Wow, this is a major move. 
In some ways this is pretty shocking news. Kojima has denied this a number of times. Of course Capcom denied that DMC4 was coming to the 360 as recently as January but we now know it is coming to the 360. Same situation with Oblivion which was stated to be an exclusive, then "no current plans" and then finally "hey, we are almost done with the PS3 version!" A similar situation with Assassin's Creed, although they took the "no officialy announcement" route whereas MGS4 has always been called a PS3 exclusive.
So, how long until Final Fantasy goes multiplatform and supports the 360? How about Tekken? It seems all the other major 3rd party franchises, outside of the Insomniac IPs, that have a bit of influence/recognition on the Playstation have branched out. Of course there are rumors from 1Up that a major Xbox franchise is heading to the PS3, so it seems that any title not being published by MS/Sony or secured via large amounts of cash are prone to going multiplatform. I guess this is nice, this means gamers can choose a console based on the 1st party titles that appeal to them and the features and services each platform offers.
The competition between Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's Xbox platforms has escellated to new heights. Recent weeks have seen a number of Playstation strongholds expand their reach by supporting the Xbox 360. While the recent rash of defections appeared significant at the time, it is clear now that they were only setting the table for bigger and better things for Xbox fans: Kojima has jumped in.
It is no secret that Microsoft has set their sites on the father of the Metal Gear franchise. The company distributed press material at E3 2006 with the slogan, "Dear Mr. Kojima, Jump in." A recent blog entry by Brucie Schneider-Johne, Microsoft Germany's Product Manager, again re-emphasized Microsoft's overt goal to bring the Metal Gear Solid Franchise to the Xbox 360 by naming it, along with Final Fantasy, as titles they wish to add to their portfolio.
According to official sources Metal Gear Solid 4 is now slated to be a timed exclusive and will be joining Virtua Fighters, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, and a number of other Playstation signature titles on the Xbox 360. Official announcement will be made at this years E3 show where Peter Moore, Vice President of Microsoft's Entertainment Division, will be unvieling his newest tatoo featuring the Metal Gear protagonist Snake.
In some ways this is pretty shocking news. Kojima has denied this a number of times. Of course Capcom denied that DMC4 was coming to the 360 as recently as January but we now know it is coming to the 360. Same situation with Oblivion which was stated to be an exclusive, then "no current plans" and then finally "hey, we are almost done with the PS3 version!" A similar situation with Assassin's Creed, although they took the "no officialy announcement" route whereas MGS4 has always been called a PS3 exclusive.
So, how long until Final Fantasy goes multiplatform and supports the 360? How about Tekken? It seems all the other major 3rd party franchises, outside of the Insomniac IPs, that have a bit of influence/recognition on the Playstation have branched out. Of course there are rumors from 1Up that a major Xbox franchise is heading to the PS3, so it seems that any title not being published by MS/Sony or secured via large amounts of cash are prone to going multiplatform. I guess this is nice, this means gamers can choose a console based on the 1st party titles that appeal to them and the features and services each platform offers.
