Topic: No FF13 in 2009 for the west

[GoldenPhoenix]

For sure, bringing it to the 360 is a clear cost-recouping move.  Remember that they announced the game for PS3 way before the current system wars shook out, and the landscape looked way different back then.

In the article KDR posted above, they said at least April 2010.  I'm assuming that's for the PS3 version, which would only require straight script translation and localization (i.e. no code porting, so less programming and testing involved).  Square-Enix's 2008 fiscal year ends March 31, 2009, so it looks like their plan is to release FFXIII for both PS3 and 360 in the same fiscal year (which makes sense, because there's no reason why you'd want to split the revenue from both games across two fiscal years).

I'd expect the 360 version to be released in the fall (maybe September/October).  I figure it'll take a couple of months to port, and then probably six months to test.  Of course, this is all just my guessing.  ;-)

Xbox 360 version confirmed to be on 20 DVDs.

[NWR_Lindy]

Xbox 360 version confirmed to be on 20 DVDs.

LOL seriously.  I wonder if the movies will be a little compressed on 360?

[GoldenPhoenix]

Xbox 360 version confirmed to be on 20 DVDs.

LOL seriously.  I wonder if the movies will be a little compressed on 360?

It would be hilarious if the video quality equaled that of RE2 when it was ported to N64.

[Pale]

Can it haters. It will be glorious.

[KDR_11k]

I wouldn't be surprised if they'll hold the PS3 version until the 360 one is releasable.

[Deguello]

FFXIII is an albatross around Square Enix's neck.  They would be far more profitable if they could mobilize their development teams behind market leading market leaders.  It's keeping them locked into developing this one mega-title and preventing them from having products on shelves, for consumers to buy, which makes "profit" (The bearers of such ideas having become pariahs for some reason this generation.)  This is just bad strategy.

The funny thing to notice is that Square Enix has actually sold less console games this generation than last.  Maybe this "No Platform Left Behind" strategy isn't really working out for them, or third parties in general.

[Bill Aurion]

I wouldn't be surprised if they'll hold the PS3 version until the 360 one is releasable.

This is what I predict...The 360 version will outsell the PS3 version anyway, so if they release the PS3 version first, people will end up forgetting about it and not buy it when it finally releases on the 360...Not to mention that it's unlikely that Squenix will separate the releases from each other "to split the sales over the two halves of the fiscal year"...Wada has already mentioned in interviews several times that they want to release games that sell millions within the first weeks of release, and a purposely-delayed release seems to counter that ideology...

[Peachylala]

The funny thing to notice is that Square Enix has actually sold less console games this generation than last.  Maybe this "No Platform Left Behind" strategy isn't really working out for them, or third parties in general.

Developing for one system only and doing little development for other systems didn't really work out well last generation for any company. Sure, Sqeenix made bucketloads of money with all/some of the games it made for the PS2, but they have a fanbase with blind loyality...even if they bitch about everything. 

Kind of like what Nintendo's non-casuals do.

[GoldenPhoenix]

You guys need to stop being flaming troll baiter people for saying ANYTHING that looks funny with the development of this game. It will be the bestest, most polished game in HISTORY.

[Pale]

I just wanted to say that its possible for a game that had some problems in development to still be a great polished game in the end.

Those two concepts don't have to be mutually exclusive.

[Bill Aurion]

There's way too much winking going on in here... >=|

[Pale]

Oh at least you caught on!

[Pale]

Or did you?

[Ian Sane]

If this was on the Wii everyone crapping on it here would be all "well I'm glad Square Enix is taking the time to make this as polished as possible."  Twilight Princess was delayed for a whole year (probably for no actual reason other than porting it to the Wii).  Back when Rare was with Nintendo their delays were seen as annoying but ultimately necessary.  A big part of why this is getting crapped on is entirely because it's NOT a Wii game so it's funny to see it run into problems, like how talented third parties going under is okay provided they chose the other consoles over the Wii.

Though this IS taking a lot longer than Final Fantasy games usually take.  They often come out every couple of years or so.  Three a generation and all that.  It is certainly a longer than typical delay.

