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News Falcom president denies poor relationship with Nintendo

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Falcom dispels talk that it’s had a poor relationship with Nintendo​


Switch is really the first time that Falcom games have had a major presence on a Nintendo platform. Over the past few years, the Ys and Legend of Heroes series have found a new home on the console.

While Falcom largely missed out on previously Nintendo systems, president Toshihiro Kondo says that it’s not due to a poor relationship. He reiterated with in an interview with Denfaminicogamer that it all comes down to the amount of available resources. That’s why the company has partnered with Nippon Ichi Software and Clouded Leopard Entertainment to assist with ports.



Kondo had this to say about Falcom and Nintendo’s relationship as well as Switch support:

“Our games have never been a major series, so I knew we had to increase the availability of the titles. That’s why we have been eager to bring games to the Switch for a long time. There seems to be a misunderstanding amongst players that the relationship between Falcom and Nintendo isn’t great, but there’s absolutely no truth to it. Simply, we aren’t able to get everything done at the same time without involving other companies like Clouded Leopard Entertainment (CLE) and Nippon Ichi Software.
Bringing all four Cold Steel titles to the Switch in just over a year was simply not possible with only the resources of our own company. If all our staff focused on the same thing, then sure there’s nothing we can’t do, but it would mean the three years to make a game like Trails into Reverie can turn into five.”
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Ys VIII and Ys IX, along with The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III and IV, were brought to Switch thanks to Nippon Ichi Software, and they’re out now worldwide. Clouded Leopold Entertainment put the first two Cold Steel games on the console, though only in Japan and Asia. We’ll eventually be getting The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero, The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, and The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails.

Source: https://nintendoeverything.com/falcom-nintendo-relationship-switch/
 
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Have someone asked him what he thinks about the declining sales of the PS ecosystem in Japan?
 
If I could have played arm chair game publisher for Falcom, I would have done whatever it took to make sure the Sky Trilogy arrived on Switch in the launch window. NIS definitely carved an audience out on Switch being there early with Disgaea and I think Trails could have too (obviously they are partners now and share benefits). Hope we can at least get the first two Cold Steel games brought over so we’ll have Trails 4-10 on Switch by 2023.

I appreciate that Cold Steel III and IV came out on Switch when they did, but it’s hard and irresponsible to get new fans on board when the only thing you can point them to is the Infinity War and End Game of the Trails series.
 
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I mean, I suppose. But the results paint a different picture.

Actions speak louder than words.
 
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Weird how Falcom seems to find the resources for even old PS4 ports themselves without needing an overseas partner to do it? How many years back was Reverie pushed by Celceta PS4?
 
fiendcode said:
Weird how Falcom seems to find the resources for even old PS4 ports themselves without needing an overseas partner to do it? How many years back was Reverie pushed by Celceta PS4?
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Yeah, they literally just port Nayuta no Kiseki to ps4 this year.
 
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Actions speak louder than words. You're telling me the likes of Gust and Nippon Ichi can go multiplatform, but its too hard for Falcom?
 
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For a change, I'm actually buying it. Falcom is one of the smaller software houses in Japan save for maybe doujin software teams and certain PC-only publishers, them partnering with NIS, which is far and away larger, makes sense and it has considerably enhanced their reach. They've also never been a Nintendo-adjacent studio in the past, usually partnering with external studios like Hudson for Faxanadu (and the NES ports of Ys I-III) and their only "direct" release to a Nintendo system having been the two versions of Ys V.

FiveOVER said:
Gust
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Gust is owned by Tecmo Koei though and they've only started doing multi-platform releases years after the acquisition.
 
Haven't they been putting their games on Switch? Belatedly sure, but it's a small company with limited resources and perhaps an overly conservative management structure.

Perhaps they banked on the system where their fanbase mainly lay and focused what resources they had on getting games out on that one system? Or perhaps they thought they would get increased sales outside of Japan to compensate for losses in their domestic market? In hindsight this was a mistake, and they needed to in someway get games out day one on the Switch, but hindsight is 20/20 etc.
 
Does anyone have an idea on how the licensing agreement could work? Does NIS pay a flat fee to have the right to localise and publish the games or does Falcom get a percentage of sales?
 
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k samedi said:
At this point it would be better for them to make games for Switch and outsource them to others for PS4 and Xbox ports.
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Do they even release games on X-Box?

