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

[theRepublic]

BMaker11 said:

theRepublic said:

BMaker11 said:

Squall_Leonhart said:
It would be more important for Sony that the game remained exclusive in Japan as, like Dallinor said, thats the area that will push the most hardware and possibly even the software (since FF games always have an opening of ~1.8-2.0 million)

It is a shame that the game is not completely exclusive to the PS3 as it would be better for Sony if it had remained that way... Oh well, it is a better thing for Square-Enix though as it maximizes the sales of the game! At least FFXIII Versus is still exclusive (for now at least)

Like GTA going multi and maximizing sales? Nope, still sold 12 million combined like Vice City

Or DMC4? Nope. Still sold roughly 2.5 million like previous titles.

Console numbers may be different but fanbases stay the same. If a person has a PS3 and a 360, it's still only one sale of the game. If he onl has one console it's still one sale. If you're going to buy FF, you're going to buy it, no matter what platform it's on, so ultimately they sales numbers in the end remain the same.

Edit: The only time a game gets "maximized" by going multi is if say GTA4 sold 24 million because Vice City only sold 12 million. Maximizing =/= getting the same amount of profit

 

You don't think that those games would have sold less on just one console?  There is no way that GTAIV makes it to nearly 12 million on only the PS3.

It certainly wouldn't have done it...under today's circumstances. But had it stayed exclusive, along with other games, PS3 sales would be up. Now, everytime something is even hinted at being PS3 exclusive, there's billions of rumors that it'll come to the 360.

But even still, under today's circumstances, MGS4 is on track to outsell MGS3 (whose userbase was over 100 million). Or is it some sort of weird anamoly that it sold as well as it did on the "userbase that isn't large enough to generate a profit and thus the game should have gone multiplatform"?

 

Since MGS has always been on the Playstation, I'm not too surprised by that.  The MGS fans have always owned Playstations and it is no different this gen.  I would guess that it is one of the few examples where this has happened.

For most games though, you want to have the opportunity sell your game to as many people as possible.  Since there are quite a few people with only one console, multiplat is usually the best option.

As for FFXIII in Japan, it's questionable if the 360 has the necessary install base to warrant a port.

As for your first point, a publisher should not be making decisions on what is best for the PS3.  They cannot count on future exclusives to help them out either.  It makes no sense to think like that.  A publisher must make decisions on what is best for their game at that moment in time.