The end of the fiscal year on March 31st has brought new projections in sales from Square-Enix, with the company forecasting a jump of over 12 percent.

A previous estimate of 56 billion yen ($516.89 million US) has been boosted to 63 billion yen ($581.5 million US) due in part to strong sales of packaged and online software and to continued success in their publishing division. Their new estimate for net profit has also jumped accordingly, from 8.1 billion yen ($74.77 million US) to 8.7 billion ($80.3 million US).

[Source - RPGFan] ...

Square-Enix has thrown the doors open on the official website for their upcoming compilation release, "Final Fantasy I and II Advance".

Most of the details of the game are still relatively vague. However, the introduction of the MP system into FFI, players can now save their games anywhere. Both games will also feature a new quest in each, with FFI's "Soul of Chaos" (where you can discover powerful weapons and fight memorable bosses throughout Final Fantasy) and FFII's "Soul of Rebirth" (where you can play as four NPCs that lost their lives in the main story). The site itself still appears to be under construction, but should be complete in due time.

Final Fantasy I and II Advance is expected to be released in late July throughout Japan, at the cost of 6,090 yen (US$57). No American release date has been determined yet.

[Sources - GameSpot, RPGFan] ...

Square-Enix's online RPG has a new wrinkle, as an awaited player-vs-player mode was added to Final Fantasy XI today.

Simulated battles can now be fought throughout Vana'diel, as its four nations have set up a board known simply as "Conflict" (International Resolution through Non-lethal Conflict). The first such Conflict is based on training exercises by the Royal Knights of San d'Oria.

[Sources - RPGFan] ...

Square-Enix announced that tickets to the first North American concert to feature music from a video game went on sale today.

"Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy", a concert featuring compositions by Nobuo Uematsu from Square-Enix's long running RPG series, will be performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on May 10, just days before the annual E3 convention rolls into town. Prices for tickets range from 40 to 120 U.S. dollars and can be bought online or over the phone through Ticketmaster, or by visiting the WDCH box office.

The seating chart for the Walt Disney Concert Hall can be found here, while online purchases can be made here.

To order tickets over the phone, call (323) 850 - 2000.

[Sources - RPGFan, Ticketmaster] ...

The update for Square-Enix's online RPG has been released slightly ahead of schedule, and it includes a vast array of changes and additions to the popular game.

Originally reported here to have been released on the 26th, the update was released today. The details of the update can be found here.

On a related note, the PlayStation 2 version of Final Fantasy XI is scheduled to be out on March 23rd in the United States for $99.99.

[Sources - RPGFan] ...

PlayOnline has announced that a maintenance and client update scheduled to run early this evening will push back the latest anticipated update for Final Fantasy XI.

Originally scheduled to be released on February 24, the new wrinkles will instead be made public on the 26th. Included among the new features:

- Several new areas that connect to Dynamis, the "Shrouded Land"
- New aspects to your quests, including the new ability to replay artifact quests, and brand new "escort" quests along with a new avatar quest
- New equipment called "relics"
- Additional storage will be added, as will upgrades in furnishings and decorations for mog houses

This is merely a small list compared to everything in store for FFXI players. Chances are good that there's a lot left of Vana'Diel for everyone to explore.

[Sources - AllRPG, PlayOnline U.S.] ...

The music from Square-Enix's most famous line of video games will be the spotlight of an announced concert scheduled to perform before this year's E3 Expo.

"Dear Friends - Music from FINAL FANTASY" is a collection of the Final Fantasy series's most famous songs conducted by Nobuo Uematsu, the first of its kind to be featured in North America. The concert, with songs originally scored by Uematsu, will be performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles will play host to the event on May 10th, although information regarding ticket sales and prices have yet to be released. E3 is scheduled to be held at the L.A. Convention Center on May 12-14.

[Sources - RPGFan, Uematsu's Music] ...

On the heels of a previous agreement with Verizon Wireless, Square-Enix U.S.A. announced on Sunday the opening of an exclusive gallery service in cooperation with AT&T Wireless.

The "Square-Enix Gallery" is the first exposure that the Final Fantasy series has received in the North American mobile phone market, following a successful year-long run in Japan. It allows users of AT&T's mMode service to download one of over 200 wallpapers featuring a variety of characters from recent Final Fantasy releases, including Final Fantasy X, X-2, and XI. A few examples can be found here.

