Xbox 360 Game News, Reviews, and Columns - XboxFocus

FFXIII to 360 is just common sense

by August 8th 2008 9:21 PM CDT0 Comments

At the time of this writing, it has been a month since Square-Enix had announced a Final Fantasy XIII port to the Xbox 360.  In one single month,  already you can see the Sony Fanboys wallowing in self hatred. It’s gotten to the point where people are starting to
contemplate suicide and curse out other fans. While I can understand some of the anger and bitter feelings of betrayal (Final Fantasy’s main releases have been a Sony exclusive for over 10 years), there is no reason to lash out at Microsoft or Square.

Microsoft did the right business move; they brought over an amazing franchise to their system, adding another to their huge library of blockbusters. On Square's behalf, they finally made Final Fantasy a multiplatform franchise, and that is something you'd expect to be in in their best interests. Not only will this move bring more revenue to Square's offices, but it will bring more good to the industry as a whole. In fact, games exclusive for a certain console are old news in this new generation.

---

Broadening our topic just a little, we can see just how much success a game sees when it is released for multiple platforms. Grand Theft Auto IV saw the most success on the Xbox 360, and had it been released solely for the Playstation 3, its sales figures would have been over 60% less. That probably isn’t even enough for the company to break even due to the game's monstrous budget. If you like games, you want their creators to make heaps of money so we can hopefully see a sequel. Going multi-platform pretty much doubles the net income gained and the number of games sold. The number of consoles exclusives is dwindling in this generation of games; and going multiplatform is not only a great business move, it's common sesne.

Now let us delve back into the world of Fanboyism, Square-Enix and Microsoft. Final Fantasy XIII is still being released for the Playstation 3, and as of now, Final Fantasy versus XIII is still a PS3 exclusive. The fact that one iteration of the game is coming out for the 360 as well will not harm any gamer. Those that invested in the new Playstation will go out and buy the game, play it, and enjoy it like they would have had it remained exclusive.

I’m the Final Fantasy junkie here at Xbox Focus, so I know that this move is only bringing good news to the franchise as a whole. Any real Square fan would know it too. The Xbox 360 is first and foremost a console for the Westerners, us Yankees. Suddenly, a big Japanese name like Final Fantasy jumps onto the Yankee bandwagon, and people who have never even play a Final Fantasy game are suddenly hyped out of their minds. Yes, some of that hype is simply because this is just another victory for Microsoft, the point remains: Xbox fanboys are hyped over a J-RPG. And we should be.

So, you Sony cultists (if you kill yourself over news like this, you’re a cultist fuck, not a fanboy) can do whatever you want. I’ll be enjoying good games regardless of what platform they are on. Hell, if Cliff from Epic comes out and says they’re making Gears for the Wii, I would just shrug it off. It’s a simple matter of buying the game for a console you enjoy playing on more, and choice can never be a bad thing.

That, and fanboys are killing themselves. That’s hilarity.