Final Fantasy XIII demo expected at E3
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jan 18th 2007 at 7:25PM }
According to statements made in Japanese publication Dengeki, Square Enix is planning to feature a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII at E3 this year. It's also possible, due to E3's downsizing (and more private nature), that Square Enix will reserve the demo for a public platform like Tokyo Games Show. Simultaneously distributing the demo via PlayStation Store would likely generate the most buzz (and could potentially sell some PlayStation 3 units), but Square Enix has made no commitment to do so. However it's delivered, the demo gives us little insight into when the actual game will be complete. Tentative release schedules indicate a 2007 release.
[Thanks, Xenokai]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
The Internet @ Jan 18th 2007 7:54PM
I beg you, Square Enix, take a look around: you're the last ones doing exclusives for Kurtaragi and Co. Please start porting these to the 360, or at least the Wii!
Signed,
- The Internet
TSD @ Jan 18th 2007 7:56PM
Demo avaliable on Playstaion store and xbox live...
;)
dan s. @ Jan 18th 2007 8:05PM
Hmmm, I don't particularyly care for Final Fantasy anymore, I don't own a PS3 and never will, and I think they took the series in a poor direction after 6 and particularly 9, but...I am interested to see the graphic prowess of their latest FF title.
I'm also praying for a return to form, but Squenix is making games for a different generation of gamers these days, and it's not mine.
Miniboss @ Jan 18th 2007 8:05PM
Except that the FF12 demo was released a year before the actual game made it out. And the game was "playable" a full two E3s before that.
So yeah, I'm guessing 2007 release is not possible.
v1cious @ Jan 18th 2007 8:32PM
and before anyone says it... that's an in-game screen. it was proven at Jumpfest.
Callandor @ Jan 18th 2007 8:37PM
Yeah, there's no way that Final Fantasy XIII will be released in 2007. I don't even think that game will hit in 2008, but in 2009.
rom @ Jan 18th 2007 8:53PM
It used to be that I couldn't wait for the next FF game. Then, for some reason, they decided to milk the FF name to its breaking point. We have so many FF games available it's almost funny. They've made sequels, prequels, spinoffs, remakes, emulations, and then theres a MMORPG and a Tactics game around as well. As of right now, I am jaded. I think I'm gonna take a break from Square for a few years.
TSD @ Jan 18th 2007 8:56PM
V1cious, you mean in engine, not in game; there are alot of things that can be done with the engine that can't be done during gameplay, such as number of enemies on screen and some effects, simply because the cutscenes are scripted. So while the engine may be powerful enough to render those screens, most likely the final game won't look like that, except in cutscenes.
JJ @ Jan 18th 2007 9:23PM
Rom when did you decide they were milking too much off of FF... was it before or after the movie came out? =)
All jokes aside, MOST of the FF games have been pretty good as far as i'm concerned. THe most recent, 12, was amazing and if something is popular you have to KNOW they're going to get every dime they can out of the franchise.
I mean look at what MS wanted to do with Halo (Movie, RTS, etc etc). So you really cant blame Square for wanting to make the series even bigger than its already established titles.
But then i only ever play the core FF games and i never bothered with 11... i still htink that should of just been called FF online or something.
serge @ Jan 18th 2007 9:24PM
TSD ur 100% right, look @ nvidia demos, u cant see as much detail in crysis game even, and wont see for at least another 2 years.
Anyway from what i saw Lost Odyssey and Final Fantasy XIII looks like using the same engine or something, both games are looking good. tho Lost Odyssey was in game :)
rom @ Jan 18th 2007 9:40PM
@JJ
"Rom when did you decide they were milking too much off of FF... was it before or after the movie came out? =)"
It depends... which of the FF movies are you talking about? :)
... @ Jan 18th 2007 9:44PM
How come every 360 fanboy has to comment on something that will never make it to the 360. Sorry but thats the truth...
EihBeir @ Jan 18th 2007 10:10PM
E....what?
E3?
Huh?
betise @ Jan 18th 2007 10:19PM
FFXII has pretty next-gen ish graphics throughout. They did a lot of model subbing in/out... sometimes you'd see a guy in a city would be sort of static and then as you got closer he'd sort of "fade in" to be a full poly model.
