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[luca1980]

Man...


This gen S-E has just been an example of what happens when a company lets Creative have near-unchecked control. This gen started off TOO ambitiously, things got away from them quickly, the top was slow to react, and now the last few years have been a huge mess of chopping up teams from other projects to help salvage games.

creative with takahashi, kato, sakaguchi and Matsuno gone IMHO is not the right word.....

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

I just don't see a Sony buyout as realistic, though I don't think any 1st party buyout is likely. Again, if it comes to it you'll simply see assets sold off (foreign first, then their arcade business) until Fukushima can right the ship. Or if that won't work, they'll merge with another big player (Namco Bandai, Konami, Sega Sammy, etc)

It seems pretty realistic under two conditions: Sony becomes the largest shareholder and SQEX is in serious trouble financially. I definitely think Sony will have a better relationship with SQ this gen considering how close the two used to be.

I'd also say your own love of Sony and hatred of Nintendo is clouding things somewhat too. All SCE/SEN's acquisitions have been foreign companies and Sony's take of SE stock is a remenant of their relationship with half the company over a decade ago.

Sony has had very good relationships with both Eidos and Square soft. The past is certainly not indicative of the future especially given the fact that SE's output has not been nearly as good as it used to be. Sony still have closest relationship with SE.


The president of Square Enix doesn't even consider Sony a Japanese console company anymore thanks to Their overwhelming disinterest and neglect of their national industry.

If he is taling about SCEJ output I can understand and agree. If he is talking about hardware then the answer is no. The PS1,PS2,PS3, PSP have all affected the Japanese console industry significantly. PSP caused the MH craze for goodness sakes. Playstation is definitely a massive brand for the Japanese console industry. Just looking at NB results we can see that over a third of sales we on ps3 and half on Playstation. There is no denying that Sony is a big Japanese console maker.

Nintendo meanwhile has been heavily investing in Japan in general for years now and building long standing relationships with SE's Japanese management and studios specifically. Iwata's also not against M&A if given the right situation and incentive, and I think the possibility of losing Dragon Quest to PlayStation (again) would more than provide that. Any of the other major Japanese 3rd parties and Nintendo probably wouldn't bat an eye (except maybe Capcom), but I think Iwata holds SE at a different level given the longterm efforts Nintendo's made towards working together.

Iwata can try as hard as he likes too but the majority of SE's big titles come out on PS. DQ is not a nintendo Ip as many people would like to think. It goes to the platform that usually has the biggest userbase or can garner the most sales/profit.

With zero debt and a not insignificant warchest, Nintendo could likely match Sony financially too. On the other hand, there's pretty much no way Sony can match Nintendo culturally with how they've (mis)handled the PlayStation business the past decade. But really, the only way I can even see these companies getting involved is if one or the other takes the first step, and honestly that just doesn't seem at all likely.

It does not matter how iconic your characters are tbh. N64 and GC both had the same nintendo IP's and still tragically failed. Yes having monster franchises such as Mario, AC and Pokemon helps but it does not decrease the significance of the competition. Even with the monster successes nintendo had with the wii its only 3-4 million behind PS3 and that was with the launch disaster.

 

[JWong]

What? They make great games that sold quite well... what the hell is going on?

 

[zomgbbqftw]

I just don't see a Sony buyout as realistic, though I don't think any 1st party buyout is likely. Again, if it comes to it you'll simply see assets sold off (foreign first, then their arcade business) until Fukushima can right the ship. Or if that won't work, they'll merge with another big player (Namco Bandai, Konami, Sega Sammy, etc)

I'd also say your own love of Sony and hatred of Nintendo is clouding things somewhat too. All SCE/SEN's acquisitions have been foreign companies and Sony's take of SE stock is a remenant of their relationship with half the company over a decade ago. The president of Square Enix doesn't even consider Sony a Japanese console company anymore thanks to Their overwhelming disinterest and neglect of their national industry. Nintendo meanwhile has been heavily investing in Japan in general for years now and building long standing relationships with SE's Japanese management and studios specifically. Iwata's also not against M&A if given the right situation and incentive, and I think the possibility of losing Dragon Quest to PlayStation (again) would more than provide that. Any of the other major Japanese 3rd parties and Nintendo probably wouldn't bat an eye (except maybe Capcom), but I think Iwata holds SE at a different level given the longterm efforts Nintendo's made towards working together.

