Square Enix output strategy | Discussion thread.

[Danny]

Nintendo regularly publishes Square Enix games regionally, about once per year. Has Sony published any SE games in the last decade? Or any SE games period? They published Squaresoft games pre-merger and pre-EA partnership.

Publisher deals are a wildly closer relationship and larger total value than marketing deals in exchange for exclusivity windows.

You have to look at what games they are focusing on. All the games they see as vital for their company is made purely for PS. The fact that they release their side projects on Nintendo systems is not the core of their video game business. PS is the core business for SE, Nintendo is a bonus platform where some of their side projects can be released.

I mean they don't even release most of their AA games on Switch, stuff like Star ocean the divine force and Visions of Mana.

I even think Xbox is more of a priority for them right now than Nintendo, with all the big announcement they now reguarly do with Phil Spencer and other Xbox higher ups. Makes sense, they have already announced that they will stop making the side project games they used to make for Nintendo, so now they are even more AAA PS games than they were before, so they now want to grow their relations also with Xbox more and more for their AAA only future.

Square Enix is going the same route as Capcom, and we already know that means almost no more Nintendo games, with all focus being on AAA games.

 

[Vena]

You have to look at what games they are focusing on. All the games they see as vital for their company is made purely for PS. The fact that they release their side projects on Nintendo systems is not the core of their video game business. PS is the core business for SE, Nintendo is a bonus platform where some of their side projects can be released.

I mean they don't even release most of their AA games on Switch, stuff like Star ocean the divine force and Visions of Mana.

I even think Xbox is more of a priority for them right now than Nintendo, with all the big announcement they now reguarly do with Phil Spencer and other Xbox higher ups. Makes sense, they have already announced that they will stop making the side project games they used to make for Nintendo, so now they are even more AAA PS games than they were before, so they now want to grow their relations also with Xbox more and more for their AAA only future.

Square Enix is going the same route as Capcom, and we already know that means almost no more Nintendo games, with all focus being on AAA games.

Aside from FF... nothing else fits this criterion you're carefully carving out.

DQ is on both console families. Octopath was exclusive for its first entry to Nintendo, then multiplat. Nier is multiplat. KH hasn't had a relevant release in half a decade.

Like your whole thesis is based pretty much exclusively on PS/SE FF relationship.

 

[unkindlynice]

One of the issues with SE is they seem too internal. I feel they don't reflect the current trends in gaming very well and they don't reflect a very good range of titles

Capcom made a strategic move with Monster Hunter; back 3DS but kick off production on a console game. This was smart because everyone knew it was Monster Hunter giving the PSP the sales it was getting in Japan so create that relationship with Nintendo and essentially merge the two audiences behind a single platform. They gained greater support in the West and then with the release of World went stratospheric with success. Since then they have sought to maintain their success with Nintendo but also open up Rise to the PC and rest of Console base.

They only hit the reset button when they have a problem. RE7 was a response to RE8 but once again they ran with their remake line for more traditional Resident Evil gameplay; allowing them to take risks on a FPS line but maintain their traditional success whilst they iterate and improve. Once again embracing the different systems - because they know that releasing on one system just means your limiting your self to an audience.

SE meanwhile I don't see any strategy behind their releases. FF7 releases close to FF16 (not long after than FF origin spin off either); they jump from console to console; and for the life of me how did TWEWY you get a sequel?

 

[tentacle-tropes]

God, they may have just fucked the mana series. I just don't understand the logic, maybe they thought switch 2 would be out by now? But Square is probably one of the 1st to know about switch 2 plans

Even if they thought this they should still have made a Switch version. My guess is they probably didn’t think about Switch at all while developing the game.

 

[KarlRemarx]

Even if they thought this they should still have made a Switch version. My guess is they probably didn’t think about Switch at all while developing the game.

The correct answer. We've already heard from reporting that S-E production management have been running their business units like their own fiefdoms, and the senior management is so thoroughly checked out of reality that they stupidly chase trends instead of taking any kind of sober look at what's being greenlit and for which platforms. So it's the perfect environment for business unit leads to coast along on the business strategy of "let's just develop this for playstation because PS1/2 were when we ruled the roost."

