ESRB lists Eternal Sonata on Xbox 360 ... and PlayStation 3

Exclusivity doesn't help developers. And it sure doesn't help gamers.

I don't have a PS3 - I have a 360. And I think this is great news. Why not let everyone have fun?

ok seriously... who's shocked by this? not not only is it being made by Namco, but it's a game that would appeal to Japanese audience. the ps3 may not flying of the shelves, but it's still selling 4 times the userbase there.

Fine by me.

So somehow the only system that actually has exclusives is the Wii? If the 360 and PS3 keep swapping games, the only difference between the 2 will be Halo 3 and FF13.

Yay....I guess? What sucks about this generation with all of the exclusive-fake-outs is that I don't have a 360, so I automatically filter out all 360-related news. This isn't good, because I could be missing out on info on games that eventually come to the PS3 or PC. So when they finally do come out on those systems, I know nothing about the game and could have done my "homework" earlier...or something.

But yeah....yay for this, if it's true.

"So somehow the only system that actually has exclusives is the Wii? If the 360 and PS3 keep swapping games, the only difference between the 2 will be Halo 3 and FF13."

and:
God of War
SOCOM
Ratchet and Clank
Jak and Daxter
Killzone
Heavenly Sword
Lair
Wipeout

Pretty good exclusive list..at least on the PS3 side of things. Not sure what exclusives will be on 360.

Gears of War, ill get on computer along with Halo3 and Fable ( they came out on PC before, they most likely will again, thus i dont have to buy a 360, therego, not an exclusive title)
umm..to name just a few.(Of course a lot of those named in this are "speculation")

Anywhoo there goes a neat list of exclusives i hope to come out pretty soon.

Anywhoo, i m trying to pick me up a Wii this weekend, wish me luck....

I've been saying this a long time ago. I knew it would happen. It was obvious, and not just because it's namco, not just because it's japanese oriented, and not just because the traditional Playstation fanbase likes RPGs.

If you see Famitsu's top 10 most wanted games, there were many PlayStation 3 games on it. There were also a few DS, PSP and Wii games. How many did 360 manage to get on there? Just one, and it was Lost Odyssey, not this. What's worse, Halo 3 once made it into that list, despite the fact that it's oriented to Western audiences; that isn't so surprising however, since it's likely that voters are prone to be hardcore; but Eternal Sonata never made it in there. So, if in Japan an "exclusive" japanese oriented game doesn't even interest the most hardcore, the few that actually own one of the 300,000 Xbox 360s, then it was almost guaranteed to not even recover the cost of the game. It was too logical for it to become ported.

I don't expect any japanese (audience oriented) game to remain exclusive on Xbox 360 unless it's made by Mistwalker, and even that I don't know (I heard Microsoft doesn't own them, they simply helped build the studio).

I hope you find one. I went to Toys R' Us yesterday with no luck. I'll probably go to Best Buy and Target tommorrow, but they'll probably be all out.

Back on topic, if this game is cheap, It'll be the first RPG I buy for the 360. I like turn based more than action RPGs, thats why I didn't buy Oblivion

@jojo29

I wouldn't discount 360 exclusives. While many are not aimed at Japanese audiences, the 360 thus far has shown you don't need the DS territory to win regardless.

@bootsielon

Actually, multiple 360 games have hit Famitsus top 10 wanted list including Gears Of War.

Also, Mistwalker recently commented on the development problems of PS3 and has stated that they own kits so if Blue Dragon doesn't turn massive tricks in US and Europe regions, I expect those exclusives will be lost as well.

At this point, I expect a full blown "timed exclusive" war while both companies keep digging up obscure titles like Alan Wake and Eight Days in order to have true exclusives.

Rumor has it, this sundays target circular is advertising the wii. Target stockpiles the wii's in anticipation of the circular ad. Which usually comes about once a month, towards the end of the month.
(We did it in december, january, february, and march)

Sorry for the off topic post. I was just replying to jojo and 3minus.