With zero debt and a not insignificant warchest, Nintendo could likely match Sony financially too. On the other hand, there's pretty much no way Sony can match Nintendo culturally with how they've (mis)handled the PlayStation business the past decade. But really, the only way I can even see these companies getting involved is if one or the other takes the first step, and honestly that just doesn't seem at all likely.

My view of Sony has been posted here many times, you can search my post history to see how much contempt I hold them in. It doesn't mean I don't see the reality of the situation. Nintendo are not aggressive enough and Kaz has brought a renewed vigour to Sony plus they have money to burn.

From an investment standpoint (what I do for a living btw) Sony makes for a much more natural partner for SE than Nintendo, plus given Sony's renewed expansionary policy and their cash raising measures they make a much more likely buyer than Nintendo if SE were ever to go up for sale or were looking for a cash injection. I'm not counting out Nintendo, but it just doesn't fit with their history.

Sony have a history of HD games development, they have finally got their Japanese divisions in some kind of working order, and while the Vita is an abject failure, Nintendo are not doing much in the home console area which is where SE are quite strong.

Anyway, take it how you want. Also, I hold no ill feeling towards Nintendo, I think as a company they failed to take advantage of their Wii success, and that the Wii U is not very good while the 3DS was grossly mismanaged for its first year and had a poor USP (much like Vita IMO). Sony successfully turned the PS3 around from its early failures, but that was easy to do, they just had to lower the price and production cost as fast as possible, it was still a solid device. The same cannot be said for the Wii U. Like I said, I hold no ill feeling towards Nintendo, their fanboy management like Reggie for sure, but the company itself I think has a lot of potential and I love their games and some of the concepts they come up with.

 

[Cipherr]

Did they give any data on their handheld PSV/PSP and DS/3DS games?

 

[Parakeetman]

They got no one else to blame but themselves. Seriously.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

It seems pretty realistic under two conditions: Sony becomes the largest shareholder and SQEX is in serious trouble financially.

So like I said. Unrealistic.

If he is taling about SCEJ output I can understand and agree. If he is talking about hardware then the answer is no. The PS1,PS2,PS3, PSP have all affected the Japanese console industry significantly. PSP caused the MH craze for goodness sakes. Playstation is definitely a massive brand for the Japanese console industry. Just looking at NB results we can see that over a third of sales we on ps3 and half on Playstation. There is no denying that Sony is a big Japanese console maker.

Wada was talking about Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as 1st party platform holders. This view is an outgrowth of how each has handled the Japanese market and development community, and he views Nintendo as the only truly Japanese one of the three.

It makes sense though, Japan Studio has virtually no 3rd party outreach in place (which we learned from that frightening YSOP interview on Vita) and Kaz directly decentralised development away from Japan with the fotmation of SCEWWS, with zero Japanese acquisitions or real investment coming after that . They took a global approach but pretty directly at the expense of their home market.

Iwata can try as hard as he likes too but the majority of SE's big titles come out on PS. DQ is not a nintendo Ip as many people would like to think. It goes to the platform that usually has the biggest userbase or can garner the most sales/profit.

At this point for Japan, there's really only FF and DQ. Nintendo holds one exclusively, the other gets split between PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

It does not matter how iconic your characters are tbh. N64 and GC both had the same nintendo IP's and still tragically failed. Yes having monster franchises such as Mario, AC and Pokemon helps but it does not decrease the significance of the competition. Even with the monster successes nintendo had with the wii its only 3-4 million behind PS3 and that was with the launch disaster.

I'm not talking about franchises, I'm talking about corporate and industry culture. Not that success isn't impactful though, for game systems today Nintendo holds more overall marketshare than anyone has since, well, Nintendo in the 1980s.

 

[nasos_333]

Isn't it possible to experience unique new worlds and characters WITH real people?

Surely you can experience new characters, that will have nothing to do with the game world

When Gandalf calls me "dude" i have some issues in immersion

Surly would be a unique new Gandalf of course, but not one i want to see in my LOTR game

Also when the characters are random, you cant meaningful make bonds with the story or environment

Same goes with the story line and quests, they feel so much more generic than a SP experience

Imagine a FF7 in MMO form, i dont think would be even 1% the same game

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

My view of Sony has been posted here many times, you can search my post history to see how much contempt I hold them in. It doesn't mean I don't see the reality of the situation. Nintendo are not aggressive enough and Kaz has brought a renewed vigour to Sony plus they have money to burn.

