M$: Buh! Squeenix Makes a Smart, but Unexpected Move
Many a developer has come out saying that console exclusives just don’t make any sense in this new, expensive game development environment. That being said, I’m pretty sure no one on earth outside of Square Enix could possibly have predicted that Final Fantasy XIII will be simultaneously launching on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 in North America and Europe (whenever the game launches).
To help give this mind-blowing announcement some perspective, the last main series Final Fantasy game (that wasn’t a remake or port) to be released on a non-Sony platform was Final Fantasy VI for the SNES back in 1994.
It should also be noted that FF XIII will NOT be multi-platform in Japan. It’s only coming out on the 360 in the states because of the substantial US install base compared to the eastern market.
Remember, stay tuned to this blog for more E3 updates that I deem interesting or important as they become available.
Tags: final fantasy vi, final fantasy xiii, ps3, snes, square enix, xbox 360
July 15th, 2008 at 8:43
That is pretty substantial for them to invest in programming it for two consoles. Especially such radically different consoles as the PS3 and the Xbox. Also, I think everyone suffers because PS3 has blue ray for awesome FMV, but Xbox doesn’t. So if they want the same game across both systems, no awesome usage of blu ray.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:07
What will end up happening is that FF XIII will span like three or four DVDs like Lost Odyssey did and only one blu-ray on PS3, which begs the question: Will it cost more on the 360?
July 15th, 2008 at 18:58
It shouldn’t. Those blank DVDs probably cost 1 cent in volume (if not less)