Square Enix "Clarifies" Final Fantasy Xbox 360 Statement

[bapenguin]

GamesIndustry.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25624) has a clarification if you can call it that from Square Enix regarding recent comments (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30977) from Shinji Hashimoto. Some reports interpreted this to mean that the series will never again appear on Microsoft's next-gen console.

However, a spokesperson for Square Enix told GamesIndustry.biz, "Hashimoto-san was talking about the current situation" - which would suggest his comments shouldn't be interpreted as forward-looking.

I'm not sure how much clarity that statement provides, but what is interesting is some analysis by Michael Pachter of Webush Morgan."Square Enix faces a dilemma: put the next game on the 360 only and alienate Japanese fans, depart with tradition and make it multi-platform, or go with PS3 as an exclusive and deal with the backlash from the west.

Mr. Pachter is predicting though that Final Fantasy XIII will remain PS3 exclusive.

So....we are back where we started huh?

[Meusli]

There is only one option in that list that makes good business sense.

[Vandenh]

We will all be playing Mass Effect anyway...

[wezlypipz]

worth the wait

[Ancalagon]

I think the japanese need to get over their hatred of MS.

[Gorvi]

Cue the apathy towards a very well selling franchise from people who don't care for the genre to begin with.

EDIT : Until the 360 gains some traction in Japan, expect the JRPG support to be very light. They cater to their home market first, and not much is going to change that.

[TrackZero]

Square, c'mon, just do what you do with everything else. Branch off some new line of FF games for the 360 and try to keep everyone happy.

Though obviously, making FF XIII multi-platform will make you more money, it's your choice.

[bapenguin]

Cue the apathy towards a very well selling franchise from people who don't care for the genre to begin with.

EDIT : Until the 360 gains some traction in Japan, expect the JRPG support to be very light. They cater to their home market first, and not much is going to change that.

Yeah, but their home market is not like it was for the PS1 and PS2. They will release an exlusive title for a system with a very limited install base in Japan. I think that's why all these rumors and things keep coming up.

Face it, because of the Wii and because of the PS3 high price point the console playing field is vastly different than it has been the past 2 generations.

[Gorvi]

Yeah, but their home market is not like it was for the PS1 and PS2. They will release an exlusive title for a system with a very limited install base in Japan. I think that's why all these rumors and things keep coming up.

Face it, because of the Wii and because of the PS3 high price point the console playing field is vastly different than it has been the past 2 generations.
Say what you will, but I disagree. The 360 has little chance of seeing much JRPG support past what we're seeing now. Anyone who's been paying attention to JRPGs for any length of time would know what happens with them. They're made for the Japanese market, and then probably 50-60% of them get localized for the US, with an even smaller percentage coming to Europe. The Wii has a much, much better chance of dominating with JRPGs than the 360. Next gen JRPGs will more than likely come to the PS3 simply because it already has 3 times the install base of the 360 in Japan, which will remain the main focus for the genre. The US market means much less to the genre than I think you realize.

[TrackZero]

Say what you will, but I disagree. The 360 has little chance of seeing much JRPG support past what we're seeing now. Anyone who's been paying attention to JRPGs for any length of time would know what happens with them. They're made for the Japanese market, and then probably 50-60% of them get localized for the US, with an even smaller percentage coming to Europe. The Wii has a much, much better chance of dominating with JRPGs than the 360. Next gen JRPGs will more than likely come to the PS3 simply because it already has 3 times the install base of the 360 in Japan, which will remain the main focus for the genre. The US market means much less to the genre than I think you realize.

So...you're saying FF X, X-2, and XII didn't make them money in North America and there aren't copies all over the place....? Errr....

[bapenguin]

Say what you will, but I disagree. The 360 has little chance of seeing much JRPG support past what we're seeing now. Anyone who's been paying attention to JRPGs for any length of time would know what happens with them. They're made for the Japanese market, and then probably 50-60% of them get localized for the US, with an even smaller percentage coming to Europe. The Wii has a much, much better chance of dominating with JRPGs than the 360. Next gen JRPGs will more than likely come to the PS3 simply because it already has 3 times the install base of the 360 in Japan, which will remain the main focus for the genre. The US market means much less to the genre than I think you realize.

