lol this doesn't change my thoughts on the game at all. 

Aww my year isn't worthy living now... just kidding... sort of.

Called it.

Whatever, I expected that. Im just glad to hear an official release window for the U.S. Cant wait!!! My PS3 is going to die the day I get this game!!!!!

I kinda saw this coming, but I still had a tiny thread of hope that it would come out this year. But at the same time I've kinda lost my hype for this game after I found out that the fightingsystem is going to be similar to FFXII, I want radom battles and turnbased combat god damn it!

"PercyChuggs, oh really.  Unlike games like Dragon Quest, the FF series has changed significantly each time, gameplay-wise, character-wise, and story-wise.  The quality of the series has been lower, since the Square-Enix merger (after FFX), but you can't say that it hasn't changed.  I'll give you a few examples:

Gameplay changes:
FF1- Random battles with job classes.  Characters didn't have names.  There were only menus in battles and no numbers over enemies when you hit them.

FF2- The characters have names, and this is the first time an FF game had much of a narrative.  This was the first time an empire and rebels appeared.  Chocobos and Cid were introduced here.  Everything gained levels in the game: HP, MP, your swords, axes, magic spells, attack power, etc.

FF3- Battles now had damage points over the enemies when you hit them; there were no longer just menus.  There were a plethora of new job classes to choose from.  There were multiple vehicles: submarines, ships, airships, chocobos.  Also Fat Chocobo made a first appearance.  The plot wasn't much more deep than FF1.

FF4- Was a highly influential RPG with an epic score and an interesting dramatic plot.  It wasn't the deepest story in the world, but it had some surprising plot twists.  Each character was well developed for the time, and they remained a specific class throughout the entire game.  You could travel to the underground world and moon in addition to the overworld.

FF5- This game is wear FFT' job system evolved from.  Characters could learn whatever jobs they desired, but they could also add a sub ability from a job they previously learned.  This resulted in a plethora of combinations. There were a variety of new transportation methods such as a dragon and the battle system was deep.  The game also had some memorable characters such as Gilgamesh and featured multiple worlds.  This was the last FF game with the crystals, and there was foreshadowing for future games in the series, as the crystals shattered.

FF6- This game had some of the most memorable characters in the entire FF series.  FFIV had traitors and characters who questioned their loyalty, but FFVI brought several more unique characters.  The main character was a female who was half human and half esper.  She had doubts about herself, and it took a long time to overcome them.  Terra had amnesia just as a character from FF5 did.  There was also a ninja, who'd slit his mama's own throat for a nickel, a treasure hunter (aka thief), a brawler who could input Street Fighter-like button combinations to execute attacks, a yeti, a mime (who was a boss in FFV) and many many more.  The game also had a unique system with espers (these magical creatures), where you could equip them to teach your character magic.  Certain characters were more suited to this than others.  Like FF2, this game feature an empire and a resistance.  The plot had several twists, and the world was eventually thrown into ruin.  The second half of the game was fairly non-linear, and contained many secrets and sidequests--the more you completed, the better off you were for the final dungeon which split your party into 3 teams of four.

FF7- FF6 had some elements of fantasy and science fiction (Magitek armor), but FFVII was the first FF to be set in an era like the modern world, where there was plenty of technology, but several environmental concerns.  The plot had terrorists, corrupt corporations, and a variety of other new themes.  The battle system now featured three party members at a time, but they were able to use their own unique special moves called limit breaks.  Every character could learn magic and summons via materia (these special crystals filled with power).  This was similar to the esper system, but the summons were extremely powerful this time around.  The game also featured some of the best minigames in the series, and changed the whole direction of RPGs with its amazing cutscenes.  Many RPGs from this point on had cinematic flair, and more of an emphasis on story.

