Well the news has been rather slow of late.  Based on various reports, the alpha test is proceeding.  We saw Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and Director Nobuaki Komoto discuss the state of affairs earlier in the month.

More recently, there was an article stateside in Game Informer magazine, but there was no new information – rather it functioned almost as a mini-review of the alpha build.  In fact, there has been a lot of debate on the forums over the propriety of such an article at all.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (that’s E3 to you) starts in a month – so we can expect (right?) Square Enix to release some additional information there.  Recall that is was at the last E3 where SE really debuted FFXIV in the first place and answered some of the first questions about the game.  Square Enix has one of the larger booths – so we’ll all be on the lookout for news from E3 next month.

And finally… which FFXIV race are you?  We here at Eorzeapedia take no credit for this, but it should offer up at least a bit of amusement to some.  Answer 13 questions and let the quiz pick your race and clan in Eorzea for you!  This faithful author was a Miqo’te Seeker of the Sun (I’m going to have to revisit some of those answers).  What does the quiz say about you?

Today we’re excited to announce the launch of the Eorzeapedia podcast: Aetheryte Radio!

Aetheryte Radio is the collaborative effort of two of the most popular Final Fantasy XI podcasts: Limit Break Radio and Pet Food Alpha. We’ve come together to deliver you a fun and exciting show that covers everything related to Final Fantasy XIV. You can find more information about the show here.

Join us for our first episode as we recap E3 2009 and talk about the information released with the update of the official FFXIV website!

Let’s check out recent FFXIV coverage as well as other related news from the magazines.

First off, how is FFXIV faring in the polls? It depends on who is asking and where you look. Weekly Famitsu Magazine asks their readers every month to answer a small questionnaire in exchange for the chance to win a prize. One of the questions asks what games are you most looking forward to. Respondents can write in the names of up to 5 different console titles. Last week it was 35, this week it is 32. What games are people currently looking forward to the most? Final Fantasy XIII tops the list followed by Monster Hunter 3 which was released this past weekend. Dragon Quest X for the Wii comes in third, Dragon Quest VI for the DS is fourth, and Ninokuni from Level 5 rounds out the top 5 this week. 10 of the top 30 are Square Enix titles.

Dengeki PlayStation magazine only does rankings for PlayStation console games so FFXIV does better in their polls. In their top 20, FFXIV comes in at 9, down from a previous 5. Final Fantasy XIII also tops their list. XIII Versus jumps up from 10 to 6. One poll that Dengeki PlayStation does that I enjoy is the Favorite Game Top 20. Once again it is limited to PlayStation consoles but some good classic games are in the list. The only two PSX titles are both from Square Enix: Final Fantasy VII and Xenogears. The king is Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G. I don’t even want to think how many PSPs have been sold just because of that game. The hype is so huge around the Monster Hunter series that I’m very tempted to purchase Monster Hunter 3 for the Wii. And wait, what’s this? Final Fantasy XI also made an appearance in the latest top 20, coming in at 16. It would be interesting to see how much of an impact the announcement of XIV made on new accounts for XI.

Next, the Final Fantasy XIV trailer on DVD! In this month’s Famitsu Wave DVD, they had the first half of their E3 coverage. The on-site coverage by Porno Suzuki (no, I’m not making that up) was horrible but the conference coverage done by Otsuka Kakumichi from Weekly Famitsu was much more professional and informative. The Final Fantasy XIV portion was very short. They included a copy of the trailer on the DVD as well as a few scenes from the interview done at E3 with the Japanese press. No new information but hearing the interview was definitely interesting. Famitsu Wave DVD promises to have the second half of their E3 coverage with Porno Suzuki next month and to make Final Fantasy XIV their cover title. Here’s to hoping that Lupin Kojima doesn’t dress up as a mithra again. (washes out eyes) I’m not sure if they will just be showing more of the interview next month or any possible new footage released after gamescon but as soon as I know, I’ll pass the information along here.

That’s it for Final Fantasy XIV specific news but there are a few other tidbits that might interest people.

1) While it’s still in the beta stages for North America, The Tower of AION has started official service in Japan. I checked it out for myself a couple weekends ago at my local internet cafe and parts of it are certainly impressive. You could easily spend an hour or two just customizing what you want your character to look like. The quest system has some nifty features as well, like giving specific details on where you need to go or how to obtain the items you are looking for. That is a far cry from FFXI where you often need an extra guide to figure out what to do next.

