Good news for you Mobile nuts: Square-Enix has announced the launch of "Square-Enix Mobile" in Europe. Within the coming weeks, Aleste and Actraiser will be available for download, and many other titles are also in the works (including Drakengard). Users of Vodafone Live!, Orange World, T-Mobile's T-Zone and 02 Active will be able to get their hands on these exciting new games.

These titles will be available on a wide range of colour phones in various languages, including English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

As was reported earlier on EoFF.com, Final Fantasy I & II Advance had been "Postponed Indefinitely" by Square-Enix. Fortunately, this postponement has turned out to be a mere two week delay. Final Fantasy I & II Advance will now be released in Japan on July 29th, 2004. As always, we'll keep you informed with respect to North American and European release dates.

Square-Enix has also announced that the PC version of Final Fantasy XI is coming to Europe! The company recently signed a distribution agreement with Ubisoft which enables them to release the game across the pond. The package will include the main game, and two expansion packs: Rise of Zilart and Chains of Promathia. The game is due to hit the shops at some point during September of 2004. Unfortunately, the Playstation 2 version of the game is not being considered at this time, due to complications involving the PS2 Hard Disk.

[Source: AllRPG] ...

Finally, some movies from the latest in the Final Fantasy series! Square-Enix have also updated the "Story" section of the official Final Fantasy XII site, which you can take a look at by clicking here.

To see the high bandwidth movie trailer, click here, and to view the low bandwidth movie trailer, click here.

[Source: FF12.com] ...

Square-Enix have been busy bunnies recently. Not only have they been adding the finishing touches to FFI & II advance, but they've also been working hard on the latest Final Fantasy sequel - number twelve in the series.

Check out this page at AllRPG.com to see seven mouth-wateringly good movie screens and seven luscious looking in-game shots. FFXII is looking better and better every day, as you can see from these amazing pictures.

The game is due to be released in Japan at either the end of 2004 or during the early months of 2005. We'll keep you informed of any other release dates as and when they are confirmed.

[Source: AllRPG] ...

With the releases of Final Fantasy I & II Advance for the Game Boy Advance drawing ever closer, Square-Enix have updated the official website. You'll find some excellent flash minigames in the "Minigame" section, and you'll also notice some updates in the "Soul of Rebirth" section. Take a look at the site by clicking here.

The games will be released on July 15th, 2004 in Japan. As of yet, no release dates have been confirmed for North America or Europe. We'll keep you posted if any more information becomes available.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

Famitsu Magazine (the PlayStation 2 Edition) will be releasing some very special footage of the long-awaited Final Fantasy XII on their next DVD. The DVD will come 'free' with the next issue of the popular magazine, and will contain the four minute game trailer, some behind the scenes reports from the E3 game festival and some tasty looking images.

The game is set to be released in Japan in Winter 2004/Spring 2005.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

Square-Enix bring bad tidings: Kingdom Hearts 2 will not be released until 'Sometime' during 2005. No reason was given for this delay, so we can only assume that Square-Enix are using this time to improve the game dramatically by working like possessed hamsters. *whipcrack*

However, here's some good news concerning the game: Scheduled to appear are five characters from the Final Fantasy series. Only one has been confirmed as of yet, and that is Auron from Final Fantasy X. It should be interesting to see who else Square-Enix throws in the mix. As always, we'll keep you posted.

[Source: Gamespot] ...

Good news for all you Final Fantasy music buffs: Square Enix has announced that it is re-releasing six of it's most popular soundtracks. But wait, why re-relase them, you say? Well, when DigiCube ceased to exist, these soundtracks became obsolete. Thanks to Square, the following soundtracks will soon be in stores - again.

I) - Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec - FFVIII.
II) - Piano Collections - FFVIII.
III) - Piano Collections - FFIX.
IV) - Piano Collections - FFX.
V) - Suteki Da Ne - Main Theme From FFX.
VI) - Music from Final Fantasy - FF Live Concert.

You'll be able to get your hands on these in most major stores as of July 22nd, 2004.

[Source: AllRPG] ...

Square-Enix recently released details concerning their financial status after 2003. According to Square, the bankruptcy of DigiCube did not affect their profits in any way, even though the loss was an inconvenience.
Also, a total of 6.5 billion yen ($61.3 million) was made from the Publishing sector, and the Online Gaming sector reported a total taking of 7 billion yen ($66.1 million).
So, as you can see, it's been a good year for Square-Enix.

To see the full financial report, click here.

[Source: Gamespot] ...

Just to confirm, there will be no more chapters in the Final Fantasy X saga. Originally, there were to be two sequels after FFX (a Rikku edition and a Yuna edition), but this project has now been completely canned. The production crew from FFX stated in an interview that Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission would be the absolute last game to be based on FFX.

[Source: 1up] ...

Square-Enix has announced a 'character recovery support' for Final Fantasy XI. This will be a godsend for quite a lot of players, specifically ones who have accidentally deleted their characters. If an accident like this takes place, all the player has to do is ring the Square-Enix Information Center within three months, and the deleted character will be restored from the nether realm. The service is free of charge at the moment, but a fee may be imposed in the near future, especially if the service is abused.
Also, the recovery of a lost character can only be performed once per account.

Also, Square-Enix has registered the name 'The Chains Of Promathia' in the United States, which has started off plenty of rumours. As you probably already know, Promathia is a god in the world of Vana'diel, and according to those who have visited the statue of Alrana, there is a statue of Promathia behind her which is completely wrapped up in chains. After seeing this, many have presumed that an expansion pack is on the way for FFXI. However, nothing has been confirmed as of yet,
so please ...

For those of you wondering what differences are actually present in the International + Last Mission version of
FFX-2: here's the answer. Rikku, Yuna and Paine all have fancy new dresses, and there's a brand new boss which is 'incredibly difficult to beat', according to our sources.

To take a look at the new Psychier and Omatsurishi outfits for our FFX-2 girls, and to see the new boss, simply click right here.

[Sources: GPara, Square Insider] ...

Recently, in V-Jump magazine, Square-Enix stated that they required actors to assist them in the motion capture sequences for Final Fantasy: Advent Children. The vacancies were filled quite quickly, and we're now being told that the MC sequences have been completely finished. This makes the movie fairly complete, and if all goes to plan, it should be released in Japan this summer. A North America and European release is also expected to follow shortly after.

[Source: Final Fantasy World] ...

Final Fantasy XI has obtained yet more awards from various popular websites. IGN recently handed FFXI the award for "Online World of the Year" and the award for the "Outstanding Achievement in Technology". On top of that, Gamespy named FFXI "PC MMORPG of the Year" in Gamespy's 2003 "Game of the Year" Awards. For a game that was supposedly a 'trial run' for Square-Enix, Final Fantasy XI has done phenomenally well for itself.

[Source: Square Insider] ...