Star Ocean coming to 360 in June

By Ellie Gibson Published 5 March, 2009

That still counts as spring, says Squenix.

Square Enix has announced that Star Ocean: The Last Hope will be released in Europe this June.

Some reports floating round the internet say the game has been delayed, as it was originally down for "spring".

But that's not the case, according to Square Enix. "The game has not been delayed," a spokesperson told Eurogamer. "We use the summer solstice on June 21st as the official start of summer, so by announcing the game will be released in June, it will still technically be released in our interpretation of spring."

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is an Xbox 360 exclusive. It's a prequel to the popular role-playing space opera series, and will feature numerous gameplay advances such as the ability to control your own spaceship.

Have a look at the gamepagefor all the latest videos and screenshots.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (47) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • andywilkie35 #1 3 years ago

    shame, but I suppose that means it'll come out over the annual summer lull so could actually be ideal timing for me

  • Vistrix #2 3 years ago

    Any word on how long this exclusive deal will last?

    All the Star Ocean fans are waiting on the PS3 platform, someone should tell SE this.

  • muscleblade #3 3 years ago

    Too late. Been out in the US for months by then.

  • Steroyd #4 3 years ago

    They are? o_O

    Star Ocean is dead to me, SO3 left THAT bad a taste in my mouth, such an awful awful plot twist + ending.

  • Widge #5 3 years ago

    I never finished SO3 because I ended up getting hooked on Halo 2 multiplayer!
    I kinda got fed up of it when I reached the place where you can start doing item creation.

  • Widge #6 3 years ago

    and YEAH to imports from the US

  • miiiguel #7 3 years ago

    All the Star Ocean fans are waiting on the PS3 platform, someone should tell SE this.

    Every little thing that you say or do
    I`m hung up
    I`m tired of waitin` for you
    Waiting for your call
    Baby night and day
    I`m fed up
    I`m tired of waiting for you

    Time goes by so slowly for those who wait

  • muscleblade #8 3 years ago

    In other news: 3 new demos on Live.

    Wheelman, Wanted and a WWF game.

  • alimokrane #9 3 years ago

    What a load ... Didnt they already announce it was coming April 24th ????

    Is this because of the acquisition of Eidos ? Accoring to Eidos, the deal is mostly going through and and an official press release HERE suggests, Eidos will be fully owned by Square on May 6th.

    I presume, they are trying to save costs on publishing in Europe, perhaps by having Eidos publish Star Ocean instead perhaps of somebody else who they would have to strike a deal with.

    Eitherway, I am disappointed. I was really looking forward to it :( I guess now I would have to play two JRPGs in the same month. This one and Tales of Vasperia which is presumably arriving here in June too unless Atari changes its mind again.
    Edited by 3 at 05/03/09 @ 11:12

  • bmxbandit #10 3 years ago

    Its abit of a shame how every SE title seems to bomb these days. What were SE thinking when they decided to stop bringing RPG's to the PS3? It's painful seeing such a once loved company lose their 'actual' fanbase.

  • menage #11 3 years ago

    Bunch of whiners complainig about this being on xbox. Like it would be any better if it was on PS3. SE is just a fraction of the golden Vagrant Story days. I'd rather replay LO again, or Disgaea 3.
    Edited by 1 at 05/03/09 @ 11:34

  • miiiguel #12 3 years ago

    "lose their 'actual' fanbase"

    where actual fanbase = whiners from the 90's.

    The XXI century called!

  • Les #13 3 years ago

    Well, it did manage to sell an additional 20k 360s for a week in Japan so it's probably not that bad... ;)

    One has to wonder though whether it was such a smart move on the part of SE to make a deal with MS (and depending on how much MS paid for it it might have turned out to be a poor deal for them too given that it's rather hard to argue that it has given the 360 a big boost in Japan).

  • bmxbandit #14 3 years ago

    SE simply aren't good with decisions.

