My vote has always been option 3. お願い申し上げます、河津様！
Square Enix output strategy | Discussion thread.
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Asano is really taking a bigger and bigger importance into Square Enix.
He is probably supervising 4-5 projects at the same time now (Triangle Strategy, Dragon Quest III Remake, Bravely mobile game, Octopath 2, Bravely anniversary project/ports).
Really impressive and bodes well for the future.
Not sure it would make much sense to port FFVII Remake for the new Nintendo console if the other entries couldn't follow up due to hardware constraints.
I don't think they have any intention of doing it but that logic doesn't make too much sense because Intergrade didn't even release on PS4.
My point was, SE has a VIIR port ready for "Switch 2".
But then they have to wait for "Switch 3" to port VIIR2 because it was made for PS5 and can't run on "Switch 2".
Sorry but I didn't get your point with the Intergrade mention, iirc Nomura said it was made to ease the team into PS5 development (while they were planning part 2 I assume).
My point is that FFVIIR was made for PS4 despite the fact that they knew the rest of the releases would be on the following console. They didn't even bother with the DLC on PS4.
There's no real reason to hold off on ports just because the next release won't also be able to be ported.
Ok I get what you meant now. The main thing is the timing, while VIIR2 won't be on PS4 it'll come ~4 years after the first which is the usual waiting time nowadays for AAA sequels.
But having a port of the first ready for "Switch 2" and then having to wait for their next console to port the rest probably won't make much sense for SE. I think if it happens it'll be later in the gen so they can space things out properly, and not launching simple ports like 5-6 years or more apart.
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They are just contracts. If Sony were to buy Square then they would have to wait till the contracts end and then said teams will just move to making games for Playstation.
SE renewed the exclusivity contract for FF7R with Integrade and they may have had another renewal or even agreed on full exclusivity. I think both parties are very happy with the deal and see Sony extending it for the entirety of FF7R.
Is the latter even have a chance of happening if Sony decides to continuously extends the exclusivity agreement? Can't get a port of Sony constantly blocks it. Especially if Sony wants mainline FF to be seen as PlayStation only preventing even real late ports can be seen as a worthwhile investment.
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Sure, but Square takes these contracts from Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and Epic. They love taking money from everyone so as long as everyone keeps giving them money I don't see why they would want to be bought up. They develop so many different types of games on so many platforms that just limiting themselves to one platform would probably severely cut their revenue.
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I think people need to stop associating Final Fantasy with the Japanese market. The series is very Westernized at this point and doesn’t have the same gravity.
And yes, while a new mainline FF game would sell on Switch; many other SE titles would sell tremendously better on Switch. For instance, Im pretty sure a native FFVIIR port won’t sell nearly as well as the upcoming DQIIIR.
Sony securing FF to their brand doesn’t hurt Square’s Japanese player base at all.
And yes, while a new mainline FF game would sell on Switch; many other SE titles would sell tremendously better on Switch. For instance, Im pretty sure a native FFVIIR port won’t sell nearly as well as the upcoming DQIIIR.
Sony securing FF to their brand doesn’t hurt Square’s Japanese player base at all.
Of course it won't sell nearly as well, one will be a years old port of a FF remake and the other a day one DQ remake.
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I've said it before. Sony does not need to buy Square-Enix, but they need to make sure that Square-Enix games continue to release on their systems.
When I first threw the idea out there, it was mostly for fun. But the more time passes, the less "fun" it is. I'm still not at the point where I seriously think it will happen, but with SE's continued PlayStation-exclusive strategy and the recent NFT talk, it gives me the feeling that anything is possible in regards to this company. This is way too emotion based, so I apologize for it, but my impression of the current SE is that of an utmost "soul-less" company, one that doesn't care about its creative identity at all and only looks how to maximize profit. Even Konami oozes more "heart" with games like Momotaro.
I will wait for the proper DQ12 reveal with my next judgement of SE. Their plans for that game should be very telling for their overall future goals.
I don't think you can call a franchise westernized when it is so chock full of cringe character presentation like FF7R. The graphics might be more realistic, but the characters' behavior is more embarassing than anything you'd see in, say, Xenoblade 2. I'd say the realistic graphics are what makes it worse.
Now, if you only mean brandnew FF-games, like 15 and 16, maybe. I always find it a bit weird to call a game "westernized" just because it has an action-battle system. Imo.
