Final Fantasy XII launched

The mythological role-playing game -- which has spawned a computer graphics movie, mobile phone ring tones and soft drinks -- has been a flagship product for Sony's PlayStation and for gamemaker SquareEnix.

"The vast, game-world map was designed with extreme care to details. This monumental work was created as if it were grand architecture," Yoichi Wada, president of SquareEnix, told a launch in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district.

The launch of Final Fantasy XII, played on PlayStation 2, comes four years after the 11th edition of the game.

Since the introduction of the first edition in 1987, SquareEnix has sold more than 65 million copies of the Final Fantasy series worldwide, attracting game players with its quality images and mysterious story lines.

"This type of work is similar to an awesome European cathedral," Akitoshi Kawazu, executive producer of the game, said at the same event.