Ahead of E3, a new
Final Fantasy XIII-specific set of billboards are trumpeting Square Enix's release of the game some time in 2010, confirming previous reports that the much-awaited RPG sequel will not reach the West in 2009.
The massive billboards, pasted on the side of a Los Angeles hotel close to the LA Convention Center, which is where next week's E3 Expo will take place, show three of the characters from
FF XIII.
As the
official Square Enix member blog notes, the words 'Coming 2010' appear above the central billboard, next to a portrait of in-game character Snow.
These billboards further reinforce a statement
made by Square Enix's Yoichi Wada, noting that, although the Japanese PlayStation 3 version of
Final Fantasy XIII is likely to debut this year -- with a PS3 demo version already available in the FF VII: Advent Children Complete Japanese Blu-ray release -- the U.S. and European releases will not be this year.
In the past, localization has been the ostensible reason for non-simultaneous worldwide releases of Square Enix and many other Japanese games.
Although the company did try simultaneous worldwide release with the recent debut of the critically mixed
The Last Remnant, it's likely that the additional burden of making an Xbox 360 version for the West will help push
Final Fantasy XIII well into 2010.
