As you may have obviously heard (from a title wave of gaming forums) the much anticipated, much hyped video game, Final Fantasy XIII, will be released for both, YES BOTH, the PS3, and then Xbox 360.
Of course this is old news but when the news first hit on Microsofts E3 Press conference on Monday there was a shock and awe all over the world. Forums were exploding with frantic fans of the series wanting to know the news. Xbox fan boy's rejoiced claiming the PS3 lost an exclusive and that the system was dead, while PS3 fan boys were shocked and outraged that SONY could let such a vital franchise slip through their hands. Point blank, this news shocked people of both parties.
However the truth is under the skin. On the outside all you saw was an announcement of Final Fantasy 13 going to the Xbox 360, and attempting to make a North American, and European release at the same time as the PS3 version, but at the Square Enix conference following the Microsoft meeting, it was a whole other story.
When asked why the move, Square responded by saying it was best for them to financially expand their FF empire to the Xbox 360. Truth is, the money talked. Microsoft paid a bundle to bring the title, and Square was more than willing to accept the cash.
Take money, make a successful game, make more money, it was a win win for Square Enix.
Now back on track, the truth was revealed on how this whole epic scenario was gonna turn out. First, Square announced that the PS3 version would stay exclusive to Japan, due to the abysmal sales of the Xbox 360 there. Also they announced the that once after the PS3 version was released in Japan, they would start in the 360 version. WHAT? The 360 version wouldn't even be started until AFTER it was released for the PS3. Kind ave a bring down don't you think? Square announced they would do everything in their power to release it at the same time as the PAL PS3 version, but it seems like it isn't headed in that direction. Recent reports claim that the 360 version wont be released until 2010, and some reports even claiming MONTHS after the N.A and E.U release for the PS3. This seemed to condole PS3 fan boys in a sense, claiming the superiority of the PS3 for many reasons:
1.)The PS3 will have 1 BD, as opposed to the 360 version which will have MULTIPLE disks.
2.)The 360 version wont be released until months after the PS3 version,essentially a timed exclusive, and who wants to play a game thats already been on the market for months at a time.
3.)And the biggest one (in my opinion), is the fact that the PS3 version will have been worked for almost 4 years, while the 360 version will attempt to release itself withing ONE YEAR. Square is known for wanting to deliver killer titles, but FF13 in one year?
But what everyone wants to know is...whats Sony take? Even though Sony hasn't fully commented on the situation apart from saying it was a "surprise", people have been eager to know why they would allow this to happen. Some say Sony wants to focus more on First Party titles, and claim that they don't "buy games out". But I think that Sony simply didn't want to pay out the booty for the exclusivity of the title. Why you might ask? Simple. Because Sony did their homework.
Now lets take a step back and really asses the situation. Do you really think that Sony would have let one its most recognized franchises go to their rival system without a catch. Of course not. This is war, and Sony has been in the business long enough to know how things work.
Sony's main RPG franchise consumer is in Japan. Sound familiar? Its only the single singlehanded biggest RPG consumer in the world, even having its own gaming genre: JRPG, coming out of the country. Now as mentioned before, FF13 is receiving an exclusive launch for the PS3 MONTHS before any other region. And we're not talking timed exclusive, I mean full blown exclusive. And since the Xbox 360 is region locked,unlike PS3, even a later release in other territories wont help 360 owners in Japan. So basically, if your a Final Fantasy fan, who owns a 360, and is dying to play FF13. Your gonna have to buy a PS3. And people underestimate how popular RPG's are in Japan, people WILL buy PS3's just to play FF13. This will undoubtedly increase hardware sales, pushing into the thousands, and possibly millions. (YES! ITS THAT POPULAR!)
Judging by that Sony has Japan all wrapped up.
Now onto N.A and EUR. The big power houses. Sony cant ignore these. Even though RPG's aren't as popular in this region, its still wanted. Now the 360 has attempted to come out with its own RPG library with games ranging from Lost Odyssey, to Blue Dragon.
These were both abysmal.