This game has me slightly excited. I do find it funny going multiplatform, but it wont effect me negatively. I don't own a PS3 yet, so I'll be able to play it on my Xbox 360 :)

Really only thing holding back my PS3 purchase is the price tag. I think it is a wonderful piece of hardware and the game library will match it, I mean just look at the Playstation's history with their software library. My want for it has pushed my willingness to spend money to about $400, so If I can get a PS3 for $400 or lower, I'll jump at the change.

Rumor has it, this sundays target circular is advertising the wii. Target stockpiles the wii's in anticipation of the circular ad. Which usually comes about once a month, towards the end of the month.
(We did it in december, january, february, and march)
*****************************************************
And? seriously, people are excited about the Wii? I don't see nor understand it.

Doesn't bother me in the least, I have both so exclusivity isn't something I stress about. I'll probably get it on 360 just for achievements/DLC, plus I like having the ability to chat with my live friends while I play.

3cube

Eternal Sonata isn't turn based.

Contrary to jojo, I, like sheeppy, am satisfied with the exclusives that the 360 is showing.In fact, the multiplatforms piled on top of the exclusives make 2007 a hard year of gaming on my budget. Mass Effect, Forza 2, Dirt, Bioshock, Blue Dragon, and Two Worlds are all coming out in the summer months. If that's a drought on the 360, than I'm sure my bank account can't wait for the holidays.

Wouldn't doubt it is a timed exclusive. If it is it will be a nice boost to the PS3 RPG lineup as they don't have any of their heavy hitters out yet outside of oblivion.

I still oppose the concept of ports, because ports usually favor one console per generation (last gen PS2, this gen 360) and to all other consoles the port is sent to, its usually inferior

Although occasionally it works differently. A game built ground-up for PS3 will have to make sacrifices on disc space and CPU calculations

anything built around the Wii-remote will lose most of its luster around other controllers (like Raving Rabbids)

look at RE4 GC vs RE4 PS2

In the end, ports just hurt the industry

And on an unrelated note: How was the original Killzone? I know it was recieved critically as mediocre, but how did the actual Sony fanbase like it?

I could care less if games go cross-platform. Why? Xbox Live is something Sony and Nintendo don't have. It in itself makes games that would otherwise be cross-platform, exclusive and special on the 360.

I'm really happy for many Japanese publishers to drop Xbox 360 titles exclusive because it will huge suicide to market on their country only.

Sweet!

Exclusivity sucks, UNLESS the exclusive game can ONLY possibly be made on the platform to which it is exclusive. Otherwise, it should be multi-platform.

I am not all that interested in Eternal Sonata, though it looks beautiful. This along would have been a reason for Japanese gamers to get a 360 in addition to, or instead of, a PS3. It is more a loss to MS's Japanese efforts than anything.

It makes sense, though. It seems geared especially towards Japanese gamers, where the PS3 has a larger userbase.

The 360 has an huge list of exclusives, although some of these may end up going multiplatform:

Alan Wake
Banjo-Kazooie
Blue Dragon
Crackdown
Fable 2
Forza Motorsport 2
Gears of War
Halo 3
Halo Wars
Infinite Undiscovery
Lost Odyssey
Marvel Universe Online
Mass Effect
Project Gotham Racing 4
Shadowrun
Too Human
BioShock
Dead Rising
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 5
Ninja Gaiden 2 (probably)

Uh, this is worse than a PS3 to 360 port, because I almost guarantee virtually everyone who has a PS3 also has a 360 (because everyone who has a PS3 has virtually unlimited disposable income and can just buy all of them), and so what version of a game they buy comes down to what controller they like best.

However, very few people who have a 360 also have a PS3, so porting stuff to the PS3 is not a good use of time/money on the part of the developer because it barely expands their potential consumer base at all.

Furthermore, when all is said and done, If your only in it for the games, if your not following some sort of corporate ideology, you will want all games available for the cheapest console, so that the games are available to the widest audience. This isn't actually likely to happen, but porting a game from a cheaper console to a more expensive console with a tiny user base is not exactly the ideal use of the developer's money.

