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Final Fantasy XIII may not be out in North America and Europe yet, but the development team is in full "victory lap" mode in Japan. At least, that's how it seemed when noted industry figure Jem Alexander interviewed producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama for the European PlayStation Blog. Asked about the state of the Japanese game industry, the two (no individual attribution was given to the speakers) said that FFXIII was going to fix it.

"Some people have been saying that the Japanese game industry is dead, and all that... I dunno," the creative lead said. "I will say that Final Fantasy XIII is one really epic title for high definition consoles. With this game, we are going to resurrect the whole thing." And then they immediately moved from boastful to confusing: "As for Western games that have influenced us - FPSs mostly. The Call of Duty series, for example." Influenced their desire to sell a lot of copies, maybe?

The team also suggested elsewhere in the interview that God of War Collection-style remakes of previous Final Fantasy titles are unlikely. And, while they didn't outright deny DLC (which is looking more and more likely), they said that material or ideas originally left out won't be put back in as DLC.

According to Square Enix's financial report covering the first nine months (ending this past December) of its fiscal year, the company is going to finish its annual business cycle with plenty of glistening gil. Overall, the company's profits are up 48 percent from the same period last year, and it forecasts a profit of ¥10 billion (which is far less shocking when converted to $112 million) for the fiscal year ending in March 2010.

The company's games division saw limit breaker sales and profits during the period due to Dragon Quest IX, Final Fantasy XIII, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Batman: Arkham Asylum -- which it obtained as part of the Eidos buyout. Square Enix's games group saw sales of ¥72 billion ($806 million, a 97 percent increase over last year), along with a profit of ¥18 billion ($202 million, a 99 percent increase during the same time). Kupos to you, Square Enix.

It looks like that entire game's worth of removed content might be making it into Final Fantasy XIII after all. GameStop has posted the box art for the Xbox 360 version of the game and, more importantly, it has also posted the art for the back of the box. As you can see above, the box mentions that Final Fantasy XIII will support downloadable content after all, though there is no mention of what the DLC actually is. It's worth noting that the content could be something as simple as Avatar outfits or accessories, though it would certainly make sense for Square Enix to supply its most well-known franchise with post-launch DLC.

The news comes after producer Yoshinori Kitase was rumored to have stated that no DLC had been planned for the game, though he noted it was still "possible." Final Fantasy Union, however, notes that Kitase apparently confirmed DLC during a recent interview with the Dutch Official Playstation Magazine. The box art certainly seems to confirm that, though we've reached out to Square for clarification. As of this writing, GameStop has yet to post the art for the back of the PS3 version, so it's unclear if both platforms will support said content.

[Via Final Fantasy Union]

Lots of fans think it would be great to see the classic Final Fantasy VII remade in full HD glory on a platform like the PS3, but Final Fantasy XIII producers Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama say it would be really tough to do. In a recent interview with Ultimania, they say that the limit isn't the HD technology, it's the amount of artisanship. "Considering the amount of work to make graphics that deserve HD, it is hard to make towns in the conventional style," said Toriyama. FFVII's graphics were beautiful at the time, but when you consider that we all played them on a 4:3 TV SD screen rather than the 1080p HD behemoths we're all playing games on today, you realize that it's a lot more work for artists to put in to make the game look as epic as Final Fantasy should. That's one reason why FFXIII doesn't have conventional RPG towns.

Kitase agrees, saying that "it is very hard to make games on PlayStation 3 in the same style the games in that era had. Making graphics will take enormous time." So score one for standard definition and the limits of the old pre-HD consoles. Note that neither producer says it's impossible, just a lot of work. So maybe some enterprising young developer will come along and make a solid, HD JRPG in the old-school fashion.

Square Enix hasn't announced a release for the Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack outside of Japan. Instead, it has announced a second FFXIII music release in Japan that is going to make you even more jealous. On February 26, the publisher will release a collection of eight songs from Masashi Hamauzu's Final Fantasy XIII score on a 12-inch record, including an exclusive version of "Ragnarok."

The limited-edition vinyl record, W/F: Music from Final Fantasy XIII, is exclusive to Square Enix's E-store. Importer NCSX secured a shipment of the record through one of its vendors, but that has already sold out. Maybe we'll have better luck when Square releases the eight tracks on 8-track.

