The Final Fantasy XIII demo may not come out until Thursday, but excessively crafty Japanese gamers have already got their hands on it. We won"t spoil the particulars -- wait for our own impressions and movies on Thursday for that -- but there is one little detail we feel compelled to share. See that screen above? That"s what you see when you finish the demo.

It may not seem like much, but it"s the first time we"ve seen "Winter" mentioned in connection with FFXIII"s previously vague "2009" release date. A quick calendar check confirms that "Winter 2009" can only mean late December... and we"d be willing to bet a few yen on December 24 or 31, the last two Thursdays of the year.