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Square Enix Q1 FY2014: Extraordinary loss, lists social/mobile/browser/MMO success
- Thread starter Pooya
- Start date
AHA-Lambda
Member
To the financially knowledgeable people here, be honest, in just how bad shape are SE?
what's really sad is how there was how interested squaresoft was in doing different things back in the 90s. not everything they've done in the last decade has been sequel sequel sequel, but they made a conscious effort to label most of what they were doing as final fantasy and stop focusing on finding anything new. the absolutely moronic decision to make fnc a generation-encompassing series (that didn't see a couple of the games originally planned for it come out as initially intended) is what really led them to the apathy customers react with now.
Last Hearth
Member
It's completely dishonest of SE to call this EL. This is the result of how they run their business, not some outside unforeseen force. Their failure to hold development team accountable to deadlines and milestones is what caused this, the people in charge needs to own it rather than blame it on bad luck.
I wasn't being serious >_>
Glass Rebel
Member
It's sure going to be interesting if when FFXIV bombs. Poor Yoshida.
It's a writedown so it has to go in the EL bucket IIRC.
The portable FF6 remake is next in line now that FF5 IOS is done.
ZombiePlatypus
Member
I really hope they learned their lesson and will knock that off going forward.
I feel like a Final Fantasy V 3DS 3D remake can still happen. I don't think Square-Enix has fully squeezed the life out of that ship yet before it sets sail.
KoopaTheCasual
Junior Member
Sorry, man. It's just that there are a lot of other people (even in this thread), who seem to believe a FF7 remake is possible/likely.
why can't we get an actual six remake. why is four remade all the time. nobody likes four. they thought they did, but they really actually liked six.
i know this runs contrary to my moaning about s-e only making final fantasy games, but how many times did they stop and start again? they've done 1-4 so god damn much. at least with dragon quest, they give a good decade between the initial game and the remake.
Mashin Haters
Member
You got your FFVII projects with the horrible FPS and all, if people wanted more FFVII they would have gobbled up the games expanding the universe like candy and we would be in FFVII-18 by now.
You got your chance let it rest.
SmarterUnconscious
Member
I hope SE learns their lesson and doesn't rush out kingdom hearts and FF15 like they did for ff14 1.0. Would be terrible if all this time they end up sucking.
Also hoping 2.0 does well, it plays and looks like a great game but it was a big gamble trying to fix it.
Also hoping 2.0 does well, it plays and looks like a great game but it was a big gamble trying to fix it.
Hey I like IV. I hope they continue with the 3D remake line they started on DS, but they need to make sure they can put it on phones as well as hopefully 3DS and Vita. As much as I dislike mobile games, releasing on mobile, 3DS, and Vita seems like the best compromise people that prefer classic controls can hope for.
I can't see Sony buying se ... Sony on a whole sometimes makes bad calls but the playstation division makes pretty safe secure investments ... That's why I feel they haven't lapped up gamer company yet and why they won't lap up se ..... They have a good sense of identifying upcoming studios with potential ... BOTH. Gaming and business wise .... I'm no expert on this but it seems to me they go in quick when there is potential for both and cut ties quick enough too .. The playstation brand has a good knack for it. (By playstation I mean Sony worldwide studios)
EDIT if se went thq yeah I can see Sony buying up lisences but the whole company ... Don't see it now or in the near future
EDIT if se went thq yeah I can see Sony buying up lisences but the whole company ... Don't see it now or in the near future
It was nice of Wada to leave the company in this state 
Unfortunately they have made so many bad decisions in the recent years...now the new CEO seems to be planning to shrink their traditional business to a few selected big titles which ''cannot fail to generate a return'' (like FFXV, KH3, Tomb Raider next gen and others) while the bulk of their production will go social/mobile.
It will be interesting to see if the investements they have made in remaking FFXIV will be worth it. I honestly doubt they'll get enough subscriptions to make up for all the expenses and the bomba of version 1.0.
Unfortunately they have made so many bad decisions in the recent years...now the new CEO seems to be planning to shrink their traditional business to a few selected big titles which ''cannot fail to generate a return'' (like FFXV, KH3, Tomb Raider next gen and others) while the bulk of their production will go social/mobile.
It will be interesting to see if the investements they have made in remaking FFXIV will be worth it. I honestly doubt they'll get enough subscriptions to make up for all the expenses and the bomba of version 1.0.