Since service has started, Connect!On magazine has also started a series of articles introducing the game from the view point of a female magician. Connect!On doesn’t give much attention to other related titles like Lineage II so it will be interesting to see if they give AION more attention based on the number of people who showed interest in the closed beta.

Part of the article talked about the AION launch party held last month. It was held at Yebisu Garden Hall, located in the Ebisu neighborhood in Tokyo. The approximately 500 attendees had the opportunity to try out the game, listen to presentations introducing some of the various aspects of the game, and take part in a PvP event called Survival 24. People were also able to obtain in-game items as well from Gacha Machines. Snacks were also provided at the event and the entire thing was free to attend.

So what will the Final Fantasy XIV launch be like? There was a Square Enix event back in 2001 prior to the release of the Japanese PS2 version of Final Fantasy XI. Chances are good there will be some kind of event prior to the launch of Final Fantasy XIV as well. It would be neat to see if they could do some kind of event in different locations at the same time to celebrate a global launch. Although, to prevent the kind of problems that plagued Final Fantasy XI at Japanese launch, perhaps the developers should stay behind.

2) There is a promotion running at certain net cafes right now for Final Fantasy XI. Players that have signed up with internet cafe specific registration codes can claim the items necessary to enter some of the special battles like Swarm!. Other games like Lineage, Monster Hunter, and AION also have special promotions that can only be obtained by players who play in internet cafes. Final Fantasy XIV will also likely be available in internet cafes here in Japan. For people who don’t have high-end spec computers, internet cafes provide an easy way to play online games. Square Enix has already said they predict the PC requirements for FFXIV will be pretty high. While I plan on playing the PS3 version, I will probably try out the PC version at an internet cafe when it comes available. Part of having a successful game here in Japan will probably involve a healthy relationship between Square Enix and the various internet cafe chains.

3) Just how popular is Monster Hunter? Popular enough to convince Fukushima prefecture to do a month long Monster Hunter 3 event. People who visit Fukushima can participate in a stamp rally, live quests, and other Monster Hunter themed events while seeing the sites in Fukushima. You can check out their informational site in Japanese at http://fmh.jp/

4) In several articles I’ve written, I’ve mentioned CESA, the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association. They are the group responsible for Tokyo Game Show and publish a report on the gaming industry each year. Portions of the report were available last year at Tokyo Game Show and I hope they do that again this year. The articles in the report cover a wide range of topics. Last month, they published their 2009 report. You can check out a listing of the contents (Japanese and English) as a PDF file on their site.

However, there is another group in Japan that has published a report online gamers might be interested in. JOGA, the Japan Online Game Association, also published a report last month. Connect!On looked at the report and here are some of the things they found. The overall number of online titles for PC and Console games with active service has not changed much over the last couple years. However, the number of games that ended service in 2007 and 2008 was much higher than previous years. In particular, nearly half of the games that ended service in 2008 were off-the-shelf PC titles. However, the amount of money being spent on online gaming continues to grow so overall the industry seems healthy. Lord of the Rings online service will be ending in Japan in a couple months but it is being replaced in the market by the next generation of big online titles like AION and Final Fantasy XIV.

That’s all from the magazines for now. See ya next time!

A Final Fantasy XIV group has surfaced on the Square Enix Members website!

Joining the group will allow you to join discussions on the groups message boards, just like on our own forums. Message boards like this provide a great way to spend time and talk with other excited fans as we all wait for the games release next year.

The Members site is also accepting questions for their Fan-Powered E3 Q&A. Here, you can submit any questions you have about your favorite Square Enix titles that were shown at this years E3 event. This includes Final Fantasy XIV! Make sure to submit any questions you have for a chance to have them answered by the development team!

If you are not registered for Square Enix Members you can do so here.

Every Friday, Weekly Famitsu comes out with general information on console games.  Approximately every two weeks, Dengeki PlayStation covers PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 news.  This week, both have their E3 reports.

Let’s take a look at how the Japanese printed press treated FFXIV this week:

First, Weekly Famitsu.  Right after E3, they posted their version of the Japanese press interview with Hiromichi Tanaka and Nobuaki Komoto online.