Now I didn't mean gaming wise, I meant sales wise. Lost Odyssey was only able to garner up 750,000 copies in sales, while Blue Dragon could only sell 490,000. Now in no way were these games bad, they were average to enjoyable at the least, but why did they sell so bad, even with such a huge install base? Because 360 isn't an RPG console. Most big titles on the 360 are aimed at FPS, action adventure types, because thats what the fans on the 360 like. Now on the PS3 there are much more RPG fans, however an RPG title has yet to be delivered. FF13 was supposed to be the real first RPG, so people were anticipating buying a PS3 to play FF13. But with the announcement that it would be coming to 360 had many people consider changing platforms. Should Sony be worried? Not at all.
NO ONE buys a console exclusively for one game. Nobody. They always tend to pick up a few titles along the way. But the exclusives are what bring people to the consoles and thats where Sony saw the light of day.
By the time FF13 does see the light of day in N.A and EUR, the PS3 would have had stepped up the game by MILES. Playstation Home, God of War 3, Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Motorstorm 2, LittleBigPlanet, and Socom are PS3 exclusives that are sure to make gamers mouth's water. So it would difficult for a gamer to make a choice in which console to choose. But the obvious answer would be the PS3.
The PS3 version of FF13 would have been worked on for years, and not rushed like the 360 meaning the PS3 version may be better. However not only that, if your one of those LIARS that say you buy a console for one game, you be getting a treat with the PS3 version. Not only would receive technically a better version thats been worked on to its full consent, but you would also be receiving Final Fantasy VERSUS 13, another game from Square Enix exclusively for the PS3. 2 for 1 treat I say. And apart from that you'd be getting Kingdom Hearts 3, and a possible FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE. The king of all RPG's! So you would understand why buying the PS3 version would make more sense.
FF13 will almost guarantee console sales for the PS3 but the same could not be said for the 360. The 360 is simply not an RPG console.
So Sony not keeping FF13 exclusive was the best thing that could ever happen to them.
They saved HUGE bucks by not bothering to keep it exclusive because they realized they would still be successful, and the money could be funded for other projects, further pumping the already strong 1st party titles for Sony.
Microsoft paid HUGE dollars for what will essentially be a rushed port, to a console with a low RPG fan base, months after the PS3 version will hit stores. Doesn't sound very smart does it?
Sony already has amazing 1st party support, while Microsoft is too busy trying to capture the Playstation franchisees (FF13, SingStar), and not offering new IP's as witnessed at E3 2008. Not only that, the Xbox 360 captured one of the most non needed franchises for the Xbox family. The only reason Microsoft acquired FF13 was for bragging rights, that they "aquired" a Playstation exclusive. Well Microsoft should have thought it out better because it looks like the FF13 on Xbox 360 relationship is looking dismal. As you can see Sony thought this out very well ,and they aren't a company to simply sit back and disappoint. With the money saved Sony will continue to pump out games, and exclusives all for giving up one game that is going to do very well for their system. Sounds like a smart deal.
Looks like losing FF13 was the best thing to happen to Sony.
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Show me where the evidence is that Microsoft paid SquareEnix to have Final Fantasy XIII multiplatform. For the sake of an arguement let us say that Microsoft DID pay SquareEnix than why wouldn't they just cut them a bigger check to ensure a world-wide multiplatform release?
Finally, you have your facts wrong. Xbox 360 production has all ready started (as Square has specifically said in those post-conference interviews). The thing that will be starting after the PS3's Japan release is the LOCALIZATION which will occur simulatenous for both system.
And who the heck cares about changing disks anymore? Final Fantasy VII did it and that is every Sony Fanboy's RPG Holy Scripture.
Oh noes! I have to get up and move a little bit during my gaming session to change a disc!
that announcement must has pissed you off to write all that. i dont like RPGs so i couldnt see what all the fuss was about.
I think the FFXIII announcement was not the best thing for Sony, but it was a good decision to let Square accept the money. That way the game will come out faster as it happened with GTAIV, it will be bigger and better, and of course, since it is japanese exclusive, it will increase the install base in Japan. Sony saves money and invests it efficiently on projects of their own.
