1040°

Square Enix CEO Explains How Final Fantasy XIII Got On The Xbox 360

Final Fantasy XIII isn't the first Final Fantasy game for the Xbox platform. Final Fantasy XI was. However, this is the first core Final Fantasy game to go multi-platform at launch. So, why did Square Enix decide to develop an Xbox 360 version?

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nix5168d ago

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$ q:

siyrobbo5168d ago

the games industry is a business after all, its all about $$$$$$$$, even for sony

Udidntlistenpunk5168d ago

Well, yes, they have to say it in a way that doesnt anger their fans lol.

The Playstation 3 version will absolutely trash the 360 version.

Hakimy5168d ago

doesn't this money talk remind you of this? XD

peeps5168d ago

well yeh, i know we're all here playing games for entertainment, but for developers and publishers it's their business and living.

Michael-Jackson5168d ago

Removed the townz...damn you SE!

97gsx5168d ago

Microsoft probably paid all development costs for both systems. They even bought the advertising rights and dont forget the bundle. Even best buy had the the 360 version all over their ads and in small text also on ps3. The ironic part is sony owns 9% of square-enix so sony made money on both versions.

Montrealien5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

It's all about the Benjamins.

The thing here though is that the money was in the potential of selling more games on the 360, not MS goons meeting Square Enix people in an undisclosed location in Tokyo to give them a suitcase of money, like some fan people here on N4G imagine. Square did this in the 90s also be porting Final Fantasy on the PC they just want to sell more games and who wouldnt?

The rest, bundles, add campaign ect, is just Microsoft marketing slapping Sony marketing across the face, Sony needs to up their marketing game this gen, Microsoft are playing for keeps, well, in NA at least, and they got the money to do it.

k-Lan5168d ago

Some of you people post messages of dollar signs like it's a surprise. What the hell do you think Microsoft, Sony & Nintendo are in the gaming business for? If you so called gamers have jobs or go to school, what are you doing it for? $$$$$$$$$$$???? You selfish bastards! You should all do volunteer work for the rest of your lives. Hey, maybe you can make us a few games for free. How about it?

raztad5168d ago

Makes all the sense of this world that FFXIII on the xbox was a business decision, what is wrong though is the linearity ends when disk 3 is inserted, no towns to be seen and the Japanese voiceover was totally removed from the BD version.

SE made FFXIII no more than a decent game. 82 and dropping is the score.

feelintheflow5168d ago

Didn't you know, Sony is only in business to give to the consumer. They don't want to make money, if it weren't for Microsoft they would just give away their system and games. The eternal light that is in the vault in Sony's headquarters preaches to give and give and give, and only take was absolutely necessary to survive as a company. I think all the executives work for free. The souls of Ghandi, Mother Theresa, John the Baptist, sit on the board of directors and I think Jesus founded the company.

Microsoft on the other hand was founded by Satan, they steel and rape and pillage. They own all of the gaming media, they pay off congress and world leaders so they can secretly screw over all gamers. The 360 is actually a doomsday device that they want to get into everyones house and then ignite them and the world ends and all of our souls will go to hell. Sony is like the fifth element. They are positioning themselves in every home so that the eternal light can stop the darkness.

Well, I am sure thats what any new member of N4G thinks after all of the hate articles and posts by the gaming community here.

sikbeta5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

You Guys Are WRONG, it wasn't for "$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$"

FF13 for x360 = [ $##.000.000 ]

pixelsword5168d ago

...it was for a lot of money.

And their reputation.

IdleLeeSiuLung5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

SE did it out of the goodness of their heart with no intention of profiting. It was for the good will of their fans!

That is why FF XIII is free on any platform and you can simply go into the store and grab one at any time and walk out!

Employees don't need wages, they do it because they love their job and would never dream of asking for wages. People don't need money to live and therefore everything should just be made for FREE!!!

ChozenWoan5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

Remember, this is your beloved MS:
http://www.n4g.com/industry...

Microsoft has a history that dates back way beyond the XBox1, might want to check it out before you go about flag waving again.

OT:
They did it all for the Nuki!!!

CimmerianDrake5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

@Hakimy: Bubbles for your post. That was awesome. Now just imagine Bill Gates with that laugh. lol. You should check out the ones I post. lol.

Next. I find it hilarious that Wada tries to pass it off as "Microsoft asked us to do it, so we did." Yeah, they "asked" for it, with a large check.

