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[ZombiePlatypus]

Wow, so:

We went through the trouble of making the Luminous Engine, but now we're just gonna focus on mobile games lowest form of shovelware, and continue our identity-crisis by making "western" games for the western region.

I'm surprised there wasn't anything in there about just going ahead and making EVERY mainline entry a damn MMO from now on.

It just keeps getting sadder.

 

[CorvoSol]

I'm still dumbfounded by this chart:


Seeing this only makes me think of this:

BTW... anyone know which movie that GIF is from?

It's Heavyweights.

 

[HigherLevel]

I can't wait for the day that game publishers realize everyone that all the people buying smartphones are buying them for other reasons besides gaming. Every iPhone owner is not sitting on the app store all day waiting for the latest mobile blockbuster from Square.

 

[ULTROS!]

I guess I read this as SE spending less money (hence they don't look as nice) on DQ/FF/KH non-mainline games and probably relegating all non-DQ/FF/KH to smartphones now and handheld consoles to some extent.

In other words, what they've been doing ever since except this year because this year their retail output is pretty fantastic: Dragon Quest VII 3DS in Japan, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex Wii U, Drakengard 3, FFX HD, FFX-2 HD, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD, Lightning Returns, Bravely Default even if it's published by Nintendo. the latter half of this year is pretty crazy (5 SE retail games).

 

[Toki767]

I can't wait for the day that game publishers realize everyone that all the people buying smartphones are buying them for other reasons besides gaming. Every iPhone owner is not sitting on the app store all day waiting for the latest mobile blockbuster from Square.

They sure aren't waiting for them at Square Enix's mobile pricing structure.

 

[ronito]

I know I'm late to the party here but I wanted to chime in. So far I've been supportive of the new CEO and hopeful he could turn the company around but after seeing this I doubt he can pull the company out.

He's right, that they need to cut down on the development costs. But upping your marketing isn't a smart move. There's only so much market saturation you can attain. And while there are certainly cases where you want to expand your marketing department I'm not at all convinced that SquarEnix has actually done a review of their marketing to see if their team is even effective and if there's any ROI in growing it.

Instead they should take that money that they'd be putting to marketing and put into getting themselves a functional forecasting model. I mean their forecasting has been so bad that even GAF could've told them that they were smoking crack. So long as their problems with their forecasting model persist all the added marketing budget isn't going to help, in fact, it'll hurt. If you're thinking your next game is going to sell 6 million copies and market it as such but really the market will bear about 3 million you've just dug yourself in an even bigger hole.

As to regional games. They largely do this already. I don't view this as much of a change. But with social media and bleeding of regions amongst the niche customers it seems like possibly the efforts in making something appeal to specific regions might be better spent in small tweaks to expand the region they are targeting.

About mobile gaming, I understand why they want to go after. Certainly the time to market and profits can be huge. However, running a mobile gaming publishing house is very different than other devs. And if it's that important to them they should spin off an arm to do just that (think Eidos). Put the people that "get it" in there and give them the authority to do what they think is right. Don't take the people that don't know anything about that and think "They'll succeed here" and then be shocked when they fail.

But overall the biggest failure I see here is a lack of any semblance of brand management. Outside of Development costs and bad forecasting models, one of Square's biggest problems is terrible, TERRIBLE brand management. Either they have a great brand and do little with it worldwide (Dragon Quest). Or they have a once beloved brand and toss it in the shredder (Final Fantasy) or they have great brand potential and do nothing with it (TWEWY) . They desparately need to get their brands under control and planned out instead of having a free for all troth. Create senior management positions to manage each brand and measure them on the success of each brand and vest that for 5 years because you want to keep those brands.

I dunno perhaps I'm being silly but this plan doesn't seem to help much at all. I mean "we need to spend less money on dev." Yeah, well duh.

 

[Jackl]

Is this chart due to Square's emphasis on Japan where mobile gaming is much more predominant? Otherwise it just doesn't make sense. They're banking heavily on smartphones to carry them in the future.

