Square Enix is planning on showing off the PlayStation 3 version of Final Fantasy XIV sometime this summer, producer and director Naoki Yoshida has said.
“Right now it’s optimized for PC. We’re about 50% into the development of the PS3 version, but it’s [the PC version’s visuals] pretty much how it’s going to look on the console as well,” Yoshida told PlayStation Blog. “It uses the same new graphics engine we built just for this game. This summer we’ll have an opportunity to show the PS3 version.”
The publisher believes that the upcoming 2.0 update to the title “can be considered the next real Final Fantasy game in the series” due to its inclusion of the series’ three pillars: high quality gameplay, great storyline and beautiful graphics.
“We’ll have some Final Fantasy staples as well, like chocobos, moogles and summons,” Yoshida added. “But what is a little bit different is that these summons are like demigods in this world, so they´re really powerful, and it’ll take cooperation of all the players to fight these battles.
“And on top of that, there´s our MMORPG community, which will consist of both PC players and also the PS3 players all over the world.”
PlayStation 3 owners shouldn’t expect anything extra for their wait. Because PlayStation 3 and PC players will be playing in the same world, Square “can’t give either group something special.” However, both groups can switch between PlayStation 3 and PC on the fly, should they feel like changing the mood.
But what about PlayStation 3 players who have never played a massively-multiplayer online game? How does Square intend to attract that audience?
“We know that a lot of console players never played an MMO and they may be scared by not knowing what to do,” said Yoshida, “and we want to stress that it’s very similar to an offline Final Fantasy that always had great stories, made you cry, changed your life. There will be a beta for a limited time where people will be able to try it out. And an additional factor to bring in console games are graphics: something of this quality you can’t have in any MMO title.”
If you missed the first screenshots of the 2.0 update at E3 last week, catch them here.