FFXIII-2 in the works? Final Fantasy XIII-2 announced at Japan event

Final Fantasy XIII-2 fake box artwork (by Icyfirefists)
Could Final Fantasy XIII-2 be in the works?

It may be, as a domain name has been registered by the “Corporation Service Company” for the url “FinalFantasy13-2game.com”, according to reporter Superannuation, who makes his name by finding obscure newly registered game addresses.

What makes this more interesting is that “Corporation Service Company” is the company that registered domains for the games “Nier“, “Mindjack” and other Square Enix properties, so it would seem that this is legit.

But it could also be Square Enix ensuring that it holds the copyright for the domain name just in case they decide to make a Final Fantasy XIII sequel.

Square Enix will be holding an event soon, on January 18th in Japan. Called the “1st Production Party Premier Event”, there is a possibility that we might learn something of FFXIII-2 there, if it does in fact exist.

While the game could be a sequel using the same engine but with a new story, like Final Fantasy X-2 was, it is also a definitely possibility that the game could be a side-project or casual-style game for iOS systems (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) or a downloadable title for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, WiiWare or Steam; of course this is all speculation. But given how easy it is to make a smaller sequel for a downloadable platform, it’s a definite possibility.

You also can’t forget that no less than two Final Fantasy XIII-related games are still in development as part of the “Fabula Nova Crystallis: FFXIII” project that includes “Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Agito XIII“, games that were announced alongside the core FFXIII title. But since those games are still far off according to Square Enix themselves, perhaps FFXIII-2 is meant to tide people over for the long wait?

So would you be excited to see a Final Fantasy XIII-2 or do you think a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII is unnecessary or a bad idea?

Final Fantasy XIII-2 screenshot of official artwork and logo

Update:
The game has been OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED! As speculated above, the game was officially confirmed at the “1st Production Party Premier Event” in Japan with the first artwork from the game being shown along with the logo (see above). This followed hot on the heels of the domain name for the game being registered ahead of the announcement. Nothing is known about the title at this early stage, except that Lightning will return in the game (who knows in what capacity though) and that both FFXIII director Motomu Toriyama and producer Yoshinori Kitase will return to their roles in production for this new Final Fantasy XIII-2 storyline. We’ll have to wait until later this year for any more information than that, but this is interesting news.

What do you think now that the game has been confirmed?


Thanks to Icyfirefists for the fake box art image. Via Joystiq and Superannuation. Update via 1UP