It seems that the guys and gals over at Square Enix have a severe waterfowl disalignment issue -- their ducks aren't in any sort of comprehensible rows. Take, for example, Final Fantasy XIII executive producer Shinji Hashimoto, who said last week that plans for the Xbox 360 were "a blank page." Now, SE is revisiting that position, having told GameIndustry.biz that "Hashimoto-san was talking about the current situation," which would imply that the future situation was still up in the air.
Furthermore, consider this tidbit from analyst Michael Pachter:
"The series has always been single console and given the Xbox 360 sell through in Japan, it would be hard to put the next Final Fantasy installment on the 360 only.
"Square Enix faces a dilemma: put the next game on the 360 only and alienate Japanese fans, depart with tradition and make it multi-platform, or go with PS3 as an exclusive and deal with the backlash from the west.
"I view Square Enix as a tradition-bound company, and expect the last alternative to be chosen."
This little bit of PR double-talk is just the latest in an infinite cycle of rumor-mongering, and I'm well aware that I'm just feeding the flames. Similarly, analyst sound bites are about as useful as sour milk. But it still raises a few interesting questions: Is there really that much dichotomy between Japanese and Western gamers? And if so, how is Square Enix going to walk that line, with "tradition" or economics?
Hit the jump for more speculation, double-talk, and a lack of concrete answers.
I don't mean to sound altruistic, but I have to say that the notion of a market divided into Japan vs. Everybody Else worries me. If the rising costs of game production, coupled with vast cultural differences, translates into less availble games (as Mr. Patcher would seem to imply), then I'm not going to be a happy camper.
However, I must admit that I'm pretty skeptical of Mr. Pachter's sense of tradition: The last 3 games in the Final Fantasy series all diverged from any type of tradition. X-2 was a direct sequel, XI was an MMORPG, and XII did away with random encounters, a staple of traditional RPGs. The entangled mess that is Fabula Nova Crystalis FFXIII and Compilation of FFVII don't seem much better. And we haven't even talked about the innumerable spin-offs, ports, and remakes. The bottom line is that Square Enix hasn't been traditional since the PS2 days.
Let's take a look at another one of Square Enix's cherished, not to mention profitable, franchises: Dragon Quest IX, originally slated as a PS3 exclusive, will be released on the DS. Traditionally, the DQ series has been availble on Sony consoles. So what gives? Maybe Wada-san, SE chief executive, can shed some light:
“We chose the Nintendo DS because the widest array of people use it, including people who previously did not play games before.”
Oh, well, it sounds like a question of installed base. SE is, after all, a company and should make decisions that make economic sense. The problem, of course, is that neither the 360 nor the PS3 make economic sense on a worldwide market. When you take into account that exclusives are rapidly becoming too expensive to be profitable, it sounds like Square Enix (and the games industry as a whole?) has a bit of a problem. Walking the line between East and West while remaining financially viable is proving to be difficult. More and more, it seems like SE is just winging it, also known as running around like a chicken with its head cut off. This is a shame since I firmly believe that they have a lot to offer.
The obvious solution to both of these problems is a multi-platform release. If Square really wanted to be zany, they could release FFXIII on the PS3 in Japan, wait a few months and release in the States, and then ... wait for it ... here's the kicker ... release it for the 360. That way, everyone could have their precious single-console Final Fantasy, at least for a little while until Square Enix wants to actually make money.
Is this my official prediction? No. Do I think that this is the route that SE will take? In such a volatile market, a strategy based around PS3 exclusivity appears too high-risk, so I wouldn't close the door just yet on dumping "tradition" for a bottom line.
Hell, I wouldn't close the door on anything. Who knows what headless chickens are capable of?
Contest:
2:30 PM on 06.12.2007
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Let the "This game should come out on 360 brigade" Begin.
I think SE can do the same. Rather they will have to to keep their investors happy. The only way FF will stay Sony exclusive is if they throw a truck load of cash at them.
This sounds to me like Squeenix is dancing around the issue. They're "in negotiations" because Sony can't afford to give them enough money in exclusivity contract to allow them to make a profit. They don't really want to spend money porting the game, even though that's how they're going to have enough of a user base to make money.
I cant see why they dont do BOTH
OMG WHAT AN IDEA
Also, for once, Square's on the Unreal engine, so it's portable to all platforms. Previously they'd used their own in house engines and from that it's easy to understand why they didn't go multiplatform.
There's a lot of puzzle pieces laying out in plain view that state that FF CAN go multiplatform if Square chooses to.
The question for SE is, do they think there are enough of those people for that to be a sustainable business model? Or can the average FF fan (like me) wait for prices to come down to enjoy their games? Putting out (at least the main series FF games) on multiple platforms would make good business sense for SE because then folks like me would pay full price for their games as soon as they come out, rather than wait six years until the system is less than 200 dollars.
