A since-removed listing on Green Man Gaming indicates that Square Enix could be planning a stealth launch for the enhanced version of Final Fantasy IX on PC.
Following the sales success of the enhanced ports of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII on PC, it came as no surprise when Square Enix announced plans a few months back to bring Final Fantasy IX to the platform as well. The company has been quiet about the game since the initial announcement, but if a since-removed listing on UK video game retailer website Green Man Gaming is any indication, fans may be able to playon PC as soon as tomorrow.
The listing pointed to Final Fantasy IX releasing for PCs on April 14th, 2016. However, the game’s Steam page doesn’t have a release date yet, and Square Enix has yet to make an official comment on the matter. Despite this, there is still a possibility that Final Fantasy IX on PCwill in fact release tomorrow.
This is based on Square Enix’s past behavior with the enhanced port of the game, as Final Fantasy IX was stealth launched by Square Enix on mobile devicesa couple months ago. It’s unclear why this approach was taken, but it’s reasonable to assume that Square Enix is willing to do the same thing when it comes to releasing the game on PC.
With the listing pulled from Green Man Gaming and Square Enix remaining mum on the matter, we won’t know until tomorrow rolls around if the listing was accurate. If it does turn out to be true, Final Fantasy IX enthusiasts will soon be able to play a version of the game with cheatsthat will allow them to breeze through battles and just focus on experiencing the game’s story if they so choose. These new features may make Final Fantasy IX on PC a worthwhile purchase, even to those that have already spent extensive time with the game on PlayStation.
In the meantime, fans may be wondering when the Final Fantasy IX enhanced port will make its way to consoles. Considering how long it took Final Fantasy VII to come to PlayStation 4, and the fact that the enhanced version of Final Fantasy VIII is still not available on console, it seems like those waiting for FFIX on PS4 or other systems will have to wait much longer than PC gamers. Unless Square Enix decides to be quicker on the draw when it comes to making Final Fantasy IX available on home consoles, it could be years before the game releases on anything besides PC and mobile devices.
Final Fantasy IX is scheduled to release on PC at some point this year.
Source: IGN