Square Enix loves PS3 & Xbox 360 equally – multi-platform future
This generation has seen the number of games exclusive to one console take a nosedive. The PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii obviously still have their first party exclusives, and they will continue until we have one universal console (fingers crossed). But third party exclusives are all but over.
Anyone who hasn’t yet been convinced that the vast majority of games in the future will be multi-platform need only to listen to what Square Enix, one of the biggest and most successful Japanese developers, has to say about the subject. A Playstation exclusive developer for many years, this generation has seen the company change its focus markedly.
Both Infinite Undiscovery and Star Ocean: The Last Hope are Square Enix exclusives for the Xbox 360. The former of which has been partially credited with changing the fortunes of the Microsoft console in Japan. The Last Remnant is a multi-platform title, being released on the Xbox 360 this week before PS3 and PC versions follow.
But the biggest coup came in July when Microsoft used the E3 conference to announce that PS3 exclusive Final Fantasy XIII was coming to the Xbox 360. And who can blame Square Enix for wanting to squeeze as many sales out of each carefully constructed game as possible by releasing it on more than one console.
Hiroshi Takai, director of The Last Remnant, recently spoke to VideoGamer and clearly reinforced Square Enix’ commitment to becoming a true multi-platform developer in the future. He said:
If there’s something that a particular platform can do that the game really needs to take advantage of then it may end up being an exclusive title, but otherwise the producers or the development teams don’t have a particular favorite platform, so there isn’t really anything to stop us from just going multi-platform in the future.
The 360 is an easy platform to make games for. The dev environment and the dev kit and everything they’ve released, those were really dev friendly, so it was quite a lot of fun to work on the 360 version from a development point of view.
A few things about this console generation has forced the situation we have at the moment, with most games developers choosing to release big games on more than one console.
First is the fact that all three home consoles can rightly be regarded as successes in their own right, with both the PS3 and Xbox 360 having enough of a consumer base to warrant support. Then there is the cost of developing, distributing, and selling a state-of-the-art videogame these days, which is too much money to risk limiting your market to just one console.
Exclusives will still be with us for a while, especially in the form of the timed exclusive that Microsoft seems to be big fans of at the moment. But the future is definitely multi-platform, and if that’s the case then why not just bite the bullet and collaborate on one universal console to rule them all?
Related Posts:
18 Responses to “Square Enix loves PS3 & Xbox 360 equally – multi-platform future”
Leave a Reply:
You must be logged in to post a comment. Don't have an account? Register today!
November 17th, 2008
if there was only one game consele, it would create an monopoly and make a uncreative and boring gaming experience, competition makes developers strive for something better, look at Intel and AMD…..
November 17th, 2008
I’m really not sure exclusives are dead, and I mean real exclsutives from third parties, not first party exclusives or timed exclusives.
The reason is simple, we are getting a generation that is turning out to look not unlike last.
The reason the PS2 could get so many exclusives last gen was because it had a monsterous market share and was very weak compared to the Xbox and GC. This meant a big chance of good returns for little investment (compared to the investment for a GC/Xbox game with good graphics).
This time around, it doesn’t seem unlikely that the Wii will be the PS2 of last gen, particularly with many hardcore gamers claiming they don’t have one yet, which means just more sales waiting to happen for games on the Wii.
In a recent article, the top 5 games sold recently (last quarter, I think) were listed, and 3 of the top 5 were Nintendo exclusive games. That’s certainly a lure for developers, and they can make games for the Wii unlike what the PS3 or 360 would allow, which is even more than the PS2 could say.
November 18th, 2008
I love you too Square Enix.
November 18th, 2008
Final Fantasy Versus XIII i can’t wait to get that. FFXIII on Xbox 360 is going to be downgrade.
November 18th, 2008
Very good points Matt.
I find it kind of funny that they talk about Infinite Undiscovery and Star Ocean: The Last Hope (360 exclusives), then talk about everything going multi-plat form in the next sentence. I am still not positive FF vs. XIII will be a PS3 exclusive. Maybe it will be exclusive to the PS3 in Asia.
Is there any word on when they are planning on releasing The Last Remnant for PS3? I can not find a date other than TBD.
