I’ve heard tons of stories, all usually singing a different tune. So I’d like to hear what issues if any you folks have seen.

Yourstrulyinhd (Gerry)

Final Fantasy Versus XIII is just as highly anticipated as XIII

At this point everybody has seen both the teaser and the trailer to Versus XIII. It was pretty disheartening to see a guard holding a shotgun that fired like a Call of Duty 4 heavy machine gun. That aside, the trailer set up an extremely sturdy platform for us all to get on top of and scream for more.

The trailer was also strikingly vivid. Two parts in particular appear to be extremely out of the ordinary for a Final Fantasy. The Prince breaks a guards neck with his legs moments before he impales another guard through the heart while falling out of the sky. The impalement is complete with sound effects and blood to add to the realism. By video gaming standards there isn’t much blood but by Final Fantasy standards it was available by the gallon.

The ESRB states that a game rated Teen “may contain violence” and “minimal blood”. Their requirements for a game rated Mature are “intense violence” and “blood and gore”. Only an infinitesimal amount of footage has been released. If the trailer is representative of the kind of violence the game may contain, Final Fantasy may make its first venture out of the Teen ESRB rating.

Strangely, the Versus XIII team is being headed by Tetsuya Nomura and the people who brought you Kindom Hearts, an E rated game.

Of course many readers may have already noticed this and discussed it at length. What makes this worth mentioning again is that if, in fact, Square is willing to make the leap to the M rating for one of it’s newest titles they may also be willing to remake Final Fantasy VII. With the capabilities of this generation’s consoles a remake could be brilliantly revamped, yet true to the original game. Remember the Final Fantasy Tech Demo for the PS3? Imagine that but a couple billion Japanese yen in development costs. More than eleven years since Final Fantasy VII’s original release in Japan, those who’ve played through it are now either of age to play a Mature title or very close.

This is far from definitive proof of a VII remake, in fact the word proof may not even apply. However, the demand is there and with a surprise FF VII related announcement around the corner there may just be a chance.

Yourstrulyinhd (Gerry)

- So, big news, what fueled the decision to take Final Fantasy XIII out of exclusivity on the PS3?

Shinji Hashimoto: The decision was basically made when we considered the install base and overseas appeal of the Xbox 360, so we wanted to answer the needs of supplying the game to as many of our fans as possible.

- In terms of the legacy of the series, will this change anything from the players’ point of view?

Hashimoto: It’s more related to how the gaming industry has changed, because it has always been that one console was the leader with the others following behind. But now, we are in a time when the PS3 and 360 are on the same level and there are so many different platforms for the player to choose from that Final Fantasy must evolve to meet the different needs of those players.

- Is there any impact that moving to Microsoft’s technology could have on the White Engine, because initially we were told that the PS3 would be the best platform for exploiting what the engine could do.

Yoshinori Kitase: Well, the White Engine is actually called the Crystal Tool now, but it’s basically the same thing and essentially it’s a collection of tools for game development that are necessary for game development. The order of development is that first we will develop FF13 for the PS3 and make it specific to that hardware to try to accommodate all the functionality offered by it and then, after the PS3 version is complete, we are going to develop the Xbox 360 version. So, in that sense, we don’t really have much to discuss about the development of the Xbox 360 version right now, but that’s the order of our development cycle.

The new face of 21st Century Final Fantasy

- Are there any inspirations that stand out from the series’ history that are going into FF13?

Kitase: Of course, the platform is completely different since the last Final Fantasy was on the PS2, and now that we’re moving to the PS3 and Xbox 360 there’s going to be a big difference there in memory capacity and the medium is completely different, so it’ll be a totally different thing. Because of the advanced hardware, we’ll be able to expand the Final Fantasy world even more and create a more realistic feel, so there’ll be monsters wandering around the field and we can make huge monsters or a great number of monsters, so in line with that realism, it will feel like those creatures are actually living in that world and generally be more interactive.

- So, speaking of that world, over the course of the series there have been a number of worlds created. We’ve become very familiar with the world of Final Fantasy VII with Midgar and Shinra and we’ve come to know the world of Ivalice because there have been a ton of games in the Ivalice Alliance. Is there anything that you can share with us about the world of Fabula Nova Crystalis?