But what advantage is it to keep the game exclusive? It's very cost effective to make a title cross platform. The ability to reuse art and media assets saves a bundle of cash. The simple fact that the 360 has about 75% more units out there than the PS3, and most likely will continue to by the time FFXIII is released.

Lets look at it this way. Even if only 20% of US and European owners of 360's will buy Final Fantasy XIII. They would still sell more copies of the game than they would if it was Playstation 3 exclusive and almost every PS3 owner bought the game.

[Gorvi]

So...you're saying FF X, X-2, and XII didn't make them money in North America and there aren't copies all over the place....? Errr....
Of course they did. The FF franchise is a different animal from other JRPGs, I was more making a generalization of the genre as a whole. That being said, is it worth it to port the game to the 360 for 1/3 of their target market? Europe actually seems to be adopting the PS3 pretty well (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5918&Itemid=2), the 360 isn't even a factor in Japan, so that leaves North America that has the largest gulf in install base. While I admit it would make them some money to port a FF game to the 360, it's still pretty up in the air if it'd be worth it at this point. The PS3 is still a very young system yet, and with no FF game hitting for a good year yet, things could still change significantly.

Like I said before though, the Wii is a much more logical choice over the 360 as far as getting the bulk of the support. It just makes more sense. The 360 is lacking that key Japanese support for the genre, and that's what matters most.

Hell, I'm not trying to bash the 360 here, it's a great system for games, this is just one genre it will struggle to gain any support in.

[beefyjr]

Since I probably won't be getting a PS3 unless they do some major price-cutting and bring it down to $400 or under, I would be appreciative if they released this game on the 360.

In the current market, I think it's completely idiotic for a company with Square Enix's resources that are dumping that much money into a game to keep it on the platform that not only has the lowest install base, but will continue to have the lowest install base in the foreseeable future. I'll be shocked if this stays exclusive unless Sony is willing to shell out a shit fucking ton of money to keep it that way, because as much as everyone thinks that Japanese game companies cater to their home market first, they like making money a lot more than catering to their home market.

[roboninja]

GamesIndustry.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25624) has a clarification if you can call it that from Square Enix regarding recent comments (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30977) from Shinji Hashimoto.

I'm not sure how much clarity that statement provides, but what is interesting is some analysis by Michael Pachter of Webush Morgan.

Mr. Pachter is predicting though that Final Fantasy XIII will remain PS3 exclusive.

So....we are back where we started huh?

Umm, not really. You have the Squenix rep who refutes statements that FF will never come to the 360, and then some analyst ramblings. Since when did we listen to asshole-ists? I will most likely not buy the game no matter what, but the obviously best answer is to release the game on both platforms. The analyst's arguement against that is it would be "breaking tradition"? lol, okay, we all know tradition has such a huge impact in money decisions. His anti 360 exclusive arguement is valid. The others? Not so much.

[bapenguin]

Umm, not really. You have the Squenix rep who refutes statements that FF will never come to the 360, and then some analyst ramblings. Since when did we listen to asshole-ists? I will most likely not buy the game no matter what, but the obviously best answer is to release the game on both platforms. The analyst's arguement against that is it would be "breaking tradition"? lol, okay, we all know tradition has such a huge impact in money decisions. His anti 360 exclusive arguement is valid. The others? Not so much.

HUH? The Analyst is arguing FOR the Playstation 3.

It was Square Enix who came back and said the previous statement was misinterpreted.

[fitbabits]

I just saw this on the Square Enix press site:

(Maybe) Coming Soon for Xbox 360 (depending on how much money we can get from Microsoft to fund Final Fantasy XXX - featuring a naked Cloud Strife) - Final Fantasy XIII.

Coming Soon - Final Fantasy XIII for PS3 (because that's just the way we roll in Japan).

