MS on why FFXIII is coming to 360

By Robert Purchese Published 8 August, 2008

It's all about console sales, apparently.

Microsoft marketeer Albert Pennello has claimed Xbox 360 sales were the pivotal factor in bringing Final Fantasy XIII to the console - not any funny goings-on behind the scenes.

"I think the most obvious reason that [Square Enix] made the announcement is just looking at the success of our console. I mean, we're the leading console on a worldwide basis, we're more than double the install base on the US," Pennello told MundoRare (spotted by VG247) .

"I think it's easy to assume that something is going on behind the scenes, I think the more obvious answer is we're doing really well and the game creators want their games to be where the most people and the most consoles [are], and right now that's the Xbox 360."

Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 during the Microsoft press conference at E3. Rumours suggest the platform holder had to pay for Square Enix to breach the exclusivity contract with Sony.

Final Fantasy XIII will remain a PS3 exclusive in Japan, and is yet to be dated for the West. Game director Motomu Toryiama said his team had not begun work on the Xbox 360 version yet, which could hold up the PS3 version in the West, as Square has committed to a simultaneous platform launch.

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 (61) Latest comment 4 years ago

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

  • the_dudefather #1 4 years ago

    thread prediction (in order):
    1)'no shit' style comments
    2)ps3 sucks comments (teh cell lololololol)
    3)'enjoy swapping discs all the time'
    4)'enjoy waiting 30 minutes while installing the game'
    5)Final fantasy sucks anyway comments
    6)a handful of people arguing about consoles until the dead of night, unrelated to original topic

  • MrGilder #2 4 years ago

    no shit sherlock... ;)

  • jonthepymm #3 4 years ago

    PS3 sucks

  • Darren #4 4 years ago

    I remember reading comments from Square-Enix a year or so ago about how cross-platform development would be the way to go because of rising costs. It makes commercial sense to release your games on more than one platform anyway as it maximises sales and this generation has seen evidence of that, e.g. Devil May Cry 4, Virtua Fighter 5, GTA IV (the latter released simultaneously on both the 360 and PS3), etc. There will always be exclusive first-party games but I suspect we'll see more and more third-parties going multiformat rather than supporting a single format.

  • Kelduum #5 4 years ago

    enjoy swapping discs all the time

  • Physically_Insane #6 4 years ago

    Final fantasy sucks anyway

  • jonthepymm #7 4 years ago

    Is it dead of night yet?

  • sickpuppysoftware #8 4 years ago

    enjoy sucking 30 minute discs

  • MasterNameless #9 4 years ago

    Nice one dudefather. Hopefully you've nipped the real moronic comments in the bud!

    Although, I must say the comment about Squenix bringing FFXIII to the 360 'for the success of the console' is highly dubious, I mean, who's going to believe that! I think it's probably more along the lines of selling more copies of the game to... err... make more money perhaps?
    Edited by 1 at 08/08/08 @ 17:01

  • Fernando #10 4 years ago

    Final fantasy sucks anyways

  • Rirekon #11 4 years ago

    "I mean, we're the leading console on a worldwide basis"

    I do love how Sony and MS completely ignore the Wii when they talk console figures...

  • PinkSpider #12 4 years ago

    Well Obv. The 360 is much bigger in the US from what I've seen data wise and us such they are going to want that money. Heck, if it was equal they probably would too.

  • Steroyd #13 4 years ago

    I shall take the "Final Fantasy sucks" seeing how I've been disillusioned by FFXII. :(

    I do love how Sony and MS completely ignore the Wii when they talk console figures...

    I'm not entirely sure with Sony but it does look like MS is only concentrating on the PS3... which has sold less than them worldwide... such an awesome strategy on MS's behalf. >_>

  • mossychops001 #14 4 years ago

    Square Enix just want a bigger slice of the pie, and after seening how well GTA4 And COD4 have done on both consoles.

    Why not!

    Square Enix shareholders will be pleased.

  • Ranger101 #15 4 years ago

    NO SHIT!?!


    Wat..what... that boat has already sailed?

    Well fuck.

  • berelain #16 4 years ago

    Load of marketing bull, yet again.

    And for those bemoaning disc swapping- is that really any worse than having to sit through an install? Disc swapping takes a few seconds, although, yes, you do have to get up. Installs take anywhere from 5-20mins so far, and I'm betting FFXIII will have some kind of install to reduce the load times for battles.

