Square Enix will be sharing its plans for the future of Final Fantasy XIII during the first stage event at the Final Fantasy Gallery event today. The stage runs from 11:30 to 12:10.

You can watch the presentation live at Nico Nico. We'll be live blogging the major happenings in this space, so be sure and keep this window open.

Live Updates Follow

12:15: One last thing...

It looks like Square Enix showed a trailer for the game exclusively for stage attendees.

Photography was strictly forbidden during this part.

12:09: After Sakamoto, Kitase takes the stage and closes things off.

I'm closing off the live blog! Thanks for reading, and sorry for the technical difficulties!

The game will have a facebook page at : http://www.facebook.com/LightningReturnsFFXIII

12:08: About Kamikokuryo's oil painting...

It's his first oil painting in 10 years.

He set up a studio in his office and spent one month making it.

12:06: Kitase takes the stage and introduces a message from Maaya Sakamoto, Lightning's voice actress.

12:04: Kamikokuryo debuts his latest oil painting, which he was working on until yesterday. It's probably not totally dry, he says.

He takes off the cover and the crowd cheers.

The artwork is meant to represent an image for Lightning Returns.

12:01: Next, a look at some of the designs for the world residents, and some monsters.

12:01: Next, he shows a monorail. This monorail connects the islands of the world.

12:00: Next, he shows some of the world artwork, detailing some of the architecture.

He also shows some parts, like a sofa, a phone, a telephone booth -- some of these have a retro feel, he notes.

11:57: Kamikokuryo takes the stage.

The game is set in an area called Navus Partus.

He focuses in on the biggest city in the region, Lexerion.

11:56: Art director Kamikokuryo takes the stage.

11:56: They're developing the game with button response in mind, although they won't necessarily go so far as to call it an action game.

11:55: Lighting's weapons -- you can equip Lightning with big weapons.

11:54: They're talking about Lightning's customization.

Players will be able to select from a variety of Lighthing costumes.

There will be a lot of costumes -- not at the level of 10 or 20, but a lot more. They're currently looking into this area, so they can't share the final number.

The costumes can themselves be customized through parameters. Details will be shared later.

11:52: Let's see what I missed.

11:52: I'm back in WOOT!!!

11:46: The new game is officially titled Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII.

The game will have some sort of connectivity with the real world, apparently through Facebook. Details will be announced later.

11:46: I can't get back in to Nico Nico, so I'll just translate the Tweets I see.

11:41: Next concept keyword: "World Driven."

This is why they had globes on the stage.

Toriyama takes one globe and says...

Eek... I got booted out of Nico Nico.

Let me try to get connected again.

11:40: Toriyama shows scenes from XIII-2's Lightning DLC.

The Lightning they show will be even stronger than in the first two games.

She will have her final battle in the new title.

Players will be able to experience actions that are symbolic of Lighthing -- speed, etc. The game will also have customization.

"Lightning's final battle begins now," says Toriyama.

11:38: Next, he moves on to XIII-2. Here, Lightning has crossed human level and is more like a god.

11:37: The Lighthing they want to revive today is the Lightning as shown in the original game.

11:36: Toriyama introduces two keywords.

First, Lightning Returns.

Yes, Lightning is the Lightning we all know (this gets some laughs from the audience).

He will tells us the Lightning he wants to revive by first introducing the Lightning we've seen in the previous FFXIII games.

11:35: The new FF game is an all new game connected to XIII.

The concept is represented by a flower, which he's showing on the screen. The flower has many meanings. Like the flower, the new title has many concepts.

11:33: After some photography rules, along with a demonstration of how he will be posting updates to Twitter, Kitase introduces director Motomu Toriyama.

11:32: Kitase jokes that there has been much speculation about the possibilities -- smart phone games, social, etc.

He confirms that the project that will be announced is a new game for a console.

11:30: Producer Yoshinori Kitase takes the stage.

He says they've developed FFXIII and XIII-2, sometimes receiving favorable opinions, sometimes harsh opinions.

11:30: The stage event begins right on schedule.

11:29: FFXIII theme music playing in the background now!

11:27: The announcer just told everyone to take their seats.

11:24: From FF Reunion's Aibo:

11:21: The video feed has started at Nico Nico. The actual presentation will begin at 11:30.

11:06: Actually, Square Enix says the wait is 2 hours 20 minutes and there are 1,600 people waiting.

10:57: The line to get into the FF Gallery is apparently five hours long, according to some Twitter user who says he asked the staff.

They're letting people in in blocks of 120 people every ten minutes or so. Details here.

10:42: The Nico Nico page will open at 11:20. I'll begin updates around that time.