EU-based Square Enix fans may want to take a seat because it was revealed today that Crisis Core - the PSP follow-up to the original PSOne FFVII that represents everyone's favourite way to kill 70 hours of their life - is being released this Spring. Which is near enough the same time it will be unleashed in US stores.

European gamers are used to waiting prolonged periods for Square Enix games to drip through other territories. Final Fantasy XII for the PS2 took a year to wind its way here, with Americans getting the game some five months before their EU brethren, and the imminent FFXI spin-off - Revenant Wings on the DS - has also been subject to a prolonged journey to these shores, with the EU release coming out three months after the US version. But this latest move is hopefully an indication that Square Enix is taking European territories more seriously and fingers crossed the trend of near-simultaneous release dates is something that will continue.

The US release of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core has been dated as 25 March, so we can expect the EU version soon after

man the PAL version has been confirmed for about 2 months