Discussing this particular event, we also have to note that this game is supposed to help the 360 expand it's base in Japan, where it is actually doing worse than the PS3 somehow. I would normally be very supportive of this, I was originally hoping that the 360 would gain traction in Japan so that developers would make games for it instead of the PS3 (so I wouldn't have to buy a $600 console), but I was NOT expecting the Wii to be as successful as it is. Chances are very high that Japanese developers will mostly make games for the Wii, which I already own. There will be a few games, your Silent Hills and your Panzer Dragoons, that won't be released on the Wii, but instead on 360/PS3, and I will eventually have to get a 360 (since it's cheaper), but that time hasn't arrived yet, for me anyway.

Isn't Namco Bandai just a bunch of PS3 fanboys anyway? No surprise here.

This may be a mistake on the ESRB's part, or it's a timed exclusive... regardless, it's listed as "Only on Xbox 360" over at http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/t/trustybell/

syco:

I do have both PS3 and a 360, and I know another guy that does too, but you really think all PS3 owners have a 360? If you're being serious, you just lost all credibility.

Arno:

Aren't you a 360 fanboy anyway? No surprise there, given your comments history.

Anyway, it's still odd you consider Namco a bunch of Sony fanboys, since they've given Ridge Racer 6 exclusively to 360, and Ace Combat 6 as a timed exclusive. This one might also be a timed exclusive, so who knows.

JRPG and in general Japanese oriented game fans can keep waiting on the fence to see who'll get the most of those, but it's almost a guarantee that PS3 will get more, because they have more studios working for them, and because their install base is simply a lot bigger in Japan.

@jojo29

"Gears of War, ill get on computer..."

hahaha, you kidding me? Honestly, that would never happen because of the controls. Mouse and keyboard for gears would be pointless and very clumsy as well. I know, that halo 3 will be out as well as fable. GEARS OF WAR though? That would be the dumbest mistake on any developer to take a game that was never designed with a pc in mind or a plan for pc. (halo is very capable with it because its a fps, pc is very capable with that, as is fable.) You can wait for gears of war to be out on pc till you die. Not going to happen. Epic isn't stupid. They will not release gears of war on pc. They have Unreal tournament on the pc (which has always been a money maker for them).


"...( they came out on PC before, they most likely will again, thus i dont have to buy a 360, therego, not an exclusive title)..."

^ you can wait another 3 years for halo 3, which by the way it is exclusive. Just because it's not to the 360 doesn't mean it isn't exclusive. Microsoft made this stupid thing called "Games for windows"? Ring a bell? Microsoft makes money either way. plus seeing that xbox live anywhere will be out later it makes since to hit every marketing target. (including you with pc)


Oh Also, good luck on picking up a wii. I truely hope you do get one. Peace


@bootsielon

"...(I heard Microsoft doesn't own them, they simply helped build the studio)."

Hmmmm, yeah that seems like loyalty there. When a company pays for something for the other company it isn't free. My guess, microsoft has the exclusive contract to all games. They can pick and choose what they want and what they don't want exclusive. It's like when you take a loan out from a bank. "You don't go, screw them I'm not paying." (most people in america do, wooohooo bankruptcy!)


Back to the post:

I really don't care. Wasn't interested in this game at all so I don't care what happens with exclusives.


Also I'm still waiting for a good next-gen game from Namco. No glitching or horrible graphics or old games just made for the generation. Still waiting...

@ 6. Add Motorstorm, Resistance, Lair, Home!!!!, Warhawk, 8 days.

@ 22. Yea, most of them are multi plat form such as:
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (PC)
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 5 (PS3 I'm sure)
Alan Wake (who?)
And I got to say:
Banjo-Kazooie (N64)
Infinite Undiscovery (wtf?)
Lost Odyssey (The lost what?)
Dead Rising (kills 360's)

I didn't say "all". I said "virtually everyone". There are really only two kinds of people who buy a PS3:

1)Sony Fanboys, who, for the sake of faith in the general sanity of the human race, I've relegated to a minority of PS3 owners

2)People with a lot of disposable income. There's no other way a person could walk up to a counter and pay $600 for a console with such a small library of games and so little extra to offer when compared to the competition. I'm not saying this is bad, if I had that kind of money I'd probably buy one just to play fl0w, but I don't (okay, I'd probably buy a HDTV and a 360 first, but yeh). You do, however, have that kind of money, and you also happen to have a 360. Congratulations!