I'd like to think Switch 2 will finally force their hand and reorient their production with Switch 2 as the baseline and a proper multiplatform development pipeline as a matter of course, but I fully expect both Dragon Quest 12 and KH4 to have a botched production that will require backpedalling to include Switch 2, in the same way that DQ11 required massive time and effort to release on Switch.

 

[Terrell]

All the talk about cancelled games, I get the impression Square Enix has learned nothing and cancelled FFTR and FFIXR. Your move, SQE, prove me wrong! They probably won’t

 

[Damage2]

I really doubt that they cancelled FFIX Remake.

If its a great game available in all plataforms, the cartoon its a sucess and help with the synergy, it can be one of the biggest Square sucesses in recent years

 

[GoldenFingers]

I really doubt that they cancelled FFIX Remake.

If its a great game available in all plataforms, the cartoon its a sucess and help with the synergy, it can be one of the biggest Square sucesses in recent years

Yeah. Final Fantasy and DQ Remakes have been one of their most successful pillars for literally 30+ years. There's no reason to suspect that is where the cuts are.

 

[Terrell]

I really doubt that they cancelled FFIX Remake.

If its a great game available in all plataforms, the cartoon its a sucess and help with the synergy, it can be one of the biggest Square sucesses in recent years

When we’re talking the equivalent of USD$140 million being written off, something big was cancelled, because that’d be way too many smaller-scale projects, and it’s been a leaked part of their release calendar for an obscenely long time, with an alleged restarted development. Not a confidence builder, to say the least.

 

[GodlyTrident]

When we’re talking the equivalent of USD$140 million being written off, something big was cancelled, because that’d be way too many smaller-scale projects, and it’s been a leaked part of their release calendar for an obscenely long time, with an alleged restarted development. Not a confidence builder, to say the least.

Well there was also a rumor (or was it mentioned somewhere) that something was rebooted? I still think that KH is in dev hell.

If its a great game available in all plataforms, the cartoon its a sucess and help with the synergy, it can be one of the biggest Square sucesses in recent years

Erm, considering how much of success (or not) was FF7 I don't think SE will spend that much into much less popular FF9 remake. Maybe this time they won't split it into multiple parts.

 

[Person]

I even think Xbox is more of a priority for them right now than Nintendo, with all the big announcement they now reguarly do with Phil Spencer and other Xbox higher ups. Makes sense, they have already announced that they will stop making the side project games they used to make for Nintendo, so now they are even more AAA PS games than they were before, so they now want to grow their relations also with Xbox more and more for their AAA only future.

Connecting SE’s reorganization of the HD games division to fewer games on Nintendo consoles is highly speculative and based on little evidence. The many AA and AAA flops that lead SE to this moment had Switch console exclusives like Harvestella, PS console exclusives like Valkyrie Elysium, and multi-platform games like Diofield. The failure was across their entire portfolio, and focusing on quality from now on doesn’t mean excluding Nintendo. Same with AAA for that matter.

 

[duvjones]

Connecting SE’s reorganization of the HD games division to fewer games on Nintendo consoles is highly speculative and based on little evidence. The many AA and AAA flops that lead SE to this moment had Switch console exclusives like Harvestella, PS console exclusives like Valkyrie Elysium, and multi-platform games like Diofield. The failure was across their entire portfolio, and focusing on quality from now on doesn’t mean excluding Nintendo. Same with AAA for that matter.

It doesn't but it does seem like the path of least resistance here. Square Enix does tend to protect what it feels are the big items to take care of... what it does to the rest is anyone guess.
Still you are right that the failure here is across the board, and a holistic solution to the multitude of market flops would be the best answer to this. I think that the question here is: Does Square Enix see that the same way? Because how they achieve that quality is important.

 

[GoldenFingers]

Well there was also a rumor (or was it mentioned somewhere) that something was rebooted? I still think that KH is in dev hell.


Erm, considering how much of success (or not) was FF7 I don't think SE will spend that much into much less popular FF9 remake. Maybe this time they won't split it into multiple parts.

All signs point to it being a modest budget, and not split, and not a giant change to the gameplay design, just like nearly all of their remakes out of the last 30 years. They did faithful remakes of the first 6 final fantasies between the parts of their 7 remake.