I was anxious to see what they would have in their magazine but it turns out they didn’t give FFXIV much attention. FFXIV had one page in the magazine as part of their 4 “No Way!”s of E3 coverage. A mere 4 questions of the interview made it to print form. In comparison, the upcoming FFXIII was given 17 pages. It’d be nice to see this kind of coverage by Famitsu as we get closer to FFXIV launch.

Dengeki PlayStation had more coverage but that makes sense since they also have a few pages of FFXI info each week. The first two pages of content in the magazine were given to FFXIV. The bottom of the first page had the first part of the same Japanese press interview with Tanaka and Komoto. It is noteworthy that while it was a group interview, each of the different sites (GameWatch, 4Gamer, Dengeki, and Famitsu) had slightly different wording and a different take on the answers. Dengeki did not publish their version online opting only to publish the Q&A press conference. An additional 2 pages were added with the regular FFXI section and contained the remaining part of the interview as well as the Lightning Brigade’s thoughts and predictions. When the beta testing will start is still up to anyone’s guess. When asked if the beta test would start in 2010, Tanaka craftily brushed the question aside saying that official service for the game will begin in 2010 and the beta will come at some point before that. (In coverage done by other sites, like GameWatch and 4Gamer, the length of other MMOs was mentioned at being around 9 months but that FFXIV probably wouldn’t be so long. In the version of the interview posted by GameWatch, when they told Tanaka it sounded like the beta would start in 2009, he replied that he would leave it up to their imagination.)

One of the things they noticed in one of the official pictures was amusing.

They think the Tarutaru-like people are taller than they are in FFXI. Also, the blonde Elvaan-like woman sitting on the right-hand side of the picture appears shorter than FFXI Elvaan. They wonder if this is a change overall or if there will be a higher degree of customization for FFXIV. They also focused on the shape of the crystals in the background and how it is different from FFXI.

That’s all for this week. See you next time!

A few days ago we reported on Elmer’s summary of the Japanese media’s coverage of Square Enix’s E3 interviews on Final Fantasy XIV. Today, we can give a more detailed look at what one of those interviews had to say. Most of the answers are things we already know, however it seems that a beta announcement could be coming sooner than we thought!

Read on for the full interview from Dengeki, courtesy of Pixelsnatch.com.

[Thanks, Alex!]

Dengeki recently sat down with Shinji Hashimoto (Square-Enix corporate executive), Hiromichi Tanaka (FFXIV producer) and Toshihiro Kawamoto (FFXIV director) to ask a few questions about the game. Hashimoto opened by reiterating that the game will launch simultaneously on the PS3 and PC, though said that they are in talks to move the game to “other platforms” (i.e. the XBox 360).

Dengeki: What will FFXIV have in common with FFXI?
Tanaka: The game will be taking place in an entirely new world, but the game’s setting and characters look similar to XI’s. To help players feel more at ease in the FFXIV universe, we specifically chose to model the new characters after the old ones.

Dengeki: Will there be any more expansions for FFXI? Or will you focus entirely on FFXIV?
Tanaka: We began development on FFXIV four years ago. At that time, we decided to split into a two-line development structure: one for FFXIV, and the other to continue work on FFXI. We usually consider FFXI with a development schedule of six months to a year in the future, and we fully intend to continue doing so even after FFXIV is released.

Dengeki: What influences, if any, have you drawn from World of Warcraft?
Kawamoto: There really isn’t anything from WoW that we’ve considered for FFXIV. We intend to create something original and worthy of bearing the FF name.

Dengeki: Please tell us about the battle system.
Kawamoto: As it’s still being developed, I’m afraid we can’t talk about it just yet.

Dengeki: Which features of FFXI can we expect to see in FFXIV?
Kawamoto: We will of course be drawing on bits and pieces of FFXI and the lessons learned to guide us, but our greatest resource is the fans. With XI, our original idea was an emphasis on partying. With FFXIV, we’re working to support both solo play and an engaging party system.

Dengeki: Will FFXIV have a simultaneous worldwide release?
Tanaka: At present, we plan to release the game in four languages: Japanese, English, German, and French, all of which we estimate will be released at the same time.

