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The history of the rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation is full of decisions that could have completely changed the balance of power in the industry, and it seems that one of the biggest was the loss of Final Fantasy for Microsoft. Former head of the Xbox publishing division, Ed Fries, acknowledged after years that it was this series that topped the list of "missed opportunities." Interestingly, the problem was not only in the negotiations but in a much more complicated market situation, where Japanese publishers balanced between the desire to support the competition and the fear of Sony's reaction.
Japanese publishers between a rock and a hard place
According to Fries, companies like Square Enix, as well as Konami and Capcom, were interested in supporting Xbox, especially in its early days. The problem was that the relationships with Sony were significant enough that no one wanted to risk damaging them. In practice, this meant very cautious moves; even if collaborations with Microsoft arose, they were often limited or less visible.
Fries suggests that publishers wanted to avoid a situation where Sony could "punish" them, for example, by delaying access to devkits or limiting the promotion of their games on the PlayStation platform. This demonstrates how much influence one company's dominance had on the market and how it greatly complicated the establishment of real competition, especially in Japan, where Xbox had a steep hill to climb from the very beginning.
Final Fantasy That Could Have Changed Everything
The absence of Final Fantasy on the original Xbox is not just a matter of one title, but a potential turning point for the entire console brand. The series had long been one of the pillars of PlayStation's popularity, so its appearance on the Xbox could have significantly changed the perception of the hardware, especially in the Japanese market. Ultimately, cooperation with Square Enix came to fruition much later, bringing titles such as Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIII, but it was already too late to reverse the trend. Interestingly, some studios tried to gently balance the situation; an example is the Dead or Alive series, which temporarily landed exclusively on the Xbox, meant to be a subtle signal to Sony that competition was needed. However, these were exceptions, not the rule, and did not have the same impact as the potential transfer of Final Fantasy.
History shows that one decision can impact an entire generation of consoles. The absence of Final Fantasy on Xbox is one of those moments that could have changed the balance of power but ultimately solidified PlayStation's dominance.
source: gamesradar