FF8- FF8 was the first FF to feature full size, realistic looking charcaters, and all of them walked on screen at once.  Unlike the previous FF game, the characters looked the same in field maps, on the overworld, and in battles, and there was a seamless transition to the amazing cutscenes the game featured.  It was also the first FF to include rumble support, and was even more futuristic than FF7.  It featured an almost continent spanning futuristic city, mobile cities, sorceresses, and people with conflicting interests.  Seifer was neither good nor evil, he just did what he thought was right as Squall did.  Your main character was a mercenary, and how you earned money was completely different.  You no longer gained Gil from battles--you earned it based on your SeeD (what unit he was in) rank.  Monsters also leveled as the same rate as you, so they could be hard no matter your level.  Same applies to the game's numerous bosses.  There was also an innovative and addicting card game, but the minigames weren't as numerous as FFVII.  The battle system was vastly different; there were still limits, but there was a junction system, so you now learned abilities and stats via the summon monsters (guardian forces) you had equipped.  This made the need for equipment obsolete.  You would also gain magic spells by drawing them from monsters and points on the map.  You could eventually avoid random battles by learning a certain ability.

FF9- FF9 was a return to the series' roots.  It combined the best of the elements from the fantasy and sci-fi FFs.  The game had a fantasy setting, but also the amazing cutscenes and cinematic flair of the regular FFs.  It included one of the most memorable casts in the series, Zidane was far different from Cloud, who didn't truly no himself, and Squall who was a quiet individual.  Zidane was a humorous, outgoing character unlike Squall, and was a thief, which was unique since he was a main character.  The other characters from Flaming Amarant to the Black Mage Vivi were all highly memorable.  The battle system combined various elements from the series, but it was unique how you could gain abilities from your equipment.  There were several references to past games in the series and multiple worlds, but the amazing environments and great story kept things fresh.

FF10- FFX was a fairly significant departure from previous games in the series.  Instead of featuring a Western fantasy theme like previous FFs, FFX had an Eastern flavor to it.  The world and many of the concepts are familiar in places throughout Asia.  The cycle of birth and rebirth was an important theme, as well as death.  It was unique how one person was destined to be a savior to stop Sin from destroying the world, but even that wouldn't permanently stop Sin.  This FF was the first to feature voice acting, and while some of the characters had so-so voice acting, it definitely added to the experience.  The battle system and music were also a major departure from previous games in the series.  The battle system was designed by the person responsible for the Front Mission series (turn-based mech strategy games).  It featured charcater portraits displaying each characters turn, and you could alter it depending on what types of moves you used.  The sphere grid was also a unique and innovative way for learning abilities and gaining better stats.  Blitzball, was an original stats heavy sports mini-game for the series, which people either loved or hated.

Now brief paragraphs of the other two FF games, which aren't by the original producer:

FFXI- This was the biggest departure for the series, because instead of a grand single-player adventure, FFXI was a massive online universe.  This MMORPG was similar to Everquest, but featured a job-class system.  Some people loved it, but its lack of a great story and countless hours spent grinding turned many people off.

FFXII- FFXII used a similar battle system to FFXI and featured massive worlds similar to its predecssor, but this returned the FF series to its single player roots.  For the first time in the single player FF series, there were no random battles.  You encountered enemies in real-time, and entered a hybrid MMORPG style battle, where you controlled one character at a time, and assigned abilities to others through gambits.  FFXII was also unique in that it featured a politically charged narrative, but it lacked the memorable characters of previous games of the series.  The plot also wasn't as deep as FFT, but it definitely brought change to the FF canon.

Therefore, I think it is pretty unreasonable to say that each FF game is the same.  With this lengthy post, I barely even touched on the differences in the FF games, and a whole book could almost be written on the subject."

Seriously tho... did anyone actually think it was gonna be here in 2009?
Seriously?

Well I guess if I was really desperate I could import it from Japan and download a copy of the fansubbed script for the game.

Wow, people are real piss ants with WAY too much time on their hands for lengthy bitching.  

thats fine. ill just play last remnant again. yay! its the best game ever. or kill myself. or kill you.

I'll be dead by then.

Square Enix are really starting to piss me off.... if Hideo kojima (I hope I spelt his name right) can manage a simultaneous world wide release date for his game then why in all seriousness cant square do the same. This screw the west they're not that important they can wait attitude Square Enix  still seems to be demonstrating by their projected 2010 western release date is making me care less and less about what they may eventually have to offer. I have been less than impressed by all their Final Fantasy releases since Final Fantasy 9....okay 10 was ok too but I never finished it, in fact I hav'nt  finished a Final fantasy game since 9 because I ended up just loosing interest. So Square making me wait another year at the very least to play their next game in the series is just unacceptable really.... I mean from what we have seen so far the game looks like it could very well be good, but there has been very little game play footage shown if indeed it even was truly gameplay footage and judging by the game play of the last three or four titles they released this next game could well be just as disappointing.... Basically if after making me wait 5 or even 6 years after you first announce your game till you eventually release it and it doesn't ABSOLUTELY ROCK!!!... then I will no longer invest any of my time and interest in your Final Fantasy Games again...

