E3 2005: Final Fantasy, DOA4 on Xbox 360 @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on May 16, 2005

News: MS announces Final Fantasy XI, confirms Dead or Alive 4 and the backwards compatibility question.

The Xbox 360 just became a little more popular in Japan as Microsoft announced Square-Enix is bringing Final Fantasy XI to the 360 and that "Square Enix will work closely with Microsoft on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live."

Microsoft said there are 160 games in development for the Xbox 360 with 25 to 40 scheduled for a 2005 release.

Meanwhile, Microsoft confirmed Daed or Alive 4 is coming to the 360 and talked a little about the RPG's from Mistwalker and a fantasy game from Q Entertainment.

Other games lined up for the 360, from Microsoft:

Blue Dragon (Microsoft Game Studios, Mistwalker Inc.) from Hironobu Sakaguchi, original creator of the "FINAL FANTASY" series, is an epic role-playing game (RPG) featuring the original artwork of Akira Toriyama, creator of the "Dragonball" series of manga and anime.

Dead or Alive 4 (Tecmo Inc., Team Ninja) will be the defining gaming experience on Xbox 360. It will encompass all that the next-generation console has to offer, giving players the most rewarding digital fighting experience to date on any video game console.

Dead Rising (Working Title) (Capcom, Capcom) follows the harrowing tale of an overzealous freelance photojournalist as he struggles to survive an endless stream of zombies. Players will have full reign of a realistic shopping center, utilizing anything they find to fight off the flesh-hungry mob and search for the truth behind the horrendous epidemic.

Lost Odyssey (Microsoft Game Studios, Mistwalker), is a truly next-generation RPG created by acclaimed artists Takehiko Inoue (Japanese manga creator, made famous by Slam Dunk), Kiyoshi Shigematsu (a famous Japanese novelist) and Nobuo Uematsu (Japanese music composer, known for creating the music for the FINAL FANTASY series of games). The game is produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the original FINAL FANTASY series.

Ninety Nine Nights (Microsoft Game Studios, Q Entertainment/Phantagram Ltd.) is a brand-new fantasy action game by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, known as the creator of Space Channel 5, Rez and the recent LUMINES, developed in collaboration with the renowned Korean developer Phantagram.

Oh yeah, and backwards compatibility with the Xbox? It's a go. But right now Microsoft is including the qualifier "backwards compatibility with best selling Xbox games". We don't what that means just yet. So be sure to hang on to your copy of Halo 2, because I'm sure you'll still be playing it in the future.