I'm surprised they haven't got the Gamepass treatment at this stage; obvious avenue for them.
 
Turenne said:
Haven't they been putting their games on Switch? Belatedly sure, but it's a small company with limited resources and perhaps an overly conservative management structure.

Perhaps they banked on the system where their fanbase mainly lay and focused what resources they had on getting games out on that one system? Or perhaps they thought they would get increased sales outside of Japan to compensate for losses in their domestic market? In hindsight this was a mistake, and they needed to in someway get games out day one on the Switch, but hindsight is 20/20 etc.
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Falcom isn't set up to capitalise on international sales. Kuro no Kiseki won't be released internationally for another 3 years. Domestic Japanese sales make up 70%+ of their revenue. The company they rely on for international sales is also ensuring that they have Switch versions of their games due to how lucrative it is as well.

At the end of the day Falcom can't just continue what they've been doing for the last few years because the conditions are getting worse and worse for them.
 
Oregano said:
Falcom isn't set up to capitalise on international sales. Kuro no Kiseki won't be released internationally for another 3 years. Domestic Japanese sales make up 70%+ of their revenue. The company they rely on for international sales is also ensuring that they have Switch versions of their games due to how lucrative it is as well.

At the end of the day Falcom can't just continue what they've been doing for the last few years because the conditions are getting worse and worse for them.
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Yeah agreed; basically they bet on the wrong horse but lets be honest - not everyone expected Switch to be the juggernaut it became, and most of Falcom's users were already in the PS eco-system. It seems a little harsh to overly criticise them.
 
Translated it for you guys.

"Despite us treating your audience and plattform like an afterthought, please send us Switch 4k/Dane devkits in the next 12 months."
 
Turenne said:
Yeah agreed; basically they bet on the wrong horse but lets be honest - not everyone expected Switch to be the juggernaut it became, and most of Falcom's users were already in the PS eco-system. It seems a little harsh to overly criticise them.
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I feel the road kind of ran out for that line of thinking a few years ago. The Switch is almost 5 years old now, and we might not even be that far off from a next gen Switch.
 
We will see for the next Kiseki title then. The series has been on decline for some years since Nihon Falcom stopped to have games on the Vita, but the sales of Kuro are so horrible I bet Kondo or the most important people at the company are seriously thinking if they must invest in the Switch and don't let it as a aftermath.
 
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Turenne said:
Haven't they been putting their games on Switch? Belatedly sure, but it's a small company with limited resources and perhaps an overly conservative management structure.
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Nah. They license out their games, and the licensors make and publish the ports
 
Them partnering with other parties is better than what they were doing before, but the end goal should be simultaneous multiplatform releases.
 
Turenne said:
Yeah agreed; basically they bet on the wrong horse but lets be honest - not everyone expected Switch to be the juggernaut it became, and most of Falcom's users were already in the PS eco-system. It seems a little harsh to overly criticise them.
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The Switch game out in 2017,its been nearly a whole generation,they definitely couldve pivoted by now
 
Yeah, this excuse would have been significantly more plausible had their own actions not really contradicted both it as well as the broader direction of the Japanese market that they themselves rely on so heavily.

The ground is shrinking under their feet if they choose to remain PlayStation only while prioritizing Japanese sales only. I honestly and legitimately have no issues with them wanting to stick to PS only if that’s what they want, but then at least recognize the Japanese market isn’t going to be able to sustain their releases and start working towards simultaneous global launches (or literally anything resembling that, it would be better than the 3+ Year gaps we have right now). If you can’t or won’t do that, then focus on simultaneous multiple platform launches within Japan.

But digging your heels in the sand and choosing to do neither is just… stupid.
 
Imitatio said:
Ah, alright. Doesn't really help their case, lol.
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Yup, it's always one thing to keep in mind when Falcom discusses Switch. Ys: Memories of Celceta for PS4 was outsourced to another developer and published by Falcom, in contrast Ys 8/9 and the Kiseki games are fully licensed out to other publishers who commission ports themselves and publish the.
 
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Turenne said:
Do they even release games on X-Box?

