Final Fantasy 16 Team 'Looked At All Options' Before Deciding On (Timed) PS5 Exclusivity

This is definitely something that Xbox only players will be missing out on. The game looks incredible of course we still need to wait and actually see how it turns out but from all the previews so far, it's looks extremely promising.

So square enix is dealing with their games as projects that goes to the best funds not self funded self published like before

SE has skipped Xbox on several games so I can’t see this ever coming over.

Still waiting on FFVII remake and FFXIV. As weird as it sounds this will probably come to Xbox before them!

Imagine owning a franchise as big as Final Fantasy but having so little faith in it you go around begging for exclusivity deals

@LX_FENIX That's just how Square-Enix operates. They clearly signed deals with Nintendo for games like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy as well.

Given up hope that Square Enix is gonna release a single title this year let alone any of the popular Final Fantasy titles. Even though I'd buy 14, 16 & 7 Remakes day one. Also the bulk of last year's that were exclusive to PlayStation & Nintendo Switch & this year's offerings at a later date would be nice. But not holding my breath. Will buy other Japanese games instead. Waiting for Blue Protocol also.

This game is never coming to xbox, at least not this generation.

Final Fantasy I-VI, XIV, VIIR and now this are all skipping it. Basically, this generation will get no final fantasy mainline games.

@Ralizah Octopath and Triangle Strategy were lower budget new IP's though. Although the more i think about it the more obvious it is that they're full of it

Are they trying to say they would have made it and Xbox or Epic games store exclusive if they offered better deals? Nah, they were always gonna release it on Playstation no matter what.

Those words don't give the best impression (extortion?) but I think that since all these games are on Windows and even mobile phones, they will come to Xbox someday. The game sales and stock market value of Square Enix have decreased. Besides, these are not exclusivity deals but exclusion deals, they receive money from Sony for excluding an specific console (Xbox) and it's funny to read ridiculous excuses from Sony fans and the developer themselves such as , 'This game can only run on PS5' but it's coming to Windows.

Part of me keeps hoping/wondering if Xbox and SE will come with a few surprise announcements at the showcase. Like we’re not getting FF16, but here’s FF7R and pixel remasters.

This might be the first final fantasy I actually try....I have little interest in Japanese games...but if the reviews are going to be stellar which they may be....I will give it a go

@StylesT well said, i to don’t care much for Japanese games. But this looks really good and it’s the first FF game i have wanted to try in more than a decade if not closer to two decades. So kudos to Square for making a game i actually want to buy, i have a PS5 but would prefer to get this on Xbox. However i am not in the mood to wait 6 months or likely longer to play a game i have interest in. In fairness i can see why FF makers would want this game on PS5 as they have systems in Japan sold as to Xbox has virtually none in that region. Still kind of stinks and i wish MS tried harder to get these games if it’s a money or effort thing, tho i am not convinced that is the issue and more the cover story.

If and it’s a big if, in the next 6- 8 months we have Starfield and Avowed, not having FF16 will hurt a lot less. Otherwise it will be Starfield which will more than likely be a buggy release vs a FF16 that is claiming they polished it so well it doesn’t need a day 1 patch, that is a different story for me as i would have preferred to play FF16 and wait for Starfield to get more updates. Xbox own’s a huge portion of the WRPG’s, so we should be ok, but i would be lying if i said FF16 isn’t looking great and i haven’t bought or played a FF game in close to 20 years.

@LX_FENIX Square Enix has become EXTREMELY greedy. They've been throwing the FF name on every genre they can think of, FF7 REMAKE is a bloated project designed to make fans pay $200 for one game, and they've clearly sold out to Sony for a pile of money. FF16 looks good, maybe a bit Devil May Cryish, but yea it's never coming to Xbox, which is fine.

"We tried to extort Microsoft for a mountain of cash to allow them to have this game on Xbox, but they declined".

@Chaudy Does it though?

13 and all iterations were bad, 14 was god awful until being essentially redeveloped from the ground up and re-released. And 15 had content cut, was never finished, and ultimately was just a decent hack and slash.

Final Fantasy just has not been the powerhouse it was since a little while after the Square Soft and Enix merged in the early 00s.

