OK another reason I'm glad I own a 360 as well as a PS3 Cue the "Ah well I never really cared about this series anyway" remarks from a certain category of PS3 fans.

well this is bad news, though i can honestly say battle system aside, i truly have not cared a lot for this series, but still bummed if it does not make it to the PS3 and still dont understand all these RPG's going to the 360..nvm, its called Gates Money... but it is a bummer because the games be making so much more if they were multiplatform or a PS3 exclusive, seeing as the majority of the RPG crowd are Sony or Nintendo driven, not all, but i would say most.

To be honest I was hoping we'd get it on the PS3 exclusively - exclusive games make my buying of the two consoles feel more worthwhile - aside from that there's a comfort thing since Star Ocean Second Story, TTEOT and the PSP remakes on their way the game personally feels like a Playstation title but again it's probably just comfort or familiarity thing I suppose.

Anyway IGN has put some screens up - image 3 looks especially nice.

SCREENS

Whoa this has come as a surprise - if there was one series that I thought would have been going to PS3 (well at first at least) it would have been Star Ocean. Definitely a big plus for purchasing my 360 - though a bit of blow as was using this game to help justify importing a PS3 now I can't play import PS2 titles. Ah well I guess you can't have it all - I think i'll wait and see what happens regarding a PS3 release though hopefully it wont be another case of Eternal Sonata!

It'll come out on the PS3.

It better come out on PS3 sometime (really was expecting it to in the first place). =(. Oh well...

it will if they are smart i think...

well at the moment everything I've read has said that its just coming to 360 first, not saying exclusively on 360 (maybe that was one of the other RPGs talked about in the press conference thing).

I think I'll wait for the PS3 version of this game if I get it. I got SO3 and thought it was pretty good, but didn't really make me a fan of the series. I would rather play RPGs on my PS3 and I do want to have more games for my PS3 (will only have MGS4 so far other than DL games).

Ahhh I'm so bumbed. But I know PS3 will get it...

I actually do cared about the series, after I found out this news.

The franchise was already raped in the a-hole after the previous installment, but this is taking the piss out of the fans.
Good job SquareEnix and tri-Ace.

Really big Images:







Game looks pretty awesome so far.

Square Enix also released some high quality screenshots and the logo of the game.

Some high quality FMV screenshots that Square-Enix just released.

http://www.hellandheavennet.com/image/news/so4-screen1.jpg

http://www.hellandheavennet.com/image/news/so4-screen2.jpg

http://www.hellandheavennet.com/image/news/so4-screen3.jpg

http://www.hellandheavennet.com/image/news/so4-screen4.jpg

http://www.hellandheavennet.com/image/news/so4-screen5.jpg

The Star Ocean 4 Logo

http://www.hellandheavennet.com/image/news/so4-logo.jpg

The actual news on IGN

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/880/880434p1.html

Well, I'm hoping that they get a release on the PS3 as I do not own an X-Box. I am looking forward to this game next year!

Maybe PS3 would get a Director's Cut or some such.

But maybe the PS3 release would stay Japan only if 360 owns the sole right to distribute it in NA and elsewhere. Heh.

Can't wait to see some gameplay first though.

It's only fair that 360 get 2 games since PS3 gets Final Fantasy eventually

thats fine as long as the PS3 gets Suiko 6

Nah that should be multiplatform. Konami needs to get off it's ass and announce it already.

Oh yes, very nice. The screenshots look awesome, and I am glad I have a 360 instead of a PS3. PS3 will catch up in the end though.

screens do look very nice, i am hoping it will be a very good game

I take it that battles will be in real time? The character in the second screenshot looks awfully familiar to me.

he looks a lot like Fayt from Star Ocean : Till the End of Time

more so his body type than anything else and his outfit.

I have it preordered!! ahah I kid i kid. im gettin it lol. Looks deadly. Ive never played the series before but nothing wrong starting now I guess.

There are stories of returning characters, as it takes place after Star Ocean 1, if not before Star Ocean 1.

I call Ratix making an appearance, possibly Ronix J Kenni. Heck, we might even see Claude C Kenni, or some of the Star Ocean 2 cast.

I guess I am looking forward to it. Even though I hated the plot twist in part III just as much as anyone else, I still enjoyed the game and it was a lot of fun to play. But, you know, it would be call if this was actually what Star Ocean is supposed to be about; you know, flying around the galaxy and to different planets instead of spending 50% to 75% or more on an "undeveloped" planet. I heard rumors that they will not pull that stunt again, and I hope to God they won't. They keep ruining the great amount of potential that Star Ocean has when they do that.

Oh yeah, about the "exclusivity" of getting it first. Awesome, I guess, but after the summer I probably will not have the opportunity to play my 360 for another year, so I might miss out on being able to play it first. Hearing that Star Ocean 4 was going on the 360 was no big surprise and I pretty much predicted that it would happen. Hearing us 360 fans get it first is kind of neat though, along with that other game coming out. The 360 seems to be interesting the JRPG developers more and more.

