14 DAY TRIAL // Final Fantasy XIII-2 is close to launch date and the developers have said that they have succeeded in making the version of the game launching on the Xbox 360 from Microsoft close in terms of visual quality to the core version that runs on the PlayStation 3 from Sony.
Yoshimori Kitase, who is the producer of the Final Fantasy series working at Square Enix, has told Destructoid that, “When we made XIII, there were lots of movie scenes, so there were some issues transferring them from Blu-ray to an Xbox 360 disc. The difference was quite conspicuous.”
He added, “But since then, we have moved on and now have more advanced optimization technology, which means many of the scenes that would be expressed through movies can now be expressed as real-time event scenes.”
He says that all the optimization and the changes in hardware made in the new versions of the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 mean that there is almost no difference between the two versions of the game.
The developers have worked hard to make the graphics in Final Fantasy XIII-2 as good as they can be because they know a reputation for good looking games helps with sales on the all important Western markets.
Square Enix has lately been very interested in capturing as much of the European and United States markets as possible and after acquiring the remnants of Eidos it has plans to open more studios to work on Western franchises, like Thief and Deus Ex.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 will deliver an enhanced experience, with streamlined combat and more open progression paths for the main characters.
The game will be released in Japan on December 15 and Square Enix will then move on to the localization process, with the experience arriving in North America in late January and in Europe in early February.