Square Enix Confirms FFXIII SERIES (!) Is Not Exclusive for PS3 *Read post #12

[quest55720]

Shifty, don't try to argue that the porting cost's may be to much. Porting a game is dirt cheap, like stated before, its more or less just a matter of a dozen programmers coding. If your game has a $20+ million budget like FF does, porting a game is pocket change in comparison.

Will it suffer in terms of quality? Yes.

It being easy or not to port the game has little do to with it, no matter how you twist and turn it, it would be vastly cheaper than making a new game. There really is no real business explanation as to why not port a game thats already selling very well, but some developers still choose not to do it. Thats probably more about pride or other reasons (like a exclusivity contract)

That is why I think there is some kind of exclusivity contract. That is the only reason for it not to be multiplatform right now. If there is no contract they are leaving so much money on the table it is not even funny. I would not be surprised if MS would not wave any royalties and maybe even kick in some money to get it done. SE could dictate the terms to MS because it would be such a huge victory for MS to get a real FF game even if it came 6 months later. I just don't see how this game can even break even with the way PS3 sales are going. Sony has to be footing the bill IMO.

 

[nintenho]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3158965

1UP says the next 10 years will be in the FF13 universe. They say that they want it to have many different types of games or types of stories, probably both.

 

[TheChefO]

That is why I think there is some kind of exclusivity contract. That is the only reason for it not to be multiplatform right now. If there is no contract they are leaving so much money on the table it is not even funny. I would not be surprised if MS would not wave any royalties and maybe even kick in some money to get it done. SE could dictate the terms to MS because it would be such a huge victory for MS to get a real FF game even if it came 6 months later. I just don't see how this game can even break even with the way PS3 sales are going. Sony has to be footing the bill IMO.

At this point it is a bit of a questionmark.

MS would certainly appreciate and benefit from a FF, but at their current rate, they don't need it for their success. SE on the other hand may regret this decision to not port FF if the limited PS3 userbase does not pick up significantly upon release of their game.

I'm sure at one point and possibly even currently that MS offered a boatload for FF. Each passing day though, I'm sure this offer has lessened and eventually will be quite minimal.

 

[Titanio]

At this point it is a bit of a questionmark.

MS would certainly appreciate and benefit from a FF, but at their current rate, they don't need it for their success. SE on the other hand may regret this decision to not port FF if the limited PS3 userbase does not pick up significantly upon release of their game.

SE is probably quite confident that FF can still 'create' the market. I read similar sentiments being expressed by another poster in a different thread - how Sony could be keeping games like FFXIII exclusive with sales in Japan going the way they are. It's not true of many games, but FF is probably still strong enough to attract a userbase rather than depend on the prior existence of a userbase for success.

The other thing to note is that SE seems to be mirroring the timing of the FFVII launch to a certain extent with this generation. They waited 2 years or so into the Playstation's life before releasing it. On PS2, they waited only about a year, IIRC. With PS3 it looks like they're waiting about 2 years again. It's interesting that even though they waited longer with FFVII, they launched to a smaller userbase than they did with FFX on PS2, and they might be in a similar situation again with FFXIII.

Anyway, they're clearly not putting all their eggs in one basket. The strategy is distinctly multi-platform compared to their approaches in the previous generations, even if the premier or higher-profile iterations remain exclusive to particular platforms.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

SE is probably quite confident that FF can still 'create' the market.

That's an intersting point I've wondered about myself. Will PS3 experience a very large rush of sales when a few key titles appear, because fans are intending to get a PS3 but will wait until those games appear in the hopes of a price drop or something beforehand? Will 4 million FF fans in Japan happily watch the game pass them by, or will they find themselves buying the console so not to miss out?

 

[NERO]

Anyway, they're clearly not putting all their eggs in one basket. The strategy is distinctly multi-platform compared to their approaches in the previous generations, even if the premier or higher-profile iterations remain exclusive to particular platforms.

Titanio,
I agree with most of your assessment until your mp strategy label. Other than the MMORPG market/tech test that was FF11, SE strategy still appears to be exclusivity on a single platform. They are changing up a bit and making more exclusives across each platform, but are still not making single games cross-platform (until the next MMO). As for the market-creating games label, SE definitely believes this and has proven this (in Japan especially), therefore there exclusive strategy lives on.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

That's an intersting point I've wondered about myself. Will PS3 experience a very large rush of sales when a few key titles appear, because fans are intending to get a PS3 but will wait until those games appear in the hopes of a price drop or something beforehand? Will 4 million FF fans in Japan happily watch the game pass them by, or will they find themselves buying the console so not to miss out?

It's possible that FF13 would spun massive sales for PS3 as the machine is already priced at somewhat reasonable level in Japan. I do however think that counting on that is unnecessary big risk for them, unless there is some sort of deal between them and Sony.