Kitase: There’s not too much we can disclose in regards to the details of the world, but we can say that there’s the Fabula Nova Crystalis, or the legend of the crystal, and it’s a mythology that exists within the game world and it’s analogous to the real world. Like, we have Greek mythology and other mythologies with different gods and different traditions and even though it may not be a real world, these things remain in our world as maybe names of regions or monuments in the real world as well. So, the world of FF13 will be similar to that in that these kinds of stories exist, but the world of FF13 is a real world that is not necessarily connected directly to that mythological world, but there are still monuments of that world that exist as reminders.

- The fact that the game will be on the 360, does that in any way sway the story? What I mean by that is, there are some people who’ve only played on the 360 and they may have very little understanding of the story, so was that taken into account in terms of the story?

Kitase: There’s no real difference or additions that were incorporated because of coming to the 360. Traditionally, the Final Fantasy series has been created so that you don’t really need to know any backstory or any sidestories in order to enjoy each game and so we’ll be approaching FF13 in this way as well. Of course, there’s also probably a lot of people that are just now coming to the series, so we want to make the game available to as many people as possible in a way they can enjoy.

- There’s been quite a bit of commentary around the Internet following the announcement that the game’s coming to 360, both good and bad, so what is the response of the team, specifically in regards to the negative commentary?

Kitase: There are many different kinds of negative comments, but the one that stands out particularly is that the move to multiplatform is very bad because it means that we won’t maximize the new features of each piece of hardware and will kind of become more generic so that it can fit both platforms, but, as mentioned earlier, the game is going to be completed for the PS3 first, so we’re going to maximize our use of that hardware and take advantage of all of its features, creating the game specifically tailored to the PS3 and then transition to the Xbox 360 and exploit that hardware to its fullest. So, the team is confident in the power of both platforms and not worried about that part at all.

Hashimoto: Just to clarify, in building a 360 version in addition to the PS3 version, it’s important to note that we’re not changing our minds and switching over to the Xbox 360 or anything like that, but rather simply creating a game for the PS3 while realizing that there could be more people playing the game if we also offer it on the Xbox 360 as well.

Source: Gamespy

The issue isn’t that Square Enix has “sold out” or betrayed their loyal fan base. The makers of Final Fantasy run a business and business isn’t as good as it could be if they’re releasing their titles exclusively for one console. Particularly when that console has the ball on their end of the court but hasn’t the slightest idea what to do with it.

Don’t believe me? Where’s PlayStation Home? The initial release date for PSHome was around September 2007. Later that year, at TGS ’07, Home was announced to be delayed till Spring ’08. MTV’s parties in Panama City ended a long time ago and still no PSHome. Some of the anticipated launch titles weren’t released till much later and many of the launch titles sucked (for lack of a better term). Granted the console has gained some positive momentum recently, they were moving backward just before that.

Ultimately, the Final Fantasy fans that are upset genuinely have the right to be. They’re unfortunately aiming their distaste in the wrong direction. Blaming Square Enix for making the best decision they could almost defends Sony, which is where the real problem appears to be. It also appears to be a problem that has long forgotten about those blowing the air out of their lungs to complain. Sony’s PlayStation is no longer just a gaming system but a part of the larger Home Entertainment System. They’ve got the senior demographic (ages 45 and up) to prove it. On the brighter side it may be safe to say that XIII’s release on more than one system will increase Square’s profits. That’s more money to dump into the next Final Fantasy title that goes into production (VII remake…maybe…please!?!?!?!). As far as the disgruntled PlayStation owner/Final Fantasy fan is concerned, you know that you thought Versus XIII looked way cooler anyway…admit it.

If you’re interested in the demographic information of PS3 and XBOX360 it can be downloaded for free at:

Experian Consumer Research - Gamer Demographics

Yourstrulyinhd (Gerry)

However, Rohde seems unperturbed by the news, proclaiming that 2008 is “the year of the PlayStation.”

Rohde also gives us the rundown on God of War 3, M.A.G., PSN updates, and more within the Interview.

