The PS3-bound MMO Final Fantasy XIV has yet to be announced for the Xbox 360, despite Final Fantasy XI’s status as the only playable MMO over Xbox LIVE. Look no further than Microsoft if you want an exclusivity villain. Producer Hiromichi Tanaka told VG247 that that the reason why the title wasn’t announced for the Xbox 360 is because an agreement with the platform publisher hasn’t been reached.
“FFXI for 360,” Tanaka starts, “at that point PS2 didn’t have a hard disc [and] that was really difficult for us, but Xbox 360 had that from the beginning, so that really helped us. We managed to smoothly move onto 360 from the Windows version, so that was very good to us,” the producer says.
“However, for FFXIV, because 360 has its own policy with Xbox Live that is different from [the] Internet, that’s something we’re in discussions with Microsoft [about], to come to an agreement. That’s one of the reasons it’s not going to be launched at that point.”
While we’re unsure if Square-Enix has an Xbox 360 build of the MMO, it joins a list of several other online titles stuck in contractual limbo. Turbine is rumored to have Lord of the Rings Online ready to go and Cryptic Studios is still trying to hammer out the business end for Champions Online — an MMO built with a controller in mind.
In the latest issue of Game Informer, Jon Bellis, a producer manager for Perfect World International, says the Microsoft and Sony want a “sizeable cut,” estimating that the publishers want 50-60 percent of free-to-play MMO transactions. Think about that in terms of subscription fees. But what exactly does Microsoft want? Nobody is talking specifics and, really, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, Xbox 360-owners may not get Final Fantasy XIV … or anything.
[Thanks, Crunshii!]
Published: Aug 21, 2009 09:40 am