"Closed" Xbox Live blocked FFXIV
Tanaka and MS couldn't agree.
Final Fantasy XIV Online creator and director Hiromichi Tanaka has told Eurogamer that a "closed" Xbox Live blocked the game from appearing on Xbox 360.
"The main reason why we couldn't go with Xbox 360 was the Xbox Live system," he explained at E3. "[Live is] different to the normal internet environment, so when we wanted to introduce this game in the same environment as Windows PC it had to be PS3, so that was our choice.
"Microsoft has a different point of view: they want to have a closed environment for Xbox Live. We're still talking to... We couldn't come to an agreement on Xbox Live."
Square Enix number-one Yoichi Wada told GamesIndustry.biz a similar story; he said what he'd like to see "first and foremost" was a network structure that allowed third parties to "freely design different business schemes".
Final Fantasy XIV won't be the first MMO snagged by the closed nature of a console's online service . Cryptic chucked in the towel on an Xbox 360 version of Champions Online earlier this year. Producer Craig Zinkievich told Eurogamer he was frustrated with the business side of getting an MMO on Xbox Live; the game itself, he said, ran just fine.
Ironically, Final Fantasy XI remains one of the only MMOs to be offered on Xbox 360.
Final Fantasy XIV Online is in development for PC and PS3.