Final Fantasy XIV can’t go to Xbox 360 because of its closed online system

Microsoft and Square Enix may be in talks about bringing Final Fantasy XIV to the Xbox 360, but there’s a reason that Square preferred to stay with the PS3 and PC up to this point. According to game director Hiromichi Tanaka, Microsoft wanted a closed environment for Xbox Live and that’s the biggest reason why it couldn’t work.

Microsoft and Square Enix may be in talks about bringing Final Fantasy XIV to the Xbox 360, but there’s a reason that Square preferred to stay with the PS3 and PC up to this point. According to game director Hiromichi Tanaka, Microsoft wanted a closed environment for Xbox Live and that’s the biggest reason why it couldn’t work.

“The main reason why we couldn’t go with Xbox 360 was the Xbox Live system,” Tanaka told Eurogamer. “[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,” he added.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Yoichi Wada said that first and foremost, he’d like to see network structure that allowed third parties to “freely design different business schemes” – something that is not possible given Microsoft’s policies on Xbox Live. While the game itself could run absolutely fine on the system, it should be deprived of a few online features should Final Fantasy XIV indeed go to the Xbox 360.

[via Eurogamer]