Square Enix Financials Fall Through the Floor

[Beautiful End]

Time to call in the back up plans for guaranteed money.

1) Release Kingdom Hearts 3.
2) Release Final Fantasy XIII Versus or whatever we're calling it now.
3) Release Final Fantasy XV--and make it good, it will sell three times as much.
4) Release sequel to Final Fantasy VIII (okay, so I'm really the only one that wants that).
5) Release a new Chrono game.
6) Remake Final Fantasy VII on the PS3.

Follow these steps, and the company will be back in black immediately.

NO! I completely agree and want a FFVIII sequel! Sure...I'm afraid they'll screw it up kinda like FFX-2 did (Not that I hate X-2), but dammit! I love FFVIII! It's a risk I'm willing to take! D8

 

[Space Spoons]

Man, that's a shame... But it's not entirely surprising. Square-Enix is a hollow shell of what it used to be, desperately clinging to the last few threads of greatness that remain as fans continue to abandon ship in droves. When Final Fantasy XIII was released and proved to be the single most divisive game in the series (remember the days when the FF name guaranteed a quality JRPG, no questions asked?), I knew it was the beginning of the end.

One can only hope their financial hardships will force them back onto the right track, but honestly, I can't see that happening.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

If ever there was a time to act on that FFVII remake... that time would be, oh, say, right about now.

And if they re-released an HD remake of FF7, they'd make all that back and then some.
I don't even care for the game or franchise that much, but it'd be stupid to pass up the opportunity to make shit-tons of $$$ by not re-making it.

Simple:
Remake FF7 that should make you guys enough
Never played it but seem people seem to think it was the Second Coming of Christ via a PS Game...

And everyone else who said this.

While I would love love LOVE to see a FF7 remake, this just killed any chance of it happening within the next five years.

A Final Fantasy 7 remake would be the MOST expensive project that Square Enix has ever done. That game is HUGE - that is like five games or more by modern standards. To remake FF7, Square would need to be rolling in cash - they'd need to be 150 million in the black, not the red.

So yeah... I now mourn the death of my hope of an FF7 remake. **cries**

 

[yanipheonu]

This is the worst thing to happen to Square since FF XIV!

Really though, I feel for them. A shame things turned out the way they did.

FFXIII and FFXIV are two reasons why they're in the shape they're in.

Contrary to popular belief, FFXIII wasn't a financial failure. XIV was.

Hell, it wasn't even a critical failure. Some people just like hating on it.

 

[Erana]

Can i just say that I love Square Enix games? Is that allowed on the escapist? I enjoyed FFXIII, I found it to be very similar to past games in many respects? I really don't see any decline in quality, merely a change in style that started with VII? Yes, they've been expiramenting, but isn't everyone's big boo-hoo about JRPGs that they never do change?

No, you can't say you like Square Enix, that's basically taboo here on The Escapist.

...Not really? Being an obnoxious fanboy is taboo on the Escapist, but Squeenix itself is fine. Its just tough to mention it without stirring up people's inner fanboy/hater because its so damn polarized.

Man, that's a shame... But it's not entirely surprising. Square-Enix is a hollow shell of what it used to be, desperately clinging to the last few threads of greatness that remain as fans continue to abandon ship in droves. When Final Fantasy XIII was released and proved to be the single most divisive game in the series (remember the days when the FF name guaranteed a quality JRPG, no questions asked?), I knew it was the beginning of the end.

I could say the same thing about pretty much any 3D Final Fantasy. No one game cost them billions of yen in debt.

 

[Sacman]

Come one Square... you can die, just wait until Deus Ex is out first...

 

[Defense]

Can i just say that I love Square Enix games? Is that allowed on the escapist? I enjoyed FFXIII, I found it to be very similar to past games in many respects? I really don't see any decline in quality, merely a change in style that started with VII? Yes, they've been expiramenting, but isn't everyone's big boo-hoo about JRPGs that they never do change?

No, you can't say you like Square Enix, that's basically taboo here on The Escapist.

...Not really? Being an obnoxious fanboy is taboo on the Escapist, but Squeenix itself is fine. Its just tough to mention it without stirring up people's inner fanboy/hater because its so damn polarized.

Oh, sorry. I forgot to add the hashtag.

#joke

 

[tombman888]

Make Kingdom Hearts 3. I swear, it'll sell like hotcakes (i never understood that phrase...) And i will buy a copy for every friend of mine who owns the right console for it.

But seriously, i do hope they can get back up from this.

 

[Scrythe]

This could actually be the golden ticket they need.

Remember: back in the day, Square was on it's last legs and decided to pour all of it's heart and soul into what they thought would be their very last game, their Final Fantasy. That game spawned a franchise that would get them through two decades before they fucked it all up again.

Now that Square Enix is back in the shitter, let's hope that the quality of their next few releases significantly improves. Even then, it wouldn't hurt to start diddling around with some of their newly-acquired franchises.

Spoiler

In other words: will you please release another fucking Legacy of Kain? I know that one belongs to Crystal Dynamics, but they're practically in Eidos' back door. You fucking own Eidos.

[sub][sub][sub]I could care less about Kingdom Hearts, so if they go belly up before KH3 is released, the resulting fanboy backlash would fill me with childlike glee for the next couple of years or so.[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[NoriYuki Sato]

Time to call in the back up plans for guaranteed money.

