success.

Despite the delay in the launch of Final Fantasy, Square Enix has remained optimistic about its financial outlook for 2009 with a small dip in operating profit of 2.4 percent to 21 billion yen ($236 million) forecast for the year. The company also reported healthy sales for the tail end of 2008 and said "demand has been generally brisk," with key titles such as Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest IV and Final Fantasy VII prequel Crisis Core all hitting shelves throughout the year.

1532 Comments

  • crystal-gardens

    Posted Oct 3, 2009 1:36 am PT

    They still are on nintendo but there arent very many on wii and i dont think there are any plans for a new one for the ds

  • Tbro13

    Posted Sep 27, 2009 5:34 am PT

    holyblade107 in the beginning before Sony, FF games were on Nintendo consoles.

  • DBZKING1234

    Posted Jun 23, 2009 9:55 pm PT

    well guys FF versus XIII is supposed to be a PS3 exclusive so dont get too upset. Its looks better in my opinion

  • matelian

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 4:34 am PT

    so NO FFXIII for PC i guess ?? : (

  • holyblade107

    Posted May 18, 2009 3:55 pm PT

    this sucks. why the hell is FF XII being released for 360. FF has always been console exclusive for sony. it pisses me off more that it's now delayed!
    I'm not a sony fanboy or anything, but screw square its time for a new &#@!#$@ Final fantasy Dammit!

  • beny_pimpster

    Posted Apr 18, 2009 7:54 pm PT

    LOL wish ffx3 dont get release to poobox360 if the developers made it like metal gear solid 4 no way the grand poobox360 can handle it

  • king_chapeton15

    Posted Apr 8, 2009 4:55 pm PT

    damn xbox steal the best exclusive game for playstation 3 cuz bill gates cant find decent publishers whats next resistance and killzone!

  • Chakusola

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 4:51 pm PT

    How long has it been, 3 years? I don't remember a game being advertised as a no-show for 3 years... what in the world is Square-Exix thinking?

  • Shadow_Pro

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 10:07 am PT

    Xbox 360 and PS3 coming "in the business year from April 2010 or later."....................... is MUCH!

  • IamTakkun

    Posted Mar 16, 2009 10:23 pm PT

    April 2010.... Doubtful.

  • StanleyL GameSpot staff member

    Posted Feb 6, 2009 10:24 am PT

    testing! now with one edit, now with 2 edits

  • RWF

    Posted Feb 4, 2009 7:43 pm PT

    This game might most likely be good even though a girl might be the main character. The thing I care about most in this game is the music. If Nobuo Uematsu is not composing the music for it, then I guess I will have to pass on it. Other people may like the music from new composers, but I don't. I have not bought a Final Fantasy game since FFX because he didn't create any music for recent the FF games (FFX-1 and FFXII, He did for FFXI, but it was junk in my eyes, and he composed only the theme music in FFXII). So I am hoping greatly that he composes the music for this game. Bring back that feeling I get when I play the older Final Fantasy games. That feeling that keeps you hooked on this game until you beat it. It's been awhile since I felt that way about a RPG game. Bring back that FF magic, at least for me!!!

  • 666_Laventine

    Posted Feb 4, 2009 5:29 pm PT

    @peeps saying waiting = better game
    Not always true. Play Too Human & you'll see what I mean

  • corwinn01

    Posted Feb 4, 2009 9:57 am PT

    I am glad that I am not the only one thinking about learning Japanese. lol

  • GCase1

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 1:51 am PT

    Time to go buy Rosetta Stone I guess

  • markypants GameSpot staff member

    Posted Jan 29, 2009 1:30 am PT

    @Master_Griever
    That's my plan as well ;-)

  • Master_Griever

    Posted Jan 27, 2009 7:34 am PT

    Before I read this article I had decided to race through my collection of Final Fantasies starting at VII (wouldn't have time for the rest I though), but now, I'm not going to race through, I'm going to play them all properly, 80 hours + on FFVII, 60 hours + on VIII, 60 hours+ on IX, 200 hours + on X, 150 hours + on X-2 and 200 hours + on XII, stat maxing, ultimate boss beating glory. Should take me at least a year right?

  • OathKeeper48

    Posted Jan 27, 2009 1:58 am PT

    wouldn't it be alright if it was all english writing.

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