Click here to open the Video of the Interview with Scott Rohde in a new window.

Source: GameTrailers

Square Enix senior vice president of sales and marketing Shinji Hashimoto was asked whether he felt that the announcement was, of sorts, a turning point for the game industry.

“More than a turning point, you could say that perhaps this is a change in trends for the game industry as a whole,” he offered. “In the past, a single platform would be at the top, and the others would not be so close.

“But now each console has many users, so this has kind of dictated the way that Final Fantasy will evolve in the future, and why it’s being released on multiple consoles at once.”

“With Final Fantasy, the aim is to have as many people enjoy it as possible.”

Hashimoto was somewhat elusive concerning future playstation exclusives. “[Releasing on a] single platform doesn’t necessarily limit the market,” he said. “There’s software that’s specific to certain hardware, and uses those capabilities to its max. Nintendo does that, and there’s Gears of War for Microsoft. These titles do very well.”

However, the Square Enix executive concluded: “There’s not just one formula for success. But with Final Fantasy, the aim is to have as many people enjoy it as possible, so this is the form our marketing has taken.”

Source: Gamasutra

- Did you struggle at all designing the seeq race?
Ryoma Ito: The seeq started as pixel art, and they certainly show a lot of skin. [Laughs] I thought they might be a little too exposed. Especially the berserker. [Laughs]

- The berserker is a little racy, isn’t he.
Ryoma Ito: He is! The only thing he’s covering is his groin. [Laughs] Since we couldn’t touch the graphics at this point, I couldn’t do anything but wonder if we could really get away with it. But [director] Mr. [Yuichi] Murasawa pushed for it, and nothing ended up changing. Making sure their poses covered up as much as possible was a real challenge. [Laughs]

- Of the four gria jobs, which was done first?
Ryoma Ito: The ravager. When deciding how to portray the gria, the first design finished was the ravager.

- Did Mr. Murasawa make any specific requests?
Ryoma Ito: He didn’t for the other races, but for the gria he asked that they be “moe.” [pronounced “mo-eh”] I had a hard time figuring out what exactly that meant. [Laughs] Grasping for a way to explain it, he said it’s sort of like cute, but different. I had a vague idea of what he meant, but I wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted. Coming to a consensus on what exactly it meant was very difficult.

- Ultimately, what things would you say are “moe” about the gria?
Ryoma Ito: Honestly, I don’t know. But since Mr. Murasawa gave his OK, I guess it must be “moe.” [Laughs] Since there were only four jobs, I decided to leave this to Mr. Murasawa. I told myself I’d just redraw them if he didn’t like them, and I submitted them again and again.

I hope you find a character you really like.

- Do you have any favorite race or job?
Ryoma Ito: I really like them all. So the most honest answer is for me not to pick.

- But if you had to pick…
Ryoma Ito: If I were really forced to, I’d pick the chocobo knight. Since they had me make some merchandise related to them, they have a special place in my heart. I’d also pick the flintlock. These are the only two jobs that didn’t start as pixel art. I insisted on having them start with my designs. But since I was able to draw them however I liked, the graphics for the flintlock’s portrait turned into a problem. Its head was much taller than it should have been. [Laughs]

- The hat, you mean.
Ryoma Ito: I based the design on the Royal British Guard, so I thought it would look interesting to see a whole bunch of flintlocks lined up in a row. So when I was working on the design, I had a really great time drawing it. But when I handed it off to the person in charge of doing the portrait graphics, I had to apologize. [Laughs]

- [Laughs]
Ryoma Ito: But they did a great job, and it made me think how wonderful our staff is. [Laughs]

- Are there any secrets you can tell us about the game’s development?
Ryoma Ito: There’s an enemy with a unique portrait. His name is Ghi, and he was supposed to have a different portrait. When I received the design documents for him, I made him the way I wanted to make him. He had a big nose, and he was a parivir with a very distinct character. I thought he looked great. But Mr. Murasawa said I’d gone overboard with it. [Laughs] So that’s how we ended up with the Ghi portrait we have now.

