Column: What E3 means

July 22, 2008 on 4:35 pm | In Column | No Comments

Another E3 has come and gone. The sense of impending obscurity hung heavy this year and in the usual deafening media roar that surrounded the event there could be heard a yawn. If you’re looking for further summarization I recommended this take.

But among the mostly minor announcements come one that stung me right to the core. Square’s long-promised RPG epic, “Final Fantasy XIII” will no longer be home only to the Playstation 3. Yes, initially touted as something that would display the raw graphical power of the PS3 and proof that no other console could match its cell-powered processing might, the game apparently can also run on Microsoft’s little upstart.

A grim day to be a fanboy, indeed.

I wouldn’t consider myself as such, and I understand that development costs sometimes require cross-platforming. Still, the sense of betrayal is palatable. I like(ed) Sony because their product has treated me well in the past, the “Final Fantasy” series in particular. Like many my age, “Final Fantasy VII” introduced me into the world of RPGs. Its success primed US audiences for the genre, bringing other adventures of swords and sorcery to our shores. In that sense, I felt a certain amount of pride in upholding Square’s tradition and believing in the platform they chose. Now, well, I just feel like (warning: overwrought simile ahead) I’ve been playing the game with the controller upside down.

But more than betrayal, there is also an overwhelming surge of pity. Poor, poor Sony. Through the whole bloody slog that has been the console war thus far, the company has been riding on what it will, eventually, offer. At the outset, they had a proven track record that led many (including me) to believe they were “good for it.”

However, the game library lacked any standout titles. “Liar” took down the touted six-axis controls with its clumsy performance. The marketing campaign was so misguided as to fail completely (the firm responsible later given the boot). In the midst of this meltdown, “Halo 3” emerged with a roar and the Wii found a comfortable place in people’s living rooms.

All along, consumers were assured of the blockbuster, exclusive games sure to come down the pipeline, along with the eventual promise of a robust online service with Home. “Final Fantasy XIII” stood out chief among these titles. While its exclusivity on the PS3 influenced me somewhat, I don’t directly suffer from the fact that it will now be available on both consoles. I can still buy and play the game. So can 360 owners.

And therein, as Shakespeare would say, lies the rub. The people who have lost the most are not the consumers, but the executives at Sony HQ. Their mantra that they could deliver a unique, graphically superior product just lost one of its keynotes. What do they have left, Home? Gamers prize quickness and ease in joining online matches; Home just seems like it will transform that space between into MySpace.

Sony’s failures, such as they are, are well documented at this point. In this console war, they went in unilaterally, armed with the wrong weapons and briefed with bad intelligence. The real message from this year’s E3 has nothing to do with Sony as such, but rather signals the last call for first-party exclusives.

The day when one exclusive franchise would corral consumers is over. There’s no money in it anymore.

(Bonus: This long interview from 1up.com contains Sony’s Vice President Scott Rohde toeing the party line. Scroll down about halfway to see Rohde completely deny that “Final Fantasy XIII” was in any way important to the Playstation 3 or crucial to the company’s overall strategy. Just be careful to not get dizzy from all that spin.)

-Frank Johnson