Square Enix set message boards on fire at this year’s E3 by announcing that Final Fantasy XIII would be heading to the Xbox 360. Despite upsetting whiny teenage fanboys committed PlayStation 3 owners, Square Enix has stuck by its decision, declaring that exclusive titles just aren’t worth it anymore.
“Not so long ago the PS2 dominated the market so if we developed an exclusive game for PS2 then we could enjoy a very good profit. But that time is already over,” states Square Enix US boss John Yamamoto.
“To maximize and spread our games to as many users as possible I think we have to go to multiformat – the Xbox 360, PS3 and also the PC as well.
“The Japanese market is very strong and back when we could concentrate on developing games for just one console, business was very good. But the one-console market is over.”
A fair assessment, especially in these dark financial days. I don’t think anybody sensible could blame Squeenix for wanting to make sure it gets its money’s worth from a game. While consoles will of course continue to have their high profile exclusives, the time of third parties possessing a unique brand loyalty is definitely drawing to a close.
