Xbox 360 picks up Final Fantasy XI, will be backwards compatible


Square Enix, EA announce strong 360 support; more than 160 games in development, up to 40 available at launch; Microsoft says console will play "top-selling" Xbox games.

LOS ANGELES--Microsoft opened the next-generation floodgates last week when it publicly unveiled the Xbox 360 on an MTV special, firing the first shots at its rivals in what is sure to be an all-out war for consumers. The Xbox 360 will be released this holiday season, and Microsoft held its annual E3 press conference today to tout the system's features and show off its planned lineup of games. The event took place shortly after Sony wowed the crowd at its own conference by unveiling the PlayStation 3.


The biggest story of the press conference surprised many attendees at the Shrine Auditorium. Microsoft announced that Square Enix, a longtime partner with Microsoft rivals Nintendo and Sony, will be bringing Final Fantasy XI to the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.

This will be the first Square Enix game for a Microsoft console, and the third platform for FFXI, which previously appeared on the PC in 2003 and PlayStation 2 in 2004. Final Fantasy XI was the first game in the popular role-playing series to go online, and the Xbox version will sport new high-definition graphics and make use of all of Xbox Live's features.

Along with a firm release date and price point, the other big question surrounding the 360 was backward compatibility. However, Microsoft would only say that the console will be "backward-compatible with top-selling Xbox games." This ambiguous wording could mean that Microsoft will select which titles will run on the next-gen console. However, it could also simply mean that Microsoft is merely being prudent in case some original Xbox titles don't work on the 360, as was the case with some older PlayStation 1 games and the PlayStation 2.

Although future Xbox 360 owners will be able to play the more than 200 Xbox titles expected this year, it's the 360 games that they'll really want. Microsoft expects 25 to 40 Xbox 360 titles to be available during the console's launch window (defined as within three months of the system's release), and developers currently have more than 160 games in the works.

Among the games Microsoft announced for the console were Tecmo's previously unrevealed fighter Dead or Alive 4 and Capcom's zombie-slayer Dead Rising, which is being developed by legendary game designer Keiji Inafune.

Publisher Electronic Arts announced that its lineup of 360 games, which includes Madden NFL 06, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and The Godfather, signifies its largest commitment to any next-generation console's launch.

As detailed last week, Xbox Live will come in two different packages. Xbox Live Silver, which allows gamers to send voice and text messages and participate in other basic features, and the premium subscription-based Xbox Live Gold package, which includes spectator mode and multiplayer gaming privileges. It turns out anyone with an Xbox 360 will get a taste of the good life. Microsoft today announced that all 360 owners will be treated to a free month of the Gold service when they first jack into Xbox Live.

GameSpot will be updating this story and will have more details on Microsoft's E3 press conference, including video and photos, very soon.

Source - GameSpot

SquareEnix is such a dissapointment......

well it's not completly but I understand what u mean :)

if theyre putting ffxi, they will likely make another ff game-well thats just me speculating because i hope so, atleast there WILL be two game by hironobu sakaguchi that have allready been confirmed for x360-i cant wait

Isn't FFXI been out for PC for a while (along with that expansion)? To me, the release of FFXI for Xbox 360 doesn't surprise me. Then again, I've never gotten that interested in the series anyways

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! final fantasy is not for xbox!

It is now.

stuipid square enix!

Didn't Square Enix do Kingdom Hearts for GC?

@ Dark Rabbit 87

PS2 only i'm afraid.

@ smiles

SquareEnix is in need of money, mainly because their creativity has become highly flawed over the years. Now, if the company can only design "water" correctly, we'd be getting somewhere.

My love for Square died after FFVII, and i didn't like the merger between Enix either. I always believed Enix to be the better producer of RPG-related titles. They may not have had many titles as Square did, but the games were of high-ranking quality.

well KH 1 & 2 are PS

KH Chains of Memories is GBA!!

what is so bad about FFXI coming for XBOX 360??

that game is awesome (i'm a lvl 53 BLM ^^) !! (though there are things that are quite annoying)

i can only say: go SE so, make FF XI become an experience for the XBOX- community!!

I think the reason why I thought Kingdom Hearts was for GC was because of the Disney characters (To me, Disney characters = EXTREMELY HIGH kid factor). But if FFXI is gonna come out for the 360, then the expansion would probably come out shortly after.

how can u say that!! (sorry) but having ff on xbox is a very good thing wich im very very VERY exited about, plus its not like you have to but the game!!

I'm back! Well, for 36 minutes lol. Not much time on these library comps. Anyway, I think FF should have stayed on Sony's systems, but whatever. I won't have Ps3 or Xbox 360 for another 3 years(took 2 years to get Ps2 lol). I wonder, how much is it going to cost to play FFXI online? Will it stay 13 a month, or get lower?

im mad since square can't seem to pick a company! first it was nintendo and then they ditched for sony then came back with crappy games for nintendo...