FFXIV Online beta "starting soon"

Hiromichi Tanaka has told Eurogamer that the Final Fantasy XIV Online beta test "will be starting soon".

He - the producer of the game, and second-in-command at Square Enix - said the MMO was in alpha but on course for a 2010 release in all territories.

"We will do some final adjustments from the beta test and then we will have a launch in 2010," he confirmed.

What's more, Tanaka's confident that will be on both formats - PC and PS3.

"Yes, the current plan is for a simultaneous launch, and we're trying hard to stick to that," he said.

However, Tanaka admitted that making an MMO for two platforms and "customising" the experience for both was "very challenging" and "taking some time".

Final Fantasy XI was released eight years ago in a genre yet to star World of Warcraft. Final Fantasy XIV Online won't have that luxury, but Tanaka isn't fazed.

"The reason why many MMOs failed after WOW launched was probably because they were trying to copy WOW," he explained. "For FFXIV we're not trying to copy World of Warcraft, we're trying to choose something different.

"Final Fantasy never had any influence from World of Warcraft," he added, "so we want to continue that and try to reach a different audience."

All of our Final Fantasy XIV Online coverage can be found below.