    The Final Fantasy film nearly bankrupted them ... Sony dragged them back to life ... then they did the almighty backstab and started taking money from Microsoft instead. Their sales have totally dried up in Japan and the rest of the world. Half of their infamous fanbase now hates them. They've brought a totally failed developer (seriously guys, what were they doing getting Eidos? Really?) which will only end up losing them more money ...

    Honestly, when you step back, the amount of damage they've done to themselves siding with Microsoft is catastrophic ... and the worst part is, unlike most other shitty sales type things, this all actually effects us. Waiting a whole year extra for FF13 because Microsoft paid them off? Unforgivable really. I don’t expect that from ANY developer, let alone bleedin' Square Enix!

  • Cappy #15 3 years ago

    Since lots of the interesting elements such as the item creation and inventing system are gone I don't think this is worth pining over. Taking away features that made the PS2 game stand out leaves you with something decidedly more run of the mill and ordinary.

    Demon's Souls looks far more interesting and you can play it now rather than June if you can find an Asian copy, it seems to be sold out currently.

  • menage #16 3 years ago

    @bmx bandit

    Fanboy much? Jeez, 90% of those decisions have noithing to do with MS at all.

    As far as I know Dragonquest and all the FF related stuff still sells like gold in JP.



  • Les #17 3 years ago

    "Sony dragged them back to life ... then they did the almighty backstab and started taking money from Microsoft instead."

    If I recall correctly Sony buying a stake wasn't much appreciated by Square, which accelerated the SE merger so that Sony's stake would be diluted. So from a Square perspective it wasn't so much as a backstab. They see it as getting even with Sony who backstabbed them first...

    "Honestly, when you step back, the amount of damage they've done to themselves siding with Microsoft is catastrophic ... and the worst part is, unlike most other shitty sales type things, this all actually effects us. Waiting a whole year extra for FF13 because Microsoft paid them off? Unforgivable really. I don’t expect that from ANY developer, let alone bleedin' Square Enix!"

    Can't really judge that as we don't know how much MS paid them. Catastrophic is rather strong given that they still release plenty on the DS and Wii that sells better than anything released on 360 and PS3 together ever would.

    As for developers taking money, I honestly don't see the problem. They have something of value and another party is willing to pay for it. Just a business decision in the end. It's not like they have the moral obligation to develop something for a specific platform or release a game at a certain date.
    Edited by 1 at 05/03/09 @ 12:27

  • miiiguel #18 3 years ago

    wow, wait a minute ban the grey shades! Americans + MS = baddies; SE + Sony + Japan = goodies, don't mess with the mind of a bmx bandit.

  • bmxbandit #19 3 years ago

    You guys will be waiting that extra year with me too, so I wouldnt be so quick to get pissy with a guy telling the truth here. Do your own research into the matter, its not like it wasnt totally documented months back when this whole shitstorm kicked off.

    And yes, you're right about the sales ... Sony and Nintendo are keeping them alive at the moment with the DS and PSP, you'd think SE would appreciate that eh?

  • JHuxley #20 3 years ago

    From what I've heard, SO on the 360 is running at sub-HD resolutions with no AA...so I hope it's been coded with multiplatform in mind (would be a travesty if that's not the case).

    Not that I really care much.

  • bmxbandit #21 3 years ago

    "Hey im named after a fart and my bessie mates are super cool secret developers ... I talk trash trash trash but its ok because I can pretend the other guy is a kid"

  • menage #22 3 years ago

    Why people get so worked up over a bunch of companies is the biggest mystery of all imo.

  • ParanoidZombie #23 3 years ago

    Mmh... So that means we'll have to choose between SO4 and tales of vesperia this summer. Which means that in 2010, after the mass effect 2 / FF13 storm, we'll be able to pick a good/great JRPG in the bargain bin for less than 20€. Good news!

  • Daryoon #24 3 years ago

    "We use the summer solstice on June 21st as the official start of summer"

    Using MIDsummer as the START of summer... I really don't understand the logic of a lot of people.