Earthpainting
Member
You'll get Final Fantasy 4 remakes until you love it as much as they do, darn it.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
It sold over 200 000 just in Japan.
One thing to stab me in the belly, but did you have to salt the knife like this, too?
Be honest, how much is SE riding on FF14 ARR? They have spent a ton of money fixing the game up, and have done well in the process, but if it doesn't garner the subscriber numbers they need to balance the sheets not just from ARR's development, but from the original loss as well, would that tip SE?
I don't like jumping on doomed bandwagons and I won't for SE, though I would definitely be tightening my belt if I was SE.
Somewhat off-topic, but I've been seeing some big devs/publishers preparing for the wave of next-gen and it seems like they are predicting some pretty big budgets and losses. If the future turns out to be hazardous, could we see fewer AAA titles but more time spent on the few they pump out?
I don't like jumping on doomed bandwagons and I won't for SE, though I would definitely be tightening my belt if I was SE.
Somewhat off-topic, but I've been seeing some big devs/publishers preparing for the wave of next-gen and it seems like they are predicting some pretty big budgets and losses. If the future turns out to be hazardous, could we see fewer AAA titles but more time spent on the few they pump out?
LowParry
Member
Do we even know how much money has been spent on version 1.0 to AAR?
It's hard to predict what soon means in Square Enix time.
I'm awaiting the Capcom-esque announcements anytime soon. :-/
Apparently things weren't as bad. I read someone's post on this a little while ago. It was a lot of money to lose then but the loss was used as a dubious ploy by Wada and one other for their own shenanigans. Like the merger with Enix. That's why shit turned out like this. Wada's incompetence.
Apparently things weren't as bad. I read someone's post on this a little while ago. It was a lot of money to lose then but the loss was used as a dubious ploy by Wada and one other for their own shenanigans. Like the merger with Enix. That's why shit turned out like this. Wada's incompetence.
I'll take Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles as well.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
I can only gauge but imagine if SE brought their games to something like the PSM program or even ported most of those over too VC. There is money to be made there, even if the games aren't super expensive.
I hope SE's mention on PSM will hopefully mean some ports and easy money for them.
I hope SE's mention on PSM will hopefully mean some ports and easy money for them.
Because JRPGs are becoming more and more irrelevant in the new, western-centric, market.
They needed a new stable of IPs to stay relevant in the new market environment.
plutoknight
Member
KH1.5HD here in the us too. ....ARR is the biggie by far though. Those sub fees!
I'm worried about FFXIV despite being incredibly excited for it...
Why is so much credit given to "Squaresoft"? "Squaresoft" never made any of those great games, the company was just a subsidiary of Square, Ltd to handle NA publishing and localizations. I think the only game that was actually developed by Squaresoft was FF Mystic Quest, which was awful.
http://www.allgame.com/company.php?id=1381
Is there such a thing as a superextraordinary loss?
This sounds like a personal problem.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
That is actually a huge problem.
Then a game worthy of being a mainline title(BBS) gets stuck on a handheld.
while its likely that 3 (next mainline console entry) won't be released until 2015 at the earliest. That is 10 years since the last.
Good thing for 1.5 and hopefully 2.5
Well after FF XIV RR bombs I wonder what they're going to do. FF XI numbers are not going to cut it and they won't be higher then that, LR sales are also going to do jack shit I'm expecting it to not sell over 1 million ww to customers. My guess is next year or so there going to downsize
Interfectum
Member
So how soon before they bow out of the console business?
Napalm_Frank
Member
Those replies are from people who desperately want to turn back time to 1997. A time when, apparently, Squaresoft was not a company and not interested in making money?
Yup, that's the only reason. You've figured out our evil plan.
I think they've pretty much settled on the same approach as most companies have right now.
1.) A handful of AAAA projects with tons of DLC/microtransactions/extra digital content.
2.) Everything else is social/mobile/browser/etc.
The one notable difference is that they still run Dragon Quest as a 3DS franchise, but that is basically a major blockbuster on the blockbuster platform for its region at least.
All the complaining suggests some people want to think S-E has an evil plan.
Captain Tuttle
Member
6. Hire competent and professional project managers. This goes for most developers actually.
You seem to forget Lightning Returns.The most polished/complete FF of yet! The marketing was unprecedented too.
I expect 10~15 million sales...you need not worry about SE with Toriyama solely leading their flagship series for 7 years.