What in the Hell is Square doing?

[Austin Howe]

http://operationrainfall.com/agnis-philosophy-final-fantasy-tech-demo-revealed/

So Square is putting out another trailer that's not attached to a game with any sort of settled development schedule, system, or forseeable release date.

I'll admit, that trailer is damn fine, no question there, but so are all the trailers for that game I've been waiting for for what will end up being at least 7 or 8 years: Versus XIII. (Which yes, I still believe will be at least good when it comes out. Did you see that translated dialogue? That was good shit!)

So the question is, what the hell is Square's business model as a development company at this point? Do they have one? What is their plan for keeping their well-loved franchises alive?

Seriously Square, I still love you, but you gotta get your shit together, this is not how you sell games, this is not how you make fans, and this is certainly not how you keep them.

 

[Diablo2000]

Square is being Square... Let them...

 

[Vanitas likes Bubbles]

This is a joke right? ..... right?

Seriously Square, get your shit together. I was waiting for KH3 and FF Versus 13 for a long time and now you start a brand new game. ARGFUCKINBULLSHITEASSHOLES.............

 

[Austin Howe]

This is a joke right? ..... right?

Seriously Square, get your shit together. I was waiting for KH3 and FF Versus 13 for a long time and now you start a brand new game. ARGFUCKINBULLSHITEASSHOLES.............

No, unlike anything resembling half-good news from the company lately, this is very real.

 

[Austin Howe]

Square is being Square... Let them...

They're not Blizzard, they don't take 5 years and then put out a GoTY. Basically, we can't let them,

 

[Diablo2000]

Square is being Square... Let them...

They're not Blizzard, they don't take 5 years and then put out a GoTY. Basically, we can't let them,

Yes, because everyone loved Blizzard last game, that Diablo 3, not a single complain about the plot, the dumb down gameplay or the always online thing...

Look, everyone misses and everyone got things rights, give Square some space, even if this game is not the mindblowing sucess that they want you believe it is, it still be better than a rushed out game...

So the question is, what the hell is Square's business model as a development company at this point? Do they have one? What is their plan for keeping their well-loved franchises alive?

Of course they don't have plans of keeping they well-loved franchises alive, if they did, then we would be seeing more Valkirie Profile, Chrono, Soul Blazer and not another fucking Final Fantasy.

 

[wintercoat]

*Company releases tech demo for new graphics engine*

"OMG y arent dey makin da gaem I want!!1!"

Square Enix has some of the neediest fans...

 

[Zeh Don]

Well, Square Enix doesn't exactly have a massive stable of games to show off, being as they've driven most of their franchises into the ground.
Better a non-trailer for a non-existant game, than nothing at all. At least for their shareholders.

...They're not Blizzard, they don't take 5 years and then put out a GoTY. Basically, we can't let them,

To be fair, Blizzard hasn't done this either since the vanilla World of Warcraft release. Everything since then has been of questionable quality, and very, very, very few Game of the Year Awards. Diablo 3 certainly won't be getting any.

 

[Austin Howe]

*Company releases tech demo for new graphics engine*

"OMG y arent dey makin da gaem I want!!1!"

Square Enix has some of the neediest fans...

Well you wait 6 years for a game that doesn't have a release date, still. You wait four years for a game and have it be shit. [This isn't me but] You wait 7 years just for a single game everyone knows is going to happen at some point just be announced, the same going for even more practical projects that would do nothing but get the company money and fanbase love.

Snip.

Snip.

Yes, because everyone loved Blizzard last game, that Diablo 3, not a single complain about the plot, the dumb down gameplay or the always online thing...

Look, everyone misses and everyone got things rights, give Square some space, even if this game is not the mindblowing sucess that they want you believe it is, it still be better than a rushed out game...

Oh please, up until that, that statement was extremely true.

Snip.

Of course they don't have plans of keeping they well-loved franchises alive, if they did, then we would be seeing more Valkirie Profile, Chrono, Soul Blazer and not another fucking Final Fantasy.

Look, people like the flagship franchise, get over it. I want all that stuff just as much as you do, but the entire point of this thread is that Square isn't even making realistic business choices, much less ones that service their extremely loyal fanbase.

 

[Austin Howe]

Let the record show that, at this point: well-beloved franchises = Final Fantasy, Tactics, possibly TWEWY and definitely Kingdom Hearts.

 

[Austin Howe]

Well, Square Enix doesn't exactly have a massive stable of games to show off, being as they've driven most of their franchises into the ground.
Better a non-trailer for a non-existant game, than nothing at all. At least for their shareholders.

Snip.

To be fair, Blizzard hasn't done this either since the vanilla World of Warcraft release. Everything since then has been of questionable quality, and very, very, very few Game of the Year Awards. Diablo 3 certainly won't be getting any.

Admittedly, I was going more off of reputation. I'm not a huge Blizzard guy. That said, even their dumb games are at least fun, Square can't possibly claim that.

EDIT: And to that first part: You're pretty much defining "drove into the ground" as Pput out a single game that the fanbase generally despised, as opposed to having a 50/50 like all of their other games." That doesn't really count.

 

[Zeh Don]

...Admittedly, I was going more off of reputation. I'm not a huge Blizzard guy. That said, even their dumb games are at least fun, Square can't possibly claim that.

Truth. Though, Blizzard killed their reputation with Diablo III.

 

[wintercoat]

*Company releases tech demo for new graphics engine*

"OMG y arent dey makin da gaem I want!!1!"

Square Enix has some of the neediest fans...

Well you wait 6 years for a game that doesn't have a release date, still. You wait four years for a game and have it be shit. [This isn't me but] You wait 7 years just for a single game everyone knows is going to happen at some point just be announced, the same going for even more practical projects that would do nothing but get the company money and fanbase love.

