Final Fantasy XI Producer Hiromichi Tanaka has revealed that the publisher at one stage approached Sony in regards to developing a PlayStation 3 port of the popular MMO title.
“Initially we were in talks with a representative from Sony, but it appears that that person quit,” Tanaka told 1up.com.
Despite this, Tanaka noted that it would be highly problematic to get the PlayStation 2 version of the game working on current PS3 console due to the fact they lack the necessary emulation software. He also revealed it would not be possible to circumvent the issue by way of digital distribution.
“Current PS3s don’t have PS3-side PS2 emulation, and it doesn’t look like Sony has any plans to address that issue. For that kind of thing to even be conceivable, it would have to be on a disc. Digital downloads wouldn’t work for this. The disc has to be in the system for the emulator to work,” he explained.
Final Fantasy XI hit Japanese PS2’s in 2002, with North America receiving the game two years later. An Xbox 360 port turned up in 2006.