Thats what I thought. I hope their analysts didn't use rosey projections, some companies are already seeing mobile product lines fall on their face.

 

[Valnen]

Add Square-Enix to the list of companies who can't handle the HD era I guess.

 

[bobbytkc]

I think they are just caught up in the growth of the mobile sector. I know that the novelty of smartphone apps have already worn out for me. I suspect it will be the same for a lot of other people in the future.

 

[njean777]

Add Square-Enix to the list of companies who can't handle the HD era I guess.

Could have said that after the 4th year of no versus 13. I mean really, I dont think that game exists anymore. Which is anger inducing because that is the 13 I was actually exited for. No KH 3 either which is another series that I feel has been shafted this gen.

 

[AstroNut325]

Thats what I thought. I hope their analysts didn't use rosey projections, some companies are already seeing mobile product lines fall on their face.

Exactly. Outside of a few select markets mobile gaming's desire for the uber casuals is a dangerous game. You see success with stuff like Real Racing and Clash of Clans but that's out of thousands of games!

 

[ronito]

Add Square-Enix to the list of companies who can't handle the HD era I guess.

Eidos did pretty good for themselves. If Square Enix hadn't forecasted that the games would eleventy million copies each and budgeted appropriately they'd be in really good shape.

 

[ShikaTheReaper]

There's gonna be serious tears when Dragon Quest XI is announced on phones - mine included.

Omg why would you even say this. That would be a sad day. : (

 

[Edge_Maverick]

Bring this guy back!

<----

lol

 

[BRocknRolla]

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Maybe squenix knows something I don't, but I cannot imagine this new plan turning things around.

 

[Hero]

Really sad but they deserve it. Who were those guys in one of the recent MC or SE threads that said that they would be fine once ARR launched for next year? Because I don't see how that's even possible for them to be profitable next FY.

 

[bobbytkc]

Eidos did pretty good for themselves. If Square Enix hadn't forecasted that the games would eleventy million copies each and budgeted appropriately they'd be in really good shape.

Regardless of their projections, their net income fell 97%. The simple fact of the matter is that Square Enix's is not getting enough returns on their investments. It is not just a matter of their projections making Eidos look bad. They needed it to sell more to salvage their financial situation, and it didn't.

 

[evangd007]

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Maybe squenix knows something I don't, but I cannot imagine this new plan turning things around.

They think that smart device uptake will approach the population of Earth in 2015. So no, they don't know something you don't.

 

[markot]

bai se.

 

[ronito]

Regardless of their projections, their net income fell 97%. The simple fact of the matter is that Square Enix's is not getting enough returns on their investments. It is not just a matter of their projections making Eidos look bad. They needed it to sell more to salvage their financial situation, and it didn't.

Yes but the argument I'm making is if they had better projections they wouldn't make the investments they did.

 

[Seik]

Welp, at least there's Bravely Default coming...maybe it's the last good game I can expect for SE? It's kinda sad just thinking about it.

 

[kuroshiki]

I guess this pretty much confirms that Square Enix is dead.

 

[CorvoSol]

Welp, at least there's Bravely Default coming...maybe it's the last good game I can expect for SE? It's kinda sad just thinking about it.

It is, unless you've either remained Excited for Please Be Excited or can somehow still be interested in LR.

 

[Winterfang]

Remake Final Fantasy 7? No? No even on the 3DS? Alright then...

 

[cafemomo]

I want XIV to crash and burn (again)

And if they ever think about moving future mainline FF titles to smartphones, then Lightning Returns and X/X-2HD will be the last FF games I will ever purchase.


Also I guarantee remaking this will save the company

Spoiler

and even the Wii U

.

 

[Card Boy]

I guess this pretty much confirms that Square Enix is dead.

Your only realizing this now?

 

[TheShampion]

The funny part about "regional games" is that SE has been trying to do this for years. Remember Secret of Evermore? Remember how that was said to be responsible for Squaresoft USA shutting down?

They also tried this with Nier, and I have no idea if that was any sort of success at all.

