Square Enix DKΣ3713 Invitation-only Event (Mobile, DS, PSP, PS3, Blu-ray)

[PARANOiA]

No I view and extra 6 months on top of 12 months as pushing it. Which I could see happening as they iron our the problems of the port and if they worldwide release they could push it out to another year.

Of course the port could be relatively painless and they keep the same schedule and this all is moot but I expect people to be annoyed if it takes a year and a half or more to make it stateside.

Ah OK - I misunderstood. So you're saying you'll be annoyed if it's released 18 months after the Japanese release? That's understandable. I'd guess it'll be 12 months or so, which for us in PALland is nothing new. After all, they're completing the game on PC first, which makes me think the 360 port should be pretty painless.

They'll likely go along the lines of:
* Complete Japanese version on PCs while working on optimising for PS3
* Release Japanese PS3 version
* Simultaneously
----- * Localise (usually 6-12 months for US only)
----- * Optimise for 360 (questionable amount of time)
* Once both streams are complete, release in EU/US.

The pain for PS3 owners will come if the localisation takes less time than the 360 piece. It's unclear exactly how long the 360 part will take, though of course it will put noses out of joint if it ends up taking longer than the localisation.

 

[Xenus]

Yeah if it's a clean port no fuss and everyone is happy. If the port is slow or troublesome for whatever reason. People get annoyed and it starts to look bad.

 

[inefficient]

Square Enix : 360 FFXIII development hasn't begun

...

2010 release date confirmed...

 

[obonicus]

2010 release date confirmed...

I suppose I have enough time to take up Japanese again.

 

[-tkf-]

The pain for PS3 owners will come if the localisation takes less time than the 360 piece. It's unclear exactly how long the 360 part will take, though of course it will put noses out of joint if it ends up taking longer than the localisation.

The chances of us getting in real info on this is very low, if there is info, the chance of it being real even lower.

The fact of the matter is that it doesn´t matter, Square made a deal in some way and from a economical view i don´t see how they can lose anything by delaying the Euro/US release on the PS3. 18 months of more PS3 and 360 sales is a great bonus for them. Unless the game gets bad press and there is a real alternative introduced, which is unlikely.

 

[Arwin]

They developed it on PC. Porting it to the 360 shouldn't take much longer than it takes for them to solve the disc issue.

 

[inefficient]

They developed it on PC. Porting it to the 360 shouldn't take much longer than it takes for them to solve the disc issue.

I think there is a difference between using a PC to develop a game and actually targetting PC like hardware. After all all their PS1 and PS2 games were also "developed"on PCs.

"Nomura and Toriyama also debunked rumors that a PC version of FFXIII is in development. They explained the confusion arose from a misunderstanding when producer Yoshinori Kitase mentioned at E3 that Square Enix is working on a PC project. "We've always been developing on PCs," laughed Nomura. "In fact, I've been doing so since Final Fantasy VI."

 

[Nesh]

Square Enix : 360 FFXIII development hasn't begun

...

That particular part shows that it was a decision of the last minute. Definitely approached by MS and not solely a decision of their own

 

[Shifty Geezer]

How does it prove anything of the sort? How do you know they weren't umming and erring over whether to port for months, and a few days before E3 called MS and said 'can we have some SDKs to port over FFXIII?' to which MS replied, 'sure, and can we have you announce FFXIII on XB360 at E3?'

 

[AlNom]

Well, with their decision to deal with the 360 after the PS3 version is completed, why would they need or want the kits now?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That's true enough, but I still don't see how that points to MS making SE an offer.

 

[Nesh]

How does it prove anything of the sort? How do you know they weren't umming and erring over whether to port for months, and a few days before E3 called MS and said 'can we have some SDKs to port over FFXIII?' to which MS replied, 'sure, and can we have you announce FFXIII on XB360 at E3?'

I tend towards believing that this is not the case based on what I see and what I ve read.

It is a matter of opinion perhaps.

Squaresoft stated in some interviews that they always choose one (console) platform for the Final Fantasy series (excluding the spin off's) and one that best qualified the needs of the game they wanted to make.

