Square Enix tells us what to expect from now on.

[bluefan]

Business wise I can understand Square Enix's position, but they will get literally $0 from me for any smart phone games. Bought FF III for iPhone and decided playing on a small screen with a touch screen was just not for me. I had a feeling they would go full throttle down this route when 3rd Birthday was announced for the smart phone platform initially.

[Scythiroth]

I don't even own a smart phone to buy their games if they go entirely into that market. >.> /firstworldproblems

[GoggleHead]

Less money going into the bottomless pit that is graphics means well designed games will be turning profits rather than being financial disappointments.

Sprite art was perfectly serviceable, I see no reason we shouldn't have more titles that make use of it.

We've seen the industry cultivate this absurd notion that the newest tools are always the best, when that's not really the case. Certain approaches are better for some games than they are for others. There's a place for super HD graphics, but there are plenty of titles out there where that's just a boatload of wasted development resources.

[Sonomaa]

when it all comes down to it, the entire fall of square enix really was setup because of the complete failure of XIV 1.0. Its complete and utter fall into the depths of MMO hell, scaring people away from the brand name, causing an insanely massive re-development of the game from the ground up. Everything can be traced back to Tanaka and his sundering of not only the XIV game but the brand and the company as a whole.

[Deader2818]

there are still a lot of great games this gen that are in 1080p or 720p. Saying to go back in graphics is a pretty empty comment to make.

The real problem is developers are scared to try something new because people say they want new ideas, but then don't support them when they come out.

Activision and EA are the main reasons imo that this has happened. Someone can release a new IP and it does well, like 2-3 million copies sold, but they look at CoD and Madden and see they sell 20+ mil and they consider it a failure.

Gaming as a whole changed because for years, it was a niche market. Dudebros didnt play sports games because they would just go outside and play while "nerds" that liked sports would play a sports game because it was more fun for them.

Outside of Dishonored and i guess borderlands, how many new ips have we gotten that done well in the last 3-4 years?

[Deader2818]

A thought accord though, for people asking for games to be lesser in graphics and better in story/game play... doesn't that mean mobile games might be the way to go then?

[Weltall]

They will get $0 from me for any mobile/handheld trash, but they will certainly make a ton in Japan. Every single person age 4 and up has a smart phone and that is all they do on the trains lol.

[Sonomaa]

you can tart up sprite games and make them look sexy as fuck, there is no reason you have to invest in a stupidly expensive 3d engine over and over again for games, it doesnt make sense at all. the unreal 3 engine has been absolutely serviceable and cross platform with the push of a button, why SE and other companies insist on developing an engine every time they make a game doesnt make sense to me at all.
IMO a nice pretty looking sprite game with really awesome sprites and some lenseflare, running 30ish hours of gameplay and some grinding, released on steam, psn, xbl, ios, and android will do a fantastic job

[Lucavi]

when it all comes down to it, the entire fall of square enix really was setup because of the complete failure of XIV 1.0. Its complete and utter fall into the depths of MMO hell, scaring people away from the brand name, causing an insanely massive re-development of the game from the ground up. Everything can be traced back to Tanaka and his sundering of not only the XIV game but the brand and the company as a whole.

I feel like it started earlier, though for different reasons. I'd like to say that it all comes down to Japan just being fucking stubborn about thinking that what they and Japan currently likes (IE. is comfortable with) will translate to the rest of the world enjoying it, simply because that's how it worked in the NES and SNES era. Go figure those where where they built their brand.

I have to then stretch that out by including companies like EA, who purchase small IPs and milk them dry, then toss them away for a few years before attempting to "revive" them with horrible success. Command and Conquer comes to mind as the biggest example, but you can also look outside of EA and include Mechwarrior. You have some companies that don't want to try new things like EA, unless the initial title sold well while it was still being developed by the original company, like Dead Space.

SE seems to go the opposite way, though. Instead of sticking with something that works well, they instead change things around, while only keeping the annoying Japanese tropes, like the ho-hum spikey-haired protagonist, the chipper loli girl, ect. When people get tired of that, they mistake it for some idiotic conclusion that "people don't like triple A titles anymore!", so they switch to smart phones in an attempt to grab as much money from Japan as they can, having become afraid of attempting to include the rest of the world in their sales figures.

Whatever, though. If SE, and Japan as an extension, thinks that they can survive a in a global market by simply pandering their RPGs to Japan's current trends, then so be it. The few times they throw the rest of the world a bone, its either a decent game with terrible marketing (Tomb Raider, Hitman, ect.) or some hodgepodge attempt at stereotyping all "westerners" (IE: anyone not living in Japan) into one group with guns and gore.

Its hilarious and almost criminal how much money they'd make if they simply listened to people. A new Tactics that isn't some DS kiddie title or a fucking phone ap; a PS2-visual quality remake of previous FF titles with true translations and god-level sprites. They make this thing seem like designing the games is the hard part, when its not. Marketing, budgeting and the like; that's the hard part. Same goes to fucking Atlus and the Ogre Battle franchise.

Japan, much like the rest of the world, is just fucking stupid sometimes. People are people, and when people fuck up, they deserve to have their company burn. I only feel bad for the low end of the totem poles in the SEs and EAs of the world. I wonder how many absolutely brilliant ideas have fallen by the wayside because of idiotic upper management.

