It appears that the recently announced delay to the Japanese debut of Dragon Quest IX might impact the highly anticipated Final Fantasy XIII.

"There is a possibility that [the] Dragon Quest IX delay could affect Final Fantasy XIII," said Square Enix head Yoichi Wada.

The shift of DQIX from March to July has left the publisher without a major release for the rest of its fiscal year, which ends March 31. This delay was one of many reasons why the company lowered its profit forecast by nearly 63%.

Final Fantasy XIII is expected out in Japan by the end of this year on the PS3. North America and Europe will see Xbox 360 versions as well, though they aren’t expected before April 2010.

Uh, more screenshots?

Flow

Lair

Final Fantasy XIII

Ridge Racer 7

Monster Kingdom: Unknown Realms

Warhawk

The Magic Box is playing host to some fantastic non-scanned images of Final Fantasy XIII. They aren’t very high-res, but beautiful-looking, nonetheless.

And the final announcement is: FINAL FANTASY XIII… and its spin-off projects!

Dubbed Fabula Nova Crystallis, Square Enix revealed world-premiere footage from the thirteenth entry in the series is being developed exclusively for the PS3, along with a mobile version.

Defined in Latin as “the new tale of the crystal”, Fabula Nova Crystallis is made up of several different titles based on variations of the Final Fantasy XIII universe. Each title will feature different characters, different worlds and different stories, but will be connected to each other through a common mythos. Two titles are currently in development for the PS3: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

No other details were announced.

On 1Up is word that the May issue of EGM reveals in its “rumor mill section” that Square Enix is expected to show a brief teaser video of Final Fantasy XIII (that’s thirteen) and confirmation that the game will be PS3-exclusive at E3 this year.

Just one month left! Freaking out commenced.