Well there is Legends...and Kingdom Hearts.
Some games might be held back for specific system conferences right? Say a WiiU, 3DS, or Vita reveal?
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Square Enix's E3 2012 Lineup
- Thread starter salromano
- Start date
Well there is Legends...and Kingdom Hearts.
Some games might be held back for specific system conferences right? Say a WiiU, 3DS, or Vita reveal?
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Anything can happen actually. FFXIII and FFXIV came out of nowhere at E3 2006 and 2009.
I dunno but I think the secret thing after the Tomb Raider showing has got to be something FF related but meh, who knows. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they reveal an FF title on Microsoft's E3 conference.
I dunno but I think the secret thing after the Tomb Raider showing has got to be something FF related but meh, who knows. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they reveal an FF title on Microsoft's E3 conference.
Cheesemeister
Member
I see a pattern here...
FateBreaker
Member
I want you to be right, but I don't think you're right.
There will be no show of FFXIV 2.0 on E3, but they are going to have interviews for it.
The reason is stated here by Yoshi-P's letter.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/46535-Letter-from-the-Producer-XXVIII-(05-28-2012)
in general, they don't want to show just a trailer, they want to have a media blowout on all fronts and they feel that E3 will not be able to achieve what they want, which is to attract new players, they are afraid the over abundance of games might eventually drownout or steal 2.0's thunder. I expect them to show something before 2.0 beta though, just don't know which show yet, maybe TGS, maybe gamescon.
I honestly think if there is any sort of FF thing at E3, it will be something smaller like a Crystal Chronicles game or something, it seems to soon for another big FF showing. It is the anniversary though so who knows.
cartman414
Member
V and VI deserve priority over VII on virtue of coming out first and being less arduous to recreate.
Awesome, hopefully that'll be one of the HD remasters for Vita/PS3. I'm still holding out hope for an FFV remake on 3DS.
The question is, for what? I have a strong feeling we're not going to see the PSP version unless it's a 3DS/Vita/PSP release with PSP being a PSN version for those waiting until now. I figured it'd be one of the last physical releases, but while SE would sell the best they also don't have the brand of crazy Atlus does to pull a new release at the end of a system's life anyway. Not as they are now anyway, and if they did they'd probably be my number 1 company right now.
I don't think I'd limit it to just 2 fanbases, you still have those crazy people who think they "went downhill" in the PS1 era after FF6, or even those who hate everything after the PS1 era. SE's position is interesting simply because they've been around so long. Not a whole lot of companies have been making the same series of games for 25 years now.
Regardless, fascinating isn't the word I would use, more like headache-inducing. If the "old fanbase" would stop ignoring handhelds they would see Square has put out some amazing stuff this gen.
I can't wait until 15 years from now when kids are saying "Man FF15 sucks, Square really lost their stuff after the amazing FF13"
Don't ever do this! If you get one always make sure it's the newest. As I've learned from the unfortunate owner of a 2nd gen iTouch, Devs do not like supporting old models at all. I will honestly be surprised if Dimensions will be playable on my touch even though the hardware can obviously handle it.
Wat? If true this could be neat.
And we haven't had a new Touch last year, so the implication of NEEDING either an iPad or iPhone for the latest games bothers the hell out of me and is a big reason why I don't ever want dedicated handhelds to die, or at least until that (and controls) cease being an issue.
As for the Square hate: they're the one company I've most reliably felt "man, they were better last generation". I was stupid in the 32-bit era, but last generation I was missing that they would put out new IPs and being a bit more bold, whereas this generation we saw a bit of a pickup with handhelds, but with consoles undersupported and even worse DS support outside of Japan plummeting in the last few years. I'm starting to think with the next generation I'll miss when they made handheld games over iOS games (at least if I start seriously feeling like I'm being left out for not geting an iPad or whatever), and who knows what'll happen after that?
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
as expected
type-0/x hd in the vita segment
versus surprise towards the end, or at the end of the conference.
all is going to keikaku
Pretty much this.
Quantum Conundrum could be very interesting, but i'm not feeling it at the moment.
Incendiary
Banned
Squaresoft was known for their RPGs. Square Enix hasn't been known for its RPGs since the PS2 era, honestly. Like it or not, the console JRPG is on the low end of popularity right now. It'll take a SFIV-like revival of the genre to make Square Enix focus on the RPG side of their company over the western side (Deus Ex, Hitman, Tomb Raider, Thief).
While I'm sure somewhere in Square Enix they're capable of reviving the genre, the real question is do they want to?
Well, JRPGs seem to be faring better than some other genres, but maybe Japan's somewhere inbetween full blown indie and big budget in that regard? Stuff like point & click adventures practically evaporated for awhile, and I swear ones like fighters were in a more dire position, but it seems there's always a few that are worth it at least to enthusiasts hitting retail.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Oh, pooh. Thanks for the heads-up; I never thought of that before. Well, that's a little silly.