It will probably still be pretty good though.  Better than any current third party Wii game, I'll bet.

I think Final Fantasy gets a bad rap from Nintendo fans mostly because of sour grapes.  It started to "suck" right around the time it went to the PS2.  When anything with "Final Fantasy" in the title is announced for the DS everyone goes ga-ga over it.  Square Enix making Dragon Quest for the DS and Wii is considered awesome but because this involves the PS3 and 360 it's considered funny that it's delayed.  You want Square Enix to go under and thus not be able to make Dragon Quest X?  Didn't think so.

[Deguello]

Ian, stop trolling. It isn't funny anymore.  Have a point to your post instead of arguing hypothetical forum fights between two fanboy sock puppets you put on your hands.

I don't want Square Enix to go under.  I want them to make smart decisions.  FFXIII promised to the PS3 before the generation even started wasn't one of them.  360 games that do not sell because the userbase in America doesn't want them and the Japanese userbase doesn't exist wasn't one of them either.  It doesn't matter how many 9's EGM gives i... Oops, I mean IGN gives it.  It's just a bad business move.  This is shaping up to be like that ridiculous movie they made, where it cost too much and never ever made a profit, despite how many geeks had to change shorts over it.

[Bill Aurion]

Back when Rare was with Nintendo their delays were seen as annoying but ultimately necessary.

Necessary?  Yes...A good thing?  No, they were annoying, and in the end that poor managing killed Rare...

It will probably still be pretty good though.  Better than any current third party Wii game, I'll bet.

Baseless troll...Try harder...

I think Final Fantasy gets a bad rap from Nintendo fans mostly because of sour grapes.  It started to "suck" right around the time it went to the PS2.

Considering it had THREE games on the PS1, I think you just proved that it has absolutely nothing to do with sour grapes...And actually it started going bad after FFVII (not including the port anthology collections that I think released afterwards), in my opinion...

Square Enix making Dragon Quest for the DS and Wii is considered awesome but because this involves the PS3 and 360 it's considered funny that it's delayed.  You want Square Enix to go under and thus not be able to make Dragon Quest X?  Didn't think so.

Again, stupid generalizations...For example, Golden Phoenix and I both own a PS3 and 360...If I wanted the game I'd get it...The fact is, I don't, and it has nothing to do with it not being on Wii, as much as you pitch a fit about it...Do I want Squenix to go under?  Of course not...I enjoy their original DS games and am cautiously interested in DQIX (because of the fact that random battles have been thrown out the window)...I want Squenix to better manage their games so they can start work on new ones...Oh, and stop throwing around the fanboy card, it just proves you have absolutely nothing to your argument...

[Pale]

I think Ian's points in this thread are just as good as anyone else's points, though people read them differently that other people.

In fact I think the exact bias he is trying to describe is nearly identical to the bias everyone on these forums read most of his posts with.

Regardless though, I DO think almost everyone here would be reacting differently if it was a Wii exclusive.

[Pale]

Oh and for the record... I have no problem with debating either side of this argument.

I just get the feeling sometimes that people search for Ian's posts just to belligerently attempt to refute them.

Let's chill out on the belligerent portion of that.

[Deguello]

I think Ian's points in this thread are just as good as anyone else's points, though people read them differently that other people.

No, they aren't Pale.  He has been repeating this exact same argument for years.  Over and over.  It never changes.  And the whole "Better than some third party Wii games" bit IS trolling, period.  It's like he rolled out of GameFaqs drunk.

Assuming the bias of others is not a statement of fact and only muddles the issue.  It's stealth ad hominem.  Would anybody really be acting different?  Square Enix seems to be dragging it's feet with Dragon Quest IX, too.  Yet nobody's really bent out of shape about it, because the DS offers so much more than that.  Same if FFXIII was a Wii title.  The Wii is starting to shape up to be a pretty diverse platform, particularly RPG-wise.  FFXIII's delaying on it would be a shame, but not the devastating event it is for the PS3.