Pre-rendered/drawn assets can get way mileage per budget if they are sticking to that. A giant chunk of their remake strategy is to get stuff into Unity or Unreal so it is easier to port and maintain over the decades. 9 is stuck in a hybrid mess (part emulation and part Unity?) that is hard to update and improve. A rebuild like the Pixel Remasters lets them get at the insides and really smooth out the battles by allowing animations and stuff to overlap in a way that light ports and remasters really cant.

People tend to misjudge their recent faithful updates based on launch sales, because a huge chunk of the revenue is from the long tail of having a popular game sell evergreen on storefronts with good versions that work. Their hacky ports repeatedly broke and needed better. Most DQ and FF games are going to have Unity/Unreal versions eventually. The age of garbage assembly ports is over.

 

[sfortunato]

As said in the other thread, I can see them.cut all the Diofield/Harvestella/Voice of cards + all the cheap remasters and keep

To be honest there aren't many games left to remaster which are marketable in today's landscape.

 

[Aime]

Would be disappoint if they cancel Dragon Quest III remake

 

[Kirby64]

Would be disappoint if they cancel Dragon Quest III remake

There is zero chance this happens, that's a guaranteed big seller in Japan at least.

 

[fiendcode]

I think DQIII is more likely to be expanded (DQI•II•III) than canceled.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

DQ1: Remake
DQ2: Rebirth
DQ3: Rectangular

Exclusively for PS5.
Let's go.

 

[fiendcode]

DQ1: Remake
DQ2: Rebirth
DQ3: Rectangular

Exclusively for PS5.
Let's go.

You mean exclusively across PS5 and PS6. And maybe PS7 the way things are going...

 

[GoldenFingers]

To be honest there aren't many games left to remaster which are marketable in today's landscape.

It is more about getting versions that work well at arbitrary resolutions and franerates without a ton of maintenance. Namely Dragon Quest games likely have more in the pipeline than just DQ3. There's likely a core set of 50 titles in their main IPs that they want available, and they are most of the way there with scattered gaps. They are still catching up from the mid 2010s that killed backwards compatability on both the Nintendo and Sony ecosystems.

I made a long list somewhere about the games lacking widespread current versions, as well as the small handful of 1M+ vintage era games that are missing availability. But maybe SO2R bombed and Xenogears, Parasite Eve, and Chrono Trigger are the casualties of this reorg.

 

[Damage2]

They should made a game like Dragon Quest VIII available for this generation, DQV-DQVIII too.

These could be big sellers and do well in the west, even If they are not full on Remakes like Crisis Core Reunion

 

[GoldenFingers]

They should made a game like Dragon Quest VIII available for this generation, DQV-DQVIII too.

These could be big sellers and do well in the west, even If they are not full on Remakes like Crisis Core Reunion

Basically a 100% chance of these coming eventually. DQIX needs a full remake, and the ports of DS and phone games are not simple. Chrono Triggers and Final Fantasy ports sucking so hard is why they did full remakes and pulled the previous releases down from their storefronts. Stuff needs to be in the multiplatform engines so they aren't doing a bunch of unique work for a games 15th release, 16th, 17th, 18th, etc.

DQ4-8, Mana 1, SaGa 2/3 DS are the larger gaps in their library that don't have rumors. My guess is Bravely Default 1 is getting ports this year.

For the longer shots at remakes, there's Parasite Eve, Xenogears, Ogre Battle, Lufia 2, Star Ocean 3. Meanwhile, FFTR, FF9R, and SF2R are basically confirmed, as is a DQ1/2 followup to 3 if that does well. CT is probably getting an updated version but hard to say what.

 

[KarlRemarx]

Basically a 100% chance of these coming eventually. DQIX needs a full remake, and the ports of DS and phone games are not simple. Chrono Triggers and Final Fantasy ports sucking so hard is why they did full remakes and pulled the previous releases down from their storefronts. Stuff needs to be in the multiplatform engines so they aren't doing a bunch of unique work for a games 15th release, 16th, 17th, 18th, etc.

DQ4-8, Mana 1, SaGa 2/3 DS are the larger gaps in their library that don't have rumors. My guess is Bravely Default 1 is getting ports this year.

For the longer shots at remakes, there's Parasite Eve, Xenogears, Ogre Battle, Lufia 2, Star Ocean 3. Meanwhile, FFTR, FF9R, and SF2R are basically confirmed, as is a DQ1/2 followup to 3 if that does well. CT is probably getting an updated version but hard to say what.