    At least the Celts got it right. Spring is February-March-April.

  • NotSoSlim #25 3 years ago

    Games runs at sub hd and still has frame rate problem. Pass i think

  • bmxbandit #26 3 years ago

    I'm getting worked up because a 1 year delay is simply too much for me. Childish I know, but I dont think its fair when dire business ethics are hurting the consumer, especially when it comes to a business that soley revolves around us.

    Call me silly, but its all these little mistakes on MS's behalf that are on the way to create some huge backlash for them.

  • menage #27 3 years ago

    I blame Sony for not making the PS3 cheaper and better to program for so more people would have bought a PS3 by now and SE didn't need to port it to make enough money.

    It's really not that black and white. It's business, not the "give bmxbandit his favorite game now" show.


    Edited by 3 at 05/03/09 @ 13:45

  • Gargant #28 3 years ago

    ffs

  • NegativeZero #29 3 years ago

    It's not worth the wait. Seriously, I don't know what happened to Tri-ace but SO4 is pretty poor, pretty much abusing every terrible JRPG cliche imaginable, and then saddling it with an incredibly juvenile plot, graphics that are stuck at the very bottom of the uncanny valley, and an absolutely horrible localisation effort with the most wooden, emotionless voices possible delivering utterly inane dialogue.

    Tales of Vesperia is still the best JRPG on the platform by a fair margin.

  • riz23 #30 3 years ago

    When does tales of vesperia come out over here? Will the two of them clash?

  • bmxbandit #31 3 years ago

    Teehee, yes, I am the child in here.

    Forgive me for being pissed at a year delay that affects millions.

  • bmxbandit #32 3 years ago

    I'm 20 and I think i'm pushing the boat out with my comments.

    If you're over 25 Mr Fart, I genuinely pity you.

  • menage #33 3 years ago

    Affects millions, it's not fucking hunger in Africa. Yeah, like we're really starving for games at the moment.:p

    Persona 4 hits in 3 weeks, buy that and it will last you a while, better yet Disgaea 3 will last you until FFXIV.
    Edited by 2 at 05/03/09 @ 14:18

  • andywilkie35 #34 3 years ago

    @menage

    Persona 4 is next Friday!

  • bmxbandit #35 3 years ago

    Farticus, every post you've made today makes you look like a raaaaaaaah flaming rassclart. I get now that i'm probably talking to some dickless aspergers wonderkund, but please dude, for yourself ... ease up a smidge.

  • menage #36 3 years ago

    @andy

    Fuck, really, too many games too little times. :D

    Looking forward to that though.

  • andywilkie35 #37 3 years ago

    @menage - totally agree mate, I've got a stack of games I'm trying to get through and now that's coming means I literally don't have enough time at all!

  • bmxbandit #38 3 years ago

    Bloody awesome.

    Its that easy lads.

  • sneetch #39 3 years ago

    @bmxbandit
    Forgive me for being pissed at a year delay that affects millions.

    What delay are you talking about?

    FFXIII again?

    Here's a repost of the details I gave you the last time you were slinging this nonsense about. The release dates of the last 6 FF games, always damn near a year later in Europe than in Japan even when they only appeared on Sony consoles. But, hey, I'm sure that this time it would have been different if they weren't bringing it out on the damn evil 360, because you know, you really, really, really want to believe it would have been different.

    FF VII JP January 31, 1997 NA September 7, 1997 EU November 17, 1997

    FF VIII JP February 11, 1999 NA September 9, 1999 PAL October 27, 1999

    FF IX JP July 7, 2000 NA November 14, 2000 EU February 16, 2001

    FF X July 19, 2001 NA December 20, 2001 EU May 29, 2002

    FF XI PS2 JP May 16, 2002 NA March 23, 2004
    FF XI Windows (PC) JP November 7, 2002 NA October 28, 2003 PAL September 17, 2004
    FF XI Xbox 360 NA April 18, 2006 JP April 20, 2006 PAL April 20, 2006

    FF XII JP March 16, 2006 NA October 31, 2006 PAL February 23, 2007

  • ronuds #40 3 years ago

    @ bmx

    Not sure if you noticed, but PS3 game sales aren't exactly topping the charts every week. SE can probably afford to lose a few sales in Japan for how many they'll get in the US and Europe. I'm fairly certain if MS did pay them off they made up for lost sales.

