Final Fantasy XI PS3 fell through cracks; backwards compatibility won’t cut it

If things went differently, we could have actually been romping around Vana’diel and consorting with Shantotto on the PS3. Turns out that Square Enix had plans to release Final Fantasy XI on the PS3 as well. According to Hiromichi Tanaka, the PS3 version could have seen the light of day if only Sony didn’t fall short on the bargain. More so, continuing plans of getting the MMORPG on the console are proving fruitless because PS2 backwards compatibility across all PS3 SKUs is looking quite impossible.

If things went differently, we could have actually been romping around Vana’diel and consorting with Shantotto on the PS3. Turns out that Square Enix had plans to release Final Fantasy XI on the PS3 as well – and not just the PC, Xbox 360, and PS2.

According to Hiromichi Tanaka, FFXI producer, it could have gone well if Sony didn’t fall short on the bargain. Fall short of one representative, that is. And continuing plans of getting the MMORPG on the console are proving fruitless because PS2 backwards compatibility across all PS3 SKUs is looking quite impossible:

Initially we were in talks with a representative from Sony [to achieve this], but it appears that that person quit. [Current] PS3s don’t have PS3-side PS2 emulation, and it doesn’t look like Sony has any plans to address that issue. For that kind of thing to even be conceivable, it would have to be on a disc. Digital downloads wouldn’t work for this. The disc has to be in the system for the emulator to work.

It’s a shame, really. To my knowledge, if they did release FFXI on the PS3, it could have been the first MMORPG to hit the console – ahead of SOE‘s very own The Agency (which is technically an MMO shooter) and Free Realms.

• Final Fantasy XI getting three new expansions
• FFXI, represent: Dissidia gets first non-main character confirmed
• Rumor: PSN to get PS2 games, backwards compatibility FW update in the works?

Via 1Up