Thanks to our Tokyo-dwelling colleagues over at DigitalWorldTokyo.com we’ve just had the first reports and pictures of today’s Final Fantasy XXII launch in Japan. After a delay of almost three years, it’s finally here.
Square Enix has already shifted 65 million copies of the Final Fantasy series worldwide and has shipped 2 million of this latest title into Japan. Compared to the average videogame launch, even compared to the above average AAA-videogame launch, this is still an astounding number.
SPOnG doubts, for example, that there are many UK/US publishers who are planning a 2 million first-week ship on any title in the near future. If there are and we are not aware of them, please let us know otherwise!
Back to the FFXII launch – the usual pictures accompany the reports – hardcore geeks standing patiently in line outside Akihabara stores. More pics of grey businessmen in grey suits holding up a game or standing at a podium in a press conference. But hang on a second, what’s this! A picture of a man dressed in full battle armour! Woww!
This guy either lives, breathes and shits Final Fantasy or is a paid PR-stooge. With it being the Japanese launch it’s probably fair to say it’s worryingly likely to be the former as much as the latter.
Some stores opened at midnight to start chinging their tills and there was a special launch event in Shibuya at 7.30am this morning (Tokyo time), attended by the aforementioned armoured geek alongside 150 others, including many of the game’s producers. Many had camped overnight to ensure they got in, according to Japan’s Mainichi Daily News.
Speaking at the event Square Enix President Yoichi Wada said: "This is a pretty meaty game…I think this will become a work that symbolizes PS2."
Angela Aki and Taro Hakase, the music producers for the game sent a videotaped message that was played at the event and also took part in the final countdown to the commencement of sales.
Take a second to take that in. Whilst the games industry in the UK has to look to BAFTA for cultural approval, trying to somewhat embarrassingly ape the awards ceremonies of the more 'grown-up' (and far, far less lucrative) TV and film industries, over in Japan the music producers for a game send video messages to be played at it’s launch. They are popular celebrities in their own right. SPOnG thinks this speaks volumes about the popular cultural acceptance of videogames in both countries.
Mainichi Daily News also reported that the first person to buy the game was a 19-year-old student from Kawasaki who had been queuing up since about 6 p.m. the previous night, and said: "I'm expecting it will be even better than the 'Final Fantasy 10' I loved so much."
As SPOnG has said before, FFXII promises to be the most accomplished title ever for PlayStation 2, with a level of detail and graphical splendour to rival much of what the Xbox 360 currently offers. What with this and Bethesda’s forthcoming Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it’s certainly a good time to be an RPG fan. Say what you will about geeks, but the bottom line is that they are having a lot of fun.
So much chatter earlier this year was of Shadow of the Colossus being the PS2’s ‘swansong’ game. Square’s new RPG monster certainly puts paid to that.
Square Enix has already shifted 65 million copies of the Final Fantasy series worldwide and has shipped 2 million of this latest title into Japan. Compared to the average videogame launch, even compared to the above average AAA-videogame launch, this is still an astounding number.
SPOnG doubts, for example, that there are many UK/US publishers who are planning a 2 million first-week ship on any title in the near future. If there are and we are not aware of them, please let us know otherwise!
Back to the FFXII launch – the usual pictures accompany the reports – hardcore geeks standing patiently in line outside Akihabara stores. More pics of grey businessmen in grey suits holding up a game or standing at a podium in a press conference. But hang on a second, what’s this! A picture of a man dressed in full battle armour! Woww!
This guy either lives, breathes and shits Final Fantasy or is a paid PR-stooge. With it being the Japanese launch it’s probably fair to say it’s worryingly likely to be the former as much as the latter.
Some stores opened at midnight to start chinging their tills and there was a special launch event in Shibuya at 7.30am this morning (Tokyo time), attended by the aforementioned armoured geek alongside 150 others, including many of the game’s producers. Many had camped overnight to ensure they got in, according to Japan’s Mainichi Daily News.
Speaking at the event Square Enix President Yoichi Wada said: "This is a pretty meaty game…I think this will become a work that symbolizes PS2."
Angela Aki and Taro Hakase, the music producers for the game sent a videotaped message that was played at the event and also took part in the final countdown to the commencement of sales.
Take a second to take that in. Whilst the games industry in the UK has to look to BAFTA for cultural approval, trying to somewhat embarrassingly ape the awards ceremonies of the more 'grown-up' (and far, far less lucrative) TV and film industries, over in Japan the music producers for a game send video messages to be played at it’s launch. They are popular celebrities in their own right. SPOnG thinks this speaks volumes about the popular cultural acceptance of videogames in both countries.
Mainichi Daily News also reported that the first person to buy the game was a 19-year-old student from Kawasaki who had been queuing up since about 6 p.m. the previous night, and said: "I'm expecting it will be even better than the 'Final Fantasy 10' I loved so much."
As SPOnG has said before, FFXII promises to be the most accomplished title ever for PlayStation 2, with a level of detail and graphical splendour to rival much of what the Xbox 360 currently offers. What with this and Bethesda’s forthcoming Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it’s certainly a good time to be an RPG fan. Say what you will about geeks, but the bottom line is that they are having a lot of fun.
So much chatter earlier this year was of Shadow of the Colossus being the PS2’s ‘swansong’ game. Square’s new RPG monster certainly puts paid to that.
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