July 18^th, 2008 (4:51pm) - Popular gaming website 1up.com had a chance to sit down with Sony’s Vice President of Product Development Scott Rohde and Sony’s PR manager Ron Eagle about E3.

The boys had an interesting take on the Final Fantasy XIII predicament.

1UP: I have to ask about it. You knew it had to come up. Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 was Microsoft’s big announcement at its press conference. Speaking as someone who bought a PlayStation 3 shortly after its release, one of the ways I justified the purchase to myself and to my girlfriend was by saying, "Listen, it’s the only place I’ll be able to get Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII."

Scott Rohde: [Laughs] And now your girlfriend’s calling you a liar?

1UP: I haven’t told her yet. I hope she doesn’t read this interview. But for someone who might not have purchased a PS3 yet but is planning to, and Final Fantasy XIII is one of the primary reasons, you no longer have that pushing them toward the PS3 now. Does Sony have anything in the works that might appeal to Japanese role-playing-game fans specifically?

SR: We have a long-term strategy that we follow. I know you hate to continue to hear me say it, but we’re always looking at opportunities. Do we have an RPG in the works right now? No. Are we always looking at that opportunity? Absolutely. To get to the root of your question, are we concerned about the fact that Final Fantasy XIII is not only on PS3? No. That’s why we always have a long-term strategy that we’re working on. Jack made that very clear in the press conference.

1UP: You’re not too upset about the announcement? You don’t think it’s very pressing?

Ron Eagle: Again, you’ve got 23 exclusives already on the PS3 from a first-party perspective. If Microsoft wants to back up the dump truck full of money, there’s not a whole lot that can be done there. Certainly, Final Fantasy XIII is still coming on PS3, so it’s not like it’s not on your system anymore. It’s being developed first for the PS3, so your experience is probably going to be better on the PS3 than it will be on the 360. I haven’t seen it or played it; [this is] just based on what I’ve been told. It’s definitely a win for the 360 owner, and Microsoft should be applauded for that, but it’s not a loss for us. It’s not like the title is not coming out on the PlayStation 3. It is.

I’d also stand by for Tokyo Game Show. There are still other products that need time to incubate before they’re announced.