Does anyone here not have a 360, but does have a PS3, AND can admit that Sony made many mistakes when they designed the PS3? I kind of doubt that many of these people exist.

I'm glad to se this come to PS3. Eternal Sonata was the only true 360 exclusive (not a PC port) that could have seriously tempted me pre-launch to get an Xbox.

With almost every major 360 game coming to PCs, often with improved graphics and a thriving mod community alreaddy eying each release, I see zero reason to buy one. Owning a PS3 has nothing to do with it, but it does allow me the occasional multiplatformer that loks good (though those seem rarer and rarer these days).

Dustin is fanboy of the day..

you listed Warhawk and HOME??. what the hell man? warhawk has been dumbed-down to death. it's glorified battlefield 1942. nobody anticipated that POS other than PS3 fanboys. and HOME is just meh.

Next Splinter Cell has been confirmed a X360 exclusive. I'm sure..

Alan Wake is made by the studio who gives you Max Payne. proven developer

Banjo Kazooie made by Rare. not a remake.

Lost Oddysey. made by Final Fantasy creator.

Dead Rising kills 360? are you drunk?

except for the infinite discovery are made by proven developers. and what the fuck is 8 days? never heard of that

Unless the title is fully owned by Sony, don't expect any PS3 titles not not go multiplatform if Games for Windows does what Microsoft plans for it. It goes both ways. At this point in the game, if the title isn't developed by the console developer or a subsidiary, then it is essentially multiplatform. Assume it and only compare titles that are fully guaranteed to stay where they're put.

edit: except for infinite discovery, all of the games are made by proven developers. unlike 8 days. but seriously what the fuck is 8 days?

I think we all learned something here today as abib clearly tells us: Dustin is drunk.

--
Does anyone here not have a 360, but does have a PS3, AND can admit that Sony made many mistakes when they designed the PS3? I kind of doubt that many of these people exist.--

Hi. I qualify. I have a PS3, and a gaming PC, and the latter means that I will be playing roughly 80% of the "exclusive" releases for the 360 due out over the next year. With better graphics and sound. And mod support.

Regarding the PS3...

Mistakes is a matter of opinion, for one thing. I use nearly all of my PS3s features, including Blu-Ray movies. I have no significant arguments on the hardware design front. Perhaps I would have appreciated the ability to charge my controllers from the system while it was turned off, but with two (I have siblings who also play) I can just swap them out between games and be guaranteed that the batteries will be full whenever I play.

If I had some complaints, it would be regarding the quality control of games coming from Japan. Because many of those development studios are focused on the smaller Japanese market where they already dominate instead of the larger Western markets where they could actually make some serious cash, it results in frustrating cutbacks in features like voice and text chat in Armored Core 4 or lacking online options in Motorstorm (though what's there certainly kicks ass).

I would say that the vast majority of PS3 "failures" come not from the system or the game, but the public relations disaster instigated by head honchos Phil Harrison and Kutaragi. Week after week of hyperbole and sweeping basic questions under the rug instead of addressing real concerns over the console. I was focused purely on games when I bought mine at launch, and I have no particular regrets. But I can see how the arrogance of the Sony upper management trying to do the job of the Sony PR machine hurt their image and by relation, the image of the PS3.

Oh, and abib, 8 Days was a CGI trailer at E305 that may or may not become a full game last I heard (summer 06). The CGI trailer had nice explosions, but actual in-game renderings now (Gears, Metal Gear, Crysis, Mass Effect) look better than the CGI trailer.

this...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wYfZbpu2Rr8

....is "8 days"

Thanks to whoever mentioned it, first time seeing it, wow, just wow.

@33
it's Infinite Undiscovery, and they (tri-Ace) made the Star Ocean series... not sure how popular that one is, but my friends used to talk about it often...

