Loads of content cut from FFXIII - report

By Robert Purchese Published 13 January, 2010

Enough to make a whole new game, in fact.

A new report suggests enough content has been cut from Final Fantasy XIII to make an entirely new game.

That's what art director Isamu Kamikokuryou supposedly told an unnamed Japanese magazine, according to Andriasang's translated version of FF Reunion's report (via VG247).

Kamikokuryou said a number of areas were cut from Japan's PS3 release of FFXIII, including a space around protagonist Lightning's home, resistance group Nora's secret base and an amusement park called Nautilus Park.

Square Enix axed the content to preserve the game's balance and keep the game-size down, the report said. Perhaps it could open up downloadable content options in the future?

Square Enix couldn't be reached for verification.

Final Fantasy XIII will be released for PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe on 9th March.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • darkmorgado #1 2 years ago

    I smell DLC!

    On another note, since when have they been concerned about the size of a Final Fantasy game? The damn things are MEANT to be epic 100+ hour things!

  • menschenfracht #2 2 years ago

    i smell fanboy shitstorm incoming

    /runs

  • M83J01P97 #3 2 years ago

    FFXIII-2 in a few years time then huh?

  • cianchristopher #4 2 years ago

    Charge us for it as DLC.

    I'll pay £10 per episode, hopefully there's a hundred episodes cut and add that to £50 for the game and I'm happy to part with £1,050 for Fainl Fantasy XIII...

  • JohnnyWashnGo #5 2 years ago

    That'll be the RPG stuff that is missing then. From what I hear, its pretty linear and devoid of anything remotely RP in RPG.

    Demo was good though so I will be picking up a copy soon ;)

  • stevetuck #6 2 years ago

    Expensive DLC that should be in the game anyway... seems to be a thing for japanese developers :D

  • cianchristopher #7 2 years ago

    I love those fablulous Final Fantasy hairstyles....

    Can we get new haircuts as DLC?

    Expensive, premium DLC?

  • Doctor_What #8 2 years ago

    Very linear and having to keep the size down? Does it sound to anyone else like they were trying to avoid disk swapping on the 360?

  • Arwin #9 2 years ago

    I smell cutting stuff for the 360 version ... Will be interesting to see if true.

    Of course we'll never know for sure.

  • Raziel #10 2 years ago

    Not trying to start a console war argument here, but I help help the feeling that said content was cut to make the game fit on the 360's DVD.
    I can't imagine a game running out of space on a Blu-Ray.

  • menage #11 2 years ago

    The more i hear about this, the more I dislike the whole thing.

    Not even because of the DLC prospects (which probably is exaggerated seeing as half the game is HD video), but no towns, no map, AI controlled partners. Smells bleh to me.

  • rotmm #12 2 years ago

    @Arwin, "Of course we'll never know for sure."

    Indeed. Of course, that won't stop certain people making up their own minds and then reporting it onward as fact.

    But hey, look at the bright side. FFXIII on the 360 means that, for the first time in FF history, EU aren't treated as 3rd class citizens with regards to release dates, and there is a far shorter date between the JP and US releases.

    Of course we'll never know for sure that the 360 release is responsible for this, but I smell it to be true.

  • Velios #13 2 years ago

    This game is dead to me.

  • SYS64738 #14 2 years ago

    "There hasn't been a good final fantasy game sine ff7.

    If you want a good console RPG go for Dragon Age on either PS3 or 360 and ignore the bullshit, intentionally controversial EWG review. "

    Surely not more controversial than your comment?

  • Velios #15 2 years ago

    Actually, i got Dragon Age origins on the PC the other day, it's totally engrossing and from what I hear, it's all set to be a massive game... I'm actually not worried about FFXIII anymore for my RPG fix now

  • chessboxer #16 2 years ago

    I wonder how big the game could have been - seeing as the PS3 can currently read Blu-ray's up to 400GB...

  • actionfitz #17 2 years ago

    "Loads of content cut from FFXIII - report
    Enough to make a whole new game, in fact..."

    or sell back to us as DLC perhaps?
    I smell shenanigans.

    ---
    that said. maybe we wont have to wait so many years for a new FF fix.
    Edited by 1 at 13/01/10 @ 13:52

  • andywilkie35 #18 2 years ago

    Christ, the more I hear about it, the less excited I am about FFXIII. Sounds like it could be another Last Remnant turkey.

  • octavedoctor #19 2 years ago

    Made shorter so thus of us with lives can finish the game in less than a year?

    I can't afford the 90+ hours I pumped into FFX the last time I played one of these.

  • Jel #20 2 years ago

    Does anybody bother to read posts before they comment these days? 3 in a row talking about the 360 disk size limitation, or did it really take the last one 19 minutes to come up with that brainchild?

  • HL706 #21 2 years ago

    Has anyone considered the possibility that the content they cut was shit?

