The game is likely going to take 8+ months to localize. It has already been said that both localization and development of the 360 build will be done simultaneously, beginning after completing the Japanese PS3 release of the game.

Keep in mind this is not a full port from one platform to another. Crystal Tools has been a multi-platform engine for some time now. SE is not going to be re-coding the entire game for the 360, but is rather going to be bug fixing, performance tweaking, and maybe coding some hardware specific portions. They should certainly be able to do so parallel to all the translation and voice work (different teams are involved with development and translation, so it won't slow either team down). Given that, I highly doubt this would delay the (as officially stated: simultaneous) release in the west by any considerable period of time.

Burgles said: Stats87 said: NJ5 said: Stats87 said: The decision to bring Final Fantasy XIII to Xbox 360 was only made recently. Work on the Xbox 360 version of the game would not begin until the PS3 version of the game was completed. That both version of the game would require a period of localization. It was later revealed to us in an intimate hour long interview with the developer (that will appear in the next issue of Official PlayStation Magazine Australia on sale August 13th) that the game would not be ported to “other formats” until the localization of the PS3 version was completed. His main argument stems from this. His reasoning is that he does not believe SE will just have the finished PS3 version sitting around while they port the XBox 360 version. The only way this does happen, is if Microsoft pays out tons of money for this to occur. (which is unconfirmed, but assumed)     As I said, his argument rests on nothing but speculation... The only definite claim about release dates we have is MS's, and SE hasn't contradicted it AFAIK.     maybe the plan is for a simultaneous release and that is what they hope to do. But until I find definitive proof that a contractual agreement was struck between the two sides guaranteeing the aforementioned, I'm going to hope that SE along the way decides to release the PS3 version first. Not going to happen. People don't go "on record" to say something will be having a similtaneous release unless that is whats going to happen - FOR CERTAIN. Honestly wake up and try and use some brain cells, to you and all the rest in this thread who think there is the slightest chance that the PS3 version will come out first.    (no offense intended, but seriously - we've been told directly whats going to happen, this thread is ridiculous!)

 

 I'd just like to say, thanks for the ban.

I believe I was banned for stating the obvious in an overly explicit way - a way that was demanded, since to even entertain the question being asked in this thread is nigh on ridiculous.

Sure games that were supposed to be released together sometimes don't even up having a similtaneous release - this has occured lots of times on the PS3, it is however VERY rare for this to happen with "big games"...

 

 

FFXIII being the biggest game to date of this generation in terms of anticipation, hype, and more importantly revenue stream and hardware seller is NOT going to be subjected to even the slightest chance of anything but a similtaneous release.

The creator has of FFXIII has said that the games will be released at the same time, he has explained the plan, in a not so clear way. But clear enough to know that they will definately be released together.

 

Do you not think that stuff of this magnitude is going to be held together with contractual obligations?

Do you realise the damage this would do if it turned out the PS3 version would come out first?

I shall repeat my previous statement (which incedentally was NOT a flame at the op, more a wake up call..however the mod DK..something or other obviously wasn't taking the context of this being FF into account and assuming I was just having a go at the OP).

THIS GAME WILL NOT BE RELEASED AT DIFFERENT TIMES ON DIFFERENT CONSOLES...

Its not some crummy wii game, this is epic, the implications of SE going back on their word would be far to great for them and microsoft - That they SIMPLY WOULD NOT HAVE MADE THE STATEMENT OF A SIMILTANEOUS RELEASE IF IT WERE NOT TRUE.

Good day!

Sorry for the coarse arrogant wording, think of my post as the voice of common sense, with zero conspirace theory\etc.

Jumping to these conculusions is farcical.

You can only go on what has been said so far by sources - there has been no hint that the 360 version will come out any later.

I'm seriously not having a go here I'm just saying "look, do you think SE are likely to put their stellar reputation into question by making a massive announcment, then going back on it later?"

Why would they do this? If they weren't sure, they wouldn't make the announcment.

The tools used to develop the game are all PC based, there will be no "porting" to the Xbox 360 from the PS3, once the game has been finished on the PS3 90% of the work for the 360 will already have been done!

Soundtrack....done....art....done...all the design...done...voice work\translation...done...

They could pump it out in 3 months from completion of PS3 version.

Burgles said: Sorry for the coarse arrogant wording, think of my post as the voice of common sense, with zero conspirace theoryetc. Jumping to these conculusions is farcical. You can only go on what has been said so far by sources - there has been no hint that the 360 version will come out any later. I'm seriously not having a go here I'm just saying "look, do you think SE are likely to put their stellar reputation into question by making a massive announcment, then going back on it later?" Why would they do this? If they weren't sure, they wouldn't make the announcment. The tools used to develop the game are all PC based, there will be no "porting" to the Xbox 360 from the PS3, once the game has been finished on the PS3 90% of the work for the 360 will already have been done! Soundtrack....done....art....done...all the design...done...voice worktranslation...done... They could pump it out in 3 months from completion of PS3 version.