[Via VG247]

It looks like 360-owning JRPG fans shouldn't get too jealous about the Lightning-clad PS3 Slim which was release in Japan late last year. A recent promotional spot for GamertagRadio's Community Vibes event featured a lengthy look at what appears to be a Final Fantasy XIII-branded 360 faceplate, seen above. We almost didn't notice the accessory the first time we watched the video -- after someone mentioned Major Nelson in a Speedo, our brains went briefly catatonic, which is our reflexive defense mechanism when faced with unsettling mental images.

We've contacted the Major to find out if the faceplate is legit, and to see if we'll be getting our hands on it any time soon.

[Via Gaming Angels]

Worried that you're only gonna get one legendary game developer speaking at this year's GDC? Well quit it, because it turns out that March's pontification festival will also feature the likes of Double Fine's Tim Schafer, Lionhead/MGS Europe head Peter Molyneux, Square Enix FFXIII director Motomu Toriyama, a couple of "Pixar notables," and fantasy wordsmith R.A. Salvatore.

According to Gamasutra's announcement of the speakers, the gentlemen will join "almost 350 other lectures, keynotes, and panels" taking place at the early March event, giving speeches on everything from comedy in gaming (Schafer, of course) to intuitive game design (Molyneux), and even a sneak peek (the first, actually, if we're not mistaken) of 38 Studios' upcoming MMO (with R.A. Salvatore). For all you zipper and chain-clad folks, Toriyama's speech on creating "The Crystal Mythos" might be more up your alley. If none of that sounds exciting to you, then there's always the other 345 or so folks at the event or ... umm ... a bar down the street maybe? Listen, are you alright?

We've been wondering why it's taken Square Enix so long to churn out another installment in the core Final Fantasy franchise, seeing as how the last game came out approximately forever ago. The answer recently came in the latest Dutch issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, which contains a revealing interview with Squeenix's Yoshinori Kitase. According to a fan translation of the interview, Kitase said "Final Fantasy XIII was originally meant to be a PS2 title, but we had to switch systems due to the arrival of the PS3. That cost us about one and a half years and was constantly a case of trial and error."

Considering it took Square Enix roughly "one and a half years" to develop and release Final Fantasy IX, that's a pretty substantial amount of time lost. Hopefully the developer will have an easier time when working on the next current-gen Fantasy.

[Via VG247]

Considering that an entire game's worth of content was supposedly cut from Final Fantasy XIII, one could imagine there's a veritable gold mine of content waiting to be polished and released as DLC. Apparently not, however, as producer Yoshinori Kitase has allegedly indicated, "at present we're not considering [DLC]." The quote is said to originate from a brief interview featured in an Ultima Guide for the game (via FFReunion), and Kitase apparently added that DLC is still "possible," but it's just not something Square Enix is working on right now.

Kitase cited the team's drive to create a complete experience in the final retail game as one of the contributing factors to putting DLC plans aside. He also pointed to the game's exceedingly long development time and the developers' focus on getting the game finished as soon as possible. Clearly, "asap" has a different meaning in Japan.

[Via Andriasang]

While we Americans are forced to spend our layovers trying not to get chosen for random cavity searches, folks who end up with some free time at Hong Kong International Airport are given a much more pleasant distraction. According to travel news site The Moodie Report, HKIA now plays host to more than a dozen PS3 "game poles," which give visitors a chance to check out a number of the platform's biggest titles, like Final Fantasy XIII and Uncharted 2. Sounds like a pretty neat idea -- we're just glad Modern Warfare 2 isn't one of the featured games. That'd be ... uncomfortable.

[Via Kotaku]

click for more Limited Collector's ImagesThe European "Limited Collectors Edition" of Final Fantasy XIII first teased in Square Enix's newsletter is now official. The company announced the package today, revealing what dedicated Final Fantasists will get for their extra cash.

The Limited Collector's Edition, available for both PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 9, will include the game (obviously), a soundtrack sampler CD containing tracks chosen by outbound composer Masashi Hamauzu, and a "The World of Final Fantasy XIII" artbook.

Also included in the package: three art prints of the main characters' Eidolon summons, and a decal of the "Brand of the l'Cie," guaranteed to cause millions of internal struggles about whether to devalue the collection by applying the sticker to a laptop or car window.