Final Fantasy XIII Release Date Confirmed

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Final Fantasy XIII Release Date Confirmed



Fasten your unnecessary and gratuitous belts, people: Final Fantasy XIII will be hitting Japan on December 17th, and coming to the West by Spring 2010 - hopefully.

Square-Enix president Yoichi Wada took a break out of his busy Dragon Quest IX schedule [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/94508-Square-Enix-CEO-Plays-Dragon-Quest-IX-Like-a-Full-Time-Job] to announce at a Final Fantasy XIII event that the latest title in the company's flagship JRPG series would be hitting Japanese PS3s on December 17th. Apparently, Japanese gamers have something to put on their wish lists for the holidays ... or whatever the Japanese equivalent is, anyway.

The game will retail for 8,800 yen, or $95/£58, which means that shelling out the cash for the next installment of pretty boys with improbable hair and improbable swords jumping around improbably might just feel like taking a Meteor to your bank account. There will also be a special FF13 hardware bundle, said Kaz Hirai, though information on pricing (or indeed, anything beyond "there will be a bundle") has yet to be announced. It will also be exclusive to the PS3 in Japan, though will be coming to Microsoft's 360 as well as Sony's machine when it hits in the West.

The big question now, of course, is when will it hit in the West? Previously, the game's producer Yoshinori Kitase had mentioned that the game was on track for Spring 2010, and that seems to still be the case - 1UP [http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3175936] reports that Square-Enix intends to bring the game across the Pacific no later than "six to eight months" after its launch in Japan. Which seems a bit more like "spring to summer 2010" to me.

Either way, a release date in the West should be due shortly: "We plan to announce the Western release timing of Final Fantasy XIII in the very near future," said a Squeenix rep to Edge [http://www.edge-online.com/news/final-fantasy-xiii-release-date-announced].

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hansari

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May 31, 2009
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CantFaketheFunk said:
Either way, a release date in the West should be due shortly: "We plan to announce the Western release timing of Final Fantasy XIII in the very near future," said a rep
Did they say anything about the "graphics being downgraded for 360" [http://gamer.blorge.com/2009/09/05/gamers-blame-xbox-360-for-final-fantasy-xiii-visual-downgrade/] rumor?
 

PedroSteckecilo

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Feb 7, 2008
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Glad we now have a timeline on this. I'm gonna go put down my pre-order (because I'm an addict) as soon as they set an actual date and book some time off so I can play this for a week.
 

Bourne Endeavor

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May 14, 2008
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hansari said:
CantFaketheFunk said:
Either way, a release date in the West should be due shortly: "We plan to announce the Western release timing of Final Fantasy XIII in the very near future," said a rep
Did they say anything about the "graphics being downgraded for 360" [http://gamer.blorge.com/2009/09/05/gamers-blame-xbox-360-for-final-fantasy-xiii-visual-downgrade/] rumor?
I believe that was rectified when they announced the 360 version will have three discs.
 

daz_O_O

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Aug 27, 2008
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It's going on sale for the equivalent of £58?! I don't know much about the Japanese market, but don't we generally end up paying more than them for games anyway? This is rather worrying...

On the brightside! No delays as of yet.
 

hansari

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CantFaketheFunk said:
The game will retail for 8,800 yen, or $95/£58,
$95!!! Is this for real?!

I was gonna preorder this and surprise my sis, but come on!!!
 

Katherine Kerensky

Why, or Why Not?
Mar 27, 2009
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CantFaketheFunk said:
-snip-
hitting Japanese PS3s on December 17th.
So still nothing about the 360 release date? :|
Oh well, it's only a slight interest I have, not the end of the world.
 

hansari

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Crimsane said:
Blargh. $95 tag leaves a bit of a bitter taste. Holding off on that purchase.
I'm hoping they'll drop it once a release date is given for the West...I mean Square probably thinks its Japanese fans are loyal enough to pay it...
 

kaziard

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Oct 28, 2008
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thinking when FFXIII comes out itll be the game that makes me finally buy a next gen console. that and a sly wee bit of assassins creed 2...
 

Arrakiv

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Dec 17, 2005
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I'm pretty sure I've seen games listed for around that while I was in Japan... I'm pretty sure that'll be specific for over there - more so, since the Japanese market is going to be a much bigger target than the Western market.
 

pigeon_of_doom

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Feb 9, 2008
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Wha-? Is 8,800 yen the standard price for a new release in Japan? The converted price seems ridiculous (even for an 8 disc 360 release), although I think prices in Japan are quite high generally. If not, then I'll...I'll...blame Activision for making the world a marginally more expensive place for all of us.

*Rages impotently at corporate greed*

I may even have a PS3 by then, so I'm looking forward to this game.
 

FloodOne

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Apr 29, 2009
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If that game is almost a hundred bucks in the US, I won't buy it. As hooked to the FF franchise as I am, no game is worth that much, ever.
 

Proteus214

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Jul 31, 2009
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Well XII didn't really knock my socks off, and it's not looking like XIII will either. I don't know if I would pay $95 though. At least it's not too long of a wait.
 

daz_O_O

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Aug 27, 2008
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harhol said:
daz_O_O said:
I don't know much about the Japanese market, but don't we generally end up paying more than them for games anyway?
Games in Japan usually cost significantly more than in the US.

e.g. Dragon Quest 9 recently went on sale for ¥5980 ($65), and it's only a DS game.

...anyway, only three months to go! Can't wait for this. Don't really care about the high price with a game this huge. Yeah I'm probably a braindead consumer who's begging to be ripped off, but it's FINAL FUCKING FANTASY!
Ah OK, that's put my mind at ease, though as a UK citizen I'm still braced for that £50 price tag games seem to be striving towards these days...

Then again I've been the first to roll over and accept it, with The Beatles: Rock Band arriving at my home tomorrow for £150 and Modern Warfare 2 on pre-order...
I have a feeling the next few months (moving out, starting uni) are going to be one hell of an experience for me.
 

Monocle Man

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Apr 14, 2009
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hansari said:
CantFaketheFunk said:
The game will retail for 8,800 yen, or $95/£58,
$95!!! Is this for real?!

I was gonna preorder this and surprise my sis, but come on!!!
Japan joined our club of expensive games too?
Looks like America is the only one getting them cheap now. When will you join us?
 

IrrelevantTangent

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Oct 4, 2008
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FloodOne said:
If that game is almost a hundred bucks in the US, I won't buy it. As hooked to the FF franchise as I am, no game is worth that much, ever.
THIS. That said- I am glad that this game is FINALLY getting a fixed release date sometime soon. There's been delay after delay on this one and I'm glad to see I might be able to see FF13 in my gaming future.