[TheFlyingOrc]

Umm, not really. You have the Squenix rep who refutes statements that FF will never come to the 360, and then some analyst ramblings. Since when did we listen to asshole-ists? I will most likely not buy the game no matter what, but the obviously best answer is to release the game on both platforms. The analyst's arguement against that is it would be "breaking tradition"? lol, okay, we all know tradition has such a huge impact in money decisions. His anti 360 exclusive arguement is valid. The others? Not so much.
The statement was that "for the 360, that's a blank page". Why we all decided that meant "NO FF FOR 360 RAR RAR" is beyond me.

Also, I don't see why "breaking tradition" is a problem. And releasing it as a PS3 exclusive wouldn't see "backlash from the west" - it would receive "less sales overall".

[DiBiddilyBop]

So....we are back where we started huh?

Unless you engage is some pretty unfounded speculation or wide interpretation of quotes that have narrow meanings, we never really left here. We have FFXI on the Xbox already, so obviously Square has an open mind about publishing for other companies, but there was never any indication that FFXIII was going to be on the 360 and all signs pointed to the contrary. Chances are the mainline FF games are going to be PS3 exclusive since Square has a good track record with Sony, and there are going to be some offshoots going to the handhelds. The fact is that there is some disparity between the type of gamer who primarily games on the 360 and the type that primarily games on the PS3, and the 360 gamers aren't the type that are all that into FF games. Square knows this and that's probably why they have not and will not bring their mainline FF games to the 360. Their development dollars are going to see better returns elsewhere.

[Philonious]

From the start the comment was "is currently a blank page" which always seemed open to future opportunities. I think SquareEnix is playing things close to the vest for a lot of reasons. There a couple things to consider that most people aren't.

First, whereas the 360 has a good lead in NA at the moment, things could change by the time FFXIII is released. There are currently NO games for the PS3, but a few big ones will be out before FFXIII sees the light of day so the install base of tomorrow will likely be different.

Second, they probably want to see how JRPGs sell for the 360 in NA. We have Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and Eternal Sonata coming out in the near(ish) future and if they don't really sell many copies for the 360 why would SquareEnix bother? People who are most interested in big budget JRPG are most likely in the PS3 camp and are waiting for something worthwhile before landing the PS3.

Anyhow, I see FFXIII and subsequent FFs becoming a timed exclusives depending on the install base of the PS3 and sales of other JRPGs on the 360.

[Zander]

The North American market is larger than the Japanese market.
The North American market is larger than the Japanese market.
The North American market is larger than the Japanese market.
The North American market is larger than the Japanese market.

How many times must this be said for people to understand what it means in business? Capcom sure gets it, why can't you?

[menage]

I don't understand how this would alienate Japanese fans. They don't give a shit about the 360 so what do they care? Lot's of Western players aren't buying a PS3 (yet) so why not go multi?

Not that I need it BTW, I'm done with the series.

The only one complaning is probably Sony. Which is probably the only reason it hasn't happened yet.

[Telefrog]

The North American market is larger than the Japanese market.
The North American market is larger than the Japanese market.
The North American market is larger than the Japanese market.
The North American market is larger than the Japanese market.

How many times must this be said for people to understand what it means in business? Capcom sure gets it, why can't you?

But is the North American market for JRPGs larger than the Japanese market for JRPGs?

[Roc Ingersol]

What "backlash from the west" comes from making a game PS3-exclusive?
North America and Europe have triple Japan's PS3 installed base.

And why can't squeenix put FF on the Wii? That'd still be an exclusive, and seems like that would make everyone happy as clams, particularly their beloved Japanese base.

Sounds like they're just having a hard time saying: "It's Final Fantasy, of course it'll be PS3-exclusive -- we're just dragging our feet because no-one's bought one yet"

[Johan]

I'm sorry, but if you didn't understand this from his first statement; if you thought he was discounting the 360 permanently and forever; you're an absolute idiot.

Everyone should go back to the previous thread (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30977) to find the fanboys out. They'll be easily recognizable by the way they jumped on his statement to be vindication that the PS3 will be THE CONSOLE FOR jRPGs... :rolleyes: and that FF will NEVER come to the 360. Please; get a grip!

Nobody knows what next year will bring. For THIS year? The 360 is the place to be for jRPGs in this most recent gen. of consoles.

Fanboys unite! Interpret statements any way you wish! :rolleyes:

They cater to their home market first, and not much is going to change that.

