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Square Denies Final Fantasy 14 PS3 Exclusivity, 'Considering All Options'
by Chris Faylor, Jun 03, 2009 11:59am PDT
Following up on the surprise announcement of Final Fantasy XIV for PlayStation 3 and PC, Square Enix has clarified that, despite what Sony said yesterday, the upcoming MMORPG is not a PlayStation 3 console-exclusive and could very well end up on Xbox 360.
"We are considering all options at this time," Square Enix senior VP Shinji Hashimoto stated, via translator, at a press conference today. He stressed that FFXIV should not be considered a PS3 exclusive, noting that "all options" includes Microsoft hardware.
"We don't want to make a copy of World of Warcraft," a company representative added.
As for why Square opted to create an entirely new MMORPG instead of porting Final Fantasy XI to PlayStation 3 and continuing to expand the world, the company said that "to have a [all-inclusive] sequel to FF11 [on a next-gen system], you'd have to port the original one, and to port it would take too much time."
Rather than port Final Fantasy XI while adding new content and upgrades, the company decided to do something new.
Though reluctant to discuss specific gameplay features, Square noted its intent to develop and expand the job system to be "something quite different" than what was in Final Fantasy XI.
"We are trying to implement a lot of new systems other MMOs haven't used in the past," a member of the development team teased.
Square hopes to provide content for all the different styles of MMO play, explaining that "if you want to play in a solo, you can play solo. If you want to play 40 minutes in a day, you can play 40 minutes in a day. If you want to play all day, you can play all day."
The studio also took the time to clarify that the trailer released yesterday was indeed a mix of pre-rendered and in-engine visuals, and noted that Final Fantasy XIV will not use the PlayOnline infrastructure of Final Fantasy XI.
At present, Final Fantasy XIV is slated for a worldwide simultaneous launch on PlayStation 3 and PC at some point in 2010.
Comments
"The development for FFXIV started 4 or 5 years ago with primary ideas. Development started a few years ago, while FFXI was still being supported. FFXI will continue to be supported. There is another year of content planned. There are no plans for the near future to stop development on FFXI. "
"As with WoW, we want to aim a bit for the casual user. However, we don't want to make a copy of WoW. We believe we will have things that are unique and will stand out from that game. "
"All of the knowledge and experience we gained from FFXI will be used in the development of FFXIV. At the launch, we intend to have content for solo players as well as large-scale battles. We want a wide-variety from the start."
"The current plans are to have worldwide servers that are cross-platform and cross-region. We will do a beta test and look at the balance and player experience. We want to look for a good balance between region and cross-region play. "
"We envision users that will hopefully play XI one day and XIV another. They will be independent, but users are free to play both. "
"We are trying to implement a lot of new systems that other MMO's haven't used in the past. "
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