QUOTE (Voyou San @ Jun 10 2008, 07:57 AM)

still dont understand all these RPG's going to the 360..

Microsoft is taking steps to correct their past mistakes on the original Xbox, part of which includes efforts to gain more RPG's to 360's library, especially big titles like this. What's not to understand about that?

QUOTE (Voyou)

but it is a bummer because the games be making so much more if they were multiplatform or a PS3 exclusive, seeing as the majority of the RPG crowd are Sony or Nintendo driven, not all, but i would say most.

I don't see how you assume any game would make more as a PS3 exclusive right now, when PS3 has what, half the userbase of 360? You're making it sound as if every RPG-playing PS2 owner now has a PS3 or something. PS3 still has less than 10 million owners, and that's not the greatest potential for any RPG exclusive to be honest. And the "RPG crowd" will be driven to whatever system has more RPG's to play, and it seems like you just can't accept the fact that the 360 is fast becoming an RPG attraction too this generation. A huge number of RPG fans haven't made the jump from last gen to this gen yet anyway, especially considering there's still fresh PS2 stuff to play; So in the near future, those fans will have a lot to consider before buying a new console, many of whom are going to realize the 360 isn't the "Xbox 2", and the PS3 isn't necessarily PS2 all over again (in terms of success and game library), or at least not for a while.

As I've said before, things change, and there are reasons to own all 3 consoles this generation (or at least 2, depending on your tastes). 2 big RPG machines only means higher and more competitive efforts from each company, and I look forward to seeing what kind of games we'll see as a result, regardless of what console they end up on.

I still don't get why it is going to the 360. The two biggest titles were both on Sony platforms and the Xbox 360 is a big failure in Japan, with almost no consoles selling.
Considering that Star Ocean comes from tri-Ace and the fact that most of the fans are owners of a Sony console and not a 360 seems to me that this is a stupid choice.
I am interested how many players are actually interested in this game, considering the target audience of Microsoft and the majority of games on the 360.
I know we have our fans here, anticipating this title, but this forum is for fans for RPGs after all. The fact here is, how many other people are looking forward to this game, when they on their own turn anticipated games such as Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto 4.

I personally can't see why tri-Ace and SquarEnix would go for this option, even if Microsoft threw with money again.

To me, as a fan of the series, it is blow. I now have to wait for this game for an undisclosed amount of time, before it gets released on the PS3, then before it reaches states and then before it reaches Europe.
So, chances of me getting this title have now become very slim, as I feel let down by SquarEnix and tri-Ace.

Good for all the 360 owners, but that is where it ends.

And JD, just because there are less PS3 owners than 360 owners, does not mean all the PS2 owners/RPG fans suddenly got themselves a 360.
I don't think you seem to realize that. Many people don't even have any of the newest consoles, so what makes you think everyone suddenly jumped to the 360?
And being interested in 1, or 2 games on a different platform is not a viable reason to buy another console.

No #####. The people I know personally who own 360's don't even know what an RPG is and only a few members own them here ( Unless you're all lurking or something ).

Also I don't remember this whole forum flocking towards the 360 either... Or the PS3 for that matter. Or any mess of RPG fanatics. I think most of the kiddies are still clinging on to their PS2.



Exactly. Even if this does stay exclusive ( Which I doubt ) HOW many RPG's will the 360 have to entice the next generation? Yes Sony has fallen behind at this point but how many years did it take the 360 to start throwing out RPG's? I mean I'd love for the 360 to become an RPG machine itself and have a host of exclusives, and have the PS3 do the same so I could have even more RPG's to play but I believe the 360 will suffer the same fate as the X-box before it and only offer a limited amount of RPG's. I know now that Microsoft is supposedly pushing JRPG's ( Probably to win over the Japanese crowd as well as the RPG gamers around the globe ) but is it a trend we'll continue to see or if it doesn't pay off will they stop? Who knows.

If not. Then great. There will be a ton of RPG's for me to play and I'll get a 360 again on the next price drop.

Also Pes, keep in mind it's Microsoft. I don't think they care what profits they make off it... They just want to be in the market.

But anyway, I still see this hitting the PS3. If and when it does, and it doesn't suck, I'll get it. On one console or another.

Better be better than SO3 I was bored out of my skull with that game. O it had its moments, but overall I just stopped caring about the game and sold it

i agree with pes and TED... yes a lot of PS2 owners have not upgraded, but really most of them are sony fans, so when they upgrade good chance is they are going to upgrade to a ps3. Star Ocean 4 is not enough to make people flock to the 360.

And you still dont get why i dont understand this.. lets put it this way, the 360 has sold mabye 100 consoles in japan(i know its more, joking).. so Star Ocean 4 for the 360 only or for a long time the 360 only makes no sense for Tri-Ace and Square. What does make sense is releasing it on both consoles at one time. That way the few 360 users who want it, can get it, the PS3 crowd gets it and the PS2 owners waiting for reasons to upgrade to a ps3 will upgrade.