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I wasn’t referring to the graphics nor the action battle system. I was speaking about the overall maturity level and character design. You know things like the characters being more realistic and less young looking. Which has always been something Square mentions over and over; hence Nier papa. And Yes FF games were always a bit more serious than their peers, but it was a lot more subtle than it is now. Now, they aren’t even trying for a younger rating.
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For Sony would be a good movement to have multiple exclusive Square-Enix games each FY:
FY2022/23: Forspoken, FFXVI
FY2023/24: Tomb Raider, KH4
FY2024/25: FFVIIR2
FY2025/26: Nier 3
And hey, Nintendo also got various exclusives via Team Asano (Octopath, Bravely Default 2, Triangle Strategy) and Chocobo Racing. Its true the production values of these games aren’t the same as Sony exclusives, but maybe thats because Nintendo isn’t interested on paying the same as Sony?
FY2022/23: Forspoken, FFXVI
FY2023/24: Tomb Raider, KH4
FY2024/25: FFVIIR2
FY2025/26: Nier 3
And hey, Nintendo also got various exclusives via Team Asano (Octopath, Bravely Default 2, Triangle Strategy) and Chocobo Racing. Its true the production values of these games aren’t the same as Sony exclusives, but maybe thats because Nintendo isn’t interested on paying the same as Sony?
For Nintendo its different . Dragon Quest, Team Asano, FF spinoffs, Mana, Chrono, SaGa and all other revivals and AA will be aimed at Switch primarily.
"not the same", LOL. That's quite a euphemism if I ever saw one.
I don't think it's fair to use "paying" as an argument when most of these PlayStation-exclusives also appear on PC eventually. And it's a highly questionable way of doing business when the #1-hw base needs to pay you to put your good games on its platform. It has been mentioned many times, but there are games in-between Bravely Default-tier and FF16-tier. Putting Kingdom Hearts Collection 1 and 2 on cloud-service instead of properly porting it is just insultingly low effort.
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Sorry missed this in first pass.
I meant even brand new, the other one would still do better.
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They pay to be timed exclusive. We know Microsoft gave 100 million dollars to Square for Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusivity (that was for only 1 year).
We also know Nintendo paid Capcom 10 millions for MH Rise exclusivity (again that lasts less than a year). I don’t think they are interested in paying more than that. Meanwhile, I’m sure Sony doesn’t have problem to give square almost the same money as Microsoft gave them for FF exclusiveness.
Also, yes, Nintendo is the hardware leader wordlwide since 2019, but Sony has been doing good numbers in the west too. S-E just goes whatever moneyhats them. They want low risks.
Despite that, I will be a bit surprised that Nintendo never tried to push hard to get its own exclusive FF “mainline” RPG. They do it for Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest. Well, they are rumors of a FFIX remake so ….
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One of these contract holders if far bigger for Square than the others. Its clear Square gives priority to Sony, and its allowed due to the majority of their fanbase being on Playstation. I don't see a AAA Square game going exclusive to anyone but Playstation.
The recent FF spinoff, Stranger of Paradise is not aiming Switch.
Mana, Chrono, Saga and DQ are pretty much multiplatform.
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A few weeks ago I had to listen to some users because I accused the company of a lack of love and effort on Nintendo platforms, maybe he doesn't want to ambush the "Square Enix is the holy grail" crowd.
On the subject of pay at Nintendo:
When I see Nintendo's direct willingness to pay money on Dragon Quest or even make it exclusive to their console in terms of content time, the problem lies elsewhere.
Meanwhile, with Dragon Quest, Square Enix decided to release it mostly on the console that has its appeal primarily in Japan. That's true for Dragon Quest now, but it doesn't have to be true for other IPs or even newly built IPs.
And this is where I see the problem: Square Enix wants to see money, if Nintendo were to build a new IP together with Square Enix with high production value and Sony were to get something out of it, Sony would simply offer more in terms of money and Square Enix would say yes (especially now as money-hungry as they are right now on the subject of NFTs and how quickly they suddenly sensed success after the console exclusive TWEWY on Switch, suddenly bringing the sequel to multiple platforms, with the obviousness of doing completely without marketing.). The development of an IP would be for nothing and Nintendo has no desire for such a thing.