From an investment standpoint (what I do for a living btw) Sony makes for a much more natural partner for SE than Nintendo, plus given Sony's renewed expansionary policy and their cash raising measures they make a much more likely buyer than Nintendo if SE were ever to go up for sale or were looking for a cash injection. I'm not counting out Nintendo, but it just doesn't fit with their history.

Sony have a history of HD games development, they have finally got their Japanese divisions in some kind of working order, and while the Vita is an abject failure, Nintendo are not doing much in the home console area which is where SE are quite strong.

Anyway, take it how you want. Also, I hold no ill feeling towards Nintendo, I think as a company they failed to take advantage of their Wii success, and that the Wii U is not very good while the 3DS was grossly mismanaged for its first year and had a poor USP (much like Vita IMO). Sony successfully turned the PS3 around from its early failures, but that was easy to do, they just had to lower the price and production cost as fast as possible, it was still a solid device. The same cannot be said for the Wii U. Like I said, I hold no ill feeling towards Nintendo, their fanboy management like Reggie for sure, but the company itself I think has a lot of potential and I love their games and some of the concepts they come up with.

I guess that's where our viewpoints collide, you're looking at this from an investment perspective while I'm looking at it from a development perspective. And for the latter, Nintendo makes for a far, far more likely, willing and natural partner given the state of things. I think Nintendo would likely be Fukushima's choice above Sony as well given their histories, which is what would be the real decider in such a scenario.

Other than that, I'd say Vita is pretty emblematic of Kaz's abilities to steer PlayStation given it's the first device he can take full credit for under his leadership and I'd also say there's precious little real indication Japan Studio or Polyphony are "in working order" either. Also, I've always despised Reggie.

 

[Baron_Calamity]

You guys are crazy! SE is not going anywhere just because of a loss.

Agreed and it isn't that big of a loss. Right now it is a tough situation for all developers and publishers. The console market is currently in crash mode. New consoles should help but not for another year or two. If they have the cash, all their Japanese studios need to stop developing for current gen and target the next ASAP. Their Western studios are already next gen bound except for those about to release projects. The only thing I see that SE could do better right now is marketing.

 

[GhostTrick]

Square Enix gets what they deserve. They have a HUGE fanbase, asking for a lot of games. Final Fantasy VII remake, The World Ends with You 2, Kingdom Hearts 3, FF Versus XIII.
People in the west are still waiting for Type 0 and Bravely Default. Heck, they killed a lot of potential sales for Bravely Default in Japan. They didn't trust the game, so no advertise, not enough physical copies and yet, the game sold 300k in Japan. If it was called Final Fantasy, if it had advertisement, and if they trusted the game, it would have easily sold a million.
But what Square Enix is giving us ? Another who-gives-a-shit-FF XIII sequel... and another dumb smartphone game like All the Bravest or DS ports.
They can make money, so easily, but they rather throw shit ton of money in a MMO and more Lighting sequels. Don't cry your lost of money Square Enix, you get all you deserved. And they're dumb enough to worning out Final Fantasy Brand.

 

[Toth]

People are giving way too focus on social gaming development. They are made quickly and cheaply. They can't possibly divert much of their resources for them.

 

[nasos_333]

Square Enix gets what they deserve. They have a HUGE fanbase, asking for a lot of games. Final Fantasy VII remake, The World Ends with You 2, Kingdom Hearts 3, FF Versus XIII.
People in the west are still waiting for Type 0 and Bravely Default. Heck, they killed a lot of potential sales for Bravely Default in Japan. They didn't trust the game, so no advertise, not enough physical copies and yet, the game sold 300k in Japan. If it was called Final Fantasy, if it had advertisement, and if they trusted the game, it would have easily sold a million.
But what Square Enix is giving us ? Another who-gives-a-shit-FF XIII sequel... and another dumb smartphone game like All the Bravest or DS ports.
They can make money, so easily, but they rather throw shit ton of money in a MMO and more Lighting sequels. Don't cry your lost of money Square Enix, you get all you deserved. And they're dumb enough to worning out Final Fantasy Brand.

The funny thing is that they can both make money and keep their (long lost) amazing developer status, by just releasing Type-0 and Bravely Default, that remind the masterpieces of old

People are giving way too focus on social gaming development. They are made quickly and cheaply. They can't possibly divert much of their resources for them.

But when you see the name "All the Bravest" reserved for an iOS crap and Square spitting in the face of all the fans eager to play a (proven) good game from them like Bravely Default, you know something is wrong in their heads and you expect the worst

 

[amrihua]

The last Square game I enjoyed was FFIX. I hope they return to making good games.
I'm buying all the iOS ports, I hope this gives them a hint.

