So, E3 started today, and there’s oodles of live blogging going on around the net. This morning, though, Square Enix held a press conference, and of special interest is the fact that Final Fantasy XIII will NOT be a PS3 exclusive.

Yeah, you read that right… FF13 is going multi-platform and will be released on the 360, as well. According to producer Yoshinori Kitase, Square-Enix will first finish the PS3 version of the game for Japan, followed by the overseas localizations, and then will begin development on the 360 version. Interestingly enough, the 360 version may not be released in Japan. Whether or not XIII will make use of XBOX Live in any way is still undecided.

Versus XIII, however, will be remaining exclusive to the PS3.

Info courtesy of Kotaku.

Surprising absolutely nobody, seeing as the news has been floating around all over the net for weeks now, Microsoft did indeed annouce today that the XBOX 360 Pro (20GB) is getting a $50 price cut, dropping from $349.99 to $299.99.

While suppiles last, that is. Like the 20GB model of the PS3, the 20GB XBOX 360 is being phased out. The sku will be replaced sometime in August with a new 60GB model for the Pro’s old price point of $349.99.

Prices for the Arcade and Elite models will remain firmly at $279.99 and $449.99, respectively.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not a big fan of multiple skus for the same console… especially since the primary difference is just storage space. But if you’ve been holding off on buying a 360 because the Pro was too expensive, and the Arcade’s lack of a hard drive didn’t appeal to you, now’s the time to break out the credit cards. Head over to Kotaku for Microsoft’s full press release.

Also, today’s Target ad (page 7) shows that the store is offering a $25 gift card with the purchase of the reduced-price XBOX 360 Pro. Circuit City’s ad (page 21) offers a $30 gift card with the purchase of the console and NCAA Football 09. And Best Buy’s ad (page 32) is offering the console essentially for free when you buy the advertised Samsung 40″ 1080p LCD HDTV for $1399.97.

I’m sure just about anyone who follows gaming news on teh intrawebz has already heard the rumors and speculation regarding a price drop for the XBOX 360 Pro. Microsoft has yet to comment, but the evidence that it’s more than rumor has been steadily building over the past few weeks with leaked fliers and internal memos from retailers advertising a new low price of $299.99 for the console, effective on Sunday, July 13.

JoyStiq recently added an internal corporate memo sent in by an anonymous GameStop manager to the collection… they’ve even assembled a nice little gallery of the various pieces of evidence.

For those of us who already have a 360, here’s to hoping that Sony will soon follow suit in order to compete, and drop the price of the PS3 to more affordable levels. I wanna get me one before the next millenium.

Developed by tri-Ace (creators of Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, and so on) and published by Square Enix (of Final Fantasy fame) comes one of those somewhat rare RPG titles that are exclusive to the XBOX 360. I have to admit, I’ve actually been looking forward to this for quite some time (it’s one of the reasons I ended up getting a 360 before a PS3), and a really do hope that it lives up to its promises… else I shall be very annoyed.

The storyline of the game focuses largely on a young man named Capel, who is mistaken for a rebel hero and imprisoned, only to be drawn into the fight against the wicked Order of Chains.

At the core of this title is the “situational” nature of the game in which every choice and battle permanently changes the in-game world in some way. Battles are in real-time (think Radiata Stories, rather than Final Fantasy XII), and you can control a party of up to 4 people (with a choice between 18 playable characters). There are also day to night transitions during play that can work both for and against the player.

Infinite Undiscovery is scheduled to ship September 1 and release on September 2. For those who like free stuff, EB Games is offering a pre-order bonus of a limited foil print and a download code for your choice of five different in-game items.

Have you pre-ordered it yet?

Sure, Bad Company comes out next week, but if you’re interested in the Gold Edition of the game, you might want to head on over to Amazon before the release and pre-order it. For doing so, you get a free $10 Amazon.com gift card.

Promising non-traditional gameplay for the genre, environments where you can destroy nearly everything, and online multiplayer for up to 24 people, this should be a good one.

PS3 Gold Edition | 360 Gold Edition | PS3 Regular Edition | 360 Regular Edition

If you’re looking for deals, you might want to head over to the Amazon.com Gold Box today. XBOX 360 deals abound!

The Deal of the Day is Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition for a measly $39.99, and the Lightning Deals look pretty promising. The first this morning is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Limited Edition for $29.99, and three more will be revealed in the coming hours.

Developed by tri-Ace and published by Square-Enix, Infinite Undiscovery for the XBOX 360 is officially scheduled for a worldwide release on September 2, 2008.

The game promises a whole new take on the action-RPG genre, in that it’s chief gameplay element is that the world evolves in real time with every choice and discovery the player makes. This, and Square-Enix’s other up-coming 360 title, The Last Remnant, are the whole reason I even wanted a 360 in the first place (well… those two, and Dead Rising…), so I’m very excited to finally know when I’m going to be getting my hands on it.

With the announcement of the release date also comes a new trailer for the game:

One hundred dollars less than I would have paid for it new, a buttload of games (including Halo 2 and 3), and a free month of Live. That pretty much sums up my love of rummaging though other people’s stuff.

China wants to play with my new toy.

THQ recently announced an official release date for Saints Row 2. The sequel to 2006’s Saints Row (which, incidentally was developed here in town at Volition, Inc.) will be available on August 26th for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Pre-order it on 360 and PS3 today! Saints Row 2 is also available as a collector’s edtion for PS3 and 360.

In the unlikely event that you haven’t heard yet, Grand Theft Auto IV will be released worldwide on April 29. You can pick up the regular version, or go for the special edition, which includes a customized GTA metal safety deposit box, GTA IV in special packaging, a GTA IV Art Book, selected Soundtrack CD, a Rockstar keychain, and a limited edition Rockstar duffel bag.

Preorder it for PS3 or 360 today, or grab yourself the PS3 or 360 Special Edition, and get all that other nifty stuff.