Rumor: Microsoft Paid for Final Fantasy XIII PS3 Exclusivity Breach?

254w ago - There's apparently a big feature article in the upcoming issue of Japanese gaming mag Famitsu that talks Square Enix, Final Fantasy XIII and all that jazz.

While scans haven't hit the Internet yet, we've heard from several trusted insiders who have seen the yet-unreleased issue. It mentions that FFXIII is going to be out in Japan by next summer and in Europe/USA on both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 by the end of 2009 -- which pretty much what we already know.

Here's the juicy bit: According to the Famitsu piece, Microsoft is footing the bill for Square Enix's FFXIII breach of PS3 exclusivity contract. No idea how much money that entails or the exact deal Microsoft worked out with Square Enix, but the fact there is not Xbox 360 version announced for Japan is telling. Square Enix does state how porting the game to the Xbox 360 should be easy.

More interesting tidbits: It's apparently hard to tell which looks better: Star Ocean 4 or Final Fantasy XIII. Also, the company plans to focus more on PSP game development from now on.

File this as rumor until proper scans surface.