Launches of main Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy titles always generate a significant amount of buzz over in Japan, and it looks like history is once again poised to repeat itself with FFXIII.

Famitsu parent Entertain is setting its expectations high for this entry in the series, forecasting a major boost in PS3 sales following its December 17 debut, to the tune of over 500,000 units. Of course, the recent price cut will play a deciding role in increasing momentum as well, but Square Enix’s latest RPG opus will be the driving factor during these winter months. The feat would represent an increase of 250 percent in hardware sales over last December. Impressive.

Unlike in North America and Europe, Japanese gamers will have only one platform to get their FFXIII fix, at least for the foreseeable future, considering the title is debuting as a PS3 exclusive. That said, we wouldn’t be surprised if these figures are on the modest side.

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