CEO: Square Enix Has Become "Weaker Than Expected"

[Shoggoth2588]

Instead of the Final Fantasy sequels/ spin-offs few of us want, why not shift to something like Just Cause 3? What better way to show Square-Enix is still relevant than to compete with Saint's Row the Third and GTA-V with it's own wacky sandbox of explosive fun?

Can't stress this enough though: stop with the laser-focus on Final Fantasy unless it's a reboot, remake or, spin-off in the vain of a racing game or, platformer or something. Remember those two Prinny games that were made Square? Why not copy-past that with Chocobos, Moogles or, Tonberrys? Hell, if you're really strapped for cash release a portable-only dating sim featuring classic Final Fantasy characters.

 

[Defense]

I'll tell you why it fails. Because it hasn't made a good game... ever.

lolno

OK, name me a good game that Square-Enix has developed.

NOT a game like Arkham Asylum that they only take credit for for buying Eidos and all it's properties.

Final Fantasy XII... lolno

Dragon Quest IX, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, The World Ends With You, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection, and Dissidia: Final Fantasy. They also did a damn good job of reimagining Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together.

Not that I think they're better than SquareSoft mind you.

 

[Chris646]

Square-Enix. Here is what you do.
FF6&7 remake
Don't make the console FFs you and 3 AI. AI is artificial. You know what you want your characters to do in battle, so allow control of all of them in the fight at once. Not just you and the AI. That is dumb.
KH3.
Stop making shooters.
No more MMOs.

 

[Rezeak]

FFXI was a good MMO (it still makes money and is still being updated = win w/e)
If i was SE to recover the FFXIV thingy I would.

I'd give FFXI another push on getting people to return or start with a free trail or w/e since i'm sure your still making money from that.

Then offer everyone who play FFXI the abilty to play FFXIV for free, while it's free then being able to play at a reduced cost because you want them to be hooked into FFXIV when FFXI dies.

Outside that just use fing common sense i mean your paying pple to make games like mindjack.... well ofc your gonna lose money (pple should of been fired or worse forced to play that game for a month).

As for the final fantasy thing i'm personally bored of you making it your flag ship RPG meaning you start choosing stuff like Graphics over Story/Gameplay if 13 was half as detailed but had 10 different mini games like Blitz ball or Snow boarding it would of been a much more fun game.

Also you keep making alot of money off old FF remakes (2d ones) why not try and make another classic style since pple are buying them ALSO it doesn't need to look like a kids game ffs.

 

[Inkidu]

Look, if Squeenix ever needed to really bail itself out just make remakes of Final Fantasy six through nine for Xbox, PS3, or PC. You're not longer tied to Sony at the hip, and I would still buy them though I don't like anything they've produced since Final Fantasy X.

 

[Yosato]

Sounds like good news. SE have been dipping in quality in the last few years and it's good to see they're owning up to it. Maybe in the upcoming years we'll have titles on par with FFVII and X, maybe even Final Fantasy XV will take the honour, or maybe I'm just getting a bit too hopeful. DQVIII and DQIX were close for me - almost timeless classics in my eyes. Almost, but not quite.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

They severely need a renaissance. The company might not be in the same situation it was when they made Final Fantasy, but similar. Back then, it was before an immediate shutdown, but now they need something new and invigorating to rejuvenate them so they don't die a long, painful death.

 

[Kvontum]

Ever since Enix joined the party, theres been a rank smell of feces about EVERY SINGLE GAME they've made. Not one single great title and by great i mean great like; Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy 1-10, really, even Bushido Blade have better gameplay than the shitballs Square Enix is squeezing out these day.

Im sorry for ranting but it really gets me when something awesome just disappears because some f***bag has a stiffy for J-pop and thinks "This is would be awesome in a Final Fanatsy game"

Square Enix - its time to die, BANG!

 

[SpaceMedarotterX]

Ever since Enix joined the party, theres been a rank smell of feces about EVERY SINGLE GAME they've made. Not one single great title and by great i mean great like; Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy 1-10, really, even Bushido Blade have better gameplay than the shitballs Square Enix is squeezing out these day.

Im sorry for ranting but it really gets me when something awesome just disappears because some f***bag has a stiffy for J-pop and thinks "This is would be awesome in a Final Fanatsy game"

Square Enix - its time to die, BANG!

It's because of Wada, it's ALL because of Wada.

 

[TheEdgeofDespair]

Oh Square, how the mighty have fallen. It truly depresses me to see a company that produced some of the most influential and beloved games of my life devolve from an inspired, creatively driven, and dedicated industry giant to a pandering, miserable shell of its former glory, releasing derivative, lackluster game after game only tarnishing a once worthy legacy. It seems that, in the course of the past ten years, Square has forgotten both the individuals who transformed their games from mere entertainment to a true artistic experience, as well as the elements that truly make gaming worthwhile. They have neglected to realize that games need not focus on realism and graphical capability, rather they should focus on creating an engaging, unique visual style that gives character to the setting and immerses the player. Story-lines are not separate from game-play, dependent upon an over-explained and contrived plot to save the world, and or meant to deal in absolute good or evil, rather they should deal with themes that are relatable to the player and plots that are understandable yet complex and leave some fine details to the player's imagination. Characters should never be stereotypical, anachronistic, or alien and one-dimensional to the player, rather characters should be understandable, interesting, unique, and most importantly flawed. Gameplay should not be a tireless, boring grind that serves as filler between contrived and overly glorified FMVs; gameplay should be a driving force within the game that conveys the plot, setting, and characters equally as well as all other player-game interactions. Finally, the world should not be linear, lifeless, and uncharacterized; the world should give the player the freedom to explore as he or she pleases and harbor an environment that is equally as interesting and well-developed as any main character, relating to realism only in overarching messages that relate to reality through the subtle construction of the game's environments. If Square cannot recapture so much as a single shred of their former glory, perhaps they never truly knew why their games resonated with such transcendence among the players to begin with; perhaps Square is beyond redemption.