Oh please...Capcom, anyone? Dead Rising/Lost Planet? And in the jRPG genre, more of them on the 360 this year than the PS3? Please...

[EvilBob46]

We will all be playing Mass Effect anyway...

We won't a year from now when FFXIII comes out.

[menage]

Then Mass Effect 2 will probbly be. wasn't that a trilogy?

[clok1966]

If i remeber right RPG's (other then FF) havent done that good in the states in quite awhile. We (yes I'm from the US) seem to buy FPS over and over and over and... well you get the picture. Do the 360 owneres really care? Enchanted Arms didnt sell well (or did it ?) its marked down in most stores I go to (I picked it up for $19 new, after about 5-10 hours it gets pretty damn boring doing the same things over and over (again IMHO)). I must agree with the "who cares" crowd, when i was 16-21 i played RPGs like they where going out of style but Im older now and cant put 100+ hours into doing "almost" the same attacks over and over on a few new mosnters.

[Codicier]

Square Enix faces a dilemma: put the next game on the 360 only and alienate Japanese fans, depart with tradition and make it multi-platform, or go with PS3 as an exclusive and deal with the backlash from the west.

What? Why the fuck can't they do multiplatform?

Depart with tradition? Who gives a fuck? Since when did a company care about anything other than money?

Too many question marks???

[TheFlyingOrc]

But is the North American market for JRPGs larger than the Japanese market for JRPGs?
I think, for Final Fantasy at least, that they are both the same. (or at least close)

Oddly enough, the safest bet for releasing an RPG looks to be the Wii.

[Taiso]

I wouldn't buy it anyway because all the characters are gay EMO hermaphrodites that ride chickens and turn based is old.

I hadn't seen one of those posts in this thread yet so I thought I'd save everyone else the trouble. Your opinion has been voiced. You're welcome.

This is just like I called it. Squeenix CAN'T voice their intentions right now because they don't want to alienate any platform developers. They are, right now, making nice with everyone and they want to avoid another Nintendo fiasco. They did what any company would do in their position. They didn't burn any bridges and they kept their options open. 'Blank page' doens't mean 'no support' in business speak. It means 'no current plans, but based on what Microsoft is willing to bring to the table in terms of dollars, perhaps an FF title could make its way to the 360.' They aren't stupid. They know that the 360 has legs and is an internationally well received console for the most part. It would be foolish of them to close the door to that possibility. So they left it open for future consideration.

I'd lock the thread now if I were a mod.

[trip1eX]

There is only one option in that list that makes good business sense.

Yeah put it on the Wii.

[KamaItachi]

Maybe they're just waiting to see what sort of numbers other JRPGs do on the 360 Stateside, ala Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata before they commit to going multiplatform...

[Rune_74]

Someone asked why they thought it would never be on a 360 because of the blank page thing?? look at a few of Gorvi's posts in the other thread and you will see why...conjecture is great if you think it proves your point.

[jpublic]

But is the North American market for JRPGs larger than the Japanese market for JRPGs?

About equal, if not a little larger.

Edit: I should clarify that. For SE, it's about equal. If you include the Eurpoean/Australian sales, the English Language market is significantly larger. For practically everything else, ithe NA market is smaller, but still huge, while the English Language market is comparable to the Japanese one.

[Telefrog]

About equal, if not a little larger.

Really? Care to back that up?

[jpublic]

I remember seeing it on a thread here several months ago. Nonetheless, if you check the Wiki entry for FF12 (which gives its source) you'll see that the 1st week NA sales of FF12 were almost as high as Japan's. So, it's reasonable to assume it's about the same for Square.


I've not been able to find 2007 data.

(Shrunk because I think it's wrong.)

I hit Square's site, and they've got their 2006 (ending March 2007) financial data. They've basically said their non-Japanese sales is about 23% of their total profits, but the non-Japan (especially NA) seems to be growing faster than the Japanese profits.

Take that how you will.

[Johan]

...if you check the Wiki entry for FF12 (which gives its source) you'll see that the 1st week NA sales of FF12 were almost as high as Japan's. So, it's reasonable to assume it's about the same for Square.

