Square Enix Dates Final Fantasy XIII for Dec 17

BY Mufaddal Fakhruddin | POSTED: 09 September 2009

Equip your eBays because that\'s only for Japan.



We can almost hear the collective 'ahh, finally!' from fans awaiting Square's latest iteration in the popular series, Final Fantasy XIII. Yesterday, at a special press event held in Tokyo, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada officially announced that the awaited title will release on December 17, 2009 in Japan. The game is priced at ¥9,240, which is a little under USD 100!

"Some 22 years ago, the very first Final Fantasy made its debut on December 18 [in Japan]," said FFXIII executive producer Yoshinori Kitase. "So in a way, our newest release is coming out on the eve of the series' birthday."

Playstation CEO Kazuo Hirai also made appearance, announcing that the company plans to release a FFXIII PS3 Slim bundle at launch. However, no details including the price were revealed, nor was it made clear if it will be a special edition like the Final Fantasy Advent Children bundles.

"We at SCE just announced our new PlayStation 3 model, and it's posting an excellent sell-through rate. On the release date of Final Fantasy XIII, we also plan to ship a bundle edition as well. Final Fantasy fans all over the world have been long waiting for this wonderful title. We plan to team up with Square Enix and to support them though the game's release at the end of the year."

Concerning the release of the US/UK versions, Square wouldn't commit to specifics and said it hoped to release the game "with only one season of delay" comparing to the year it took previous FF games to release in the regions.

"We're not at a stage where we can announce any specific dates yet. In the past, it took about a half a year to a year [after the Japanese release]. But we're hoping that this time, we can release it with only one season's worth of a delay."

Source.