A sober look at Microsoft's FFXIII multiplatform announcement

Being one of the many PS3 owners who felt a mix of anger and utter disappointment last night I saw to it that I'd describe how I feel after the anger worn off and I see things a bit clearer. The anger become distrust, and the disappointment has become disgust. I'll explain now.

I was angry yesterday that Sony has let yet another exclusive fall through their hands. It's less about how the exclusive was lost, but more that I was looking forward to FFXIII really taking advantage of the PS3's power. I've seen what happens when games do this and anyone who has knows exactly what I'm talking about. Multiplatform games never turn out as good as exclusives, let alone on the PS3. But after considering the fact that we get Versus still(which I've always found more appealing for it's darker tone and atmosphere) made me less pissed. Plus it's still exclusive in Japan, where it will make it's biggest impact. MGS is far more popular in America than final fantasy and it's affect here was definetely something, but minimal.

The anger REALLY started to wear off however, when Warhawk dev dylan posted on the PSblog about the warhawk updates. It reminded me that I have ALOT of games to play AND games to look foward to. While I've always been excited for FFXIII, I've been thinking about other games like Heavy Rain and Infamous far more than it. My distrust however, has formed because I no longer FULLY believe third party exclusives anymore. I still don't think MGS4 won't show up on the 360 because of kojima, but I'm not 100% sure about it. Luckily, like nintendo, Sony has a really good group of First party support to soften their fall as always. So I'm still a happy gamer.

My disappointment has become disgust...at Microsoft. This will probably piss off a lot of people, but I really don't give a crap. Microsoft's E3 showing was flat out terrible, it wreaked of nintendo's 07 showing and only proved microsoft's new focus would be the more profitable casual audience. The dashboard was nice, but that's about it. No new games to be excited about, no alan wake, no halo, nothing, but final fantasy's announcement. And this announcement was a "bad for sony" announcement that didn't include a "good for microsoft" followup. Here's why:

When I heard the announcement I wanted to sell my PS3. I knew I'd regret it, but I was just that mad. However, I didn't want to BUY another console afterwards. For a brief moment I just wanted to stop playing video games, I don't know why, but I did. That's bad for sony, because as a PS3 owner I'm the one buying the games and DLC and accessories and all of that. And losing a member of the playstation family is always bad. However, I also now decided that I will NEVER buy a 360. No matter what. Microsoft just really pisses me off now.

They've pretty much made a habit of specifically targetting PS3 exclusives in order to get ahead. Even 360 owners are seeing this. When FFXIII was announced multiplatform I didn't see the super "HAHA!'s" I'd have expected. Everyone, even 360 owners knew that this was seriously not the time to strike a nerve with PS3 owners. Microsoft's first party support is so terrible they rely 100% on 3rd parties. This makes for a better relationship with 3rd party devs because Microsoft needs them, while nintendo and Sony don't. They're throwing around money to get around instead of investing in talented dev studios and building their empire brick by brick the way that sony and nintendo have. They want a playstation, but they think that THOSE specific games make up the playstation experience.

When GTAIV arrived, all that happened was that in result, it barely pushed Microsoft and Sony's consoles at all. GTA is a far more popular franchise than Final Fantasy in America and Europe(which are the only places FFXIII's 360 version will exist).

I tell you sober, that the day after the announcement I've become even more of a sony loyalist. Seeing microsoft make those fanboyish comments about stealing the PS3's exclusives made me realise just exactly what I love about the PS brand. Sony introduces new  faces to the playstation family every gen and always knows how to impress, they provide variety and have a reputation for showing everyone the light in the darkest times.  While I've always said I'd be willing to buy a 360 before, that's no longer true. I'm willing to buy a wii and other nintendo products because I respect them, but I will never, I repeat, NEVER buy a microsoft console.

Feels good to be sober again.

