John Omaha
Moblin
Bad, since there are rumors of this restructuring being linked to Square-Enix getting bought out by Sony.Is that good news, bad news or both?
Bad, since there are rumors of this restructuring being linked to Square-Enix getting bought out by Sony.Is that good news, bad news or both?
Probably not since those games are specifically what they say they want to fully focus on from now on.Wonder what this means for the development of games like KINGDOM HEARTS IV and Dragon Quest XII, wonder if anything will be internally delayed due to this structure change.
FF7 Remake was literally Square's "in case of emergency, press button to print money plan" that people clamored after for years, I wouldn't worry about it in the slightest.My soul will not rest if this somehow messes with the release of FF7R Part 3. I know Final Fantasy would probably be the last SE franchise to go, but if they go bankrupt or something before it comes out i will die an unhappy man.
It ironically would probably help with S-E’s not so great PC releases. Obviously Switch would suffer in turn, though. Still, I don’t put too much trust into these rumours.Bad, since there are rumors of this restructuring being linked to Square-Enix getting bought out by Sony.
Hi, it's me, no one.Square probably should make fewer smaller projects, it doesn't make sense.
They've pumped out so many, mostly full price, pretty average games that all roughly share the kind of target audience. It doesn't work, no one is buying 4 of those a year.
I'm not convinced that this is true—the heavier and heavier leaning toward AAA development, with its constantly increasing development cycles and constantly rising costs, especially with the diminishing returns of sales in their AAA offerings (FF7R1 sold very well, but 7M isn't impressive on a scale that can prop up an entire division spending that much money)They’re going to space out their smaller releases by making fewer of them. As you say, they’ve already indicated that they will focus on bigger games going forward and it only makes sense. It’s smarter to focus their internal resources on games like FFXVI, FFVIIR, KH4 etc. because that’s actually what people want.
They're also totally divorced from the current reality and demonstrate a mindset that is firmly stuck in a late 90's/early 00's understanding when Squaresoft could do no wrong. Which would completely track with the rumor originating from an enthusiast forum rather than actual knowledge or backed by any sort of analyst reporting.These acquisition rumors are nothing. They don't come from any massive publication that could actually know about this stuff (think Bloomberg), but from Era users pretending to somehow have access to the most secretive info of both Sega and Square. I'll believe it when I see it.
XI was at 6 million sales as of 2020Meanwhile they tried to pump up DQ, but growth has been slow
I could see an argument that their larger games are overbudgeted but they're also solid and reliable performers. Getting their pipeline in order so they can get FF, KH, DQ and Nier (or similar) out with a good cadence while keeping budgets in check should be their main aim. I'm not sure how smaller games could sustain their development teams either. The current strategy is clearly not working.I'm not convinced that this is true—the heavier and heavier leaning toward AAA development, with its constantly increasing development cycles and constantly rising costs, especially with the diminishing returns of sales in their AAA offerings (FF7R1 sold very well, but 7M isn't impressive on a scale that can prop up an entire division spending that much money)
We need smaller stuff
What I mean is that their mainstays may no longer be "reliable" performers. Nier Automata was 7 years ago and hasn't had another really big release since, and Final Fantasy is on a general downward trend—by all appearances, XVI has sold more in line with an N64-Wii era Zelda game, and we haven't heard a damn thing about it since it topped... what was it, 3M? FF7R1 obviously did better, but that's not consistent performanceI could see an argument that their larger games are overbudgeted but they're also solid and reliable performers. Getting their pipeline in order so they can get FF, KH, DQ and Nier (or similar) out with a good cadence while keeping budgets in check should be their main aim. I'm not sure how smaller games could sustain their development teams either. The current strategy is clearly not working.
Hey remember the days when you got a new Final Fantasy every 2 years and you liked it?I could see an argument that their larger games are overbudgeted but they're also solid and reliable performers. Getting their pipeline in order so they can get FF, KH, DQ and Nier (or similar) out with a good cadence while keeping budgets in check should be their main aim. I'm not sure how smaller games could sustain their development teams either. The current strategy is clearly not working.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it did poorly or anything, just that growth from DQIX to XI was slow. It took a lot of time and extra platforms to get to 6 million, which is not much beyond what IX sold. Ideally I'm sure they love to get it closer to a AAA franchise WW that can hit those numbers a lot quicker and at full price.XI was at 6 million sales as of 2020
Over 6 Million Dragon Quest XI and XI S Units Sold Worldwide
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age and Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age S combined sales have surpassed six million units worldwide.www.siliconera.com
It's doing fine. It's basically up there with some recent Final Fantasy installments (XV and VII Remake), Kingdom Hearts III, and Nier Automata.
Well sure, but trying to get DQ to sell better in the West is a project that's been ongoing ever since NoA notoriously took a bath over the first gameDon't get me wrong, I'm not saying it did poorly or anything, just that growth from DQIX to XI was slow. It took a lot of time and extra platforms to get to 6 million, which is not much beyond what IX sold. Ideally I'm sure they love to get it closer to a AAA franchise WW that can hit those numbers a lot quicker and at full price.
