FFXIII Exclusivity Under Discussion

In an interview between a French-language newspaper and Sony Computer Entertainment France president Georges Fornay, he revealed that FFXIII's exclusivity is still under discussion. Gamespot reports, and attempted to check with Square-Enix about the reality of this situation. If the high-profile RPG's exclusivity is not a lock for the PS3, it could be a crushing blow for Sony's future plans. "The development costs of games have exploded, and it has become more difficult to have exclusives, outside of our own games. But we have for launch day [in France] 30 games, including MotorStorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Virtua Fighter 5. Moreover, we are expecting 200 games [for the PS3] by the end of 2007...As far as Final Fantasy XIII goes, I can tell you that the exclusivity is in discussion."

FFXII

[phorm]

I would summarize it as: - Nicer battle system (more interactive, more realistic) - Lots of eyecandy - Poor transitions (from in-game to pre-rendered video, for example many boss attachs) However, it has these certain MMORPG overtones - Lots of repetitive tasks - Sidequests don't add much to the overall story value - Grind... And the plot is a bit lacking - Underdeveloped characters - Less believable characters - Pretty, but fluffy... However, the environment itself was rather nice. In the english version, the use of somewhat archaic language added somewhat to the game IMHO

Re:is Final Fantasy still relevant?

[7Prime]

I don't think "blow the pants off" is quite accurate. It does better, but Final Fantasy is still VERY popular, selling at least 80% of the DQ series. These are the #1 and #2 best selling series in Japan... being a strong #2 is not something to cry about.

Also, in worldwide sales, Final Fantasy does, here, "blow the pants off" of Dragon Quest. The 360 is also the dominant system outside Japan. Porting a series that's very popular in the US to a platform that is selling very well in the US (and Europe), just seems like a good business strategy.

Re:I don't think I need to tell you...

[7Prime]

Also, remember that FFVII and FFVIII were released on PC. I played both of them for the first time in that format, and aside from a few minor complaints, both worked great (the translation was, in fact, slightly improved in the PC version of FFVII).

Re:is Final Fantasy still relevant?

[twistedsymphony]

maybe not the most popular of all time but look at that VG chart again and filter out portable systems and anything made before the N64/PS/Saturn generation and you'll find that DQ and FF filter right to the top. making the top 10 look like this:

• Dragon Quest VII
• Final Fantasy VII
• Final Fantasy VIII
• Dragon Quest VIII
• Final Fantasy X
• Final Fantasy IX
• Gran Turismo
• Final Fantasy XII
• Final Fantasy X-2
• Resident Evil 2

While portables are still video games it's pretty much a different market... in terms of games that have sold well in the past and STILL sell well enough to reach the top of the charts today DQ an FF are it. Mario on the NES might be near the top but where is the GC's Mario on that list? The tubby plumber doesn't move consoles like he used to, certainly not as well as effeminate males with large swords. Not to mention FFXII was released just a few short months ago and it's already sold half as many copies as Mario on the NES has in over 20 years... I'd say that's some drawing power.