 

[Buccura]

The ONLY reason I hope they don't go under (Yet) is because they are publishing Deus Ex 3/0 and Thief 4. The ONLY reason :/

 

[Saelune]

The company that makes Hitman is owned by Square Enix. I learned something today. This also means that Square is near guarenteed to get some of my money this year. (when the new Hitman game comes out)

 

[Defense]

Sounds like good news. SE have been dipping in quality in the last few years and it's good to see they're owning up to it. Maybe in the upcoming years we'll have titles on par with FFVII and X, maybe even Final Fantasy XV will take the honour, or maybe I'm just getting a bit too hopeful. DQVIII and DQIX were close for me - almost timeless classics in my eyes. Almost, but not quite.

Dragon Quest VIII was made by Level 5 and Dragon Quest IX had Level 5 co-developing the game. I still believe Enix is a classic game developer, but I'd like to see Enix develop some more games to pick up the slack.

 

[farq1414]

i have but three words kingdom hearts 3 make it trust me a lot of people will buy it

 

[aescuder]

What? Making crappy cash-in games is not profitable and makes a weaker company?! The hell you say!

 

[Manji187]

Tip#1
Fire Wada, Fire Nomorua.....Rehire Sakaguchi....

Sakaguchi is busy being the president of the new company he founded, called Mistwalker. He's currently in the process of making his own Final Fantasy, called The Last Story (what's in a name..).

I don't think he's interested.

 

[Byere]

Here's a few ideas for you, Mr. Wada.

First of all, quality is MUCH nicer than quantity.

Secondly, go back to gameplay roots in some games. Changing how something is played is nice as long as it doesn't differ too much. Case in point, going from turn-based combat and storyline driven games to real or semi-real time combat and linear pathways with terrible story writing in the Final Fantasy series.

Finally, New ideas. Stop making countless franchise additions. Make a new game or two once in a while. Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest... all games I love but need to stop making sequels and spin-offs. Not so much a love of mine, but while a reboot to Tomb Raider is nice, it's still not that great an idea.

 

[Treblaine]

I'll tell you why it fails. Because it hasn't made a good game... ever.

lolno

OK, name me a good game that Square-Enix has developed.

NOT a game like Arkham Asylum that they only take credit for for buying Eidos and all it's properties.

Final Fantasy XII... lolno

Dragon Quest IX, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, The World Ends With You, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection, and Dissidia: Final Fantasy. They also did a damn good job of reimagining Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together.

Not that I think they're better than SquareSoft mind you.

FFIV-complete and Tactics Ogre LUCT are remakes/re-hashes, they are riding off the talents of past geniuses. Dragon Quest IX was developed by Level-5, not Square-Enix. Again, just writing cheques for equity.

Dissidia? Really? I'll grant you Crisis Core but I never gave it much thought as a Prequel and PSP only, bit like Peace Walker.

My problem with Square-Enix is much the same as with Kojima and MGS, they were masters in the 90's but now seem lost. I think this may have something to do with how Japan and "The West" have such diverging interests now, these companies are caught in the middle and don't know how to please either.

I think this is much more a business than personal challenge, many of Capcom's greatest developers have jumped ship and formed their own independent studios (Clover, Platinum games) But these have struggled without the capital to get the attention they deserve. For example as bad as FF13 was it still sold 4x as well as Bayonetta.

But FF13 sold well on brand reputation, they have cashed in on their past glory and their goodwill has frankly fallen to critically low levels. I mean it has gotten so bad that the popular opinion is the only way to salvage their brand is to do a HD re-make of a game over a decade and a half old.

 

[Defense]

I'll tell you why it fails. Because it hasn't made a good game... ever.

lolno

OK, name me a good game that Square-Enix has developed.

NOT a game like Arkham Asylum that they only take credit for for buying Eidos and all it's properties.

Final Fantasy XII... lolno

Dragon Quest IX, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, The World Ends With You, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection, and Dissidia: Final Fantasy. They also did a damn good job of reimagining Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together.

Not that I think they're better than SquareSoft mind you.

FFIV-complete and Tactics Ogre LUCT are remakes/re-hashes, they are riding off the talents of past geniuses. Dragon Quest IX was developed by Level-5, not Square-Enix. Again, just writing cheques for equity.

Final Fantasy: Complete Collection also includes The Interlude and The After Years, which were both developed by Square Enix. It's basically in the same spot as Crisis Core. Dissidia seems to be really liked from the reviews. I'm absolutely sure the story is shit, but it doesn't seem like it has terrible gameplay. Dissidia, unlike the main series, is clearly not intended to be taken seriously. Dragon Quest IX was co-developed with Square Enix, while Dragon Quest VIII was made exclusively by Level 5.

Don't get me wrong, I prefer SquareSoft any day of the week, but it's a stretch to say that all of Square Enix's games are terrible. I even ignored Kingdom Hearts despite the series having a more consistent quality than the Final Fantasy series as of late. The mention of 5 new IPs and Type-0 about to come out(which is directed by the same director of Crisis Core) probably shows that Square Enix can still push out some good games.