 

You're saying nothing but nonsense.

Show me where they said there would be a simultaneous release!

They plainly NEVER said that. The decision to make the game for the XB360 was a recent one, that's what they said.

They also said they have no idea currently, of how the game will be released in western countries. All they said is their plan of localizing the game, then port the game to XB360. The release dates then will depend on how their engine is made. They will go for the most efficient method, and for now, the plan is to port the game to XB360 after localizing it, meaning it must be the most efficient way.

Also, you lack any knowledge of programming or engines. The game being developed on PC means it's developed on x86 or x86_64 like architecture (which is different from ppc like RISC architectures which all the current consoles have), that's all that means. But the engine is not DirectX based, so no, it can't be just applied on XB360 like that. Crystal Engine is not DirectX or XNA.

We can only speculate the simultaneous release date or not, but you make it like it's a sure thing, like you know better than SE which doesn't even know for now.

The only problem people would see in a simultaneous release, is if it means delaying the game for the PS3. Also, it makes no sense to force a simultaneous release as the XB360 will be downgraded (surley the cutscenes and sound) anyway due to space constraints (BD vs DVD), so people that will get one version or another will not do it based on time constraints, but rather based on which version they want (original one of downgraded one).

Japan, the biggest market for JRPG, will still get the game earlier like always, and exclusively for PS3. If the people saying "the port to XB360 is not a port and is easy" were thinking correctly, they'd understand that it would be underway already, and SE never would have said that the port to XB360 would start after the localisation.

ookaze said: Burgles said: Sorry for the coarse arrogant wording, think of my post as the voice of common sense, with zero conspirace theoryetc. Jumping to these conculusions is farcical. You can only go on what has been said so far by sources - there has been no hint that the 360 version will come out any later. I'm seriously not having a go here I'm just saying "look, do you think SE are likely to put their stellar reputation into question by making a massive announcment, then going back on it later?" Why would they do this? If they weren't sure, they wouldn't make the announcment. The tools used to develop the game are all PC based, there will be no "porting" to the Xbox 360 from the PS3, once the game has been finished on the PS3 90% of the work for the 360 will already have been done! Soundtrack....done....art....done...all the design...done...voice worktranslation...done... They could pump it out in 3 months from completion of PS3 version.   You're saying nothing but nonsense. Show me where they said there would be a simultaneous release! They plainly NEVER said that. The decision to make the game for the XB360 was a recent one, that's what they said. They also said they have no idea currently, of how the game will be released in western countries. All they said is their plan of localizing the game, then port the game to XB360. The release dates then will depend on how their engine is made. They will go for the most efficient method, and for now, the plan is to port the game to XB360 after localizing it, meaning it must be the most efficient way. Also, you lack any knowledge of programming or engines. The game being developed on PC means it's developed on x86 or x86_64 like architecture (which is different from ppc like RISC architectures which all the current consoles have), that's all that means. But the engine is not DirectX based, so no, it can't be just applied on XB360 like that. Crystal Engine is not DirectX or XNA. We can only speculate the simultaneous release date or not, but you make it like it's a sure thing, like you know better than SE which doesn't even know for now. The only problem people would see in a simultaneous release, is if it means delaying the game for the PS3. Also, it makes no sense to force a simultaneous release as the XB360 will be downgraded (surley the cutscenes and sound) anyway due to space constraints (BD vs DVD), so people that will get one version or another will not do it based on time constraints, but rather based on which version they want (original one of downgraded one). Japan, the biggest market for JRPG, will still get the game earlier like always, and exclusively for PS3. If the people saying "the port to XB360 is not a port and is easy" were thinking correctly, they'd understand that it would be underway already, and SE never would have said that the port to XB360 would start after the localisation.

 

I'm not a programer or someone develope engines but I really question who is speaking out none sense here. If what your saying is true about, Then I just got one question.  What the hell it mean for SE making the Crystal Engine works on multi platform??  I always thought the level or game you built with the engine will automatically adjusted by the engine to run on a different platform and thats what it mean for the engine to be able to run on multi platform.

ookaze said: Show me where they said there would be a simultaneous release!

 

http://kotaku.com/5026902/relive-the-thrill-of-final-fantasy-xiiis-xbox-360-announcement

At the end of the video, with 0:12 left.

Pk9394 said: I'm not a programer or someone develope engines but I really question who is speaking out none sense here. If what your saying is true about, Then I just got one question. What the hell it mean for SE making the Crystal Engine works on multi platform?? I always thought the level or game you built with the engine will automatically adjusted by the engine to run on a different platform and thats what it mean for the engine to be able to run on multi platform.

 

And it shows you're not a programmer or developing engines.

When making the engine, you have to define which basic interfaces it will have. You can never lay down everything someone could think about in advance, that's why engines evolve, that's also why companies just don't apply contents on their engine and they're done. No, usually, they have to modify part of it, so that it does what they want.