 

[Toth]

The funny thing is that they can both make money and keep their (long lost) amazing developer status, by just releasing Type-0 and Bravely Default, that remind the masterpieces of old



But when you see the name "All the Bravest" reserved for an iOS crap and Square spitting in the face of all the fans eager to play a (proven) good game from them like Bravely Default, you know something is wrong in their heads and you expect the worst

They haven't released here games because they won't sell in the west. There lies the problem... I imagine that Nintendo and Sony don't want to pitch in with advertising....

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

I think Bravely Default will get a western release, possibly even from Nintendo themselves. Type-0 is pretty much a no win scenario due to being a PSP game though. It's only hope would be though a theoretical Vita and/or 3DS port.

 

[jorgeton]

They haven't released here games because they won't sell in the west. There lies the problem... I imagine that Nintendo and Sony don't want to pitch in with advertising....

But other folks like Namco are releasing the batshit insane Project X Zone in the west. Xseed is bringing over niche RPGs and they seem to be doing well. Ditto with Atlus. There is a market for SE's bread and butter, which is JRPGs. It's what they are known and (used to be) loved for. They're just being incredibly closed minded about their IPs. It's quite pathetic and off-putting.

 

[MagiusNecros]

They haven't released here games because they won't sell in the west. There lies the problem... I imagine that Nintendo and Sony don't want to pitch in with advertising....

Pretty sure Nintendo is more then willing.

Square just can't make anything other then asinine decisions.

 

[Shadow of the BEAST]

when they released dragon quest on ds they killed the japanese console market.

and when the did so they also killed their potential to serve both japan and the west with development and sales.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

when they released dragon quest on ds they killed the japanese console market.

and when the did so they also killed their potential to serve both japan and the west with development and sales.

The Japanese console market was dead way before mid 2009. Maybe it'd have had a chance had they not backed the wrong horse with FFXIII though.

 

[nasos_333]

They haven't released here games because they won't sell in the west. There lies the problem... I imagine that Nintendo and Sony don't want to pitch in with advertising....

Why will they not sell ?

Bravely Default is both a great game and has some of the best art i have seen in my life, if marketed right it could sell big and restore part of Square's name

But other folks like Namco are releasing the batshit insane Project X Zone in the west. Xseed is bringing over niche RPGs and they seem to be doing well. Ditto with Atlus. There is a market for SE's bread and butter, which is JRPGs. It's what they are known and (used to be) loved for. They're just being incredibly closed minded about their IPs. It's quite pathetic and off-putting.

Not only i bought Unchained Blades instantly, i also love the game and has some cool 2D art too

Surly there is a market for everything

 

[MagiusNecros]

Why will they not sell ?

Bravely Default is both a great game and has some of the best art i have seen in my life, if marketed right it could sell big and restore part of Square's name

But Square can't do marketing.

 

[nasos_333]

But Square can't do marketing.

Then should give it to another publisher

 

[Shadow of the BEAST]

The Japanese console market was dead way before mid 2009. Maybe it'd have had a chance had they not backed the wrong horse with FFXIII though.

ofcourse it was dead. they announced dragon quest ix to be ds exclusive all the way back in 2006.

dq is their madden/fifa.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Then should give it to another publisher

Don't think they would do that either.

 

[HermitArcader]

The reason I did not buy Final Fantasy XIII-2 is because I am a fan of the Final Fantasy series.

The reason I did not buy Hitman: Absolution is because I am a fan of the Hitman series.

The reason I will not buy Tomb Raider is because I am a fan of the Tomb Raider series.

Nothing to do with the economy or any other excuses we're increasingly seeing in fiscal reports, it just means I'm an informed customer who is interested in more than just the logo on the box.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

ofcourse it was dead. they announced dragon quest ix to be ds exclusive all the way back in 2006.

dq is their madden/fifa.

Not it's not FF is there madden/fifa DQ sell in Japan and that about it .

The Japanese console market was dead way before mid 2009. Maybe it'd have had a chance had they not backed the wrong horse with FFXIII though.

Other publisher seem to be doing okay but unlike them SE has done nothing to turn them self around .
Take Namco Bandai for eg they started out slow but they are going rather good for them .

 

[Yottamole]

Not it's not FF is there madden/fifa DQ sell in Japan and that about it .

...and Madden/FIFA only sell in the West.

FF is (was) a franchise with international pull, similar to Mario and Pokemon. They sell equally well in both Japan and the West. You will never see Madden sell like hot cakes in Japan, just like you won't see DQ set Western charts on fire.

