As previously reported, Square Enix has hold its strategy meeting in Tokyo today. At the meeting the company confirmed that Dragon Quest VIII indeed won't be released during the current fiscal year. Unlike its predecessors, Square Enix hopes the series' eight installment with its new look will appeal to Japanese and western audiences alike. Final Fantasy XII on the other hand, is well on track for a release sometime during the current fiscal year. Regarding Kingdom Hearts II, Square Enix president Youichi Wada mentioned that the negotiations with Disney haven't been concluded and are still continuing. While no projects involving joint teams of Square and Enix developers have been announced so far, the two sides have already begun to talk about this issue.

While the company's online business was still deep in the red during the fiscal year ending on March 31st 2003, by posting an operating profit of 1 billion yen (8.43 million USD), Square Enix hopes to achieve sales of 10.1 billion yen (85.18 million USD) and a profit of 2.8 billion yen (23.61 million USD) from online games during the current fiscal year, thereby increasing its profit ratio in the segment to 27%. Currently, there are 250,000 subscribers to Final Fantasy XI. Furthermore, a total of 100,000 users has already played the game simultaneously.

Below you will find a run-down of the titles the company plans to release in Japan during the current fiscal year ending on March 31st 2004 (covered by RPGFan and not yet available):

Final Fantasy XII, PlayStation 2
Drag-on Dragoon (Drakengard), PlayStation 2
Hanjuku Eiyuu Tai 3D (Hanjuku Hero VS 3D), PlayStation 2
Final Fantasy XI Entry Disc, PlayStation 2
Shinyaku Seiken Densetsu (Sword of Mana), GameBoy Advance
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, GameCube
3 yet-to-be-announced PlayStation 2 titles
1 yet-to be-announced GameBoy Advance title
2 yet-to-be-announced PlayStation One titles
9 PC titles

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