It was pretty obvious last night that Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III would not be exclusive to the PlayStation 4 – but publisher Square Enix has just made the news official, confirming that the titles will also be launching on the Xbox One. Sony used some pretty intentionally confusing discourse during its press conference last night to cloud the bombshell, but there’s no hiding from it now.
Of course, it’s not particularly surprising in the current game development climate. Final Fantasy XV is being developed using Direct X11, meaning that it’s easy to port the title to different pieces of hardware. Initially it was rumoured that Sony was helping to develop the game, but that’s turned out not to be the case.
This shouldn’t really take the sheen off two great announcements, though. Considering that the PS4 has several hardware advantages over Microsoft’s machine, Sony’s system will still probably provide the best home for the adventures anyway. And, at the end of the day, playing either of these games on anything but a PlayStation platform would just feel wrong.
Comments 38
Pretty obvious, really. Unless a platform holder explicitly screams about exclusivity from the rooftops, you can pretty much count on content being multiplatform these days. Just the way it goes.
I did think the rumour about Japan Studio helping with development made sense, though.
After not hearing the word exclusive during the presentation.
I was kinda expecting this.
Yeah it was expected really. Versus has been in development so long - the exclusivity was bound to crack at some point.
To be totally honest, I couldn't give a damn. Just give us a release date, for the love of everything that's gaming.
I was pretty sure I heard exclusive I thought it was ps3 and ps4. Is it just me or my stream but kingdom hearts looked more like a vita title?
Yup. I'm not really a Final Fantasy fan, but I thought the XV trailer was amazing. I will definitely give it a shot if it ever actually comes out.
@8vpiper I think the confusion came from the fact that Final Fantasy XIV is exclusive to PS3/PS4, and that's why people got muddled up. Sony setup that confusion on purpose I feel, but part of the blame must also be placed on Square Enix's bonkers numbering conventions.
Bonkers:( Sorry i happily share this games with the Wii U but with the xbox one:) No way ! It will sell bad i tell you ... ( on xbox one)
MGS went multi. FF already went multi. Do people really care?
I know, the graphics won't be top notch w/o being exclusive, I get that and Bayonetta proved it, but just from a fanboy perspective does it really matter?
I bet the guy in the middle in the Assassins creed hood is actually Cloud.
in my opinion exclusive always seem to have a higher level of polish to them. so its just a bit disappointing
@rjejr Why would i buy a console if its not have exclusive games? I bought the wii U for rayman legends. You know how that went xD Waiting for Smash bross:D
It's probably worth noting that Square Enix stressed the game would be 'ported' to the Xbox One - it's being developed for the PS4 first and foremost, much like FFXIII was.
"playing either of these franchises on anything but a PlayStation platform would just feel wrong."
So Final Fantasy 1-6, KH Chain/358/Re, Crystal Chronicles, and others should feel wrong?
@rjejr I think with the case of FFVersusXIII, it's always had a legacy of being a PS3 exclusive to look forward to. That said, it's been so long now, I don't tihnk it really matters. Like @LordBagardo says, it's probably going to perform best on PS4 anyway.
I wouldn't be surprised if Sony locked down some sort of exclusive content/DLC nonsense for this, too.
@AceSpadeS Haha. I just always associate these series with the PlayStation brand, much like Metal Gear. I appreciate both have legacies on other platforms, too.
EDIT: Having said that, you make a fair point. Have edited the article to make it more explicit to these particular games, rather than the franchises as a whole.
@LordBagardo
Because the game would bomb hard as hell and would possibly kill Square enix. Tomb Raider was in development for four years and selling 3.5 million in one month it was considered a disapointment. How much money do you think XV which has been in development for 9 years will need to recoup its costs?
XV and XIV ate up a ton of money and resources from square and hurt the company. (kingdom Hearts 3 which would have sold really well eariler this gen was put on hold for VX, new console IP and games were stalled in favor of milking the Final Fantasy teat for all it was worth.
@Sony_70 I think the point is: how many more copies are they going to sell?
@Sony_70 It's possible that Square Enix aren't ever going to profit from the game's sales in the first place because it's been in development for that long.
The same thing happened with FFXIII on the 360, many speculated that it would have actually done better had it not infuriated fans by jumping to Microsoft's machine. Brand loyalty is a very strange thing - it can affect sales massively given the right circumstances.
Not surprising at all, it's pretty obvious Sony doesn't care about third party exclusives anymore, and why should when it has the huge edge over Xbox first party wise? As long as all the major third party games are the on the system that's what matters. I doubt Sony starts throwing money around for third party exclusives unless MS starts locking up bigger franchises than Dead Rising, which is cool, but is not going to kill PS4.
