Final Fantasy Cube before March 2003

Apart from raising its online gaming revenues and releasing the PC version of Final Fantasy XI in Japan, Squaresoft also plans to shuffle the GameCube's highly anticipated real-time Final Fantasy RPG out the door ahead of March 2003. The news came as part of an announcement concerning the company's financials, which look a lot stronger than they did last year. Square also plans to release two GBA titles before March, although it didn't elaborate. Our guess is Final Fantasy Cube's GBA twin - vital to promote that all-important link-up function - along with Final Fantasy Tactics. Although Square recently revealed a new Chocobo-based title and a new Secret of Mana for GBA, neither is likely to be ready within the proposed time window. Unfortunately, Square's profits announcement also came with the footnote that it does not currently plan to develop for Microsoft Xbox, despite its claims that Nintendo development is being undertaken to offset "slack" demand for its PS2 releases. If you ask us, despite the Xbox's relative failure in Japan, its prominence in Europe and particularly the US should definitely not be overlooked. Then again, Square has a tendency to change its mind about things like this. Expect to hear about the developer's 2003 product line-up in more detail when the sun rises on this year's Tokyo Game Show. Related Feature - The Square Rumour Mill!