E3 2008: Square Enix Press Conference Live-Blog - IGN (original) (raw)

As the various conferences play out at this year's E3, we'll be providing you up to the second updates through this handy dandy live blog. Just keep refreshing to see new updates.
12:50 - Bozon and I are here and waiting, enjoying the soothing music and pretty employees that helped us to our seats.

12:52 - Shinji Hashimoto, corporate executive and Yoshinori Kitase have taken the stage.

12:53: - Turns out the Q aand A is only about Final Fantasy XIII. Guess they knew we'd be all WTF after that Microsoft conference.

12:54 - First question: "Why move it to the 360?" The answer being that they looked at the hardware of both systems and decided to move it over to the 360.

12:58 - Someone asked if FF XIII means that other Final Fantasy and Square Enix games will come to the 360.

12:59 - The answer to that is... (double translated, sorry for the delay)

1:00 - For right now Square Enix says they are full with FF XIII and are focusing on that and haven't thought about other titles.

1:00 - How many discs will it be? TBD.

Hashimoto and Kitase

1:01 - They are "ready to start" developing FF XIII. So first they will complete the PS3 version in Japan, then start a localization for the US and Europe while they start development on the 360 version.

1:03 - The PS3 and the 360 versions will be released simultaneously in the US and Europe, but not Japan.

1:04 - I'm pretty hungry, I skipped free lunch to come to this and I'm pretty sure this small 75 person room can hear my stomach rumble.

1:05 - They said they will try to time the release date for US and Europe at the same time, and that they will "expedite" the process of localizing from Japan.

1:06 - I heard "Infinite Undiscovery" and "Exclusiv-o."

1:07 - And the translator confirms that, yes, Infinite Undiscovery is being developed exclusively for the 360, but they think they might at some point do it for PS3.

1:08 - Someone asked about exclusive content for either version of FF XIII. Square Enix said they have no intention of making the games different.

1:09 - Someone asked a question in Japanese. Showoff!

1:10 - The question was about the business direction for Square Enix and how the success of the 360 in Europe and America influenced the move from exclusivity.

1:12 - No motion control in FF XIII. Mega...ton?

1:13 - Final Fantasy Versus XIII has not been changed, so no word on if it's coming to 360.

1:15 - FF XIII is being developed using the Crystal Tools engine, which will be used for Versus, and the MMORPG.

1:18 - Hey Kitase, what American games are you influenced by? Mass Effect?

1:19 - No, says Kitase. I'm not.

1:20 - Reminding people that, hey, they've done multiplatform stuff using the Crystal Tools before. FF XI anyone?

1:22 - Bozon looks like he's going to fall asleep. Poor Bozon, no Wii news here!

1:23 - Somebody asked what the workload on localization was when using Crystal Tools. I think we're running low on interesting questions.

1:24 - Turns out the answer is "It's hard to explain, but we're doing it." To clarify (thanks cute clarification lady!) they're building it on a PC, for the PS3 then will be working on porting to 360.

1:26 - Bozon asked a question. He asked if they think one of the platforms will "dominate" sales. Silly Bozon.

1:27 - Square Enix doesn't know. Hashimoto says statements will be made after market research. (Cop out!)

1:31 - Can we expect a surprise announcement from Iwata at Nintendo's conference?

1:31 - Kitase says "I have no idea what Iwata will do next!"

1:31 - Erik Brudvig is here, asking questions about Xbox Live!

1:32 - Squeenix says it's TBD. (Second cop out).

1:35 - How will the gameplay of FFXIII differ from FFXII?

1:36 - The difference between 12 and 13 will be that overall the entire atmosphere and tempo are different. The direction is different. More flashy, more excitement.

1:37 - Hey guys, favorite Final Fantasy game?

1:38 - Hashimoto likes FFVII since he was so deeply involved with it.

1:39 - Kitase says "Me too!"

1:41 - Was the fighting in FF XIII inspired by the fighting sequences in Advent Children? Is there an effort to bring that experience to games, and is it turn based?

1:42 - Apparently Advent Children gave Kitase "stimulation." I'm going to guess something got lost in translation.

1:43 - The fighting will use a system called ATB. Details cannot be given on it.

1:43 - And that's it! It's over! See ya next time, kids!