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Final Fantasy XIII Is Coming To Xbox 360
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Tue Jul 15, 2008 08:36 AM
from the you-gotta-be-kidding-me dept.
from the you-gotta-be-kidding-me dept.
An anonymous reader writes "In a stunning change, Square-Enix announced today at Microsoft's E3 press conference that its next iteration in the Final Fantasy series is also coming to Xbox 360." And I just rationalized the PS3 purchase by telling myself that the next FF will require it.
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Submission: Final Fantasy XIII is coming to Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward
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I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Interesting)
- Final Fantasy Versus XIII is still (supposedly) a PS3-exclusive
- Metal Gear Solid 4, as you mentioned
- Valkyrie Of the Battlefield [wikipedia.org] is coming out later this year
Also I don't think Sony has had their chance to show off at E3 yet, so there may yet be more stuff along the way.
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Insightful)
Also the fact that it's apparently one of the only halfway-decent Blu-Ray players out there.
I was shocked when I first read this, but it's apparently true. How the heck did Blu-Ray "win" when the only decent player is a freakin' PS3?
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, you can buy an HD-DVD addon for the Xbox 360. Probably dirt-cheap now, and it'll work on a computer, also -- I use it on Linux, on my laptop (which has a broken optical drive).
I think that for a long time, DVD will be the new DVD. The studios are trying hard to make Blu-Ray look better -- Superbit is gone, and even standard DVDs seem almost deliberately worse in their encoding than they were a few years ago.
The strangest part was that your $99 HD-DVD player had persistent storage, networking, picture-in-picture support, and a script engine built-in, with decent menu animations. Base Blu-Ray players had none of these -- if they had the "script engine" (Java, actually), it'd be much slower (weird, huh?), and the PS3 had neither persistent storage nor network support (for HD-DVD) early on, when it was relevant to the format war.
It really seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with technical merit and everything to do with who was fellating which studio execs, and (possibly) the "extra protection" of the DRM. The same DRM which is so successful [slysoft.com] at stopping piracy [thepiratebay.org] so far.
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Informative)
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I've never been a Sony fanboy.... BUT (Score:5, Interesting)
During the format wars, Sony updated the Blu-Ray version by adding new features; new features that made new Blu-Ray discs incompatible with older players. If Sony decides to add more features in the future, the PS3 is the most versatile player they have.
The PS3's Blu-Ray decoding is software-based, it can be updated and upgraded easily. And the PS3 already comes with a wireless card in it that makes it extraordinarily easy to update.
Also, additional content on many Blu-Ray titles was done in Java. (AvP for instance has a game on the Blu-Ray disc) Most stand-alone players grind to a halt when trying to run Java. The PS3 has computing power to spare and chew those Java apps up and spit them back out. And speaking of computing power, it's designed to have amazing graphics. When you apply that to 2D video, the colors and picture quality are on par with the best devices out there. I'm sure there are better players out there, but those top of the line, multiple-thousand dollar units. For 500 bucks (plus HD cables, plus 30 bucks for the remote), you'll be near top of the line for significantly less money.
The PS3 also will upconvert your old DVD's to 1080p. So, your library of DVD's isn't obsolete like VHS tapes were with DVD's. It'll make all your DVD's look better.
So, it's an amazing player. It displays the movies in crisp, clear graphics - comparable to higher end Blu-Ray players. It can easily update its firmware so it can play all current and future Blu-Ray titles. It has the capability to play all additional content that many other players are incapable of playing. It upconverts old DVDs. And to top it off, it's the cheapest Blu-Ray player out there (or it was when I bought mine). If you've got a 1080p capable TV and you buy movies, the PS3 is going to be the way to go. And, if you see a game worth playing, well, that's just icing on the cake.
Let me finish off by saying I've been a Nintendo Fanboy. I've bought every Nintendo console that's come out. I was pissed off by Sony's arrogance about their system. I was voting for HD-DVD to win. But they didn't. Blu-Ray won. And I'm a pragmatist. If I want to watch movies in 1080p (which I do) there's only one way to do. The president of Sony can go eat a dick. I don't like his business practices and arrogance, but my opinion isn't going to change that. And even though I don't particularly care for him or the way, I have to admit that Sony makes awesome stuff. The first thing I watched in 1080p was a Wall-E trailer I downloaded. Jesus F-ing Christ. If you have the opportunity to see what 1080p video looks like, take the chance.
