By: Colin Tan   (@unartifex)

The Final Fantasy creator has a major announcement to make in regards to the progress of Final Fantasy XIV, the company’s second, if critically slammed, massively multiplayer online experience based on the popular fantasy franchise.

“In order to make version 2.0 a success, we need to appeal to not only our current players (naturally!), but also as many new players as possible, including PS3 owners,” said Square Enix President Yoichi Wada.

Final Fantasy XIV broke out of beta back in September 2010, and was unfortunately slammed by critics and fans alike for being, well, broken and unplayable. Since then, Square Enix extended the free trial while reshuffling the development team in order to progressively address the game’s issues, while at the same time adding more content.

Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 covers an extensive overhaul of the game, including Square Enix’s plan to introduce the MMO to PS3 users, with a beta planned for later this year. The 2.0 update includes changes like redesigned maps, user interface, an all new graphics engine, and improved server systems.

“Our new graphics engine will allow us to maintain a high level of graphic quality while allowing us to optimize the game for play on the PlayStation®3 system,” explains the development roadmap published by the company, adding that certain elements of the game will display differently. In lieu of that, players will be given the option to re-customize the look, gender, and race of their character.

According to the roadmap, Square Enix will begin their marketing push for Final Fantasy XIV 2.0, including a brand new trailer that was initially slated for reveal at E3, starting August this year. A closed beta test for PS3 will commence by October, and another free trial period for PC users is scheduled for November. Square Enix will officially launch the Final Fantasy 2.0 client early 2013.

Source: Gaming Union