In the case of FFXIII, SE is making the engine. So yes, the basic interfaces are multiplatform, and it's made so that when they add an interface, they can make it multiplatform. But it's not like they add the interface and it magically becomes multiplatform. For every interface, they have to program the translation for all the supported platforms.

In the case of FFXIII, it was supposed to be exclusive at start, so they didn't take the time to develop all the translations for every platform, they probably just made the ones for PS3, and delayed the rest, so as to focus on FFXIII development. Also, they probably went loose with the engine, and made some specific parts.

Also, in every engine, there are specific platform parts. For example, handling BD won't be the same as handling DVD. The interface can be the same, as both are optical disks, but the underlying specific platform code can be hugely different, as BD can't be handled like DVD (I think BD doesn't manage CAV/CLV like DVD for example).

This part is specially important, as given FFXIII was thought to be exclusive at start (SE made it clear that the decision to make the game for XB360 was recent, caused by market share), they surely made tons of specific devs in it. Thus why they have no clue for now, as to if they will manage to keep the same quality of content as in the PS3 version.

Pk9394 said:   I'm not a programer or someone develope engines but I really question who is speaking out none sense here. If what your saying is true about, Then I just got one question.  What the hell it mean for SE making the Crystal Engine works on multi platform??  I always thought the level or game you built with the engine will automatically adjusted by the engine to run on a different platform and thats what it mean for the engine to be able to run on multi platform.

 

That's what it means, more or less. There is still some work to be done. You need to make sure the game ends up performing properly on the platform you're porting to. This might entail additional tweaking of the (in this case) 360 version of Crystal Tools, or modification in what particular effects are being used in order to suit the specific hardware's strong suits (no matter which of the two platforms is "more powerful" overall, they can each do some things better than the other). Take, for example, Grand Theft Auto IV. They changed the internal rendering resolution of the PS3 version in order to get better framerates, but at the same time they (if I recall correctly) changed the post-processing image filter to change the look ever-so-slightly. This was due to each architecture's individual GPU power and frame buffer limitations. Even with a multi-platform engine, you have to tweak things to take each individual platform's strengths into account.

Also, Crystal Tools didn't start out as a multi-platform engine. It became one after-the-fact. We don't know how far along the 360/PC portions of the project are in comparison with the PS3 (the originally exclusive target platform) portion. I wouldn't be surprised if part of the delay in "porting" FFXIII to the 360 until after the Japanese release is due to work still being done on bringing the 360 version of Crystal Tools up to spec. When working on the the 360 version later, they'll likely still be making changes to Crystal Tools in order to improve quality and performance, but finishing as much work on the engine as possible beforehand will probably allow the 360 development to go more smoothly than if they tried to bring the game to the 360 without having a largely complete engine. (I'm not claiming this as fact. I'm simply guessing and think it's a reasonable guess.)

 

Auhim said: ookaze said: Show me where they said there would be a simultaneous release!   http://kotaku.com/5026902/relive-the-thrill-of-final-fantasy-xiiis-xbox-360-announcement At the end of the video, with 0:12 left.

 

This doesn't say simultaneous release at all, this says that it will be launched on XB360 in NA and Europe (meaning not in Japan). There is no mention of simultaneous, PS3 or date in this.

I'll let you believe your nonsense if you want, just don't put your BS in SE's mouth.

Of course, I understand saying it comes from a random people's mind has less credit than saying SE said it.

ookaze said: Auhim said: ookaze said: Show me where they said there would be a simultaneous release!   http://kotaku.com/5026902/relive-the-thrill-of-final-fantasy-xiiis-xbox-360-announcement At the end of the video, with 0:12 left.   This doesn't say simultaneous release at all, this says that it will be launched on XB360 in NA and Europe (meaning not in Japan). There is no mention of simultaneous, PS3 or date in this. I'll let you believe your nonsense if you want, just don't put your BS in SE's mouth. Of course, I understand saying it comes from a random people's mind has less credit than saying SE said it.

Huh? The Square Enix E3 Final Fantasy XIII trailer says: "Available on Xbox 360 at launch in North America and Europe."

I mean, I guess you could hypothetically interpret that as saying, "It'll be available on the Xbox 360 whenever it comes out for the Xbox 360 in North America and Europe," but that's really not reasonable. If they were stating the obvious like that, they simply wouldn't have had any text at all between the Final Fantasy XIII logo and the Xbox 360 logo. (Edit: I think it's generally assumed a game will be available on a given platform when the game launches on that platform.)

Also, if you look at my previous posts, I don't believe I'm being antagonistic at all. No need to say I'm spewing BS or trying to put words in SE's mouth. I mean, all I did in that post you quoted was link to SE's own video and give a time where I believe they stated Final Fantasy XIII would be available on the Xbox 360 upon Final Fantasy XIII's launch in North America and Europe. I guess I simply believe that's a better interpretation of the sentence in their trailer.

Edit: Removed extraneous commas. Fixed punctuation.