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Re:I've never been a Sony fanboy.... BUT (Score:4, Informative)
During the format wars, Sony updated the Blu-Ray version by adding new features; new features that made new Blu-Ray discs incompatible with older players.
Uh, no. No, they didn't. The spec was published before the PS3 was even released. The interim specification with missing features was published at the request of the other Blu-Ray manufactures, not Sony, and the new disks are still 100% compatible with those old players.
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Re:I've never been a Sony fanboy.... BUT (Score:5, Informative)
Well put.
Another point you forgot to mention, but which is just as important in my opinion, is the noise level. The PS3 is very quiet, almost silent in fact, which is of paramount importance when you're watching media in my opinion.
Taking nothing away from the Xbox 360 as a games console but it just doesn't hold a candle to the PS3 as a media centre. You just can't live with the noise it makes, unless your standards are already so low to begin with.
PS3 + Bluray + 1080p screen + decent audio kit = unrivalled in the home.
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Re:I've never been a Sony fanboy.... BUT (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:I've never been a Sony fanboy.... BUT (Score:4, Informative)
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Insightful)
Clarification for me please?
I haven't gotten any of the new generation consoles (except a wii). I was thinking of a PS3 over a 360 because friends with 360s said they were a headache to own. Lots of failures, very noisy and occasionally even scratching disks.
Why would a PS3 be less useful than a 360 if all the games are the same and the hardware is better?
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Insightful)
I just cancelled my Xbox live account yesterday. I have a few friends with Xboxes, but very few games that require me to play online with them. The games that I do play online are PC games which provide FREE online gaming.
My biggest issue with Xbox live, is that it is a service that should be free. I turn on my Xbox and get blasted with ads, and offers to 'buy' games. Of course, to 'buy' the game they mean lease it to my Xbox and only my Xbox (account). There is nothing in Xbox live that I've seen that has been revolutionary that should require a subscription to run. At least not coupled with the sales aspect.
Maybe I missed something, and I'd love for there to be a reason to keep it, but I haven't found it.
(That, and any company that doesn't allow you to cancel online when you can manage every other aspect of your account online pisses me off and I almost cancelled on principle)
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Insightful)
You have a problem with Microsoft, but not with Sony?
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Interesting)
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Insightful)
Corporations are groups of people. Groups of people will behave differently than individuals. Groups of people with power (which is what corporations are) will behave differently than groups of people without power.
As designed and implemented, corporations encourage groups of people to behave badly. The corporations have economic and political power not available to individuals. As culpability is spread among many people, those many people will, in general, behave worse than they would if they were solely responsible.
"Corporations," as economically and politically empowered groups of people, *do* act. And in general, they will behave in the way that is least good for society, as it is the best good for their short term.
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
2, if you're worried about this, then just step out of the video game market right now. The only three companies left - and the only ones that will be left for a long time - are Microsoft (who we're aware of), Sony (rootkits, Lik-Sang, etc.), and Nintendo, who aren't AS bad, but had their own history o
Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Informative)
It is also useful if you want to work on the Cell.
It is the cheapest Cell development system you can buy.
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Insightful)
No, it's not. If it were Microsoft's dollars at work, then they'd be releasing FF13 on the Xbox 360 in Japan too. But they're not.
No, this is Square Enix taking a long and hard look at the console market and realizing that the PS3, while winning in Japan, is losing everywhere else. In order to justify the cost of releasing it outside Japan, they realized that they'd have to release it for the Xbox 360, since it has over twice the install base of the PS3 in the US and Europe.
It's simply Square Enix being smart. Sony has lost to the Xbox 360 in every territory except Japan. Square Enix has done the math and they know that the cost of porting to the Xbox 360 is far less than the expected gains by effectively tripling their audience.
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Interesting)
then why arent they releasing it for the wii which has a larger install base world wide then both the ps3 and xbox360 combined?
