FFXIII 360 heads to Japan, new content

By Oli Welsh Published 8 September, 2010

Budget edition has extra episode.

Square Enix has confirmed that Japanese Xbox 360 owners will get to play Final Fantasy XIII after all, with the release of a special edition at the end of this year.

At a Microsoft press conference covered by Andriasang (via VG247), Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International Edition was given a 16th December release date and a budget price of 4980 Yen by Squenix big-wigs Shinji Hashimoto and Yoshinori Kitase.

This new version of FFXIII will have an Easy Mode, come with a book, and most importantly feature content that was cut from the original version of FFXIII. It's known as Episode I and will be a post-game quest.

It also has the English voice-acting and Leona Lewis' theme-tune warbling from the Western version of the game.

Since this was a Microsoft event, there was no discussion of a PS3 version of Ultimate Hits International Edition, but we wouldn't be surprised if Square Enix had plans for one.

We've asked Square Enix if there are any plans to bring the Episode I content to the West, either as DLC or with a Western release of the Ultimate Hits version of FFXIII. We'll let you know as and when we hear anything.

FFXIII was originally said to be exclusive to the PS3 in Japan, but Achievement leaks a couple of months ago suggested the position would be reversed.

Famitsu and Dengeki magazines also reported the 360 version was on the way before Microsoft's conference.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (19) Latest comment 1 year ago

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  • telboy007 #1 1 year ago

    Easy mode? :/

  • Haerger #2 1 year ago

    5 Xbox 360 only Japanese are really looking forward to it.

  • iamian #3 1 year ago

    "post game quest" wonder how many people will bother with that then!

  • Widge #4 1 year ago

    I know! What easy mode is required beyond clicking the Restart button on dying?

  • viper_h #5 1 year ago

    LMAO Easy Mode...

    Those crazy japs. I do not understand them at all. First of all they make games so ridiculously hard that they don't even release them in the west (Super Mario Bros. 2 aka The Lost Levels), then they cut optional hard bosses from RPGs because they're too hard (Emerald and Ruby weapons in FF7) and now EASY MODE??

    Wat.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #6 1 year ago

    An easy mode in this game is ridiculous. The game was super easy to begin with.

    And why are they not giving the Japanese the same excellent soundtrack that the PS3 version in Japan got? That Leona Lewis song is terrible - the original theme tune was much better IMO.

    I can't fathom the reason for releasing this in a territory where the 360 is pretty much moribund. It feels like another desperate plea from Microsoft to Japanese gamers to pay some attention to the XBox. Frankly, FFXII is not the game to help them increase sales of their hardware if you ask me.

  • GamesConnoisseur #7 1 year ago

    Couple of my mates still haven't finished the game, one still battling end boss despite maxing all characters!

    So seem easy mode would benefit them and how many more?!

  • GamesConnoisseur #8 1 year ago

    Couple of my mates still haven't finished the game, one still battling end boss despite maxing all characters!

    So seem easy mode would benefit them and how many more?!

  • Bigglesworth #9 1 year ago

    The Japanese market always eventually receives an 'international edition' of a main-series Final Fantasy title, which includes the changes made for the western market. As the article suggests, I'd expect there'll be a PS3 version in due time.

  • uiruki #10 1 year ago

    There isn't a post game quest. It's an extra episode forming part of the booklet coming with the game. But then you would have known that if you actually had anyone on your news staff who could read Japanese, rather than recycling stuff from people like Anoop "unreliable translator" Gantayat.

  • NewbieZilla #11 1 year ago

    "It feels like another desperate plea from Microsoft to Japanese gamers to pay some attention to the XBox."

    How insightfully wrong.

  • orangpelupa #12 1 year ago

    i just hope the put multi language subtitles....

    we ASIA REGION not all can read japanese. hoping there english subtitle.

    as a bonus it will be great if sqex fix the xbox engine. use proper res. iq. aa..

  • spekkeh #13 1 year ago

    I would very much welcome an easy mode. Or a theater mode where you don't have to play anymore. Ugh. I managed to get to the part where the game supposedly opens up. You get all these great monsters you can't defeat without endless grinding first, as if the game was spectacularly diverting before that. No thank you.

    Still, I'd like to know how it ended.

  • spekkeh #14 1 year ago

    i just hope the put multi language subtitles....

    we ASIA REGION not all can read japanese. hoping there english subtitle.

    as a bonus it will be great if sqex fix the xbox engine. use proper res. iq. aa..

    Does this come with English subtitles too?
    /lame joke

  • orangpelupa #15 1 year ago

    @spek
    im seriously concerned about the subtitle lol.

    because we asia region not get ffxiii. this jap relese got asia region.

    we was forced to play ffxiii by jtagging our xbox.

    with asia release, we can just play no need jtag hack.

  • Bander #16 1 year ago

    Instead of new content, how about an option that removes content? I'd get this if the infamous linear 20 hours or so at the start of the game could be skipped and replaced by a five minute summary video or something.

  • Lord_Gremlin #17 1 year ago

    So... Square is about to lose all the fans they got. It's like their games haven't failed already.

    I'd hate to be a fortuneteller but 12-years old americans aren't SE audience, and I doubt Microsoft will actually pay them enough to compensate lost sales for future games.

  • firefly #18 1 year ago

    Am I the only one who thinks it's ever so slightly insane that they do an international version with the English dub, but the international markets never get an option for the original voices?

  • TwitchyMcTwitch #19 1 year ago

    "and most importantly feature content that was cut from the original version of FFXIII"

    So..... it will have towns? lol