This is all too little, too late. They missed out on the entire Switch generation where these would have been very obvious successes, and instead wasted more resources on a glut of loss-making titles of wildly varying quality they evidently hadn't a clue what to do with. Regarding DQ, they also missed out the pivotal window following DQ11's release(s) where making the mainline series more widely available on all platforms was again, a no-brainer, with versions of those titles on modern APIs already existing on smartphone, and then only partially released some of the series on one system (Switch).

It's a perfect example of S-E's issues - flagship game series are given multiple false starts because even successful standalone releases aren't followed up on in any coherent way, to the point where an entire generation passes by and the likes of DQ/FF/KH are once again at the point where you may as well be starting over when it comes to building up a customer base.

 

[Danny]

Connecting SE’s reorganization of the HD games division to fewer games on Nintendo consoles is highly speculative and based on little evidence. The many AA and AAA flops that lead SE to this moment had Switch console exclusives like Harvestella, PS console exclusives like Valkyrie Elysium, and multi-platform games like Diofield. The failure was across their entire portfolio, and focusing on quality from now on doesn’t mean excluding Nintendo. Same with AAA for that matter.

But without A/AA games they have no releases on Nintendo platforms, and they acknowledged their focus now is on AAA games. They have almost never released their AAA games on a Nintendo platform. And when Capcom previously went the same route as SE now wants to go, it led to a collapse in games they released on Nintendo platforms, so we know where that will lead SE towards.

 

[KarlRemarx]

But without A/AA games they have no releases on Nintendo platforms, and they acknowledged their focus now is on AAA games. They have almost never released their AAA games on a Nintendo platform. And when Capcom previously went the same route as SE now wants to go, it led to a collapse in games they released on Nintendo platforms, so we know where that will lead SE towards.

Their focus "now" is on AAA games. The Switch is now in the last year of its life. Put 2 and 2 together.

Capcom's "collapse" in support has literally included getting RE Engine running on Switch and releasing one of their flagship franchises there as a timed exclusive, coupled with every other feasible multiplatform release they can get on the system. Those they couldn't get on the system natively, they've tried to release via cloud versions.

You are refusing to acknowledge the reality that the reason Xbox versions of multiplats exist and Switch versions don't is because it requires significant resources to create Switch versions of current AAA games, if they're even feasible at all, whereas Xbox versions are relatively trivial to produce if you're already producing a title for PS5/PC. Whatever meagre unit sales these Xbox versions generate are likely still providing profit because of this.

 

[Danny]

Their focus "now" is on AAA games. The Switch is now in the last year of its life. Put 2 and 2 together.

Capcom's "collapse" in support has literally included getting RE Engine running on Switch and releasing one of their flagship franchises there as a timed exclusive, coupled with every other feasible multiplatform release they can get on the system. Those they couldn't get on the system natively, they've tried to release via cloud versions.

You are refusing to acknowledge the reality that the reason Xbox versions of multiplats exist and Switch versions don't is because it requires significant resources to create Switch versions of current AAA games, if they're even feasible at all, whereas Xbox versions are relatively trivial to produce if you're already producing a title for PS5/PC. Whatever meagre unit sales these Xbox versions generate are likely still providing profit because of this.

Capcom used to be a big supporter of Nintendo, releasing tons of games on Nintendo consoles and handhelds. Today they are just a PC, Xbox and PS developer. That seems to be the future for Square Enix as well.

Switch 2 will still be costly to make ports of AAA multiplatform games, so there is no magical silver bullet that will lead to easy Nintendo ports in the future either.

It was feasible to make ports of AAA games to gamecube as well, but no one did because it wasn't justifiable. So why is it justifiable now if the sales are abysmal?

 

[KarlRemarx]

Capcom used to be a big supporter of Nintendo, releasing tons of games on Nintendo consoles and handhelds. Today they are just a PC, Xbox and PS developer. That seems to be the future for Square Enix as well.

Why are you lying? Capcom literally release everything they can feasibly bring to Switch, right now. What doesn't come to Switch very obviously can't run on the system, but even then they'll release titles that aren't heavily latency-dependent, like RE series games, as cloud versions. That's as much support as they can possibly give without completely abandoning 2/3 of the market to chase Switch-only users in the system's final year. You're claiming stuff that is debunked by simply typing "capcom" into the search bar on the eShop.

