• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Wada Has High Hopes for PS3 and more.

Rhazer Fusion

Rhazer Fusion

Member
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/763/763512p1.html



Square Enix exec expects Sony market to take off in 2008.


Yoichi Wada is one of the most outspoken industry figures in Japan, often sharing his thoughts as one of his two identities: chairman of the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association or president of Square Enix. In a recent interview with Japan's Nikkei BP, Wada assumed the latter form as he discussed Dragon Quest and the future of the PS3.

With Dragon Quest IX coming out for the DS, Wada fielded a question about this meaning a shift in Square Enix's development strategy towards the platform. This isn't necessarily the case. "Following portable machines, we see the market for the PlayStation 3 and other next generation consoles taking off, so we will develop for that."

In fact, nothing has apparently been decided for the next Dragon Quest. "Aside from the Dragon Quest titles that have been announced, nothing has been decided. We're not thinking about fixing [the series] on the DS."

The Square Enix president seems to have a lot of faith in the PS3. "We have expectations from the PS3. However, it's still early. For us to do business [on the platform], it will take a bit more time."

Wada expects a shift to the PS3 to begin first with a more pronounced shift to high definition television sets. "Once the television environment is in place, at last the true game business will form. I see the PS3 market taking off starting around 2008."

"Some journalists don't understand that there's a difference in the amount of time hardware takes to spread and have taken the tone of 'the world of high vision, high quality gaming has come to an end.' However, once you see the world of high vision, there's no going back."

Closing up, Wada offered his vision for how gamers will split across all the various systems out there. "I believe casual gamers will go to the Wii, DS, or even PSP while those who want to have a fuller experience will go to the PS3 and Xbox 360."
Click to expand...


Interesting read.
 
J

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
My only problem with that is - does this mean they aren't going to develop "fuller experiences" with macines like the Wii or DS?

just... "casualer" ones?
 
D

Duderz

Banned
John Harker said:
My only problem with that is - does this mean they aren't going to develop "fuller experiences" with macines like the Wii or DS?

just... "casualer" ones?
Click to expand...

I'd say DQIX is about as full as it gets.
 
E

ethelred

Member
It is a good read, but... what do folks expect him to say? "I think the system we're currently developing a multi-multimillion dollar game & engine for is going to tank. I think you won't like it at all, and shouldn't buy the system. The visuals aren't that impressive."

It's very much in Wada's best interests to be publicly supportive of the platform, because he and his company have a lot of money riding on it.

John Harker said:
My only problem with that is - does this mean they aren't going to develop "fuller experiences" with macines like the Wii or DS?

just... "casualer" ones?
Click to expand...

I think they're already developing pretty full experiences for both -- the DS especially, with FFXII: RW, DQIX, FFIII, DQMJ, Heroes of Mana, IAWW, etc.
 
J

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
ethelred said:
I think they're already developing pretty full experiences for both -- the DS especially, with FFXII: RW, DQIX, FFIII, DQMJ, Heroes of Mana, IAWW, etc.
Click to expand...

I certainly hope you're right.
The changed art for FF12:RW kind of scares me... hell, I'll probably buy it, but does it really need to be "kidified" and the batte system "simplified?" Sure the game looks fantastic - its a staple of SE main series games, the visuals - but it seems to me they are "tuning" it to what they THINK is the main demographic of the system... ya know, pretty much what Wada said.
 
J

Jammy

Banned
He better hope the PS3 takes off. Final Fantasy XIII tanking wouldn't be pretty. All signs point to something ugly happening.
 
D

Defuser

Member
Correct me if im not wrong but wasn't each playstation brand always start to shine 1/2 years later?So late 2007/2008 would be the perfect time to go on a powerhouse rampage.Further more this is Square Enix,the biggest key to the any console success...
 
A

Avalon

Member
Defuser said:
Correct me if im not wrong but wasn't each playstation brand always start to shine 1/2 years later?So late 2007/2008 would be the perfect time to go on a powerhouse rampage.Further more this is Square Enix,the biggest key to the any console success...
Click to expand...

Maybe. But I don't think Sony has ever had competent competition.
 
J

JoshuaJSlone

Member
Wada expects a shift to the PS3 to begin first with a more pronounced shift to high definition television sets. "Once the television environment is in place, at last the true game business will form. I see the PS3 market taking off starting around 2008."
Click to expand...
Ahh, Wada is a believer in the Pachter Proposition. But hey, maybe PS3 will start taking off in 2008. With only a year or year and a half of relatively dud sales followed by a complete flip, maybe it could near Wii by 2010?

Perhaps I missed this a few years back, but were there ever analysts or people in the business suggesting that sales of surround sound systems would spur Xbox sales, with its Dolby Digital sound?

