Why Announcing Final Fantasy XIII For The Xbox 360 Is Only The Beginning (The Complete Version)
Posted on 29. May, 2009 by Master Samo in Microsoft, Real Talk with the HipHopGamer
If you pay close attention to the Square-Microsoft relationship and its progression, you would begin to notice a pattern materializing before your very eyes. The pattern is more like water testing. Let me explain, if you are at a lake, and you suddenly feel the need to swim, your first thought would not be to jump in; the first thing you would normally do is test the water temperature; if it’s too cold and you are still feeling the urge to jump in, then you would need to slowly and gradually immerse yourself, in order to avoid jolting your system with a sudden temperature shift, until you are completely immersed in water; only at that point will you be able to swim freely and enjoy the experience. That is exactly what Square-Enix has done.
If you notice the gradual story progression of the Square-developed titles for the Xbox 360, you would easily be able to predict where things are going. In April of 2006, they released Final Fantasy XI Online, a title that was released, over two years prior to the Xbox 360 version, on both the PS2 and PC, and was therefore, nothing more than a port of a title that Square had already profited from. In July of 2007, they released Project Sylpheed, a third-person space shooter from a genre that is not one of Square’s strong points.
In September of 2008, they released Infinite Undiscovery, a JRPG title developed by tri-Ace, one of Square’s most important second-party developers. In November of 2008, they released The Last Remnant, a JRPG title, developed by Square’s internal studio, that was initially announced as a multiplatform title, but was suddenly released as an Xbox 360 exclusive. Finally, after being fully immersed in the Xbox 360 waters, in February of 2009, they released Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope, a JRPG title, developed by tri-Ace, that was a sequel to one of Square’s biggest first-party franchises, exclusively on Microsoft’s console!
If we also add the fact that, at E3 08, Square-Enix announced Final Fantasy XIII as a multiplatform title, and the fact that Front Mission Evolved has been recently announced for the Xbox 360, it would be quite clear to us where things are going. Therefore, it is my belief that in 2009, one or more of the following predictions will surely be realized:
1. Final Fantasy XIII will finally be announced for the Xbox 360 in Japan.
2. Final Fantasy Versus XIII will finally be announced as a multiplatform title.
3. Kingdom Hearts 3 will be announced as an Xbox 360 exclusive!
On a side note, to any gamer that was not able to survive my last prediction, may you rest in peace.
Back to the topic at hand, if you still doubt my words, then let me explain my reasoning behind this from another angle:
First, given the fact that Star Ocean 4 had both the highest first-day sales and first-week sales in the history of Microsoft in Japan, and the fact that, in the Land of the Rising Sun, the Xbox 360 currently has an installed base of over one million console owners, a large library of exclusive AAA JRPG titles, a tempting price tag, and a new reputation, it would not be too hard to figure out why Square has decided to continue their relationship with Microsoft and why they would decide to release Final Fantasy XIII in Japan; after all, they know that if released, it would easily surpass the Star Ocean 4 numbers and would become the best selling game in Microsoft’s history there.
Second, in case anyone wants to argue that Tetsuya Nomura, Director of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, does not have any experience with the Xbox 360 hardware, and, as a result, would not be able to develop it for the Microsoft console, you need to understand that all Square needs to do is outsource the Xbox 360 project to another internal studio that is familiar with its hardware and assign them to take over the task of porting the game to Microsoft’s machine. Furthermore, if anyone wants to argue that its trailer contained “Only on PS3″, you need to remember that the first trailer for Final Fantasy XIII had the same statement, and yet here we are waiting for the simultaneous release of this title in 2010!
In fact, the first trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII only contained “On PS3″, which lead gamers to expect that this title might actually have a chance to be released as a multiplatform title as a compensation to Microsoft for not receiving Final Fantasy XIII on their console. In other words, statements in trailers are meaningless nowadays; thus, expect the unexpected from Square this year regarding Versus XIII.
Third, if anyone would like to argue that Kingdom Hearts 3 will not be announced this year simply because Nomura, the Character Designer of the Kingdom Hearts series and the Director of both installments on the PS2, is already hard at work on Versus XIII, and, as a result, would not be able to work on the third installment now, you need to understand that the solution to this issue is quite simple. All they have to do is outsource the project to another internal studio, and reassign over 40% of Nomura’s team, that had previously worked on the Kingdom Hearts franchise, to that project in order to benefit from their experience with the franchise.
More importantly, in addition to mainly focusing on the Versus XIII, Nomura can also oversee the Kingdom Hearts 3 project. All he needs to do is design the macro-concept of the game and then allow the other internal studio to execute the project with his supervision. This is a very well-known strategy to give developers time to focus on multiple projects simultaneously; Sakaguchi used it for Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey by outsourcing them to Artoon and Feelplus respectively, and Lorne Lanning is currently using it for his next Oddworld game by outsourcing it to Maxis.
Lastly, let me ask you this: why would gamers assume that it would be necessary to have Nomura on the Kingdom Hearts 3 project anyway? After all, David Jaffe was not involved in the second installment of his creation, and it turned out fine; Cory Barlog, the Creative Director of God of War2, was not involved in the upcoming third installment, and we all know how that will turn out. If we also add the fact that the main reason for supporting the Xbox 360 was to break through to the Western market, and the fact that Kingdom Hearts is more directed towards Western gamers, especially by including the Disney characters in the game, it would be wise to assume that if Square ever decided to release this title on a single console, the Xbox 360 would be it. Despite the fact that a multiplatform release would be the best possible strategy, if there is one thing that we have learned from following the evolution of the Square-Microsoft relationship, it is that Square-Enix does not mind releasing exclusives on the Xbox 360. Thus, it is my belief that not only could Kingdom Hearts 3 be announced this year, but it has a very good chance of being an Xbox 360 exclusive as well!