Finally, to all you sarcastic people like Idle, and feelintheflow, what you fail to remember is WHO these people get their money from. You don't make money by pissing people off, you make money by giving people what they want and making them happy. That's what Sony does. Yes, they are in it for money, but they LISTEN to their consumers. It may take them some time to implement things, but you can be sure that when enough people want something on the PS3, it'll be there eventually. No 360 users were screaming for FFXIII before that E3 it was announced in. All PS3 users were expecting the same thing with FFXIII that we had been used too with FFX, and the PS1 FF's, and that was an awe inspiring, epic game with tremendous production value, an intricate and engrossing story, and that Final Fantasy feel we all came to know and love. And what did we get? Final Fantasy FPSSJRPG. In this case it stands for First Person Shooter Style Japanese Role Playing Game.

And why did we get that? Because Microsoft opened their checkbooks and SE altered an already great game to cater to the lowest common denominator. Did anyone ask for a gimped game? Did anyone want that in any way? No. So they acted for purely greedy and selfish reasons. Yeah, Microsoft made SE a lot of money, but the cost was pissing off a lot of people who will now think twice about purchasing another SE game. And that sucks because it's not FF that will suffer, it's other, lesser known games that could be great that will suffer.

EDIT: Some vids for Hakimy. http://www.youtube.com/watc...

DOMination5168d ago

Obviously it was for money because they knew PS3 owners wouldn't bother buying it. It's not ideal when you create a masterpiece and nobody appreciates it, so SE gave it to an audience who would.

CimmerianDrake5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

So it's your contention then that 360 fans appreciate or would appreciate FFXIII even though every other JRPG on that console flopped commercially except MAYBE Lost Odyssey? That PS3 fans, who were likely PS1 and PS2 owners previous and used to FF the way it has been on that family of consoles, wouldn't appreciate a game they likely bought their PS3 just for? Is that what you're trying to say?

rockleex5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

Umm... yeah, more so than any other company I can think of.

Sony lost up to $300 with every PS3 sold at the beginning of this generation.

They were willing to make that sacrifice in order to offer the world a better storage format for HD movies and more space for developers to make HD games. More space = more freedom.

corneliuscrust5168d ago

Sony is not some benevolent company out to do good to all the gamers who have love in their hearts.

Sony's LONG TERM PLAN, as they explained over and over again at the start of this generation, is to put out sustainable tech in order to..what? MAKE MONEY. They didnt put out the PS3 in order bless the world with a better storage format.

LOTS of sht went down with the development of the PS3. Sony threw A LOT of money at it.

Even Jack Tretton says there were serious problems developing the console:

http://gizmodo.com/5025980/...

"In this case, the hardware guys developed the console fairly independently then dumped it onto the software guy's lap, effectively saying "do something with it." In essence, as Tretton says, the PS3 was not developed in collaboration between the two teams. As a result of this, the software team has been cleaning up the mess made by the hardware team for years."

Sony is in it for the money just like everyone else. It just tends to have excellent long term strategies compared to "some" companies...which will go unmentioned.

Greywulf5168d ago

Is that really what gamers want?

If so, we only need 1 game system with terrible quality and nickle and dime at every corner.

DevastationEve5168d ago

Sony didn't make PS3 out of any sort of conviction for our entertainment's sake dude. They made PS3 in order for you to buy it and put up with the idea of what THEY wanted video game home entertainment to look like in YOUR home.

Nevers5168d ago

$$$$ > Fangirl whining.

Squeaky wheels always get the grease once they've lined the pockets in cold hard cash.

Millah5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

Remember when the industry used to be about pushing boundaries and creating the absolute best game possible? And knowing that sales would sort of gravitate towards these kinds of games that pushed the envelope? Yea those were good times.

I seem to remember a certain company called Squaresoft that rejected the Nintendo 64 for their new game called "Final Fantasy VII" because they were not willing to compromise on their vision they had for the game. And the Nintendo 64 simply did not offer the space requirements they needed to fulfill their vision for their game.

I miss that company. Everything went downhill as soon as Sakaguchi left.

soxfan20055168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

If FF13 is not up to the standards set by the past chapters, it's because of poor development on the part of SE, NOT because of any limitations on the 360's hardware (lowest common denominator as you call it).