I like SE's modern stuff more than most people I think (especially the PSP stuff), but all of this just feels like SE has completely lost the plot. I wouldn't mind either if everything was region free.

Well, I guess I can only hope that SE publishes more vita stuff.

 

[kevm3]

How about instead of making more emo, sci-fi nonsense, they actually do something different? You know, how chrono trigger was on snes, or xenogears on psx? It feels like they went from a company that was ran by people who actually played games and who made what gamers wanted to being run by some corporate suits who think of every manuever in terms of profit. Enough with the j-pop anime dolls running around in sci-fi settings.

 

[ULTROS!]

Also I guarantee remaking this will save the company

Spoiler

and even the Wii U

.

Won't this kill SE even more?

I honestly think it's more logical to release it on PS3/3DS/Vita.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

This is actually a good thing. This way they will actually need to focus on actually being a bit more creative and will have no choice but to put greater importance on actually making their games good the right way and not simply leaning on a lot of cash as a shortcut. They've been using money as a lazy shortcut to tricking people into believing their games are better than they truly are.

They succeed in making the games look epic, expensive and high quality, traits people have come to expect in really good games, and a lot of times it isn't how good the game is anymore, but how good you can fool people into thinking your games actually are. Sometimes too much money can contribute to a game in all the wrong areas, and not enough in the areas that matter most.

It's no surprise that the least money goes into their mobile efforts and it's those very games that, lately, end up being some of their strongest and most quality work.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

It's Heavyweights.

One of my all-time favorite movies. I watched this almost every night on VHS.

 

[kayos90]

Won't this kill SE even more?

I honestly think it's more logical to release it on PS3/3DS/Vita.

It would. People asking for HD REMAKES, not remasters but REMAKES, are insane if they actually think it would help. It would hurt the company. Not help it.

 

[CorvoSol]

One of my all-time favorite movies. I watched this almost every night on VHS.

I defs feel the need to rewatch it after seeing that .gif.

 

[ULTROS!]

It would. People asking for HD REMAKES, not remasters but REMAKES, are insane if they actually think it would help. It would hurt the company. Not help it.

Well, a FFIV:CC "remake" wouldn't be so bad. They can also do a FFIII/FFIV NDS remake but it's not my preferred kind of visual.

 

[Jinko]

Also I guarantee remaking this will save the company

Spoiler

and even the Wii U

.

Um ... no.

 

[Mandoric]

instead of making more emo, sci-fi nonsense, they actually do something different?

like xenogears

Wait, the game where the main character spends 20 hours complaining that he doesn't want to pilot his giant robot? That's not emo sci-fi nonsense?

 

[Glass Rebel]

Also I guarantee remaking this will save the company

Spoiler

and even the Wii U

.

Save them from being profitable I guess?

 

[bigbaldwolf86]

I know I'm late to the party here but I wanted to chime in. So far I've been supportive of the new CEO and hopeful he could turn the company around but after seeing this I doubt he can pull the company out.

He's right, that they need to cut down on the development costs. But upping your marketing isn't a smart move. There's only so much market saturation you can attain. And while there are certainly cases where you want to expand your marketing department I'm not at all convinced that SquarEnix has actually done a review of their marketing to see if their team is even effective and if there's any ROI in growing it.

Instead they should take that money that they'd be putting to marketing and put into getting themselves a functional forecasting model. I mean their forecasting has been so bad that even GAF could've told them that they were smoking crack. So long as their problems with their forecasting model persist all the added marketing budget isn't going to help, in fact, it'll hurt. If you're thinking your next game is going to sell 6 million copies and market it as such but really the market will bear about 3 million you've just dug yourself in an even bigger hole.

As to regional games. They largely do this already. I don't view this as much of a change. But with social media and bleeding of regions amongst the niche customers it seems like possibly the efforts in making something appeal to specific regions might be better spent in small tweaks to expand the region they are targeting.

