LOS ANGELES, California (May 16, 2005)
Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan, “Square Enix”) a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software including two of the world’s most popular franchises FINAL FANTASY® and DRAGON QUEST™, today announced that FINAL FANTASY® XI will be released on Xbox 360™, Microsoft's next-generation gaming console, and Xbox Live, the company’s premier online gaming service. The partnership was announced at Microsoft's Media Briefing held in Los Angeles on May 16th. Xbox 360 will be available this holiday season.
“As we move forward with our cross-platform strategy to bring our titles to more gamers in multiple formats, we are extremely excited to launch our popular MMORPG on the Xbox 360 and look forward to this collaboration with Microsoft,” said Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix. “The Xbox 360 provides a powerful platform from which gamers can be immersed in the spell-binding FINAL FANTASY XI story that comes to life through collaborative online game play.”
“We’re thrilled to be working with Square Enix to bring their incredible game FINAL FANTASY XI to Xbox 360,” said Robbie Bach, Microsoft chief Xbox officer. “The power of our next generation games and entertainment system combined with the creativity and innovation of Square Enix promises to truly revolutionize video games on a global scale.”
FINAL FANTASY XI is a massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG). The original version of the game was released in May 2002 in Japan, October 2003 in North America and September 2004 in Europe, with a subscriber base now in excess of 500,000 active accounts.
With the release of the Xbox 360 version, Square Enix will be expanding its cross-platform strategy, making FINAL FANTASY XI available to a much wider audience. Players will be able to choose their hardware and play on the same servers as existing gamers. The powerful next-generation capabilities of the Xbox 360 will provide a much more dynamic and visually impressive gateway to Vana'diel - the world of FINAL FANTASY XI.
No further information regarding FINAL FANTASY XI for Xbox 360 is available today. More details will be released in the coming months.
About FINAL FANTASY XI
In FINAL FANTASY XI, players undertake multiple adventures through Vana’diel, a complex gaming world with more than 100 areas to explore. The gaming universe contains the award-winning visual content, innovative gameplay and deep storyline that the FINAL FANTASY series is famous for. The Rise of the Zilart expansion pack expands the storyline and opens up a variety of higher-level skills and abilities.
About Square Enix Co., Ltd. and Square Enix, Inc.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix) develops, publishes and distributes entertainment content including interactive entertainment software and publications in Japan, North America, Europe and Asia. Square Enix brings two of Japan’s best-selling franchises – FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 60 million units worldwide, and DRAGON QUEST, which has sold over 40 million units worldwide—under one roof. Square Enix is one of the most influential providers of digital entertainment content in the world and continues to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation.
Square Enix, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Square Enix Co., Ltd. with offices in Los Angeles, CA and Seattle, WA. It handles operations in North America, including development, localization, marketing, and publishing of Square Enix titles. More information on Square Enix can be found on the Internet at
http://www.square-enix.com/