Also its loyalty, the PS2 crowd has shown loyalty towards this series, and then you just slap them in the face and pretty much tell you core audience, "hey, ##### off, we are going to go over and try to win over Halo fans"

I think that's exactly why the 360 is getting so many exclusive(or at least premièring) RPGs. The way I see it is, Microsoft is hoping that the biggest selling genre of games in Japan will entice the Japanese players to buy a 360 to play it on. From a business standpoint loyalty doesn't even come into it. As far S-E are concerned money talks and MS have plenty of it and in Japan at least RPGs equals sales, 360 or not.

It's all very well saying "yeah but there's hardly anyone with a 360 who play RPGs so WTF?", if that was true then Lost Odyssey wouldn't have reached the all format number one spot in Japan, the US and Europe. So again to reiterate my point, MS want Japanese consumers to play the 360 for the RPGs since that equals hardware sales for them.

Plus with the kind of marketing campaign a monster company like S-E can put into it I'm sure they'll convince quite a few gamers in Japan to part with their cash. If a much smaller company like Mistwalker can get good sales(hardware included) via a decent campaign for games like Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon then imagine what a giant like S-E can do for an established series like Star Ocean? S-E are obviously confident they can pull it off.

PS3 is also failing in Japan if you hadn't noticed (not as horribly as 360). If anything you should worry that some future games will be changed to Wii or DS development (seeing as how DQ9 is slated for DS).

I think Microsoft is trying to to change it's image in Japan and is the reason they are pushing so hard with JRPGs. They are building up the library for their next console so the Japanese don't see it as a Western console. Many of these games sell better here anyway so they can make there money from that. Also all of these companies had a year head start developing on the 360 and they are coming out now. Tri-Ace has also worked on Infinite Undiscovery so they are familiar with the 360 architecture and development. I would love it if they announce Grandia for the 360 since GameArts did already release Sylpheed (the game was less than stellar), but last I heard they were working with Nintendo making Brawl(not sure what they're up to now). Why be loyal to a brand when it's the games that count. Hell Nintendo RPG fans went bonkers when FF was announced on the PSX.

I 'm guessing that "if" Star Ocean 4 goes multiplatform it probably wouldn't be released on PS3 until late 2010 or early 2011(my guess is that it will be released on 360 late 2009). Hell I wasn't too happy with SO3 ( I liked SO2 better), but if they can make it a bit more like Mass Effect (you know actually having space exploration), then I think the game will be just fine.

I just came across a trailer for Star Ocean 4 that I haven't seen before so just in case some of you guys haven't seen it too.

TRAILER

QUOTE (Pesmerga @ Jun 12 2008, 10:55 AM)

I personally can't see why tri-Ace and SquarEnix would go for this option, even if Microsoft threw with money again.

Easier, lower-cost development for the system, and growing popularity of RPG's on 360... along with a likely bonus check for possible exclusitivity. They have reason enough for multiplatform at least, but an X360 exclusive (most likely timed anyway) isn't a horrible decision either.

QUOTE (Pes)

To me, as a fan of the series, it is blow. I now have to wait for this game for an undisclosed amount of time, before it gets released on the PS3, then before it reaches states and then before it reaches Europe.
So, chances of me getting this title have now become very slim, as I feel let down by SquarEnix and tri-Ace.

I would whole-heartedly agree with you if the issue was, say, that the original Xbox was getting a Star Ocean game exclusively instead of PS2. THAT would indeed be grounds for a lot of "WTF", but I don't think that applies with a new genration of consoles, each very different from their predecessors. Different circumstances means a lot more for developers to consider, and changes like this shouldn't be a huge surprise given the situation.

QUOTE (Pes)

And JD, just because there are less PS3 owners than 360 owners, does not mean all the PS2 owners/RPG fans suddenly got themselves a 360. I don't think you seem to realize that.Many people don't even have any of the newest consoles, so what makes you think everyone suddenly jumped to the 360?

I never said all RPG fans now own a 360. If you read my post, I also state partly the exact same thing you just did.

I'll quote myself.

QUOTE (My freakin' self)

A huge number of RPG fans haven't made the jump from last gen to this gen yet anyway, especially considering there's still fresh PS2 stuff to play;

Sound familiar?

I wasn't trying to imply that the 360 is now the master RPG console, but rather, I was saying not to discredit its status in establishing a decent amount of RPG's thus far, at least compared to people's expectations. And it is, in fact, formidable competition against PS3's still-struggling attempt at becoming the new PS2, though some people still seem to think that history has to repeat itself the exact same way.

QUOTE (TED)

but I believe the 360 will suffer the same fate as the X-box before it and only offer a limited amount of RPG's.