Switch 2 will still be costly to make ports of AAA multiplatform games, so there is no magical silver bullet that will lead to easy Nintendo ports in the future either.

It was feasible to make ports of AAA games to gamecube as well, but no one did because it wasn't justifiable. So why is it justifiable now if the sales are abysmal?

Again - your source for this is completely vibes-based rather than based on facts. What we know about Switch 2 makes current RE Engine titles easily possible to run natively, up to at least the likes of current Capcom AAAs like SF6/Exoprimal/RE4 etc. Whether the next iteration of RE engine powering RE9/MH Wilds can run on Switch 2 is up in the air (I think yes, with some effort) but even if that happens Capcom have already proven they are willing to make dedicated MH titles with Nintendo hardware as the base platform.

As for bringing up the gamecube - you're talking about a time when porting between multiple pieces of hardware required completely bespoke development because the platforms were utterly different architectures. Pretending that Gamecube/PS2/Xbox multiplatform development is somehow analagous to PS5/PC/XBS development is completely incorrect. The modern platforms have far more similarities than differences at the API level.

 

[Vergus]

Why are you lying? Capcom literally release everything they can feasibly bring to Switch, right now. What doesn't come to Switch very obviously can't run on the system, but even then they'll release titles that aren't heavily latency-dependent, like RE series games, as cloud versions. That's as much support as they can possibly give without completely abandoning 2/3 of the market to chase Switch-only users in the system's final year. You're claiming stuff that is debunked by simply typing "capcom" into the search bar on the eShop.

Why are you accusing @Danny of lying? The both of you are literally talking about the same thing, it’s just that you’re completely misinterpreting Danny as saying something different.

Focusing on AAA games means less games on Switch - Danny

Capcom ports all games they could to Switch feasibly with the exception of AAA games because of hardware - you.

These two points are not contradictory. You’re basically agreeing with Danny.

And Danny’s point about Capcom support isn’t about whether Capcom refuses to put games on Switch or not. Rather it’s about how the focus on AAA games reduced their output on Switch compared to, say, the 3DS gen where there were a lot more Capcom games on the console. Because like you said, AAA ports to Nintendo hardware require significant resources.

It seems like you’re just hung up about the “support” part and you think “port everything Capcom can” discredits the “Capcom output is lower on Switch compared to previous gens” argument when these are two completely metrics. Nothing you say contradicts what Danny is saying. In fact, you’re actually adding more points that supports Danny’s view that AAA focus will lead to less games on Nintendo platforms.

 

[Danny]

Why are you accusing @Danny of lying? The both of you are literally talking about the same thing, it’s just that you’re completely misinterpreting Danny as saying something different.

Focusing on AAA games means less games on Switch - Danny

Capcom ports all games they could to Switch feasibly with the exception of AAA games because of hardware - you.

These two points are not contradictory. You’re basically agreeing with Danny.

And Danny’s point about Capcom support isn’t about whether Capcom refuses to put games on Switch or not. Rather it’s about how the focus on AAA games reduced their output on Switch compared to, say, the 3DS gen where there were a lot more Capcom games on the console. Because like you said, AAA ports to Nintendo hardware require significant resources.

It seems like you’re just hung up about the “support” part and you think “port everything Capcom can” discredits the “Capcom output is lower on Switch compared to previous gens” argument when these are two completely metrics. Nothing you say contradicts what Danny is saying. In fact, you’re actually adding more points that supports Danny’s view that AAA focus will lead to less games on Nintendo platforms.

Yeah exactly. I agree that its unrealistic to expect AAA games on Switch, but my point was that traditionally developers like Square Enix and Capcom made other kinds of games for Nintendo platforms that they released instead of those AAA games. If that is changing either they start porting their AAA games to Switch 2 in the future or they will release fewer games on Nintendo platforms in the future.

 

[fiendcode]

As an exercise here's the publisher produced and/or developed games per Nintendo console (excluding Virtual Console/NSO/etc, non-games/apps and regional/external/indie pickup publishing deals):

CAPCOM
NES: 43
GB: 31
SNES: 37
VB: 0
N64: 3
GBA: 36
GC: 21
NDS: 29
Wii: 23
3DS: 22
WU: 5
NSW: 43

SQUARE ENIX (excluding Taito, SEE/Eidos)
NES: 29
GB: 14
SNES: 49
VB: 0
N64: 2
GBA: 14
GC: 1
NDS: 44
Wii: 21
3DS: 24
WU: 1
NSW: 75

...and for fun for me...