    Get a 360 if you want to play their games so bad! But stop spouting this rubbish!

  • Rash' #41 3 years ago

    I love the HD graphics on this game...

    :)

  • bmxbandit #42 3 years ago

    Ahahaha.

    I AM IGNORED U!

    *2 minutes later*

    HE THROWIN HE TOYS OUT DA PRAM.

    And i'm the child? My dads bigger than your dad.

  • sneetch #43 3 years ago

    @farticusmaximus
    @sneetch

    Don't bother, he's in a trolling mood today, throwing all kinds of toys out the pram.

    It seems a little patience is too much to ask of kids these days, but good things come to those who wait. Well, hopefully it will be good!

    Yeah, when it comes to these boards I'm increasingly feeling more and more like the stereotypical, confused alien from those 80s sci-fi movies: you humans act so strangely, on my world there are no "fanboys", we are creatures of logic and reason. It's a peaceful planet, you'd hate it. ;)

  • Linkified #44 3 years ago

    Why not just say your launching in summer?

  • GamesConnoisseur #45 3 years ago

    ??What with all the comments?? Not as if I was logging onto EG just to droll myself amused with all the snides comments, trolling and flamings! They are all part and parcels of the forums we know but heck was hoping to see more comments re the material in question... Star Ocean on 360!

    June....still got too many great games on X360...and also Killzone2 and Disagea 3 on PS3 to finish off so that not a problem!!

  • NotSoSlim #46 3 years ago

    @ Fart

    The gameplay is decent but the best 360 rpg is Tales of Vesperia. This is avoidable in my opinion
    Edited by 1 at 05/03/09 @ 16:15

  • NotSoSlim #47 3 years ago

    @ Fart

    I didnt play IU due to poor reviews. However i am not a major 360 fan but i played a bit of this and it was decent nothing great but i love the Tales games so a bit biased lol.

    Reviews are all opinions but this day n age frame rate problems on a game that is in some places lower res than wii games(gamezine source) is unfirgivable but it is a fun game so if you liked IU you will love this.

    Best RPG from them on 360 imo

  • des #48 3 years ago

    Booo

    Europelol

  • NegativeZero #49 3 years ago

    If you liked IU (christ...) then you will probably like SO4 even more since it's very similar but less terrible.

    Honestly I was expecting something a bit better produced. They've put so much work into the graphics and animation, but it's been given such a rough localisation that it's like watching an old dubbed kung fu b-movie. All the movements are off, lip sync is nonexistant, characters add emphasis to syllables that don't make sense... it's just really rough. Amateurish.

    The actual quality of the vocals themselves aren't any better or worse than most JRPGs, but when everything else is all super-high res at 60fps with highly detailed models and cinematic camera angles and stuff, nothing ruins the sense of immersion better. What immersion the game actually manages to have, that is.

    Basically, every criticism leveled at IU will also be leveled at SO4, for the exact same reasons. Terrible localisations have been a hallmark of Tri-ace's work since way back with Valkyrie Profile on PS1, but really this ends up reflecting badly on Squenix as the publisher, not Tri-ace as the developer, since Squenix must have signed off on the localisation and probably had a hand in making it. Constantly pushing dubious-quality JRPGs with terrible english localisation entirely using the strength of your brand's reputation while repeatedly delaying the game everyone actually wants, dangling it like a carrot on a stick, is a sure-fire way for Squenix to destroy the market for these games. And then everyone loses.