November 18th, 2008
I’m pretty sure Star Ocean 4 is not 360 exclusive. Or if it is exclusive…its the same type of exclusive Bioshock was, where developers cant mention the possibility of it coming to the rival console due to the contract signed.
Another reason I fuckin hate MS. Lets see whats popular on the other console and buy it. Real original *rolls eyes* Katamari and Ace Combat come to mind as well. It really shows you how much faith they have in their 1st party titles when they have to go and do shit like that.
MS is the worst anti-competitive, unoriginal company in existence.
November 18th, 2008
Ditto to Barnabe Jones. The headline for this article should read: “Square Enix loves MONEY – Whoring out future”
The third-party exclusive will exist as long as Microsoft is writing checks for them.
-Arvis
November 18th, 2008
God bless Microsoft. They have taken what is good from competitor consoles and given it to us. How someone can hate that is beyond me.
Don’t hate, love.
November 18th, 2008
Timed exclusives are the worst kind of exclusives. And we all know the reason why… M$ only have a few first party studios. Lionshead just released Fable II… so they will be busy for a few years… and Rare just released Banjo Kazooie… In order to compete they have to resort to paying tons of money to keep the title out of the hands of PS3 owners for a few months. The funny thing is we end up with the game anyway, and in the case of Bioshock we get extra content and improvements. Meanwhile Sony has a legion of studios slowly turning out first party gems.
November 18th, 2008
@ Barnabe Jones, improvements? You mean running in the game in a resolution less than what is defined as HD, even with the advantage of giving developers an extra 12 months of working on it? Yeah, fantastic improvement there!
You’re just upset that you backed the wrong horse.
November 19th, 2008
I guarantee you would be singing a different tune, if Sony bought exclusive rights to Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 3, Lost Planet 2, Dead Rising 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Dead or Alive 5. All games that where the franchise was made popular on the Xbox brand.
Keep supporting the shady business practice when it works in your favor.
November 19th, 2008
Perhaps my tune would be different… (not Mass Effect. You can keep that one). But then I wouldn’t have all of the Sony 1st party exclusives (Uncharted 1&2, Warhawk, Resistance 1&2, Kill Zone, GT5, White Knight, etc, etc, etc). Being a Sony fan means that I get most of the titles you mention above, in addition to Sony’s 1st party titles. It is a win-win situation.
November 19th, 2008
phranctoast – where were you when sony paid r* to keep mum of the 360’s version of the newest gta? i guess paying is good only when it comes form sony…
btw; it’s hilarious that the ps3 fanboys forget that sony did the same thing to draw them away from nintendo… typical hypocrites….
November 19th, 2008
Actually Barnabe.. I was talking to harry. Should have specified. BTW..you’re right…. Nothing beats all the great Sony 1st party choices. Looking forward to Team ICO’s next project as well as the new God of War and Twisted Metal.
@kev.
Where were you when MS announced at E306′ that GTA4 would be coming out same day as the PS3 version? A full two years before GTA4 hit the shelves. Yeah… *rolls eyes* It really also sound like Sony paid them off……for what???? If you want to talk GTA4….MS is at it again with the DLC. Paying a company to keep stuff off the competitors is border line anti trust.
from wiki.
“Development of Final Fantasy VII began in 1994 and the game was originally intended for the SNES, but it was later moved to the Nintendo 64. As the system’s cartridges lacked space, Square decided to release the game for Sony’s PlayStation instead. ”
Silly uneducated Xbots.
November 19th, 2008
Phranctoast,
I thought we all knew by now that Kev isn’t interested in silly things like “facts.” Don’t waste your effort. That’s my job.
-Arvis
November 19th, 2008
phranctoast,
That will never happen, Microsoft aren’t in the business of giving it’s competitors any sort of edge. They go for the throat, as after all, they’re running a business.
They’re not shady business practices, they’re 100% completely legal.
November 20th, 2008
I’m well aware of their business practice. The justice dept had a problem with their “business practice” in the past. if you look into anti trust laws you could see how close it is to being illegal.
You never answered my other question though.
Would you be saying the same thing if Sony bought a year exclusive on the games I mentioned?
November 21st, 2008
Sorry I misread that