ATLUS (as of publishing in 1989)
NES: 5
GB: 23
SNES: 19
VB: 1
N64: 2
GBA: 22
GC: 1
NDS: 14
Wii: 3
3DS: 17
WU: 1
NSW: 16

NIHON FALCOM (excluding licenses)
NES: 1
GB: 0
SNES: 3
VB: 0
N64: 0
GBA: 0
GC: 0
NDS: 0
Wii: 0
3DS: 0
WU: 0
NSW: 6

 

[Tokuiten]

As an exercise here's the publisher produced and/or developed games per Nintendo console (excluding Virtual Console/NSO/etc, non-games/apps and regional/external/indie pickup publishing deals):

CAPCOM
NES: 43
GB: 31
SNES: 37
VB: 0
N64: 3
GBA: 36
GC: 21
NDS: 29
Wii: 23
3DS: 22
WU: 5
NSW: 43

SQUARE ENIX (excluding Taito, SEE/Eidos)
NES: 29
GB: 14
SNES: 49
VB: 0
N64: 2
GBA: 14
GC: 1
NDS: 44
Wii: 21
3DS: 24
WU: 1
NSW: 75

...and for fun for me...

ATLUS (as of publishing in 1989)
NES: 5
GB: 23
SNES: 19
VB: 1
N64: 2
GBA: 22
GC: 1
NDS: 14
Wii: 3
3DS: 17
WU: 1
NSW: 16

NIHON FALCOM (excluding licenses)
NES: 1
GB: 0
SNES: 3
VB: 0
N64: 0
GBA: 0
GC: 0
NDS: 0
Wii: 0
3DS: 0
WU: 0
NSW: 6

What is the Switch-number when you only count new games (no remasters/old gen-ports) and day 1-releases? Thx

 

[fiendcode]

What is the Switch-number when you only count new games (no remasters/old gen-ports) and day 1-releases? Thx

Excluding remasters, remakes, ports, conversions, late multiplats, multi-versions, expanded rereleases, emulation, etc. Only original day one releases. Also adding the other two current consoles for another point of comparison.

CAPCOM
NES: 34
GB: 10
SNES: 20
VB: 0
N64: 0
GBA: 18
GC: 12
NDS: 16
Wii: 10
3DS: 12
WU: 0
NSW: 4
PS5: 4
XBS: 4

SQUARE ENIX (excluding Taito, SEE/Eidos)
NES: 21
GB: 11
SNES: 45
VB: 0
N64: 2
GBA: 7
GC: 1
NDS: 29
Wii: 16
3DS: 10
WU: 0
NSW: 23
PS5: 14
XBS: 4

...and for fun for me...

ATLUS (as of publishing in 1989)
NES: 2
GB: 17
SNES: 14
VB: 1
N64: 2
GBA: 12
GC: 1
NDS: 13
Wii: 2
3DS: 9
WU: 1
NSW: 4
PS5: 3
XBS: 3

NIHON FALCOM (excluding licenses)
NES: 1
GB: 0
SNES: 1
VB: 0
N64: 0
GBA: 0
GC: 0
NDS: 0
Wii: 0
3DS: 0
WU: 0
NSW: 1
PS5: 2
XBS: 0

 

[Tokuiten]

Excluding remasters, remakes, ports, conversions, late multiplats, multi-versions, expanded rereleases, emulation, etc. Only original day one releases. Also adding the other two current consoles for another point of comparison.

CAPCOM
NES: 34
GB: 10
SNES: 20
VB: 0
N64: 0
GBA: 18
GC: 12
NDS: 16
Wii: 10
3DS: 12
WU: 0
NSW: 4
PS5: 4
XBS: 4

SQUARE ENIX (excluding Taito, SEE/Eidos)
NES: 21
GB: 11
SNES: 45
VB: 0
N64: 2
GBA: 7
GC: 1
NDS: 29
Wii: 16
3DS: 10
WU: 0
NSW: 23
PS5: 14
XBS: 4

...and for fun for me...