  • sneetch #50 3 years ago

    Well, as I liked IU I'm very much looking forward to "Spikey-hair in Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace" or whatever this JRPG is called. ;)

    I personally wish they'd leave the original Japanese voices in place and just subtitle the game: I switched Lost Odyssey to Japanese after one or two battles in English and it added a lot for me (the quality of the Japanese voice acting just seems a lot higher).

  • Les #51 3 years ago

    You got to hand it to farty: Even if you ignore him he still manages to dictate the direction of a comments thread... :(

    And bmxbandit, are you sure you're not farty's (from his perspective) evil twin? I kind of start to suspect that over 50% of EG posts is created by farty or one of his other accounts... ;)

  • bmxbandit #52 3 years ago

    Star Ocean 4 only sold 17,000 in its 2nd week, the LTD total is 179,000, as this rate it'll be lucky to reach 250K ... all the 360 JRPGs have also bombed in the US so I doubt it'll be any different for SO4.

    Total Star Ocean 3 sales as of September 2005 was 1,268,000
    [link url=http:/ /www.tri-ace.co.jp/en/company/sales.html
    ]http://ww w.tri-ace.co.jp/en/company/sale...[/link]

    ... so Square Enix essentially gave up 1M in sales by accepting MS' bribe, about $80M to $90M in lost potential revenue ... whatever MS paid them I seriously doubt it was anywhere close to that amount. No wonder Square Enix's profit have been plummeting eh?

  • menage #53 3 years ago

    I thought Blue dragon and at least LO did alright? Maybe I'm remembering it wrong though.

    Also SO4 wouldn't have sold 1 million even if it had been released on both system. The Japanese userbase isn't that big yet.

    I must admit that SO could have sold a bunch on PS3 though, seeing as there is a dire lack of JRPG's at the moment, but even White Knight didn't sell more than 200k copy's in one week over in JP.
    Edited by 2 at 05/03/09 @ 19:20

  • bmxbandit #54 3 years ago

    Looking at the Yakuza 3 sales and seeing how many RPG fans are craving one on the PS3 now, it seems to be Squenix have just lost an absolute fuckton of money. I guess its just natural justice.

  • Goodfella #55 3 years ago

    Don't bother, he's in a trolling mood today, throwing all kinds of toys out the pram.

    My irony detector just exploded.

    That is all.
    Edited by 1 at 05/03/09 @ 21:13

  • Moonflower #56 3 years ago

    You know, pretty much one of the reasons SO 4 is Xbox exclusive (for now atleast, who knows) is that SO 4 is developed by Tri-Ace, and it uses the same engine as Infinite undiscovery, MS paid for infinite undiscovery. Also, i heard that when they started developing SO 4 the PS3 compilers/devkits wasn't even out . I dunno, it just something i read somewhere soi'm unsure about that last bit.

  • Moonflower #57 3 years ago

    @bmxbandit

    "Star Ocean 4 only sold 17,000 in its 2nd week, the LTD total is 179,000, as this rate it'll be lucky to reach 250K ... all the 360 JRPGs have also bombed in the US so I doubt it'll be any different for SO4. "

    So 4 was supply constrained second week. It was out of stock. Blame SE for not shipping enough, not the 360. And Lost Odessey, Blue Dragon , Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery has all sold decent for a JRPG. 500k+ , No JRPG on PS3 has sold more than that (not that there are many), and the only JRPG game that sold over 500k+ on Wii is Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors. So, instead of bashing JRPGs on 360 and the 360 and being a Sony Fanboy(tm) , do some research before you present everything as fact..

  • sneetch #58 3 years ago

    @Moonflower
    So, instead of bashing JRPGs on 360 and the 360 and being a Sony Fanboy(tm) , do some research before you present everything as fact..

    He does, he reads random blogs and considers the opinions there as fact. Everyone knows if you want to believe something strongly enough and write "fact" at the end of your sentences then it becomes fact. :)

  • cyber_nicco #59 3 years ago

    Jesus, now I have to unblock BMXBandit just to read this thread properly.

    Thanks.