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Interesting)
Probably because a major part of the core Final Fantasy lineage is eye candy... and the Wii doesn't have adequate hardware to provide said eye candy for their flagship title.
That and the fact that FF is really not a franchise for casual gamers... it doesn't really cater to the Wii audience regardless of how large that audience is.
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Informative)
That and the fact that FF is really not a franchise for casual gamers... it doesn't really cater to the Wii audience regardless of how large that audience is.
As of March 31, 2008, Twilight Princess sold 4.52 million copies on the Wii.
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Funny)
Yep. I'm proudly a casual gamer, and I can think of many, many, many things I'd rather do that play through a single player game that last over 9,000 hours. I think releasing it on the 360 is a much smarter idea.
But that's 8,000 hours of cut scenes you're missing.
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:4, Informative)
It does when you're trying to adapt complex graphics originally designed to push the limits of the PS3. "Pleasing" and "Jaw Dropping" are two different things, and FF typically goes after the latter. Adapting the game to the 360 is a matter of tweaking the engine a bit. Adapting the game for the Wii is a matter of completely overhauling the graphics and engine to run on slower hardware.
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Re:I have always been a Sony fanboy... (Score:5, Insightful)
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PS3 rationalization (Score:5, Funny)
And I just rationalized the PS3 purchase by telling myself that the next FF will require it.
No doubt. Sony! Give me a reason to buy the PS3 please, I want that blu-ray player.
This is a reason I've always hated consoles... (Score:5, Insightful)
Exclusivity contracts.
Wanna play Halo 2? Get an XBOX. Wanna play Eternal Darkness? Get a gamecube. Wanna play Castlevania ? Get a PS2.
If only all game makers were following this example and began producing their games for ALL platforms... PC included.
Cheer up CmdrTaco (Score:5, Funny)
Cheer up, CmdrTaco!
The PS3 is still a worthwhile investment. It is the only next-generation console with a BluRay drive, and therefore the only console with the capacity to hold the 90 hours of cutscenes that will be in the next Metal Gear Solid game...!
A mixed blessing (Score:5, Insightful)
In the realm of mature gamers (most of whom have the disposable income to purchase all or as many of the current generation of consoles as they like), fanboy platform wars have no real place. That being said, I see both major positives and negatives about this announcement.
On the plus side, any increase in the competition of two massive corporate juggernauts can only be good for consumers, and the game being multiplatform will help it reach a wider audience and boost sales (especially overseas). In this day and age, it seems like third party exclusive titles are becoming a thing of the past, being replaced by highly subsidized exclusive bonus content (which results in more money for the developers who MAKE the games we love).
However, one advantage consoles have always had is the uniformity of hardware, allowing developers to milk as much performance as possible out of the system, and resulting in better looking titles than on comparably equipped PC hardware (but PCs, being upgradable, often quickly strip that advantage away as hardware progresses). Today, multiplatform developers for Xbox 360 and PS3 often strive for graphical parity between the versions (e.g., GTA4, Assassin's Creed). And while I have no doubt both are powerful systems in their own respects, they are also radically different hardware architectures and I can't see how developers can realistically claim to be maxing out the performance on both systems, yet still have them come out looking virtually indistinguishable.
As an owner of both systems, I was looking forward to FF XIII as an incredible showcase of just how powerful the PS3 was as a system. I'm sure it will still be a fantastic game, but I wonder if this decision won't negatively impact the final product...
You keep using that word but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Mature gamers...
I hate to tell you but mature gamers are buying the Wii. I would bet you that more and more people in their late 20s, 30's, and 40's are buying the Wii.
I think you better start using the term hard core gamers.
As to the news. I find it mildly interesting. It may really help Microsoft crack the Japanese market. As for me it just delays me buying a bit longer. My wife wants the PS3 for Singstar. Yes she loves Singstar. I have yet to see a game for the 360 or PS3 that I must have.
So we will keep
My PS3 justification (Score:3, Informative)
I don't have an HD TV yet, but will probably get one next year (assuming I can convince the wife, even though there's "nothing wrong" with our 3 year old SD TV). Blu-Ray won the war, I can still play them on my SD TV with the PS3, and I don't want to be thinking "crap I could have got this DVD on Blu-Ray instead" when I do upgrade.