Defuser said:
Correct me if im not wrong but wasn't each playstation brand always start to shine 1/2 years later?
Click to expand...
PS2 had a moderately slow first two years; SNES was still strong and PS1/Saturn were selling fairly evenly. With PS2 there was no doubt Sony was the market leader; it started strong. 1 million by week 5, 2 million by week 17, 3 million by week 42.

By taking the weekly Famitsu data and summing successive 52 week chunks, PS2's second year on the market was its strongest (3.8m), but the first and third years were the next best (3.5m each).

Defuser said:
Further more this is Square Enix,the biggest key to the any console success...
Click to expand...
Sure, but this is the same Square Enix that says they don't want any company to be the overwhelming leader. Final Fantasy XIII will surely help the PS3, but just as surely Dragon Quest IX and Swords will be helping other systems sooner.
 
N

nelsonroyale

Member
people are rather stupid if they dont thing ff games will sell same as usual regardless of platform....if BD can sell a few 360s in Japan, FF will sell ten times that when it comes out if the penetration isnt high enough. The series has an established fan base.

peace
 
D

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
wada's statements aren't as safe or noncommittal as a lot of you seem to believe. he's said outright that they don't plan to leave the dq series on ds. he's chided commentators who believe that ds has replaced 'high quality gaming.' and it's significant that he's lumped wii in with the portables, and described them as platforms that provide relatively empty experiences to casual audiences. this is rather farther than he'd need to go just to cover his ass.
 
J

Jonnyram

Member
nelsonroyale said:
people are rather stupid if they dont thing ff games will sell same as usual regardless of platform....if BD can sell a few 360s in Japan, FF will sell ten times that when it comes out if the penetration isnt high enough. The series has an established fan base.

peace
Click to expand...
:lol You still have to understand the PS3 is basically twice the price of the 360. Bundled with Blue Dragon, the machine was only 30,000 yen, meaning the machine itself was less than 25,000 if you deduct the value of the game. How many people would just pick up a 50,000 yen machine for FFXIII?

Wada's a tool though; his stance on the 360 is one of pure ignorance, and it will hold Square Enix back if they hang around a couple of years before realising it is the prominent HD platform on a worldwide scale. They are more than welcome to keep pumping cash into the portables if they see that is their only output, but they don't realise that there is a viable audience RIGHT NOW on 360.
 
L

LizardKing

Member
drohne said:
wada's statements aren't as safe or noncommittal as a lot of you seem to believe. he's said outright that they don't plan to leave the dq series on ds. he's chided commentators who believe that ds has replaced 'high quality gaming.' and it's significant that he's lumped wii in with the portables, and described them as platforms that provide relatively empty experiences to casual audiences. this is rather farther than he'd need to go just to cover his ass.
Click to expand...

he never said that
 
D

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
he said that 360 and ps3 provide fuller experiences. what's the difference between 'relatively empty' and 'relatively less-full?' i suppose the latter sounds nicer.
 
N

NintendosBooger

Member
drohne said:
wada's statements aren't as safe or noncommittal as a lot of you seem to believe. he's said outright that they don't plan to leave the dq series on ds. he's chided commentators who believe that ds has replaced 'high quality gaming.' and it's significant that he's lumped wii in with the portables, and described them as platforms that provide relatively empty experiences to casual audiences. this is rather farther than he'd need to go just to cover his ass.
Click to expand...

Dude, quit making up crap.
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
Seems rather foolish to say that a console will do better once consumers buy another pricey piece of electronics. Who are they aiming towards, exactly? It doesn't sound like the masses...
 
D

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
yoichi wada said:
"Some journalists don't understand that there's a difference in the amount of time hardware takes to spread and have taken the tone of 'the world of high vision, high quality gaming has come to an end.' However, once you see the world of high vision, there's no going back."

"I believe casual gamers will go to the Wii, DS, or even PSP while those who want to have a fuller experience will go to the PS3 and Xbox 360."
Click to expand...

satoru iwata said:
:(
Click to expand...

WOW
 
Z

ziran

Member
drohne said:
he said that 360 and ps3 provide fuller experiences. what's the difference between 'relatively empty' and 'relatively less-full?' i suppose the latter sounds nicer.
Click to expand...
but that doesn't mean shit if the mass market doesn't care :lol, and it doesn't look like they do in japan.

let's face it, we all know square-enix will go where the money is, fact. which means sony better cough up some hefty cash.
 
S

Sean*O

Member
what do folks expect him to say? "I think the system we're currently developing a multi-multimillion dollar game & engine for is going to tank. I think you won't like it at all, and shouldn't buy the system. The visuals aren't that impressive."