    Square haven't made a good game since FFX tbh :(

  • Arwin #22 2 years ago

    Hmm, ok, Eurogamer seems to have misquoted slightly. The content that's being discussed never made it to the Japanese PS3 version of the game either.

  • ratkat #23 2 years ago

    Seems like everyone cuts stuff these days, then charge you for it later, con

  • rogueJT #24 2 years ago


    Damnit, not sure I like that amusment park getting cut.

    The Gold Saucer in FFVII was one of the best parts of that game. I used love taking a break from questing to relax there, play the games and go for new high scores.

  • menage #25 2 years ago

    Bunch of drama queens

    Oh and DA on consoles was shit, staring at an action wheel half the time, the other half at ugly faces.

    Buy Demons Souls.

  • Tuffty #26 2 years ago

    "I smell cutting stuff for the 360 version ... Will be interesting to see if true.

    Of course we'll never know for sure. "

    But don't let that stop you from making that conjecture...

  • FladgeMangle #27 2 years ago

    I'm sure most hardcore Final Fantasy fans (myself included) will enjoy 13 immensely. It appears to have all the right bits and bobs to make it a worthy addition to the series. Let's not make any rash decisions based on guesswork.

  • alan_stealth #28 2 years ago

    oh..if they had only made it for PS3 it could've been 400 gb long with multiple endings and a special cheese grater weapon that uses 400 million polygons more than any other system ever could ever in the whole world ever.
    Cocks.

    Absolute cocks.
    Not like any of the FF that are critically acclaimed by everyone (well as everyone as it gets) pushed any of the systems to there capacity or performance limits... so what the hell has that got to do with anything?

    There's lots of lots of money to be made in DLC, especially if they've "already made it and took it out".
    SO... if this is true, they've effectively got DLC they've already made - that they can release whenever the "coke and strippers" funds start to look a little depleted - without ever having to leave the strip club.

    So why not wait until it actually comes out before you start comparing how much better Kinchakafuck's hair looks in the PS3 version?

    And just for the record I fucking hate FF - so I could give a fuck whether it's released on a PS3 a 360, or into the fucking ocean.

  • menage #29 2 years ago

    You did give a fuck enough to get into this thread then.

  • seanthejackal #30 2 years ago

    Thanks Microsoft.

  • Widge #31 2 years ago

    I hope it isn't drip fed in the form of DLC. I hate having extra bits of game fed to me in installments, would rather have everything there ready to go for me to experience from the off.

    I don't mind extra maps for multiplayer, new vehicles as far as DLC goes... but bits of story and locations to games like this? No.

  • tossetaz #32 2 years ago

    @seanthejackal You might aswell direct your ironic thank you towards Sony for not being willing to chip out for getting exclusive additional content on the PS3, it would have been a great sale for the game on their platform AND it could have been used as a general marketing tool with statements from developers confirming that the content is exclusively available on ps3 because it has a much larger/better optical format.

  • 00.00.01 #33 2 years ago

    *hands medication and cry-boy-hanky back to: alan_stealth 13/01/10 @ 15:53*
    Sorry mate, you sound frustrated. So much swearing. Try to channel your anger. Play video games, it might help.
    Cock??--->This is a cock. Huge cock. [link url=http://kfoxrocks.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/huge-cock .jpg
    ]http://kf oxrocks.files.wordpress.com/200...[/link]

  • metallicorphan #34 2 years ago

    i have a feeling Lost Odyssey is going to remain as my favourite JRPG for this gen

  • Sunyavadin #35 2 years ago

    So there was enough content to make this game something other than "A bunch of generic characters walk in a straight line for 35 hours"?

  • jag10 #36 2 years ago

    Versus FTW!

    http://ww w.youtube.com/watch?v=b6At_bb1P...

  • chessboxer #37 2 years ago

    @ tossetaz

    I think Sony's money is better spent helping 1st and 2nd party devs creating decent new IP's rather than forking out cash for exclusive DLC on a multiplatform game, especially if that DLC is only a timed exclusive.

  • Murton #38 2 years ago

    Agree with Chessboxer, I'd much rather Sony invest in its first party studios and its other mutually beneficial partnerships to bring us genre defining first/second party games like Uncharted, Gran Turismo, Heavy Rain, MAG, Killzone, LBP, Mod Nation Racers the list goes on.

    Besides, we all knew once Squenix decided to go multiplatform with FF that it would mean massive cuts in content to keep the game size lean enough to work with the 360's dual layer dvd limitation. I mean there's no way MS would have let them release a "diet" version on the 360 while the PS3 gets the full-fat as designed version, the games industry just doesn't work that way anymore.

  • alan_stealth #39 2 years ago

    I swore 3 times to the bender that made a comment.
    Probably more swearing than appears in your average FF game indeed, but too much?
    Maybe YOU should channel your "witty intellect" into a more productive means, rather than commenting on a thread without actually expressing an opinion.

    And do you really think it's cost effective for a games company to spend more money developing a game to fit 400GB or whatever the hell you are all on about, only to sell at the same retail price as a 360/PC game?
    The answer is no - no it's not.

