The Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360, PS3) launch preparations are "going very steadily," this according to Square Enix president, Yoichi Wada. What's even more exciting than that is the reassurance that the US and European versions of the game are in the final stages of development.

Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and yes, even Kingdom Hearts. Square Enix stands on the pillars of its great franchises, those three among them. If you love those three, then this might come as good news to you - Yoichi Wada wants to add two to three more franchises to that list.

When you're the big boss of a major third party publisher that's responsible for some of the biggest and best-looking franchises in gaming, people listen to what you have to say about gaming technology. Speaking with the Financial Times, Square Enix big man Yoichi Wada shared a few words on the motion control technology surrounding the 7th gen consoles. His take? Wada-sama seems unimpressed.

Heads up, importers and Final Fantasy fanatics alike. Turns out that YouTube ad announcing the Japanese release date of Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) we saw yesterday was right on the money.

Since Square Enix's official acquisition of Eidos back in May, there've been lots of hoping and speculating surrounding the possibility of the two publishers crossing-over IPs. Here's your answer - in an interview with Gamasutra, the CEOs of both companies reveal: "It's possible."

Worries that Final Fantasy XIII will be delayed sprang up when Square Enix president Yoichi Wada announced that its release could be affected by Dragon Quest IX's own delay. Looks like worries may have been premature. FFXIII's director Motomu Toriyama says that development is still "going favorably for a 2009 launch."

Major bummer. Square Enix prez Yoichi Wada has just announced that the delay of Dragon Quest IX for the DS may affect the release of Final Fantasy XIII.

Well, frak.

We've just started the year, and a lot of us may have been expecting to get a 2009 release for Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox 360). Well if you're in Japan, you do. For the rest of us, we'll have to wait until next year, when Square Enix will finally release the latest Final Fantasy into the global market. 2010. Ouch.

It's not the first time for Square Enix and Ubisoft when it comes to publishing partnerships. This year though, the two buddies will grow even closer as Squeenix distributes Ubisoft titles into the Japanese market. According to the latest issue of Famitsu, Yoichi Wada made the announcement and the first games of this partnership will start coming on April. More info inside.

Things are looking up for Eidos, which had a very tough year. The owner of the Tomb Raider franchise is being courted by several big names, including the titan studio Square Enix, who's looking to expand with more titles that appeal to Western tastes.

Well if Lara doesn't appeal to Western tastes I don't know what does.