PS3 Fanboy

If you were itching to get your fantasy/sci-fi RPG on this year, you may have to find a source other than Final Fantasy XIII. A long time ago, we had gotten wind that the main XIII game would have a playable demo for us sometime in the third quarter of this year. It's around that time and we've heard nothing ... until now. Famitsu magazine interviewed Square Enix's Shinji Hashimoto who said there would not be a demo for XIII or Versus XIII until 2008.

Whether or not Square Enix was being facetious when they announced their games were only 13% and 1.3% complete, it's true they've admitted the games are currently a mess, so we're fine without a demo. Whatever it takes to put the game together properly, you know? In any case, Square Enix have announced that new videos of both games will be shown in a matter of months (we assume Tokyo Game Show). You can count on us to bring them here as soon as they're made available.

[Thanks, Justin!]

We don't think $500 is cheap, either. But if you look at it from the angle of "price reduced $100," then it seems marginally more significant. We were thrilled about the PS3 price cut, but some of Sony's biggest devs are speaking out against it. Not so much against it, but they think it's not enough to make a difference. First was Konami, now we're getting a wag of the finger from Square Enix's European and North American subsidiaries president, John Yamamoto.

Yamamoto said "I think USD 500 for PS3 is still a bit expensive for most gamers. Most of them think that price is still high." In addition to that, he demanded a price cut for Europe as well. While we'd be all about that, the PS3 has only been launched there recently. Oh well, it might happen. Does this mean Final Fantasy XIII will go multiplatform? We doubt it. Don't you?

A lot of people have been keeping their fingers crossed for an announcement by Sony and/or Square Enix about Final Fantasy XIII releasing this holiday season. We've said it before, we'll say it again: not happening. It's not just that -- don't expect to see any Square Enix game get a release before April 2008. That means everything, no exceptions, the end.

Is this really that hard for people to swallow? Final Fantasy XII hasn't even been out a year and people expect the next one to be coming out already? How long did it take to make XII again? Exactly. Don't expect Versus any sooner and despite what you may have heard, The Last Remnant is not that far in production! Star Ocean IV was barely announced, Kingdom Hearts 3 isn't even past the drawing board, and Parasite Eve 3 (that's right, Nick's gonna say it) is still a secret ... and not the supposed phone game. Basically, it's official that nothing from Square Enix is coming until the next fiscal year, but we're not torn up. We're going to have a packed holiday season.

Whilst generally an exciting collection of quotes from some of the top names at Square Enix it is hard not to be disappointed by Toriyama's statement that the games in the Fabula Nova Crystallis series will be kept largely separate. We had harboured hopes of cross-game cameos. Imagine two Final Fantasies where the main characters from each game meet up and help each other get through a problem before going on their separate ways again. Sadly this doesn't look likely, though the games will link with each other through a "vague crystal theme," as Nomura puts it. Same as all the previous FF games then?

Nomura's thoughts on the tone and style of Final Fantasy Versus is a particularly interesting read. For those of you who suffer from fears that the series will be moving over to other consoles, then let me put them to rest. Both Nomura and Toriyama make it clear that they couldn't do the things they're doing without the power of the PlayStation 3. Make sure you check out all of the quotes over at the NeoGAF forums for more info.

With so many games coming out later on this year (ostensibly), a lot of PS3 fans have almost forgotten about the two biggest titles in the wings: Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII. Their exclusivity used to be put in question almost daily, continually put down, then revived as a rumor again for no apparent reason. Ever since a ton of hard-hitting titles started appearing, those rumors have died down because it seems the PS3 has more going for it than these two games and everyone is starting to realize that. So, what's up with those two titles, anyway?

It appears that neither are going to release before the end of this fiscal year (March 31, 2008). GameStop's website recently moved MGS4 from a 2007 release to a March 2008 release, but chances are it'll come out in April or May. Just because ... it'd be a good start to the next fiscal year, you know?

