'Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn' Release Date On PS4 Coming In April 2014

Tokyo-based Square Enix (NYSE:SQNXF) announced today that “Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn” will hit shelves in April 2014 for the PlayStation 4.

The MMORPG will release its beta phase for Sony’s recently launched console on Feb. 22 next year in Japan and North America, the same day the PS4 will reach Japanese consumers.

The original “Final Fantasy 14” was released in September of 2010 for the PC and then relaunched as “Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn” for the PS3 and PC in August of 2013. Because the original 2010 version of “FF14” received such negative reviews due to server instability, the then-Square Enix President Yoichi Wada announced that an improved version of the game would be released. A new team led by Japanese video game producer and designer Naoki Yoshida took over development of the title, creating new content and fixing features from the earlier game that had drawn criticism.

The August 2013 remake surpassed the company’s initial expectations of sales figures and forced the brand to alter its financial outlook for the fiscal quarter. Square Enix was also happy to announce that 1.5 million players have registered within the game since its Aug. 27 release.

PS4's “FF 14: A Realm Reborn” was announced during E3 this past June. Players who own the PS3 version of the game will be able to upgrade to the PS4 version for free. They will also be able to transfer their saved data and characters.

Yoshida will demo the upcoming PS4 version of “FF 14: A Realm Reborn” during a live stream on the Lodestone, the official community site for “Final Fantasy 14,” on Dec. 14 at 7 a.m. EST. The developer will also be promoting upcoming content for the current version of the game coming with Patch 2.1.

How will "FF 14: A Realm Reborn" fare in April of 2014, when there will undoubtedly be an amazing new lineup of PS4 games for players to enjoy? It will be interesting to see if gamers will be interested in experiencing the same game on a new system, or if people will transfer their saved data to the PS4.

Are you looking forward to "FF 14: A Realm Reborn" on the PS4? Leave a comment below.