@Gamer83: They care at least a little...after all, Destinly is supposed to be exclusive. Lots of indie games are going to be exclusive. It's hard to persuade a company that's dumped YEARS into a game already to go exclusive, though. Disappointing, but not surprising.
I agree, playing either of these games on Xbox would feel wrong. True, FF and KH have legacies with Nintendo as well, but MUCH less with Microsoft. A JRPG on an American console just feels wrong.
Destiny isn't an exclusive? I don't get what you're trying to get at really.
@Stuffgamer1
The only loss on third party exclusives that disappoints me is Metal Gear Solid. I just feel like that team knew how to push Sony's hardware better than any company except maybe Naughty Dog.
@Gamer83 @Stuffgamer1 This is what i mean! Games that have there origin on Nintendo or sony > Metal gear= Nintendo and Kingdom hearts on sony must not come to an American console. It's funny because MS will support the xbox 2 years with exclusives and then they let the casual junk release on it
@Snorky: They said it was at the end of the conference...something about the Destiny IP growing up exclusively with PS4...oh. A quick Google search reveals that was just about more exclusive CONTENT, not the whole game. Never mind, then.
@Stuffgamer1 Yeah, it's just content. Both manufacturer's use really clever wording to make it seem like they are exclusive, though. One phrase that Sony used a lot last night was "exclusive experiences", which was new to me. I think they were using it to refer to exclusive DLC. Sounds much better, though, doesn't it?
hmm sony should have lock ff15 and kingdom hearts...it will put the final nail in xbox one in japan...
@JavierYHL There is really no fear of xbox getting anywhere in Japan. They just don't like it. Xbox knows it and doesn't even try.
It's disappointing, but only fair, I guess.
People that don't own a PS4 should get to play these games, too.
In addition to the dicussion about aboubt the possibility of it selling it better as an exclusive. I will admit that learning it would be on Xbox One killed a little of the hype I have for it. Don't get me wrong, I'm stiil excited for the game and plan to get it, but there is just a something about being exlusive that builds hype.
^Not for me. I just need it to be on the console I like.
@get2sammyb: I think I've heard the "exclusive experiences" line before...that one I recognize and yes, it refers to exclusive DLC for games.
@Snorky: Well, they did try a few years ago with the push for JRPG's on 360, but all they really accomplished was locking some great games (and some not-so-great) onto a platform nobody wanted to play them on in the first place...especially Mistwalker. sigh
@neumaus: People who don't own a PS4 should be slapped for being inane enough to go with Xbox One.
I agree with Jaz007...exclusivity helps build hype, even if only a little. Of course, this is an old debate...but one that will never die.
The only thing I would be excited about from Square Enix would be Agito XIII on PSP. This news is just meh to me.
@Sanquine
Well, at least you can still get Kingdom Hearts and MGS on PS4 and that's the important part. Those games going to Xbox as well and more people getting to enjoy them is also not a bad thing.
@Sanquine - "Why would i buy a console if its not have exclusive games?"
I get buying a console for exclusive games, nobody buys a Wii expecting to play Halo, but I guess my question is, why would you require a 3rd party - last I heard Sony doesn't own Squenix - to make exclusive games? Those companies make games to make money, if they wanted to make exclusives they could make their own console. MS and Nintendo and Sony make exclusives, EA and Activision and Ubisoft shouldn't be required too. When Nintendo starts making Mario games on the X1 I'll scream in anguish along w/ everyone else.
@ShogunRok - "Brand loyalty is a very strange thing"
Hope you don't mind, I'm borrowing your quote, b/c I don't get the importance of 3rd party games being exclusive.
Honestly I don't really care if a game is exclusive or not as long as i get to play it. If Xbox fans or PC gamers get to enjoy it too oh well the more the merrier. As long as it's on PS4 that's all that should matter to a PS4 gamer. Some people may care about bird rights but ask yourself does it really even matter to you if you still get to play the game?
IMO Square Enix would have made more money if they had decided to release it on Wii U/PS4 rather than on Xbox One/PS4. They have a larger fan base in Nintendo than MS from the KH games on DS/3DS.
Also, I just want to play KH 3 and all I have is a Wii U and I probably won't be getting a PS4. Oh well....
Wth Square Enix?? you said FF Versus was gonna be an exclusive, now it's not special anymore..
AT less Kingdom Hearts 3 and FF XV will be devolve on PS4 and port to Xbox One.
Still Versus was suppose to be a exclusive for Playstation.
it wont bother sony anyway because they know and we know thet the games will sell a lot better on a PlayStation than a xbox just looks at FFXIII, FFXIII-2 and even Star Ocean 4
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