Squenix wants simultaneous global Last Remnant, FF dates

Square Enix's John Yamamoto, president and CEO for North America and Europe, has said that the publisher is busily trying to work out if it can release Last Remnant and Final Fantasy XIII simultaneously worldwide, calling it "a goal".

"For one of our biggest upcoming titles, Last Remnant, we're working to simultaneously launch in the United States and Japan - and we're aiming for Europe. We're still assessing whether that's feasible, but it's a goal," Yamamoto told our sister site GamesIndustry.biz on the eve of the E3 Media & Business Summit in Santa Monica.

"We'll try our best," Yamamoto said when asked whether the same would be true for next-generation Final Fantasy. "Our ultimate purpose is to release titles in five languages at the same time. That is our ultimate goal and we are working on that," he added.

Square Enix has traditionally struggled to get Europe into line with launches in other territories, with translation thought responsible for a four-month gap between Final Fantasy XII's US and European releases, and the five extra months it took for Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King to materialise here following its North American launch.

Last Remnant was unveiled at the Square Enix Party 2007 last month with the promise of a simultaneous US/Japan release, while Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII - both currently only for PS3 - first pitched up at E3 last year.

Yamamoto was less clear in clarifying recent confusion over whether Final Fantasy will ever appear on Xbox 360, but a spokesperson for the company indicated that doors definitely weren't closed. Watch out for the full interview on GamesIndustry.biz this week for more specifics.