...we are currently planning an exclusive in-game item for this event. I can't talk too much about it, but I've seen it and I can't wait to unveil it!

Earlier tonight, Square Enix held a Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Celebration at San Francisco's Sony Metreon. The event celebrated 20 years since the first FF hit the Nintendo Entertainment System. Hours before, fans started lining up, including blogger and Final Fantasy fan Bryan Veloso. That's Bryan in the pic. He wasn't able to take any photos inside the event, because Square Enix wouldn't allow that. Which begs the question: why? If it's a success, pictures of the actual event are obviously better than of some dude in front of a sign. Bryan's opinion:

So all in all, it was a flop. A MAJOR flop. I love you Squeenix, but I think you have a problem with the word celebration. Remember the party you held for the Japanese? Yeah, that's something that we Americans (who apparently love everything big) would have loved. But no, you give us a picture, old FMV footage and 6 PSP demo stations after waiting in the windy city of the west for well over two hours (even more than that for the people who got there first). Sure it was a launch party for the PSP version of Final Fantasy, but if you're going to use the 20th Anniversary Celebration in the title of the event, then I for one think that there should have been a little more than goofy Playstation store employees jumping over each other in front of a green screen.

Anyway, as I said, we were both extremely underwhelmed, close to the point of regret. But we're Final Fantasy fans, and always will be. We'll buy your games, just hesitate to come to your celebrations.

Minute By Minute Account [Avalon Star]

Amidst a flood of Final Fantasy games, Square Enix announces that sales are up 31 percent when compared to last year (profit, however, is actually down 32 percent). What does this business mumbo jumbo mean? People are buying into that endless stream of Final Fantasy spouting out of Square Enix's Shinjuku headquarters. So, expect to see remakes and spin-offs galore until people say "enough!" (Any takers on when that'll be?)

Anecdote: When I was coming back from the wonderfully fun Square Enix Party, I sat next to a college student who had traveled all the way from Hiroshima to Tokyo. Later, he would tell me he was studying to be an accountant. His dream was actually to be a pastry chef, but his parents said the salary wasn't very good. The kid saw that I too had a Square Enix Party bag and struck up a conversation. He had an unforgettable time at the Square Enix Party. So did I.

When I asked what games he likes, he said "Final Fantasy." Besides Final Fantasy? "Dragon Quest." Besides that? "Kingdom Hearts." What about non-Square Enix games?

Blank stare.

During the course of my trip home, he played Final Fantasy Tactics and read three Kingdom Hearts comic books. The ideal consumer. Consuming. So, don't expect Square Enix to stop running their franchises into the ground any time soon with endless remakes and re-workings. There's too much money at stake and are too many college kids who dream of being pastry chefs. Brian Ashcraft

FF Making Money [Games Industry]

Square-Enix Party Start!
They Come in Droves
You Got Questions? FF XI Online Has Answers
The... Announcements
The Lines
Nothing Says Booth Like Stained Glass
What Remake the People Really Want
Twenty Years of Final Fantasy
Parasite Eve 3 Hitting Cell Phones
Gallery

In a nutshell: Mostly playables that have already gotten public airings, an announcement of an announcement, hair gel with costumes and lots of people. Brian Ashcraft

For the last couple of years, Square-Enix has been going after the Japanese cell phone gaming market. And hard. Well, the company hasn't given up, and will eventually be sacrificing bringing its horror RPG series Parasite Evil to Japanese DoCoMo handsets. Good news if you live in Japan and like playing games on your phone. I guess.

Don't worry, all those Final Fantasy spin-offs, they'll still be on the DS and the PSP. And those rumored Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX remakes will be on the PS3. Brian Ashcraft

Photo of Aya [Game Watch]

Very important things that haven't been addressed yet like impressive statues, the manga reading, a floating Chocobo and cosplayers taking pictures of other cosplayers. How post-modern! Gallery images after the jump. Brian Ashcraft

All the Final Fantasy you can handle! At the entrance of Square Enix's Final Fantasy Party, there was a display of 20 years of FF, which proves the company has got the spin-off and the remake down to an art. The was even a handy timeline so you could track when that glut of spin-offs and remakes hit. Can you imagine 40 years of Final Fantasy? Ten of it will be Final Fantasy XIII apparently, so they should just be hitting FF XV. Brian Ashcraft

Final Fantasy IV? Nope! At the Final Fantasy Party, guests were invited to post notes on a giant board. The most popular request: Remake Final Fantasy VII. A next-gen version has been rumored for years, starting with a PS3 FF VII "tech demo" screened at E3 2005. Square-Enix has denied working on a next-gen Final Fantasy VII remake, but if these post-its asking for a next-gen FF VII are any indication, they'd be stupid not to. Brian Ashcraft

Thanks, 108 for the tip!

