Star Ocean 4, Infinite Undiscovery, exclusive to...XBox 360?

[Commonmind]

I thought this was interesting. I was expecting Star Ocean 4 to come to the PS3. This may be a move on SE's part to generate some interest for the 360 within the Japanese market -- something we've seen before from developers with a lot of weight in the industry.

Whatever their motivation, it's definitely surprising. I'm curious to see the reaction from fans of the series who are likely PS3 owners and who've purchased their systems believing they were making a safe choice where their JRPG franchises were concerned.

Me, I'm actually a bit happy that I'll finally be buying something else for my 360 -- besides Rock Band tracks.

Star Ocean 4 currently Xbox exclusive, Last Remnant delayed on PS3 - PS3 Fanboy

 

[Sephiroth]

Have you played the previous three, CM? What do you think of them?



My friend bought one of them, but she didn't really get into it.



As for this, well, yeah, it'll probably annoy some PS3 owners, but I can see why they would want to do it. Two baskets for their eggs, and all that.......

 

[Commonmind]

Indeed.

And I've played them all and am quite a fan. The second game was probably the first really challenging RPG I played for the PSX, with an extra dungeon that would make grown men cry (and in fact did, on several occasions). They're not the most accessible of games, I admit, and that may be why some people have trouble picking them up. It's not just the difficulty, but the way in which the stories are told -- they're a little eccentric and quirky -- and not always in a good way.

 

[Sephiroth]

Right. Yeah, that was her problem, she never really got into the story, but she would be the first to admit that she didn't try all that hard...I think she was expecting it to grab her at the outset (the way the FF games did for her), and whisk her along on a rollercoaster ride of fun, fun, fun........


I thought the game looked interesting, but she sold it before I could ask to borrow it for a while.

Despite the way the stories are told, you did end up liking them, I take it?



And that dungeon sounds sweeeet, that's just the sort of challenge I crave. Much as I love these games (and I'm speaking mainly about FF here, since that's where most of my experience lies), I always find the storyline gameplay too easy (with the odd exceptional fight, like Evrae or Seymour on Mt. Gagazet in X). Okay, that's mainly because I no longer play through them under-levelled the first time (because I no longer know if I'll have the time to exhaust a game twice), but still.......

I wonder that they've never considered adding difficulty settings. Seems like a good idea to me. That way, the hoi polloi could play them on n00b and stop complaining, and those of us who want more of a challenge could select the 'pro' option.

 

[Commonmind]

Yeah, the story grows on you, like a fine Merlot, or aged Gorgonzola

I agree with you, too. I wish they would add difficulty settings, as it seems it would be easy to do. Just ramp up an enemies' stats and at the base level you've scaled the entire game to suit more hardcore players. And with a difficulty setting changing the entire game, the overall experience is challenging and therefore satisfying, rather than the one or two memorable boss fights or that solitary dungeon with the sign out front, reading: "Only fools an masochists tread here!"

Those silly Japanese...

 

[Talysia]

I'm a little surprised at the switch away from the PS3, although as Seph says, it does kind of make sense.

I've played most of the Star Ocean games so far, and they've all been excellent. Yes, they do take a little time to get into, and the story does develop in unusual ways sometimes, but they're really rewarding games. And I'll second the comments about the bonus dungeons - my goodness, they were difficult! I didn't finish the Cave of Trials in SO2, but managed to complete all three extra dungeons in SO3 (albeit not all in the higher difficulty settings).

360 owners will have a good game to look forward to, if this SO proves as good as the others.

 

[Momoka]

After seeing the trailer on Japanese Xbox360 Live, I am excited.

Definitely don't mind the format change (seeing as there are all three main consoles in my house, and then some!), but I feel sorry for those who were hoping for it to be out on the PS3.

Talysia, you could take a trip up to Carlisle and play it on my 360 if you like Sorry boys

 

[Cayal]

I thought this was interesting. I was expecting Star Ocean 4 to come to the PS3. This may be a move on SE's part to generate some interest for the 360 within the Japanese market -- something we've seen before from developers with a lot of weight in the industry.

Whatever their motivation, it's definitely surprising. I'm curious to see the reaction from fans of the series who are likely PS3 owners and who've purchased their systems believing they were making a safe choice where their JRPG franchises were concerned.

Me, I'm actually a bit happy that I'll finally be buying something else for my 360 -- besides Rock Band tracks.

Star Ocean 4 currently Xbox exclusive, Last Remnant delayed on PS3 - PS3 Fanboy

I heard timed exclusive but that is neither here nor there.