I dunno, it seems like they're doing a good job of avoiding that fate so far, considering that their RPG lineup as of now, current and upcoming, is already far more than the original Xbox had in its entire lifetime.

QUOTE (Pes)

And being interested in 1, or 2 games on a different platform is not a viable reason to buy another console.

And by that logic, it's not a reason to buy a PS3 either, because the PS3 is also exactly that - "Another console". It's an entirely new system in a new generation, and the same brand of hardware does not always mean the same game lineup. Nintendo and Sega are perfect examples of how much a console brand can change from generation to generation. They all have their ups and downs, so let's not count any chickens before they hatch, and that's all I'm saying.

In the end, I'll agree that it probably should've went multi-platform, and probably still will. But if not, oh well. You can complain that the majority of said fans have a Sony console and hoped for it on PS3 (which most don't even own yet, so wtf), but from a business point of view, how else is MS supposed to attract RPG fans other than bringing in titles they want? Can't blame them, honestly.

I don't particularly think it is the games, or at least just the games. Have you seen the marketing of the 360 in Japan?
They are litteraly taking the piss out of the whole Japanese market, by having idiotic adverts and whatnot.

Besides, MS or not, you cannot buy yourself success in a gamers market. The Japanese market has proven it. Sure, lost Odyssey got its fair share, but how many other titles can you name? The only titles that I hear about are Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon and I think Blue Dragon wasn't as good as many anticipated.... could be wrong on that matter.





Would be a logical decision, but we're talking about SE here. Since when did they started budgeting? I know that Final Fantasy XII costed them a lot, but I am pretty sure they're not out of money.




True, however, their biggest two titles were both released on Sony consoles and thus, the majority of the fans is an owner of a Sony console and most likely to go for another Sony console.
It is not like the fans will follow the gamedesigners everywhere they go.




To me it sounded like you were implying it, so sorry for my mistake then.




And that is also the reason I do not have a PS3 yet. That and not having the money to buy it.
Anyway, there are far more games released on the PS3 that I want to play than on the Wii and Xbox combined, so that is a viable reason for me to go for that console.
I am also not saying that the PS3 will be the grand ruler again, nevertheless, I will go for a PS3, because it has more interesting options that any other current gen console.
All you'll hear me say is that the Wii gimmick is done now and because of that same gimmick, they'll loose out on many big titles. Soul Calibur 4 anyone?




Well, all I am saying is that it is an unwise decision. The 360 has a target audience, which is the casual American gamer.
Buying a few RPGs does not alter this status.
The status was created after the target audience of the first Xbox. Why do people think that the PSX/2 are the RPG console and that the PS3 will be again? Same reason for the 360.
Ninty is now for their gimmicky stuff, as well as household names, Xbox for Halo and Madden and all that stuff and the PS for the RPGs.
Sure, history does not always repeats itself, but you can't expect it to make drastic turns either.

Wow pes, talk about quote happy... (now onto my rant and rave)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY OH DEAR WHY!!!!!!!!! SQUARESOFT!!!! HOW COULD YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! TRAITOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(wait, this is very familliar to my rant when FFVII came out for the PSone and not for the N64.... hmmmm....)

I just got into this series, they'd better NOT port it to the X-box or someone's gonna die.

What do you mean you don't think it's the games? I'm not talking about Microsofts marketing of the 360 in Japan so I don't why you stated that? Besides the PS3 ads I've seen are some of the worst and utterly pointless I've ever seen in my life but again that wasn't the point I was trying to make. What I was talking about was the marketing of the games not the consoles - hence my point of the games selling the consoles. MS are trying grab as many of Japan's best selling genre as possible to sell it's consoles in Japan, it's simple common sense. So the marketing I'm referring to is the ones by the developers for the games ie Mistwalkers marketing campaign for Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey which coupled with the fact that they were good games sold very well.



So Sony never used any marketing and never paid for already established (on other consoles) top selling franchises then? Of course they did, and they used lots of money to do it.

Also if games don't sell a console then what the hell was the Monster Hunter series doing for the PSP in Japan? It was this game that drove the PSP to sell more hardware than the DS.



You're completely missing the point now and I've no idea why. I used Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon as examples because of the fact that they had plenty of marketing (and were good games) and sold well because of it. So by stating you only hear of said games selling well you just basically proved my point that marketing equals sales. Games like Eternal Sonata didn't do as well as the other two because Namco didn't market it as well but even so it still reached the number 2 spot in Japan So again what I am saying is with the kind of marketing campaign Square can give it's games (especially in Japan) I'm sure they'll do very well for themselves and Microsoft.

Also just to quickly cover your (slightly irrelevant) comment about Blue Dragon it scored very highly in Japans favourite gaming magazine Famitsu 37/40 and has a very above average score of 77% (7.7/10) on Gamerankings and as an RPG fan I can personally confirm that it's a good game.

