BitSnark

One of the biggest heart-stopping announcements of the show was Sony big cheese Jack Tretton unveiling none other than Final Fantasy XIV for the Playstation 3. Even better than that, was the fact that the title would be out in 2010.

Say what now?

Bated breath remained bated as the trailer rolled showing the ever popular mix of the mythological and sci-fi; a world of flying ships, big swords and of course… Chocobos.

It was right at the end of the trailer however that the megaton announcement felt a little deflated as the game’s full title became apparent: Final Fantasy XIV Online.

Of course realistically speaking, there would have been no way that they could have a whole new Final Fantasy sequel in development, along with other games in the Final Fantasy XIII series; Versus, Agito etc… but the pure suspension of disbelief was tangible and the feeling that Sony had truly ‘one-upped’ Microsoft with the announcement, couldn’t have been any more overstated regardless.

Ultimately however, whether or not you profess a love for MMORPG’s, Final Fantasy XIV Online should not be underestimated. Console MMORPG’s have yet to gain a decent foothold and sure Final Fantasy XI is old, clunky and possibly a bit crap when compared to its contemporaries, but that title was released at a time when console online capabilities were very much in their infancy.

These days, BOTH the PS3 and 360 are formidable online gaming platforms and I feel pretty confident in saying that with seven years of learning behind them, an entirely new graphical engine and a powerful networking model, Final Fantasy XIV Online should make a pretty big splash when it releases late next year.

Amusingly, Jack closed the announcement with ‘Well that one didn’t get leaked did it?’.

No Jack. It most certainly didn’t.