Although the main title in the FF13 project, Final Fantasy XIII, is just over two weeks away from its English-version release, we shouldn’t expect to see its PS3-exclusive counterpart anytime soon.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which features an independent story in the same universe as FF13, may not even be shown at E3 this year. Tetsuya Nomura, who is heading up the project, told Japanese magazine Famitsu that development is going well, but that whether or not we’ll see the game at E3 is an “uncertain situation”.

The game has fallen a bit behind schedule due to changes to its world map system, reportedly so that characters can be shown on screen.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII is a PlayStation-3 exclusive, unlike FF13, for which the English version will also be available on the Xbox 360. Final Fantasy XIII comes out March 9 in North America, Europe and Australia, and last December in Japan, where it is also PS3-exclusive.

Tetsuya Nomura, the man behind the Kingdom Hearts series, has gone on record to say that the next Kingdom Hearts game that his team puts out will not be Kingdom Hearts III, and will not star Sora as the main character.

In an interview with Famitsu, he did say that the game they’re focused on now will tie in more closely with the main Kingdom Hearts storylines, but this isn’t KHIII.

However, the Kingdom Hearts III is still on the drawing board — the news only means that we shouldn’t expect it too soon, as there’s more to come first.

The third main-line installation of the Kingdom Hearts series is in the works, according to series creator Tetsuya Nomura. Confirmation comes after Nomura hinted about the title last September.

Nomura, who has served as director and designer on Kingdom Hearts titles to date, has told Japanese magazine Famitsu that his team is under pressure to work on Kingdom Hearts III from fans, and is working to bring it about.

This confirms that the game is on the way, but is only in the early design stages.

More on Kingdom Hearts III it comes.

EA and BioWare have announced that the next title in its new Dragon Age franchise will be out in early 2011.

Dragon Age: Origins just launched the series last November, and more downloadable content and a standalone expansion are in the works. The news that a second full title is coming in about a year shows dedication (and perhaps aggression) in advancing the Dragon Age line.

Meanwhile, BioWare is currently basking in the success of Mass Effect 2. The third installment to that series is unlikely to be out until sometime in 2012.

Square Enix’s upcoming Final Fantasy XIII is, of course, going to be one big, long game. I expect that, you expect that. Now, Square Enix is giving us a number.

FF13 will lock in at least 60 hours of your time in the first playthrough. Motomu Toriyama, who’s heading up the project, tells Kotaku:

… the size of the entire game is considerable. Just running through the main story takes experienced players over 50 hours. For the first time, I think it’s possible to play through in full in about 60 hours or so.

That’s for the storyline alone. For completionists, who look for details and run through as many sidequests as possible, we’re probably looking at nearly 100 hours of gameplay.

Not too bad.

Final Fantasy XIII will be released on December 17 in Japan, and March 9 in North America, Europe and Australia.

Square Enix’s president and CEO, Yoichi Wada again confirmed that his company plans to release Final Fantasy XIII to North America and Europe next spring.

Wada gave a brief comment on the game’s localization progress, saying that it is coming along well, and that the company should be able to release FF13 to international markets by the end of its fiscal year, in April 2010. This is more-or-less on par with the schedule laid forth back in January, when Wada said that April would be the earliest we would see Final Fantasy XIII outside of Japan.

The Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII is now being completed for a December launch in its native country. The Japanese FF13 will be exclusive to the Sony PS3, while North America and Europe will have a choice between PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.