More out of the blue totally-didn't-see-that-one-comin' news from the sidelines at E3 this afternoon is that Square Enix's long-awaited Final Fantasy 13 will no longer be PlayStation 3 exclusive. Yep, you read that right, it's July 14th (not April 1st), and I'm fresh out of hyperbole: Xbox 360 fans are getting Final Fantasy XIII.

Will wonders never cease.

According to Shacknews and others, who caught the story during this morning's Microsoft's E3 press briefing, the title's coming to Xbox 360 at some undisclosed future point:

"Available on Xbox 360 at launch in North America and Europe," said Square Enix. "We believe that bringing the game to Xbox 360 will allow us to provide a game to even more fans in North America and Europe."

Good on Square Enix. I mean hey, with all respect to the relationship Sony's cultivated with Square Enix since last century's Nintendo huff-and-puff, the PS3's install base plus the Xbox 360's currently six-million-larger install base don't exactly add up to chump change, y'know?

Also: Does this imply anything wobbly about Square Enix's confidence in the PS3's salability? Neither company would ever come right out and say directly, but it sure looks that way.

Update: The latest story coming out of Square Enix's press conference today is that the game will only see its way to Xbox 360s on U.S. shores, which makes a certain amount of sense when you consider Microsoft's failure to secure even half a beachhead in Japan. (It's also a surefire way to ensure that situation doesn't change.) Also: Final Fantasy Versus XIII, an action-RPG entree in Square Enix's polymorphous "Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII Compilation," remains 100% PS3-exclusive.