It's quaranteed to sell well on PS3 in Japan and it will create atleast sales that could be considered good, but I found it unlikely to reach the success of FFX on PS2 and considering that it will probably cost more to develop, the end picture is not all roses. In any case it will be very interesting to see how this unfolds and I wouldn't be too surprised if I'm completely mistaken on this...

 

[Titanio]

That's an intersting point I've wondered about myself. Will PS3 experience a very large rush of sales when a few key titles appear, because fans are intending to get a PS3 but will wait until those games appear in the hopes of a price drop or something beforehand? Will 4 million FF fans in Japan happily watch the game pass them by, or will they find themselves buying the console so not to miss out?

There might be a bit of mirrored behaviour here. In that SE is 'waiting' and the Japanese market seems to be 'waiting' too at the moment, sans Wii (and we could discuss the merits of porting FFXIII to Wii, but FF has always been the more technically ambitious of their two flagships - relative to DQ - so it might be a bit of a gamble for them in the longer run to abandon that 'Formula1' approach to FF). We'll probably be one if not two pricedrops later by the time FFXIII is coming out, I think 'next-gen' (again, sans Wii) ought to be quite a bit more galvanised by that point than it is now.

I don't know, I just get the impression SE is playing a slightly more longer term game here, and to that extent they may well just be tuning into the market. I think there might be a bit of an analogy to the situation with FFVII and the original Playstation..it was a much slower ramp than with PS2, and SE seemed to wait a bit. The only alternative I think they have would be to put the game on Wii, but like I said, whether that's desirable for SE or not beyond immediate commercial concerns..

Titanio,
I agree with most of your assessment until your mp strategy label. Other than the MMORPG market/tech test that was FF11, SE strategy still appears to be exclusivity on a single platform. They are changing up a bit and making more exclusives across each platform, but are still not making single games cross-platform (until the next MMO).

That's true, but I don't think it's an invalid approach to multi-platformism. It's just not a per-game mp approach, but between games. It still offsets the risk of investing all or most of your resources into one platform, albeit in a different way. Whether it's as effective or not as porting games across platforms is another question, but it is certainly 'better' than not doing anything (if one considers an multiplatformism to be a good thing, of course).

 

[archangelmorph]

There might be a bit of mirrored behaviour here. In that SE is 'waiting' and the Japanese market seems to be 'waiting' too at the moment, sans Wii (and we could discuss the merits of porting FFXIII to Wii, but FF has always been the more technically ambitious of their two flagships - relative to DQ - so it might be a bit of a gamble for them in the longer run to abandon that 'Formula1' approach to FF). We'll probably be one if not two pricedrops later by the time FFXIII is coming out, I think 'next-gen' (again, sans Wii) ought to be quite a bit more galvanised by that point than it is now.

I don't know, I just get the impression SE is playing a slightly more longer term game here, and to that extent they may well just be tuning into the market.



That's true, but I don't think it's an invalid approach to multi-platformism. It's just not a per-game mp approach, but between games. It still offsets the risk of investing all or most of your resources into one platform, albeit in a different way. Whether it's as effective or not as porting games across platforms is another question, but it is certainly 'better' than not doing anything (if one considers an multiplatformism to be a good thing, of course).

Agreed completely..

I think alot of people around here forget how long past iterations of FF actually took in terms of development and with such gradious production values of a HD title such as FFXIII, I personally don't expect to see this game in the west this side of 2009..

By then it will have been incredibly clear as to the fate of the PS3, if it reached critical mass, all is well, however if it failed miserably, SE would still have had enough to to pre-empt and shift the entire game's content, engine and assets onto the 360 without having to further delay the game too much..

 

[TheChefO]

but FF is probably still strong enough to attract a userbase rather than depend on the prior existence of a userbase for success.

In general, I agree.

However, there is a roadblock to this userbase expansion that did not exist in years prior: Price.

To buy a console for one game is one thing when the console is $200-300. When the console is $600, that's a different story. Who knows how long the ps3 will be at this price or when FF13 will come out, but this is a very real variable that has not existed prior.

On your FF7 example:
This game was remarkably more advanced than any FF or RPG before it. One could argue it was more advanced than ANY game before it. FF13 may fit the bill of most advanced when it hits as well, but the margin of advancement is significantly smaller to what is and will be on the market at the time.

 

[Titanio]

In general, I agree.

However, there is a roadblock to this userbase expansion that did not exist in years prior: Price.

To buy a console for one game is one thing when the console is $200-300. When the console is $600, that's a different story. Who knows how long the ps3 will be at this price or when FF13 will come out, but this is a very real variable that has not existed prior.

This is true, and it's evident in the relatively stagnant market at the moment (again sans Wii). But SE does have time on its side here. The price certainly won't be the same as it is now. For comparisons sake, AFAIK - open to double-checking here - the PS2 was 35,000 Yen in Japan when FFX launched. PS3 in its cheaper guise is currently 47,600 Yen (officially at least). Is it likely PS3 will be a similar price as the PS2 at that point when FFXIII launches? It doesn't seem too difficult to envisage that if we consider a late 08 release, but we'll see..

