Xbox 360 retailing in a Final Fantasy XIII bundle for the rest of us
By Paul Miller 
posted February 12th 2010 12:43PM
posted February 12th 2010 12:43PM
posted February 12th 2010 12:43PM
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I wish I looked more like the Japanese PS3. Why do our limited edition consoles always look much cheaper than the Japanese editions. This just looks like stickers.
@Koda yup you're right.. doesnt look that great.. but it will still sell. there are plenty of die hard fans who would want this!
@Koda
Because it's just a faceplate and no designs. The closest I've seen to doing what the Japanese do with exclusive consoles this gen is the COD4 Xbox360. But that even pales in comparison to how detailed they get with console designs at times...
@Koda
I as well often long to look like a japanese ps3
@Koda
My friend got the Japanese PS3 bundle, and it isn't really that impressive. I like the white, but I think the pink print is pretty dull and cheesy. Like this 360 version, only one face of the machine is painted with special graphics, and the girl looks just as bored. But then again she looks bored throughout the whole game; the afro dude is the only interesting character with any depth in ff13 imo.
@Koda
FF, 99% cutscenes... 1% old fashioned boring gameplay... you can keep it! :P
that bundle kinda sucks - standard edition game and a faceplate that you have to buy separately? the only incentive is the character art on the box.
At some point, we'll probably be able to buy the face plate alone, and then just buy the game by itself... for far less.
250GB HDD, 2 controllers and the game (although just getting the standard edition sucks) isn't bad at all for $400. But I do agree that the PS3 version is vastly better than this one.
seems like a pretty lame bundle. Sell the 360 with 250gb hdd and 2 controllers for $350. That'd make me happy. Otherwise i'll stick with my PS3.
@iamlilysdad
If you were planning on buying the game anyway, you are getting exactly what you want for $340. The limited edition XBoxes are actually pretty great deals. I snagged the MW2 one myself.
@Delta good point. But I already have a PS3, so buying the bundle for this game would be pointless. But for someone who was already on the verge of getting a 360 there's no reason to NOT get the bundle. Even if you don't want the game it's still a good deal.
that hdd should be used to hold the entire game + rumored DLC
rather than 5 disks
@laxic
It's three discs, and if you choose to install them on the HDD be my guest. That's what I'll be doing.
@Ericloewe Yea, the only problem with that is you still need to swap out the disks, and I haven't seen an official announcement anywhere that says how many disks it will be. As much of an achievement whore as I am, I'll probably get this on the ps3 just so I don't have to deal with all the disks. Now hopefully my tax return gets here soon!
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
No, you don't need to swap discs. Just like forza, you install disk 2 into the hdd then you just use disc 1. As long as it detects disc 1, you'll be able to play all 3.
@Rodz Just found this, which says you do have to swap disks, and it will come on 3. I guess 3 isn't too bad, but I guess I'll let the graphics be the deciding factor, if they're different at all. Forza 3 was a special exception where you were required to install the disk if you wanted to play it. This is just like every other game where installing it will just speed it up a little, but isn't required, and you will need to swap disks.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177789
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget: I think they're assuming people *not* installing all 3 DVDs worth to their Xbox 360's hard disk. That doesn't mean you'll have to swap disks to play. We'll have to wait for something more definitive than that.
This is madness!
Square Enix you disloyal whore.....
If I hadn't bought an RE5 LE to replace my original launch era 360, I'd be all over this. I do prefer the white color to red/black, not having a bunch of gaudy stuff all over the console is a plus to me.
You know I was really looking forward to this game for my PS3 until I got robbed a few months ago... Never did pick up a new PS3 and this is temping me towards an Xbox.
Oh and I'd really like that faceplate if she was showing us a little more... I mean what are we suppose to be looking at? the hair?
Why would anyone pick a boxset of G imped console with a g imped game? I mean come on, the 360 is now really struggling to stay relevant, and the downsampled sub-720p textures, massive compression and 4x DVD is just a pure joke.
Get the 1080p 1BD PS3 version, and if you need to, a PS3. Job done.
@Arr0nGreenberg
Sub 720p textures? When people say stuff like this are they just misinformed or repeating crap they heard somewhere?
Actually the GPU in the XBox 360 can support significantly larger textures than the GPU in the PS3 due to the hardware design. Go look this up people, and heck check out Lens on the Truth or other sites that show time and time again that the 360 games often have higher resolution textures because of this.
(Here is a hint, the XBox 360 GPU is a unified shader model with design features that offer newer OpenGL and DirectX 10 and 11 features, including unrestricted texture sizes and tensellation like introduced in DX10 and DX11. The PS3 is using a variation of a Geforce 7800 GPU, that is designed around older OpenGL and older DX9 specifications, thus the hardware has limited texture sizes and a standard feature set that is limited by the DX9.0 technology timeframe.)
I think both consoles have merit, but at least keep the facts straight.
PS As for the 'output' resolution 720p/1080p etc, both consoles support 720p and 1080p, with most games running at resolutions around the 720p range. Neither GPU in the XBox 360 or the PS3 can easily handle 1080p gaming content with high levels of details at a respectible FPS.
