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2.0 is SO last year.

Despite the rough launch and nearly unanimous negative reviews from the media, Final Fantasy XIV continues. The game had such a rocky start that the company publicly apologized for the state that the game was released in and allowed players to play with no subscription fees for nearly a year. Producer Hiromichi Tanaka stepped down from his position on the game and recently left the company entirely. But just because FF XIV is down should not suggest that it’s out. The much-ballyhooed “2.0” version of the game is now a new subtitle. Final Fantasy XIV is dead. Long live Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

The recently released trailer suggests a massive change to the world of Eorzea, and seems similar to the sweeping changes Blizzard made to World of Warcraft with the Cataclysm expansion. This falls in with the company’s line that the game has been completely reworked and overhauled from the ground up. New screenshots show a vastly improved graphics engine (for the PC version) and a user interface that resembles other popular MMORPGs.

While the PS3 version is still in the works, it has been stated that the graphics of the console release will see a slight hit in resolution and draw distances. This should come as no surprise to players of Final Fantasy XI, a game made for the PS2 from the ground up but looks much better on more advanced PC rigs. The PS3 version of the game is expected out sometime around this winter in Japan when A Realm Reborn launches.

A recent change to the Amazon pre-order page for the PS3 edition of A Realm Reborn shows an interesting development—a price point of 39.99. Even though the game will technically be over two years old by the time it’s released in the U.S. on PS3 the lower price point is something of a surprise. Of course, this could change by the time the game ships, but Square Enix may have looked at the mild initial sales of the PS3 version of DC Universe Online and decided to take a proactive approach to the price point.

Final Fantasy XIV has already seen many major changes to the game since its launch, and Square Enix seems committed to making this game as successful in the long term as Final Fantasy XI has been. We will keep you updated, as the company is expected to show off the game in a major way at Gamescom.