The Xbox 360 is definitely the PlayStation 2 of this generation. Affordable, with the largest library, and rushed, shoddily put together hardware, Microsoft’s curvaceous rectangle of red rings has some way to go before it could enjoy a direct comparison with Sony’s behemoth console, but in relative terms, it’s filling that role in the current generation landscape.
One way in which it can be compared is with all the JRPG attention it’s been getting lately. It has just been confirmed that Tales of Vesperia, the latest in Namco Bandai’s Tales series, is going to put in an appearance on the 360. While it was nothing but conjecture at first, Tales for 360 is now officially confirmed.
Even more interestingly, Namco is stating that the 360 is the only firmly decided platform for release so far. While it would be incredibly shocking to not see Tales on the PS3, the fact that they haven’t even confirmed a release on the black box of Blu-ray is a surprise in and of itself. A PS3 version is of course to be expected, but it was pretty much the spiritual home for Tales, so you’d think it would be Namco’s first choice. Still, the same company did this with Beautiful Katamari.
At present, Namco Bandai has only confirmed that Tales of Vesperia will be coming to North American 360 consoles. It has not been confirmed for Japanese machines, and Namco Bandai is expected to make an announcement regarding that in the near future.
More JRPGs on the 360 is fine by me. While it seems near impossible to wipe away the “shooter box” stigma, it’s certainly beefing up its library and has a good offering of traditional genres. Easily the PS2 of the three current-gen machines.