I remember an interview or two where they also said that the PS3 was a choice because it was the only platform that fitted the game best due to its own technical specs one of which was Blu Ray and that no other platform could do it. They said that they started designing the game with the PS3 hardware characteristics in mind only and that they were aiming to get the most out of it. I wish I could dig it up.

Then there is a sudden announcement at the last minute just at E3 2008 2 years after their first announcement, and the thing hasnt even started development on the 360 yet.

Comparing their older statements with the new and the fact that the announcement was so conveniently presented at the last minute at E3, it makes me at least at a personal level be very sure that they were approached from the outside and not the opposite

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Then there is a sudden announcement at the last minute just at E3 2008 2 years after their first announcement, and the thing hasnt even started development on the 360 yet.

If there were more recent evidence suggesting PS3 exclusivity prior to the E3 announcement, I'd concur. However, two years is plenty of time to re-evaluate the market, see which platform(s) are going to be most viable in which territories, reconsider your position on Key Title Exclusivity and whether its a valuable tradition to uphold or an outdated concept that does nothing for your bottom line, investigate probable costs of porting, and change your mind without direct external involvement.

 

[dobwal]

They could release a half-assed version on the 360, too. As long as it's not TOO half-assed, what's Microsoft going to do: 'No, we don't want your game on our console'? Any 'FFXIII is late because of 360' would only look bad for MS. If the story of extra per-DVD royalties are true, too, I'm willing to bet that MS probably waived those as well.

This is SE not EA. I doubt SE is going to expose their #1 franchise to ridicule intentionly.

6 to 8 months is what usually takes for a NA localization with the PAL coming 1-2 months after the NA release. FFXI took almost two years for NA localization and FFXII took almost a year for PAL localization.

6 months isn't going to make or break FF13 in terms of sales but launching a 360 port after a PS3 port in the US and PAL market is garaunteed to produce subpar sales for the 360 port. A stimultaneous release will allow each port to ride the initial hype of a FF13 release in the NA and PAL market which will ensure that each release is expose to maximum demand.

 

[obonicus]

This is SE not EA. I doubt SE is going to expose their #1 franchise to ridicule intentionly.

Well, depending on how you consider the offshoots, they sort of already do that on the Wii. I mean, there's different levels of half-assed: maybe unoptimized would be a kinder word.

 

[Nesh]

If there were more recent evidence suggesting PS3 exclusivity prior to the E3 announcement, I'd concur. However, two years is plenty of time to re-evaluate the market, see which platform(s) are going to be most viable in which territories, reconsider your position on Key Title Exclusivity and whether its a valuable tradition to uphold or an outdated concept that does nothing for your bottom line, investigate probable costs of porting, and change your mind without direct external involvement.

Well you dont have to reconfirm and remind people everyday that the game is exclusive. Besides Squarenix shot down rumors of the game going multiplatform one year ago (or was it less I am not sure).

Still this is the first time that a new FF game from the main series is going multiplatform, and it is a surprising change after their original reasons on why they chose a specific platform.

I dont know. It looks surprisingly convenient to me

 

[dobwal]

Well you dont have to reconfirm and remind people everyday that the game is exclusive. Besides Squarenix shot down rumors of the game going multiplatform one year ago (or was it less I am not sure).

Still this is the first time that a new FF game from the main series is going multiplatform, and it is a surprising change after their original reasons on why they chose a specific platform.

I dont know. It looks surprisingly convenient to me

Given the current market conditions, going from exclusive to multiplatform seems like a no brainer for me considering the development cost of FF13 and no exclusivity contract.

Until this year, you still had a lot of analysts predicting a big turnaround for the PS3 and predicting it becoming market leader in terms of hardware. You still have analysts as of this year predicting the PS3 will gain market leadership in software sales.

I guess as the proposed launch date got nearer and nearer, SE realized that the current situation has little chance of greatly turning in the PS3 favor and that ignoring the potential 30-35 million 360 users with their hungrier appetite for games would proved very costly in terms of unrealized profits.

