Final Fantasy XIV Taking Beta Applications

Square Enix has really gotten into this year's holiday spirit, and has decided that there will be no Scrooge, or Grinch from the company this Christmas. Final Fantasy is the treat it has installed for us, and it's in plentiful numbers. First, Final Fantasy XIII was just released in Japan and, while Americans will have to wait a bit longer before they get it, Final Fantasy VIII was made available on the PlayStation Store just yesterday. Following the successful re-release of FF VII, the company decided that the next awesome Final Fantasy in the series should receive the same treatment.

The Fantasy parade though doesn't stop here, and Square Enix has revealed that its next MMO, Final Fantasy XIV, is preparing a beta testing session and began today to accept beta applications. PC gamers can start the line to get it this instant, but PlayStation 3 users will have to sit this one out for now. While there will be a beta on Sony's console as well, there is no date anticipated for it at the moment.

The PC beta is open to North America and Europe, and it is only available for those 18 years of age and older. Other requirements indicate that applicants need to be able to download large amounts of data and can submit proper bug reports in either Japanese, English, French, or German. The beta will run in several stages, and Enix will contact new applicants at the beginning of each of them.

Another thing hinted is that you'll only be able to participate in one of them, and that the details of your enlistment can't be modified, which is a bit weird. Considering how long it takes from start to finish, with the entire beta test application and the actual beginning of the beta test, plenty of things can change, and hardware specs are just one of them. The game is announced to be ready sometime in 2010 for the PC, as well as for the PS3, but that remains to be seen, since this is quite an optimistic date for the game.