White Knight Chronicles heading West Feb. 2

For years, it was unclear whether Sony and Level-5's Japanese role-playing game White Knight Chronicles would surface on the PlayStation 3 in the West. Having been announced during the 2006 Tokyo Game Show, White Knight Chronicles was released in Japan last Christmas, and as late as January 2009, Level-5 brass were unwilling to commit to a Western release.

However, the "will it/won't it" question appeared to be answered by April, when Sony and Level-5 began showing off the game to the Western gaming press. Today, Sony attached a firm North American release date, as well as a new subtitle, to the game, saying White Knight Chronicles: International Edition will hit store shelves February 2, 2010.

Posting to Sony's PlayStation Blog, Level-5 associate product manager Cristian Cardona noted that White Knight Chronicles: International Edition will include a fully localized version of the JRPG, as well as a number of extras. The Western version will feature 50 additional on-disc online quests, with Cardona indicating that more quests will be available as downloadable content at launch.

Level-5 has also added The Georama to the International Edition. In this mode, players will be able to build an online village, from which gamers can invite friends to participate in quests as well as acquire unique items. The Western edition will also include more in-game dialogue options as well as online voice chat.

For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of White Knight Chronicles.