Square Enix Talks Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360

FFXIII's move to 360 is exclusively a development for the West. "The Japanese plans for 360 haven't changed," said Hashimoto. "We considered the situation, and we would like to provide the game to as many fans as possible given the spread of the hardware."

As the Xbox 360 is extremely popular in the West and practically a nonentity in Japan, the split decision makes sense. Furthermore, the migration to 360 is clearly a recent decision. According to Hashimoto, development has yet to begin in earnest for Microsoft's console. "We're ready to start developing FFXIII for 360," he said. "First, we will complete the game for PS3 in Japan, then begin localization for America and Europe while developing the 360 version simultaneously.