FFXIII hasn't been moved on their site, but Square Enix president Yoichi Wada made a statement regarding the game at a financial briefing in Tokyo: "It will still take a bit more time. At the very least, [a release] this fiscal year is definitely out of the question." IGN claims a May 2008 release at the earliest. We second that. When do you guys expect the game to get the ol' release?

Nope! No traditional Final Fantasy XIII for you today. On this day, we've got two high-res screens that have popped up thanks to Square Enix Party 2007. One is from Versus, the other is from Agito, which we've chosen to feature to the right. The full-size is also available here if you'd like to see it better.

Now, if the latter is supposed to be on phones, how the heck does it look this good? Unless "mobile" means... handheld. In which case, we're very excited to get our hands on it. There's not much else to say except we wish we were at this party! Oh, we'd also wish we knew anything about these games. That would probably help.

This time we've found the scans containing the interview with Square-Enix's Motomu Toriyama. We've read them, sure. We've decided to give you some of what we learned and let you read the rest. Some of this was already known, some of it is speculation, but all of it is Final Fantasy deliciousness.

We already knew the game was going to take on the FF8 approach -- more science-fiction than fantasy (technology-wise, cities with big buildings not made out of wood or thatch or brick). Fine by me. As an aside, I've heard tons of whines about that particular entry into the series and I'd like to hear why it rubbed you the wrong way. Personally, the FF thorn(s) in my side are IX and Mystic Quest. I wouldn't call FF7 sci-fi based because it was one city that was "technologically advanced"... it was more industrialized than sci-fi. FF8 was sci-fi. FF8 had the Gun-Blade. So does XIII. What're the odds?


We also know the battle system is going to be a revamped ATB system -- pushed to its limits as far as speed goes. This, to me, is also a great move. Not sure how many of you dared to demasculinize yourselves with Final Fantasy X-2, but that was easily the greatest rendition of ATB to-date. If they're going to make it faster with XIII, I'm on board. Just so Lightning isn't girly like those three ladies were. She doesn't seem to be.

The game is being built from the ground up with the PS3 in mind. The high-definition capabilities, the Blu-ray, the multi-core mumbo jumbo... it's all needed to run this game in the way Square-Enix desires it. Online? They're thinking about it. Wonder what they'd do. Either way, expect a whole new level of expression on character's faces and gestures.

Mini-games are a possibility, but they'd probably be dragged out into their own full-length releases. Hopefully, these will be cheaper and on the PS-Store, because I won't dole out a constant stream of $60 for mini-games-gone-full.


There's a bit more info in the scans, but we're not going to go into every title and what's already known about them. If you want to play a little bit of catch-up, go ahead and check out the scans. We're going to find some news not relating to Square-Enix.

The Australian PSM had an interview with Square-Enix's Motomu Toriyama. It was all right. He mostly talked about the main Final Fantasy XIII game. But he was asked a question that wasn't expected and he gave an answer that was even less expected.

What was asked? Dunno. What was said? "In fact, the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII project isn't just limited to three titles -- there are many different aspects. In terms of the formats we're reaching, as well, it's not simply exclusive to the PS3 and mobile phones. There is more."

Now, before all the competing consoles do a jig and cry in happiness for a game they wouldn't even play, this doesn't say anything about the exclusivity of XIII and Versus XIII. What we're gleaning from this is another game for another platform -- maybe Crystal Chronicles on the Wii actually takes place in the same universe? Or an Advent Children-style short movie where the two main characters of the games meet and duke it out? It's pretty interesting to think about -- oh, a graphic novel! Maybe.

Nick Doerr taps his fingers impatiently, waiting to hear the mail delivery truck to roll past his apartment complex's mailbox hut. Every day, he wonders if that new issue of EGM will arrive. Since the month of the magazine and the actual month are never the same and the delivery dates appear arbitrary, it's little more than a guessing game. However, he's a reason to be excited this time around. Final Fantasy XIII is coming. Maybe.