    And for those saying 'final fantasy sucks' stop talking bollocks and go play some instead of bashing them because its the cool thing to do. Some of the finest stories ever told in videogames have been in Final Fantasy games. though they do have their flaws, I'll admit.

    Personally, I don't know which platform I'll opt for this on. It might be nice to get the PS3 one and give the PS3 some much-needed attention, but then, I'd rather play it on the 360. But in any case it makes perfect commercial sense to release big budget games like this on multiple formats, especially when their being developed on PC's in any case.

    EDIT: FFXII did suck, actually. I'll give you that.
    Edited by 1 at 08/08/08 @ 17:10

  • Steroyd #17 4 years ago

    Anyway, by the time this comes out, console sales fugures could be VERY different. Especially at the rate of PS3 sales at the moment and the recent stock shortage.

    Given SE's previous record, and how slow they are to send a game over shores... i wouldn't be surprised if MS was hyping the Xbox 720 and FFXIII is STILL not released over here.

  • TheDudesRug #18 4 years ago

    I'm certainly not trying to be antagonistic but I for one don't see the Wii as direct competion to PS3/360. It's a quite different product.

  • Blakester #19 4 years ago

    MS "throwing money at a problem" shocker. Seriously, does anyone believe that Square Enix initiated this discussion?

    Real shades of GTAIV for me. Microsoft anxious about the output of their own development team get out the chequebook to secure another license.

    Yawnsome...

  • Steroyd #20 4 years ago

    I'm certainly not trying to be antagonistic but I for one don't see the Wii as direct competion to PS3/360. It's a quite different product.

    And yet it's eating up the market that once bought PSone and PS2, and then some.

  • seasidebaz #21 4 years ago

    Well, if id can't make any money from printing a game on 3 discs, I don't think anyone will. So, did Microsoft waive the licensing costs (which work on a per-disc basis)? I reckon so...

  • TheDudesRug #22 4 years ago

    Presumably as a result of, not despite. :)

  • galerian86 #23 4 years ago

    Both consoles going to need game installation by the time FF13 comes out, isn't it? So,this 'enjoy waiting 30 minutes while installing the game' is for 360 and PS3 , well until MS release the new Dashboard

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #24 4 years ago

    Well the disk swapping and loading times havn't really spoilt my fun with Mystwalker's titles, so if I was to buy FFXIII on 360 i'd still enjoy it, whats truly good tho it does matter what consoles you buy now, the great titles end up on both anyway

  • PinkSpider #25 4 years ago

    Im going to be anti fanboy as possible:
    - Installing: all fine and dandy, I can go make some food or go on the PC or something. Or just put the TV on.
    - Disk swapping: I can get off my arse, it takes 20 seconds and disk swapping was not an issue on the PSOne, heck a game having 4 disks was ace.
    - FFXII did not suck. Clearly enough people liked it. In your opinion you did not like it and it's not how you felt a Final Fantasy should be.

    Good show.

  • immateriaux #26 4 years ago

    "I think the most obvious reason that [Square Enix] made the announcement is just looking at the success of our console"

    How do these people say stuff like that and keep a straight face? Some kind of animatronics? Botox-ed from the waist up? It's some kind of talent, though not one I particularly admire.

  • Foregone Reality #27 4 years ago

    I loved FFXII..It's just that the ending came when I least expected it.

    Oh well. :\

  • JediMasterMalik #28 4 years ago

    I like how he not even a single time claimed that money hats weren't involved. Simply trying to convince us it wasn't without ever saying it. Smart man.

  • Freek #29 4 years ago

    Multi platform is the way forward. Get as many people as possible acces to your game. It's not a victory for any singular company, outside of SE anyway, it's a victory for gamers.

  • moskiitto #30 4 years ago

    "MS on why FFXIII is coming to 360"
    Isn't it that MS and SE made a deal that SE breaks the contract and MS pays penalty so they could get FFXIII too? Yeah thought so.

  • berelain #31 4 years ago

    @Pinkspider - quite true. Neither is really an issue, although I have to say I do prefer the idea of being able to put a disc in and play right away instead of waiting for it to install first.

    @evilfoxhound - you only have to install once, yes, but it takes longer than swapping discs hundreds of times.

    @Pinkspider again - My issues with FFXII aren't related to its departure from series tradition, but rather due to the generally unfinished and tardily put together game mechanics that leave plot threads halfway through without resolving them and require you to grind constantly -often with very little input, if you set your gambits up right- for hours in order to be able to see the next part of the story. So no, it didn't suck - its clearly a well-produced and stunning looking game- but looking at it competely objectively, it has major issues, more so than any Final Fantasy before it.

