110°

Square Enix shifting focus to mobile gaming

Square Enix will be focusing this year on Mobile games rather than on console games

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Blackleg-sanji3287d ago (Edited 3287d ago )

It's official this might be my last console generation. All the Japanese companies are slowly bowing out if they haven't already

Edit: o I know square,atlus and to an extent capcom are delivering this gen it's just with the way things are heading especially in their homeland they might not see a reason to really stay which is quite a terrible thought

NoctisPendragon3287d ago (Edited 3287d ago )

SE is not in danger (+50% profit ) and SE also has tons of ps4 games comming soon .
More than they had at the ps3 era anyway .

Transistor3287d ago (Edited 3287d ago )

Yes they are making mobile games.

But I also know for a fact they have multiple AAA PS4 exclusives in the works, even from their western studios.

SoapShoes3287d ago

So dramatic, you realize they do have PS4 exclusives to announce at their panel for E3?

Games4Gamers3287d ago (Edited 3287d ago )

@Blackleg-sanji
It's official you do not know what you are talking about. There are so many JRPG's coming out for PS4 that Square Enix leaving barely makes a difference. Square is still releasing Star Ocean, FF15, the expansion to 14 Kingdom Hearts 3 and probably other games that I am not aware of.

Square Enix has been in the shitter for the past couple of years. They weren't making great games and were being too influenced by the western style games.

So can you be specific instead of saying "ALL" the companies are going mobile? Have you been living under a rock these past few months? There has been so many JRPG's announcments that I lost track of them

Nekroo913287d ago

Theres more JRPGS coming in the beginning of this generation on PS4, than on the entire last generation.

Consoles are here to stay, they might change and become something like Nvidia shield tv or playstation tv for streamed games only but they arent going anywhere.

You sould like those guys during PS3 and 360 era "consoles are dead" and now take a look at ps4 and x1 sales.

DemonChicken3287d ago

Looks at install base for mobile - laughs. considering nearly everyone has a phone and people of all ages play these games, the market and profit potential is huge. So you will be an idiot for not tapping into this market.I think mainstream gamers perception into mobile not too good as it's always a bad thing when someone mentions mobile.

Frankly do not find it as bad if games developed are good, I mean nintendo going mobile we might see good handheld quality games. Doesn't mean their entirely focused on mobile. Plus those emulators, lot of people playing classic GBA, SNES and PSX games on tablet and mobile.

I am quite a gamer and can see this appeal. I ended up having chrono trigger and cross on my mobile because these games were never released in my region and don't think they intend too as well; control wise it not bad considering turned base combat. Playing on the train while going to work is fun!

We see alot of porting of mainstream games to mobile too. So the market is there but just what appeals to you.

gangsta_red3287d ago (Edited 3287d ago )

Considering we just got this article,

http://n4g.com/news/1725120...

And with Sega focusing on mobile, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of other Japanese companies go this route also (Konami). But the end of consoles? Naw, I don't think it'll go that far, but we will see less games from these big name Japanese company's.

Spotie3287d ago

Where is the indication that we'll see less games from them? So far, I see quite a few titles from Square-Enix on the horizon; even if they ARE going to focus more heavily on mobile, that doesn't mean- idiots that they are- that they'll be making LESS games for more traditional platforms.

gangsta_red3287d ago

@Spotie

What has Square made in terms of games for consoles, NOT published mind you, games they developed themselves?

So far we have had Final Fantasy 13, 1 thru 3. Upcoming is Kingdom Hearts and another FF(vs.) game, not to mention a some recycled FF remasters. I hardly call that that quite a few. Especially compared to their yester years when they had the Mana series, Chrono series, FF, Parasite Eve and other titles they used to release even more often.

Square appears to be sticking with their most popular franchises. A lot of this can be contributed to longer dev times that requires a higher budget so they can't afford to take big risks with new IP's. This isn't the case with mobile and this is why a lot of Japanese companys (and western) have moved a lot of their titles to mobile (which includes portable handhelds).