And I'm saying this as someone that owns all platforms. PCVR included.

I've said this before elsewhere, but this is why Microsoft have resorted to buying companies rather than exclusives. When Microsoft approach any company (not just Square who have a strong relationship with Sony) they are immediately at a disadvantage because the player account goes against them. There is a 70/30 split of gamers on the PlayStation versus the Xbox, so any Developer is immediately potentially losing 70% of their sales if they go exclusive with the Xbox over the PlayStation. This is why we have seen no big third-party exclusives on the Xbox thus far this generation...

@armondo36 I heard there is a Final Fantasy wheel they spin when a new game is being thought of… spin …. Ok FF Tetris coming to PlayStation exclusively as Xbox has too few consoles sold and coding for the S is too difficult

@Kaloudz I don’t think current Microsoft is willing to do any financing/exclusivity deals that don’t also include the game going into Game Pass day one.

From what I gather, they care about GP day 1 than more they care about exclusive.

Meaning:

• They will pay for a game to be multi-plat and GP day one
• They will pay for a game to be temp exclusive and GP day one
• They won’t pay for a temp exclusive that does not go into GP day one.

I can see Square Enix not caring for any offer that also mandates GP day one.

No MS would want it on game pass and that would be counter productive for sales. So it definitely won't. It will go on PC though.

@AlwaysPlaying lol it's the truth! They made FF Mario kart, FF Fortnite, FF Dark Souls/ Nioh, they're about to launch FF DMC....

So Squeenix followed ABK'S approach, see below.

Boby Kotic talked to Game Informer recently and mentioned that the board "looked at all options" when the decision to sell ABK was in the early stages, approaching "multiple platform holders" and "multiple companies" for discussions:
And when you approach them, they’re going to come back to us with their offers....

.....In the end Sony were clearly not interested but Microsoft made us an offer we could not refuse.😂😂, just business 😉

@Kaloudz "You erm, wanna stamp on my heart just a little bit harder?"

Hey, I will

Square has agreed to be acquired by Sony, it will be announced once the MS-ABK deal closes.

@Jenkinss

Square has agreed to be acquired by Sony, it will be announced once the MS-ABK deal closes

Why wait? It's not like Microsoft will send Phil Spencer to EU Regulators telling them he just wants to block the deal.🙄

@armondo36 @AlwaysPlaying Don't forget about FF Guitar Hero, FF Rune Factory, FF Pokemon.

I'm just waiting for the day they make an FF JPRG! That would be something!

@Kaloudz I know Sammy over on Push is the one with all the photoshop skills for the Jim Ryan pics. This post has me thinking he needs to make a Jimbo BDSM pic.

@armondo36 What I find most amazing about this statement from him is that Square is even shoddier than we thought. We thought they sold out to Sony for a pile of money. But no, it's worse than that. They actively shop to ANYONE who will give them a pile of money. From his comments it sounds like they even went to Nintendo, and probably Stadia (at the time they were starting), and if Nintendo outbid it would be a Switch game, and if Stadia did it would be cloud only or defunct. They didn't sell out to Sony specifically. They just shop their games around and will make any game to suit anyone that hands over a wad of cash for control of it. IT's just....bizarre. S-E is completely broken as a publisher. Not even corrupt. Just barely functional.

I'm also betting they made the game to suit the standard of whoever their benefactor is. I.E. if Nintendo bid most on 16 it would probably be a MUCH more Japanese, much more RPG-ish game. As Sony bid and contributed, they basically made a Sony-style cinematic adventure.

@TakeItEasy I had the same thought. This statement accidentally revealed the way Square is operating, at least with their big budget games, it's not just a relationship with Sony, they're literally shopping their games to everyone for exclusivity deals and taking the best offer! That's the most bass-ackward publishing situation I've ever heard of. It's a publisher....shopping for publishers for their games!

@InterceptorAlpha well considering how well Final Fantasy 7 Remake did, how loved it is by the FF fans and the fact that it got so much critical acclaim.

