Releasing Final Fantasy XI in 2006 on the Xbox 360, some two and a half years after its debut on the PC in late 2003, may not have been such a brilliant idea for Square Enix. Their MMORPG only sold around 72,000 copies on the Xbox 360 in the US, so it's apparent that if they want to make it big on Microsoft's next-gen console, they will have to come up with something new. A Final Fantasy XI sequel, perhaps?

That's exactly what Japan's respected Nikkei Net news service reported yesterday, according to IGN, who led us to believe that Square Enix is currently working on a sequel to Final Fantasy XI, targeted for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows Vista formats. The news also seemed to be supported by the fact that Square Enix has previously shown trailers for a next-generation MMORPG engine, although a clear announcement as to the actual game they're working on has yet to be made.

Today however, Square responded to Nikkei Net's story, stating that "The Company did not make such an announcement and has not made any decisions resembling
those detailed in the media report", and once again stating that the next-generation MMORPG footage presented at E3 2005 is from a completely different and original title.

Being an original IP would also seem to indicate that Square's new MMO has nothing to do with the Final Fantasy XIII universe either, so all we can do right now is just sit tight and wait for an official announcement. In the meantime, Square Enix "continuously plans to release expansion packs for Final Fantasy XI, available on PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Windows, as well as perform version updates".

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)