The Mac launch for MMO Final Fantasy XIV hasn't been smooth sailing for Square Enix as they've now pulled it from sale after serious technical problems have crippled the game. They are also issuing refunds to owners. Compounding the issue, Square also released the wrong system requirements before launch. Director Naoki Yoshida has apologised and accepted "sole responsibility" for letting the Mac version release.
Square Enix has delayed the PC version of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII to autumn this year, Desktop fans of the JRPG series will have to wait a bit longer to get the sequel to Final Fantasy XIII-2. It launched onto consoles in early 2014 but as per usual the PC crowd has to suffer a longer wait. Maybe by Final Fantasy CXXIVII we'll get equal treatment? MMOs don't count!
Next week begins a new chapter for MMO Final Fantasy XIV as it receives the Heavensward expansion, which plunges the community into the Dragonsong War; a thousand-year-old conflict between knights and dragons. It increases the level cap to 60, adds flying mounts (it is a dragon war!), and of course includes new dungeons to brave. It adds the 'Holy See of Ishgard' which is desperate to defeat the dragons.
Square Enix confirmed last year that Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (the third chapter in the FFXIII arc) would be released on the PC. Since then,we haven't heard much about it, and fans had begun to wonder whether the company had abandoned their plans. Fortunately for fans of grumpy yet battle-hardened warrior women, Lighting and friends are on the way; yesterday Square reassured fans via Twitter that a PC version is still being worked on.
A news announcement by MSI about their attendance at Asia’s largest ICT trade show - Computex Taipei - includes a rather interesting little snippet. PlayStation Portable's Final Fantasy Type-0 is heading to PC. They're working with Square Enix for a "global launch" of the JRPG, boasts MSI, where it will be playable on their GS60 Red and GS70 Silver laptops. The HD re-release is the version available at their booth.
Hankering for some more Final Fantasy XIV action, but not quite sure your rig is up to the tasking of handling the enhanced DirectX 11 graphics of upcoming expansion Heavensward? Spoilers: it probably will be. To make sure though, you can test it out using some new benchmark software that Square Enix has kindly made available for free. Said benchmark also lets you try out the expansion's new playable race, the Au Ra.
A new opening cinematic for the Heavensward expansion to MMO Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has been released by Square Enix. The new content will be out this summer and raises the level cap. There are also new job actions as well as new gameplay systems for the Disciples of the Hand and Land classes. Over the weekend director Naoki Yoshida hosted the 20th 'Letter from the Producer LIVE' series.
Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn's latest content update Before the Fall Part 2 is out now, the second episode in a two-parter that will set the game's world up for forthcoming expansion Heavensward. The story update drops as part of Patch 2.55, which also introduces new side missions, changes to the Gold Saucer, and a bunch of new items.
Square Enix announced at PAX East over the weekend that Final Fantasy 14's first full expansion pack, Heavensward, will be available to early buyers this June. Anyone who pre-orders the expansion will be able jump in on June 19, four days before everybody else gets a go. Pre-orders go live on March 16.
Square Enix is celebrating MMO Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn having achieved 4 million registered users, discounting Free Trial versions, and has announced a "free log-in period" to run from this weekend. The free game time is only for those "taking a break" from Eorzea, and to let them sample the changes from the recent Patch 2.51. They did a similar albeit smaller free weekend at the start of February.
Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn is getting its first expansion patch this year in the form of Heavensward, and along with the content the game's set to receive a bit of visual polish. According to the latest FF14 producer's letter, Heavensward's arrival will also signal an upgrade from DirectX version 9 to version 11.
If you own Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn but haven't played the MMO in a while, well, Square Enix would like to entice you back with a 'Free Login Weekend' starting tomorrow at 12.00am PST. They'd like you to sample the "multitude of new adventures" from the recent 2.5 update. Of course you could always start your free trial if you've never stepped foot in the realm of Eorzea before.
Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn is gearing up for this year's Heavensward expansion with a big climax that will see the end of the core game's main plotline. Patch 2.5, otherwise known as Before the Fall Part One, has now been released, offering “roughly two-thirds of the final main scenario quests”, three new dungeons, and the conclusion of the Crystal Tower questline and the World of Darkness.
The latest in the long, long line of Final Fantasy games was announced for Xbox One and PS4, with the PC given the cold shoulder. However Square Enix are on the hunt for a PC-minded developer. Final Fantasy XV could very well end up in some way on PC, as the publisher advertises for an 'Online Game Planner' position for "new online games related to FFXV". What has Square got in mind?
Square Enix chucked out another trailer for its upcoming RPG Final Fantasy 15 Jump Festa 2015, an annual anime convention in Japan. There's a little bit of gameplay, but it's mostly cutscenes shedding more light on the game's plot. Which sums up Final Fantasy as a series pretty well, actually. As is traditional with the series, I spent most of my time watching this getting annoyed with everyone's haircuts. Though the open-world style gameplay does look intriguing.
When Final Fantasy XIII was released on PC back in October, fans were disappointed and exasperated to discover that the game was restricted to below-HD resolutions. Though there are fan fixes out there, Square Enix has lived up to its word and created an official patch to solve the issue, which will be released on December 11.
Raids are hard at the best of times, especially if you're a healer and you forgot to do any healing because you were watching Curb Your Enthusiasm at the time and forgot and the party wiped and everyone shouted at you. It's a sight harder still in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn's ultra-tough Final Coil of Bahamut dungeon, which producer Naoki Yoshida claims has only been beaten by 50 teams across all servers.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is on the way to Steam next month and it's bringing an impressively huge roster of DLC content along with it, including costumes, arena battles and extra story content. Most of this is taken from from the console versions, but there are a few omissions; outfits based on other games, such as Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed efforts, won't be added due to "contractual issues".
Square Enix are releasing a PC version of Final Fantasy XIII-2, which will be released via Steam on 11th December, 2014. The PC version will come with a host of new features and enhancements.
Square Enix is offering a free trial for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, giving interested players access to the first 20 levels of the fantasy MMO. Other than that there are a few restrictions on what you can do in game; you can't pay for optional extra services like additional Retainers, and you'll be unable to log in to the Lodestone and the official forums.