This + Namco Bandai's strange exclusivity agreement for Vesperia and Eternal Sonata literally bomba'd the hell out of those titles.
Versus is in dev hell as we know it.
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Breaking News: Yoichi Wada resigns as Square Enix CEO, likely being replaced by CFO
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This + Namco Bandai's strange exclusivity agreement for Vesperia and Eternal Sonata literally bomba'd the hell out of those titles.
Versus is in dev hell as we know it.
Mailenstein
Member
Fucking finally.
I'm afraid it will get worse with the new person in charge.
I'm afraid it will get worse with the new person in charge.
Tizoc
Member
Instead of looking at it as "OMG S-E SALES WERE REALLY FUCKING BAD" the much more interesting question is "what did they write off which amounted to 100 million dollars".
I'm gonna guess it's the Agni's Philosphy tech demo which they spent a year, I think?, working on.
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD.
If you're talking about non-blockbusters, then Nier. There's also the upcoming Drag-on Dragoon.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
It would be a fun fucking thread though!
Either way, I'm not playing the game, and I think I gave up "waiting" for it in 2009.
Auto_aim1
MeisaMcCaffrey
I think it's pretty absurd to think about something like that seven years after its announcement.
RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
O_O
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Shadow Ranger
Member
Actually, if there's one mobile game I'd fully support, it'd be a new Triple Triad with new cards from all the FF games. At least that was a pretty fun game in FFVIII. Sell random 6-pack cards, shinys, rare odd cards (e.g. an A ranked bitebug), trading mechanic etc etc...
This please. The ball has been rolling on these 2 lately. Here's hoping recent developments allow it to pick up speed.
Exentryk
Member
Maybe it will simply "vanish" like Last Remnant for the PS3 did. But I don't see that happening. I think it will be presented as FF XV for the PS4 and Sony will pick up (part of) the bill.
Cornbread78
Member
holy shit for the 500th time now... wow
Sola Scriptura
Member
SE needs to sell off all assets acquired after the original merge. After that, they should get back to making the JRPGs people actually want.
AHA-Lambda
Member
So is Eidos to blame or not? :-/
SE says yes but zomgbbqftw says no.
SE says yes but zomgbbqftw says no.
Femmeworth
Banned
Indeed, buying a game cheap through Steam is not the same as buying it cheap from a retailer.
Aquamarine
Member
It does call Eidos's viability as a company into question... are all of those expensive AAA titles worth the development effort if they don't sell very well in NA / EU?
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Maybe the will drop enix and rebrand themselves for ps4 and the western market as square-eidos.
Wasn't the PS3 slow in sales in Japan during the beginning of this gen? Japan was clearly in DS-Wii mode and investing in HD titles for that market seemed would have clearly raised some eyebrows. Noticed how their handheld support never really faltered?
Femmeworth
Banned
About as likely as SE going private.
Deus EX + All DLC for $1 is ridiculous however you frame it. Just to put it in perspective, selling one costume for XIII-2 made them 4x as much money.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
I don't think so. Until late 2012, at least the game was doing some money through more or less 50k subcriptions.
Versus is a 7 year old project stuck in development hell.
Cornbread78
Member
this is pretty much exacty whats been unofficially reported, we'll see it at E3 running on PS4
commanderpepper
Member
This is unexpected.
It could be. Maybe the rumour about VersusXIII going to be exclusive for ps4 and sony helping with development is true after all...
If Eidos games are underperforming (and I highly doubt the name holds much respect here: they DID get into such a state they had to be bought afterall) that probably is one of the stupidest, most pointless moves you can possibly make.
Impeccable
Member
Eidos²
ShockingAlberto
Member
Wasn't there a rumor a few years ago were they will essentially change the entire name, with no Square in it at all?
I don't know why Sony would be interrested in Square Enix. Buyouts happen more to "promising" companies. Which SE isn't at all.
Could these results have anything to do with Sony helping Square with the development of Versus XIII? With these losses, it seems to me that they are in more trouble than ever during the merger. Maybe the Versus situation is less about "moneyhatting" and more about actually getting the game on the market. It would also explain why Versus would be rebranded FFXV instead of an entirely new FFXV being developed from scratch. It's been sad to see the company going downhill during the last 6-7 years. I've been bashing a lot of their decisions yet I have played more than 50 games that had their involvement.