We reported a long time ago that there might be a demo coming out this year for FFXIII: Crazy Latinese Subtitle and estimated its arrival... let's see... after TGS'07 -- the demo itself was scheduled to be completed by E3'07. Apparently EGM had a little blip inside an issue (it may have been the April issue) confirming such a demo heading to the PS-Store. If we're already hearing that, can we expect it sooner? E3 is just around the corner and down a block, so maybe we'll get that demo then, instead? Whatever, keep your ears open.

For some reason, we feel like this news is a little older than "6:36AM"... probably read it in a few applications. But we're not here to talk about them! We're here to discuss Georga Fornay's comments in a French-language newspaper about Final Fantasy XIII. Who is he? President of Sony Computer Entertainment France. What'd he say? Let's eavesdrop.

"The development costs of games have exploded, and it has become more difficult to have exclusives, outside of our own games. But we have for launch day [in France] 30 games, including MotorStorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Virtua Fighter 5. Moreover, we are expecting 200 games [for the PS3] by the end of 2007... As far as Final Fantasy XIII goes, I can tell you that the exclusivity is in discussion."

Some may twist this into thinking that Sony might be losing exclusivity to the coveted Square-Enix title. We remain cautiously optimistic. Perhaps Square was looking at going to other consoles, but Sony realizes they need this game (need is a tricky word, but let's go with it). They tell Square to sit down, enjoy some brunch. Let's discuss. Basically, instead of assuming the title was exclusive and that may be changing, let's assume it was not exclusive, but Sony is finally making that jump. Besides, there were never those "Only on PS2!" stickers when Final Fantasy X, X-2, and XII were released. Those were all over games like Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Know what we're saying? How do you feel about this?

The battle director for Final Fantasy XIII has been named this day. The honor goes to Toshiro Tsuchida -- the very same guy who was the battle director for Final Fantasy X and has been involved with all the Front Mission games. Does this mean we can expect a turn-based battle system with strategy elements? According to Tetsuya Nomura, no. No it does not.

Nomura has given a few details on the battle system and if memory serves, many of us at PS3Fanboy had guessed the system before it was announced. Anyway, Nomura said the fights will resemble those in Kingdom Hearts (hopefully less button-mashing, more strategy...) with a bit of a third-person shooter features tossed in. It seems each weapon will have a separate camera and control system. Could you imagine Sora using a dozen different types of weapons each with completely unique move sets? That would be a lot of crap to micromanage. And Nick loves his micromanaging.

It seems the people over at Square-Enix are having a little mercy on their fans. You remember the FFXIII trailer, don't you? With that weird slidey-bar thing at the bottom that looked like a menu slapped on to fool people into believing that what they were looking at was real-time? Motomu Toriyama sat down with Famitsu magazine and delivered some details on the gameplay and the story. We won't talk about the story, but you can read up on what was discussed if you don't mind learning a little about the world of Final Fantasy XIII.

The battle system is said to be the most intense yet and different from what fans are used to. First off, the battles are going to be seamless -- they'll take place where you run into enemies (just like Chrono Trigger... I bring that up because I had a discussion with a friend as to why no game emulated the SBS, Seamless Battle System, outside of CT... not even its sequel). That's an awesome first step. But, presentation is important, too, said Toriyama. "since it's on the Playstation 3 we've got our eye on new presentation. The foundation is based on active-time battles, but the waiting time until you choose a command is gone for the most part. The image we presented to the public -- rushing into a real time battle with that kind of force -- we want to continue that overflowing feeling of tension that RPGs up to now haven't had."