I can play videos remotely off MythTV/MythVideo, and any other upnp media servers.
I can play most of my PS2 games on it (80GB model) - only one didn't work, so I'm replacing a device rather than adding one.
Free online play.
The blu-ray player software is updated to make use of new features.
So whats the big deal? (Score:4, Insightful)
I realise I am throwing myself into a pit of rabid fanboys here, but here goes.
I've played around on some of the FF games, and I can't say they've ever impressed me. I even bought on once (FF VII) and gave up playing it quite quickly because it just didn't grab me.
So where is the appeal of this series? The action is dull, the RPG elements are poorly conceived and don't make much sense. The pace is plodding. Why are these games so raved about? I just don't get it...
Re:So whats the big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)
So where is the appeal of this series? The action is dull, the RPG elements are poorly conceived and don't make much sense. The place is plodding. Why are these games so raved about? I just don't get it...
It basically boils down to one thing: some people have different opinions from you. Many people think that their action is exciting, the RPG elements are fascinating, and the pace is perfect. As a general rule, one of the series' largest draws is the stories; if you don't care about a game telling you a story, it's probably safe to say that you won't enjoy the series (but there are, of course, exceptions).
I also see that you specifically mentioned FF7, which I'll bet you know is the best game to mention for starting a good flame war. There are lots of people who say it's the best game ever, and there are also a lot of people who say it's the worst game ever. The series is internally incosistent with itself, and all of the games are significantly different from each other. If you didn't like 7 but are honestly interested in why the series is popular, I'd recommend you take a look at 6, 9, or 12 instead. I'd also highly recommend Tactics, although some people will say that doesn't count as part of the series because it doesn't have a number after it.
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Re:Well there goes the history of decent quality.. (Score:3, Funny)
Programming? (Score:5, Funny)
It's programmed? According to the launch time press material from Sony, the PS3 has sexy magical elf babes inside that weave the game in real time directly out of sunshine, the holy spirit and the smiles of kittens.
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Re:Well there goes the history of decent quality.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Really?
I seem to remember Final Fantasy games for the PC that were on PS, that seemed to sell rather well. Not sure if that's related or not, but it would seem to be.
Cross platform wouldn't be such a big deal if the companies were more open about their development methods/kits/etc....if PS3 and Xbox360 and wii worked together, there would be no issues. However end result is the PS3 would run games the best due to superior hardware basically, and everyone else would cry foul. Plus all of those anticompetitive "exclusivity" contracts like EA has launched, ensuring crappy games when they're on a single system. Of course squeenix makes pretty good games and always has, though.
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I agree. I played Final Fantasy VIII on the PC as my first Final Fantasy game. I had a PC gamepad to use which worked fine for the game, and the experience wasn't much different than a console (except that I was playing on a 17" computer monitor - still, that was decent sized and I had a nice tilting leather office chair, so it was comfortable). That prompted me to get FFVII for the PC and play through that. I bought FF IX for the Playstation when it came out (I actually played it on my roommate's PSX as
Re:Well there goes the history of decent quality.. (Score:5, Interesting)
FF13 was not being developed directly on the PS3 hardware. It was instead being written to run on the Crystal Engine, which was being programmed to run on the PS3. It is just now the Crystal Engine has been ported to the 360 so FF13 can follow.
Sounds like the PS3 will still be the system to play it on if one owns both.
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Re:Well there goes the history of decent quality.. (Score:4, Informative)
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Re:Well there goes the history of decent quality.. (Score:5, Interesting)
And I'm guessing that the PS3 version will probably require a HDD install, much like Devil May Cry 4, MGS4, etc.. and load 1-2 seconds faster.
An interesting sidenote, with the announcement that the 360 can install games to the HDD, but you have to have the disc in (for verification that you own the game), if they allowed a full game install of FFXIII, allowing the first disc to be the "verification" disc, the "LOL1l!! multiple disc" arguement would go away. Get on in MS, for those who don't like getting off the couch every 10 hours.
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Re:Well there goes the history of decent quality.. (Score:5, Interesting)
I might be wrong...
Not just wrong, but delusional too!