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I guess they don't want to end up in a bidding war against Sony? It's likely to end up being more expensive than it's worth. For Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest, perhaps they have more bargaining chips because those IPs perform really well on Nintendo platforms while mainline FF has been absent for more than a decade. Like you said, there is definitely a limit to what Nintendo is willing to pay and SE probably demanded way more than they did compared to Dragon Quest. Even DQXIS had a very short timed-exclusivity window and that's not counting that the original game was already on PS4/PC so it wasn't really much of an exclusive. FFIX remake will likely to be multi-platform or PlayStation exclusive at worst. Current SE just doesn't see Nintendo as a major partner for their big IPs it seems.
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Rise of the Tomb Raider was exclusive to Xbox only a few years ago and the reason Square has an audience on Playstation is that it is the only platform they consistently release those games on. Even then stuff the Forspoken is still releasing day in date on PC as well so it is not like everything they do is even fully exclusive, even if it is console exclusive.
OP
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Well, now we know that Dragon Quest III Remake is this year. (EDIT: tweet deleted as it was pointed out that it was a mistranslation.)
Going to guess that it will be on Switch/PS4/PC and possibly also PS5.
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And yet despite the majority of their fanbase apparently being on PlayStation, basically every SE multiplat it gets sells more on Switch for some reason.
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FFVIIR is pretty much grounded, some hand gestures of Tifa are clearly idol-like, but the characters act like normal humans, not even close of Xenoblade 2 levels
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Hard to know, you see smaller games like Trials of Mana and Neo selling better on Switch, but you dont know if games like Nier,KH3, FFVIIR would sell better on Switch than Playstation.
I bet everything but mainline FF probably would. SE is screwing the pooch with their approach to KH on the platform, and also Nier's no show.
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SE: "Switch owners are only interested in playing our retro-style releases, our modern-style games only sell well on Playstation."
Switch owners: "How would you know that? Have you tried release a modern-style game on Switch to compare?"
SE: "Why the hell would we do that?! Switch owners only want our retro-style releases."
I just watched a video again showing some scenes of Jesse or Aerith and ... I disagree. Xenoblade 2 feels natural, because the games owns being anime-like. FF7R is in an awkward, weird spot where it looks realistic, but has the same anime-like animations/mannerisms. Just feels bad.
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Jessie its a weird character but i dont see anything anime-like in her, she is just teasing you all the time, Aerith is the same, there is nothing anime like in the way she act.
There are some weird mannerisms with the female characters, but it rarely happens
Looks like you havent even seen or played the game
He's created at least five new IPs.
Robot Alchemic Drive
Bravely Default
Octopath Traveler
Various Daylife
Triangle Strategy
Seen, not played. And I stay by what I said. FF7R makes me cringe to a degree Xenoblade 2 could only dream of. But that's offtopic I feel.
I really wonder why SE doesn't just tell us the platforms for DQ3R. Hiding platforms until later is such a toxic form of marketing, getting everyone's hopes up, only to disappoint a lot of people who then don't get to play the game.
Everything is weird. Mannerisms, gestures, and especially the voices. Xenoblade 2 has a few weak voice lines (particularly Rex's infamous scream), and it definitely bears the hallmarks and genre conventions of many modern anime/manga/light novels, but it never got anywhere near as cringe inducing as FF VIIR was in its worst moments.
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I really do NOT know how people can look at Final Fantasy VII REMAKE and be like "This doesn't feel like a production intended for Japanese audiences", when a lot of the mannerisms, writing, and voice acting feels like something I'd expect out of a General Audience anime and manga produced for Japan for a Japanese audience. Like, this isn't a knock against the game, because this is what made me fall in love with it originally. It's super childish, but endearing because of that, and has the extra awkwardness with the more realistically, though still stylish, proportions going on. Re-playing the original in Japanese, having played through the REMAKE with Japanese voice acting, a lot of this carries over from the original looking through the script a bit.
Beyond that, Final Fantasy VII in general still has a huge market in Japan and to me, it's why I feel like limiting it to PlayStation and if Square Enix honestly takes that deal, will be a huge mistake and will absolutely lock out audiences. I don't think it'll appear on the Switch (though the CPU usage is unusually low on the game, looking at the PC version, as it hardly even uses much of one thread/core, so if they could deal with the RAM/Streaming assets, in theory...), but I think a late port to Dane* and same day releases of Part 2 onwards on PS5 and Dane would be a good idea.
