Final Fantasy XIII Coming to Xbox 360
So this past week the world found out that Square Soft sold out and will no longer make Final Fantasy XIII a PS3 exclusive, except in Japan. Did Microsoft buy them out or is this a strategic move on Square’s part? I would think it’s a little of both.
First, there is no doubt in my mind that Microsoft offered money to Square to persuade them to make Final Fantasy XIII an Xbox 360 exclusive. This would be a terrible move on Square’s part since just about nobody in Japan owns an Xbox 360. The Japanese consumers are the most important thing to to Square. However, this situation would be great for Microsoft. They could finally break into the Japanese market and sell some consoles in Japan, formally known as the Mecca of the Gaming Industry. If this were to happen, many Xbox 360 consoles would be sold but less copies of the game would be sold due to the console barrier. So in the end it looks like Square decided that it was more important to win the sales war in Japan than to receive a load of money from Microsoft. Also by not releasing any Xbox 360 copies of the game in Japan they remain loyal to Sony in a way. There will be no console competition in Japan when this game drops and they still receive a little cash from Microsoft.
Next, why would Square want to sell Xbox 360 copies of Final Fantasy XIII everywhere else in the world? Simple, the market is there. If you want a huge number of sales you sell on multiple platforms, just ask the guys of Call of Duty 4 and GTA4. Now unless you have a huge market and advertising campaign for a game like Halo 3 you can go exclusive and still make record sales. Gears of War 2 has been deemed the new Halo for the Xbox 360 but I have a feeling we won’t see it shattering the Halo 3 numbers. Metal Gear should have been one of these mega selling games but the PS3 is still weak in America, and if you want record sales you need to sell in America. That’s exactly what Square intends on doing.
How does this effect us? Well it’s great for Xbox 360 owners. We finally get a really good Japanese RPG to play. For PS3 owners, it doesn’t change anything. Unless you were planning on bragging to your friends that you’re the only one who could play the new Final Fantasy.
well, technically FFXI was cross platform, but i understand your point. it doesn’t affect me either way, since i don’t have a next gen system as of yet, but i think i might be tempted to grab a PS3 since i’ll be in japan during the game’s release. those japanese commercials do wonders on your brain.
The mastermind behind Final Fantasy, Yoshitaka Amano, just released a graphic novel titled “Mateki: The Magic Flute.” He has really out done himself with it’s beautiful imagery and exciting story line. From one gamer to another, trust me, Amano does not disappoint!!