Final Fantasy XIII - Versions and Merchandise

Versions and Merchandise

The game was released In Japan on December 17, 2009, and in North America, Europe and Australia on March 9, 2010. Alongside the release of the game in Japan, Japanese alcoholic beverage distributor Suntory released the "Final Fantasy XIII Elixir" to promote the game. On the same day, a Final Fantasy XIII PlayStation Home personal space was made available for free in Japan until January 13, 2010, along with a costume and personal space furnishings; they were released to the Asian, European, and North American versions of PlayStation Home on March 11, 2010. On December 18, 2012 the game will be re-released as part of the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box Japanese package.

The game was released bundled with consoles in different regions. The game was bundled in Japan with a limited-edition white PlayStation 3 with a pink color print of Lightning on the surface of the console, and with an Xbox 360 with the silver strip on the hard drive emblazoned with the Final Fantasy XIII logo in the western release. A limited quantity of themed Xbox faceplates created by Nomura were made available through a select few retailers in Europe, North America, and Australia. PAL territories received a limited collector's edition of the game for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with the Final Fantasy XIII Original Sound Selection "best of" soundtrack CD, three Eidolon art prints, a Brand of the l'Cie decal and The World of Final Fantasy XIII, a hardback book featuring character artwork, CG-rendered artwork, and environments from across the game production. Square Enix published three Ultimania books: the Final Fantasy XIII Scenario Ultimania and the Final Fantasy XIII Battle Ultimania on January 28, 2010, and the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Ω on September 30, 2010. The Battle Ultimania provides a description and analysis of the new battle system and its components, and developer interviews. The Scenario Ultimania describes the main scenarios in the game, profiles on the characters and areas in Cocoon and Gran Pulse, developer interviews, and details on each location. The last guide, the Ultimania Ω, includes voice actor and additional staff interviews, the complete story of Final Fantasy XIII including additional character profiles, a collection of artworks and illustrations, and additional dissections of the story and background.

While the game was released on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in western regions, the game was a PlayStation 3 exclusive in Asian territories. Final Fantasy XIII was the first game in the series to receive an official release in Chinese. This edition also allowed the first time a Final Fantasy game could be played using the original Japanese audio with English subtitles and menus. An international version of the game for the Xbox 360 called Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International was released in Asia on December 16, 2010. The game includes an "Easy" mode option, and features the English voices. It comes with a bonus booklet titled Final Fantasy XIII Corridor of Memory that contains content that was previously left out of the original version of the game and a short story epilogue titled Final Fantasy XIII Episode I.