Tenmar said:
I think the real problem here is that there is that huge divide of generation of gamers. Those that have grown up with games since they were young and are now well adjusted adults that understand the the video game industry is a business. And then there is the FF7 generation where while they are mostly grown up they are so obsessed with their "first" big game(not actually their first but most hyped for the console generation when it was Playstation and N64 as the big two competitors) that they wish for that specific story and characters to grow and don't want characters like Cloud, Aries and Tifa to die but be immortal for all time.
This gigantic divide of gamers are those that know that franchises and stories die and it is best to move on and then there are those that are used to see that specific game getting the spin-off treatment over and over and over again. There to my knowledge has been a total of three spin-off games, the PS2 game with Vincent, the PSP game with Zack and the FFVII movie. So that generation who has been used to being loud because that was the current largest inception of gamers when video games were starting to be accepted as pop-culture and not the "nerd" hobby that it was known for.
The result is the fanbase that is nothing more than grown children used to getting what they want and a company that knows that in order to grow it needs to reach and create new games and new audiences while it wants to preserve that nostalgia and be conservative to treat the game and its reputation as a gem and icon to the video game industry's history.
I disagree strongly to be honest. "Final Fantasy VII" is one of the most compelling examples that can be used for "video games as art" because it's done something few other big games have done: it's gone cross generational. It isn't a matter of a lot of former kids who are older whining about their "first big game" or anything of the sort. It's the result of a genuine demand. Consider the number of people downloading the original game from the Playstation Network, on top of the fact that people will pay big bucks for statues and such of various Final Fantasy VII characters... which are still made. The game continues to inspire artists and creators today. It's turned into an ongoing franchise. I don't think it's just Generation Xers growing up, anymore than "Star Wars" was the same for baby boomers. Your dealing with a phenomena.... whether you like it or not (and people diss both Star Wars and Final Fantasy VII almost equally, there are haters for everything).
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If you want my thoughts on the matter, I think it comes down to the fact that Squeenix is "better" at lying than other Japanese companies, though still pretty pathetic at it.
Simply put, our current generation of technology would not be an improvement if it couldn't do what the previous generation did, better and more efficiently. When you look at Squeenix's claim that it couldn't have added cities and such to "Final Fantasy XIII" because it would have taken too long to detail or whatever, you can look at dozens of other games with highly detaild city scapes... like oh say "Grand Theft Auto IV" or "Saint's Row 2" that manage to pull it off with a lot more area than a JRPG would require (where you only need half a dozen locations, tops typically). That right there shows that they're lying through their teeth about what can be done, because even if the generes are differant, the equivilent in raw graphics work has been done successfully by other companies.
What I think it comes down to is simply put that Squeenix has gotten a lot more greedy than it has been in previous years. A game like "Final Fantasy VII" was a lot deeper than "Final Fantasy XIII" and covered all kinds of differant enviroments and locations. Other games have arguably done just as much this generation, but the bottom line is that to do that takes effort and money. The more money you spend on a game, the less profitable it's going to be no matter how many units you move. Today Squeenix probably figures they can produce a very linear and relatively shallow game like "Final Fantasy XIII", and move ridiculous numbers of units of it based on the name alone, especially seeing as with the advent of casual gamers the whole "cinematic experience" thing means they can get away with having a really deep game there to begin with. Less money spent on development, of course means more money in the end.
I'm a pretty cynical person, and I understand Squeenix is a business and everything. However, there is such a thing as getting too greedy, and I think it's a problem that is affecting the entire gaming industry. Squeenix is simply one of the biggest/well known companies to really "sell out" this way. In this case when I say "selling out", understand
my point as well. These guys were always doing well and making decent profits, however it's a simple fact that the rich want more money, and with Squeenix the best way to do that is to reduce their quality.... despite the fact that the quality was what made them big to begin with.
Simply put "Final Fantasy VII" is too high quality a product, they could do it, but for the same investment they could probably release TWO "Final Fantasy XIII" equivilents, and move just as many units. They would make a profit (and a large one) off of VII, but could make an even bigger one with lower quality games, relying on name recognition and the easier to please market of more casual gamers that have flooded the hobby.
Such are my thoughts. In Squeenix's case though they are trying to make reasonable excuses rather than typical Japa-corp crud where they get some out of touch dude to treat people like money bags with feats and say rather honestly "Well, we expect you to work more hours to afford one"... like with the PS-3 (oh yes, we are all going to run out to pull major overtime for a bloody game deck, assuming the hours are even out there).