To be fair, IX got a LOT of marketing from Nintendo in particular in the West, which bolstered sales in a big way.Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it did poorly or anything, just that growth from DQIX to XI was slow. It took a lot of time and extra platforms to get to 6 million, which is not much beyond what IX sold. Ideally I'm sure they love to get it closer to a AAA franchise WW that can hit those numbers a lot quicker and at full price.
Are they more credible than those of all the previous years this was rumored?Bad, since there are rumors of this restructuring being linked to Square-Enix getting bought out by Sony.
That would make sense if the other square franchise could hit those number quickly too but that’s not happening, all their big franchises are selling in that same ballpark of 7-10 mil with heavy discounting, and their last 10mil seller was 10 years ago. Square AAA output has been really underwhelming sales wise, especially ff16 which was tailor made to be the big breakout hit for the franchise and let’s just say it wasn’t. The problem is that their AAA projects are not selling up to the standard of the industry while costs are rising, so they either need a huge hit or they probably need to scale back.Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it did poorly or anything, just that growth from DQIX to XI was slow. It took a lot of time and extra platforms to get to 6 million, which is not much beyond what IX sold. Ideally I'm sure they love to get it closer to a AAA franchise WW that can hit those numbers a lot quicker and at full price.
I don't really think we can take FFXVI's somewhat muted sales performance as an indication of how well Final Fantasy can do under more ideal conditions but either way it doesn't look like they're going all in on AAA development. It's more likely that we're going to see fewer titles across the board with hopefully higher average quality. Which also means fewer projects like Forspoken and Babylon's Fall, obviously.What I mean is that their mainstays may no longer be "reliable" performers. Nier Automata was 7 years ago and hasn't had another really big release since, and Final Fantasy is on a general downward trend—by all appearances, XVI has sold more in line with an N64-Wii era Zelda game, and we haven't heard a damn thing about it since it topped... what was it, 3M? FF7R1 obviously did better, but that's not consistent performance
I agree that their current strategy isn't working, but I don't think the solution is going to be doubling down on the leviathan development that carries such enormous risk per title and has resulted in lower and lower domestic sales over time. Japanese sales do merit some consideration, here, because domestic engagement with their software helps to drive people toward Square as an employer—a potential problem which is being faced by every Japanese AAA studio outside of Nintendo, and being actively addressed by very few (mostly Capcom)
I agree that the way Square handles smaller games right now doesn't work, but I'd argue that part of why it doesn't work is that Square manifestly doesn't care very much about those smaller games. I'd suggest a more radical solution: stop using "Look as Expensive as Possible" as their primary AAA aesthetic driver. We need more reasonably budgeted, scoped, and developed Final Fantasy games, not a doubling down on the principle that's making them experience a brain drain and inconsistent sales on their flagship titles
See? I'm a big boy. I didn't ask for an Ogre Battle collection or anything
? Square has been collaborating a ton with Nintendo this entire generation, no way Square leave right before they make a console powerful enough for all their modern gamesBad, since there are rumors of this restructuring being linked to Square-Enix getting bought out by Sony.
That's basically what we've been getting with Team Asano/CBUII. Octopath, Bravely Default II, Octopath II all came out within a seven year period. Add in Live-A-Live and Triangle Strategy and they're actually more productive than Square was at its height.Hey remember the days when you got a new Final Fantasy every 2 years and you liked it?
Yea, that's not happening ever again but it'd be nice
Yeah, I think the strength of their big IPs is still there. A FF17 that doesn't take 7-8 years to come out and is a multi-platform launch (assuming that that's actually what made 16 do "just ok") could pull solid numbers.I don't really think we can take FFXVI's somewhat muted sales performance as an indication of how well Final Fantasy can do under more ideal conditions but either way it doesn't look like they're going all in on AAA development. It's more likely that we're going to see fewer titles across the board with hopefully higher average quality. Which also means fewer projects like Forspoken and Babylon's Fall, obviously.
Mobile would make some sense. They had a string of shutdown announcements in the final months of 2023 and there hasn't been any announcements of new titles to fill those gaps as usually happens with that revolving door of a business model. Or at least no announcements that have reached English sites that cover the JP market.Looking at the article itself, it seems like it's hinting at an overhaul of the mobile game development pipeline, since as far as I'm aware most SE mobige are outsourced and that's what SE claims they're addressing. As has been mentioned, their mobile output is fairly scattershot, and they've got several that they feel are underperforming.
I hope that this is about mobile and not about their smaller dev teams. Team Asano, the SaGa folks and others are making games I actually want to play.
I think this is aimed less at Asano’s stuff, and more Harvestella, Voice of Cards, Diofield Chronicle etc. SE have been very prolific the last few years, and while I haven’t played anything they released that I thought was bad, I suspect they want to consolidate stuff a bit to have more quality control to allow new IP to launch in better condition. Rather than launch a barrage of new games and then have half of them immediately disappear without a trace and the other half have a list of issues in reviews. There was no reason for Diofield to be in the state it was, as an SRPG from SE it should have been a lot more polished.Could be good news, could be bad news. Are they going to focus more on large FFXVI/FFVIIR type of high-cost blockbuster titles, or put more focus on regular smaller budget games like those from Team Asano and mobile output. Where they don't really need the type of sales numbers for something smaller than something larger just to recoup the costs of development.