In an interview with Final Fantasy III producer Hiromichi Tanaka, an intriguing revelation about the history of the remake: it was originally headed for Sony's PlayStation 2, home to several entries in the Final Fantasy series.
"Originally we were planning to release the game on PlayStation 2", Tanaka told CVG, "but Nintendo wanted us to release it on this new platform." While Tanaka does not specifically say Nintendo paid for the release, it seems likely there was a bidding war going on for the title, as CVG themselves speculated.
The success of the title seems to have surprised Square, as well. "At first we thought it would sell about 300,000 copies in Japan but we sold millions and in America it sold half a million, so that was very surprising," Tanaka said.
Tanaka also had a few more things to say in the interview, such as a little bit of information about the upcoming Wii exclusive Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. In response to CVG's question "What plans do you have for Final Fantasy and Wii? Surly using the Remote is the perfect way to cast spells and summons?" Tanaka answered, "That's exactly what we're trying to do with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on Wii."
Final Fantasy III has already been released in Japan and North America, and is headed for Europe in just two days.
"Originally we were planning to release the game on PlayStation 2", Tanaka told CVG, "but Nintendo wanted us to release it on this new platform." While Tanaka does not specifically say Nintendo paid for the release, it seems likely there was a bidding war going on for the title, as CVG themselves speculated.
The success of the title seems to have surprised Square, as well. "At first we thought it would sell about 300,000 copies in Japan but we sold millions and in America it sold half a million, so that was very surprising," Tanaka said.
Tanaka also had a few more things to say in the interview, such as a little bit of information about the upcoming Wii exclusive Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. In response to CVG's question "What plans do you have for Final Fantasy and Wii? Surly using the Remote is the perfect way to cast spells and summons?" Tanaka answered, "That's exactly what we're trying to do with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on Wii."
Final Fantasy III has already been released in Japan and North America, and is headed for Europe in just two days.