    @Galerian - I don't believe MS have any plans to allow any games to require an install. They are going to let you rip games to the hard drive if you want to, but thats a player choice thing, not something developers will be able to insist on, since not all 360's have HDD's.
    Edited by 1 at 08/08/08 @ 18:21

  • Feanor #32 4 years ago

    Disc swapping is so awful I stopped playing FFVII when the "Insert Disc 2" message came up.

  • cam_guin #33 4 years ago

    "not begun work on the Xbox 360 version yet, which could hold up the PS3 version in the West, as Square has committed to a simultaneous platform launch."

    Maybe a sly dig in the ribs for Sony?

  • konnsky #34 4 years ago

    i'm yet to start playing ffxii which's been laying in the box for months.

    also..

    NO SHIT!

    /goes to make a sandwich

  • chris_ace #35 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • Kazzahdrane #36 4 years ago

    I can't believe anyone has a problem with disc swapping in JRPGs. Seriously, if you managed to get all the way through a disc in one sitting you'd need a break anyway! Plus they almost all let you save your game on the next disc before you physically swap, so I usually use it as a good moment in the story to stop playing for an hour or more. Disc swaps (usually) come at climactic moments in the story (guess a story can only really have one climax but let's pretend it's a woman), after beating a big boss or something.

  • Pulsar_t #37 4 years ago

    FFXII did put me off. The costumes were horrendous, the protagonist was downright annoying, the music was nothing special, and finally the story wasn't as interesting as its predecessor.

  • theindustrialone #38 4 years ago

    I assume he is not factoring in the wii when making these statements.


    Edit upon reading the comments: Don't give a toss why it is coming to the 360, just glad more people can enjoy the game.
    Edited by 2 at 08/08/08 @ 20:43

  • Ryze #39 4 years ago

    /late bait

    PS3lol

    /balance in the force:

    RRoD/aircraftnoiselol

  • Les #40 4 years ago

    "I think the most obvious reason that [Square Enix] made the announcement is just looking at the success of our console."

    LOL. The reason FF XIII is coming to 360 is because the Wii is kicking the but of 360 and PS3. Targeting two failures is better than targeting one...
    Edited by 1 at 09/08/08 @ 08:34

  • Les #41 4 years ago

    "I'm certainly not trying to be antagonistic but I for one don't see the Wii as direct competion to PS3/360. It's a quite different product."

    Yeah, it's the product he wished 360 would have been... Instead it's nothing but their second costly mistake...

  • davisorle #42 4 years ago

    "How do these people say stuff like that and keep a straight face?"

    Ill give u some examples:
    1st. The delay after delay of the PS3 release and also another delay in Europe.
    2nd. Sony made comments on MS selling 360 on 2 versions before they released PS3 during their first 1year release delay.Look at PS3 now
    3rd. The revolutionary and "future" of games BR that has only given so far instalations, bricking and not even the same quality graphs on multiplatform games and yet you still suck up on it like a good pet for them.
    4th. Check out the PS3 controller oO. Not only they even copied the center-console button in the mid of the controller but also check out the trigers.
    5th. Remember their comments on the gamerscore? The achievements in the games for 360.... That NEW feature that came with the last firmware update on PS3.
    6th. Sony spokesman bitching about FFIII going to 360. I mean "lol", really.

  • Daikon #43 4 years ago

    the story wasn't as interesting as its predecessor.

    FFX-2's storyline was more interesting? Uhm...

  • Hugh.G.Rection #44 4 years ago

    @davisorle - you had to ruin it didn't you. Also i didn't hear anyone complain about Final Fantasy 3 going to 360?

    I do believe FF has to go through some changes to capture the same adulation and regard it has previously held. I'm not saying it's lost any, but the gaming landscape is changing and Square are no longer one of the world leaders in grandious stroytelling, plot and game structure or getting the best out of the hardware. Time will tell.

  • Stepharneo #45 4 years ago

    "Disc swapping is so awful I stopped playing FFVII when the "Insert Disc 2" message came up. "

    really.....you missed out, thats just when the game gets good.

    "I'll be toasting Square's downfall with a glass of milk. The traitors."