[Hagaf22]

i agree with you, while i have NO interest in ff at all, never been big on turn based rpgs, it is hard to watch another ps3 exclusive slip away. i dont feel it has much to do with the companys as much as it has to do with the hardware. sony changed the whole hardware design, while microsoft didnt change, making games for the 360 is just like last gen/pc gaming, where the ps3 is more complex, so the added cost of making a game for ps3 can be overcome by making the game for 360 which cost little extra. so while this stings us ps3 owners, its going to be a growing trend, i think sony dropped the ball when they released the ps3 and didnt give enough support to game developers, which pissed alot of them off and turned them away.... looks like i may just have to pick up a 360 this fall.... i know i said it but while ps3 games end up on 360, we arent seeing the likes of gears over on the ps3...

[Hueco Muendo Leader]

for opening the window for 180 trash talkers to talk trash to us ps3 owners, cause prior to this they had no trash to mention, thanks again square

[RadientFlux]

I hope you don't keep your anti-microsoft comments to a minimum in news articles. As in the past I've enjoyed reading some of your comments and would hate to have to put you on ignore.

[Valin]

.......... Your disgusted that Microsoft made no new title announcements and then go on to say that,
Quote: I will never, I repeat, NEVER buy a microsoft console.
You make no sense with that statement! If your never going to buy one then why write about the 360? The only reason your upset is because your a blinded fanboy who will never see both sides of the argument because of your ridiculous brand loyalty!

To put it simply your like an apple fanboy who refuses to put office on his mac, even though it will make his life easier he doesn't do it because he's a Fanboy.

So you sir may be sober but because of your fanboyism you'll never see clearly.

[SkolarVisari]

The thing is this really, where is the Microsoft brand? I am getting increasingly annoyed at Microsoft not because Sony is losing exclusives but because Microsoft isn't gaining any! FF was already huge before the Playstation came out, and the only reason it did not come out on the N64 is because of Nintendo's cartridge mistake. Ratchet and Clank, Jak, Crash Bandicot, Sly were all new IPs for PS1. I don't see the same kind of thing on the 360 three years in. I do see "Me too" though. It's got to the point where I just want to shout "MAKE YOUR OWN MAN!!" I haven't seen or heard anything about a Jade Empire sequel, nor have I heard anything about KOTOR 3. When I look at the 360 I see a cheaply built version of the PS3 that has a decent chance of crapping out on me (Hasn't happened yet thankfully.), with overpriced hard drives that make absolutely no financial sense compared to off the shelf hard drives. Not to mention a relatively expensive online component that is virtually identical to the PS3's.. (All of the chat functionality on live has nothing to do with the service and is really just a properting of the console operating system. The fee they charge you has nothing to do with that functionality in reality.)

[velaxun]

I wholeheartedly agree with you Shadow Skill. I look at Nintendo and characters like Mario, Link, Samus, the Pokémon, all come to mind. Glance over at Sony and you think of Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, and you get all these characters that define the console. With Nintendo we've got games like Super Smash Bros., Mario Cart, on Sony there's Tekken, Gran Turismo. They've got Console defining games. You then look on over to the 360 and you see a lot of what used to be playstation. I mean yes, kudos and acquiring these titles, but seriously MS needs to come up with something original to define their console. The only thing I can really come up with is Master Chief. I look at their other games and just see franchises that used to reside on PS2 or Nintendo. Or I see imitations, Splinter Cell, Metal Gear... Forza, Gran Turismo....

[Angelitos]

I hope SONY does something about the FF13 exclusivity

[Truplaya]

Oh dear, hear that little violin playing for you. OMG, grow up. Why would news make you wanty to sell your PS3? How can you be disgusted at a company for wanting to make more money? (unless its unethical which paying for game rights isnt).

You seem to know nothing. You say Sony brings new IPs and MS doesnt. Best new IP this gen - Gears of War, no doubt about it. Yes, sort of thrid party but still its on the 360. Sony have dissappointed me. My PS3 is now gonna be hardly used for games after november.

And another fanboy here says the 360 has no console defining games. But last i checked halo and gears were the best selling exclusives this generation.

I'm not a fanboy of anyone by any stretch (i have the PS3, 360 and a good PC) but some of you Sony fanboys are either stupid or are just little kids with no clue.

Im gonn ahve to stop reading the blogs on here if these things keep getting approved.

