Final Fantasy XIV was expected to take centre stage today at Square Enix’s press conference following the announcement yesterday. The session started with Square Enix pointing out that the character races you see in the trailer shown yesterday are the same races that were in Final Fantasy XI. This was done so that players could choose a similar type of race in the new game if they wish to and have a feel of familiarity.
The game is scheduled for release in 2010 and unlike Final Fantasy XI the game will have a simultaneous release around the world in four languages. There will be English, Japanese, French and German versions. No Spanish version is planned but if enough people want it they will look into it. All regions will play together on the same servers.
The game has been confirmed to have a monthly fee, which was to be expected for a MMORPG. There is currently no information about when the beta will be or what the PC specifications will be.
Square Enix hopes to make the game more casual friendly than Final Fantasy XI was, meaning if you don’t have a lot of time you will still be able to make progress. There will still be a lot of content for the hardcore gamer however. One aspect that will be improved is solo play; there will be a lot more options than there was in Final Fantasy XI.
The game will feature an expandes job system than what was in Final Fantasy XI and they are placing emphasis on the growth and development of the character. They aim to allow the player to progress in a more natural way than in Final Fantasy XI.
So what will happen to Final Fantasy XI? In short, nothing. The game will continue to be supported for as long as people keep playing it. There will be no character transfers between the two games.
