Final Fantasy XIII Release Expected to Boost PS3 Sales

With the launch of Final Fantasy XIII Sony's already rising PS3 sales are predicted to heighten.

Sony Corp. is on cloud nine right now with it’s high selling, highly demanded PS3 Slim, and come this winter things are looking even better for the Tokyo-based company. Japan’s December 17 release of Final Fantasy XIII is expected to give a giant boost to Sony’s PlayStation 3 sales. President of Famiitsu publisher Enterbrain, Hirokazu Hamamura, stated yesterday to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club for Japan that he predicts the PS3 will sell around half a million units over the year end sales period.

The Final Fantasy role-playing game series was developed by Japanese videogame designer Square Enix and has sold more than 85 million units worldwide since it was initially launched in 1987. Square Enix said the latest Final Fantasy version was developed exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The versions that will be released to the U.S. and Europe in spring 2010 are compatible with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 as well as the PS3. Square Enix also announced the Japanese launch of the game will include a “PS3 Slim Bundle,” although details of the hardware bundle have yet to be revealed by Sony.

The bundles, which will retail along with the value-packed standard 120GB PS3 Slim, would likely feature a larger 250GB HDD, and come with one or more games. The PS3 Slim is 32% smaller and consumes 34% less power than previous models and are currently retailing at $299.99.