One of the many demos at E3 displaying the new, incredible power of Sony's Playstation 3 was Final Fantasy VII. As IGN says, the demo was a complete recreation of the beginning of Final Fantasy VII but with mind-numbingly beautiful graphics. The gorgeous trailer depicts the intro with more detail than the original, but all rendered in non-cg, real-time graphics. Don't go to your local store to reserve the title yet- Square says they won't be remaking Final Fantasy VII for the PS3. They are, however, promising some form of Final Fantasy on Sony's new machine.

In the meantime, email Square and tell them they might want to reconsider re-making the best videogame that ever existed. You may also want to inform them that they haven't done anything half as good since its release back in 1997. ...

Square-Enix has released word that the highly-anticipated Advent Children DVD will be available to any and all Europeans "by the end of 2005". The UMD format, however, is still up in the air as Sony officials are still trying to determine whether to give one format precedence over the other.

[Sources - Advent Children] ...

According to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/12/news_6124327.html">Gamespot</a>, Square-Enix is making an international release on September 14th of this year for the highly anticipated sequel to Final Fantasy VII. Earlier reports by various sites did say that Square may have been pondering that idea, although no reliable sources to back it up. <a href="http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/13/0445257&from=rss">Slashdot</a>, and <a href="http://psp.ign.com/articles/612/612434p1.html">IGN</a> are also supporting the news about the worldwide release. There has been no mention of Europe as of yet, nor has there been any news on if Advent Children will be released onto UMD Format for the PSP. We will keep you posted on news concerning Advent Children as it comes in.<br><br>[Sources: <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/12/news_6124327.html">Gamespot</a>, <a ...

Following the news article concerning the release of Final Fantasy music titles from Final Fantasies I-XI being released in America, <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8662">GamesIndustry</a> reports that the European Offices of Square-Enix have been in discussions with Apple Europe to bring the soundtracks onto the UK's iTunes site. To date, only the OST to The Spirits Within is available throughout Europe. It is quoted, that it is only a matter of time before Europe follows their American counterparts with the availability of all soundtracks.<br><br>[Source: <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8662">GamesIndustry</a>] ...

Importing Final Fantasy might be a thing of the past now that Nobuo Uematsu's works will become a part of the iTunes Music Store, thanks to an agreement between Square-Enix and Apple.

Sixteen soundtracks will be available in all, which includes the music from every Final Fantasy, I through XI, plus two Black Mages albums and music from the Dear Friends concert series.

[Source - RPGamer] ...

According to Advent Children's Producer Tetsuya Nomura, Advent Children is slated for release in Japan on September 14th for a price of 4,800 Yen. The Special Edition of the DVD will also be released on the same date. Character rendering is complete, and voice-over work should be completed sometime this month with synching beginning in June. The most promising part of the <a href="http://psp.ign.com/articles/611/611223p1.html?fromint=1">IGN</a> article is that THERE WILL BE NO MORE DELAYS! I'll keep you posted on Advent Children through E3 and after. <br><br>[Source: <a href="http://psp.ign.com/articles/611/611223p1.html?fromint=1">IGN</a>] ...

According to <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050425/lam061.html?.v=6/">Yahoo:Finance</a>, Square has been planning on unveiling a few new titles as well as a few old which have been displayed at past E3s.<br><br>The titles include: Fullmetal Alchemist 2, Final Fantasy VII: Compilation (which contains Final Fantasy: Advent Children, Before Crisis, and Dirge of Cerberus), Dragon Quest VIII, Kingdom Hearts II, Romancing SaGas, Radiata Stories, Final Fantasy: XI, Final Fantasy: XII, Front Mission Online, Front Mission, and for compatable cell phones: Final Fantasy VII: Snowboarding, Front Mission 2089, Hexcite Fusion, Musashi Mobile Samurai, and Final Fantasy II.<br><br>We'll keep you updated on the upcoming E3 conference during and soon after it is held.<br><br>[Source: <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050425/lam061.html?.v=6/">Yahoo:Finance</a>] ...

In addition to Hartford, Atlanta, San Diego, and Detroit, Square Enix has annouced that the Dear Friends: Music From Final Fantasy North American concert tour will come to Fort Worth, Texas.

The concert will be held at Bass Symphony Hall on July 1 at 8:00pm. It is being conducted by Maestro Miguel Harth-Bedoya, who conducted the first performance of Dear Friends in Los Angeles, and performed by the Fort Worth Symphony & Chorus. Tickets are already on sale.


[Source: RPGamer] ...

As the release of this eagerly anticipated movie draws ever closer, you'll be happy to hear that Square-Enix has confirmed that a Special Edition DVD will be released as well as a Regular Edition. As of yet, no extra details have been confirmed, but Square-Enix has said that the Special Edition will contain "Bonus merchandise not available in the Normal Edition".

Also, Square-Enix have promised a "Major Announcement" regarding the movie which will be made either before or during the upcoming E3 event. As always, we'll keep you posted.

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[Source: Square Insider] ...

Here's an update for you Kingdom Hearts fans. Take a gander Colonel Sander at this scan. A few characters from Disney's Mulan, along with FFX's Auron, are featured. No new information regarding the game's release is known at this time.

[Source: RPGamer] ...