On your FF7 example:
This game was remarkably more advanced than any FF or RPG before it. One could argue it was more advanced than ANY game before it. FF13 may fit the bill of most advanced when it hits as well, but the margin of advancement is significantly smaller to what is and will be on the market at the time.

This is true, but I don't think anyone expects FFXIII to necessarily sell as much as FFVII did at all. Its PS2 counterparts didn't sell nearly as well, AFAIK. All I was pointing out was that it hit later and to a slightly smaller userbase than its PS2 brethern. I'm not attempting to draw comparison between their potential performance in the longer term, just that SE waited before and they seem to be waiting again.

 

[TheChefO]

This is true, and it's evident in the relatively stagnant market at the moment (again sans Wii). But SE does have time on its side here. The price certainly won't be the same as it is now. For comparisons sake, AFAIK - open to double-checking here - the PS2 was 35,000 Yen in Japan when FFX launched. PS3 in its cheaper guise is currently 47,600 Yen (officially at least). Is it likely PS3 will be a similar price as the PS2 at that point when FFXIII launches? It doesn't seem too difficult to envisage that if we consider a late 08 release, but we'll see..

In Japan, agreed. Price will likely be similar enough if it ends up launching late 2008. Other regions seem to be priced less sensitive to the market though.

This is true, but I don't think anyone expects FFXIII to necessarily sell as much as FFVII did at all. Its PS2 counterparts didn't sell nearly as well, AFAIK. All I was pointing out was that it hit later and to a slightly smaller userbase than its PS2 brethern. I'm not attempting to draw comparison between their potential performance in the longer term, just that SE waited before and they seem to be waiting again.

Agreed.

I still think it is quite foolish of them not to port this title to xb360 and down to Wii. Significantly less money invested than an entirely new game and the returns would be larger than an offshoot secondary franchise game. Last gen this model worked for them and the one prior as well as they were targeting a machine which had market dominance. This gen is so much more balanced (regardless who's on top) that by shunning the other two consoles, they significantly limit their potential market and consequently, ROI. With a title as big as this and the budget to match, my bet is they are planning a multiplat release similar to GTA. Exclusive content here or there but roughly the same game for each. To much risk otherwise. In the meantime, the marketing effort of convincing the masses that the only place to play X game is on Y machine will have fullfilled their agreement/arrangement and built the userbase accordingly in the run up to launch and potentially post launch. Even if this title (or a minor variation) doesn't ship simultaneous and is delayed 6 months, I still see this as being far more beneficial to SE than letting it sit exclusive on any one of the current consoles.

IMO.

 

[DJ12]

This seems as good a place as any.....

http://uk.media.ps3.ign.com/media/826/826843/img_4542562.html



Also, this site claims that Final Fantasy 13 will ONLY be for PS3.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5612&Itemid=2

 

[Laa-Yosh]

This seems as good a place as any.....

http://uk.media.ps3.ign.com/media/826/826843/img_4542562.html

Old image. Still prerendered...

 

[Fu3lFr3nzy]

This seems as good a place as any.....

http://uk.media.ps3.ign.com/media/826/826843/img_4542562.html



Also, this site claims that Final Fantasy 13 will ONLY be for PS3.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5612&Itemid=2

Thats a really old pic, but sexy every time I see it

As for the site, I think those kinds of sites fall under the "I dont think ill believe anything this site says" category (well for me anyway).

A couple "exclusive" PS3 games went MP, so while at this point theres no solid proof of the game going MP, i'd definately leave the door open for some sort of possibility

 

[DJ12]

12th of May counts as really old does it

It's from the recent Square Enix conference (or whatever it was)

It's certainly not old.

It looks nothing like any of the old shots, it's far better.

maybe you've confused it with this one?

http://uk.media.ps3.ign.com/media/826/826843/img_3975822.html

 

[Cheezdoodles]

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Still remains to be seen what sort of a slut X13 is...

 

[almighty]

From what ive heard its still PS3 exclusive

EDIT : CINFIRMED PS3 EXCLUSIVE

"Toriyama and Versus producer Shinji Hashimoto defended the decision to release FFXIII on the PS3. According to Hashimoto, the development staff determined that one DVD would not be enough for the type of visual expression they were attempting to make. Toriyama noted that, regarding visual expression, the PS3's shader abilities are a big factor".

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/710/710761p1.html

 

[Fu3lFr3nzy]

the development staff determined that one DVD would not be enough for the type of visual expression they were attempting to make. Toriyama noted that, regarding visual expression, the PS3's shader abilities are a big factor".

Are they still trying to beat on a dead horse?

Aaand theres a problem with releasing the game on multiple discs just like the old FF games....why?

PS3's shader abilities... so, Xenos' unified shaders arent good enough for them? jk

I really loved that first sentence. So disc space all of a sudden plays a major role in how visuals would look

Im probably reading it the wrong way *fail*