- You hate to see that happen to something you were passionate about.
Ryoma Ito: I thought he was a good character. In my opinion, the version we ended up with is too clean. It looks like he had a nose job. [Laughs]

- What things would you like people to pay special attention to in this game?
Ryoma Ito: It’s not an area I was involved with, but I hope people pay attention to the effects. I do my drawing on paper, so I didn’t have much contact with what went on the actual game screen. So when I see what they’ve done, I’m very impressed. I’m not sure how appropriate it is to praise co-workers in the same company, but seeing what they’d done, I really thought we had some great developers here. Seeing the effects in the opening and the summons, I really admired how far they were able to push the Nintendo DS.

- Do you have a final message for our readers?
Ryoma Ito: I worked as hard as I could drawing each and every character, so even if it’s only one character, I hope you find one you really like. And I hope you’ll have fun playing it for a long time to come.

Source: Square Enix Members NA

Speaking at the E3 expo in Las Vegas, Don Mattrick claimed Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII switch is the first of many that would be released on the Xbox 360 and their future next-gen Microsoft console.

Mattrick told the E3 audience that titles associated with the PlayStation are now seen as Xbox 360 games. And he and his company are working at thier best to get Playstation’s top titles on their system.

In response to Square Enix’s decision to launch Final Fantasy XIII on Xbox 360, Mattrick said: “It’s another astonishing addition to our array of RPG titles. It shows that a long list of former PlayStation franchises are now finding a new home on 360. It’s happened with Guitar Hero, it’s happened with Madden and now it’s happening with Resident Evil and Final Fantasy.”

“Xbox 360 is now feeding the experience of fierce gaming loyalists whilst walking everyone into interactive entertainment. What do today’s announcements mean for you? With Xbox 360, there is no better way to deliver fun and entertainment to your living room.”

Without doubt E3 2008 has seen Microsoft grow into an even more formidable opponent. With Sony badly hurt all thats left is for Microsoft to extinguish the flame. Its highly likely that with Final Fantasy XIII switching to Xbox 360, other games will follow suit much easier under Microsoft’s very persuasive tactics.

Two days after Square Enix president Yoichi Wada stunned attendees at Microsoft’s E3 press conference by revealing that the previously PlayStation 3-exclusive Final Fantasy XIII would also appear on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (in North America and Europe, at least), 1UP had the very rare opportunity to speak with two of the masterminds behind Square Enix’s flagship property. Coproducers Shinji Hashimoto and Yoshinori Kitase still remain nebulous about specific FFXIII gameplay details, but they dropped plenty of hints about both the ambitious multigame Fabula Nova Crystallis project and the future of Final Fantasy VII.

The main points picked up from the interview include:
- They confirmed that Final Fantasy XIII’s story has now been writen and completed and they’re ready to start voice acting.
- The game will appear first on Playstation 3 in Japan.
- Lightning’s character will have a gentle side along with her tough girl look.
- Kitase asks fans to be patient as Square Enix will be keeping Final Fantasy XIII under lock and key a while longer.
- Fans will have to wait for Square Enix’s Private Party 2008 for news on the Final Fantasy VII related surprise.

Below is the full interview:

- Will the development of FFXIII for Xbox 360 result in a delay for the PS3 version in Japan?

Shinji Hashimoto: No, the development of a 360 version won’t necessarily affect the PS3 version, purely because the PS3 game will be completed first. That’s been in development for some time and is still on schedule. And, really, since we haven’t ever announced any sort of release date…then it couldn’t really be “delayed,” right?

- For the upcoming 360/PS3 role-playing game The Last Remnant, Square Enix began the localization process much earlier in development than with past Final Fantasy titles; that game will see a simultaneous worldwide release. We know that FFXIII will still debut in Japan first, but will the traditional nine-to-12-month gap between releases be reduced?

SH: Yes, a simultaneous release would be difficult for FFXIII, but we’re definitely trying to decrease the gap between the Japanese launch and when we release it to the rest of the world.

- In terms of lessening the gap between the Eastern and Western releases, does it help that the game’s been in development for such a long time? The story should be nearly complete by now, right?

Yoshinori Kitase: As you mentioned, it definitely helps the localization when you’ve got a finalized story. Our story is now complete, and we’re just about to start the voice casting and recording. Once that’s complete, we can really get into the localization process.