Dengeki: What about Spanish?
Tanaka: Unfortunately, we do not have any plans for a Spanish language version at this time. If there is enough demand, we would certainly consider it, provided we can find a good translation team in Japan.

Dengeki: How do you plan to manage the servers?
Tanaka: We’re planning to have global servers again. We’ll try to balance the servers based on users’ trends (server populations, for example).

Dengeki: How will you be managing communities for both FFXI and FFXIV?
Tanaka: We’re considering handling them separately rather then combining them into one massive community. We find it makes more sense for the two groups to develop independently, and we trust that users will be fine with the division.

Dengeki: What innovations will FFXIV bring to the MMO genre?
Kawamoto: We’re not particularly looking to revolutionize the genre or anything like that. I think we’re all just focusing on making a fun new Final Fantasy game that is also an enjoyable MMO.

Tanaka: Nevertheless, we’ll also be implementing systems that have never been seen in the genre before.

Dengeki: Why did you decide to create a new MMO rather than focus on continuing FFXI?
Tanaka: The tough thing about developing and maintaining an MMO is the huge amount of date involved. It’s impractical to focus solely on FFXI because the game would always have to be ported to the latest hardware. It would be extraordinarily difficult to manage the data for yet another port, so we decided to simply start fresh with new hardware.

Dengeki: Did the trailer for the game show in-game graphics?
Kawamoto. Yes. It was a mixture of pre-rendered cut scenes and gameplay.

Dengeki: What’s the appeal of FFXIV?
Kawamoto: I would say that the key word for FFXIV is “growth.” We’ve already done the job system in XI, so this time we’re looking at new and interesting concepts for character growth. We hope you like it!

Tanaka: FFXI was built firmly on the premise of the party system, but FFXIV will try to be more supportive of solo play and any of the other varied things that users would like to do.

Dengeki: Have you set a date for the beta test?
Tanaka: We’re still undecided, but expect an announcement soon!

Dengeki: Will FFXI players be able to transfer their characters to FFXIV?
Tanaka. Because the two gameplay systems are so completely different, we have decided not to transfer FFXI characters into FFXIV. As I mentioned earlier, the FFXIV character designs are purely for purposes of making fans feel at home.

Dengeki: Have you thought about how you want to attract people who have never played an MMO?
Kawamoto: I think that the game’s visual style will attract a lot Final Fantasy fans who have never tried an MMO before.

Elmer over at ZAM has written up a summary from three popular Japanese news sources (GameWatch, 4Gamer, Famitsu) who all got the chance to sit down with Hiromichi Tanaka and Nobuaki Komoto after the Square Enix E3 press conference on Wednesday.

Hiromichi Tanaka (Producer) and Nobuaki Komoto (Director)

In the information given, Tanaka mentions that initially, they wanted to add a second door into the Mog House that would allow players to exit into the new Final Fantasy XIV world of Eorzea. Due to technical difficulties however that was not possible.

Other things that are mentioned include the possibility of transferring over linkshells from Final Fantasy XI along with character names. These are possibilities they are looking into and are not currently set in stone. Server sizes and the hopes of exceeding the number of worlds that Final Fantasy XI has is also something that the FFXIV team is looking at.

Check out the full write up for more information

[Source, ZAM]

Yesterday the team over at IGN was able to get in an interview with the team behind Final Fantasy XIV and get some more information about the upcoming game. The interview answers questions about chocobos, music composition, and even things that are hidden in the game’s logo done by Yoshitaka Amano!

You can check out the video interview here and find the full write up after the jump.

[Source, IGN.com]

What platforms is Final Fantasy XIV coming to?
Currently the game is confirmed for PlayStation 3 and Windows PC. An Xbox 360 version isn’t official, but Square Enix is considering the possibility that it could.

What do we know about the setting and the story?
It takes place on an all-new Final Fantasy world known as “Eorzea.” Though it does share some monsters and races from Final Fantasy XI, they’re not direct representations and have been altered in multiple ways that make them unique to Eorzea. The similarities in races will allow experienced FFXI players to create a new FFXIV character that looks somewhat comparable.

Does it have a direct connection to Final Fantasy XI?
In some ways, yes it does. Not only does it share the same development team as the FF11, but the game will also allow players to create a character that is similar to their current Final Fantasy XI. Square Enix has also revealed to IGN that it is currently finding a solution that will let you transfer your character’s names from FFXI to FFXIV.