ATLUS (as of publishing in 1989)
NES: 2
GB: 17
SNES: 14
VB: 1
N64: 2
GBA: 12
GC: 1
NDS: 13
Wii: 2
3DS: 9
WU: 1
NSW: 4
PS5: 3
XBS: 3

NIHON FALCOM (excluding licenses)
NES: 1
GB: 0
SNES: 2
VB: 0
N64: 0
GBA: 0
GC: 0
NDS: 0
Wii: 0
3DS: 0
WU: 0
NSW: 1
PS5: 2
XBS: 0

Thx. Although it'd need PS4-numbers, too, for a full proper comparison, considering that's what Switch was up against for the most part.

SE numbers for Switch are surprising. The difference to the earlier numbers is sadly hilarious for both, though.

 

[GoldenFingers]

Thx. Although it'd need PS4-numbers, too, for a full proper comparison, considering that's what Switch was up against for the most part.

SE numbers for Switch are surprising. The difference to the earlier numbers is sadly hilarious for both, though.

Resident Evil and Final Fantasy are basically among the most evergreen multiplatform franchises, so it checks out.

The only three day one originals I can think of for Capcom are Stories 2, Rise, and GNG reboot. Can't imagine what the fourth was.

 

[fiendcode]

Resident Evil and Final Fantasy are basically among the most evergreen multiplatform franchises, so it checks out.

The only three day one originals I can think of for Capcom are Stories 2, Rise, and GNG reboot. Can't imagine what the fourth was.

Mega Man 11.

 

[Biscuit]

Thx. Although it'd need PS4-numbers, too, for a full proper comparison, considering that's what Switch was up against for the most part.

SE numbers for Switch are surprising. The difference to the earlier numbers is sadly hilarious for both, though.

Games come out a lot slower than they used to for these big companies, I guess

 

[Hartmann]

Youichi Wada, the former president, made an interesting comment about Square Enix's special losses on his own Facebook.

スクエニがコンテンツ制作勘定を落としましたね。
ようやくまともになりかけていて、良いですね。
だけど、足りないんじゃないかな。
赤字に見えないようになんて格好つけると後で苦労しますよ。
Square Enix has accounted for content production expenses. It's finally starting to look decent, which is good. But I wonder if it's enough. Trying to appear not in the red could cause trouble later.

もう少し、書いておきますか。
特損=しょーもないコンテンツ制作勘定の積み上がりの根本原因は、IP依存でも大型タイトルのコスト高でもない。
プロデューサー制を、ビジョンなく強引にディビジョン制にしたこと。加えて、今どきあり得ない売上至上主義体質にしてしまったこと。
これに尽きる （詳細は何時間でも語れます）。
ちなみにDQ12は （今開発しているものと全く違うものてあっても） 必ずリリースするでしようから、「廃棄損」にはできない。つまり、評価損の可能性大。
内部との連絡は皆無なので、全て公開情報からの憶測です。
Let me write a little more.
The fundamental cause of the special loss (ridiculous content production expenses) is neither dependent on IP nor the high cost of large-scale titles. It stems from the forced transition from a producer system to a division system without vision. In addition, the company has become a sales-absolutist, which is impossible these days.
That's the crux of it (I can talk about it for hours).
By the way, Dragon Quest 12 will definitely be released (even if it's completely different from what is currently in development), so it cannot be categorized as a 'scrapped loss.' Therefore, the likelihood of an appraisal loss is high.
There is absolutely no communication internally, so all of this is speculation based on publicly available information.

 

[Person]

Interesting. Any idea of what he means by “sales-absolutist”?

 

[Aostia82]

Interesting. Any idea of what he means by “sales-absolutist”?

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out the meaning of his words, but I'm struggling

 

[Danny]

Remember Square's glory days when they revealed 3 new Final Fantasy games on the same day, FF IX, FF X and FF XI?

Square Millennium Event:: Final Fantasy IX, X, and XI Revealed - IGN

Without a doubt, Square's crown jewel is Final Fantasy. Today, at the Square Millennium Event being held in Tokyo, Japan, Square officially revealed its plans for the series for well into the next few years. Final Fantasy IX was officially announced for the current PlayStation and was given a...

www.ign.com

 

[KtSlime]

Interesting. Any idea of what he means by “sales-absolutist”?