God Bless You All
Master Samo
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May 31st, 2009 at 9:22 am
the problem i have with your speculations is that you base it solely on the fact that it *could* happen. the keyword being *could*.
with that logic, anything could seriously happen, sure you give some points of validity, better ones than you did in the MW2 article, but still as a gamer i want to hear things that will happen as *could* only goes so far.
if you are going to make a bold statement, give way more specific details as to why you believe it will happen (looks at the MW2 article). posting half ass points that anybody could come up with or switch it around to the other side only worsens your chances of getting people to believe in what you say.
also thank you for finally not posting at the end of your article that “but if i’m right about this remember where you heard it from first” b/c that looked very egotistical and childish to me.
May 30th, 2009 at 7:33 am
@ Chubear
@ gamemaster9641
I thank you for your positive feedback and kind words. All it takes is one positive comment to obliterate all the negative ones. It’s comments like the ones you posted that keep me writing, and I thank you for that.
I would like to state that it does not matter to me if gamers agree with me. However, what does matter to me is that you enjoy the article regardless of the content; that is the bottom line, and that is why I tried to make it as entertaining as possible.
Unfortunately, many ignorant gamers keep attacking the article due to the content without taking a step back to look at the big picture and appreciate the article for what it really is.
God Bless You Both
Master Samo
May 29th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Master Samo:
I hope these fools won’t stop you from writing more article’s.
I love reading them they are informative and intellectual.
Please keep writing thank you.
-Brian
May 29th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Very good column article. I love stuff like this. State clearly what you believe and put it all out there on the table. I quite enjoyed the read and I must say, there is no way I could argue with anything the article stated.
JPN company’s like Square, Konami and Capcom have had this low key disdain for Sony’s platforms which I started noticing on the later half of last gen and is more overly obvious this gen. It seems they look for any opportunity to bring Sony down a number of pegs so as to be able to have more of a chance at more control over how they handle Sony.
I do however think their bid to jump in bed with MS is a very dangerous one. Sleeping with the devil is bound to get you in hell. Bottom line I think these companies I mentioned above have a combination of selfish intents, greed and a bit of jealousy of Sony’s gaming division. It seems they cant’ see that’s hindering them from seeing clearly and doing great clean profitable business.
E3 look like it’s going to be fun.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
oh dear god… – . -
May 29th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
@ rmx687
I thank you for your feedback. Now That’s the kind of comment that I would enjoy reading; articles need more of that.
As for what you stated, it is true that values are very important to Japanese companies, and that Yoichi Wada did state in an interview that Square’s relationship with Nomura is quite special. In fact, Shinji Hashimoto did state last year, at Square’s press conference, that plans for Final Fantasy Versus XIII to ship as a PlayStation 3 exclusive have not changed. However, we both know how this business works, and we both know that exclusivity can fade away in a matter of hours. I am not stating that it will happen; I am simply stating that it could.
No one could have ever predicted that the day would come where Square-Enix would back Microsoft with exclusive titles, let alone release Final Fantasy XIII as a multiplatform title. Things change, and business models shift in order to adapt to this ever growing industry, and to stay competitive in such an aggressive market.
More importantly, when I mentioned outsourcing as an alternative, I was not referring to another developer; I was only referring to any other internal studio that is familiar with the Xbox 360 hardware inside Square itself.
Even though Kingdom Hearts is Nomura’s creation, it is an IP that is owned by Square-Enix, and they can do with it anything they choose to; after all, being its creator does not eliminate the possibility of another director taking over. My example would be David Jaffe.
Lastly, I thank you for your mature response and stimulating counter-argument, and I hope to see your reply very soon.
God Bless You
Master Samo
May 29th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
please, get another hobby. Your articles are stupid. Go get tackled by a linebacker or something.
May 29th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Real talk:
Yes, Square-Enix was testing the waters with their 360 releases. Yoichi Wada’s main goal as president of SE has been to break into western markets. FFXII and Lost Remnant were designed as Western games, and they announced 3 exclusives for America’s console, the 360. They believed, like you and many XBox fans do, that a large install base, especially with franchises and renowned publishers will equate to sales.
The experiment failed. The results are in; all those games sold terribly. If anything, they’ve since learned that the PSP and now PS3 with Advent Children Complete are the primary platforms they should focus on.
There was a time when Square was one of the biggest companies in the West, American revenue accounting for much of the reason why they were a giant. It was because they sold their games on Playstation home consoles.
They will not announce FFXIII on the 360 in Japan because Star Ocean 4 proved once and for all that a game can not sell well on the 360 in Japan.
Also, it seems you don’t understand how Tetsuya Nomura and Square in general make games. The only time they’ve outsourced is on remakes, not new releases. They have graphic artists like Hideo Minaba and Yoshida and programmers like Tetsuya Takahashi that they’ve been cultivating for years. Nomura will direct KH because it’s his franchise, much like Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Ito direct all the main FF’s – because it is their franchise. The only other time they haven’t directed (with Square developers directly under neath them) was when Koichi Ishii and Hiromichi Tanaka, the original creators and designers of Final Fantasy returned to create FFXI.
Do your homework.
May 29th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
holy hell u know ur one of the biggest xbots here some when 2 out of the 3 dont happen will u stfu for good plz?
May 29th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
To all the readers, I thank you in advance for reading this article, and I hope to start a healthy, clean and mature discussion that would be free from childish responses. If you disagree, please do so and state your points in an objective fashion. If you agree and wish to further elaborate, the floor is all yours. However, please keep in mind that this article is simply my opinion, and mine alone. Furthermore, it is an opinion that is backed up by my own reasoning.
God Bless You All
Master Samo