Obviously, MS could of stepped forward and offered some financial incentives but given the current conditions SE didn't need any outside influence to take FF13 multiplatform. From a profit standpoint, going multiplatform makes the most financial sense.

 

[Nesh]

Perhaps yes, perhaps not.

I cant say I am convinced.

Monetary gains arent the only gains that corporations are targeting with their strategies, so I cant just conclude based on what makes "financial sense" only, and look at multiplatform support as the holy grail of profitability and corporate health.

The decision took place very suddenly (atleast in our eyes) and announced at MS's press conference, they havent started working on 360 yet, they are ignoring for the mean time the 360 until it reaches completion on the PS3 and in the meantime they put aside technical differences and possible bottlenecks as if the PS3 is the only platform which is targeted. Especially the last tells me that the exclusivity was pretty much set so they ignored differences on hardware specs between platforms. So they moved on with the project taking advantage of the exclusive technical features they were talking about on the PS3 in some interviews. When they had this sudden change in strategy, since the project probably moved a lot, they saw no other way out than finish the PS3 version and deal with the unanticipated technical bottlenecks in their spare time.


This is my personal view. At a personal level I can not see it differently until I have inside information which is something I will never have

 

[dobwal]

Perhaps yes, perhaps not.

I cant say I am convinced.

Monetary gains arent the only gains that corporations are targeting with their strategies, so I cant just conclude based on what makes "financial sense" only, and look at multiplatform support as the holy grail of profitability and corporate health.

The decision took place very suddenly (atleast in our eyes) and announced at MS's press conference, they havent started working on 360 yet, they are ignoring for the mean time the 360 until it reaches completion on the PS3 and in the meantime they put aside technical differences and possible bottlenecks as if the PS3 is the only platform which is targeted. Especially the last tells me that the exclusivity was pretty much set so they ignored differences on hardware specs between platforms. So they moved on with the project taking advantage of the exclusive technical features they were talking about on the PS3 in some interviews. When they had this sudden change in strategy, since the project probably moved a lot, they saw no other way out than finish the PS3 version and deal with the unanticipated technical bottlenecks in their spare time.


This is my personal view. At a personal level I can not see it differently until I have inside information which is something I will never have

Well, I don't see how limiting one's major franchise who has been historically accessible by around 70% of the market for ~15 years to roughly 25% of market can inherently in anyway be beneficial to any corporation who ultimate goal is to increase the stock value of their shareholders.

You make mention of exclusivity being mention by SE at one year ago. Thats is not a short enough period of time to say SE's decision was abrupt. Meaning they may have been contemplating the decision for quite some time and then recently changed their mind after careful consideration. E3 is a perfect place to make such an announcement as its the Western markets was effected by the decision and E3 is the biggest event during this time of the year. Given the circumstances one can only reasonably surmise that the time of the announcement and the time of the ultimate decision to go multiplatform to be relatively short and not that they did an about face in a relatively short amount of time with little regard to technical issues due to porting.

Just because SE doesn't have 360 dev kits doesn't mean they have no ideal whether or not porting will be difficult. While "360 to PS3" ports have been proven difficult, "PS3 to 360" ports has been seen as the better scenario enough so that more than a few dev has stated that the PS3 being the lead platform is the most cost and time effective strategy when dealing with multiplatform titles. I think its safe to assume that FF13 dev started on PCs, so they should have some rough ideal how much work a port to the 360 will encompass. Remember, the 360's development model is alot more standard fare than the PS3. Furthermore, all the hoopla from SE seems to standard PR when its come to Sony exclusive titles that have regularly proven in reality to be nothing more than mostly hype 90% of the time.

 

[Archgamer]

The main team that's working on the PS3 version isn't the one doing the port for the 360 version, if I recall. They'll get another team to do it or contract an outsider to do it by giving them the SDK's. S-E said they haven't recieve the kits from MS yet and even if they had, it wouldn't start until after the Japanese PS3 version is completed.

If I'm a 360 only owner I would be a bit concern on the quality of the 360 port. Not to mention if it gets rush to the market in order to meet a deadline. S-E hasn't been please with their fiscal year earnings.