- Can you discuss the process of developing the game’s engine — as it evolved from the White Engine into Crystal Tools, did everything go as planned, or were there some bumps along the way?

YK: I’d say that it’s on schedule as we’d originally planned, but it certainly hasn’t been easy, and it’s been quite a time-consuming process. FFXIII currently functions in all the basic ways, but we’re still working to polish the engine. People may be under the impression that it’s a total package that only needs to be tweaked a little bit in order to port the game to 360, but that’s not the case — we still have to fix it to make it more platform-specific.

- Lightning, the game’s heroine, seems to break from the tradition of more reserved female characters in your past FF games. She seems much more dynamic and assertive than FFVII’s Aerith, FFVIII’s Rinoa, or FFX’s Yuna, for example. What can you tell us about her?

YK: The game’s director and scenarist definitely wanted to create a new type of character, one who’s stronger and carries herself in a certain manner. But although she’s strong and outspoken, she also has a kindness within her that balances her personality. Right now, the team is trying very hard to find someone who can portray both her powerful and gentle sides.

The summons are back and even more powerful.

- It’s been seven years since FFX released, and although FFXI, FFXII, and the other various spin-offs have been largely well received, none had the unique feel of a “Kitase Final Fantasy.” Do you worry that it’s been so long since FFVII, FFVIII, and FFX that the fans’ expectations will be hard to meet? Do you feel a strong pressure to deliver this game?

YK: Even though it’s been seven years since FFX, I haven’t been far from the series, since I was working on the various Compilation of FFVII games. I don’t specifically feel any pressure; instead, I’m looking forward to being able to provide FFXIII to the fans and seeing their reaction to the game.

- For the last two years, you’ve been adding a few new scenes to the existing FFXIII trailer at each successive press event. How much longer will you keep this trend going? Will you blow us all away with an all-new trailer anytime soon?

SH: We’re going to work like this for just a little bit longer; with every update, we’re working very hard to include new material. Please be patient — it’ll be just a little bit longer.

- Do you have any update on the mobile title Final Fantasy Agito XIII? U.S. cellphone tech is starting to catch up with Japan’s, and we have the iPhone now…. Do you think that’s a potential platform for it?

SH: No plans have been confirmed, but we’re constantly researching the potential for bringing it to the U.S. Still, Japanese mobile tech is very powerful compared to other markets.

- Has there been any negative reaction from Japanese Xbox 360 owners about the FFXIII announcement? It’s not coming out on 360 there, and Japanese gamers won’t be able to play the U.S. import on their systems, since the console’s region-locked.

SH: There doesn’t seem to be any overly negative feedback yet, as Japanese users have known since the beginning that it’s coming to PS3.

Final Fantasy XIII’s graphics will be the best yet.

- In the last few FF titles, you’ve had a vocal theme song performed by a popular artist. Have you decided if FFXIII will also have one?

YK: We’re definitely considering a vocal theme for FFXIII, but we’re nowhere near recording it or anything like that yet.

- Recently, Square Enix was one of the first publishers to announce downloadable content for a WiiWare title. Do you think you may offer DLC for FFXIII as well?

YK: Currently, there is no DLC planned for FFXIII, but I’m personally very interested in the concept, so I’m very conscious of it.

- Last week, Final Fantasy Versus XIII director Tetsuya Nomura said that he’s hard at work adding new scenes to the FFVII: Advent Children Complete Blu-ray release. Can you give us any update on that project?

SH: You can look forward to the upcoming invite-only fan event DKS3713 [taking place in Tokyo on August 2 and 3], where we’ll have a major announcement that will shock the fans in attendance.

- Both of you named FFVII as your favorite FF game. Do you think we’ll see more Compilation of FFVII titles?

SH: Well, there’s Advent Children Complete, of course.

- FFVII’s characters are so beloved that they’ll probably never go away, right? Just like Mickey Mouse….

SH: [Laughs] That’s true, because today’s 15-year-old kids were only 5 when the game released. Even though they weren’t interested in it then, now they’re getting into it. We’re seeing a new cycle of fans emerging….

Source: 1UP