    I really do hope that is sarcasm, could anyone really be so unutterably thick, there will be no downfall, the whole reason for this apparent treachery was to make more money, therefore they'll be better off. even if no ps3 owner buys it because of the backstabbing 360 owners will buy it just to have something to shove in the face of ps3 owners, they will of course say it was a crap game anyway. and still the treachery issue, i was not aware that square had to sleep with people in order to make them buy games, and if not then how are they traitorous, you aren't friends with them, they are a company not a person so stfu, damn thats some good venting.

  • firefly #46 4 years ago

    "Disc swapping is so awful I stopped playing FFVII when the "Insert Disc 2" message came up. "

    Huh? When you bought the game did you think that the extra 2 discs were free coasters or something?

    Anyways disc swapping isn't so bad. You do it once in the course of a playthrough (more if there's 3 or 4 discs) and you'll probably have taken the disc out to play another game in that time. Installs aren't that much of a problem either - although they are a frustrating obstacle when you've got a shiny new game you're just waiting to play.

  • Gaol #47 4 years ago

    Disc swapping on the 360 is like installation on the PS3. A total non-issue.

    I hope the localization doesn't take too long, PS3 really needs an RPG.

  • MasterNameless #48 4 years ago

    @Gaol

    I agree with you that the installation time on the PS3, or swapping discs on the 360, is a total non-issue. Although for me, the installation definately becomes more of an issue, I only have a 40gb drive still and currently have 6gb left on it, with only games installed! When it gets to the point of uninstalling games, and having to re-install them when a friend comes over and demands to see it, it's going to be a bit of a nightmare.

    Saying that though, I still play the 360 a lot more at the moment, and will probably get the PS3 version for this. The PS3 is of course quieter, and as a few other people have said in this thread already, it really needs some love!

  • Xerx3s #49 4 years ago

    "MS "throwing money at a problem" shocker. Seriously, does anyone believe that Square Enix initiated this discussion? "

    People in "not willing to understand that all multinationals buy their way into markets" shocker.

  • Prodigy_BE #50 4 years ago

    the_dudefather forgot one thing:
    7)start burning candles and pray your 360 lasts the 60+ hours it takes to finish FFXIII.

    Seriously, mine crapped out on EVERY big game I played on it. I've sold it on eBay as I want to beat the masses who sell their 'waranty nearly expired' launch machines. But as A gamesmachine, I miss it (no AITD for me :( ). So yes, I'm pissed at MS.

  • zedzee #51 4 years ago

    "right now" being the operative word in his statement.

  • Widge #52 4 years ago

    "Disc swapping on the 360 is like installation on the PS3. A total non-issue."

    Really... installation seems to be a HUGE issue when you look in any PS3 thread. Its like the end of the WORLD or something.

  • konnsky #53 4 years ago

    trebell +1

    Stepharneo: he refers to a rather comical trolling video by Fragmaster. youtube it! really good laugh!

    EDIT: I just did that for you. Must watch this: [link url=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k-uTnqYHZ-I&feature=relat ed
    ]http://uk .youtube.com/watch?v=k-uTnqYHZ-...[/link]

    /raises glass of milk.
    Edited by 1 at 09/08/08 @ 19:03

  • TheJuriel #54 4 years ago

    "his team had not begun work on the Xbox 360 version yet, which could hold up the PS3 version in the West, as Square has committed to a simultaneous platform launch"

    Ouuuuuch. Okay, that's a valid reason for PS3 owners to be aggravated.

  • Rash' #55 4 years ago

    I don't know how anyone can possibly think that video is funny. Seriously that guy is disturbed and needs medical help.

  • konnsky #56 4 years ago

    @Rash

    PROTIP: He's a troll.

  • dk_rare #57 4 years ago

    MS is wrong, most people are actually playing Wiis, not 360s. Or would MS rather we all forget that cold hard fact?

  • Les #58 4 years ago

    "People in "not willing to understand that all multinationals buy their way into markets" shocker."

    People in "not willing to understand that monopoly positions can seriously disrupt otherwise healthy markets and hurt consumer interests" shocker....

  • BillyBrush #59 4 years ago

    trebell
    09-Aug-08 10:46:22

    I'll be toasting Square's downfall with a glass of milk. The traitors.


    Another person who thought gaming started the day they got a psone!

    heard of Nintendo, and Square? i'm sure you have, they used to work together, until square turned into little backstab hounds...Sony are just getting the good old what goes around comes around treatment, and they fully deserve it

  • Sevens #60 4 years ago

    Oh. Awesome serious of subpar press releases, people at Microsoft.

  • juuken #61 4 years ago

    Enjoy your disc swapping!
    That's all I have to say about that.