Microsoft probably paid a premium to SquareEnix to have this released on their console. The Last Remnant, too.

It's a worthwhile investment, I'd say, to get a strong foothold in the Japanese market?
Perhaps they should consider purchasing the rights to Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series as well.

I am talking about marketing in general, not just games, as I said in my post, which you apparantly missed.
The point here is that it is not just the games. The marketing of the console needs to be proper as well and you consider the adverts for the PS3 to be utterly pointless, the majority of the Japanese populizations thinks the exact same thing about the 360.
Why do you think the 360 is doing so poor in Japan? Really, a few games score high in the list, but the 360 is low on all sales lists. The reason those games are high is because the 360 owners that are out there do buy those games, as one of the few games they are interested in.

And buying the best Japan has to offer? Well, MS is doing well with buying Star Ocean then. Didn't know this was a multibillion dollar project.



Remember that the first gameplay came with Devil May Cry 3 as a demo on the PS2. It was not like Monster Hunter on the PSP was Japan's first introduction towards the game.

And Sony didn't blatantly bought things like MS did. Final Fantasy made the jump to the PSX, because Square wanted it themselves, so there are other reasons for other developers.



I think you missed my point. How many other games besides the ones mentioned all the times, such as Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey can you mention?
Or, how about we talk about the success of games such as Halo and Grand Theft Auto IV in Japan? You know as well as I do that the list of unsuccesfull games in Japan on the X360 is far greater than the ones that are succesful.

And I say it again, it is not just about marketing the games. Marketing the console brings a very important factor as well.
If you were to buy a new console (taking in mind you had no current gen yet), would you buy the X360, if you saw those adverts they show in Japan? Would you, if you were for example interested in Lost Odyssey as the possible only game you'll like?
Marketing games is as important as marketing the console. Various developers already agreed that the marketing of the 360 is poor, heck the guy from Mistwalker said it himself.



Well, I did say I could be wrong on that matter. However, I haven't heard anyone boasting around about this game, apart from when the first trailers were released and such.
After the game was released, I didn't heard a lot of people mention this game.

I see what you mean now we're both getting our wires crossed a little. Yeah I agree the 360 ads over in Japan were pathetic and that can't help matters, but what I'm saying the marketing of a specific game is usually down to the developers or publishers and being Square I'm sure they'll shift a few copies of their games on marketing and popularity alone - Will it be enough to make the 360 the console to own in Japan? I agree it's very unlikely but I'm sure it will improve their position at least a little over there.

I'm not debating or even disagreeing with you about the 360s unpopularity in Japan I'm just basically saying that from a business standpoint it's the reason why MS are pushing the consoles RPGs because they are simply trying improve their standing - whether it's enough though is very debatable.



You're misunderstanding me I never said "the best Japan had to offer" I said they were paying for and pushing Japans most popular genre the RPG on the 360 in hopes of making sales.



So you're saying Sony have never paid for an already established series? I'm going to have to politely disagree with that.

I'm also not sure what you mean regarding Monster Hunter we may be getting our wires crossed again but I thought you were saying that games don't sell consoles, so I was giving Monster Hunter as an example because it was the sole reason why the PSP temporarily outsold the DS(twice) meaning that games do sell consoles - If that's not what you meant then my apologies I've had a rough week and my brain isn't functioning right.




They haven't even released GTA 4 in Japan yet, but I think you'll find the GTA series is one of the few Western games that sell well in Japan. San Andreas sold very well in Japan considering it's a Western game. Also believe it or not Halo 3 topped the Japanese charts.



It's a decent and solid RPG just not a classic that's all, but it certainly has it's fans.

All debating aside because to be honest I don't really know what we're debating over lol! The question was asked "why are all these RPGs going on the 360 first or exclusively?" The answer is simple the main reason why the 360 isn't selling well in Japan is because it doesn't have the library of games that appeal to Japanese gamers overall(western style RPGs, action, FPS etc). So MS are hoping that by bringing in some good RPGs that it will appeal to the Japanese gamer - Will it be in vein? Probably but we'll just have to see.

See this is what I've been thinking with regards to the game library, as to whether it'll all be in vain i'm not too sure. There's no denying the PS2 is coming to the end of its life span - even if it is going down kicking and screaming - but its going to go sometime and as a result I think most of the more serious gamers (god I hate that phrase) will be making the move to the current generation sometime over the next 12 months, or perhaps sooner if they haven't already.
As it stands the release schedule of the PS3 for the near-future is definitely less than stellar especially when it comes down to RPGs. So when better for the 360 to throw its money around a get a few exclusives, or at least inital releases, than now in attempt to stake its claim globally and break into the Japanese market. Seriously if you've got to shell out a sizable stack of cash for your next console which one are you going to go for - the one with a stack of good titles and more on the way or the one that yes may have promise but hasn't really got anything to show for it?
I'm not saying the 360 is better than the PS3 nor vice-versa nor am I saying that one deserves to come out tops over the other but as it stands the PS3 is at its most vulnerable - probably the most vulnerable it will ever be in what remains of its shelf life, what with the relatively high price point, poor games library, backwards compatibilities and disgruntled fans. If Microsoft are going to tackle Sony I honestly think now is the time to do it and I think these titles may be the beginning of plans aimed to do this.