@26

"JRPG and in general Japanese oriented game fans can keep waiting on the fence to see who'll get the most of those, but it's almost a guarantee that PS3 will get more, because they have more studios working for them, and because their install base is simply a lot bigger in Japan."
For the most part, new JRPGs seem to be coming out mostly for the ps2 and DS... I'm not aware of any JRPGs that came out for the ps3 first, either in the US or Japan... but I am aware of some JRPGs (both original and enhanced ports of ps2 games) that came out on the 360...

"Does anyone here not have a 360, but does have a PS3, AND can admit that Sony made many mistakes when they designed the PS3? I kind of doubt that many of these people exist."

No 360 for me. At least, not yet. When the price drops, or they include wifi in the elite, then I'll probably buy one. Right now it's not worth it for what it costs, which sounds crazy coming from someone who bought a ps3 at launch I'm sure. I use all the features of my ps3 though, so I'm happy with it. It's definitely giving my hdtv some needed justification.
I've got to agree with a lot of what cactusman said, althought I think Phil is doing a better job of speaking publicly lately. He's at least showing some modesty... more flat out honesty would be nice though. We're still getting alot of promises and "just wait, you'll see", but I do think some of those are completely true. Home will be pretty cool if it works like it's supposed to, I'm looking forward to that. It's free, so hey, what is there to lose if I already have a ps3?
I don't think true mistakes were made with the ps3's hardware design. There are things many would have changed, but they pretty much all would have cost more money. Memory is one thing, just because that seems to be a bit of a limiting factor for both machines already, but the ps3's design apparently makes it less forgiving. 512mb? My mac has 5x that... then again, I'm just saying what I've heard, and often from less qualified people at that. (some) Developers are complaining about how hard it is to make games for, but they did that with the ps2 as well, so it's sort of hard to take those too much to heart. Especially with more and more developers saying it's hard, but that's just because of the approach they are taking. Sony is providing more tools, and more will become available as more games are made, so it should work itself out.
Bluray will prove it's worth, I honestly believe that. If what we've heard about mgs4 and disk space is true, we'll see that sooner rather than later. Price... is justifiable, if you believe in bluray or have an hd set. I've never been one for "good enough for now", so I don't have a hard time paying more money when I think it's worth it, whether or not that's in the short term. The ps3 is definitely more forward looking that the xbox, that much is for sure. Hard drives in all, hdmi, bluetooth, wifi, bluray... I think the single big mistake with the 360 is not including a hard drive with all of them.

My complaints about the ps3 all revolve around software, or the lack of it. Delays... that has been the single thing I would single out and say "there, that is what is wrong with the ps3." Even simple games like Jaffe's Calling All Cars; it's ridiculous how long we are waiting. When crap ports of year old 360 titles look good, somethings wrong.
Thankfully, that is something that can be rectified, and there are plenty of games that will do just that. Two years from now, it will be a non-issue. Honestly, as long as games only go multi, and Sony continues first party support as strong as the ps2's, I'll consider it worth it. GoW3 will be good, and I can only imagine that the next project from the Shadow of the Colossus group will be incredible. Resistance is still great, and the next Motorstorm will likely fix the complaints we've had about the excellent first game. There is definitely strong first party support for the system, and that's one of the main reasons I bought a ps3.
Will the ps3 "win" this generation? I honestly doubt it more and more, unless hdtv ownership suddenly jumps into high-gear and bluray is announced as the only format within the year. But I don't think it's going to fail, or fade away. At worst I think it will be the xbox of this generation, but even that is worst-case in my mind. I think the 360 and ps3 will end up pretty equal in the end, with the Wii being the true wild card. If it can prove itself as a long-term product, it may change the next generation drastically.
rant over.

Sounds good to me, I'm an adamant supporter of the multi-platform choice for 3rd party developers. Who does it hurt to have a game available on the most platforms possible? No one, that's who. The company can reach a wider audience and make more money, the consumer has more choices, and it discourages console elitism (IE: My console is better than your console!).

In my view, the only games that should be exclusive are 1st party titles. So I for one am happy about this, if it's not just some sort of mistake. We, the consumer, shouldn't have to suffer needlessly for not having a certain console.

