Digicube, a subsidiary of Square of Japan, has confirmed that the ninth installment in the Final Fantasy series will appear for the PlayStation system and not for the next generation PlayStation system, as rumors had suggested. The company claims that it is currently investigating the best time period to release the sequel, to ensure it won't conflict with other PlayStation game releases (such as Dragon Quest VII) and the release of Sony's next PlayStation. Digicube however did mention that it would like to release the game by early next year or before.

　　The Final Fantasy series has always been incredibly important to Japanese gamers and has often influenced which systems would dominate the market. A portion of the PlayStation's success can be attributed to Square's Final Fantasy VII. In its first weekend of sales more than two million copies of the game were sold; 1.7 percent of the Japanese population waiting in long lines for the video game. Square's decision to bring FFIX to the current PlayStation system could be a good indication that the next PlayStation is still off in the distance.

　　When GameSpot News contacted Square for confirmation, a company spokesperson stated, "Square has made no announcement on the sequel to Final Fantasy VIII."