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News Item: X360 FFXI Needs Hard Drive

From: Cuer
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Posted: 2005-08-24 15:19:59

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Square-Enix News: X360 Final Fantasy XI Requires Hard Drive

A number of articles recently have been written regarding the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XI on the Xbox 360. The X360 FFXI will require a hard drive on the console, which has surprised some people. An article in Boomtown seems to disbelieve the notion, with further info from XboxAddict:

Reports online are indicating that Square-Enix’s upcoming Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XI will only be playable if you’ve got a hard drive jammed onto Microsoft’s next-gen machine.

The massively multiplayer version of the popular RPG franchise has already enjoyed widespread success on the PS2 and PC - despite the fact that the game never saw a European release on Sony’s machine. In fact, the 360 version will be the first to hit consoles on European shores, likely meaning a lot of fans will be eager to pick up the title at launch.

However, the news that a hard drive is required to play is likely to come as a blow, not only to FF fans intending to snag the cheaper, hard drive-less Core version of the 360, but to Microsoft itself. Since the announcement of the dual packages, the company has been insistent that a hard drive won’t be mandatory to enjoy next-gen titles, but that the inclusion of one will enable developers to offer slicker, enhanced gameplay experiences.

It should come as no surprise that Final Fantasy XI will require a hard drive to be played on an Xbox 360; the game has always required a hard drive, regardless of which platform it was on. The concern regarding this is understandable for the PR team at Microsoft, who has been working overtime to assure prospective purchasers that the 20GB hard drive will not be required for any games. Consumers familar with FFXI or the MMOG market in general will understand the nature of these games, and that FFXI regularly releases massive updates that have to be stored somewhere on the system where it is played. The full PC version of FFXI takes up nearly 7GB of storage, and there is no reason to believe that the X360 will be any smaller; indeed, with the "enhanced graphics" promised for the X360 FFXI, it may take up even more storage space. It is beyond imagination to think that the game could be run on a machine without fixed storage.

The requirement of the hard drive for FFXI will be one more reason that any serious hard-core game player considering the X360 will want to purchase the Xbox 360 Premium, with the hard drive and other "accessories" included. It remains to be seen whether the steep price of that console package will encourage large numbers of potential X360 owners to wait for the inevitable price drops down the road. For Square-Enix, it must certainly be their hope to try to move many subscribers, both new and old, to the X360 version. Not only do they get revenue from a new sale of FFXI, but it increases the longevity of game to have it sell well on a new console. The release of FFXI on the X360 will certainly expand it's reach into Europe, since it has never been released on a console there, as mentioned above. Even with the steep initial price for a full X360 Premium system, there is no doubt that the release of FFXI on it bodes well for the game overall.

From: alrefie Guest Posted: 2005-08-24 19:06:14	Reply Quote
Seriously. WTF did they expect it to run off of? the Disc? Where would updates go? Thin air? God people get a brain.

From: angelstar107
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Posted: 2005-08-24 22:12:26

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To all of you who think that the Xbox 360 will have improvised graphics, prepare to be disappointed.

Just thought I'd let you all know that Square Enix will not upgrade the graphics because it will show "Favoritism" which will cause a great deal of unrest for those of us who don't have (or want) an Xbox.

Because of the possible discontent, Square Enix won't risk having it's players Revolt and/or quit. Too bad for those of you who thought you'd get it for the "Improved Graphics"

From: Cuer
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Posted: 2005-08-24 22:18:14

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Quote from: angelstar107
To all of you who think that the Xbox 360 will have improvised graphics, prepare to be disappointed.

Just thought I'd let you all know that Square Enix will not upgrade the graphics because it will show "Favoritism" which will cause a great deal of unrest for those of us who don't have (or want) an Xbox.

Because of the possible discontent, Square Enix won't risk having it's players Revolt and/or quit. Too bad for those of you who thought you'd get it for the "Improved Graphics"

From: Uberfuzzy
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Posted: 2005-08-25 03:55:52

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Quote from: angelstar107
To all of you who think that the Xbox 360 will have improvised graphics, prepare to be disappointed.

Just thought I'd let you all know that Square Enix will not upgrade the graphics because it will show "Favoritism" which will cause a great deal of unrest for those of us who don't have (or want) an Xbox.

