It appears as if Square Enix was indeed planning to push out some downloadable content for Final Fantasy XIII, despite some members of the FFXIII development team dismissing such rumors in the past. But as it stands now, those tentative, not-so-well-guarded plans have been put on permanent hold.
"We were planning to make some DLC, but that plan wound up not happening," game director Motomu Toriyama has told Japanese mag Famitsu (via Kotaku). He added an apology after breaking the bad news.
According to 1UP, Toriyama's above answer was in response to a question about his own statements, which, back in December 2009, served as early confirmation of FFXIII DLC.
While there's still some question as to when Square Enix decided to obliterate its DLC plans, the director's comments shouldn't strike you as too much of a surprise--the company has been rather wishy-washy in regards to its DLC plans for some time, often dismissing rumors it helped create and spread.
== TEASER ==FFXIII DLC was first mentioned back in March 2009, when Square Enix told Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation that DLC was not in the cards. According to reports, this official word came when the game's narrative elements were finished but its visuals were only at 80 percent.
Later in January 2010 the tune changed. Producer Yoshinori Kitase went on record about DLC with Official PlayStation Magazine. He said, simply, DLC was being prepared and would arrive "a little later in the West," as its development would hurt FFXIII International Edition's development time. Funnily enough, according to Andriasang, Kitase also said in that month's freshly published FFXII Ultima Guide that Square Enix was "not considering [DLC]" after all. How confusing can this get?
A PS Blog interview with FFXIII battle director Yuji Abe back in February 2010 jived with Kitase's latter remarks. Abe said that the game was already a "complete package," and added that Square had no plans for DLC. Like Toriyama is doing now, Abe was addressing his own previous comments to the contrary. Abe had went on record before suggesting that cut content could become DLC at some point down the line.
Whew. The bottom line is, as of now, Square Enix won't be putting out DLC for a 60-plus-hour RPG that already takes players from weirdo sci-fi cities to magical fantasy meadows. Unless, of course, it turns around, starts working on and then confirms future DLC (again). Besides, there are enough assets laying around for at least a whole new game anyway, right? Right?
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