It’s not unknown that the PlayStation 3 version of the exciting upcoming MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has been delayed due to “technical issues”. Many have been disappointed by this fact, but it has previously been unclear exactly what technical reason has stunted the development cycle. Nevertheless, Square Enix has finally revealed what has been keeping the PS3 version behind bars while the PC iteration is nearing the end of development.
During an interview with Final Fantasy XIV director Hiromichi Tanaka, Tanaka confirmed that memory is the single problem delaying the PS3 release of the upcoming MMORPG title. When speaking privately with VG247, Tanaka said the following:
“The main reason was the memory.”
He then followed up by stating:
“They are adjusting the memory size and customising it; it took longer then we were expecting. But we’re really working hard to bring it out as soon as possible.”
I’ve been spending quite a lot of my time in the Final Fantasy XIV PC beta. Needless to say, the game is extremely hardware intensive, so it’s no surprise that the PS3 version is taking a bit of extra shaping and molding. The good side to this is that while the PS3 version is taking a few extra months to complete, Sony’s console is a much more affordable solution for playing the game with solid performance, and the game looks absolutely fantastic.
One thing I’d like to note is that during my time in the beta I have noticed that Final Fantasy XIV isn’t very reliant on RAM. I usually see the game taking up roughly 500-640MB of memory at any given time, and at this point beta testers have labeled the title a “CPU exhausting game”. Considering the PS3 is renowned for it’s powerful CPU, dare I say that the PS3 is not only up to the task but should also be seeing it’s console exclusive version sometime before the given March 2011 estimate?
Look out for the release of one of the best MMORPGs to embrace the console market when Final Fantasy XIV releases early 2011.
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