If that happens, they'd probably sell the Enix part of the company. But still, I can't see it happening. At all.
How many exclusive JRPGs did S-E give the 360 again?
GhaleonQ
Member
It sure was. I wonder, though.
I guess I wonder if the next long-term head (if it's not Yosuke Matsuda) will think about this new generation's problems and how to address them while solving Square-Enix's own issues.
I'm really pessimistic about the future, so I don't have answers. I definitely feel like the fanboy responses (WHICH IS MY INITIAL TENDENCY, to be fair) will be even less useful than they usually are, and I hope they don't pursue "the strategy we'd have pursued in the alternate universe where we didn't erode and then explode ourselves over 2 generations."
I'm writing a lot without saying anything. Ugh. Wada deserves the backs of our hands and the heels of our feet. That's the important thing. I will buy the Squareragaga parody game in which he is the primary villain. You have a market, Square-Enix! Shame him! Shame him and take our money!
It's interesting seeing the masses of people come into this thread declare their distaste for Wada.
Did anyone on earth like this guy at the helm?
Stockholder and fanboy alike
Isn't it because literally any success he had in personnel, game production, and company acquisition (Final Fantasy XI as the exception, maybe) was built on the goodwill and hard work of far more talented people before/under him? It's rare to have someone who brings nothing to the table, even in a dysfunctional, relatively new industry like video games.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
The eidos games are doing bad? Wasnt tomb raider doing better than expected or something?
All indications to me are that the Enix part is the dominant part. This is like suggesting you can just go donate your BRAIN to save someone's life.
EDIT: On the other hand, I guess there may be a case for buying Squaresoft IP and studios from them, basically leaving ENIX behind whereas SCEA owns all that Square was.
This loss, partially at least, is attributed to poor western console sales, and I believe FFXIII-2 missed the mark to count there.
MoogleWizard
Member
Theres a light at the end of every tunnel.
Oh God, yes. The good old days, bring them back, Matsuda.
I have no idea who he is.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
Some very interesting opinions here about Iwata!
I will say this. The man is a genius when he has a clear vision and this is something he has demonstrated multiple times since becoming CEO.
The more interesting thing to observe is how Iwata deals with correcting mistakes or reacting to unexpected changes in the market. Here I believe his track record is more hit or miss:
Nintendo's first big project under his leadership was the GBA SP - I think we can all agree it was clearly a great move for the platform, and despite some oddities like removing the headphone jack, fixed almost everything that was wrong about the original GBA.
The Gamecube had already launched when he came into position, and while we don't have a complete picture of all the decisions he made during its lifetime, it's clear he wasn't able to save it. To be honest, I'm not even sure he presumed to have a plan to reverse its misfortunes. Some of his executive decisions during this time were: selling Rare, buying Monolith and other acquisitions which in the short term probably didn't have as much of an effect on the company as they did in the following generation.
NDS - while obviously remembered as the high point of his career so far, it didn't start out perfect either. The original design (aka DS phat) was clearly not ready for prime time, but Iwata corrected this misstep by releasing the Lite, which similar to the SP, I believe did wonders for the popularity of the hardware. In the DS's case it was probably what caused the turning point from a decent product to the beast it ended up being.
Wii - Started out amazingly well, with a clear message and huge appeal. The design was an immediate winner unlike the DS, and there was a pretty strong software lineup during its beginning. Demand far exceeded supply, and Iwata did his best in managing the production pipeline and anticipating the platform's continued popularity. Securing exclusivity for key Japanese franchises was also a major win in Nintendo's home territory but the western market proved to be an area where the company was less willing to take risks - possibly due to unfavorable exchange rates(?), but that is just a guess.
On the software side, there also seemed to be a loss of a clear direction after the first half of the generation.
Perhaps this was a result of external pressure due to the global economic crisis, but the previous vigor and clarity that seemingly defined Nintendo under his leadership were missing, or at least severely undermined.
3DS launched at a price that was way too high and without enough essential software, but contrary to popular belief it was still an improvement on the launch of the original DS in many aspects. People don't remember how depressing the DS was during its first year, with such releases as 'Yoshi's Touch & Go', Namco's 'Pac-Pix' and other small experimental titles like "Electroplankton", all severely lacking in content. Still the price was clearly a mistake and the market had changed considerably since the rise of app stores for smartphones. Consumers were much less patient than they were in 2004-5 so the lack of immediate essential software was more obvious. Iwata took drastic steps to cut the price for both hardware and software, which definitely helped the platform gain momentum. Once again, it's not clear if the high price and slower adoption in the west were a result of Nintendo being incapable or rather unwilling to take bigger risks outside their homeland, as the exchange rate was still highly unfavorable for them.