How is it that SO MANY other developers are able to create stellar, highly rated games - both exclusive and multi-platform - for the 360? It has NOTHING to do with any perceived limitations on the 360's hardware - if a game fails to live up to a standard, it's the fault of the developer and the developer alone.

SE simply wasn't up to the task this time around. The 360 is more than capable of running great games - SE just couldn't deliver in ways that developers such as Bioware could. Maybe they should look at some of the great 360 games that exist today, and see what those developers did right.

badz1495168d ago

"Obviously it was for money because they knew PS3 owners wouldn't bother buying it. It's not ideal when you create a masterpiece and nobody appreciates it, so SE gave it to an audience who would."

LOL thanks for the laugh dude! almost 2 mil sold in Japan alone! I know it's exclusive over there but you're up for a rude awakening because less 360 gamers are buying FFXIII than their usual shooters! so, who's really not appreciating here? trust me, when March NPD comes out, FFXIII on 360 won't even sold as much as what Borderlands did in its 1st month! maybe borderland's too high, make that Prototype!

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knifefight5168d ago

Took 'em 4 paragraphs to just say "money?"

Lucreto5168d ago

I believe it was more how the PS3 was struggling back in 2007 and 2008 and SE were worried they will not get their budgeted sales on the PS3 so they covered there bases.

qface645168d ago

all your base are belong to us

97gsx5168d ago

That would make sense if square didnt make last remnanat, star ocean, and infinite undiscovery 360 exclusives. Especially since the 360 was dead in the water in japan where the ps3 could have sold tons of copies of star ocean.

The Simple Truth5168d ago

'and we agreed to soil ourselves witht eh 360 platform for the cold hard cash.

We now feel like dirty little whores.'

InfiniteRetro775168d ago

it was financial to be sure. the ps3 wasnt a sure bet. BUT if namco are stupid enough to make tekken 7 multiplat, or ff15 multiplat from square, my god id hate to imagine how poor the games will look if they DONT return to their exclusivity roots.

siyrobbo5168d ago

i wouldnt worry about ff15 being multiplat, i'd worry about FFVs staying exclusive

IHateYouFanboys5168d ago

tekken 6 was in 576p resolution on PS3 but 720p on PS3.........you do know that dont you?

namco should make tekken 7 exclusive to the 360 so its not being held back by the PS3 lol.

and yes, that last sentence was obviously sarcastic. the first one wasnt though, tekken is not even 720p on PS3.

97gsx5168d ago

Namco had a big thing going with microsoft in japan. tales of vesp, air combat, Idolmaster(lol)and a couple others were all 360 exclusives. Well in the end sales were down like 80% and they had to switch to multiplat.

sikbeta5168d ago (Edited 5168d ago )

"tekken 6 was in [576p]* resolution on [PS3]* but [720p]** on [PS3]*.........you do know that dont you?"

" tekken is not even [720p]** on [PS3]* "

-»[ ? ]«-

IHateYouFanboys5168d ago

typo, its 720p on 360 not PS3.

my apologies.

Sarcasm5167d ago (Edited 5167d ago )

Both versions of Tekken 6 is 576p. It's only when the motion blur is turned off, the 360 version goes to 1365x768 without anti-aliasing, while the PS3 version without motion blur stays at 576p but with 2xMSAA. In a sense, both versions aren't that great technically.

IHateYouFanboys5167d ago

lol

answer me this question - does Tekken 6 run at a resolution of at LEAST 720p on the 360 AT ALL? yes you say? of course it does.

does the PS3 version? no. never. 576p only.

so in conclusion - 360 version runs in >720p, PS3 version runs in <720p. not disputable.

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70°

The 7 Best Final Fantasy Characters: Unveiling the Legends

While FFVII ranks highly, there's more to the series than one game. Here's Chit Hot's picks for the seven best Final Fantasy characters.

220°

The older it gets, the more I respect Final Fantasy XIII

Alex Donaldson: "Hindsight is a hell of a thing, however, and in the years since Final Fantasy XIII, my respect for the decisions its developers made has skyrocketed. In the two Final Fantasy titles since we see both the brilliance and the folly in alternative approaches - and in Final Fantasy VII Remake, we get a more nuanced understanding of what FF13 was trying to accomplish from many of the same development leads."

Einhander1972133d ago

FFXIII is actually one of the best Final Fantasy games.

I also sort of was disappointed at the time, never as much as the bandwagon. But really all the fantastic 3D rendered cutscenes and I actually liked the characters and the story though convoluted was actually fantastic and the ending was extremely emotional. So much budget and time were put into that game Square had such big plans, I actually have always felt kind of bad for how things played out.

