More On Disney/Square Partnership

TOKYO - As reported last night on GameSpot News, Square and Disney Interactive have announced a partnership to codevelop a game for the PlayStation2 platform. This title will be helmed by Tetsuya Nomura and other members of the Final Fantasy team. Currently unnamed, the game is scheduled for release at the end of 2001 in Japan and in 2002 for North America and Europe.

Tetsuya Nomura, character designer for Final Fantasy VII and VIII, will act as the director of the project, and he will also lend his talents to many of the character designs. Nomura commented, "I hope you'll be patient and have great expectations."

The PlayStation2 title is described by Square as a real-time 3D action game with RPG elements.

According to Square, the collaboration with Disney will allow for the creation of a leading-edge title because of Disney's expertise in content creation coupled with its leadership in game development. "We fully expect this product to appeal not only to the existing fans of Square and Disney games, but to cultivate new and broader audiences for both companies," said Tomoyuki Takechi, president of Square.

Disney Interactive president Jan Smith commented, "Disney and Square believe that our collaboration will significantly expand each companies' customer base. The Japanese market is very critical in the video-game industry, and its players are extremely advanced and sophisticated. Disney will share Square's expertise in this area to grow our market and expand our demographics - to appeal to an older, more demanding gamer." Smith later went on to say, "Walt Disney's mission has always been to do things that have never been done before. We believe today we are announcing a collaboration that will stay true to this mission. We hope our announcement and presentation today has sparked your interest and imagination about what the future holds for Disney and Square. We look forward to sharing details about our collaboration with you in the near future and about the products that Disney and Square will bring to you in the future."

As a glimpse of what to expect from the PlayStation2 title from Square and Disney, the two companies offered a brief video demonstration of the popular Disney character Goofy rendered in 3D. Although the demonstration was constructed using SGI PC hardware, the companies stated that they intend to create such lifelike animation for characters on the PlayStation2.

As for what to expect out of the Disney/Square relationship in the future, both companies were unwilling to comment for the press. However, Takechi did reassure that the two would make the most of the relationship. And when asked if this could include tie-ins with other media such as feature films, Smith commented that such options could be explored down the road.