[velaxun]

fanboy my ass. Take a hard look at MS's first party games and tell me what's console defining. Yes I mentioned Halo, I'll admit it's a good game, I have no problem playing it. Best selling games do not define a console though. Take a look at my previous post, Mario, Zelda, Metroid. They probably sold much less than Halo 3 or Gears, but they are the face of Nintendo. What is MS's face?

You need more proof though, I listed a few of the games that make Sony and Nintendo what they are. You've listed 2 games, Halo and Gears and claim they define the 360... as what? Those two games are about grizzled space marines fighting alien invasions. MS needs diversity. They seem to be picking up, I've noticed the influx of RPG's on the system and that's a good thing. But there are still no "console defining" characters on the Xbox. Master Chief can't stand up to the loyalty that Mario generates in Gamers. Marcus Fenix.... he's been in one game.... how is that console defining?

Look in the mirror before you start pointing fingers

[thisguywithhair]

"Oh dear, hear that little violin playing for you. OMG, grow up. Why would news make you want to sell your PS3?"

How can I explain? Pretend you are playing the original DONKEY KONG, in the arcade and everything. You work very, very hard and spend your well earned money in order to get the highest score possible. Then i come along, pay the owner of the arcade to let me program a higher score onto to the list. How would that make you feel?

"You seem to know nothing. You say Sony brings new IPs and MS doesn't. Best new IP this gen - Gears of War, no doubt about it. Yes, sort of trad party but still its on the 360. Sony have disappointed me. My PS3 is now gonna be hardly used for games after november."

Sony has MGS4, MS has nothing. Need I say more?

"And another fanboy here says the 360 has no console defining games. But last i checked halo and gears were the best selling exclusives this generation."

HALO came out last gen and GEARS came out last year (almost). Sony has MGS4 out this year. Sorry that it has to keep being brought up like this but MGS4 is the current console definer, MS has none at the moment. All they have is a bunch good memories. BTW: Why do you keep bringing GEARS? Is it because that is MS's only good, worth while game?

"I'm not a fanboy of anyone by any stretch (i have the PS3, 360 and a good PC) but some of you Sony fanboys are either stupid or are just little kids with no clue."

Speaking of people with no clue, have you not noticed absolutely no exclusives coming out for the 360 that haven't already been announced years ago? Sure Sony may delay FW and even it games, but it always delivers exactly what it says it will. MS on the other hand started making the XBox as a way to add a third party into the console war. They started strong with HALO and a few other titles but after a while it just became one game after another with no real staying power in any one of them. Now they are so far out of the game that the only way they catch up is to buy their way back into the game. Sort of like the annoying little brother who is always tagging along.

Sorry for the length but when I see such sheer stupidity I need to say something.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Great blog,and exactly how i felt at first.
Im just glad the PS3 version will be built first,and will take advantage of the Cell/RSX/Blu-ray.

[LaChance]

to have hate for a console.
I personnaly believe the 360 is a 10000000000000 times better than the PS3 and PS3 got one of the 360's best exlcu(Bioshock) but in no way do I feel even the slightest hate for Sony.

Moreover I remember you calling people that hate onther consoles etc plain out idiots.

I remeber you telling me how INSANE it was and how stupid , moronic it was to hate another console.

Funny how you are actually one those guys now.

You guys might say "yeah , but Lachance you are a fanboy too" or "you hate sony" bla bla bla.

I SWEAR I dont have not even 1% hate for Sony.I prefer the 360 by miles and honestly think the PS3 is inferior in what it has to offer software wise.But I dont have disdain or hatred for Sony WHATSOVER.

I mean you hate MSFT because of the whole FF13 thing ???!!! People seem to take this whole (console war) thing WAY WAY WAY too seriously.

More over why the hate for MSFT ? It looks like both of them Square and MSFT) wanted FF13 to go multiplat : MSFT for the possible PS2 user base they can snatch and Square for the money and the dev costs etc.Now they have all together 33 million customers for FF13 rather than only 14 million with the PS3 alone.

I dont see what is MSFT or Square supposed to do in such a situation but try to get it multiplat.

This is BUSINESS.I dont know if you realise but Sony and MSFT and all the other firms dont give a damn about fanboys.