 

[MagiusNecros]

...and Madden/FIFA only sell in the West.

FF is (was) a franchise with international pull, similar to Mario and Pokemon. They sell equally well in both Japan and the West. You will never see Madden sell like hot cakes in Japan, just like you won't see DQ set Western charts on fire.

Well if things keep going well FF may be a Japan only franchise comparable to Namco's SRW(this especially) and Tales series.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

...and Madden/FIFA only sell in the West.

FF is (was) a franchise with international pull, similar to Mario and Pokemon. They sell equally well in both Japan and the West. You will never see Madden sell like hot cakes in Japan, just like you won't see DQ set Western charts on fire.

My point is if we are talking about sales numbers FF is a bigger IP than DQ .

 

[farnham]

Are we discussing sony will buy square enix scenarios here? Is there an actual rumor or only wild fanboy speculation?

 

[Necron]

If I remember correctly Sleeping Dogs, Hitman: Absolution and even Final Fantasy XIII-2 sold well I thought (based on expectations).

How can they be making a loss? They should sort out their internal structure. I bet sorting out FF XIV must be taking away those resources.

 

[Yottamole]

My point is if we are talking about sales numbers FF is a bigger IP than DQ .

My mistake. I thought Shadow of the Beast was referring to the unmatched territorial pull that each of the franchises has.

 

[Shadow of the BEAST]

gundam.

read the thread. Im talking about japan. and game sales in japan.

dq is japans fifa or madden. In that it alone can make or break a system, and that it has a history of selling 4 million units in japan alone..

dq is bigger than ff in japan.

Putting dq on ds had consequences beyond sales of dq. it split the jrpg user base in japan(traditional console ff(ps3) and dq(ds)) which means less sales for ff in japan. It also split the user-base in west and japan. Westerners dont buy handheld games in the same way japanese do.

putting dq on ds killed the japanese console business. it also killed their ability to be relevant abroad long term.

 

[farnham]

gundam.

read the thread. Im talking about japan. and game sales in japan.

dq is japans fifa or madden. In that it alone can make or break a system, and that it has a history of selling 4 million units in japan alone..

dq is bigger than ff in japan.

Putting dq on ds had consequences beyond sales of dq. it split the jrpg user base in japan(traditional console ff(ps3) and dq(ds)) which means less sales for ff in japan. It also split the user-base in west and japan. Westerners dont buy handheld games in the same way japanese do.

putting dq on ds killed the japanese console business. it also killed their ability to be relevant abroad long term.

Who knows maybe nintendo will publish DQX. It has been getting a lot of praise and has a good subscriber base in japan. Maybe it can do well in the west

 

[KillerMan91]

The Japanese console market was dead way before mid 2009. Maybe it'd have had a chance had they not backed the wrong horse with FFXIII though.

You really think XIII would have sold better on Wii? Just like Tales of? Not to mention that with Wii exclusivity they would have said goodbye to major chunk of western sales. It was perfectly logical decision to release XIII on HD twins and it sold well (6.3 million WW).

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

ofcourse it was dead. they announced dragon quest ix to be ds exclusive all the way back in 2006.

dq is their madden/fifa.

Musou/PES is their Madden/FIFA. And those franchises put consoles (well, PS3) above all else and still declined massively.

DQ is more like their GTA.

My point is if we are talking about sales numbers FF is a bigger IP than DQ .

Barely:

FFXIII (360+PS3) 6,200,000
DQIX (DS) 5,310,000

DQX (Wii) 700,000 (400,000+ subscribers)
FFXIV (PC) lol (megabomba)

 

[gundamkyoukai]

gundam.

read the thread. Im talking about japan. and game sales in japan.

dq is japans fifa or madden. In that it alone can make or break a system, and that it has a history of selling 4 million units in japan alone..

dq is bigger than ff in japan.

Putting dq on ds had consequences beyond sales of dq. it split the jrpg user base in japan(traditional console ff(ps3) and dq(ds)) which means less sales for ff in japan. It also split the user-base in west and japan. Westerners dont buy handheld games in the same way japanese do.

putting dq on ds killed the japanese console business. it also killed their ability to be relevant abroad long term.

My bad i understand what you are saying ,
Still i don't think putting DQ on DS killed the Japanese console business certain games still do good or even more than before .
SE out put this gen was just bad and it shows just compare them to the PS1 , PS2 days .