Considering the previews of FF16, I think it's fair to expect that this is going to be a huge game and one that Xbox only players will definitely miss out on. The Gameplay looks phenomenonal and it's a next gen only game, so it's very promising from what has been shown so far.

@NEStalgia i hope CMA can see this!! Sony just has really big advantage!
1. Already have established Ips and iconic figures
2.fans thats so loyal it almost like their hypnotized or brain washed
3. 80% of market market means they have to pay 3 times less than xbox to get 3rd party deals! Because for a dev to choose xbox they need xbox to pay all estimated sales on playstation + more money for exclusivity
4. Japan market is mainly supporting japenese consoles(its like a cod of honor) and sony can buy japenese studios when xbox cant (japenese hate to be owned by foreigners.

Xbox need to start punching completr ABK if not get some studios instead and support your own console

Since 13 and 15 didn't excite me and I hate the non-turn style combat I could care less about this game.

Is this turned based?

(Timed). That’s a good one 😂😂 Where is FF7R. (Even though I thought it was dog poo)

@cburg no. It looks like FF16: God of War.

All things considered. I won’t be playing this game.

@cburg
Nope flashy Kingdom Hearts nonsense combat

Really sucks if it's doesn't come over.

@KaijuKaiser I remember when the running discussion was about how all games including Sony games were all too American..... So, yes. It's not actually different. Except usually games being referred to as being "Japanese" is used to mean a good thing as it's a popular style with long term fans. A game being called American is usually used as a bad thing, as in generic, Hollywood, and "dudebro".

Heck let's look at the frontrunner of Japanese games, Nintendo, who never misses an opportunity to make their games more Japanese with all sorts of cultural references, cliches, and imagery. And it sells and sells and sells. Everywhere.

@cburg @Fenbops It's Fantasy Souls: Dante of War + Moogles.

If you want SE games or most JRPG games that are not Nintendo locked just get a PS5. If you like the games and can afford it there is no reason to be waiting around for years to get games that may never come to Xbox.

@themightyant Only 2 numbered entries have existed since Xbox existed.... Well ok the mmos. They still were allegedly bringing 14 over.

Oh man wouldn't that be the icing on the weird cake that is gaming in 2023 of 14 was announced for xb in June 😂

In other words Sony wrote the biggest cheque

I'll believe it when I see it, but I'll tell the future..... the answer is no it won't Come to Xbox

I get that Xbox and Square-Enix have a busted relationship; but money talks and if they really wanted to, Xbox could just PAY (a lot, of course) to get whatever Square-Enix game they want on Xbox. Wonder if that will ever happen again.

My PS5 is basically my Final Fantasy machine at this point between the Pixel Remasters and XVI.

Just glad I'm lucky enough to have a PS5 as well.
Hopefully the Xbox will get it sooner rather than later.

@TheArtfulDodger No.

@NEStalgia I think this news gives us the real reason FFVII Remake isn't on Xbox. It's not because Sony is blocking the release (all exclusivity deals for it were over in June 2022) but rather Microsoft's basically saying "if you won't let us have it on Game Pass day 1, we have no interest in a Xbox release happening".

Wouldn't be surprised if Series X|S is the last Xbox console.

@Kaloudz Even if MS was willing to cut some deal, it’s unlikely they would had pursued an exclusivity deal, so any amount they offered would had been a low one compared to Sony, who had a strong interest on the title being exclusive and had a larger install base, in turn giving them a lot more negotiating power.

Often Sony does not even have to pay up front, they can simply lower the 30% share to something that leaves the publisher with a lot more money on their pocket if the game sells well, and take responsibility for most marketing expenses.

For the most part, if Sony wants an exclusive, it’s hard to fight that same game being multi-plat unless you are willing to spend big money up front, or basically completely finance the game development.

I just don't see the appeal with this franchise. I tried FF7 remake. I thought it was horrible. I guess it's an acquired taste.

Or in other words they looked at what would net them the most money. They calculated Sonys money and then predicted later cross platform sales was the best for profits.

@Grumblevolcano

It's not because Sony is blocking the release (all exclusivity deals for it were over in June 2022) but rather Microsoft's basically saying "if you won't let us have it on Game Pass day 1, we have no interest in a Xbox release happening".

