FFXIII 360 Development Only Two Months Underway

Keane Ng

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FFXIII 360 Development Only Two Months Underway



Development of the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII began only two months ago, after the release of the PS3 demo of the game, Square's Yoshinori Kitase said.

Worries that the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII would never see the light of day until somewhere in the horribly vague expanse of time known as "next year" (oh it's so far away!) were quelled at E3 when Square-Enix showed up to not only demo FFXIII on 360, but announce a Spring 2010 release window for both versions of the game.

The game looked sharp running on the 360 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIdsazmyG7Q], essentially identical to all of the PS3 footage that we've seen thus far. It's a bit surprising to learn, then, that the FFXIII team has only been working on the 360 version of the game for a couple months, and with limited resources.

"Up to the trial demo version that was released [in April] in Japan, [FFXIII] was PS3-only in terms of development," producer Yoshinori Kitase told GiantBomb [http://www.giantbomb.com/news/final-fantasy-xiii-xbox-360-is-only-two-months-old/1411/]. "The Xbox 360 version is definitely following after the PS3 version, but [we] were finally able to come to a point in the PS3 development where some of the staff could take their hands off and start programming the 360 version."

I had been under the impression that work had been going on for both versions at the same time [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/91486-Square-Making-FFXIII-360-PS3-Simultaneously], but this apparently isn't the case. Kitase had said that "it's like we are going to keep on the go simultaneously," which I suppose now means that PS3 development has gotten far enough where the team can work on polish while work on the 360 version gets going in earnest.

Considering how nice the game looked at E3, we can assume that Square's Crystal Tools engine, built for multiplatform development, is genuinely doing its job, and the two versions may be more or less identical. Aside from the lack of Japanese voice-tracks on the 360 version, which could be a deal breaker for the genuine Nihongoloids out there. Including myself - when it comes down to Achievements versus the original Japanese language track, I have to say I'm personally inclined toward the latter.


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Keane Ng

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bue519 said:
Wow, its surprising that the 360 version is a port.
Err, maybe that's not the most accurate word to use. Sorry bout that, mental slip.

NoMoreSanity said:
I don't care for the Japanese voice track, as long as both games are released simultaneously I'm good.

Also Keane, I see you got a new avatar.
Yes. I did.
 

Booze Zombie

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I really am not too excited for this, but I'm sure my sister will get all up in my grill about it once it's out.
 

Jumplion

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Damnit Keane, now I'm going to have to find out where your avatar comes from again!

This news doesn't exactly make me more confident about the 360 version. When I saw gameplay footage of FFXIII on 360 it looked much uglier than the PS3 version. Obviously, visuals aren't everything and blah blah blah "realism" blah blah blah "for fun", but when it comes to Final Fantasy people (and by people I mean fans) generally want the superior version even if it is by a small margine.

I would not be surprised if the PS3 version sold more, though I suppose none of us would be.
 

scotth266

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Pendragon9 said:
Cue 360 fanboys saying the 360 version will be superior.
....You said it first. That just invites more people to say it. Fanboys are like snapping turtles: they keep their heads in their shells until someone provokes them (aka: being a jerk about a particular console/fanbase, like you are right now. Besides, the PS3 fans will be guilty as sin of the same offense). Then they bite someone's hand off. It's a rare day when you find a fanboy bold enough to start a war on his own: most of them need to be galvanized.

Jumplion said:
Damnit Keane, now I'm going to have to find out where your avatar comes from again!

This news doesn't exactly make me more confident about the 360 version. When I saw gameplay footage of FFXIII on 360 it looked much uglier than the PS3 version.

I would not be surprised if the PS3 version sold more, though I suppose none of us would be.
It's from a anime. No need to thank me for the hint.

How long ago was that? After all, if the versions are now identical, odds are you saw some demo they tossed out really quickly.

And yes, that wouldn't be a suprise... I just hope that the 360 version sells enough copies for Square to keep producing games for the platform.
 

megapenguinx

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I'll pick it up on the PS3. Although actually I see no difference over the two versions except whether I prefer achievements or trophies.
 

squid5580

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megapenguinx said:
I'll pick it up on the PS3. Although actually I see no difference over the two versions except whether I prefer achievements or trophies.
And the original Japanese voice acting. That may matter to some. Personally I have never used that option when given and would rather turn off the subtitles.
 

Jumplion

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scotth266 said:
It's from a anime. No need to thank me for the hint.

How long ago was that? After all, if the versions are now identical, odds are you saw some demo they tossed out really quickly.

And yes, that wouldn't be a suprise... I just hope that the 360 version sells enough copies for Square to keep producing games for the platform.
It was from Microsoft's E3 conference. It looked damn ugly, no doubt about that! It showed virtually the same scenario from previous game, just looking much more hideous than any previous gameplay footage. When you're playing a Final Fantasy game, trust me, you want it to be very pretty.
 

megapenguinx

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squid5580 said:
megapenguinx said:
I'll pick it up on the PS3. Although actually I see no difference over the two versions except whether I prefer achievements or trophies.
And the original Japanese voice acting. That may matter to some. Personally I have never used that option when given and would rather turn off the subtitles.
I know I won't use it. I miss the old voiceless final fantasies.
 

scotth266

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Jumplion said:
It was from Microsoft's E3 conference. It looked damn ugly, no doubt about that! It showed virtually the same scenario from previous game, just looking much more hideous than any previous gameplay footage. When you're playing a Final Fantasy game, trust me, you want it to be very pretty.
Really? I thought that both trailer versions were annoying: they were filled with neon and darkness, two things I dislike a lot.

However, I wouldn't be suprised that the version they tossed up at E3 was sort of thrown together at the last minute. I'm gonna wait for a while and give them time to actually port the game fully before making a call as to the 360 version's quality.
 

Pendragon9

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squid5580 said:
Pendragon9 said:
Cue 360 fanboys saying the 360 version will be superior.
Cue PS3 fanboys saying the PS3 version will be superior.
Nice job. That didn't make any sense. I didn't say that at all. And since I'm not even gonna buy it, you lose twice. :p

scotth266 said:
Pendragon9 said:
Cue 360 fanboys saying the 360 version will be superior.
....You said it first. That just invites more people to say it. Fanboys are like snapping turtles: they keep their heads in their shells until someone provokes them (aka: being a jerk about a particular console/fanbase, like you are right now. Besides, the PS3 fans will be guilty as sin of the same offense). Then they bite someone's hand off. It's a rare day when you find a fanboy bold enough to start a war on his own: most of them need to be galvanized.
.
Hey, fanboys seem to have that mindset. They've said it long before I ever came onto the scene, about how any PS3 game would run smoother on the 360, even exclusives.

I'm just pointing out the obvious posts before someone blatantly says them.
 

D_987

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Jumplion said:
scotth266 said:
It's from a anime. No need to thank me for the hint.

How long ago was that? After all, if the versions are now identical, odds are you saw some demo they tossed out really quickly.

And yes, that wouldn't be a suprise... I just hope that the 360 version sells enough copies for Square to keep producing games for the platform.
It was from Microsoft's E3 conference. It looked damn ugly, no doubt about that! It showed virtually the same scenario from previous game, just looking much more hideous than any previous gameplay footage. When you're playing a Final Fantasy game, trust me, you want it to be very pretty.
Just like FF7 on my PSP...oh wait...

Seriously, the footage that was shown was fine.