On a related note, at the press conference, it was said that FFXI has another year of content planned. Does that mean that after that year is up that FFXI is done with?
No. To be specific, Square Enix has one year of content currently planned but has told us here at IGN that it isn’t a mandated end for the series. If fans continue to support the game, then so will Square Enix.

What is the combat system like?
The development team won’t say, but it did confirm to us that… Additionally, the heavy team-play aspect of FF11 has been deemphasized, and now exploration and battle is said to be more balanced between solo and team play.

How does the leveling system work?
Square Enix is cagey about how characters advance, but it has confirmed with IGN that growth is not based on experience and that it will work on a different system entirely.

What about jobs?
Jobs will return in Final Fantasy XIV, but they will be much different than the job system present in FFXI.

How important are the weapons?
Weapons are very important and have a heavy influence on your character and how they succeed in the game world. Square Enix says to look closely at the official FFXIV logo for hints and hidden meanings about how the game will work.

What hidden meanings?
Square Enix told us that when it approached Amano to do the logo art for FFXIV, that weapons were very important and to think of the concept of a “wheel.” Specifically, a wheel of adventurers that has their weapon in front of them and an exposed backside — which leaves each adventurer to rely heavily on their comrades and their friends. Let the speculation begin.

Anything else about the weapons?
The team let slip to us that choosing weapons for specific tasks one day versus another could affect how your character develops.

How much of the first trailer is in-game versus pre-rendered?
The debut trailer is actually a mixture of real-time in-game footage and pre-rendered wizardry. The combat scene in particular was created using the in-game engine.

What languages will the game available in?
The same as Final Fantasy XI: Japanese, English, French and German. FFXIV will also be released simultaneously in all regions that use those languages.

Will the PlayOnline service be used for FFXIV?
No. Square Enix told us that the reason it is ditching the PlayOnline system is because it was originally meant as an all-in-one solution to house multiple content types. But as PlayOnline has offered less content over the years, the need for the next online Final Fantasy to us PO is moot. Whatever new service (if any) is used, PC and PlayStation 3 users will still be able to play with each other on the same servers, and Square Enix also confirmed with IGN that you can sign in with a universal ID on either system to pick up where you left off if you own both.

Who’s Working on the Game?
It is produced by Hiromichi Tanaka (Final Fantasy I, II, III, and IX) and directed by Nobuaki Komoto (Final Fantasy IX, XI), with art direction by Akihiko Yoshida (Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII) and a musical score from Nobuo Uematsu (Most Final Fantasies ever). Yoshitaka Amano has designed the logo and is pulling additional art duties as well.

Uematsu only did a few tracks in FFXI, how much is he doing for XIV?
Square Enix revealed to IGN that Uematsu will be doing all the music for Final Fantasy XIV and that it will be composed in a range of different styles and genres.

What modern day MMOs have influenced the design and direction of FFXIV?
In addition to the team’s original work on Final Fantasy XI, World of Warcraft, Age of Conan and Warhammer Online have been three recent games that have had some pull, but the FFXI community’s feedback has been the most important factor in its design.

Are Chocobos back?
Yes, they will return. But Square Enix has told IGN that it is looking at using them in a completely different way than they were used in Final Fantasy XI (where they were used as riding steeds).

When is it coming out and when is the beta?
The game will come out in 2010, and after Final Fantasy XIII which is scheduled for spring of the same year. Beta plans are still being finalized, but that the plan is to have a longer beta period than that of FFXI (which had a beta of about 3-4 months).

Shinji Hashimoto, Hiromichi Tanaka, Nobuaki Komoto, Michael Christopher Koji Fox

This afternoon during Square Enix’s E3 press conference, there was a Q&A session regarding the newly announced Final Fantasy XIV. Square Enix representatives including the producer of both FFXI and FFXIV, Hiromichi Tanaka, answered questions regarding the new game.

It is also worth noting that Michael Christopher Koji Fox was in attendance as a translator. He was recently moved off of Final Fantasy XI for Dragon Quest. Could his appearance at the conference mean that he will once again be working alongside Square Enix’s MMO team?

If you’d like to check out the full transcript from the event, you can find it on our wiki here.