And for all those who are mocking those wanting games to come out on the 360 as well as the PS3 as being completely "stupid," remember that long before SE ever went to Sony, they had already released plenty of Nintendo "exclusives."
So, 2 out of 8 games is "traditional?"
No, the DQ series has traditionally been on the system with the largest installed user-base. NES > SNES > PSX > PS2. The DS, the current system with the largest installed user-base (especially in Japan), is only the most logical choice for the next DQ game.
everyone would then be happy.
multiplatform.
But who knows with these crazy japs
lol
As a buisness model it makes sense to have multi-platform games since you increase your user base and most likely increase your profits. However there is a part of me that wants to keep it as an exclusive since I always felt that there needs to be some games that will stand out to make one console more worth it to buy then the other.
1. Squaresoft started with nintendo b4 sony, so theres that relationship they have for over 20 years.
2. nintendo is jp, and most RPG have been made for JP market first in mind, NA second. UK a distant 3rd >_>;
3. Xbox just offers a market that the major players play FPS and sports, not really a RPG based system.
So is SE really loosing that much money by not porting? its not like 360 owners going to make lines for a FF or DQ Title.
about 8 of 10 friends w/360 that I have dont play any RPG, so they wont bother with this.
"Xbox just offers a market that the major players play FPS and sports, not really a RPG based system."
I don't have any 360 RPGs because there aren't any good ones.
"So is SE really loosing that much money by not porting? its not like 360 owners going to make lines for a FF or DQ Title."
I don't see them lining up to get PS3's to play it either. FF players that already have a 360 would buy it, the fanboys that play everything FF will buy a system, but joe average-RPG-player won't even get the chance to touch it on the PS3. He doesn't own one because there aren't any good RPG's for it, either. I'm playing fucking DS RPG's because it's the only platform with games that don't suck right now. (not to say that's a bad thing, it is Kojima's Lunar Knights, much fun) The exclusivity battle is a gamble. You can either hope that Sony's offering for exclusivity is going to be more than you'll make selling to 360 gamers, or take the chance at making money and sell to both platforms. In each and every single case of economics in the history of the world, the larger your target market, the more consumers you have. The only way exclusivity is going to work out for Squeenix is if Sony Contract $ > FF 360 sales. I've said this before, but I don't think Sony has the pockets to compete with tens of millions of potenital buyers on the 360.
What a crock, they departed with tradition when they stopped making games for the SNES and moved on to the PS. If SE was such a staunch upholder of tradition they would be pumping out RPGs for the Wii. Who gives a shit about tradition anyway, don't they want to sell more copies of their game? I can guarantee the amount of money it will take to port it to 360 is going to pale in comparison to the money they will make off of JRPG starved 360 fans.
First Devil May Cry, then Metal Gear. Keeping my fingers crossed for keeping my money in my bank account.
It's closed minded turds like you that are bad for gaming. When you support one console over another based on whichever you purchased, you're just helping the big greedy companies. If less gamers were buying into that fanboy bullshit, companies like Sony and Microsoft, and *gasp*, possibly even Square Enix might start giving in to demands of consumers, such as multi-platform support.
But hey, if you're willing to give in to that and simply proclaim that Xbox is the franchise for frat boys, then by all means, keep perpetuating retarded stereotypes that help keep companies winning. Good for you.
Metal Gear made it to 360?????
Just release it on both and both worlds will be happy. I don't see the fucking problem.
Oh hey, I missed the MGS on 360 announcement. Or are you talking about that half-baked 'leak' from a few weeks ago?
I think all companies are greedy, you cant say one single of them isn't, they all in it to rule the world.
Strype, meh honestly at this point idc anymore. why, FF is not what it used to be, lets see how Hinorobu takes the rpg into 360, dont need SE, I heard blue dragon is nice.
@ Doomtrain
The problem is that if they do, some people/companies might go out of business, if u get what I mean. Did u hear about that SoA employee cut-back? yep, allot is in stake, for us gamers, we dont really care, we just want to play the games in the systems we want cuz we have the system. I still haven't heard a 360 owner say: "oh thats a great game I would love to play, but keep it in the PS3/Wii" and vice-versa.
Not only would the majority of the current owners purchase the game, this is a game that everone already knows will sell additional systems... Which is why looney 360 fanboys are so avid about the game coming to 360 as well. So profitability really isn't anything for them to worry about.
Wada's most recent comments just indicate that they will be supporting all of the consoles though instead of sticking to just 1 or 2. In the end it's better for us & better for SE. If they establish different exclusives on different systems that continue to take as much advantage as possible of the individual hardware... it's a move forward for gamers. The problem with multiplats is that the architecture is too different on each platform to deliver a game with as much quality as an exclusive could have. And SE does not intend to lose it's reputation for quality.