    So instead, the glorious capacity you speak of, is only ever truly exploited by 1st party developers (i.e. Sony) everyone else, just doesn't compress all of the information they normally would, and sticks every language under the sun on it to fill up the disc a bit more.
    This will be the case with almost every multiplatform release that comes out, so until the entire industry "goes" Bluray (which I don't see happening...) Sony will continue to be the only ones that invest in this.

  • DanielRussell4 #40 2 years ago

    How great would it be if they gave out the DLC free? :D
    A guy can dream but free hefty DLC would be nice, maybe even entice more people to buy it.

  • chessboxer #41 2 years ago

    @ alan_stealth

    Whine, whine, whine. Congratulations on the homophobic slur as well. How very grown up of you. Make those comments a lot on Live?

  • chrisola #42 2 years ago

    Star Ocean has 3 dvd's on the 360, games can have more than one DVD!

  • Steroyd #43 2 years ago

    What the f**k is this s**t!?

    I've been hearing that it's more linear than FFX, and now i'm hearing content has been cut to keep the size of the game down?

    /nerd meltdown

  • VMerken #44 2 years ago

    Well, if those parts do return as DLC (even though the designers deemed them inferior) and if you don't like that kind of policy at all, don't buy the DLC. Simple. I certainly wouldn't.

    Either way, it's not surprising that large parts fall off the wagon when considering this is a game which has been in development since before the PS3's launch. Certain parts may look awesome in the mind or on paper but in practise, competent (at least I hope so) testers may find that these awesome ideas don't tick correctly on the screen, as part of the larger whole. And then, regrettably, they get cut. And the developer who invented the part and made it happen will mourn as the left cheek experiences the wetness of a single tear rolling down its curved surface. And then, as the deed is admitted, millions of fanboys cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.

  • Wolverfrog #45 2 years ago

    "unnamed Japanese magazine"

    How can a magazine sell without a name?

    :p

  • solidSnake04 #46 2 years ago

    i like the and its well funny. has anyone bought the FFVII remake for ps3 ? is it VII or VIII ? cant remember. wonder if is still good

  • alan_stealth #47 2 years ago

    stop being so pedantic..until you pointed it out nobody would have made that association.
    as I didn't when I wrote it.

    and what has being grown up got to do with anything?
    ur attempts to patronise are pretty weak.

    And I'm sure u wouldn't want to stereotype "Live" users, whilst trying to highlight the apparent ignorance of someone using a word that stereotypes a sexuality?

    fucking gimp.

  • chessboxer #48 2 years ago

    I didn't mention other Live users, I was talking directly to you, about you. Seeing as you have expressed your hatred of Sony since the death of the Dreamcast, I found it highly unlikely that you yourself would be the owner of a PS3 or any PlayStation product to include the PSN.

    You've have insulted me in 3 consecutive posts including a blatant homophobic slur, do you want to add a racial one in next for good measure? Please, kindly, leave me alone and stop referring to me you fucking thundercunt.

  • Slipstream #49 2 years ago

    Admitting such shortcomings and then mentioning DLC in the same paragraph is naturally, going to be frowned upon, and with bloody good reason. Go shove your DLC Square.

  • geeza2020 #50 2 years ago

    Every article i read about this game gets me closer to abandoning FF games forever.

  • alan_stealth #51 2 years ago

    going back through my previous posts for ammunition?
    and your asking me to leave you alone?

    and repeating yourself...do you know what being pedantic means?
    .... honestly people like you get "baa baa black sheep" banned. (opps was that my racial slur?)
    If you really did want to stand up for all that is "right and noble" your time is wasted trying to start in an internet forum.
    But I'd imagine this is about the only place your opinion is responded to "4 times".

    Believe it or not, you are not the first Sony zealot to talk about the capacity of the Bluray disc not being used - just the first on this thread... so I wasn't actually, directly referring to you - much the same way as you are not the first to make reference to a Live user typically using bad language, "homophobic slurs" ...etc

    Don't reply to this and I promise to "leave you alone".
    Edited by 1 at 14/01/10 @ 14:35

  • GreyBeard #52 2 years ago

    Errr Square have released a "director's cut" version of virtually every major JRPG title they've produced since FFX, what makes people think this time is going to be any different?

    Its practically a neccessity given the humongous cost of developing these games.

  • Slipstream #53 2 years ago

    Its practically a neccessity given the humongous cost of developing these games.
    I beg to differ since :-

    A.) It is a multi-million selling franchise, not even including the 'International' editions.
    B.) International edition Square games are primarily, Japan only (We only got FFX International because of the insane release gap after Jap and US)
    C.) The cost is high, but no more higher than any other major releases.

    I personally do not have a problem with DLC, I do however have a problem with content that was originally cut from the game and then being made into DLC.
    Give us that original content back and actually create some new content worthy of DLC.