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out the meaning of his words, but I'm struggling

売上至上主義 = Having the philosophy that the total sales is the most important thing.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

Remember Square's glory days when they revealed 3 new Final Fantasy games on the same day, FF IX, FF X and FF XI?

Square Millennium Event:: Final Fantasy IX, X, and XI Revealed - IGN

Without a doubt, Square's crown jewel is Final Fantasy. Today, at the Square Millennium Event being held in Tokyo, Japan, Square officially revealed its plans for the series for well into the next few years. Final Fantasy IX was officially announced for the current PlayStation and was given a...

www.ign.com

Man, those were different times for the industry.

 

[Terrell]

売上至上主義 = Having the philosophy that the total sales is the most important thing.

So in this context, should we take this to mean that they're hell-bent on growing sales volume at the expense of coherent design and profit conversion?

 

[Aime]

Remember Square's glory days when they revealed 3 new Final Fantasy games on the same day, FF IX, FF X and FF XI?

Square Millennium Event:: Final Fantasy IX, X, and XI Revealed - IGN

Without a doubt, Square's crown jewel is Final Fantasy. Today, at the Square Millennium Event being held in Tokyo, Japan, Square officially revealed its plans for the series for well into the next few years. Final Fantasy IX was officially announced for the current PlayStation and was given a...

www.ign.com

And Final Fantasy movie


Change Fantasy to Space Sci-fi and Bomba

 

[KtSlime]

So in this context, should we take this to mean that they're hell-bent on growing sales volume at the expense of coherent design and profit conversion?

I couldn't say, it's a business approach that is viewed generally negatively and out of vogue in Japanese business circles from my understanding (I am not an exec nor do I have a business degree, let alone from a Japanese business school). He could just be using it as a kind of slanderous way of talking about the current management (like in America you call anyone who asks for health care a communist), or he could seriously believe it. If what he believe is accurate to the current management model there at SE, then yeah, with that implication it would mean putting the sales above proper IP management, employee retention, ballooning costs, etc.

 

[Djehuty]

I couldn't say, it's a business approach that is viewed generally negatively and out of vogue in Japanese business circles from my understanding (I am not an exec nor do I have a business degree, let alone from a Japanese business school). He could just be using it as a kind of slanderous way of talking about the current management (like in America you call anyone who asks for health care a communist), or he could seriously believe it. If what he believe is accurate to the current management model there at SE, then yeah, with that implication it would mean putting the sales above proper IP management, employee retention, ballooning costs, etc.

I guess their idea is to get back fans no matter what it takes and make the next game profitable with those fans.

But you can’t keep doing that, it sounds like they plan to produce FF with an AAA budget until it gets AAA sales

 

[Aostia82]

I couldn't say, it's a business approach that is viewed generally negatively and out of vogue in Japanese business circles from my understanding (I am not an exec nor do I have a business degree, let alone from a Japanese business school). He could just be using it as a kind of slanderous way of talking about the current management (like in America you call anyone who asks for health care a communist), or he could seriously believe it. If what he believe is accurate to the current management model there at SE, then yeah, with that implication it would mean putting the sales above proper IP management, employee retention, ballooning costs, etc.

Is he out of the company at all, right now?

 

[KtSlime]

Is he out of the company at all, right now?

He broke all ties with SE like 8 years ago, although he could still be friendly with some employees/execs still there.

 

[Joseki]

The panic over Dragon Quest XII in Japan was so loud SE had to comment:

「ドラクエ１２の開発は進める」キャラデザイン担当の鳥山明さん死去受け、スクエニが見解

人気ゲーム「ドラゴンクエスト（ドラクエ）」シリーズのキャラクターデザインなどを手掛けた鳥山明さんの死去が公表された８日、ドラクエシリーズを販売するスクウェア・…

www.sankei.com

Development is continuing.

 

[MegaXZero]

The panic over Dragon Quest XII in Japan was so loud SE had to comment:

「ドラクエ１２の開発は進める」キャラデザイン担当の鳥山明さん死去受け、スクエニが見解

人気ゲーム「ドラゴンクエスト（ドラクエ）」シリーズのキャラクターデザインなどを手掛けた鳥山明さんの死去が公表された８日、ドラクエシリーズを販売するスクウェア・…

www.sankei.com

Development is continuing.

That’s about 2 months old and is focused on toriyama’s passing.