That’s not it at all… Xbox is extremely welcoming of all games being published in their platform. They just don’t seem interested in financing ports unless they go into game pass. If they are going to finance anything, they want it on Game Pass sooner or later (Soul Hackers 2 prove they don’t necessarily mean day one.)

Let's be honest here, MS shouldn't 'need' to pay a 3rd Party Publisher to finance 'their' games to release on Xbox as a 'multi-platform' will 'benefit' from Sales and increased 'reach' of their game - therefore a chance to 'earn' more money for themselves.

In terms on 'exclusivity', timed or otherwise, you'd think the cost to MS would be significantly higher to 'compensate' for the loss of Sales on Playstation than to Sony as they have a much smaller 'Console' player base, therefore a 'smaller' sales potential so less 'compensation' required.

Its not a 'fair' situation where MS 'could' have competed 'equally' with Sony as Square Enix would likely demand 'more' from MS to be as 'financially' beneficial to them. After all, they will still get the Sony Sales money too.

MS seem more interested in OWNING their Games and Studios. Maybe because of 'issues' acquiring the IP's from 3rd Parties who basically made their 'exclusives', games like Gears, Lost Odyssey even Morrowind and Mass Effect was an 'Xbox' Exclusive at one point. And also the fact that when Bungie and Epic decided they didn't want to make Halo/Gears anymore, MS was in a difficult situation - two 'flagship' IP's - so had to 'acquire' those IP's (part of the get-out of MS clause for Bungie - make 2 Halo Games and give up Halo IP for their 'freedom' to buy out of their Contract) and set up 343i and the Coalition to 'take over'.

As such, we haven't seen as many '3rd Party' exclusives on Xbox. MS seem to have decided to put their money into building up their 'OWN' studios/IP's etc instead of paying third party Publishers to keep their IP's away from 'other' gamers on different platforms. They can still offer 3rd Parties an 'attractive' offer to reach 'more' people - so you see games like Plague Tale, Back4Blood etc simultaneously releasing into Game Pass. Others may well get attractive offers of 'help' and/or financial support to make their games no other Publisher was 'interested' in and bring their games to Xbox, get them 'published', or even give them the tools and means to 'self-publish' on Xbox through ID@Xbox for example.

@Grumblevolcano Not exactly, it's not like MS is saying they don't want third party AAA games if they're not on GP. It's that Square is now admittedly trying to strike some kind of "publishing" bargain with platforms, rather than just shipping their game on a platform like a normal publisher, they want some kind of special package, payment, special treatment of some sort, and for that MS is probably saying must be GP.

Right now GP is still less than 20% of their gaming revenue. This idea that they'll kill the consoles is weird internet thinking. SOMEDAY would they like to do that? Probably. Anytime soon? It would make no sense.

Yeah honestly quite excited for this. I’m agnostic and own both consoles and it feels more necessary than ever to have both to really enjoy the market.

@Grumblevolcano Microsoft doesn't enforce Game Pass deals. I try but I have never understood your logic. Series S|X can't be Microsoft's last console. Remember how much money they make with subscriptions and licencing and it's being as supported as PS5 by third parties except for Square Enix (bribed by Sony). It's more likely that Nintendo gives hardware up if the next thing isn't as popular as Nintendo Switch. Nintendo needs to sell a lot of hardware as long as they don't publish games elsewhere. Microsoft publishes on Windows PC and also has Cloud on any device. Xbox consoles are for the console market and to boost subscriptions. They don't need to sell as many Xbox consoles as Sony. Xbox sales are up 19% in European market in 2023 and they are already strong in USA and UK. Microsoft used to be a software company but now they invest much R&D in Surface hardware. They even make smartphones again, not to mention tablets, desktop PCs, laptops, hybrids... Zero chance that Series S|X is Microsoft's last console after spending billions on game studios.

I feel like even if Xbox offered 5 million and sony offered 3 million SE would still choose sony, cause they always worked with them, they have a bigger install base and both are japanese...etc
xbox getting ff16 would be so awkward, they need to get plenty of square titles as exclusives, just give them a crazy high number they can't turn down