Frankly, that's not going to matter either way, whatever the numbers say, if the PS3 continues to do as poorly as it is currently in NA. Square will be forced to port FFXIII over to either the Wii or the 360 to make money in NA.

Ultimately, Square will pander to the people who count; their shareholders, who desire that they MAKE MONEY.

[Talvish]

Of
Like I said before though, the Wii is a much more logical choice over the 360 as far as getting the bulk of the support. It just makes more sense. The 360 is lacking that key Japanese support for the genre, and that's what matters most.

The 360 has some pretty good support for JRPGs (when you look at what has been announced for any current gen) ... big ones:

a) Blue Dragon
b) Lost Odyssey
c) Enchanted Arms
d) Trusty Bell
e) Infinite Undiscovery
f) The Last Remnant

I would expect Mist Walker Studios to not stop there either. And if Trusty Bell does well world wide, I would expect to see continued support from Namco. MS has been working hard with Namco to get more support from them across a variety of types of games.

[Xerxes]

If The Last Remnant does well enough, I think Square Enix will have to stroke their chins to that and investigate the risk of making one of those several FF XIII games a multi platform title. I think it will out do the PS3 version, which i suspect my get some frills. But you can't top achievements.

[bapenguin]

I remember seeing it on a thread here several months ago. Nonetheless, if you check the Wiki entry for FF12 (which gives its source) you'll see that the 1st week NA sales of FF12 were almost as high as Japan's. So, it's reasonable to assume it's about the same for Square.


I've not been able to find 2007 data.

(Shrunk because I think it's wrong.)

I hit Square's site, and they've got their 2006 (ending March 2007) financial data. They've basically said their non-Japanese sales is about 23% of their total profits, but the non-Japan (especially NA) seems to be growing faster than the Japanese profits.

Take that how you will.

Square also releases more product in the Japanese market than they do the North American. That includes things above and beyond games like Final Fantasy Drinks, and other tie-ins.

[Rook34]

I'm sorry, this whole debate is stupid. Let's put it this way. Pretend you're SquareEnix.

Do you A) Like money a lot (i.e. Multiplatform)
Or.......B) Don't like money and are stupid (i.e. hold on to tradition and not embrace change, making your company stagnant and possibly going down with the ship..Sony)

If it's YOUR company, you would do what is best, what will create the most growth, and make you the most money. There will be FF on the 360, mark my words. It is simply too expensive to make a FF game and not have a large enough install base to make a profit from for it to be any different.

Things could change, but I don't think it will change enough.

[Xerxes]

Isn't Dragon Quest the bigger seller in Japan anyways?!

[NeoSuplex]

I'm not sure why the analyst quoted in the article sees Square as so tradition bound, especially in light of some of the things they've done recently (DQ on DS, MMO Final Fantasy, Licensing 3rd Party Engines...) but I'm gonna have to consider him dead wrong on that assessment. SE is not going to mess around with one of their bread and butter franchises by blindly following some tradition. I expect them to watch certain 360 releases veeery carefully this holiday season to see if there really is a market for jRPGs on the system and make their final decisions based on that assessment.
My money's on FF going Multi platform.

[JazGalaxy]

one thing I have yet to see mentioned here, yet, is the fact that the japanes games market as a whole is SHRINKING at an alarming rate. This is part of whatled Nintendo to believehtat a complete paradigm shift was necessary.

That coupled wiht the rising cost of development, with Final Fantasy being the most expensive game TO develop, means square doesn't really have a choice in making FF multiplatform.

[RorschachCCCLX]

yes, Dragon Quest out sells FF in Japan, just as Virtua Fighter is ahead of Tekken there too, the oppisite of how it is here.

I think what it really comes down to is Nationalism. I haven't heard that being discussed yet, but I think its a valid topic. its the same reason Microsoft is trailing so bad in that country and has such weak (but slightly strengthing ) support from japanese developers. I've read interviews with Japanese developers who say they are more conserned with what sells in the japanese market and could give a crap about the rest of the world. So that being the case, I'd say we may never see an tradisional (non-MMO) Final Fantasy on the 360. the wii maybe, but not the 360.