Found over at Final Fantasy: Ring of Fates. A beaut. Truly. Brian Ashcraft

How folks love seeing pictures of other folks standing in line! Better yet, seeing pictures of signs saying how long they have to wait. Above shows the breezy line for Dragon Quest Swords at approximately 10am this morning. What was the line a few hours later?

Even getting into that "Closed Megatheater" to see a bunch of trailers meant a good wait right after doors open.

By noon, they weren't letting people in lines.

Or what about Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.

Full.

And look how people lined up for games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings — Games that are already on sale. And that people can already buy! Note: Presents were given out to entice line-waiting.

Even non-Final Fantasy games were packing them in. By the afternoon, the Subarashiki Kono Sekai line (below) was overflowing, proving that Square-Enix really shouldn't have to rely on blue globs or dudes with swords. Brian Ashcraft

This is the Hexagon Theater, which is, we guess, shaped like a Hexagon Theater has trailers. No photography is allowed, because describing is so much better than seeing!

Here's what we learned: An announcement for a Kingdom Hearts announcement at the Tokyo Game Show.

What else? Sephiroth popped up in the possible PSP fighter Dissidia. There were also Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailers, which were longer versions of previous trailers. What others were shown for us at the Party to describe? Dragon Quest IX was shown, but minus gameplay footage. There ya have it! Brian Ashcraft

If you haven't gotten enough Final Fantasy XI: Online, there's an expansion pack coming. Excited? Well, just look at these folks. They've even got their cell phones out and are sending questions to the Final Fantasy XI: Online Althena no Shinpei Q&A so that their questions can be read live on stage.

Yup. Brian Ashcraft

Hours before Square-Enix's Final Fantasy Party opened, folks were already lining up this morning.

And by 11:00am?

Square-Enix claims that nine-thousand people were waiting to get in. Brian Ashcraft

The collective "we" have touched down at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, home of the misnamed Tokyo Game Show. Took the train in with a truck load of high school students and a nerd herd. The students are going to school. The nerd herd? They're headed to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy Party, which opens to the press shortly and to the general public an hour later. Decent internet connection willing, I'll be posting through the night. Check back for vids, pics and lots and lots of Final Fantasy. Brian Ashcraft

Today in Tokyo, Square-Enix held a warm-up for its Final Fantasy Party. A slew of titles were announced, including Chocobo's Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers for the Wii. Remake-wise, there's Star Ocean 1 and Star Ocean 2 for the PSP. A new Star Ocean game was also announced for an undecided platform. This August, the DS will see Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. Showing that the PS2 is not quite yet dead, Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System is schedule for an August release. The biggest news of the presser? Square-Enix will be making its first simultaneous release with RPG The Last Remnant for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. That game has yet to be dated. Brian Ashcraft

Presser Starting [Gamega News via NeoGAF]

All the Final Fantasy you can handle! Originally, Final Fantasy IV was developed for the SNES back in 1991. but less than two years ago, the game was ported to the GBA. So this year why not re-make it for the DS? Rumor has it that a 3D remake for the DS is being put together by Matrix Software, the dev behind the 3D FFIII. Should find out more at the upcoming Final Fantasy Party, but until then make a handy chart to track Square-Enix's FF branding bonanza. With all these spin-offs and remakes, am I the only one having trouble keeping up? Brian Ashcraft

More FF [FF13 Vids via NeoGAF]

With all these new Final Fantasy, it's hard to keep from mixing up your Versus and Agito with your Revenant Wings and your Crisis Core. To keep us on our toes, the new Final Fantasy: Dissidia will be shown at the upcoming Final Fantasy Party (clip above) in Chiba, Japan It's for the PSP apparently and will feature character design by Square-Enix mainstay Tetsuya Nomura. The tag for the game is "Fantasy is endless. Fantasy has no limited form." In Final Fantasy's case, apparently! Brian Ashcraft

Dissidia [Square-Enix via The Platformers]