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Xbox 360 owners may have to wait a bit longer than their PlayStation 3 counterparts before they get their hands on Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV Online, however both consoles will be getting Final Fantasy XIII at the same time next year. Producer Yoshinori Kitase told VG247 during GamesCom that in addition to a simultaneous release, both versions of the game "should be pretty much equal, both in terms of content and the visuals as well."

And yet, one area where the games will differ will be in the disc count. Kitase said that Square is "aiming for about three discs for the Xbox 360 version." Given the scope and scale of the highly anticipated RPG, this is hardly surprising news, especially since previous titles such as Mistwalker's Blue Dragon have shipped on multiple discs as well. Similarly, id Software recently revealed that its post-apocalyptic FPS/racing game Rage will most likely ship on at least two discs for the 360, with three being a definite possibility.

Clearly, Sony's prescient decision to include Blu-ray with the PS3 is proving even more so as time goes by. On the other hand, until Blu-ray manufacturing costs come down, it will still cost publishers just as much, if not less, to produce games on multiple DVDs as opposed to single Blu-ray discs. So unless Microsoft releases an Xbox 360 with a Blu-ray drive, don't expect this multi-disc trend to go away anytime soon.

Any thoughts on multi-disc console games? Do you mind having to swap out discs?

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Good news for a Monday morning, gamers: Rockstar and Take Two have officially announced Max Payne 3!

The game is scheduled for a winter 2009* release on the Xbox 360, thePlayStation 3 and PC. Max Payne 3 tells the story of a retired police detective embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence. (Intense violence is my favorite kind!)

"We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game," said Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar Games, in a press release. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation."

Here's the official description of the game:

Since leaving the NYPD and New York itself behind, Max has drifted from bad to worse. Double-crossed and a long way from home, Max is now trapped in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out.

While Max Payne 2 was generally regarded as a critical success (despite its short gameplay time), sales did not follow:TakeTwo cited the game as a reason it were forced to lowerprofit estimatesin 2004. Do you think gamers are more likely to buy this title than the last one?

*Winter 2009, eh?Seems a little late for that release window... unless Take Two meansthe game will be released in the window between the start of winter2009 (Dec 21st) and the beginning of 2010 (January 1st.)Idon't want to read too much intoa press release, butmaybe theyareactually planning for a holiday, 2009 release... orRockstar is usingtheU.K. system for the beginning ofwinter (November 1st.). Either way:Max Payne 3, baby! Woot!

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It's that time again, boys and girls -- time for NPD Group's hardware sales figures! Here's how February 2009 went down according to the company:

• Nintendo Wii - 753,000
• Nintendo DS - 588,000
• Xbox 360 - 391,000
• PlayStation 3 - 276,000
• PlayStation Portable - 199,000
• PlayStation 2 - 131,000

Everybody is up from January, which isn't a big surprise. On the Nintendo front, I'm still waiting for this slowdown that analysts keep expecting. In North America, I don't see any sign of it. The company's numbers are still preposterous. I'm curious to see what happens in April, when theDSi launches. If the Japanese sales are any indication, Nintendo's upcoming handheld will perform well.

Once again, Microsoft's Xbox 360 has outsold Sony's PlayStation 3, furthering its lead in the territory. March will be an interesting month for comparison. Although Killzone 2 received a ton of hype and great reviews, I don't think it's a system seller. Maybe I'm wrong, but I see the sales gap being about the same when the March numbers are tallied.

Overall, NPD Group claims that overall video-game sales are up 11 percent from February 2008. That's amazing considering The Great Recession.For analysis of February 2009 software sales, be sure to check out Brian's report.

What are your thoughts on February 2009's console figures? Any surprises? Any predictions for next month?