As you may well known, due in large part to the 360 being first to hit market, many multiplat games have been built from the ground up on the 360 and ported to the PS3. FF XIII marks one of the first multiplat games to be designed completely opposite to that trend and has been designed from the ground up on the PS3 with the 360 port to follow after the PS3 version is complete.

In a recent interview with Square Enix, it seems that the PS3 version really might show what happens when you build a multiplat game from the ground up on the PS3 instead of the 360. Tekken 6 is said to be another such game, but that's a story for another day.

In the interim, here are some of the devs. themselves on FF XIII for the PS3:

http://finalfantasyxiii.net/index.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1238553686&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

An Uncompromising PS3
---With FFXIII, I've heard that you're aiming for even more movie-like expression than before?
Kitase:Up until now, scenes we wanted to have a sense of real-time were done in realtime and scenes which we wanted to have higher quality and presentation atmosphere were done with CG movies. But with the PS3, expressions that could once only be done with CG movies before, can be done in real-time. Thus, we've incorporated CG movie quality scenes that are drawn in realtime.

---By developing FFXIII for the PS3, what are some aspects you think have evolved greatly?
Kitase:Probably the graphics. The huge change from PS1 to PS2 was the number of polygons which could be output, resulting in further details in character design. But going from the PS2 to the PS3, the change is even more drastic. Primarily in texture (i think?). For example, FFXIII has a character named Suds who has an afro. When the character modelling was brought to me, I saw the quality of Sud's afro and thought to myself that the PS3 really is different (lol)". But yeah, in reality, the afro isn't due just to the PS3, but also due to the creativity of the designer. Also, skin and fur texture is quite amazing, Chocobo's plummage and Vanilla's skirt's cloth texture...that you can actually almost get a sense of what they might feel like in your hands are some of the many things that really surprise us.

---To ask the opposite, are there difficulties that cropped up because it was for the PS3?
Kitase:Up through the PS2, character modelling was very similar to being an extension of sprites, and it was important for the textures themselves to be relatively detailed. Even facial textures were used as they were being modified in photoshop. But with the PS3, realtime modelling is similar to designing a CG movie. Of particular importance is dropping in post-effects into a completed sequence. For example, the realtime effect of backlight pouring through foliage is something that can be done because we're working on the PS3. To show this as realistically as possible, these environmental effets are the most important aspect that cannot be compromised on, and simultaneously, take the most work and effort. Also, going off on a tangent, while moving around and during battles, you can move the camera around freely, but for example, grass blades, depending on angles, the polygon looks like a flat board. With the PS2, we could have said there was nothing we could really do about that, but at the PS3 level, we can't make those excuses. Because we didn't compromise on these aspects either, I believe the amount of work required increased.

---Finally, with FFXIII, how far do you think you've been able to tap into the PS3?
Kitase:Maybe about 50% in the demo? Of course by the time the final version rolls along, I believe we'll be close to 100% of the PS3's potential. Like with FFVII on PS and FFX on PS2, we're always working our hardest to use the full potential of the hardware at that point in time.