Because of the possible discontent, Square Enix won't risk having it's players Revolt and/or quit. Too bad for those of you who thought you'd get it for the "Improved Graphics"

start the revolts then, cuz the pc people already get better graphics or atleast better frame rate/rendering.

also, i'm personally pissed off at SE for letting the PC people turn off weather effects.
i understand its for people with "lower end" machines, but as a person who spends alot of time in beaucidine glacier, being able to flick a switch and make the double ice blinding snowstorm go away seems VERY unfair.

From: Uberfuzzy
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Posted: 2005-08-25 04:17:31

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Quote from: Cuer
Square-Enix News: X360 Final Fantasy XI Requires Hard Drive

A number of articles recently have been written regarding the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XI on the Xbox 360. The X360 FFXI will require a hard drive on the console, which has surprised some people. An article in Boomtown seems to disbelieve the notion, with further info from XboxAddict:

... Since the announcement of the dual packages, the company has been insistent that a hard drive won’t be mandatory to enjoy next-gen titles, but that the inclusion of one will enable developers to offer slicker, enhanced gameplay experiences.
...

a) ffxi isnt a next gen game, its a atlast 1 gen back, maybe 2.
b) duh!
c) one of the big selling points for me about xbox 1 was the HD for game saves. no thinking about mem cards, just save.

From: Arne
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Posted: 2005-08-25 11:19:18

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Quote from: CuerThey want people to move to the Xbox 360 versions, for reasons that I stated in the article above.

There is a another big reason S-E wants people to move to the Xbox 360 version. Generally speaking, the majority of the Japanese population plays on PS2 and what Microsoft has done by striking a deal with S-E to do this is make a very clear upgrade path for the Japanese population. I'm guessing this is a way they can better penetrate the Japanese market, which appears to be lukewarm on the Xbox anyway.

A parallel line of thinking can be found here groupof8.blogspot.com/2005/05/xbox-360-ffxi-huge.html

From: Nusakan Guest Posted: 2005-08-25 14:30:26	Reply Quote
lol if i remember right. EQ for PS2 when it was in the beta phase saved updated on the memory card (might still is iirc). Maybe they'll release like a 1gig memory stick to save updates on... hahahaha

From: Capp
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Posted: 2005-08-25 19:38:09

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I'm not sure about how the xbox is getting around in Japan, or rather lack thereof, but I lived there for three years and have had a lot of friends over to compete with on the xbox. The general feedback was that they loved the syatem and what it has to offer, but it's just costly. Cost of living was so high it was practically ridiculous. One of my friends in Japan lives in an apartment roughly half the size of an american apartment and because he has a car he pays an extra 250,000 Yen a month on rent. Thats almost $240.00 US depending on the exchange rate. Its a good effort on microsoft's part to release a title like FFXI on XBox 360, but their efforts will go unrewarded for at least the first two years, until prices start to level out. Even if microsoft wanted to explore the Japanese market more, they will find it rather dificult if they haven't already noticed, because most Japanese will remain faithful to the Sony name.

From: Frostbite Guest Posted: 2005-08-26 12:54:00	Reply Quote
Has anybody seen the price of these? Its outrageous... I mean seriously... $600-$700?! You can buy a new PC for that. Actually less than that. I for one, will wait for the price drop. If I even get one then it will be surprising, I dont have an xBox now. PS2 and PC is fine with me. PS3, I pray you are a little bit cheaper. /cry

From: wildfantom
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Posted: 2005-08-26 14:48:53

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That is incorrect -- the graphics on the X360 are a bit better than the high-end PC graphics. Any PC graphics are better than the PS2 graphics; if they wanted to keep everybody the same, they wouldn't allow higher resolutions than a standard TV can display on any version of the game. The FFXI producer has specifically stated that the draw distance on the X360 is higher than on the PC or PS2 version, and that the graphics in general are better than either of those. They want people to move to the Xbox 360 versions, for reasons that I stated in the article above.
maybe at first, but if you havent notices the consoles dont stay ahead for more than maybe a couple months, fact and point is that the PC evolves, the consoles do not, oh and by the way the PC graphics are better than the PS2 , and not by a small margin either, a friend has the PS2 version of FFXI, it looks terrible compared to on my PC, I have higher resolutions, better framerates, and much crisper graphics, and incause any of you did not notice, the PCs verion has been updated for better graphics cards several times, thats not playing favoritism, thats just smart business

From: Elfhelm Guest Posted: 2005-08-26 15:08:07	Reply Quote
It's not even close to 600-700 dollars. The number that I got from Gamestop was 400 for the Xbox 360 with all the extras and the base one is 300.