On the other hand, what makes you think Microsoft will not have more games? I am sure the PS3 will have a lot of games and its first party propositions are getting a lot better with time especially when compared to the competition. Home will be a full fledged product by then and PSN will be very competitive with LIVE. However, Microsoft will get games too, but you are counting your chickens way too early before they hatch.
Where is the evidence of a FFVII Remake? Considering Square is in money troubles (which is part of why they accepted Microsofts money; and lets be real, they did, that is business), a FFVII remake on PS3 is unlikely. Furthermore, you talk about Kingdom Hearts 3 which has not been announced and which could come as a Wii exclusive, and also, FFVersus could be cancelled. Or, as things are showing now, these titles could end up in all or most platforms. I bet Wii is definitely getting something Kingdom Hearts related, so who knows if KH3 will be multiplatform or not, but considering FFXIII will come out on 360 now, it is good business sense to release Versus AND Kingdom Hearts on 360, and the classics on Xbox LIVE.
If that happens, which is as likely as Sony still getting those games as exclusives, then 360 is most definitely the RPG console. The Japanese will still buy more PS3s, but these moves will most definitely help 360 gain ground in japan and in the rest of the world since its reputation will grow as an RPG console. Perhaps eventually FFXIII will come out in Japan for 360.
I do not think 360 will get an inferior port because PS3 to 360 ports are a lot easier to do and Crystal Tools are a multiplatform engine. However, I do think there will be issues to accomodate a single blu-ray game on a multiple DVD game. However, since Square Enix now knows they have to use DVDs, I do think this move will affect the overall size or quality as compromises would have to be made. Who knows, perhaps the game will not need a BD50 for that and only be relegated to a BD25. If that happens then FFXIII would be a 3 to 4 disc game more or less on 360.
If they fill an entire BD50 though, it would be a logistic nightmare to port it to 360, since the game could take from 6 or up to 8 DVDs if not more since you would have to replicate a lot of information on all the discs (the characters, the world, items, etcetera). The sad thing is, it is not that 360 will get chump changed with an inferior port, is that both consoles will get an inferior product than was planned since the game will not take advantage of any of the two consoles; no sixaxis, no open 50GB world, and the game not using 360s advantage like unified RAM or shaders or not using PS3s cell processor and RSX and specialized RAM since the engine is multiplatform, not dedicated to any particular console.
And, since the game will be on multiple DVDs, it is almost confirmed that the game will be linear, as in you will NOT be able to go back to the first disc if you are on the third. The game will be limited to DVD9 chapters instead of being a whole BD50 huge chapter. Unless of course, the game has to be entirely installed on Xbox 360s HDD, but that would be an issue since most people have no HDD or 20GB HDD, which owuld not suffice and it would not make business sense; not only that, but the install times would be huge, so that is probably unlikely (though there have been hints by Squenix president that FFXIII will have to be online enabled in order to not lose sales to rentals and piracy; so who knows). Anyway, I was hoping that FFXIII would be unlike most Final Fantasies, less linear, since they aim to revolutionize and revitalize the series, but oh well... I just hope the game blows me away even with all these constraints.
The reason this piece of information made a lot of impact is because it is a big Sony franchise. However, the reason it is an overrated move is because, if this had been announced in 2005 or 2006, i.e. way before we knew anything about Home, Little Big Planet, and the great new Sony offerings and other games, it would have killed the PS3.
At this point in time, Sony can take this new and not care much, hell, IMHO, I think both platforms should get Metal Gear Solid 4, FF Versus, Kingdom Hearts 3, Mass Effect, Dead Rising, Infinite Undiscovery, etcetera. I like what Sony is doing: Making more games, instead of using their money just to keep games exclusives and not let others enjoy those games. Microsoft should take a page from that as I am sick and tired of them using their money to not make more games, but to get timed exclusive games that will not sell very well on their system. If it was the way I think it should, then the purchasing decisions would only depend on what you prefer: Resistance or Halo? God of War or Gears of War?