This is big news because it is one of the PS3's biggest remaining games, one a few people have even bought PS3s for.  It has been advertised ALREADY in Japan for the PS3.  On TV.  A game that won't be out until later this year at the earliest.  And it's also one of the most expensive to ever be made, and it's not looking like it will build on the fanbase at all.  They might even lose money on it, while still selling millions.

This has little to do with the likes or dislikes of the series.  IT's all about the strategy and business of it all, and how AWFUL it is.

[Pale]

Well personally I think you saying that this wouldn't be as critical on the Wii or DS because there is "so much more than that" but saying it's "big news" on the PS3 because there are so few good games is EXACTLY the same as Ian saying FF 13 would be better than any current third party Wii game.

I have no problem with either statement.  They are both personal opinions on the current state of a particular piece of hardware's software line-ups.

I can't figure out how you can say Ian bashing Wii's third party support is trolling yet you bashing PS3s entire game library is a fact.

[Deguello]

I'm not "bashing" the PS3's library.  I'm just saying this is one of it's biggest games, bigger than the lesser titles on it, and not only has it been ported tot he 360, it might not even make it out this year, anywhere.  And it's the one that will "save" the struggling PS3, as least it's being portrayed that way.  This thread had ZERO to do with the Wii's library until Ian brought it up, in a random act of trolling.  This thread is about FFXIII's constant delays and the business strategy of having one game suck up all the resources for a last-place platform.

It's constant delays are almost unprecedented.  Even Ian's attempt at equivalence with Zelda Twilight Princess falls flat in this regard, because That game was announced in 2004 and came out 2 years later.  Hardly the 4 or even 5 years FFXIII might face.  And this is all one game, sucking up the resources of a very large company, and whether or not it's worth it, despite the happy yet dwindling fanbase and 9.0's from critics.

[Pale]

I personally think it can't be compared to any first party nintendo game because of Nintendo's policy of not even announcing games until they are almost done anyway.

Both Smash and TP are extreme examples of delays on first party games because they are so far outside the norm for Nintendo.

Arguably, I don't think the FF 13 delay is that much farther outside of Square Enix's norm relative, so I do think everyone is overreacting here.

But anyway, I still think both points are valid.  The last thing I'll say on the matter is, if we policed every user for injecting personal opinions not immediately relevant to a topic into a response, we would be warning and yelling at a lot of people.

In the context of Ian's post, his reference to the Wii library isn't that big of a deal and shouldn't have been made one.

Ian isn't a troll.  Trolls don't maintain a constant presence in a forum for over five years.  Ian is a Nintendo fan with strong opinions.  He has just as much right to discuss them as anyone here.

[Ymeegod]

Actually Ian hit the point on the head Bill--if this was about Zelda the thread would have been closed right at the back.  And I wasn't talking about any WII Zelda since there's no news at all but I was referring to all Zelda past games since they were always delayed but nobody cares once the game's out (well all nintendo made zelda games--flagship managed to ship their games an time). 

Delaying games doesn't matter much as long as the reason is good--I looking at you Too Human . 

And stated WII 3rd party games suck in general isn't really trolling IMO since there's tons of articles on the topic about 80% of WII games are scoring below average.  It's kinda funny because up to last generation--nintendo always had quality over quantity and now it's the other way around.  Not saying there isn't solid 3rd party games but they're in the minority now. 


 

[GoldenPhoenix]

To counteract Ian's stereotypes. I started disliking the FF series with FF3 (FF6) when it moved to a more futuristic setting, or at the very least I was losing interest. Then FF7 came around with its "Lets watch movies of magic" and lack of depth perception in its ugly portrait backgrounds. From there it turned into some weird futuristic/realism hybrid that was more about watching the game then playing it.

[Pale]

I personally have absolutely no issue with games that have large cut scenes.  I love the relaxation it gives me.  It's like video game meditation.

Compare that to a game like Dead Space, which I just finished.  I feel like it took about 10 years off my life from stress.

So yeah, I think I will always love Final Fantasy games.

GP did you play FF 7 when it was brand new or later on?  I was just freaking awestruck at the time by the visual style.... Recently, I started it again and decided I wanted to hold out for a possible remake because the visuals looked so dated.