so the game is being made for the PC? now that's a revelation!!!!

I wonder why we only heard about a pc version now if the pc was supposed to be the platform the represented ff!

so all those mario games must be made FOR the pc as well!!! Ha Mario is a port!!!!

after 25 votes, the camp is divided with 14 for ps3 not being a port, 7 for being a port, and 4 undecided.

What are you taling about?? Mario?? Anyway, FFXIII is made on PC with the Crystal Tools engine, which was optimized for PS3 . Nonetheless, they develop it  on PC and simultaneously make adjustements for the ps3 port.

PS3 is the lead platform.
360 is a PS3 port.

Which basically makes most games ports.  Also, most games developed on a PCs this cannot possibly run on yours or my PCs, because they were never designed to.  The fact is, its not what its being designed ON that matters but what platform its being designed FOR, and for that matter you can design games to be run on two different platforms at the same time.  Making it possible that neither the FFXIII on the PS3 or the FFXIII on the 360 are ports.

The way I see it from everything I read, Crystal Tools is a multi-platform development tool.  A game engine developed to optimize code for mulitple platforms and exploit each console to the best of it's (Crystal Tool's) potential.  The developers develop the game for Crystal Tools first and foremost.  Crystal Tools then optimizes and translates the code to work on the platform of choice.  The code is then further debugged and optimized to work on the platform.

So the (oversimplified) steps from what I've gathered are:

1. Develop on PC with Crystal Tools

2. Translate the code over to PS3 of choice using Crystal Tools

3. Further Debug and optimize the code to work on the PS3

4. Compile for PS3

...

They currently seem to be on step 3 for the PS3.  Now if people are going to assume that the 360 version is a port, we'd have to assume that they are going to take the code from step 3 for the PS3 and then try to get that working for the 360.  That would be extremely counter-productive.  They developed Crystal Tools so that they wouldn't have to do that.  With, what I would guess would take the same amount of effort, they could take the code from step 1, translate the code for the 360 like in step 2, and then make that code work for the 360 like in step 3.

My presumed 360 step list:

1. Take code which was developed on PC with Crystal Tools

2. Translate the code over to 360 of choice using Crystal Tools

3. Further Debug and optimize the code to work on the 360

4. Compile for 360

It also depends on what the definition of port is.  Developers will use the word "port" to mean to translate the code to work on different hardware.  Gamers use the word "port" with a more negative connotation to mean that they took the finished code and duct taped it together to work on the new hardware.

Dictionary.com definition of word "port":

Computers. to create a new version of (an application program) to run on a different hardware platform (sometimes fol. by over).

During the SE conference, they most likely used the word port with the defintion I supplied which would be steps 2 and 3 for the 360 in my little step list above.  So, both are ports in one sense of the word.  In the other sense of the word, neither are.

yep i agree there too, 360 may not be a port either.

about mario, i mean apparently there are better quality mario versions on pc. wii and gamecube owners got inferior mario! according to the port logic of "whatever it is developed on is the lead platform".

i think you've hit the nail on the head. To me niether versions are ports, because i believe the ps3 is the lead platform and 360 is supposed to be the same thing to a T.

I think the problem is that people who work with comps like to say things are technically ports even though to everyone they are talking to they are using your second deinition with the duct tape connotation.

I believe the "port" we are addressing here, is that one. ps3 version is not a watered down rag of the pc version.

I agree.  Neither are ports in that regard.  The PS3 version will of course be fully optimized for the PS3.

So what the reason, that we don`t get a PC version of EVERY console game? =))