It's very much in Wada's best interests to be publicly supportive of the platform, because he and his company have a lot of money riding on it.
Click to expand...

Notice how he also points to 2008 being the PS3's year. When is FFXIII on schedule for release? 2008?

His comments on the PS3 read like he is merely trying to ease concerns of those who have money vested in the FFXIII project.
 
B

Branduil

Member
NintendosBooger said:
Dude, quit making up crap.
Click to expand...

Let it be, this is drohne's last hope. 2008 or bust. Don't take away his dreams. Haven't you taken enough from him, NintendosBooger? Haven't you?
 
C

Ceb

Member
Jonnyram said:
Wada's a tool though; his stance on the 360 is one of pure ignorance, and it will hold Square Enix back if they hang around a couple of years before realising it is the prominent HD platform on a worldwide scale. They are more than welcome to keep pumping cash into the portables if they see that is their only output, but they don't realise that there is a viable audience RIGHT NOW on 360.
Click to expand...

Why do you care?
 
J

JoshuaJSlone

Member
drohne said:
he's said outright that they don't plan to leave the dq series on ds.
Click to expand...
He specifically said they have no post-IX plans yet. Given that there aren't 2 or 3 main DQs in the works at a time unlike FF, that's not a surprise.
 
P

Pud

Banned
Branduil said:
Let it be, this is drohne's last hope. 2008 or bust. Don't take away his dreams. Haven't you taken enough from him, NintendosBooger? Haven't you?
Click to expand...

OMG I heard that REmake will save the Gamecube!
Single games don't "save" systems' marketshare. Neither do television equipment and peripherals. If Japan continues as it is, Wada will be protecting his Sony moneyhats far less. For the Drohnes of the forum, I think Mr. Kohler said it best:

There are still, I'm sure, some holdouts who believe DQIX to be a stopgap measure and that the tenth game in the series could still appear on PlayStation 3. But it won't. Because between DQ Monsters this year and DQIX/DQ Swords the next, Square Enix is sending a very strong message to the Dragon Quest fan base: buy Nintendo hardware. They're not going to pull a fast one on them a year from now and say, "Just kidding, suckers! If you want DQX, it's time to pony up 60,000 yen for PlayStation 3!"
Click to expand...
 
E

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
well PS3 better take off in 2008 since his company is going to put a multimillion dollar game on it.
 
P

Pope Benedict XVI

Member
It's bluster in order to defend the production of FFXIII.

He obviously has to say that PS3 will be a success, and what explanation can he offer other than the same one we hear from a thousand fanboys on gaf every week? You HAVE to say DS/Wii are gimmicky, casual fluff if you are to suggest that PS3 will be a success. There's no other line to take.

If square-enix really were this naive I would be worried for them.
 
K

Kurosaki Ichigo

Member
Jonnyram said:
:lol You still have to understand the PS3 is basically twice the price of the 360. Bundled with Blue Dragon, the machine was only 30,000 yen, meaning the machine itself was less than 25,000 if you deduct the value of the game. How many people would just pick up a 50,000 yen machine for FFXIII?

Wada's a tool though; his stance on the 360 is one of pure ignorance, and it will hold Square Enix back if they hang around a couple of years before realising it is the prominent HD platform on a worldwide scale. They are more than welcome to keep pumping cash into the portables if they see that is their only output, but they don't realise that there is a viable audience RIGHT NOW on 360.
Click to expand...
What? :lol

Thats like, you are going to sell FFXIII to a crap userbase, but you can sell it to another crap one, thats TWO crap userbases getting the game.
 
Battersea Power Station

Battersea Power Station

Member
Wada said:
I believe casual gamers will go to the Wii, DS, or even PSP while those who want to have a fuller experience will go to the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Click to expand...
I fail to grasp this. Casual gamers are your Madden/Halo/GTA crowd at college dorms, no? These are the guys I least associate with DS or Wii (but somewhat with PSP). I don't necessarily see them shelling out dough for a PS3, but neither can I imagine them buying a "gay" Nintendo console.
 
Smiles and Cries

Smiles and Cries

Member
I still think DQ will end up on Wii no matter what Wada says today, but by year's end it will be all too clear. Sony may still be able to buy FF with money hats.

So I see it this way

A) DQ Swords sells 1 million+ and DQX comes to Wii

B) DQ Swords sells 1 million+ and DQIX sells 7 million = DQX goes to DS for more $_$

C) DQ Swords sells 5 million+ and Wii gets another DQ Swords at the same time
DQIX sells 15 million so SE uses all the DQ money from Nintendo sales to fund all PS3 dev for the next 4 years = Stupid Square Enix, Square Enix is stupid


:D
 
C

cvxfreak

Member
Kurosaki Ichigo said:
What? :lol

Thats like, you are going to sell FFXIII to a crap userbase, but you can sell it to another crap one, thats TWO crap userbases getting the game.
Click to expand...