Almost every game that is developed cross platform ends up way better quality wise then when developing for a specific platform. This is the reason why Blizzard ALWAYS releases cross platform. It's part of their strategy to maintain top notch quality.
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Re:Well there goes the history of decent quality.. (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Insert Fan-Boy posts bellow (n/t) (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Elderly games. (Score:5, Informative)
Would you feel better if they gave it a different name? The Final Fantasy games don't follow on from one another, they occasionally have similar themes or side-characters, but that's it.
Think of it more like a branding, like Ferrari or Ford.
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Re:What ever... (Score:5, Funny)
IMHO, one player games are dull as hell.
Been playing 'video games' since 1985 or so and one player RPG's have had their day.
I would much rather play a 2 player RPG or better yet, a 10 million player RPG.
Speak for yourself. Having dealt with the "players" of those "10 million player RPGs" I'd rather slam my dick in a car door than play one.
They can give me all the 1 player RPGs they like (though bugger Final Fantasy. Get to work on Dragon Quest 9!)
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Re:What ever... (Score:4, Insightful)
Thank god we have Japan, Europe and a few scant studios in the US (mainly Bioware) continuing to produce long, decent single-player RPGs. Personally I don't enjoy online gaming much -- need a bit of plot and character development in my games. So far, MMOs haven't really progressed in that area.
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Re:What ever... (Score:5, Insightful)
I get why you were modded troll but you touch an important point. The RPG community has been fragmented now. For those who delight in making a character and sharing it with your friends real or otherwise the MMORPG is sweet, sweet candy, but for those who enjoy the deep and rich story which has previously followed RPGs MMORPGs just feel hollow. I've taken quite a few steps into MMORPGs and while they are improving over time, there are just some things that have to be sacrificed for balance. There will always be a place for the single(or well developed small group)-player RPG.
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Re:Final Post (Score:5, Interesting)
Just one question: Will the 360 version be a bare bones, no-cutscenes version, or will it sport 5 discs, or more? I mean, taking MGS4 as an example, that game renders all cutscenes in-game, yet _still_ fills up a whole dual layer BD, meaning 50 GB of textures and sound (minus some GB of double content for better reading performance, I know).
I just hope this doesn't mean dumbing down both versions, technically.
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Re:Final Post (Score:4, Insightful)
They've done multi-disc releases before (VII, VIII, XI). I don't think they'll have any issues doing it again.
I think by virtue of them achieving an identical experience on both consoles you subject yourself to some technical compromise. It's not going to squeeze every last drop of processing power out of either system.
Still, if they're developing on a layer that runs on both platforms, it bodes well for consistency. And honestly, I'm not worried about it looking substandard on either console.
MGS4 looked amazing, but with a story like theirs, what does it matter anyway? The game turned out to be more of the same "blah blah" Koijima nonsense that newcomers to the series couldn't possibly fathom (and even kept the veterans scratching their heads). Final Fantasy's reboot per game keeps people coming back. Thirteen times, to approximate ;)
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Speculation/FUD+Slashdot == Karama! (Score:5, Insightful)
Just one question: Will the 360 version be a bare bones, no-cutscenes version, or will it sport 5 discs, or more? I mean, taking MGS4 as an example, that game renders all cutscenes in-game, yet _still_ fills up a whole dual layer BD, meaning 50 GB of textures and sound (minus some GB of double content for better reading performance, I know).
Not to pee in your cheerios, but Virtua Fighter 5 (initially touted as a PS3 exclusive, too) was released with fancier graphics and online multiplayer with exceptional netcode exclusively on the 360. Basically, I can sit here and play VF5 with friends in Japan from my sofa in the US with no perceived latency all evening while PS3 users are stuck playing only people in the same room with less detail and features on their "technically superior" console.
If the game turns out to require multiple discs, I'd assume there would be an option to copy game data to the HDD, as many 360 users have 120GB drives nowadays. Microsoft, although having had hurdles with hardware problems, tends to push for a great gaming experience on the 360.
It's probably going to be detrimental to my karma to suggest we wait and see instead of just assuming anything to do with the 360 is going to crap up the game or offer a lesser experience. It's entirely likely Microsoft will try to make another example out of any former Sony exclusive franchise.
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