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Remember how our most recent news post reported that FF Versus XIII development had been canceled? Well, um, turns out... that isn't the case.

In a recent Twitter post, Yoichi Wada himself not only denied such claims as 'false rumors' but also added that he had recently returned from one of the team's regularly scheduled meetings. So, it looks like the development of FF Versus XIII is still as alive (and slow) as ever.

While these comments don't necessarily validate or contradict any of the FFXV rumors mentioned in the previous CoN newspost, Wada's comments regarding a city from Versus XIII discussed at the aforementioned meeting seem to point towards some of the FFXV speculations holding true for FF Versus XIII.

Source: NovaCrystallis.com

The rumored future of Final Fantasy games features in this edition of the Squenix Tidbits, and not all of it is awesome. Of course, most people would probably say that is of zero surprise, but, that's how it is.

Let's get the bad news out of the way: Kotaku reports today that Final Fantasy Versus XIII is finally dead; while the reporting is mostly conjecture at this point, it's pretty reasonable conjecture given the utter lack of visible progress on offer from Squenix. The real question, beyond the simple matter of the game dying, is when it died. Has the company been pouring resources into the development until very recently, or was it quitely shelved a long time ago? The answer to that question might determine what resources are available for other games, which is important due to the widespread notion that the flagship series is worth next to nothing these days. Perhaps having more people available could help.

The next rumor is that Final Fantasy XV is going to be an open world game, in the style of Final Fantasy XII. On top of that, the Squenix source quoted indicates that the game's already been in some level of production for four years, with full development kicking off in January 2010, will have a combat system that calls back to both Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story, and will have cities that not only really exist but are populated by crowds of people, not just a few "important" townsfolk. Along with these points, it's also rumored that the game will be released for every platform available in the release generation. Given that the game hasn't even been unveiled officially yet, it would stand to reason that this would include the next offerings from Microsoft and Sony, as well as possibly even the WiiU.

The Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event is coming up at the end of August, running from 31 August to 2 September. The first day will be for the press and some selected members of the Japanese Square Enix Members site, with the last two days open to the public. While this will obviously have massive amounts of Final Fantasy nostalgia, given the nature of the event, the company is looking to show the future of the franchise at the same time, with events to discuss more of the next aspect of the Final Fantasy XIII series, more information about Final Fantasy XIV 2.0, and a live recording of a Square Enix podcast dedicated to the future of the Final Fantasy series. With this event and the Tokyo Game Show both on the radar, a lot of questions about what's next for Final Fantasy might become resolved very soon.

Source: Kotaku, Gameranx, andriasang

Did you play FFXIII-2? Did you download Lightning's extra content? Did you feel a bit of a let-down at the conclusion of either, or, more tactfully, "a feeling of mystery and hope"? If you answered yes to these three questions, then you are unlike myself. But you are not alone! In a recent interview with Famitsu, FFXIII and FFXIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama agreed that FFXIII-2 leaves some loose ends, and he promised that we would be shown the meaning of this sometime in the not-so-distant future.

Could this mean more downloadable content? Could it mean a third installment in the FFXIII ? We couldn't possibly comment (though Kotaku certainly isn't above jumping to conclusions), but 'trilogy' certainly does have a lovely ring to it. Of course, there's also the possibility that these unanswered questions could somehow tie in to FF Versus XIII. Remember that game?

Toriyama also commented on fan complaints concerning the concept of having downloadable content in the first place, responding that including such material in the game proper would cause development times to go up. Not the most satisfying reply, but an accurate one I suppose.

In the same interview, Toriyama also admitted that FFX HD, unlike the mystery of FFXIII-2's ending, will not be made clear anytime soon, saying that "there is a lot to look into."

When asked about the Luminous engine, Toriyama explained that, while still in development, teams at Square Enix have begun planning for its use in the next generation of games. With the next generation not all that far off, this could very well be the reason why we've seen a bit of a dearth of new titles or information from the Japanese giant.

Source: andriasang, Kotaku

The site leak from a couple weeks back was confirmed today as Square Enix officially announced the existence of the Final Fantasy VII re-release on PC via its official site and social media.

The site is either really poorly optimized or is getting absolutely hammered right now (probably a bit of both, in fact), so you might not be able to reach it. It's pretty general information, and most of it is stuff that was reported before from the leak. One thing certainly worth noting is that the site says the game will be available exclusively from the Square Enix store, which would imply that the achievements and cloud saving features will be unique to this game and will not use technology like Steamworks. Additionally, the exclusivity might mean that a Steam (or Origin, if you're a masochist) release may not be in the cards at all.

Will it still be worth the rumored twelve-dollar entry fee without Steam? I'm no longer sure it is for me, but I'll have to see how it looks and runs, first. That information isn't yet available, nor is any kind of real release date.

Source: Final Fantasy VII PC

Square Enix CEO, Yoichi Wada, has told shareholders that the company won't be remaking Final Fantasy VII until such time as the franchise produces a new installment which surpasses the fan favourite. This statement was made hand-in-hand with the admission that recent Final Fantasy games have been inferior and that a remake at this point would imply that the franchise is finished. It's open to debate whether or not any Final Fantasy game has passed this benchmark to date, but it appears Wada certainly doesn't think so.

It remains to be seen whether this strengthens or weakens the recent rumours of a PC re-release, as reported previously, but one thing is for certain - we won't be seeing a full remake any time soon.


Source: Den of Geek, Andriasang

Website NowGamer reports today that a Square Enix-owned Final Fantasy VII PC website implies that a new Final Fantasy VII release for PC might be coming soon.

The page, which was taken down and now exists only in Google cache (keep clicking "cancel" to eventually see the content), implies that this new game has some new features. Achievements will be added, and the game will also include the ability to save games to the cloud - or is that Cloud? Finally, if you want to enjoy the game again without having to grind through it, it appears that this version of the game will even include a "character booster" that will allow you to edit your savegame to make grinding unnecessary.

Is this a real thing? We don't know yet, unfortunately. If it is, though, for the low price listed ($7.99 US!), I'd be up for owning a new version of this game.

Source: NowGamer