Final Fantasy XIII launches March 9, 2010 on PS3, 360

by Ludwig Kietzmann on Nov 13th 2009 10:30AM

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Final Fantasy XIII will launch in North America and Europe on March 9, 2010, just a few months after it debuts in Japan and nearly four years after it was originally announced. Since that time, Square Enix's flagship role-playing game has become a multiplatform project -- the English version will debut on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 simultaneously -- as well as the first part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series. It's also no longer the highest-numbered Final Fantasy game.

"We know that our fans have been eagerly awaiting the next installation of the franchise -- FINAL FANTASY XIII will exceed all expectations," said John Yamamoto, president, chief executive officer and official title shouter of Square Enix, Inc. "Coming simultaneously to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for the first time, FINAL FANTASY XIII will be available to all players who are looking for the most immersive gaming experience of 2010."

And you'll have to look -- we hear Q1 2010 is already swamped with immersive gaming experiences. That's not a complaint!

Final Fantasy XIII

Tags: fabula-nova-crystallis, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xiii, Microsoft, q1-2010, release-date, rpg, square-enix, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (195)

Long in coming, but surly worth the wait.

That's what she said?

"Now, an exclusive never-before-seen look at Final Fantasy 13."

*Shows a generic 15 second battle.*

Who is that guy anyways.

I hope that guy was crushed by the long-awaited NA/EU release date.

Literally.

Don't call me Shirley.

He didn't. He called you surly.

date can't come soon enough, but again i must ask: why are there transformers in this game?

Wow - I was expecting this one much later. 'Tis welcome news.

But now it puts this one in Q1 2010 too. My wallet cries in agony....

Wow, that's earlier than I thought. I figured it was going to be June or in the Summer. Q1 2010 is now officially worse for me than Q4 2009 for games.

Gotta say that's pretty soon. Now I have to decide. Do I get it on 360 or Ps3?

I'm going to just wait for the reviews and see which one fared better. If the scores are dead even I might get it on the 360 for the achievements.

PS3 of course, that's what it was optimized for.

I would say PS3, but only because I've heard that the original language track might not be on the 360 version due to the lack of Blu-ray and I'm a total weaboo about such things.

"PS3 of course, that's what it was optimized for."

You're probably right, I mean they spent 80% of the time developing the game for the PS3. I'd actually be surprised if the 360 version was just as good.

Unless the 360 version suffers, I'm going to get it on that just to help support Square's decision. Oh and I don't even have a PS3 yet. :X

PS3 for me - simply because I don't want to fumble with more than one disc. :P

I'm getting it for the PS3. Just like a Halo on a PS3 sounds weird, a Final Fantasy on an XBox just doesn't seem right to me... But that's just me.

Also, I'm counting on some special content for FFXIV - just like Japan is getting. That will most likely be PS3 exclusive as FFXIV is a PS3 console exclusive.

"I'm getting it for the PS3. Just like a Halo on a PS3 sounds weird, a Final Fantasy on an XBox just doesn't seem right to me... But that's just me."

I felt the same way about Final Fantasy VII. A Final Fantasy on a Sony system just seemed weird. Nintendo was the original home of Final Fantasy.

I also have both systems. I want to get it on PS3, but, Xbox Live's MajorNelson (Larry Hyrb) just tweeted a cool way to score some free Xbox exclusive DLC. That's a deciding factor for me - looks like I'm going 360 with this one:

http://twitter.com/majornelson/status/5683480466

FFXIII's were actually developed on PC using Crystal Tools, keeping the PS3 in mind. Also, they claim that CT has all the chip timings of both consoles, and it'd be about reallocating the power usage..

@B. Marriner
It's probably an avatar item, or dashboard theme. Not actual content for the game.

Easy. It's a multiplatform game, so you get it for 360. That's how it goes with just about everyone, including me.

@Tmac

That usually is the argument here but this time around the 360 version is probably the water down port .

Well, as far as I am concerned, either one of two things will happen - 360 owners buy this game and prove that they deserve to get non-shooter games on their console, or this game flops on 360, ensuring that all future RPGs stay on PS3. I am betting on the latter, seing that Lost Odyssey, Blue dragon both supposedly FF-killers with huge hype (back when 13 was PS3-exlcusive) and both failed to hit even 1 milion, and even the magnificent Mass Effect sold barely 2-2.5 milion on 360, less than the "commercial failure" that was LBP

I'll probably go with the PS3 'cuz that's what they started the programming for it with....now I just need to find out when the REAL release date is so I can set aside my vacation days to play it...

Other then tmacs post this reply chain is stupid how can everyone who says they are going to get it for xbox instead of ps3 get grayed out thats just fanboy rage right there

"get grayed out thats just fanboy rage right there"

Well what did you expect? This is a sony thread.

I'll be getting it on PS3 as I have for all multiplat games lately.
Not that I have anything against the 360, it just really sounds like it's been on it's last legs.

People EVERY Final Fantasy has taken 3-4 years to develop. Quit giving Square shit about it!

I'm probably alone in this sentiment but I didn't really enjoy the last two main Final Fantasy's (X and XII). XIII however looks absolutely insane and I can't wait to check it out in March.

X was great but XII's story blew chunks. Fun gameplay still.

@acefondu

XII was bad but I also hated X cos it was crap

But people will always have there own personal favourites wont they

Yep to each their own.

X was the awesomest FF of all.

X-2 and XII were both pretty "meh" though. Actually I take that back...X-2 sucked.

It's only recently that FF's have taken this long - back in the Famicom and Super Famicom days - some were released within a year of each other.

I found XII intriguing, but I never finished it.

I really disliked X. VI is still my absolute favorite.

I put my vote in for the best Final Fantasy being VI. VII was good too, as was IX.

FF5 was the best nintendo FF. FF7 the best sony. FFX and FFXII were a blast I thought. I guess I'm not a rabid old-school fanboy though. I just like good games and good story.

totally agree with jerk face up there. VI is my favourite, and i'd actually rank IX over VII, personally.

"XII's story blew chunks."

Why do you say that? Because it was an actual "mature" story and not a bunch of whiney emo teenagers?

Anyways, I have never played a Final Fantasy I didn't absolutely love and XIII will be no different.

I liked IX the most. It was nice to see a Final Fantasy game deliver a good story without taking itself too seriously.

@Y. Kurokawa :
Release dates=/= development time.

What about XI? It might be an MMO but it's still an FF game.

@Kurokawa....your comparing apples and peaches

NOO! I WANT IT THIS YEAR!

There are hardly any more titles coming out this year!

there's only a month and a half left, and we had a shitload of games come out this month and last...go get a job or something.

How is that applicable? I have a job. I want this this year. I don't see a lot of new titles, other than L4D2, that I want that are coming THIS year.

Are you serious?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2, NBA 2K10, and Demon's Soul in the last few months.

Not to mention games still to be released this year such as God of War Collection, NCAA Basketball 2K10, Dragon Age, and Assassins Creed 2. And this just what I know off hand. How many hours a day do you play?!

Demon's Souls consumes all of your time. Fair warning if you get it, you will begin to forget your own name playing it so much...or maybe that's just me.

All I have to say is Schwing!

Zang http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ZGbWzeYFyMidZM:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/kconzett/WayneZang.jpg

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Final Fantasy XIII launches March 9, 2010 on PS3, 360