[Johan]

I think what it really comes down to is Nationalism.

Not necessarily disagreeing, just pointing out that what this would mean is that "what it really comes down to is pure stupidity."

I will say, having lived overseas, that foreign markets/consumers are much more concerned with the country of origin of products than we are. Americans are very pragmatic. Is it a good product for a good price? Then I'll buy it. If we cared about where products were made, we wouldn't buy so much cheap shit from China, or cars from Japan (Toyota, number one in the world).

I was ceaselessly amazed at how important others found the origin of products to be while I lived in Asia. Even Canadians that I befriended there were quite concerned with "Canadian musicians" and the like. I never gave a rip. If I liked it, I bought it. If not, then not.

[jpublic]

Square also releases more product in the Japanese market than they do the North American. That includes things above and beyond games like Final Fantasy Drinks, and other tie-ins.

Good point. Of the actual *profit* made, games made up almost 80% of that. Of *sales*, games were about 40%.


That 23% non-Japan number above (or 14.6% if you just look at NA) is very different if you look at revenue. In that case, of the roughly 26 billion Yen profit last fiscal year, about 27% is non-Japan (including a loss in Asia), or North America was about 21%.

Income growth in Japan was about 25%, with profit up 55%. Income growth in NA was 48%, and profit up 65%.


*Note, I am not a financial professional of any sort, and as such my interpretation of Square-Enix's financial documentation is quite possibly very incorrect. Also, I did all the math in my head, so I could be off by a couple points.

http://www.square-enix.com/jp/ir/e/data/financial/download/tanshin_070523en.pdf

[Incidence]

my views on this are pretty simple, I have a 360, I don't own a PS3 (and unless something major changes between now and FF's release I won't), and I like jRPG's. Square can sell potentially a lot more games for marginal increased costs or they can not, its their call.

If Square goes multi-platform then it can only increase their market and their sells, just about every other 3rd party developer is going multi-platform, so what have they figured out that Square hasn't?

[ferrarimanf355]

Everybody with a 360 should send a message to Square Enix and buy a copy of Last Remenant. Maybe then they'll get the message that Capcom got a long time ago... :)

[Evil Avnovice]

If it happens, chances are it might be a VERY long wait. Who knows?

[Mal.Reynolds]

I think the game(FFXIII) looks beautiful but meh nothing im gonna buy a PS3 System for...be nice if they went multiplatform but i dont see it happening any time soon .. Another thing i didnt read as i was looking through is that Sony owns part of Sqaure Enix
(Meaning part of the stalk Ect) which means... If they lose (Enix) then Sony loses more...

[BGSS]

But is the North American market for JRPGs larger than the Japanese market for JRPGs?

While FF is a JRPG, you can't lump them into the same category businesswise. JRPGs do poorly (in comparison to other genres) in the US, but specifically FF games outsell nearly every other game that came out that year. The status of JRPGs as a genre in NA is irrelevant. The fact that FF is always a million+ seller in NA tells you that it is a good idea to reach as many NA customers as possible.

[Fonz]

Give japan a Final Fantasy, Japan will buy PS3's its that simple. No complicated math here. Blue Dragon has proven that even with Big name Jrpg devs behind it,games wont sell the 360. Get over yourselves thinking NA is the only focus of these companies. Capcom was bitching a few days ago they arent getting love from japan GEEE UMM maybe thats because you're releasing 360 exclusives?

Weve heard it all before by 1up and gamespy. When they go to japan and ask why havent you bought a PS3 yet: they respond "Waiting for Price and Final Fantasy".

[WaltJay]

I think FF13 will be a PS3 exclusive, since it seems to take them forever to make them, if they haven't started the 360 version by now, they might as well forget it. However, if FF13 doesn't sell enough units, I could see the next FF going multi-platform. We'll see how loyal they are after one underperforming PS3 FF game.

[jpublic]

Walt, it's fairly simple to do a port these days, especially to a system with similar capabilities to the PS3 like the X360 does.

Heck, some of the tool developers in the last gen made *millions* out of making tools that allowed PS2/Xbox/GC cross-platform development.