I've been playing FF games since I was a little kid. I've played every major release except XIII and XIII-2 because I don't own a PS3. I've been waiting for KH3 since I finished KH2 the week it first came out. I've played every KH game but BB. The first Kingdom Hearts, to this day, is the only game that consistently makes me burst into tears upon seeing the end. I recently played ReCoded, and the intro(which happens to be the theme from KH1, as well as clips of it, and it includes bits from the end) nearly had me in tears as well. Trust me, I've been waiting. I have been waiting feverishly. But I don't jump at Square Enix every time they release something that isn't what I'm waiting for. They're a big company,I'd be jumping a lot. Tech demos are handled by a different set of people than video game development. Them releasing a new next gen graphics engine is nothing to get upset over.

 

[Austin Howe]

I've been playing FF games since I was a little kid. I've played every major release except XIII and XIII-2 because I don't own a PS3. I've been waiting for KH3 since I finished KH2 the week it first came out. I've played every KH game but BB. The first Kingdom Hearts, to this day, is the only game that consistently makes me burst into tears upon seeing the end. I recently played ReCoded, and the intro(which happens to be the theme from KH1, as well as clips of it, and it includes bits from the end) nearly had me in tears as well. Trust me, I've been waiting. I have been waiting feverishly. But I don't jump at Square Enix every time they release something that isn't what I'm waiting for. They're a big company,I'd be jumping a lot. Tech demos are handled by a different set of people than video game development. Them releasing a new next gen graphics engine is nothing to get upset over.

Except this hasn't been subtle at all. It hasn't been "They're making FFXV? I WANTED KINGDOM HEARTS III!" The problem is that, about since the release of FFXIII they haven't announced, set a release date for, or put out a god damned thing that was what the fans wanted or were at least waiting with dread for, not a single game meeting the VERY diverse wants of it's fanbase, even in terms of a "just put it out already we know it's going to be shit" perspective. Even before that, they'd already pulled that shit with SaGa, Mana, and Chrono.

 

[Austin Howe]

I mean, let's take a look at shit that Square is completely capable of doing RIGHT NOW for very little cost to them that would make at least one part of their long-suffering fanbase happy, and make them an absolute shit-ton of money. FFVII for home consoles is disqualified because, for the sake of this, I'm buying into Square's own argument that it is somehow it's impractical. It's not, but for the sake of this, let's pretend.

1) Remake FFVII for PSV: Seriously, most of what anyone wants out of that is better graphics (meaning they could just be lazy and deliver PS2 caliber and that would be perfectly fine), better sound for the ageing soundtrack sound quality of the OG Playstation (again, no need for live orchestra, just better quality synths), and an update to the retrospectively embarrassing translation of the original release.

2) Remake FFV and FFVI for 3DS: The two remakes they did for DS were very well loved, some even going so far as to call the DS version of FFIV the definitive version of the game, and whatever you thought of FFIII, it was basically just an enhanced version of the same game, and we were glad to have that little piece of history, finally. Meanwhile, FFVI is one of the most beloved games of all time. Make a no silliness remake of that for 3DS with better graphics and the improved sound quality the 3DS can provide, and you've got another classic on your hands.

3) Announce continuations of the Mana, SaGa, or Chrono series: Again, you could relegate these to the handheld departments as well and shit would be just fine. Easy money.

4) Just make Kingdom Hearts III already: Nomura is clearly tired of making the series, if you did this and let him make it a definitive finale, people would be fine, the game would make a ton of money, and Nomura could get around to finally finishing Versus XIII.

5) Buy fan translations of old ass games and sell them on the Nintendo store: I can't even begin listing how many games there are that fit this mold, and how easy all that quick cash is.

EDIT: 6) Put out Kingdom Hearts HD. Fuck, even I'd buy that and I haven't liked the series since the first one.

I mean this is easy shit.

 

[Beautiful End]

Let's count together!

-Final Fantasy XIV for a console (Or working for the PC, for that matter)
-Final Fantasy XIII Versus
-A US release for Type-0
-Kingdom Hearts 3
-TWEWY 2

That's 5 awesome games that have been announced/rumored at some point over the last 5 years. We have no release date (Or clear information) on any of them. Nothing at all. So yeah, kinda makes you wonder what the hell Square has been up to as of lately.

I love Square and everything. At one point, I would just buy any game that was developed by them. But...I just don't know now. Why add more shit to your plate when you're not even done with what you already have on your plate?

Yeah, that video looks awesome but come on! Just finish with something already, THEN move on to something new. At least it gives us your 5 remaining fats something to chew on for a while.

 

[BLAHwhatever]

This tech demo confuses me
Resident Evil? Final Fantasy? Black Hawk Down?
dafuq I just watch?
Also: Was that a Nuka Cola Quantum bottle?

 

[Terratina.]

Not listening to the Jimquisition [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/3700-Two-Rules-For-Square-Enix], and being total idiots. I loved the Final Fantasy series up to XI, but once Squaresoft and Enix merged, it has been going downhill. True, Versus XIII does like pretty sweet, but with the amount of time Square Enix puts into graphics any game made the main consoles could. You have to wonder what they're up to though...

Everyone can agree that the developers need to find a new direction that works.

I guess we just have to wait for that to happen. Bets are on a decade, at most.

 

[lordlillen]

4) Just make Kingdom Hearts III already: Nomura is clearly tired of making the series, if you did this and let him make it a definitive finale, people would be fine, the game would make a ton of money, and Nomura could get around to finally finishing Versus XIII.

well nomura has said that even after KH3 he will continue the series KH3 is only the end of the xehanort saga and the guy wont make KH3 until he is done with FFV13/15 and the game is not a sign of him being tired of kingdom hearts its more like him trying out things and seing what works so he can use them for KH3.