I'm surprised they haven't got the Gamepass treatment at this stage; obvious avenue for them.
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afaik the only Falcom game on Xbox is Ys Origin. And that was published by DotEmu. So, I don't think GamePass is even on their radar.
 
sir_AnGer said:
They've also never been a Nintendo-adjacent studio in the past, usually partnering with external studios like Hudson for Faxanadu (and the NES ports of Ys I-III) and their only "direct" release to a Nintendo system having been the two versions of Ys V.
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They also did Legacy of the Wizard (NES) and Popful Mail (SFC) inhouse. Their only other inhouse console games pre-PSP were the two Legend of Xanadu games on PCE,
Turenne said:
Yeah agreed; basically they bet on the wrong horse but lets be honest - not everyone expected Switch to be the juggernaut it became, and most of Falcom's users were already in the PS eco-system. It seems a little harsh to overly criticise them.
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At this point they deserve the criticism. Literally every other small JP pub like Mages, Kogado Studio, Idea Factory, SNK, Playism, Entergram, Systemsoft, Artdink, Hamster, Moss, M2, Granzella, etc, etc, has already transitioned to including Switch, often years ago. Falcom's size really isn't a defense.
 
fiendcode said:
They also did Legacy of the Wizard (NES) and Popful Mail (SFC) inhouse. Their only other inhouse console games pre-PSP were the two Legend of Xanadu games on PCE,

At this point they deserve the criticism. Literally every other small JP pub like Mages, Kogado Studio, Idea Factory, SNK, Playism, Entergram, Systemsoft, Artdink, Hamster, Moss, M2, Granzella, etc, etc, has already transitioned to including Switch, often years ago. Falcom's size really isn't a defense.
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Felistella is 16 employees(one of whom is a cat) and managed to release a multiplatform game on Switch and PS4.
 
Their reasoning makes a lot of sense. However it also leaves them in a tricky position where their base is dwindling and they don't have the investment/resources to shift.
 
unkindlynice said:
Their reasoning makes a lot of sense. However it also leaves them in a tricky position where their base is dwindling and they don't have the investment/resources to shift.
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Their reasoning may have made sense in 2017 and early 2018. Nearly five years after the Switch has been on the market, and the Japanese market has been irrevocably changed by its presence, their reasoning is no longer excusable, no. Particularly given how much Falcom releases on the Switch have over performed (admittedly globally and not in Japan, but if the Japanese market is what they care about, they should work on simultaneous releases for the platform there in the first place)
 
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Imitatio said:
What you're saying is: Falcom need a cat, right?
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Is Mishy a god damn joke to you?

latest
 
It’s a shame they’ve allowed themselves to end up in this position. I’d love to get into the Kiseki series (as I’m sure a lot of other Switch owners would as well), but with the current offerings in North America, it’s just not really possible.

Meanwhile it seems like every other small JRPG publisher is managing to get their games out multiplatform. Even the really small weird shit like the Mary Skelter and Moero H games.
 
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For the record, I definitely think they bet on the wrong horse years ago and now are realizing that that might bite them in the ass. But, let's be real for a second - did anyone ever believe Sony would drop Japanese developers as hard as they did in the past years following the appointment of Ryan as head of SIE?

'Cause I didn't.
 
sir_AnGer said:
For the record, I definitely think they bet on the wrong horse years ago and now are realizing that that might bite them in the ass. But, let's be real for a second - did anyone ever believe Sony would drop Japanese developers as hard as they did in the past years following the appointment of Ryan as head of SIE?

'Cause I didn't.
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Well this wasn't a sudden thing.
 
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sir_AnGer said:
For the record, I definitely think they bet on the wrong horse years ago and now are realizing that that might bite them in the ass. But, let's be real for a second - did anyone ever believe Sony would drop Japanese developers as hard as they did in the past years following the appointment of Ryan as head of SIE?

'Cause I didn't.
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It was a consistent trend that developed over 10 years, yes, developers had plenty of time to get themselves into a position where they could either pivot to global strategies to compensate (such as RGG Studio did), or to multiplatform/Switch specific strategies (such as NIS did).

Falcom isn't unique, dozens of other Japanese devs were in the exact same position as them, they all managed just fine.
 
If you were being really harsh you could say the writing was on the wall in 2014 when it was clear Sony had completely dropped Vita.
 
Didn't Falcom use Sony's Phyre Engine during the PS3/4 days. (Maybe on PSP too?) Might explain why they have been slower to jump over. I know they've finally made a new one but if I remember right for a long time they were just using this one made by Sony.
 
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