FFXIII To Release In Europe Sooner Than Expected News

Square Enix is planning to get Final Fantasy XIII over to Europe quicker than it has in previous iterations and hopes that the PAL release will follow-on less than a year after the slated Japanese launch at the end of this year.

At least that's what the game's Producer, Yoshinori Kitase, has said in an interview with Videogamer.com, stating that Square Enix is aiming to minimise the traditional year-long wait for a Final Fantasy game in Europe after its Japanese release.

"Obviously we would like to release it over here as soon as possible," Kitase said. "Traditionally the Final Fantasy numbered series, it takes about half a year between the release in Japan and the release in North America, and another half a year before it's released in Europe. But we would like to minimise this, this time.

"For example we have already started recording English voices, and also the text localisation has been in progress, too," he continued. "Normally we complete the Japanese version first, then move on to the US and EU versions, but this time there are some tasks that are happening simultaneously. So this time we're hoping to release sooner than a year later than the Japanese release."

Square Enix has previously suggested that FFXIII is slated for a winter 2009 release in Japan, which could mean we can expect the game to arrive in Europe next year while there are still leaves on the trees.