Square Enix at E3 2005 – Solid information on PS3 and X360

Ok, so here’s the official rundown, hot off the press;

Square Enix will be releasing a game on the Xbox 360 – Final Fantasy XI. That’s it for the moment. It will be exactly the same game PS2 and PC gamers are currently playing, but hopefully this rerelease should give it some momentum to continue being popular. Myself, i’m hoping for a console release of World of Warcraft.

They have also annouced their continued support for the PlayStation 3, showing a tech demo of Final Fantasy VII remade. The graphics are reportedly better than the original cutscenes, and the demo was an interactive version of the game’s opening. However, it has also been announced this will not be made into a game; it is similar to the Final Fantasy VI tech demo during the early stages of the Nintendo 64 project.

They have also confirmed they will be supporting the Revolution, but what sort of games (if it’s only Crystal Chronicles 2, i’m going to be very dissapointed) is still unknown.

Final Fantasy VII Tech Demo (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/614/614692p1.html)

Final Fantasy XI on X360 (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/614/614680p1.html)

I guess the only reason why Square-Enix release FFXI on the 360 it’s because of the onlne capability of Xbox(Xbox Live) which is really good, they just want to experiment or something. Hey it’s not like a new FFgame! Don’t be proud Microsoft!

Final Fantasy XI details, plus X360 tech demo (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/614/614936p1.html)

Actually, it’s a very big deal – Square Enix is finally following other game developers and embracing cross-platform development. Each console has their individual strengths – the PS3 obviously has the graphical edge, the X360 has the huge advantage of Xbox Live, and the Revolution is yet to be revealed.

Like that article says, playing to the strengths of each console is smart; my guess is that we’ll see future Square-Enix MMORPGs released on the PC and X360, while the single-player RPGs will remain on the PS3. Only time (and popularity of consoles) will tell.

Seeing as FFXI is going to be on the 360 makes me think about how they’re going to handle online gaming. Considering that most of the Xbox Live (for the Xbox) features are restricted by the company itself AND that they announced that Xbox Live will be free and will also have a premium account… I’m liking the Xbox 360 right now. With this much freedom, I fear for Sony’s survival in the race for the better gaming system.