Electronics Boutique have stated that Final Fantasy XI for the Playstation 2 will be released on March 23rd, 2004. The game will cost approximately $99 (US) and will be pre-installed on the 40 Gig Playstation 2 Hard Drive.
To take a look at the very pretty box art, click here.

On an amusing note, Final Fantasy XI will be incorporated into an online Japanese Golf game for fans who are hungering for more Final Fantasy goodness. This game will contain flags representing the four countries from Vana'Diel and will also showcase more bits and pieces from the vast FFXI world. This 'Lobby' (as it is called) will be opened on January 16th, 2004 at 10:00am.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

The Vice President of Square-Enix (Shinji Hashimoto) recently spoke to Dorimaga magazine, and stated that Square-Enix would have a lot to offer at this year's E3 game festival. He promised to reveal some brand new titles, and also said that fans of Square-Enix would be very surprised in every regard. Expect a big feature on Kingdom Hearts for the PS2 and GBA, and keep a look out for some more Final Fantasy XII information, too. The E3 event will take place from May 12th - May 15th, 2004, and will be held in Los Angeles, USA.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

According to sources, the long-awaited sequel to FFX will reach European shores on February 20th, 2004. However, as we've come to expect from developers, the release date may be pushed back if anything unexpected happens between now and February. The game will contain English voice-overs, and will also contain subtitles in French and German (etc) for our non-English speaking European friends. Square-Enix may be removing the usual, ugly black PAL bars from the game, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

In a recent interview with Dengeki Online, Nobuo Uematsu talked about his work on the Final Fantasy XII and Advent Children soundtracks, his career at Square-Enix, and his forthcoming music tour which will consist of six concerts (to take place in Yokohama, Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka).

To read this very interesting article, click here.

[Sources: RPGFan, Dengeki Online] ...

Square-Enix has released a few commercials in order to promote it's latest masterpiece: Final Fantasy X-2. These commercials (or adverts) give us a closer peek at the English versions of "Real Emotion" and "1,000 Words" from the official soundtrack, sung by Jade from Sweetbox.

You can download these three commercials by
right-clickity-clicking on the following links:
Commercial #1 (Real Emotion Trailer 1)
Commercial #2 (Real Emotion Trailer 2)
Commercial #3 (1,000 Words Trailer)

[Sources: Square Insider, Game Trailers] ...

Kingdom Hearts II is shaping up to be something quite special, as we can see from these new details released by Square-Enix. The gameplay of the sequel will be almost identical to the original, but the summoning system has been simplified this time round. Also, the Gummi ships (in a reworked version), Malificent and her army of Heartless will be making a return in this sequel.

This gem of a game will be released in Japan at some point after April of this year.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

According to Famitsu magazine, Square-Enix is still #1 in the hearts of our fellow fantasy gamers over in Japan. Here are the results of a recent poll held to predict the most successful games/firms of 2004:

Most Successful Games in 2004:
Players:
1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2, Square Enix)
2. Metal Gear Solid 3 (PS2, Konami)
3. Dragon Quest V (PS2, Square Enix)
Developers:
1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2, Square Enix)
2. Dragon Quest VIII (PS2, Square Enix)
3. Gran Turismo 4 (PS2, Sony)
Dealers:
1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2, Square Enix)
2. Dragon Quest VIII (PS2, Square Enix)
3. Dragon Quest V (PS2, Sony)

Most Successful Firms in 2004:
1. Square Enix
2. Nintendo
3. Namco
4. Sega
5. Capcom
6. Konami

Top of the polls in every list! That's an impressive achievement for any company, but it's even more special for Square-Enix when you take into account the trials and tribulations the company has experienced within the last couple of years. Let's hope Square-Enix continue to rise above the rest, and I'm sure we're all looking forward to seeing what Final Fantasy goodness ...

Square-Enix has announced some new features that are to be present in the International + Last Mission version of Final Fantasy X-2. I quote: In the Monster Arena, you can not only raise caught monsters, but provided you are strong enough to defeat even the toughest enemies in a tournament, you can also win a special goodie: a chance to fight some familiar faces such as Tidus, Auron and Seymour.

The game itself will be available in Japan on February 19th, 2004. If you're thinking of purchasing the game,
it'll set you back around 6,800 yen (that's $63.36 US).

[Source: RPGFan] ...

Square-Enix has finally opened the website for it's long awaited CG movie: Final Fantasy: Advent Children. There's plenty to check out on the site, but the most interesting aspect would have to be the 'Shinra Company Member Application', which us visitors can sign up for. With this membership, you get access to exclusive walpapers for your desktop, as well as free entry into a lottery in which special 'Shinra member cards' can be won.

Some more details regarding the story of the game are teased on the site, which includes information on 'Planet Scar Syndrome', and the reappearance of Cloud's nemesis - Sephiroth. This information is currently only available in Japanese, but as soon as a translation is complete, we'll let you know.

Click here to check out this amazing site.

[Source: RPGFan] ...

Square-Enix president Youichi Wada was interviewed by Mainichi Interactive this week, and made some very interesting points and observations concerning his company. The interview was a brief look back at 2003 which cited the changes, accomplishments and downfalls of Square-Enix in that year. Wada talks quite frankly about the merger between Square and Enix on April 1st, the online experiment that was Final Fantasy XI, and also mentions some future Square-Enix projects.

To read the full article, click here.

[Source: RPGFan] ...

'Dorimaga', a popular magazine in Japan, has released new details on Square-Enix's upcoming movie, Final Fantasy: Advent Children. It has also revealed some new information concerning Final Fantasy XII.

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children
- The movie is currently 15% complete.
- The length of the movie will be around 70 to 80 minutes instead of the previously stated 60 minutes.
- One of the characters seen on the screenshot is indeed Vincent from Final Fantasy VII.
- The DVD will be released in Japan this summer.
- The DVD will be released alone and not in a bundle.
- The movie will not be released in theaters.

Final Fantasy XII
- As mentioned before, the game is 70% complete.
- The look of the game will be improve before its release.
- Kohei Takeda, the man behind the voice of Vaan, is a big fan of the series.
- The game will have more than 100 kinds of monsters (200 if we add the modified versions).
- Balflear's name has been confirmed by Square-Enix.
- The Moogles will have a new design.
- The general extension of the game is impressive.
- The game ...

More excellent Final Fantasy XII screenshots were shown this past week at the 'Jump Festa 2004' event in Japan. These screens are all taken from the new trailer of the game that was shown to the public at the event.

Click here to take a look at the screens. As you can see, the detail in the game is awesome, and the monsters, characters and weapons look as fantastic as ever. We'll update you with more pictures and news from this title in the near future.

[Source: The Magic Box] ...

It's not quite Final Fantasy, but it's pretty darned close. The release of Kingdom Hearts II: Chains of Memories for the Playstation 2 and Game Boy Advance is getting nearer every day, and to keep us fans happy, Square-Enix has released a tantalisingly tasty teaser poster containing screens from the GBA version.

Click here to take a peek. For more screens, click here.

[Source: The Magic Box] ...

AllRPG.com recently held a poll to determine how many people purchased the Final Fantasy titles that have been released over the course of this year. A surprising 75% of voters purchased at least one title, which is a good indication that the series is selling phenomenally well in the U.S. and abroad.

To take a look at this interesting article, and to read some of the more detailed statistics, click here to visit the site.

[Source: AllRPG] ...