About mobile gaming, I understand why they want to go after. Certainly the time to market and profits can be huge. However, running a mobile gaming publishing house is very different than other devs. And if it's that important to them they should spin off an arm to do just that (think Eidos). Put the people that "get it" in there and give them the authority to do what they think is right. Don't take the people that don't know anything about that and think "They'll succeed here" and then be shocked when they fail.

But overall the biggest failure I see here is a lack of any semblance of brand management. Outside of Development costs and bad forecasting models, one of Square's biggest problems is terrible, TERRIBLE brand management. Either they have a great brand and do little with it worldwide (Dragon Quest). Or they have a once beloved brand and toss it in the shredder (Final Fantasy) or they have great brand potential and do nothing with it (TWEWY) . They desparately need to get their brands under control and planned out instead of having a free for all troth. Create senior management positions to manage each brand and measure them on the success of each brand and vest that for 5 years because you want to keep those brands.

I dunno perhaps I'm being silly but this plan doesn't seem to help much at all. I mean "we need to spend less money on dev." Yeah, well duh.

Agreed.

Their complete lack of direction with their key brands is disappointing. Dragon Quest in particular seems to have been forgotten outside of Japan. If Square really wants to become one of the top dogs again then they need to stop hoarding so many games in Japan but instead, market them in the west and build/rebuild the brand.

They have so many good brands that have just been left in limbo for so long that I doubt we will ever get to see them again and that is a real shame.

 

[Shinta]

Well I hope they can turn things around. They still say they're going to make big titles, and I can't imagine they would really abandon that. But if they can fund that with more mobile stuff, I guess it's as good a plan as any.

And yeah, all their projects have just cost far too much: Tomb Raider, Thief, FFXIII, FFXIV, Versus XIII. The costs have to be reigned in. Hopefully a more developer friendly PS4, and Luminous can help them turn things around.

I honestly wouldn't care about focusing on mobile if they just put the titles on Vita also. It can't cost that much to port those ...

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to Lightning Returns, X/X-2, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and their E3 reveals (and Bravely Default, and Thief). They said they're going to let consumers in on the progress of their projects because they've kept us waiting too long. That's a very positive development.

 

[Froli]

Make more of this style, new story with beautiful 2d art and More Bravely default. Stop making garbage FFXIII with lightning and it's sequel/offshoots.
In short, go back to your roots.

 

[bigbaldwolf86]

Make more of this style, new story with beautiful 2d art and More Bravely default. Stop making garbage FFXIII with lightning and it's sequel/offshoots.
In short, go back to your roots.

I loved FFIV complete collection. The sprites and 2D art was gorgeous. I was hoping they would do this for III, V and VI as well but they seem to be hell bent in putting them into 3D and putting them on iOS

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Make more of this style, new story with beautiful 2d art and More Bravely default. Stop making garbage FFXIII with lightning and it's sequel/offshoots.
In short, go back to your roots.

Seriously. Go (what should theoretically at least be) lower budget and make well made but cheaper 2D/simple 3D games, and watch things go well.

 

[ronito]

Agreed.

Their complete lack of direction with their key brands is disappointing. Dragon Quest in particular seems to have been forgotten outside of Japan. If Square really wants to become one of the top dogs again then they need to stop hoarding so many games in Japan but instead, market them in the west and build/rebuild the brand.

They have so many good brands that have just been left in limbo for so long that I doubt we will ever get to see them again and that is a real shame.

Well that's just a small part of a very large problem.
They do need to make Dragon Quest "relevant" again in the west. You can't do that if you don't bring it over. But it's also how sullied and saturated Final Fantasy has become as brand there's Final Fantasy: The breakfast cereal: The movie: Part 3. That's gotta stop. I understand you need your product to be out there and in people's faces but if everytime they look and see a crappy product you're going to kill your brand. They need to get that under control.

Further while Eidos is doing a better job of it, Square Enix can't just be the house that Final Fantasy built. They have some good new properties (bravely default/TWEWY etc) but they've made little of them.

 

[Jac_Solar]

But.. does anyone remotely enjoy the controls of touchphones/pads? It's inherently semi-broken.