The publisher shipped three million units to the U.S. and other territories this week. A total of two million units of the FFXIII PS3 SKU shipped in Japan in Dec.

Microsoft this week began sale of the Xbox 360 Elite Final Fantasy XIII bundle to include the Xbox 360 250GB Elite hardware, two wireless controllers, AV cable, headset, network cable and a copy of Final Fantasy XIII at $399.99.

Amazon this week is offering a free Final Fantasy XIII Faceplate with the purchase of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 Elite Final Fantasy XIII Bundle.

Final Fantasy XIII, the latest entry in the RPG franchise, includes a turn-based Active Time Battle System and Paradigm Shift option to switch to offense and defense tactics in battle.

Square Enix Holdings Co. this week said the Final Fantasy XIII SKU for Sony Corp.’s Playstation 3 will not require a hard drive installation prior to use.

The company said the Final Fantasy XIII PS3 SKU will run directly from the disc.

Also, the PS3 version will include Playstation Home content. Japan customers will see costumes for Lightning and Snow, a personal space, and character figures like chocobo.

Final Fantasy XIII, the latest entry in the RPG franchise, will include a turn-based Active Time Battle System and Paradigm Shift option to switch to offense and defense tactics in battle.

The title, to be released in the U.S. in Mar., currently holds a pre-sale price of $59.99.

Retailer Amazon.com is offering a $10 Video Games Credit with the pre-order purchase of the FFXIII PS3 SKU or the Xbox 360 SKU.

Final Fantasy XIII in Dec. sold 1.5 million copies upon release in Japan.

Square-Enix shipped nearly 2 million copies of the hotly anticipated RPG in the Land of the Rising Sun and according to early figures, more than half of those shipped units sold in the first 24 hours. Furthermore, because the game is only available for the PS3 in Japan, everyone expected FFXIII to put PS3 sales through the roof. Now, according to Joystiq citing the most recent Media Create statistics, we learn that FFXIII has topped the 1.5 million mark (1,501,964), which is more than double the life-to-date totals of the next-closest PS3 title in terms of sales (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots). It only took four days to top the total of MGS4 sales so far! And as far as PS3 sales go- the week before FFXIII’s release, Sony sold 75,086 units in Japan and after the release, sales leaped to 237,086, which translates to a 216% spike. Remember, you likely won’t be seeing a similar ratio in North America, primarily because FFXIII will be available for both the PS3 and Xbox 360, meaning those who only own the latter console won’t have to purchase the PS3 to play Square-Enix’s latest and greatest. Some don’t like that idea but at least it’s an exclusive in Japan, and Sony should appreciate that.

The idea that at some point around half of all PS3 owners in Japan will own FFXIII is just downright mind-boggling. That kind of widespread popularity is totally insane.