Final Fantasy XIII - Xbox 360 Port Not Yet Started

by Tom Hardman - 2008/08/03 8:37am

At the DKS3713 event in Japan, Square-Enix director Motomu Toriyama has labelled out the facts regarding the shock news of the X360 version of lead title Final Fantasy XIII. With production already underway on the PlayStation 3 version, backed up by a showing of new footage at the event, Toriyama has reconfirmed for us that this version will indeed be completed prior to any work on the X360 port for North America and Europe. As of 29 July, his team had yet to even receive tools to work on the other version, and have been instructed to "not think about the Xbox 360 right now".

This would seem like a good approach to the development of a game that has kept fans of the series eagerly anticipating its arrival into the generation since those first glimpses of screens many moons ago. The news however turned sour when it became apparent that despite plans to finish work on the PS3 version before making a start on a port, Square's intention was to have a simultaneous release across both platforms for their western audiences. According to the source, this means "since the game will be released simultaneously on both platforms in North America and Europe, the PS3 release will be held back in those territories until the X360 version is complete."

Leaving a rather bitter taste, this confirmation will no doubt serve to stir up anger from long-term fans again. We'll be watching this one carefully to see how Square-Enix deals with this potential riot.

Source Gamespot