Final Fantasy XII launches in Japan

TOKYO--Square Enix's launch of Final Fantasy XII started off with a bang today. Though it was a weekday, customers were still seen in line before stores had opened, eagerly awaiting the long-in-development role-playing game. The Shinjuku Yodobashi Camera, site of many popular game-industry launches, didn't have a line at night. But in the morning, around 70 people had gathered by the time the store opened its doors. The lines dispersed quickly, but the store saw a steady stream of customers picking up the game before heading off to their offices.

Earlier at the Shibuya Tsutaya, where Square Enix held its official launch, about 100 people lined up to get a glimpse of the game's creators. FFXII director Akitoshi Kawatsu and Square Enix president Yoichi Wada appeared at the retail location to commemorate the game's launch, while theme-song singer Angela Aki and main-theme music composer Taro Hakase gave their greetings via a video message.

"When we originally announced FFXII's development back in 2000, we said it was going to be an online game," said Kawatsu, looking back at the game's six-year-long development. "It changed into an offline title during its development, and now it's finally completed. It took a lot of time and developers to create this game, and it can truly be considered a large-scale title."

According to Wada, the initial shipment of FFXII will be more than 2 million units. Square Enix expects all copies to sell out by the end of the month, allowing the company to reach its forecast for the fiscal year. He also commented that FFXII is targeted for release in North America by Thanksgiving, followed by a release in Europe. The game will also be released in Korea next month on April 6, although it will be a direct release of the Japanese version without any localization.