The way I'm looking at things is this; with the August release of Tales of Vesperia (and the premium edition console) and the sizable and faithful Japanese fanbase I wouldn't be surprised to see console sales spike if just a little. The following month Infinite Undiscovery is released - and how better to compliment your new 360 console with another high end action-based RPG, a few months later we get Last Remnant and its all nicely rounded off if an old favourite like Star Ocean, another series with a fairly sizable fan base. Looking it like this the 360 is looking decidedly more desirable isn't it? And in addition to going for the Japanese market head on your attracting the attention of the RPG 'fans' worldwide who believe Squenix are the be all and end all. Not to mention all the publicity they'll be getting on the net from topics/discussions like this and others with the Sony loyalists shouting about WTF is going on.

Now the PS2 has always been a haven for the RPG fans over the years but as said they'll have to go somewhere eventually so why not target them and rake in a few extra sales. I'm not saying that Microsoft getting first picks on a few RPG titles are going to bring about the end of the Playstation (hell the number of Sony loyalists would be enough to keep it a float) as if it is a relatively niche market but if taken as part of a greater whole of some shrewd business strategy on Microsoft's part maybe we'll see them make some ground and actually give Sony a bit of a run for its money.
So in short "why are all these RPGs going on the 360 first or exclusively?" Well I think Microsoft have seen an opportunity to get one over on Sony and are striking while the iron is hot - its as simple as that

My first reaction to the news about SO4 was that I would have preferred it remained on the Playstation, however on thinking about such preference was absolutely groundless - why would I prefer that? I think most RPG fans are more bothered about story/gameplay than they are about differences in graphics (what ever that might be between the 360 and PS3), would there be any significant changes in the game mechanics that may have been detrimental to the game depending on what console was chosen - non that I can think of. And the questions continued and there really was nothing that came to mind that I could think of that made the PS3 the more deserving of the consoles. So why not pick the console that is most likely to reach the most people - surely that would be of most benefit to the game and hopefully introducing the series to a new audience.
So really how is it detrimental to the game that its released on the 360? What is the problem with it being released first on that console? - except for those that have already purchased the PS3 in expectation of it becoming the new PS2?
I couldn't answer that question - can anyone?

Just another reason I absolutely DESPISE Microsoft systems. Star Ocean games were a PS series (Well, 1 and Blue Sphere were on Nintendo, but currently I mean), and now they're stealing that too

A recent update regarding Star Ocean 4



Source

Still not much to different to the "may or may not release it on PS3" comment but at least it lets us know that if (and that's a big if now) there is a PS3 version in the pipeline then it's a long way off.

Sounds like it'll be coming out on the PS3, eventually.

Yeah, the developer is responsible for their own game, but with a poorly marketed 360, how well can you do to convince players to buy a 360, if they haven't done so yet?
If I were Japanese and looking into buying a new console, I wouldn't buy a 360, even if it came with Suikoden VI.
It is hard to promote your game for a poor represented console. Individual games seem to do okay, but the majority fails big time in Japan, for obvious reasons.

I know they want to improve their status, but by buying out titles, I don't think it will help much. MS seem to think that buying themselves into a market will work, but everything has proven otherwise so far.
Instead, they should think about marketing their product proper, get rid of this casual American market and produce some decent games.
By that, I mean games coming from their own team and not buying out developers.



You'd be thinking they would get Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest exclusive.... not Star Ocean, which majority of fans are PS owners.
Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games already have appeared on various consoles. Star Ocean only had minor experience on other consoles, with 2 games being released on consoles other than the PS. However, Star Ocean I was met with minor succes and Blue Sphere isn't even released outside Japan, I believe.




Many developers jumped to PSX, due to the fact that the PSX had more capacity than the N64. Many developers didn't need the money to make the decision to jump to the PSX.

I am not saying Sony did not use money, I am saying that they didn't do it as blatant as MS does.



What I was trying to say was that Monster Hunter is a big game in Japan. The popularity rose when the demo came with Devil May Cry 3.
As I said, the psp Monster Hunter was not the first game in Japan. Some titles sell really well, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are prime examples.
And you said it right, the PSP temporarily outsold the DS. Games can increase the sales in the consoles they appear on, but they alone do not sell the console. I said it earlier in my post, the marketing of a console needs to be proper as well.




Halo 3 did surprisingly well in Japan, I forgot about that. However, most Western games do not sell well in Japan. The reason is that they aren't made for the Japanese market. This comes back to the point I tried to make before, MS should open up and make some games for the Japanese market and not buy out developers' games.