Barely
FFXIII (360+PS3) 6,200,000
DQIX (DS) 5,310,000

DQX (Wii) 700,000 (400,000+ subscribers)
FFXIV (PC) lol (megabomba)

Thanks to this gen it has gotten much closer .

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

You really think XIII would have sold better on Wii? Just like Tales of? Not to mention that with Wii exclusivity they would have said goodbye to major chunk of western sales. It was perfectly logical decision to release XIII on HD twins and it sold well (6.3 million WW).

A Wii FFXIII would've hit market years earlier, been significantly less costly to make, and likely sold similarly in the end imo (maybe a bit better in Japan, maybe a bit worse elsewhere). It also would've resulted in a far different, and likely far less linear, game. It also could have been PS2 multiplatform, which would've raised it's market potential exponentially.

It also would've centralized the JRPG base on Wii earlier, which is a part of the reason you saw Tales doing so well on PS3 (in Japan) versus other consoles. Not that Tales makes for a great genre argument, it also bombed on DS while DQ hit record highs, and Graces f megabombed in the west compated to Vesperia 360 or even Symphonia DOTNW.

It's really moot now though, since SE forged ahead with likely the the worst managed and most overbudget major Japanese game this gen. And from the looks of things, they'll be repeating the same mistake with Agni's Philosophy/FFXV.

 

[farnham]

A Wii FFXIII would've hit market years earlier, been significantly less costly to make, and likely sold similarly in the end imo (maybe a bit better in Japan, maybe a bit worse elsewhere). It also would've resulted in a far different, and likely far less linear, game. It also could have been PS2 multiplatform, which would've raised it's market potential exponentially.

It also would've centralized the JRPG base on Wii earlier, which is a part of the reason you saw Tales doing so well on PS3 (in Japan) versus other consoles. Not that Tales makes for a great genre argument, it also bombed on DS while DQ hit record highs, and Graces f megabombed in the west compated to Vesperia 360 or even Symphonia DOTNW.

It's really moot now though, since SE forged ahead with likely the the worst managed and most overbudget major Japanese game this gen. And from the looks of things, they'll be repeating the same mistake with Agni's Philosophy/FFXV.

Also wii was a big success in the west too.. I dont get the notion that a wii FF would have killed the franchise in the west.

 

[Unknown One]

By all means keep pumping out FFXIII and ruining the brand appeal SE.

 

[Kagari]

If I remember correctly Sleeping Dogs, Hitman: Absolution and even Final Fantasy XIII-2 sold well I thought (based on expectations).

How can they be making a loss? They should sort out their internal structure. I bet sorting out FF XIV must be taking away those resources.

Short term profit.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Also wii was a big success in the west too.. I dont get the notion that a wii FF would have killed the franchise in the west.

We got Crystal Chronicles though.

Short term profit.

Yeah 2.1% net gain or something like that.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

putting dq on ds killed the japanese console business. it also killed their ability to be relevant abroad long term.

*insert that infamous GAF post about honor and Japanese culture and such*

 

[kpjolee]

SE needs to take more risks. They need third big hitter alongside FF and DQ.

 

[Tarsul]

If anything, Square-Enix is a prime example of a company that is held back by good graphics.

Why are they praising low-budget platforms? Because they can try a lot of things and they are not held back by graphic whoring.

However, if they are already saying that the console-business is increasingly difficult, how much more worse can it get in the transition period? Ahh.. better not think about it....

 

[Meccanical]

*insert that infamous GAF post about honor and Japanese culture and such*

I thought that was a video on youtube.

 

[farnham]

SE needs to take more risks. They need third big hitter alongside FF and DQ.

Kingdom hearts? (which they kinda made irrelevant since versus is not comming and 3 development will begin once they wrapped versus up)

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Also wii was a big success in the west too.. I dont get the notion that a wii FF would have killed the franchise in the west.

Yeah, Japanese Wii games actually tended to do pretty well in the west comparatively (Sonic, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Trauma Center, HOTD, Monkey Ball, NMH, DBZ, TVC, Deca Sports, We Ski, etc). I'm not so sure this would've been as big a detriment as some think, it's not like with something on PSP having close to zero western market or not like PS360 aren't littered with Japanese games that bombed overseas (plenty of them being JRPGs at that). If anything the western Wii market was way healthier than Japan.

 

[Meccanical]

Kingdom hearts? (wgich they kinda made irrelevant since versus is not comming)

KH could have been as big as FF and DQ but they kind of screwed that up.

Still more popular than TWEWY.

Spoiler