It's a dangerous move for such a prolific Japanese company to make, and a surprising one, but Square Enix has pledged strong support for the Xbox 360 format this year, a console notoriously famous for its weak performance in the country.

They're clearly playing their cards safe though; the only title amongst the list to be entirely exclusive to the Xbox 360 is Infinite Undiscovery; the other two tiles - a sequel to the popular Star Ocean series, and a unique IP called The Last Remnant - will have a exclusive "launch window" period before they are released later in the year on the PlayStation 3.

This is definately a strong push on Microsoft's part to push their exposure in the east, and if nothing else, it's good to see Square Enix spreading their wings outside of the Final Fantasy safety net a little more, but we'll have to wait and see just how much impact all this will really have.

Full press release below.

SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES RPG LINE-UP FOR XBOX 360

London (10th June 2008) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces three new RPGs for the Microsoft Xbox 360 system that will be released across all PAL territories beginning with INFINITE UNDISCOVERY on 5th September 2008 and followed by THE LAST REMNANT and STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE. All three RPGs will be globally released in 2008-2009.

STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE is the latest entry in the futuristic space opera RPG series STAR OCEAN. The game is scheduled for a global release in 2009.

THE LAST REMNANT is the first RPG in a new series brought to you by Square Enix’s next generation creators and scheduled for a global release this winter on the Xbox 360.

INFINITE UNDISCOVERY is a collaborative project with fan favourite development studio tri-Ace Inc. (STAR OCEAN and VALKYRIE PROFILE®). The game will be released worldwide in September with the North American version shipping from 2nd September, available across Europe and other PAL territories on 5th September and released in Japan on 11th September.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. and Square Enix, Inc. comments, "Square Enix is expanding on its commitment to deliver exciting gaming experiences to our fans all around the world. INFINITE UNDISCOVERY, THE LAST REMNANT and STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE represent significant steps in bringing our titles to a global audience and to make each new release a global event."

Product Outline

STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE
Official title - STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE
Platform - Xbox 360
Genre - RPG
Release Date - Scheduled for 2009
Copyright Information - © SQUARE ENIX CO.,LTD. All Rights Reserved.
Developed by tri-Ace Inc.
Publisher - Square Enix Ltd.
Developer - tri-Ace Inc.

INFINITE UNDISCOVERY
Official title - @INFINITE UNDISCOVERY
Platform - Xbox 360 Exclusive
Genre - RPG
Release Date - 5th September 2008
Xbox LIVE - Downloadable content planned
Number of Players - 1 (Offline)
Copyright Information - © 2008 SQUARE ENIX CO.,LTD.^Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Developed by tri-Ace Inc.
Publisher - Square Enix Ltd.
Developer - tri-Ace Inc.

THE LAST REMNANT
Official title - THE LAST REMNANT
Platform - Xbox 360 / PLAYSTATION® 3
Genre - RPG
Release Date - ( Xbox 360 ) This winter / (PLAYSTATION® 3) TBA
Copyright Information - © SQUARE ENIX CO.,LTD. All Rights Reserved.
Unreal® Engine, Copyright 1998-2008, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved.
Publisher - Square Enix Ltd.
Developer - Square Enix Co., Ltd.

Tags : exclusives : Infinate Undiscovery : PlayStation 3 : RPG : RPG Premiere : square enix : Star Ocean : Star Ocean: The Last Hope : The Last Remnant : Xbox 360 : Xbox 360 RPG Premiere 2008

Comments

By: deanogee

Video Game Chat Member Avatar

On: 05:21 Jun 10th, 2008
Offline

It was going to happen sooner rather than later.

After making games for the other the consoles such as Nintendo (Wii/Ds) and Sony (PS3/PSP), Microsofts Xbox 360 was just a sitting duck waiting to have the honour of recieving a Square Enix game.

By: Laylia

On: 06:49 Jun 10th, 2008
Offline

The only thing about this that I find suspicious is that it hasn't been stipulated whether these games are going to be 360 exclusive... In other words, SE is possibly just widening their audience.

By: Dragonfly

Video Game Chat Member Avatar

On: 07:05 Jun 10th, 2008
Offline

Laylia;50818

The only thing about this that I find suspicious is that it hasn't been stipulated whether these games are going to be 360 exclusive... In other words, SE is possibly just widening their audience.

Yes it has.

Infinite Undiscovery will be a 360 exclusive.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope and The last Remnant will appear on both consoles, but we see initial release on the 360 before seeing release on the PS3 at a later date.

By: Snake Plissken

On: 07:32 Jun 10th, 2008
Offline

This is another example of the concept of the exclusive slowly dying out.

I have to say as long as I can play th games I want to I am not too bothered about the whole console war thing.
I choose the PS3 for FFXIII and MGS4 and because I like the console itself more. If I want to play those exclusives on the 360...

Then I'll play them on my brothers or fathers. XD

I guess I'll be one of those sitting by until the death of the exclusive.

Though that Infinite Undiscovery looks epic.

By: Dragonsoul

On: 07:04 Jun 13th, 2008
Offline

I personally see nothing wrong with multi-platform games--in fact, it's an advantage for gamers because then they don't have sacrifice the possiblity of getting a favored game simply because it's not on their prefered system. But that's another issue. Good to see Microsoft getting a piece of the SE pie, and at least one slice that's entirely theirs.