@TheNetAvenger he's got the idea half right, but just a little misguided. the PS3 version will have 1080p cutscenes (which is pretty much the entire game) but the xbox360 version will have them downsampled to 720p. Probably spacing issues. The fact that the xbox360 has to split them into 3 dvds means in each of the dvds, theres going to be a lot of re-duplicated files like the menu system, character textures, enemy textures, etc, that could have just been created once in the bluray. In the end, its a waste of space when compared to bluray's epic size when it doesn't have to do that, and still have left over space. I was torn up between buying the PS3 version or the Xbox360, but this sealed the deal for me. +1 for you PS3.
@TheNetAvenger Feel free to keep on being an Xbox fanboy (and even if you're not one, only knowing half the story). If the PS3 is utilised the way it was designed to be, graphics certainly look better in PS3 games (just compare 360 exclusives to PS3 exclusives - I get to all the time because I have both systems). The games that either look or play worse on the PS3 is simply down to lazy porting of a game from the 360 hardware to the PS3 hardware (which is hugely different). Following from that, FFXIII was primary developed on the PS3 and does indeed look better on it than the 360.
@Shokz
I bet my PC exclusives look better than your PS3 exclusives.
@(Unverified) I bet I could buy 3 PS3's and 2 360's for the cost of your PC Exclusives... Not to mention the fact that I can play all my games on my HDTV without Windows sizing issues... Trust me... I've tried... 98% of PC Games don't natively support HD resolutions... Instead they support proprietary resolutions for PC Monitors only... So you go ahead and sit forward and squint... I'll sit on the couch and game... Cheers...
@Heratiki
I didn't say that you couldn't I was stating that games look much better on my PC on my 1080p TV, eh? what? that can't be right.
@richbumx The newer xbox 360 has 1080p capability if you turn it on in the system display settings. Why would the developers downsample the cinematics to 720p if the xbox 360 has 1080p capability?
@DougieBear
Yeah let them have their consoles.. us pc gamers have more fun without the whining of a preteen yelling at us through the mic cause he was reloading when you killed him.
Love The PS3 Bundles Better.
Bytheway This Bundle Sucks.
did anyone else get a chuckle out of the "turning Japanese" reference? I can't be the only one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turning_Japanese
So wait... You don't even get the faceplate if you buy the LE bundle? Way to go, MS. I'm a fan of the 360, but even I have to say this bundle's lame.
Dear SquareEnix: You partnered with the wrong company.
The PS3 version is at (#4) vs the 360 version (#35) on a certain website that sells videogames.
@jfally
You know youre trying too hard when you try to attack windows mobile in an xbox post
What's sad is that with this exclusivity it's clear where Square-Enix's thoughts lie... I mean the only reason these games are so popular has nothing to do with Micro$hit at all... Yet now that they are in the US let's all bow to the mighty king... Sheesh... If you really wanna play this game go PS3... If it had been exclusive it would have probably been a less linear experience...
@Heratiki
If it had been exclusive it would have probably been a less linear experience...
I doubt it. Although I can't help but think that FFXII will be better than this game, its my definite favorite of the series.
apart from not getting anything special console design, the face plate is so cheesy.. why can't xbox come up with cool design like ps3 bundle in JP? I don't mind it being pink. (and I own XBox 360, not PS3)
$10 says this ultimate HD entertainment system comes with SD composite cables.
@HektikLyfe
You could just use that $10 to buy an HDMI cable off of Amazon...
@HektikLyfe
It does, no need betting. If you do have a 360 by now you do have the cables, so no big deal
@Delta I'm aware of that which makes it so confusing for me. The cables are so cheap...why cut them out of the package? Odd choice is all I'm saying.
@Ericloewe So they are marketing this $400 premium package to people who already have 360's? That doesn't seem like a smart business decision. Why fish in a puddle when the ocean is a short drive away?
Final Fantasy VII put Sony on the map. I'm not saying Square still has the same magic but I find it hard to believe that Microsoft would intentionally disregard the opportunity to market to a new audience. So I don't think that's what they're doing. There were some executive corners cut here I think with no real "plan" in mind.
LOL @ This 360 coming with 2 controllers. Everyone knows Final Fantasy players don't have any friends!! Although I'm pretty sure they will need extra controllers for when the origionals get chunked up with cheeto dust and mountain dew sap.
@Robhimself
Yeah I'm a little confused... is it two player? No other ff game was two player...
@Robhimself
Are your eyes clogged up with cheeto dust? You are commenting on engadget you sad bastard, just like the rest of us.
@(Unverified) But I was posting from work, getting paid to comment on engadget. Are you offended that I mocked the mighty final fantasy? Boring gameplay and over produced cutscenes aren't my thing... on top of that I like playing games with my friends which again final fantasy fans.... and you, do not have any of.
@NO DOUBT GET LOUD
+1 For Ultimate Troll Pwnage.. or Trownage.. as I'll now call it...
Awesome. $399 for a regular X360 and a 3-disc 720p movie.
Let me guess, they still bundle just the composite cable?
I couldn't make it more then 5 hours into FFX without getting bored out of my skull. I'm not about to try to make it through a high definition version of the game - what are they going to do? Concentrate on making a fun game?