I like Table Tennis.

"Alan Wake is made by the studio who gives you Max Payne. proven developer"

Oh...hmm...that's not good. If you put any Max Payne disc on a dowel rod you could call it 'Crap On A Stick'.

"this...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wYfZbpu2Rr8
....is "8 days"
Thanks to whoever mentioned it, first time seeing it, wow, just wow."

Bleh. Looks like yet another game that's 75% cut scenes with about 25% game play interspersed between.

On a less negative note, if they ever fix all they RRoD issues on the 360 and I plunk down for one, Eternal Sonata is definitely one of the games I would buy for it, I suspect.

I would say making a console $600, not matter what the feature set, was a horrible mistake. I'd also say supporting HD (with the obvious hike in price) was a huge mistake on both Microsoft's and Sony's part. I'd say Blueray was a mistake, because it has nothing to do with gaming, and it's not even the cheapest HD Movie standard anyway. I'd say having a controller with no rumble is a mistake. Basically the entire approach of the PS3 is wrong.

But then again, that's, just, like, my opinion, man. I can't blame Sony for the PS3's software problems (except in picking a very odd processor architecture, again for no reason other than marketing). Sony's never been into actually making games... just making hardware. Which is fine.

So by saying "those that can admit Sony made mistakes with the PS3" I was trying to differentiate people who bought the PS3 before it was ever announced because it's Sony and is therefore infallible, from people who looked at the facts, considered, and purchased it anyway (because they just have that much money).

Most of the game I want for the 360 wouldn't even work properly on the PC. Furthermore, I don't have the best gaming box, so I really can't play new games on it. Burning Crusade makes my computer cry like a little girl, to the point that I can only run it in 800x600. I cringe to think what some new FPS would do to it.

lil correction to your headline: it lists playstation 3 ... and xbox 360 bitches.

"How was the original Killzone? I know it was recieved critically as mediocre, but how did the actual Sony fanbase like it?"

Despite being in the beta, I hated it. There were times were I would die between frames. The graphics were incredible, I'd even venture statement of saying Xbox quality. But it took a heavy hit on the consoles performance. So I left it alone for a while. Eventually a friend mentioned it and I lent him my copy around the time he bought his PS3 (December) and he brought it back telling me the game ran smoothly, no drops at all through PS3.

So I gave it another shot and suddenly I found myself wrapped up in the dark, dark world of Killzone. Mainly because all my bitches about the game was performance issues and PS3, through BC, dramatically reduces all performance issues. So if you have a PS3, I'd recommend it. If not, don't even touch it.

Alan Wake is also for PC

For every story I have seen of some supposedly "big franchise" PS3 game coming over to 360, there is a game for PS3 coming out that was originally only on 360 (or 360 and PC, like Oblivion, which received an upgrade for the PS3 release kthx). Really people need to remember the upgraded Enchanted Arms for PS3. Need to remember Oblivion. How about F.E.A.R.

The PS3 is not built around exclusives, and neither is the 360. One thing I do know. My PS3 has been online for 24 days curing cancer. eh? eh? Can anyone pwn that with their console? I'm using my game time elsewhere at the moment while I try to help the human race kthx.

Great news. It's nice to see some more RPG support for PS3.

@ #27 Killer

"Mouse and keyboard for gears would be pointless and very clumsy as well (...) They will not release gears of war on pc. They have Unreal tournament on the pc (which has always been a money maker for them)."

Actually Mark Rein confirmed that Epic would finalise the PC version of Gears of War after they are done with UT3. And since you can use a wide range of pads on the PC (including the 360 pad), controls won't be a problem.

"Microsoft made this stupid thing called "Games for windows"? Ring a bell? Microsoft makes money either way."

Acutally no, Microsoft doesn't make any money from the "Games for Windows" brand. It's a marketing campaign which THEY are paying for, not the publishers or developpers. And Microsoft doesn't get any royalty fees from PC games. Anyway, the "Games for Windows" initiative remains largely ignored by publishers for now, so it is still irrelevant.