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Square Steps Back from 'No FF on 360' Remark
GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that Square/Enix has stepped away from a comment made by Executive Producer Shinji Hashimoto. Wednesday we discussed his comment, which would seem to indicate that Final Fantasy titles won't be coming to the 360. Square took pains today to specify that he was only referring to current plans. "A spokesperson for Square Enix told GamesIndustry.biz, 'Hashimoto-san was talking about the current situation' - which would suggest his comments shouldn't be interpreted as forward-looking. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said he expects the next Final Fantasy to appear on PlayStation 3 exclusively - but observed that Square Enix will face a tough decision. 'The series has always been single console and given the Xbox 360 sell through in Japan, it would be hard to put the next Final Fantasy installment on the 360 only. Square Enix faces a dilemma: put the next game on the 360 only and alienate Japanese fans, depart with tradition and make it multi-platform, or go with PS3 as an exclusive and deal with the backlash from the west. I view Square Enix as a tradition-bound company, and expect the last alternative to be chosen.'"
I make it a rule to disregard any "rumor" that can be traced back to flamebaiters on message boards attempting to piss off fanboys. Speaking of which: did you know Gears of War might come to the PS3?
Indeed. And that inevitably results in the ported game actually being LESS feature-rich or MISSING content due to the problems of translating code under time constraints. And that results in morons being led to think that the inferior console is instead SUPERIOR or that the more powerful console's architecture is somehow COUNTER-INTUITIVE. Which results in my face COMBUSTING.
2. The 360. Piss-poor market in Japan, good everywhere else, but not selling as fast as:
3. The Wii - Fastest selling home console on the market worldwide, as fast as Nintendo can make them. Selling faster than the current numerical market leader (the 360) is or ever has. Popular everywhere, including Square's home turf.
Now, of course the intelligent thing to do would be to just make the damn series Wii exclusive. But of course, Square has be too smart for that! So instead they're pissing around waiting to see if PS3 sales will perk up, and trying to cover their asses in the meantime. I think it's clear they desperately don't want to have to crawl back to Nintendo. They ran off from Casa Nintendo 10 years ago like a spoiled Rich-Bitch, "You don't own me! I don't need you! I've got Sony!"
Of course, I'd really love to see Nintendo turn Square out on their ass "Uhhh, yeah, see, I'm kind of busy, and you're really a lot older and saggy now. Not as hot as you used to be at all." And let them slum it on a system with a barely 7 figure market, while Nintendo's well into 8.
I'd guess they don't want to go to Microsoft because MS poached all their talent. Including fucking Akira Torayama. Who by the way, has the worst fucking art style on the planet. Who the fuck decided that the most bland, uninteresting mangaka on the planet needed to be the most famous? Any schmuck with a one-shot in Shounen Jump can draw better than that hack (and make characters that don't all look alike through every fucking project he's ever been involved in!)
MEDIA: Do you plan FF on 360?
Exec1: Well.. I don't know of any plans to make one on 360 for now.
MEDIA: Aha! "EXEC SAYS: FF ON 360, NEVER!"
Exec2: Wait, we never said that, we're talking about immediate plans.
MEDIA: Aha! "SQUARE STEPS BACK FROM WHAT THEY SAID BEFORE!"
Exec3: But we never said it...?!
MEDIA: Aha! "SQUARE TRIES TO BEND HISTORY AND CENSOR MEDIA!"
Exec1: O_o
Exec2: o_O
Exec3: O_O