1) Release Kingdom Hearts 3.
2) Release Final Fantasy XIII Versus or whatever we're calling it now.
3) Release Final Fantasy XV--and make it good, it will sell three times as much.
4) Release sequel to Final Fantasy VIII (okay, so I'm really the only one that wants that).
5) Release a new Chrono game.
6) Remake Final Fantasy VII on the PS3.

Follow these steps, and the company will be back in black immediately.

I actually agree to Final Fantasy VIII, I loved that game, but I agree on some of these. FF XV and make it like the older ones (VII and VIII) but with modern graphics and speech and all the good stuff. KH 3 instead of handheld ones that are just side story things that nobody needs, a new Chrono game, and remake FF VII like they originally showed us, this would get Square back up in a heartbeat if they would commit to it.

Kinda reminds me of Yu Suzuki telling everybody there wont be a Shenmue 3 considering we're near the end and there's just enough left for people to guess on what happens,

Spoiler

when in actuality we finally track down the man that killed your father, and now you meet the girl you've been dreaming of who is supposed to help you, AND SHE'S MAGIC!!!!!!

Serious lack of commitment right there, Square has kinda been the same way and they need to stop if they want to get back on track.

 

[EmzOLV]

That is a massive shame and I have to say I was waiting for the moment they would report on the effects of the earthquake and tsunami. I'm sure Square Enix are not the only company to have suffered so badly from this.

Also, my whole thought on the 'remaking of FFVII' scenario which everyone seems to be pushing whether comical or not, is kinda a double edged sword. If they did it not only would it cost them a huge amount of money, but lets face it. A lot of people fell in love with the game at that time. Times have changed. The format may not be the same. Unless you simply re-make FFVII the exact same game again, you risk upsetting people who will say "well the characters aren't how I expected they'd look", "they have horrible voice actors", "I didn't like it", "it's not as good as the original was" and so on.

I think, go for it if you want and I'm sure I would purchase it and give it a go but it just begs the question of - what if they screw it up? How many would they really annoy with modern changes?

People are very quick to say what they don't like rather than what they do. And I think that people will simply compare it with the original and then you've got endless battles.

Just in my opinion! Not everyone is like this at all - I'm sure there will be a group who will treat it seperately and will totally love it. Its just thoughts that play in my head.

 

[Bob the frantic]

Well, nothing wakes a company up like a $200 million boot to the head.

Might be time to start working those creative muscles...right after you finish milking the fanboys to return to profit

But since I'm one of them - FFVI REMAKE AND KH3 NOW!!

 

[mogamer]

This is the worst thing to happen to Square since FF XIV!

Really though, I feel for them. A shame things turned out the way they did.

FFXIII and FFXIV are two reasons why they're in the shape they're in.

Contrary to popular belief, FFXIII wasn't a financial failure. XIV was.

I do believe that sales were nowhere near what SE expected. Not making enough profit to help support future projects affects the bottom line too.

 

[Ubermetalhed]

[HEADING=2]It is time, Square!

REMAKE EVERYTHING!

EVERYTHING![/HEADING]​

Or just port all the old stuff to modern systems. Cheaper...and should do well enough.

I know I'd spend $40 or whatever on a PSP Chrono Cross. Or just $10 on the PSN store.

Agreed. This cannot fail.

If only they still held the license to the Tombraider games then we/I could have a glorious remake of Tombraider 2.

 

[GeorgW]

I'm worried about which titles were cancelled. If it's all the crap that we knew would be crap, and Squeenix has a lot of that, great! It'd due for a remake in their infra structure. But what if they decided to cut down on all the expensive, and good, games? It'll be interesting to see, but they were in trouble before and this could have a huge impact.

 

[Gindil]

You know, I had to really think about this. What are all the things that people have a problem with in regards to Square? Not enough innovation or too much? What made Square a great company in the past and what could make them a great company from this tragedy? I think I found a decent answer. This will be a long read so I'll warn you beforehand.

First, Square needs to let go of making Final Fantasy. I personally haven't played since X. The reasons are various. It was a milking of the franchise, there were better games, and XI was all about the MMO. Now, they have two MMOs and one was panned. The MMO model is based off of Blizzard's with nary a look into why Blizzard has so much success. XI was centered around team play exclusively. I'm not sure exactly why XIV was panned so terribly but it made Square an evil name in a few households.There's two too many MMOs with not enough resources from Square

Second, Square hasn't exactly fostered many positive opinions within the gaming community. Most people have sword off their remakes of their best games, leaving other game in the dust. We can name ALL of the Final Fantasy games remade, and yet the more eclectic games considered "niche" aren't available to all. Games such as Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross, or Tobal are not even given a chance in the new market. The consolidation of content has hurt Square, not helped them

Third, Square's forte is experimentation. People loved their old school games that seemed to push the limits. However, nowadays, it's as if they want to stick to telling a specific story. They aren't a movie service. When they tried that, it failed miserably. Square needs to go back to innovating. The World Ends with You was a successful experiment. So was the FIRST Final Fantasy. Xenogears, Chrono Cross, could have been greater if they allowed those experiments to be seen through. Experimentation > reiteration

Finally, Square needs to reconnect with their fans. Crimson Echoes and Resurrection would have been great projects, showing fans' support if they had picked up the team. Other projects could have been started and kept money flowing into Square's coffers. They chose not to, bringing out the lawyers. This is truly what has caused a bunch of fans to either go underground about their projects or just to move on to places where they can be appreciated. Since Valve has given so much, I'm sure Square can learn a lesson. Do not piss off your fans

Maybe I'm off base, but if Square had done a lot more to appease their fans, and less to appease stockholders, they wouldn't necessarily be in such a tight spot.