SE is taking a big risk considering Japan is RPG Capital and the 360 is almost dead there.

I wonder how much Microsoft paid.

 

[Commonmind]

I heard timed exclusive but that is neither here nor there.

SE is taking a big risk considering Japan is RPG Capital and the 360 is almost dead there.

That's where my head was at when I made the post. Considering all things, Star Ocean has always been far more successful overseas, which makes the decision that much more baffling.

I wonder how much Microsoft paid.

Probably quite a bit. I'm assuming Microsoft is starting to see the headway the PS3 is making and is pulling out the stops. After all (while I love my 360) there really doesn't seem to be anything more coming down the pipe (save one or two sequels and a few very late exclusives that have lost some of their momentum).

 

[Talysia]

Lol, Momo, I won't say I'm not tempted, although I could wish I had more time to play games these days.

And I definitely thought that the Star Ocean series had a distinct Western feel to it - possibly because of the science-fiction elements they used. That said, it was never a big title in the UK. Strange how things work out sometimes.

 

[Armadillo-002]

Microsoft are doing EVERYTHING in making sure they claim the No.1 spot in the gaming world. RPG's always is a niche title in the XBOX 360 reptoire. case in point Mistwalker studio's Blue Dragon & Lost Odessey. When the original XBOX made a mess with alot of the Japanese developers, they had to find new developers to work with them, eg Level 5 studio were developing True Fantasy Live! the XBOX's answer to Final fanasty, that went pear shape and the developers do not want to work with Microsoft again.

 

[Aes]

Microsoft are doing EVERYTHING in making sure they claim the No.1 spot in everything involving electronics and computing.

Fixed, because it's not just games and it's actually pretty scary.

Any paranoia aside, this means I probably won't bother, because 1) I don't want to have to buy -yet another system- just to enjoy a game, and 2) even if I did, well I'm just glad it's an rpg, because anything requiring skill combined with the xbox controllers = no thank you.

 

[Cayal]

Claim #1 spot? They are arguably last in current gen (outsold by PS3 consistently and far outsold by Wii).

Microsoft's problem is they think money can fix all their woes.

 

[Commonmind]

Microsoft has no more tricks up their sleeve. It's sad, really, because the system -- the hardware -- does have potential. But without any real compelling software on the horizon, their momentum is slowing rapidly.

Gears 2 and the few RPG's they've got lined up aren't enough to keep them afloat through the last leg of the current gen's hardware cycle. Banjo is already looking grim, with lots of members of the enthusiast press equating it to a gimmick game that could have very well been called "Build this thing and drive it;" the brand has been all but forgotten about with the new premise. Halo Wars has been delayed, yet again, and even still, it's an RTS -- still considerably niche where consoles are concerned.

What they're going to be forced to do is release their next-gen hardware even earlier in order to generate interest again. In turn this means they'll be shelling out more money to put first and second-party titles in the pipe. Eventually they're either going to have to innovate in the face of criticism (as Sony did with the PS3) and take some chances, or they're going to find themselves in a very precarious position.

And Cayal is 100% correct. If there's a problem, Microsoft throws money at it and expects it to fix itself. What they don't do is approach that problem constructively...and it's beginning to show.

 

[Armadillo-002]

CM & Cayal you both have a strong point, Microsoft will and always will be throwing money and hope it will fix itself. Because of Microsoft's position as a major conglamorate that rivals only to that of Sony in the gaming industry (Nintendo is a major player in the gaming world, but it's finances are nowhere as big as Sony & Micorosoft). When the XBOX 360 came out they did not take note what made the original XBOX a success and ended up makiing a failure of the XBOX 360. Remember Microsoft are not a hardware developer but a software developer, while Sony, not so much as a software developer but a major hardware developer, thanks to it's open license and not so complicated platform to develop on, while Microsoft platform is a little bit more complicated to develop on I think. But your right CM the XBOX has a lot of potential.

 

[Armadillo-002]

Aes, Microsoft do make quality hardware, though because it has the "Microsoft brand" and has no style compared to Sony's hardware and style. Most people do not want a brick next to their TV's. Hence the style change of the XBOX 360 to the original XBOX.

 

[Cayal]

There's rumour going around Microsoft tossed a lot of money at Capcom for a timed exclusive Resident Evil 5 (though I don't think it is true considering it won't make them money).

It's the rumoured big announcement at E3 this year by Capcom.

 

[Cayal]

^ Rumour has been debunked by a Capcom employee