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"that announcement must has pissed you off to write all that. i dont like RPGs so i couldnt see what all the fuss was about. "
"Was thinking the same thing...
You'd have to be really upset to write such a long ranting blog trying to rationalize the whole thing in an attempt to make yourself feel better"
Your Logic fails, guys. Just because he wrote about it, it does not mean he was pissed off or emotionally invested. He did not "rationalize", because Sony is indeed using the money to invest it in first party; is that rationalizing? Why not try to decompose his argument and come up with logical reasons instead of attacking the blogger? Maybe the bias is somewhere else.
Here are more facts: Sony was offered the GTAIV exclusivity rights and they told Rockstar to instead accept Microsofts money; why? Because they knew it would help fund the game, and it did. PS3 still got the game. What Sony is doing is increasing the amount of money they invest on PSN and 1st party titles while Microsoft has sold their first and second parties and used that money to buy timed exclusives or to get ports instead of funding games of their own.
That is not "rationalizing", that is fact, I do not see how using facts to attempt to give a logically compelling opinion is "rationalizing to feel better". This is his blog and he is free to say it, it is not like he is attacking anyone. Jack Mea, last time you also attacked me on my blog "OH YOU CARE TOO MUCH", I mean what is the point? That is what blogs are for, not for writing pointless articles. What is the point of writing "I agree with everyones point of view".
Sounds to me like the bias is elsewhere and it is being projected on him because it hurts some people to know that this announcement is not as big as a lot of people made it seem.
I never thought of it that way at all. I was just irritated about the 360 getting final fantasy. Now i see how it's really a good thing.
I agree with your statements and I feel the exact same way.
The Playstation 3 version of FFXIII will be out LONG before the Xbox 360 version is ever released because development on the 360 version wont even begin until FFXIII is released in Japan. Plus, PS3 gamers can import Final Fantasy XIII from Japan if they want before it comes out in the U.S.
FFXIII will probably be released in the U.S. 6 months after the Japanese release and then by the time Europe gets FFXIII, the 360 version will probably be Almost ready.
The fact of the matter is that it's going to take SquareEnix some time to port the PS3 version to the 360. FFXIII has been built around the Cell for YEARS now and many changes will have to be made in order to port the game to the 360, and I imagine that it would take Square at least a good year to port the game to the 360.
By the time FFXIII comes out on the 360, people will have already bought PS3's for the game, and Final Fantasy XIII on the 360 will hardly even matter at that point because the PS3 will have gotten all the hype from the game MONTHS.... or possibly a year earlier.
There are some reports saying that the PS3 U.S. and Europe versions of FFXIII will be released at the same time as the 360 version of FFXIII in the U.S. and Europe, but I honestly don't see that happening because SquareEnix would have to intentionally delay the release of the U.S. and Europe PS3 versions.
After Square finishes Localizing the U.S. PS3 version, they will release it and then after they finish Localizing the Europe PS3 version, they will release it. Square isn't going to just delay the release of the PS3 version for the sake of the 360 version because they would be loosing money by having a finished product just sitting.
The ONLY way for the U.S. and Europe PS3 version of FFXIII to be released at the same time as the U.S. and Europe 360 version is if Microsoft pays Square a LOT of money.
Microsoft doesn't realize that by the PS3 version being released first, the 360 version wont have any momenteum at all when it's released MONTHS or possibly a year later.
Personally I think that it's risky for SquareEnix to even develop a 360 version of FFXIII because it may not end up being worth all the trouble because JRPG's and the 360 just don't mix very well. A RPG like Fallout 3 will be almost guaranteed to sell millions on the 360, but a JRPG like Final Fantasy just doesn't suit the Xbox audience to me and it might end up bombing on the 360.
Plus, Final Fantasy Versus XIII is still a Playstation 3 exclusive, and if anybody wants the full Final Fantasy experience on the next-gen consoles, they'll have to buy a PS3.
I really don't see how loosing FFXIII was the best thing for Sony, but whenever you consider the current situation, the PS3 will benefit the most from FFXIII because Versus XIII is still a PS3 exclusive and because the PS3 version will be released and finished first.