As I said earlier in my post, I think it would be better if MS came with some effort themselves. They are buying exclusives and think that will solve the matter.
I find this very rude and arrogant and it I think they would sell 10x better if MS would create their own games, purely for the Japanese market.
They have their connections in Japan, Windows does good in Japan and so they have enough contacts to make a Japanese game.
Let MS make a RPG in Japanese style, instead of buying out games and upsetting fans of the franchise.

Let me give you this scenario: If I had to buy a console and only had money to buy 1 console and I had to pick for the PS3 that releases Suikoden VI, or the 360 that releases Star Ocean 4, both gimes being exclusive to the console they were released on.
What console should I go for? You know what my answer is going to be. So, how is it fair for me, being a Star Ocean fan, to miss out on Star Ocean?




Do you think it is the graphics that upset me that Star Ocean 4 might be an exclusive to the 360?
Or could it be that I am not planning on getting the 360 and therefore miss out on this game? Maybe this will answer your question.

I don't have enough money to buy 2 next gen consoles, nor was I planning on doing so. If this game will be exclusive, I am missing out on one of my favourite franchises. Simply because MS like to throw around their dollars.

Microsoft already has a Japanese first party company called MistWalker(Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon). All these other games they are supposedly buying are from third party and are not first party Sony companies. One of the reasons Square left the Nintendo consoles was because Nintendo ran everything with an iron fist ( I think they started developing for Nintendo consoles after they merged with Enix). Sony was more lenient (and less cocky) back then and charged far less to release games on their console (in the same way Microsoft is attracting Japanese developers now). I don't know why you think it's so hard for third party companies to go multi-platform. Hell Japan doesn't care about HD consoles anyway and since the 360 has a larger install base worldwide (along with the highest game attach rate), it is a smart move to put games on the system. Remember SquareEnix is a third party company and can release their games where ever they want. Just think of all the FF/Nintendo fanboys when square decided to release FF7 on PSX. It's a business after all and competition is always great to have.

It's actually two thirds. PS3 has 13.3 M, wheres Xbox has 19.1 M. And Xbox 360 is still in the lead undoubtedly due to the American region alone because PS3 is selling faster than Xbox in Europe, at a 2 to 1 ratio. And in Japan it's about 5 to 1.


Largest instal base in America, (and as a result in total) but not worldwide. Xbox 360 is doing very poorly in Japan, so it's not a smart move to release an rpg exclusively for X360 in Japan, which is the biggest rpg concentrated market.

Personally I'm not a particular fan of the Star Ocean series since I didn't play the first two games, but I played about halfway through in SO3 and it's a pretty decent rpg alround. And the new game looks pretty interesting.

But as for the exclusivity, temporary or not, I don't like it when a series changes console. If they really want to go multiplatform then it should at least be available on both consoles. It's just a #### you to most of the fans to make a conscious decision to avoid them, and given Xbox 360's situation in Japan, avoid a majority of the domestic rpg market.
Original titles from well known rpg companies make for better exclusive games. If it's a long running series originally from one console then it should still be available to that fanbase, even if it expands to another console.

QUOTE (LunarMaster @ Jun 14 2008, 03:36 PM)

Microsoft already has a Japanese first party company called MistWalker(Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon). All these other games they are supposedly buying are from third party and are not first party Sony companies.

Couldn't have said it better.

Mistwalker is in fact an entirely MS-funded RPG studio, so they are in fact making efforts at first-party RPG's, Lost Odyssey being a pretty decent hit at that.

QUOTE (Pes)

By that, I mean games coming from their own team and not buying out developers.

First off, you seem to credit Sony for practically owning these developers just because they made games on the PS2 last generation, which isn't the case. You talk about MS needing to make their own RPG's *cough*Mistwalker*cough*, but how many RPG's did Sony really make themselves? It was almost all 3rd party in PS2's generation, and could just as easily be assumed as "buy-outs" as well. 2ndly, you seem to be so sure that MS "bought out" developers like this, and yet, there's still talk of "may or may not be PS3" in SO's case. I assure you, if this was a "buy-out" from MS, they would have been boasting around that they had a new exclusive. When MS buys rights to something, they do it absolutely, not just "may or may not". It sounds to me like it was largely the developer's decision, and I doubt a very large sum of money made any decisions at this point. This series was an exclusive in the past, and some developers like to keep it that way. And if you're going to go exclusive (or timed exclusive) with either console, it's not hard to see why, at this point, that the 360 would technically be a slightly better decision.

In general, it seems to me that a lot of people just got used to, and attached to playing their favorite RPG series all on one console, and are now bitter that some developers are changing brands this generation. It's an understandable first reaction, but not one that should be long-term. I honestly hoped the PS3 would continue on the same path as the PS2, and that I'd need no other console, but I have no problem with another console taking the RPG spotlight this generation if that's what happens.