Two crap userbases are better than one!
 
Brofist

Brofist

Member
Jonnyram said:
:lol You still have to understand the PS3 is basically twice the price of the 360. Bundled with Blue Dragon, the machine was only 30,000 yen, meaning the machine itself was less than 25,000 if you deduct the value of the game. How many people would just pick up a 50,000 yen machine for FFXIII?

Wada's a tool though; his stance on the 360 is one of pure ignorance, and it will hold Square Enix back if they hang around a couple of years before realising it is the prominent HD platform on a worldwide scale. They are more than welcome to keep pumping cash into the portables if they see that is their only output, but they don't realise that there is a viable audience RIGHT NOW on 360.
Click to expand...

PS3 will probably have had a price drop by FFXIII, I'm gonna guess 40,000 yen. Then again the 360 might also have 1 or 2 more price drops by that point :D

I wouldn't exactly go lumping the 360 in the category as viable for a genre whose largest audience is still Japan. If you has said Wii you may have had a point (although who the **** would want a Wii FFXIII instead of a PS3 or 360 one)
 
Smiles and Cries

Smiles and Cries

Member
kpop100 said:
If you has said Wii you may have had a point (although who the **** would want a Wii FFXIII instead of a PS3 or 360 one)
Click to expand...

Count me in as one that would NOT want FFXIII on Wii
Keep giving Wii FF side quests.

I challenge Square Enix to start a new franchise on Wii without using the names DQ or FF. K thanks
 
N

nelsonroyale

Member
Jonnyram said:
:lol You still have to understand the PS3 is basically twice the price of the 360. Bundled with Blue Dragon, the machine was only 30,000 yen, meaning the machine itself was less than 25,000 if you deduct the value of the game. How many people would just pick up a 50,000 yen machine for FFXIII?

Wada's a tool though; his stance on the 360 is one of pure ignorance, and it will hold Square Enix back if they hang around a couple of years before realising it is the prominent HD platform on a worldwide scale. They are more than welcome to keep pumping cash into the portables if they see that is their only output, but they don't realise that there is a viable audience RIGHT NOW on 360.
Click to expand...


damn, not surprised at all ahaha. Anyway, there are what 6 million or so major fans of ff worldwide...look Im pretty much buying a ps3 for ff cause the games click with me. People will buy a ps3 for ff regardless of price, Im pretty sure, though the console will be cheaper by the time the game comes out. Those who have bought the series before. And why would they support the 360 with there big series rather than ps3? Thats idiotic to think it would sell better on 360, it would probably sell the same. Anyway, I doubt the 360 will be the premium HD format or whatever, it still doesnt have the major hype over here anyway. Wii does though. I seriously doubt though that the 360 will have a greater penetration than ps3, very unlikely


peace
 
P

Pud

Banned
You know what would be funny? Just to see GAF's reaction I mean...

FF:CC outselling the hell out of FFXIII :lol
 
D

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
JoshuaJSlone said:
He specifically said they have no post-IX plans yet. Given that there aren't 2 or 3 main DQs in the works at a time unlike FF, that's not a surprise.
Click to expand...

"We're not thinking about fixing [the series] on the DS."
 
N

nelsonroyale

Member
Pud said:
You know what would be funny? Just to see GAF's reaction I mean...

FF:CC outselling the hell out of FFXIII :lol
Click to expand...

hahaha, thats about as likely as your statement containing any intelligence

peace
 
B

Bebpo

Banned
I think some people are forgetting Wada's past quote about not wanting any single system to be the clear winner. Wii fans used that to explain why Wii would get FF/DQ games so that the PS3 wouldn't dominate, but it works both ways. If S-E really wants a fair and balanced market, they'll push heavy support onto the PS3 to make sure it doesn't trail too far behind the Wii.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bloomberg: Top ‘Dragon Quest’ Producer Steps Down in Square Enix Overhaul
News
21
1K
YeulEmeralda replied
Dragon Quest series creator reassures fans that Dragon Quest 12 is still in development
News Game Dev 2
71
2K
AREYOUOKAY? replied
Japanese publishers’ habit of region locking games in Japan may finally be changing
News
8
557
graywolf323 replied
Elixir games partnering with Square Enix to boost web3 games
2
703
01011001 replied
Competition killed ambition in regards to consoles. It is why consoles has become more stagnant over time.
2
88
5K
fart town usa replied
Top Bottom