These wallpapers can be downloaded for $1.99 a piece, but Square-Enix has promised a wider array of choices to come in the future. You can find information on this service at Square-Enix's official mobile techonology site and at AT&T's official site for mMode.

[Sources - AllRPG, RPGFan] ...

Square-Enix has announced that they will expand to China with the construction of a new development studio in the city of Shanghai.

The new division will recruit from local developers to focus on creating online titles for the PC. Square-Enix vice president Keiji Honda will run the new Shanghai division, which is expected to be a part of the company's expansion in the Chinese market.

[Sources - Square Insider] ...

In order to gain some ground in the competitive computer laptop industry, NEC announced last week that their new model of notebook computers will come included with a state-of-the-art 3-D display and Final Fantasy XI (plus the Rise of the Zilart expansion) pre-installed.

The model "Lavie S LS900/8E" is the first notebook computer to include a three-dimensional graphic display that doesn't require any kind of accesory (such as 3-D glasses), and also includes a 3-D sound output which allows the user to experience surround sound from the notebook computer right in front of them.

Final Fantasy XI is being used to help promote the features, since the game itself has excellent sound- and graphics-related wrinkles. The hope is that users will have a higher-quality in-game experience with the new features.

It's set to be released for sale to the Japanese public on January 29th, for 380,000 yen. Unfortunately for everyone else, the Lavie series is only sold in Japan.

[Sources - Square Insider, NEC] ...

Nintendo of America has thrown the doors open on the North American website for Square-Enix's first release on the GameCube, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles.

The site offers a quick rundown of the game's storyline, plus a video trailer and numerous screenshots. It also features Crystal Chronicles' multiplayer ability, allowing any group with a few Gameboy Advances and a GameCube connector cable to work together in playing through the game.

In addition, Nintendo is also fronting a special online offer, as anyone who reserves a copy of FF:CC will receive a GBA-GC connector cable for free. To see the site for yourself, click here.

[Sources - Square Insider] ...

Square-Enix has dropped the rights to its trademark "Chrono Break" from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They are still holding on to their Japanese trademark of "Chrono Brake", however, and so it has become a mystery as to what will happen to the successful franchise. There has still been no official word regarding a new Chrono game, and all that is known is that Masao Katou, the scenario writer for Square's first two Chrono games, is no longer affiliated with Square-Enix since finishing his work on Final Fantasy XI.

[Sources - Square Insider] ...

Final Fantasy X-2, the first sequel in everyone's favorite RPG series, had a relatively easy rise to the top of the best-sellers list in Japan in 2003, outdistancing Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire and Dynasty Warriors 3 (by approximately 200,000 and 750,000 units, respectively) to become Japan's top selling game of the year.

With nearly 2 million copies sold throughout the year, FFX-2 had no problem becoming the best in nearly every category: top PS2 game, top Square-Enix game, top RPG.

Also of note from the list of one hundred, the highly successful GameBoy Advanced game Final Fantasy Tactics Advance made an appearance on the chart, coming in 23rd with well over 400,000 copies sold. Crystal Chronicles wasn't far behind at 28th (approx. 350,000), and both FFX and FFXI continued strong prolonged runs with showing of 86th and 98th (approx. 160,000 and 130,000, respectively).

[Sources - RPGFan] ...

Square-Enix announced a triumph of sorts, reporting that their PlayOnline services had surpassed over a half-million users by the end of 2003. Since Final Fantasy XI was released for the PS2 in Japan back in May 2002, the service had steadily gained steam, first when FFXI was released for PCs in November 2002 and most recently when the game was introduced in the United States. The membership population, which was already a healthy 300,000, took about two and a half months to exceed 500,000. In all, over one million individual characters have been created for the game.

Since FFXI is also expected to be released in the United States on the PS2 by March, everyone can expect those numbers to continue climbing. The game's continued success is expected to have an influence on Square-Enix's other imminent releases, including Ambrosia Odyssey and Front Mission Online, and the company is expected to take those games in the same direction FFXI followed.

[Sources - Square Insider] ...