Can't say I'm too surprised.
Although I kinda feel disappointed.

Wow, about half of the comments for this post either made me facepalm or lose some more hope for this site's community. Seriously, too many trolls/retards.

I'm waiting for the next FF since 2001.
After that Square did Barbie Girls and the Star Wars RPG with a girlish looking guy that even didn't knew why he was on a quest.

I can wait a couple of years more.

OMG! What a surprise.

Maybe Duke Nukem will come out before then

See this is totally a "Worldwide release".  I  think  they're  definitely more affected by the economy then there letting on.

Haven't finished XII, actually don't know if I'm going to finish XII.  So yeah I can wait to see if XIII is worth a damn.

wow, 2010, that number seems so futuristic, wierd its only 11 and a half months away

By the time this game comes out will anyone even care anymore? Oh well... As far as I'm concerned the best Final Fantasy has already been made.

"

Meteora said:

"This sucks for waiting, but I'd rather take a polished Final Fantasy game than a rushed product and be disappointed. Looks like they're heading for Blizzard Entertainment's way of developing games; release it when they feel like it (i.e. when it's done and ready).

Well I can wait, I suppose this year's highlight will be COD:MW2 for me. Last year was GTA IV and the year before was COD4. FFXIII for 2010."

I agree, true SE has done this in the past, but they've came out with a good product in the end and I'm sure FFXIII will be awesome.

There are alot of games to play until then, so I'm not worried at all.

Take your time SE, but not 'too' much time.

"

PS3 owners could always spend the $100+ to import the Final Fantasy XIII demo.

I have no problem waiting if the game will be better. Anything to keep it from hitting the mediocre levels of the last crop of SE RPGs (excluding the excellent remakes on the DS).

Square Enix!!  This company already fucked me up the ass without lub by taking away the exclusivity of the title and now this..SCREW IT!! ALL I NEED IS ONE GAME TO OWN AND IT WILL BE OUT JUST IN A MERE MONTH....STREET FIGHTER IV, BABY, YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didnt expect it to come out this year,ohwell Ive got other RPGS to catch up on till then(persona 4,lost odessy,upcoming star ocean)

Typical Squre Enix. Sure it would of been a nice surprise to see it coming out here in the rest of the world at the same time, really not that shocking that it wont be.

Better start learning Japanese! Hoso! Sugoi!!

Meh... I don't really care.  Be honest with yourself,  when was the last time Final Fantasy truly lived up to expectations anyway?

YOU WERE MY BROTHER ANAKIN!!! I LOVED YOU!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

This is ridiculous. We already knew about this game in 2006!

My guess is it will come out in Japan on the PS3 in 2009, and the 360 version won't be released until the English language version comes out in 2010.

^^^ Considering that Japan isn't getting a 360 version (so far), that's almost certainly correct. Most likely they'll use the 4-6 months to polish the port, as well as translate to Engrish.

Well I should be able to afford a ps3 by that time

its cause they have to start working on the 360 version after the japan launch and the ps3 and 360 versions have to come out the same day 

Fuck, why god, why must you do this to me. I knew this was going to happen, but being in ignorance made it seem much closer.

Oh well. I guess I have time to beat FFVII now.

Damn...they're taking even more time than Blizzard...oh...wait...

This s! but im not really suprised, even since they started with the talk about releaseig this on the Xbox360I have been under the thoughts that something like this would happen.
As big as this game is, it would be pointless to release it onto the ps3 like a year before the 360 so I guess its just a nice strategic plan from MS and Square to hold onto the launch in USA and Europe 'til its ready to be launched on the 360 aswell

i want my FFXIII now damit. i wonder whats up with the lack of a international release. must still have them semi-crappy american voice overs to do. SIGH.............