(Japan) it makes no sense for SE to keep FF XIII exclusive

[Staude]

Dallinor said:

Sony kept it exclusive in Japan because that's the region where the title will push the most hardware.

If we assume Microsoft threw millions of dollars at SE to make it multiplatform, Sony probably did not (wisely), want to enter a pointless bidding war to keep the title exclusive.

Yet why is it exclusive in Japan? Why didn't MS drive home the stake?

We can only speculate. Either Sony outmanoeuvred MS somehow behind the scenes, or they simply opened their own wallet to keep it in that region.

Thaty is exacly it. Sony owns 8 percent of square enix. My guess is that they used thsoe 8 percent to keep ffxiii exclusive in japan.