In the West, Tales of Vesperia was released on the Xbox 360. Only. In Japan, it was released on the Xbox 360, forcing Japanese people to buy Microsoft's console. Then, a year later, it was released on the PS3.

But why?

"Microsoft paid for the exclusivity the same way Sony paid for having Heavy Rain only on PS3," Namco Bandai community manager Charlotte Toci wrote on Facebook.

"It's just one way the business works, sadly," she added. "Those decisions are made really high up y'know, we do try and give them the max of fan feedback, but sometimes it's just out of our hands."

If you've ever wondered why games developed by third party studios end up as exclusives, now you know—if you didn't already.

Namco: Microsoft Paid for Western Tales [RPG Site via Eurogamer]