I wouldn't be surprised if the in-game visuals were close to what we're seeing. Just because it's next gen doesn't mean they all of a sudden abandon everything they've learned about squeezing performance out of an engine.
A lot of the live cut scenes in FFXII looked better than the pre-renders in FF7. A generational jump can make a huge difference when you have the best coders in the world.
Also, gears of war looks that good in real time. it can be done.
That said, it took about 15 minutes for the "wow" of the graphics to wear off in FFXII. These poor guys are fighting an uphill battle... we passed the "good enough" mark a few years ago. Any improvement now is just, at best, gravy. At worst, annoying.
JJ @ Jan 18th 2007 11:42PM
Either one Rom, your choice =) I'm leaning towards the "Bomb" Spirits within... although i did like hte movie.
mietha CAG @ Jan 19th 2007 12:06AM
Potentially? There is absolutely no question about it. There are MANY people that would buy a PS3 just for the demo if it where made available exclusively in the playstation store, especially in Japan. We're not talking in the millions here, but most likely in the 10s of thousands, and, let's be honest, at this point sony needs all the help it can get. I know I bought Tobal No.1 for the FF VII demo. Turned out to be a decent game (2 was better, too bad they never released it in the states), but I bought it for the demo. Now, granted, $600 is a long way from $50, but still, you get a nice little system there too with your demo.
Frankie @ Jan 19th 2007 1:20AM
I dunno, but Japan seems to have chosen Nintendo this time around. And once they choose something that generation, they tend to stick with it and many other try to conform to their peers. It's the reason the DS and the PS2 are such runaway hits.
dsub @ Jan 19th 2007 3:31AM
I agree. No way this game sees store shelves in 2007. One year between FFXII and FFXIII? Never has happend before, it's not gonna happen now. My guess? Spring 2008 in Japan, Holiday 2008 in North America, Spring 2009 in Europe.
Besides, in my opinion, the FF series has sort of slacked off as of late. FFXII didn't sell nearly as many copies as many thought it would have, in fact, the EB I work at still has over 30 copies of the collector's edition sitting on the shelves collecting dust...all from the initial shipment. Outside of big opening numbers, FFXII really failed to sell extremely well here in NA. It got beat by Gears of War, an unestablished IP with a smaller installed base. Sure, Gears was a superior game, but by this time you would think that people looking for a quality game would know to go for the Final Fantasy name...or should they?
Hell, Kingdom Hearts outsold FFXII in North America...so which one is the bigger system seller now? My money is on Kingdom Hearts. I just don't think that the Final Fantasy series has the same pull here in the States that it once did. Sure, in Japan it still does, but Sony doesn't need any help in Japan, they need it here in the US.
So...here's my big prediction from Square at E3 2007:
Kingdom Hearts 3 for the Nintendo Wii...and maybe another said console that seems to be selling LOTS of games along with it here in the States.
Steve @ Jan 19th 2007 5:52AM
Why are you posting non-Microsoft news? I thought this was a 360 site?
Alan Wii @ Jan 19th 2007 2:01PM
It's possible for FF13 to be released this year in Japan. Remember that FF12 was supposed to be released in 2003/4 but problems during development lead to delays. FF13 started being made a while back as a PS2 title but then last year SE decided to change it to a PS3 title. As long as there are no problems like there were for FF12, this game could make it to Japan this year.
White Rose Duelist @ Jan 19th 2007 8:42AM
Just out of curiosity, has Square-Enix actually said, straight out, that this game only coming out for PS3? I know it was shown in the PS3 booth using what was presumably Sony hardware, but that in itself isn't enough to prove that it's an exlcusive.
crono141 @ Jan 19th 2007 11:32AM
If square jumped on the 360, so would japan. Its that simple. Capcom is already there.
Joseph Handibode @ Feb 11th 2007 6:52PM
Gears of war sold well because it was the only, I repeat only good game on Xbox 360 for a whole year out. Period. FFXII was on different system and Ps2 had tons of good titles unlike Xbox 360. If Gears of War and FFII were on same system Gears wouldn't be selling so well.