Japanese publisher and RPG specialist Square Enix has revealed that it was at one stage in talks with Sony regarding a PS3 port of its still popular MMO Final Fantasy XI.

The game’s producer Hiromichi Tanaka told 1UP at the recent Fan Fest event in Hollywood that: “Initially we were in talks with a representative from Sony, but it appears that that person quit.”

Tanaka also went on to explain that it would also be hugely difficult for the firm to release any kind of work-around to get the PS2 version to work on all but Sony’s first-generation PS3s:

“Current PS3s don't have PS3-side PS2 emulation, and it doesn't look like Sony has any plans to address that issue. For that kind of thing to even be conceivable, it would have to be on a disc. Digital downloads wouldn't work for this. The disc has to be in the system for the emulator to work.”

FFXI is currently available on Xbox 360, PC and North American and Japanese PS2s with a hard drive.