But, we'll always have the die-hard Sony loyalists who will go on and on about why it's wrong for 360 to get these RPG's, because they all wanted to buy a dominating PS3 and live happily ever after, blah blah blah. But the fact of the matter is, if PS3 picks up the pace and becomes the system everyone wants, then these games will see a multi-platform release anyway, and future titles will be as exlcusive as they were with PS2. If not, then just sit back and rethink your console choices, rather than bashing a company for taking necessary steps to succeed in a console race. If I were going to buy only one console, I'd sit back and see which is going to deliver more of what I want, rather than acting on my own predictions and getting all pissy when things don't happen the way I want. It just might be that you may all have to consider buying one of those Boxes you've come to hate so much if you want to play some of these games. AND THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE!! :o

We shall see. In any case, I look forward to seeing it all unfold, and of course, to the endless bitching that will result.

Obviosly it's a question of money and purchased rights (or time rights). Why would Square otherwise deliberately cripple their sales in Japan where the rpg genre is the biggest?


Like I said in my previous post, the X360 is only dominant in America. In Europe and Japan it's in PS3's favor. And the game sales charts and the type of games that appear on them are often very different from region to region. Japan is the most rpg focused market, and US charts are more topped by shooters, sports games etc.
There's a reason why we have never gotten a single rpg special edition game (FF International, KH: Final Mix, Shadow Hearts 2 Directors Cut) outside of Japan, with Persona 3 FES being the first. And many good rpg's have missed to launch outside of Japan alltogether. (Tales of Destiny 2, etc.) Because Japan is the main rpg market.

So the best choice for rpg exclusivity would be more like this: DS > PS2 > PSP > PS3 > X360.

Very well said and very true in every aspect.



Right now at this given time if I had to choose between a 360 and a PS3 solely for Japanese RPGs I'd go for the 360 because the PS3 only has two Japanese RPGs. One being a crappy 360 port and the other being Folklore which I hated. After that there's FFXIII, White Knight Story and Valkyrie Chronicles which is a good future line up but we may not see FFXIII and White Knight Story until late next year. Yet the 360 has four JRPGs out now and will have five more out before the end of the year(in the US at least) with four being exclusives - and at least two more next year one a definite exclusive called Cry On from Mistwalker and the other a possible exclusive in Star Ocean.

Who knows, perhaps this time next year it could be a completely different story and maybe Sony will start firing RPG announcements at us left right and centre (and I really hope they do) one thing is for sure though they certainly need to do something, because they can't bet all their chips on FFXIII even if it is the biggest RPG series out there.

Considering there aren't that many PS3 owners in Japan it is not so hot to release any game exclusively to it right now. DS , PSP or PS2 would be in their best interest if they were looking at only Japan for profit. I'm pretty sure that they looking at it from an international view point. People who get a 360 tend to also get a lot of games. Publishers sell games so it's good to make games on it. It seems like the PS3 is trying to get the American market(with all the FPS games coming to it) in the same way that the 360 is looking to get a piece of the Japanese market. Maybe all these companies got tired of Sony and want them to sweat a little or 360 is so cheap to develop on that it's too hard to resist (low risk).

It could also be that if they sell that game on a different platform they might make more money since their games would not compete with one another. Next year Square-Enix might release FF13. That would completely overshadow SO4 if it was also released on the PS3. Having it on the 360 would make it a lot more desirable to fans who want a JRPG, but don't want to pay for a PS3.

If you look at Europe then you'd see that it's similar to America in game sales (sports, racing, shooters, etc). At least the top selling game lists in America and Europe are not mostly filled with portable non games like they usually are in Japan. I'm just kind of worried that the Wii is setting the example for the next generation of game consoles.

You're misunderstanding me here. Sony is a Japanese company, there is no need to prove themselves in Japan.
Microsoft is a foreign company that does needs to prove themselves, especially considering this is only their second generation in the gamesworld.
Yeah, Mistwalker is exclusive to MS, but it is not MS themselves. Sakaguchi is the president of Mistwalker and he makes what he likes.

What I was trying to say is that MS should make games for the Japanese market, not let someone else do it. That is what I was trying to say.

Oh and sorry, but do you really believe that SquarEnix possibly makes SO4 esclusive to Xbox 360 when they're being outsold by the PS3? I certainly don't.



Well, it seems here that people are used to having all consoles. I am sorry for not being as rich as you. I only have money for 1 console. Considering I am mostly interested in the PS3, due to several games already being released, as well as upcoming games and overall not interested in the current lineup of the 360, I can't really say I am pleased about this.
Yes, I do want my favourite games on one console, as that is the only reason for me to play those games, not when they are spread all over.



Gotta love your sarcasm here, however, I did say that my preference has nothing to do with it.

Besides, I am pretty sure there are now people saying: "Oh, SO4 is coming to the 360, I wasn't really interested in the franchise before, but now I will suddenly check it out."