I have been thinking for years how great it would be to get all three games on one disk for PS4 or 5.

Nyxus133d ago

I always liked this game, and I agree, a rerelease for current gen would be nice.

Shane Kim132d ago (Edited 132d ago )

Gotta take off the nostalgia glasses. It's the worst FF. Shiva as a bike, I mean come on.

Elda132d ago

Shiva as a bike is strange but saying FFXIII is the worst FF is not at all a fact, that's simply your opinion.

Terry_B131d ago

*One of the 3 equally bad FF's

DivineHand125132d ago (Edited 132d ago )

When I got my series X a year ago, I bought FF13 for nostalgia reasons but ended up being disappointed. When I first played it around the time it launched, I didn't have a lot of experience with final fantasy games, so I enjoyed it. Fast forward to when I played it again, I found that the game had many unnecessary filler moments instead of just giving us meaningful content.

The game is also very linear and a quote on the article said it best. "It is like a sewage pipe that leads to the ocean until it opens up on Grand Pulse."

The story didn't make much sense either and I believe it is my mistake as I played the FF7 remake on PS5 prior which is a night and day difference in terms of pacing, storytelling and likeable characters even though cloud is aloof.

FinalFantasyFanatic131d ago (Edited 131d ago )

Probably was a mistake to play any of the golden era FFs first (e.g. FF6 through FF10), it makes it harder to enjoy some of the FFs that aren't as good. I think FF12 was where major issues with the series started becoming apparent, and it just got worse from there.

FinalFantasyFanatic131d ago (Edited 131d ago )

I didn't really care for it that much, the only saving grace was that it had a better story than 15 (overall it was better than 15) and possibly 12, and even then, you had to read some of it through primers, like reading a book. Plus the battle system was reasonably fun for what it was, even if it was more the spectacle that was exciting for me (e.g. summoning). And to be fair, the 13 trilogy got better with every games, I still don't like Snow though.

Gamingsince1981131d ago

Ff13 is only good if you haven't played a ff before, or any other games that are decent for that matter.

-Foxtrot131d ago

It is in fact no way the best Final Fantasy game, it's one of the worst

Linear corridors, Cutscene, Fight, Cutscene...rinse and repeat

Dialogue and characters are pretty bad, especially Lightning as the main FF hero, they literally said they tried to make a "Female Cloud" and they failed.

Story was pretty awful

I could go on

I think the only alright thing that came from the game was the music.

Elda131d ago

That's not a fact that's your personal opinion. The game sold 11 million copies between its 2009 release up until 2014 including critically reviewed as an 8 out of 10 or an 80 out of 100. The game does have some issues but it's not at all a fact as one of the worst FF games.

-Foxtrot131d ago

Elda

Not just mine mate

A large majority

So….

Traecy130d ago

N4G commenters such as yourself aren't the majority. The game was well received.

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gold_drake133d ago (Edited 133d ago )

i liked the game alot but i didnt like how they handled the terminology.

i dont mind reading data logs but it had soo many.

but i always loved the music and how it looked. the battle system wasnt too bad either.

but i like 13-2 more :)

i still dont understand why we never got a remaster of the trilogy

Eonjay131d ago

Xbox kinda did. Besides the video files of course which are still best on PS3 due to bluray.

Snookies12133d ago

XIII is a pretty solid game, but XIII-2 is WAY better. XIII-2 was one of the few games I decided to go for a Platinum trophy in, early on. Had so much fun the entire way through getting it too!

Eonjay131d ago

Totally agree. FF 13 was okay but 13-2 is my favorite FF game ever.

shinoff2183133d ago (Edited 133d ago )

I hated this to when it released. I haven't much liked a ff game since ff10 as much , aside from ff7remake. I decided to give it another shot on my series x since it's not on a current ps and was liking it quite a bit(just takes me some time to get over things ) until star ocean 2 remake came out I was all over that.

Square should definitely remaster it or something for ps4 ps5

KillerB132d ago

my favorite jrpg trilogy ever

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70°

Interview: Making music with Masashi Hamauzu

Square Enix Blog: "How do you compose iconic songs that help define a legacy? We speak to legendary composer Masashi Hamauzu about his work on Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIII, and Final Fantasy VII Remake, and how to make unforgettable music."

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