LOS ANGELES — Final Fantasy XIV Online was announced at Sony’s press conference at Electronic Entertainment Expo on Tuesday morning, but Square Enix wasn’t exactly forthcoming with information about the PC and PlayStation 3 MMORPG.

At a Q&A session at E3 Wednesday, the Final Fantasy publisher shared a bit more information about the massively multiplayer 14th installment in the Final Fantasy series.

Shinji Hashimoto, senior VP of Square Enix, started the session off with comments about the game’s exclusivity. Although Sony said at its conference that the game would be exclusive to PlayStation 3, Hashimoto clarified this remark: “The game will be coming to the PS3 and the PC,” he explained, but Square Enix is “considering all options.”

Square Enix’s last MMO, Final Fantasy XI, began life as a PlayStation 2 and Windows PC title, but eventually found a home on Microsoft’s Xbox 360. XIV could experience a similar fate.

The game, due for release in 2010, is a sharp turn away from the upcoming sci-fi-tinged, single-player game Final Fantasy XIII. It returns to the series’ medieval fantasy roots. XIV will see a simultaneous worldwide release in four languages — English, Japanese, German and French. There are plans for cross-platform gameplay, but Square Enix said that whether the servers are divided by region will be decided after extensive beta testing.

While XIV is similar in design to XI, the game will take place in a distinct world. Hiromichi Tanaka, the game’s producer, explained that porting Final Fantasy XI to a new console generation would have been a laborious exercise. He said that Square Enix decided that its time would be better spent creating a brand new game, particularly in regard to the solo player’s experience.

While FFXI’s development emphasized groups of players working together as a party, FFXIV is aimed at accommodating a wider variety of play styles. So whether you’d like to spend hours exploring with friends, or only have 40 minutes a day to spare and prefer being alone, Tanaka said that there will be content for you.

Image courtesy Square Enix