PREVIEW
SQUARE ANNOUNCES
SHIP DATE OF FINAL FANTASY IX FOR THE
PLAYSTATION® GAME CONSOLE
Latest in Popular
Series to Hit Store Shelves in Three Weeks
Square Electronic
ArtsSM L.L.C. (Square Electronic
Arts), the exclusive publisher of all SQUARESOFT®
products in North America, today announced
that FINAL FANTASY® IX for the
PlayStation® game console will hit
U.S. store shelves on November 14, 2000. FINAL
FANTASY IX, the latest title in the highly
acclaimed FINAL FANTASY series and the last FINAL
FANTASY title for the original PlayStation game
console, will offer a rich storyline, completely
new 3D environments and cutting-edge graphic
technology that have come to define the FINAL
FANTASY franchise as a whole.
"Anticipation
has been building for the next installment in the
FINAL FANTASY series," said Jun Iwasaki,
president of Square Electronic Arts. "Now
fans of the series have only three weeks to wait
before they enter the completely new world that
FINAL FANTASY IX offers."
About FINAL
FANTASY IX
FINAL FANTASY IX
takes players through an immersive storyline with
numerous subplots as they play with eight unique
characters who use a variety of weapons, magic
and monsters in a quest for good over evil. The
game centers around an evil queen’s desire
to dominate the world. Brahne, the Queen of
Alexandria, has begun using highly-advanced
magical weapons to terrorize neighboring
kingdoms. Players follow a group made up of
bandits, knights, and magicians lead by a skilled
thief, Zidane, who all must ban together to try
to stop the Queen. Soon after embarking on their
quest, they discover that the queen’s
threats merely cover a far more sinister plot.
For the sake of mankind, Zidane and company must
put an end to the Queen’s reign before she
and the evil forces that accompany her can carry
out the deadly plan.
To assist players
in their journey, Square Electronic Arts has
teamed with BradyGAMES to create a detailed
strategy guide that offers tips, hints, maps and
step-by-step instructions to help players
complete the game. In addition to a traditional
printed strategy guide, an interactive strategy
site for FINAL FANTASY IX will be made available
to players at PlayOnline.com™ (href="http://www.playonline.com)/"www.playonline.com). Using
the keywords found throughout the printed guide,
players can log on to PlayOnline.com and type in
the keyword for in-depth information on that
section of the game. Currently, PlayOnline.com
offers a preview to PlayOnline, a comprehensive
network entertainment and community service which
is scheduled to launch in 2001 in Japan, followed
by the U.S.
"Using our
FINAL FANTASY IX guide along with PlayOnline.com
will add an exciting level of interactivity never
before offered in strategy guides," said
David Waybright, Director of Publishing for
BradyGAMES. "Including advanced strategies,
detailed maps, special secrets and more, the
PlayOnline.com strategy site is just a
mouse-click away for players who want to enhance
their strategy guide experience."
The Japanese
version of FINAL FANTASY IX hit store shelves in
Japan on July 7, 2000. The game pre-sold one
million units in a record-breaking 17 days and
has sold through 2.8 million units to date. Sales
of that game have propelled life-to-date sales of
the overall series to an astounding 30 million
units, making the FINAL FANTASY franchise one of
the best-selling series in the history of
videogames.
FINAL FANTASY IX
is compatible with DUALSHOCK™ analog
controller and has a suggested retail price of
U.S. $40. The game carries an ESRB rating of
"T" (Teen). BradyGAMES'
FINAL FANTASY IX Official Strategy Guide will be
priced at $12.99.
Square Electronic
Arts L.L.C. and Square Co., Ltd.
Square Co., Ltd.
is the leading third-party developer and
publisher of home video game console software in
Japan with annual sales of more than US $687
million consolidated base (based on average
annual exchange rate of 106 Japanese Yen per US
Dollar during fiscal year 2000) and 1,200
employees worldwide. Square Co., Ltd. became
famous for its role-playing games, including its
world-renowned FINAL FANTASY series, which has
sold more than 30 million units to date, and now
publishes other titles under the SQUARESOFT brand
spanning all genres. Square Co., Ltd. is based in
Tokyo, Japan, and maintains a branch office in
Osaka.
http://www.square.co.jp
In North America,
Square Co., Ltd. publishes its SQUARESOFT titles
through Square Electronic Arts L.L.C., located in
Costa Mesa, CA. Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. is
a Limited Liability Company established on May 1,
1998 by Square Soft, Inc. and Electronic Arts to
manage the marketing and distribution of
SQUARESOFT products in North America.
http://www.squaresoft.com
BradyGAMES
BradyGAMES, a
division of Macmillan USA, is a leader in the
electronic entertainment publishing industry with
value-priced strategy guides for video and
PC-based games. Drawing on the strength of their
partnerships with several leading game companies,
BradyGAMES enhances the gaming experience by
providing guides to match the look and feel of
each game it covers.
http://www.bradygames.com
FINAL FANTASY,
SQUARE SOFT and the SQUARESOFT logo are
registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd. FINAL
FANTASY IX ©2000 Square Co., Ltd. All rights
reserved. COMPUTER GRAPHICS MOVIE: ©2000 Square
Co., Ltd. & Square Visualworks Co., Ltd.
ILLUSTRATION:©2000 YOSHITAKA AMANO. U.S. Patent
No. 5390937, 5649862. PlayOnline.com is a
trademark of Square Co., Ltd. Square Electronics
Arts is a service mark of Square Electronic Arts
L.L.C. Electronic Arts is a trademark or
registered trademark of Electronic Arts in the
U.S. and/or other countries. PlayStation and the
PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights
reserved.
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