Final Fantasy XIV was only announced – unexpectedly – at the E3 2009 conference a couple of days ago, but already a stream of information about the game is making its way to gamers.

The same team that put together Final Fantasy XI will be working on the new MMO, and the latest game has been billed as a partial sequel to FFXI.

One of the problems that gamers expressed with FFXI is that gameplay was too dependent on the party system, and playing individually was almost impossible.

Clearly the new game will take inspiration from the success of World of Warcraft, which has had much success on the back of its ability to play individually or in a group.

From the screenshots and trailer shown so far the graphic quality looks extremely impressive, so much so that it is possible the in-engine gameplay will be barely distinguishable from the cinematic sequences.

Final Fantasy XII was lauded for its stunning looks, and players are excited that some of the designers who worked on that game will also be pitching in for this latest online effort.

The biggest piece of the puzzle that remains to be discovered is the systems that will determine how the game plays. The Job system is back, but apparently it will be quite different to that of FFXI.

There will be different races and classes too, but the game’s developers have said they wanted some consistency with the predecessor so that players could port their characters over without distress.

Finally, it is worth noting that the developers will be working hard to ensure FFIV is approachable to casual gamers, and not just hardcore FF fans.

This could be the determining factor in the game’s success or failure.

Final Fantasy XIV is due for release sometime in 2010 and will be available on PC and PS3.

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