I guess if I find a recent one/new model on sale or something. I just never bought one of those things because I never had a need for one. I just use my cellphone for calls and texts (and for the rare browsing), and I have a dedicated mp3 player already and it does its job adequately.
Yeah, the Touch seems like it would be more ideal for someone who's looking at the platform as something solely for games as opposed to using other apps and stuff. At least it seems like the cheaper alternative.Eusis said:
Glass Rebel
Member
Of course but unless they're planning to work with >100 people on Deus Ex: HR2 from the start some of that staff must have been allocated to the Thief 4 and New IP team. But of course you know that
Thought so; Deus Ex is amazing. I'm playing it now and loving it. I'm terrible at it -- but I love it. If they're not going to let Hiroyuki Ito out of his prison and make another FFXII-style game, I could certainly live with a steady stream of Deus Ex-like IP from them over the next few years.
ZombiePlatypus
Member
The list is pathetic enough on its own, but when they present it with such blatant BS that borders on sarcasm, I have to wonder if they just don't care how ridiculous they look.
A small part of me wants to believe that they are making it seem really shitty on purpose just to reveal amazing surprises at their actual conference, but knowing SE that probably won't happen.
Man, I wish I could just hijack SE from Wada, sell off Eidos and then fund new entries in like the SaGa, Mana, Bushido Blade, and Chrono series. Not to mention work on releasing classic titles that never got official US releases (like Seiken 3, Rudra and Live A Live). Too bad it would never happen.
AgentChris
Member
I hope this happens.
TheJollyCorner
Member
I'd keep Eidos but segregate them some brandwise instead, do it similar to 2k and Rockstar. I feel like their stuff's diluting the SE image, or at least don't like the false hope at SE announcements. However their games definitely do do well, especially when you weed out the garbage, so if it's seriously profitable I'd keep it around for that. Plus I've gotta have Deus Ex and if the new Tomb Raider's great I'd definitely want that kept around.
... Actually, for SE itself I'd focus more on letting some creative new series come about again. Like the SNES and PS1 days. I don't really NEED sequels to those (though I WOULD be curious at how a rebooted Mana would be, taking cues from Demon's Souls along with Zelda).
You make an interesting point there - I feel that's true especially for their JRPG fans.
Synless
Member
Maybe one day they can make great games in abundance again. I loved old Square and some of their new stuff has been great. Overall though, they are a shadow of their former selves.
Yeah, I mean I think the Eidos games are (mostly) of a surprisingly good quality even if a lot of them aren't exactly my cup of tea... but I agree with Eusis too about how the Eidos titles are kinda diluting the brand. Though at the same time, there's not much left to dilute
It's just like, where are the games from the Japanese side of the company? Even the handheld releases from that side have been slim compared to just a few years ago.
I feel like I need that first part explained to me better, because I don't know how the only good part of SE can "dilute" their image. If anything Eidos is the only thing elevating SE from being complete garbage this generation.
APZonerunner
Member
When your brand image is built entirely around a genre that is generally speaking in decline and on the risk of totally collapsing in on itself (as sad as it is), you want to diversify and have a broader appeal. Deus Ex, TR etc still ship with the Eidos logo as a brand as well as the Square Enix logo, just like Bioware games ship with both a Bioware and an EA logo. The exception is Hitman, because IO was never treated as a 'part' of Eidos in the past. What more do you want from them?
A separate booth? A separate PR team? What difference would it make? Could it be any clearer? This whole point is fucking ridiculous. People need to accept this is now an international company that makes games all over the world and there's going to be announcements from the Western studios teased from the same company so you can't get a great big hard on for a new FF every time they tease an announcement. Temper your expectations.
This is going to get even more muddy with things like the new Square Enix Montreal studio which will be making Western style games but as an SE - not Eidos - studio. SE's aim is to be truly international, something most others have failed at. Let them have at it, because right now the Eidos games are the only thing saving them from utter irrelevancy this year.
I don't see why people think SE would give JRPGs such special attention when the company has clearly realized that times are changing. FF still sells great - 13 and 13-2 both did brilliantly - but there is a downward trend here that's been going on since FFX - so for the best part of a decade. The job of the board and the high-end staff is to look at trends and identify threats to the company. I actually think Wada made a good move - though if it was a stumble or deliberate - in picking up Eidos. There's been a stumble for the Japanese game in general this gen, but SE has been hit worse than most because the JRPG genre has, I think, been hit THE worst in terms of decline - it's just less visible because the JRPG always sold a lot so even with a large decline is still doing 'well'. But what if this trend continues? SE needs to build for the future, and with the JRPG in a weird place and Final Fantasy in general still in a post-Sakaguchi identity crisis where its best work seems to be directly linked to the old era, the Eidos IPs are actually, I think, the strongest, surest bets they have for growth.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
wut
Duane Cunningham
Member
I wish FFXIV was on PS3 like I was excited for a few years ago.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
I wish FF Vs XIII was on PS3 like I was excited for 6 years ago
Duane Cunningham
Member
That too.