[Scythiroth]

A thought accord though, for people asking for games to be lesser in graphics and better in story/game play... doesn't that mean mobile games might be the way to go then?

I would say yes as long as they would release them on PSN/XBL/handhelds/etc. as well for cheap people like me that don't think smartphones are a good investment.

[Lucavi]

For me, its not even that smart phones are expensive or anything, its just that its not fun playing a game on a goddamn smart phone after you've spent your entire life playing the same games on superior platforms with superior control, sound, ect. I don't know how crazy good smartphone game sales are in the states, but I've never stumbled upon someone playing FFT on their smart phone out in public. I know its bread and butter in Japan, but this isn't Japan.

Nice to know that all they can do is pander to Japan, then complain to IGN in quarterly interviews that "Gaming growth just isn't sustainable when only designing content for Japanese consumers."

[Weltall]

For me, its not even that smart phones are expensive or anything, its just that its not fun playing a game on a goddamn smart phone

100% my view.

Or any heldheld device for that matter. If I'm going to play a game, its going to be on my computer monitor or Samsung SmartTV. Not a god damn 3-6" screen.

[Scythiroth]

That makes sense too, didn't even think about how uncomfortable playing on a phone would be.

[Lucavi]

100% my view.

Or any heldheld device for that matter. If I'm going to play a game, its going to be on my computer monitor or Samsung SmartTV. Not a god damn 3-6" screen.

Hell, I can get down with a PSP. I obliterated Mario Kart 3DS, and did it with relative comfort. I broke high scores in Tetris on the Gameboy, and marveled at the graphics of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Game Gear. All of them were pretty comfortable in their own right, AS THEY WERE MADE FOR GAMING, but what the fuck, a smart phone? No sense of controller on it at all? Have to slide your fingers around on it just to move from here to there? I mean, come on.

I know Japan has crazy advanced phones that can suck you off while you eat your pocky or whatever, but we do not. Throwing all of your effort into smart phone games because Japan is a recipe for stagnation, and no less stagnation than their current trend of botching AAA titles because of shitty marketing or stone-age mentalities by the old men leading the company.

[Tyrath]

I can deal with handhelds but I get annoyed trying to play something that is solely touch screen. I love my goddamned buttons when it comes to gaming.

[Takiwaki]

FFVI on the 3ds using the bravely default engine.. If only

[Manako]

My issue with SE's mobile strategy is the cost to play the game, either outright or through in-app purchases. It's not competitive with other games, and as a gamer I'm not using my iphone as my primary gameplay device. If I'm going to be playing for longer than 15 minutes, may as well be playing my 3ds. I can't even comprehend how people who play on their phones exclusively will shell out that kind of money for a game.

[Weltall]

I know Japan has crazy advanced phones that can suck you off while you eat your pocky or whatever, but we do not. Throwing all of your effort into smart phone games because Japan is a recipe for stagnation, and no less stagnation than their current trend of botching AAA titles because of shitty marketing or stone-age mentalities by the old men leading the company.

Nope, 99% of JP users had an Iphone or Samsung Galaxy.

[Kaisha]

I would say yes as long as they would release them on PSN/XBL/handhelds/etc. as well for cheap people like me that don't think smartphones are a good investment.

This here. I don't get why they stick these off-shoots/upgrades to iOS only (and Android.....whenever they feel like it). Licensing and porting costs, sure, but I can't picture their titles not easily breaking even on release date.

Still waiting on my Chaos Rings collection on PS3/Vita.

FFVI on the 3ds using the bravely default engine.. If only

FF6 deserves to look more than just a 'better' FF3.

Nope, 99% of JP users had an Iphone or Samsung Galaxy.

Probably safe to say their phones are likely more powerful than their home PCs to boot. At least with the Galaxy you can pair up a controller for apps that support them.

[ronin sparthos]

I just never get why good series like Vagrant Story, Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics keep getting snubbed. Between the Ivalice Alliance and the Ogre Battle Saga SE could churn out games that are graphically inferior but heavy on story and replayability which is what the target market wants in these titles. The foundation has been there for years to green light developing these franchises and they've been left to rot. I'm at the point where I'll be expecting a Final Fantasy Baseball League game or Diner Dash with Final Fantasy characters and not even bat an eyelash.

Look SE, we get it. JRPGs are in decline as the "old school" gamers dine on WRPGs and become tired of the same formulas amidst younger gamers being drawn to the craze of FPS but JRPGs are what you're good at and its what Final Fantasy prided itself upon. Accept yourself and move forward through diversification but quit trying to uproot the core genre that holds the company together. You do JRPGs like Nippon Ichi does wacky SJRPGs.

The "cool kids" aren't going to enjoy your storytelling, your music, your artistic backdrops or your emphasis on philosophical themes and that's fine because it was social rejects that put you where you are today, willing to snap up those titles while everyone else was playing Street Fighter and playing Madden. The gross incompetence and the shitty marketing of titles (thus showing no faith in them) is pathetic and what has resulted is a subpar EA wannabe hemorrhaging fans and becoming a laughingstock for how many wrong things a company can do.

If FFXIV: ARR doesn't do extraordinarily well, more heads will roll. Lets see how long it takes for it to go FTP....