[D.D.D.]

I don't care if any FF game comes out on the 360. Alienate US fans of the game? That's stupid... Anyone that owns an Xbox or 360 is more than dedicated enough to have a PS2 or 3 so that exclusivity isn't an issue.
SE should really just release it on Wii just to screw with peoples heads~ :rolleyes:

[Zeal]

I will be so glad when Square Enix becomes totally irrelevant.

[Wolvie]

There is only one option in that list that makes good business sense.

Yep, multi-platform. Good for the Japanese, so they7 can buy it on their precious Japanese console(friggin xenophobes!). And the US and Euro market can get it on 360. Everybody ends up happy, and Square makes more money. Win, win. So... uh, what was the big deal about bringing it FFXIII to 360? Other then making the PS3 fanboys grouchy. :D

[Ancalagon]

If we cared about where products were made, we wouldn't buy so much cheap shit from China, or cars from Japan (Toyota, number one in the world).


Heard a funny story, an American women goes to a motorbike dealership to buy a bike for her son on his 16th birthday. So while the son is browsing, she takes the salesman aside, and says, "I want him to buy a nice American make, like Honda."

Seriously though, Chinese goods may not be the best quality, but Japanese is the best in the world - they were the first ones to actually be concerned about quality. They were the first to go after so called total quality management.

I think most of us have no loyalties as far as a product's country of origin, because we care more about the better deal. Although, isnt it true that in America some foreign goods importers are required to pay higher import duties to help subsidize local producers?

[Johan]

Seriously though, Chinese goods may not be the best quality, but Japanese is the best in the world

Very true. Funny how my mom remembers when Japanese products were considered total and complete crap, way back whenever that was...'60s or '70s, just like Chinese products.

I'm especially fond of Chinese pet food and toothpaste. I hear they have secret ingredients in them! :D

I think most of us have no loyalties as far as a product's country of origin, because we care more about the better deal. Although, isnt it true that in America some foreign goods importers are required to pay higher import duties to help subsidize local producers?

I'm not sure how import duties are decided, but I'm sure that's a factor.

[bean19]

According to VGcharts (http://www.vgcharts.com):

Japan console sales as of February 2007:

PS3 - ~676,000
Xbox 360 - ~252,000

US Hardware sales through Feb. 2007:

PS3 - 1,058,700
Xbox 360 - 5,026,822

Worldwide Hardware sales after Dec. 2006:

PS3 - 1,840,000
Xbox 360 - 10,400,000
Wii - 3,190,000

The 360 is definitely not doing very well in Japan, but neither is the PS3. RPG makers that are looking to release through 2008 are most likely much more interested in the worldwide market than they are in just Japan because of this.

The numbers that they are most likely looking at for choosing systems to develop on for ANY genre (including RPGs) is the world-wide market. It is likely that the Wii, due to it's continued great sales, will catch up with the Xbox 360 in December 2007 or early 2008, so I think that we will see "next-gen" RPGs being made for the Xbox 360 or being made multi-platform for the PS3 as well. We'll also see some game makers choosing to make games for the PS2 and the Wii (again, for all genres, but this will include some RPGs).

Sometimes Japanese companies can be very anti-American though - even when they take a loss. . . so it's not a certainty that Final Fantasy XIII will come out for both the 360 and the PS3. Traditionally, they do not go cross-platform on the main Final Fantasy titles (excluding remakes), and if they intended making it for just the 360, then they would have announced this much earlier as the Final Fantasy series does drive the sale of some systems.

However, I think that MOST 3rd-party RPGs will go cross-platform this time around. For the PSX and PS2, it made sense to only release on the Playstation because it had the lead in both territories, but that's no longer the case. The PS3 is selling terribly due to it having the very expensive additional cost of including the Blu-Ray player and that isn't something that will go down enough in cost to allow the PS3 to be competitive until late 2008 at the earliest. At that point, if the Xbox 360 has lowered it's price this Christmas and continues to have the best next-gen game library, there is a good chance that it will have out-sold or at least be close to the same number of units sold in Japan as well as being the clear next-gen HD system in the West (U.S. & Europe).