It's not necessarily diluting quality (some of the stuff they grab independent of either Eidos or traditional SE could be most guilty there really), so much as what I expect to see out of them. Plus I hear of "Square Enix sales event" and nowadays that probably just means we're seeing Tomb Raider, Hitman, and other Eidos stuff on sale. Though a lot of that is the likes of Steam simply not having anything except Last Remnant.
Well, it IS why I cited Rockstar/2k, as you don't just see them all branded Take Two then having those names slapped on. Then again there's the brand strength angle, both 2k and Rockstar are specializing in stuff that's fairly successful, whereas SE might want to be associated with stuff like Tomb Raider and Hitman deliberately so more people start paying attention to their other stuff, or stuff like the SE Montreal studio games.
THEN AGAIN it's not like the Nintendo name on a lot of these games actually helps their sales, so maybe it's not really something that makes much difference either way, and for all I know maybe the whole Rockstar/2k thing is actually terribly managed. At any rate it's a more appealing option than simply dumping Eidos off with EA or whatever.
more like they found a mistress and forgot the wife
Meccanical
Member
This is one abusive relationship.
APZonerunner
Member
The 2K/Rockstar thing is largely down to the Housers, I think. Those are two guys who value independence above all else. While 2K could wrestle control from them, they've made the very wise decision to give them as much as they want and keep them sweet because if they leave Rockstar would probably collapse. Rockstar run their own PR departments and everything. It's also working - their ad campaigns and such are hugely successful. It's working, so why fuck with it, right? They also want to avoid being in the kind of situation Acti/IW was in, I'm sure, and who can blame them?
Square Enix could've taken this approach but it's expensive - and it probably is wiser to be thrifty right now. More than that, though, it gives the image of a company segregated. The quality of a Rockstar game doesn't influence my decision to buy a 2K game because I know they operate as very separate entities. The whole point of fully assimilating the Eidos brand into SE and turning Eidos into a label is to project an image of a truly international company.
We don't really have a properly international dev - EA partners with Japanese devs but has failed to have success with it. Konami, Capcom and Nintendo have all had limited amounts of success with direct work with Western studios like Blue Castle, Rare, Retro and Mercury but aren't pushing forwards on expanding that strategy as fast as they perhaps should. Sony are the exception with a strong international development culture, but even with them there appears to be this great big rift between SCEJ and SCEA/SCEE. Worse, SCEJ appear to have like SEJ lost the ability to actually finish a HD game without compromising it in some way.
I think Wada's vision is to be the first truly international game developer and that could be massive for them. It's a good move. Everything points to it, from the hardcore focus on Eidos this year and last year at E3 and other Western shows to the fact that the development studio for their next-generation tools that'll power the next FF/KH/DQ is made up of 50% Western people drafted from Eidos, IO and other places and also in places based off tech pilfered from IO's new Glacier Engine - they want to standardize the business. Good luck to them; I'd rather SE survives and has other ways of making money, because if they do the future and safety of FF, KH and such is more assured, and it allows them to take chances with development on more niche projects.
This is a more personal opinion thing thing now, I suppose, and not everyone will agree, but I'd rather SE made lots of money out of Hitman/TR/Deus/Thief/Just Cause/Kane & Lynch/Kain (see what a fucking strong list that is?) and be confident enough to make more niche FFs than keep chasing the train of trying to streamlining in search of wider success which I think has overall been detrimental.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
I really don't see how a game as amazing as Deus Ex or Lara Croft: TGoL can ever be construed as "diluting the brand." If anything, Eidos and Crystal Dynamics have made SE wholly relevant in the past two years in western markets.
Heh, if there's not at LEAST two announcements from those: FFXV/VersusXIII/Type-0/FFXHD/FFXIII-2, it'll a huge let down from S-E, especially considering it's FF's 25th anniversary.
Really, I fail to see how they could NOT announce Type-0. S-E, in recent years, has adopted a really close Japanese->NA->EUR cycle, and Type-0 has been out for a while in Japan.
They're probably working on a port, and now would be the only logical time to announce it.
Really, I fail to see how they could NOT announce Type-0. S-E, in recent years, has adopted a really close Japanese->NA->EUR cycle, and Type-0 has been out for a while in Japan.
They're probably working on a port, and now would be the only logical time to announce it.
That's the point, they don't want to be known as "That JRPG Company", they want to be known not by a specific genre but rather as a company that publishes a variety of titles that sell well. Square isn't like Blizzard where they have one title that prints enough money to allow them tight focus on a few brands where they deliver the quality JRPG(s) you want every couple of years.
I think it's better just to let go of that image of "they used to be so great at JRPGs". Things change over time.