No Final Fantasy XIII in US or Europe before April 2010

The Guardian reports that Square Enix President Yoichi Wada has been speaking to Reuters about how the past year has been for Square and what the future holds for them. In the middle of the giant Wall ‘o Text is a quote from Wada stating, “Overseas launches of the latest Final Fantasy game will come in the business year from April 2010 or later”

Our legions of Japanese readers can breathe a sigh of relief though as “Square Enix also plans to launch the next version of Final Fantasy in 2009 in Japan, further strengthening its product lineup.”

No reason was given for the delay, but we can assume that translation of the no-doubt huge reams of dialouge is the main cause, as is Square’s seeming commitment to launch games in Europe and the US simultaneously.

Luckily though, Wada also said “The sluggish economy has not hurt us that much yet.” And although Square-Enix’s profits will dip 2.4% from this business year compared to the last, they still expect to make a healthy 21 billion yen (£158 million).

Square’s next blockbuster title, Dragon Quest IX is due out on the Nintendo DS on the 28th March in Japan, but no European release date has been given.