From: Guest
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Posted: 2005-08-26 20:52:18

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I would like to help clarify some points that seem to be distorted slightly to the general public regarding FFXI and the XB360.

1. XB360 version of FFXI will have better draw distance and visuals will be improved due partly to 720p and 1080i support.

2. XB360 premium bundle will retail $399.99. You'll recieve System, 20 Gig HD, Wireless controller, Xbox Live Headset, HD-component cables, and an ethernet cable. In short, all you need to play FFXI short of internet connection and a copy of the game.

3. SE has stated that XB360 version of FFXI will include both expansions with a price tag comparable to the current PC-Gold package($29.99).

4. XB360 by default is expected for all games to support the basic Xbox Live features, including custom soundtracks and voice chat. This is not something put in by developers, but from my understanding you would use the "Xbox Button" on the controller to tab out to the system dashboard during gameplay. From there you start a personal chat session within which you would invite people using their Xbox Live Gamertag. This would allow you to chat with other Xbox Live users regardless of the game they were playing.

Given the above information holds true at the game's release, I feel it is safe to say the XB360 version will be enhanced and could help attract some new life into an already great game. Remember, Microsoft and SE aren't forcing anyone to buy anything extra, they are merely offering you more outlets which to interact with Vana'diel.

From: Synnre Of Odin
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Posted: 2005-08-27 12:57:33

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I think this is going to be the very one thing that will help the worlds of Van diel. Lets all face it. There is not a whole bunch of new players joining. The economy is suffering, prices are soring, and no one knows why. I think it's because we're running out of noobs. There aren't 100's of noobies running around fighting the low level mobs that drop items that a lot of crafters use. These items are in low supply therefore the prices goes up. Items that use these go up. Items that are similiar or better go up to accomodate. Also with everyone having higher level jobs the need for gil goes up. You have more people bidding on the items you need. The person selling it needs more, they sell it for more and the cycles starts all over. So bring on the noobs we need them.

From: Guest
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Posted: 2005-08-29 14:06:37

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I like the idea that the game is coming to the 360 despite the months of supernewbs it could sink the game into. Still, I won't be planning on buying it for a console until/(if?) it is released on the PS3.

And I know why the economy is "bad". People are richer than they were a year ago. Imagine if everyone in the US were given a free $1,000,000. The value of the dollar would plummit and we would see candy bars selling for Rainman's estimation of about $100. More people have more money than ever before, so the prices of everything useful with a limited supply is growing, and will continue to grow until the gil-flow reaches equilibrium.

There have been several efforts to "fix" this problem- most notably the rusty cap (and similar exploit) fixes, the cost of entering Dynamis, and the increase in price of selling items on the AH. Personally, I agree the increase of prices is bad, but I think the addition of fresh players will hardly help with this problem. The higher prices on virtually everything will make it a little harder to break into the world of FFXI, but I don't think they will be draining much gil from the economy.

From: Vekien
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Posted: 2005-09-01 05:21:17

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Quote from: Cuer

Quote from: angelstar107
To all of you who think that the Xbox 360 will have improvised graphics, prepare to be disappointed.

Just thought I'd let you all know that Square Enix will not upgrade the graphics because it will show "Favoritism" which will cause a great deal of unrest for those of us who don't have (or want) an Xbox.

Because of the possible discontent, Square Enix won't risk having it's players Revolt and/or quit. Too bad for those of you who thought you'd get it for the "Improved Graphics"

That is incorrect -- the graphics on the X360 are a bit better than the high-end PC graphics. Any PC graphics are better than the PS2 graphics; if they wanted to keep everybody the same, they wouldn't allow higher resolutions than a standard TV can display on any version of the game. The FFXI producer has specifically stated that the draw distance on the X360 is higher than on the PC or PS2 version, and that the graphics in general are better than either of those. They want people to move to the Xbox 360 versions, for reasons that I stated in the article above.

PC can get better than any console going, with Duel GT cards

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News Item: X360 FFXI Needs Hard Drive