Square isnt staying loyal to Sony because fanboys want it so.

With that said I like the 360 but dont care much about MSFT.They just happen to make the 360 which is my console of choice .I mean it wouldnt change anything to me if it were Samsung making the 360.Its the 360 I like and support NOT MSFT.

Anyway people like you are the tiny and unsignificant minority of gamers who are "cultists", worse than fanboys, like some other guy in a forum said.

Sony fanboys of course piss me off simply because I too am 100% 360 biaised but I feel NO EMOTION AT ALL for MSFT nor Sony.I dont see how you guys manage to get emotional about these stuff.

I just go where the game are.Last gen I was a PS2 enthusiast and this gen Im a 360 fan.Who knows for next gen.I dont have this strange "loyalty" that ecven if Sony discontinued the PS3 and simply canned the whole thing you would still refuse to get its "equivalent" the 360.That kind of thinking is just beyond my understanding.

[Naitron]

I believe this is a great opportunity to show us what the PS3 is really made out of. Now you'll have a AAA title first developed on the ps3 than ported over to the 360. This will show us how well the 360 can match up to the ps3's capabilities.

The 360 is my console of choice for many reasons.
1. I like the controller,
2. Perference for exclusive titles
3. Multi platform games run better usually - comes out first also
4. Xbox Live, primarily the friends list.

I'm planning on getting a ps3 later when I feel that theres enough games to merit my purchase besides as blu ray player. You can say all the biased things you want when it comes to ps3 and the xbox 360. But lets face the facts Sony dreams big, thinks big, and promises big, but they deliver average. I can tell you a lot of promises pre-launch of what the PS3 was supposed to be. But overall it's about video games. Yes FFXIII is a bigger deal in Japan than America, but I'm glad it's coming to the 360. Just one more reason not to buy a ps3 for me.

Nintendo and Sony have a better selection when it comes to first party games. But the general consumer doesn't care if Sony made it themselves.

I'm a big fan of the playstation and playstation 2, but I'm disappointed by the ps3 since launch. All I saw was a piece of hardware put together with this concept.

Sony executive #1 - "Dude we own the new media format blu ray"
Sony executive #2 - "Dude we also own this new "powerful" processor called the cell"
Sony executive #3 - "Dude I wonder how we can make a lot of money of these proprietary pieces of advance technology"
Sony executive #4 - "DUDE!!!! Lets put it into the new playstation, it'll be our selling points!"

[xplosneer]

I agree. I mean I will probably get a 360, at some point in time, but it just PISSES ME OFF that they're going casual. And with the info that was just released, it is quite fairly obvious that they JUST got into dealing with square. I've seen more MAD PS3 owners that are mad because of losing this, NOT because 360 owners are throwing it in their face. They are just MAD. I have to agree. Good job waiting.

[LastDance]

Your right man...hit the nail on the head.....Microsoft dont want to work and EARN their gaming empire...they are like the rich Wank face buying everything including friends and not working hard for it.

[brodels]

yes the potential dilution of quality of the game is definitely what's upsetting me. look at devil may cry 4, GTA4, and even asassin's creed. those games would be so much better if they were developed solely for the ps3, without a doubt. more efficiencies in the development would definitely be reached. GTA4's controls, i dunno if it's just me, but feel somewhat clunky. DMC4's second half is the same as the first half backwards. but that's the thing, sony developed a system, like they always do, that's very hard to develop for at introduction. microsoft however released their comparable system almost 2 years before the ps3, so the third party devs can reach better efficiencies on that console, making it cheaper to develop for, and ultimately generating more revenue to hopefully cover the operating costs.

seeing that the game will be developed for the ps3 exclusively before they make it for the 360 is somewhat relieving, but if the games do end up being identical on the 360 and the ps3, then there's a problem. Squenix said they're actually developing the game for a pc platform (does DMC4's development ring a bell?). hopefully it won't befall the same fate as that game. and anyway, FFversus13 does look much more badass

[WildArmed]

' I repeat, NEVER buy a microsoft console. '

Sounds pretty sober to me lol