Again, I get that what I say and what Square Enix may do is very different, but I'd hate to see the series not be able to reach out to the target audience in Japan. So I'm hoping Square Enix does the right thing and doesn't limit/do an exclusive.
Beyond that, Final Fantasy VII in general still has a huge market in Japan and to me, it's why I feel like limiting it to PlayStation and if Square Enix honestly takes that deal, will be a huge mistake and will absolutely lock out audiences. I don't think it'll appear on the Switch (though the CPU usage is unusually low on the game, looking at the PC version, as it hardly even uses much of one thread/core, so if they could deal with the RAM/Streaming assets, in theory...), but I think a late port to Dane* and same day releases of Part 2 onwards on PS5 and Dane would be a good idea.
Again, I get that what I say and what Square Enix may do is very different, but I'd hate to see the series not be able to reach out to the target audience in Japan. So I'm hoping Square Enix does the right thing and doesn't limit/do an exclusive.
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RoTR was 7 years ago
Sony is more open to PC nowadays. Even Nintendo's contracts allow PC ports down the line.
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This Donkey video tries to make FFVIIR the worst way possible like he does with every JRPG, putting things out of context.
FFVIIR is pretty similar with FFX and FFXIII in the cutscene direction (Motomu Toriyama worked in both), so i dont see anything out of the normal for the series, FFVIIR was pretty much well received by a lot of critic and players and the cutscene direction were one of the biggest parts of it.
But lets stop, this is turning too much off topic
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Videos like this often exaggerate or take things out of context. I've listened to FF7R voice acting in both English and Japanese for full playthroughs through streamers (Japanese via Mendinso) and there is nothing weird about the voices. The weirdest thing is that almost every character is hot except for Hojo and Palmer. Heidigger being hot definitely threw me for a loop.
Yeah, there is some light anime influence and since both of us are very steeped in Final Fantasy VII lore, both of us really enjoyed your streams of Remake (I've only seen Integrade via another streamer on Twitch and that was with dub on so I don't know how Yuffie sounds in Japanese). I watched somebody else who has no previous understanding of FF7 enjoy it too but there were certain things (Cait Sith; Zack) that puzzled them. It is kind of amusing that they expect you to have read On the Way to a Smile to understand fully what's going on with a scene.
Personally, I'd love to play a downport of it on a Nintendo system, and I'll hold out hope that it does, but since this is a marquee release from Square Enix, they just might keep it console exclusive to Sony. Which would hurt how the saga is received among its first intended audience, Japanese gamers but would probably not hurt with the secondary but also important audience overseas which has loved every installment of Final Fantasy VII (even Dirge of Cerberus). On principle that multiplatform is better than exclusive, I would love to see on Xbox and a Nintendo console.
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I don't like playing action games on PC and I definitely don't want to use Epic. I don't own a PS4 (I considered getting one but nothing really pushed me towards getting one.)
Even with the KH misfire I can see a future for Cloud based FFs on Switch with XV, XVI, the VIIR series and especially XIV.
Most DQ games hitting in 2022/2023 is basically in line with the Switch software peak, even if 2021/2022 would have been better.
They should have make bank during these big years. The gap between DQXIS and DQXOff is however very unfortunate
They should have make bank during these big years. The gap between DQXIS and DQXOff is however very unfortunate
Xenoblade 2 also has much, much better cutscene direction and action scenes.
This phase of DQ games is the normal lead up to the next mainline game. Basically treat III HD and X offline as DQ VII and VIII 3DS or DQ IV-VI DS, with the other coming soon titles replacing things like Builders/Monsters/Rocket Slime.
This is all true but people wrongly assume FFXVI and KH3 are on PS and not Switch so it must mean most of SE audience is on PlayStation. Honestly, if SMT V can sell 800k+ in less than 2 months what do they think DQ12 will sell on switch (personally I think it will sell as well as FFXVI). Not to mention how much a mainline FF, KH or Nier would sell. Besides a big reason I think it doesn't happen is because that would REALLY upset Sony as I presume Sony would love to not have MH and DQ on Switch/Switch 2 and keep it a 'PlayStation' thing but that's not gonna happen.