Summons are also a big deal. They're not really giant monster-creatures that come on screen and do a single massive attack then fade away. They're mechas, in a sense, with two forms. For example, Shiva can transform into a motorcycle and Toriyama said that it "may be the case" that you can ride your hog into battle. Intense, indeed. What this all sounds like is that RPG's will no longer be the genre that allow you to continuously pound X (or circle) during fights whilst your secondary claw grabs some potato chips or whips up some brownies (hey, it could be done). What do you guys think? Is FFXIII headed in a good direction, or are you worried it might turn into an Action-RPG?

[thanks to 1UP.com for the image]

Goodness gracious! There has been quite an influx of Final Fantasy XIII news lately. Well, most of the news comes in the way of magazine scans. Sometimes there's a Versus XIII scan thrown in there with the others. But sometimes we're graced with the news of a playable demo due out possibly after this year's E3 and/or Tokyo Game Show. This time, however, we learn details from the people making the game themselves: Square Enix. SIXAXIS controls, people's shoe sizes, Lightning's favorite food (or not...) and so on. We'll make a list of neat bits o' news.

• Director Motome Toriyama admitted that the opening scene of FFXIII is "probably the most [intense] in the Final Fantasy series so far."
• Toriyama promised surprises galore for us, this being the 20th anniversary of the series. One such surprise is to get Final Fantasy XIII into our hands as soon as possible (does that portend the final game will be released before the end of the year, or just the demo?).
• Tetsuya Nomura revealed details about the blonde-haired guy that looks a bit like Seifer. The character is huge, literally. He can run whilst carrying two people and his shoe size is approximately 33 centimeters.
• In Versus XIII, your character can instantly warp to wherever he's thrown his sword. Handy and deadly.
• Also in Versus, you won't play the whole game alone. You'll get party members and will have fighting akin to Kingdom Hearts, but will probably be somewhere between KH and Final Fantasy XII.
• Versus XIII is lagging behind the main FF, so we'll only get a new kickass trailer for it in the near future.

Because we'd like to keep the story details as much of a surprise as possible (I've learned that reading up on every little bit tends to ruin the immersion into the world game developers create), we won't mention those, but if you're curious, you can most certainly read up on it over at IGN. Exciting.

Oh my goodness! Did you read the title right? We think you did, because it's true. Gosh, what was the last Final Fantasy demo? Was it for VIII? That was a long, long time ago. Packaged with Brave Fencer Musashi, if memory serves. Oh, nevermind. Final Fantasy XII was packaged with Dragon Quest VIII. Damn! Even so, that was a big gap in itself -- now we're getting a demo for each game, then.

In the latest issue of Dengeki, Square-Enix confirmed the release of a Final Fantasy XIII (not Versus, apparently) demo sometime this year. Sqeenix wants the demo to be finished by E3 2007 -- which is pretty much closed off to the public now. If they want to be very nice, they can release the demo on the PS-Store shortly thereafter. If not, we'll probably see the release of the demo after the Tokyo Game Show 2007. Either way, awesome! No news on it going multiplatform and it's going to stay that way, from the looks of it.

Why does this game look so ridiculously sexy? Maybe I'm a sucker for weird reddish-pink blonde hair. Maybe I'm a sucker for RPGs. Maybe I'm just tired of playing PS2 games and really want to feel what the "next-gen" is in regards to role-playing titles. Whatever the case, both of the PS3 Final Fantasy XIII titles are lookin' hot. Or hawt, depending on how nerdy we want to get. We can't really say what the article is telling us, since Babelfish has decided to shun us at the time of this writing. It doesn't matter, though. We'd much rather have those scans translated. Is it just us, or is Shiva transforming into a motorcycle in one of the scans? Transforming is awesome. Especially if you're Optimus Prime.

What's interesting, though, is that there's finally something that appears to be "cinematic" and we can therefore assume the other images we've seen thus far are at the very least "cutscene gameplay" -- that is, extra nice... er... normal graphics. We chose to throw the cinematic image up because, well, it looks damn near like a real person. But it isn't. Because no one looks like that. Unfortunately. Are we gushing too much? It's just exciting! Take a look yourselves and grin in silence.