Wii U so far continues to suffer from the same problems as 3DS, launching at a price that is too high for immediate mass market appeal, and lacking essential software. Expectations for a platform launch have changed considerably and Nintendo has not been able to keep up. However the Wii U's future isn't certain yet, especially since for the first time in years the Yen's exchange rate is finally returning to more favorable values.
What seems to be certain however is that as time goes by, launching a new platform and bringing it the point where it is mature enough to be valuable to a wide range of consumers has become more difficult for Nintendo - i.e. it takes more time than it used to. This is actually true as far back as the original DS, and is probably a consequence of Nintendo emphasizing new, previously unproven forms of gameplay and presentation, rather than pushing for more of the same.
I will say this. The man is a genius when he has a clear vision and this is something he has demonstrated multiple times since becoming CEO.
The more interesting thing to observe is how Iwata deals with correcting mistakes or reacting to unexpected changes in the market. Here I believe his track record is more hit or miss:
Nintendo's first big project under his leadership was the GBA SP - I think we can all agree it was clearly a great move for the platform, and despite some oddities like removing the headphone jack, fixed almost everything that was wrong about the original GBA.
The Gamecube had already launched when he came into position, and while we don't have a complete picture of all the decisions he made during its lifetime, it's clear he wasn't able to save it. To be honest, I'm not even sure he presumed to have a plan to reverse its misfortunes. Some of his executive decisions during this time were: selling Rare, buying Monolith and other acquisitions which in the short term probably didn't have as much of an effect on the company as they did in the following generation.
NDS - while obviously remembered as the high point of his career so far, it didn't start out perfect either. The original design (aka DS phat) was clearly not ready for prime time, but Iwata corrected this misstep by releasing the Lite, which similar to the SP, I believe did wonders for the popularity of the hardware. In the DS's case it was probably what caused the turning point from a decent product to the beast it ended up being.
Wii - Started out amazingly well, with a clear message and huge appeal. The design was an immediate winner unlike the DS, and there was a pretty strong software lineup during its beginning. Demand far exceeded supply, and Iwata did his best in managing the production pipeline and anticipating the platform's continued popularity. Securing exclusivity for key Japanese franchises was also a major win in Nintendo's home territory but the western market proved to be an area where the company was less willing to take risks - possibly due to unfavorable exchange rates(?), but that is just a guess.
On the software side, there also seemed to be a loss of a clear direction after the first half of the generation.
Perhaps this was a result of external pressure due to the global economic crisis, but the previous vigor and clarity that seemingly defined Nintendo under his leadership were missing, or at least severely undermined.
3DS launched at a price that was way too high and without enough essential software, but contrary to popular belief it was still an improvement on the launch of the original DS in many aspects. People don't remember how depressing the DS was during its first year, with such releases as 'Yoshi's Touch & Go', Namco's 'Pac-Pix' and other small experimental titles like "Electroplankton", all severely lacking in content. Still the price was clearly a mistake and the market had changed considerably since the rise of app stores for smartphones. Consumers were much less patient than they were in 2004-5 so the lack of immediate essential software was more obvious. Iwata took drastic steps to cut the price for both hardware and software, which definitely helped the platform gain momentum. Once again, it's not clear if the high price and slower adoption in the west were a result of Nintendo being incapable or rather unwilling to take bigger risks outside their homeland, as the exchange rate was still highly unfavorable for them.
Wii U so far continues to suffer from the same problems as 3DS, launching at a price that is too high for immediate mass market appeal, and lacking essential software. Expectations for a platform launch have changed considerably and Nintendo has not been able to keep up. However the Wii U's future isn't certain yet, especially since for the first time in years the Yen's exchange rate is finally returning to more favorable values.
What seems to be certain however is that as time goes by, launching a new platform and bringing it the point where it is mature enough to be valuable to a wide range of consumers has become more difficult for Nintendo - i.e. it takes more time than it used to. This is actually true as far back as the original DS, and is probably a consequence of Nintendo emphasizing new, previously unproven forms of gameplay and presentation, rather than pushing for more of the same.