DOMination-3287d ago

The Last Remnant is the other game they developed last gen.

3-4-53287d ago (Edited 3287d ago )

* Don't worry.

That market is flooded with trash checklist distraction apps.

Once they realize their fans aren't buying as many of their mobile games as they thought, they will have to fire the CEO, and bring in a new person.

This will signal their shift back to consoles in time for the next Xbox, Nintendo,Sony console.

Whoever is in charge at SE isn't in touch with the gamers and what they want to spend their money on.

They are chasing people who don't even like games, but just want to tap on some jewels for 12 minutes while waiting in line at Target.

* SE here is how you make a lot of money.

* Dragon Quest 11 for Xbox One,PS4,Wii U

* Dragon Quest 12 for New 3DS XL/Vita

* Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 3 for 3DS/Vita.

* Final Fantasy Tactics for PS4/Xbox One/Wii U

* Bravely Second 3DS - US Localization

* Dragon Quest 7 & 8 3DS - Localization

All of those would turn a profit.

Your welcome.

Moldiver3287d ago

"It's official this might be my last console generation. All the Japanese companies are slowly bowing out if they haven't already"

Just as well then that the console industry no longer revolves around japan. Japanese devs may be cutting down/pulling out of AAA console development but the sun is shining in the west. Consoles are selling more than ever and we still have plenty of witchers, Mass effects and the rest to look forward to. I think scenarios like bayonetta scalebound and bloodborne will be more common where MS, sony or nintendo will have to fund japanese AAA games themselves.

There are all kinds of reasons for how we ended up here. But that's a whole other topic.

Blackleg-sanji3287d ago

Well thinks for not eating me alive like everyone else like Ima well know troll or something maybe I should have put an /s when I said this my last console but I will say as an RPG heavy fan it is disappointing to see Japan back away from consoles alil

jeremyj29133287d ago

While you are correct about quality games coming from the West as of late, there is still something about Japanese made games that people tend to like more. Especially people that have been gaming for a long time and kno what kind of games and innovations Japan is responsible for. I love both Eastern and Western made games but for different reasons. I'll give an example. My favorite genre is Hack n' Slash and while I really do love God of War, I would play Devil May Cry over it any day of the week. I love God of War for it's story and production but Devil May Cry definitely has the superior gameplay for me.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 3287d ago
rextraordinaire3287d ago

There's still Star Ocean, Kingdom Hearts and FF XV coming.

NoctisPendragon3287d ago

Tomb Raider, Just Cause, and Deus Ex ,DQ11,DQH , DQH2, Saga , FF Dissidia , FF Type-1 and maybe even more .

Ron_Danger3287d ago (Edited 3287d ago )

And Dragon Quest: Heroes and FF7:HD on ps4

curtis923287d ago

What year is this? 2010? Good luck SE. We'll see you back focusing on consoles in a year or two when you see mobile's hit it's plateau.

NoctisPendragon3287d ago

+49% profit and tons of consol games comming soon : FF XV ,Star Ocean, Kingdom Hearts , Tomb Raider, Just Cause, and Deus Ex ,DQ11,DQH , DQH2, Saga , FF Dissidia , FF Type-1 , Lord Of Vermillion Arena , Life is Strange and many more .

SE isn't leaving anytime soon .

Godmars2903287d ago

Its not about "plateaus" with mobile gaming. Its just about getting people to pay/give money for the F2P model.

KeplerNoMore3287d ago

Mobile gaming will burst the bubble next year, so yeah good luck with that. Im sure we, the "basement dwellers and couch potatoes" that made you what you are today are surely going to support your mobile freemium games.

NoctisPendragon3287d ago

They have a lot of AAA consol games in the work : FF XV ,Star Ocean, Kingdom Hearts , Tomb Raider, Just Cause, and Deus Ex ,DQ11,DQH , DQH2, Saga , FF Dissidia , FF Type-1 , Lord Of Vermillion Arena , Life is Strange .

Mobile gaming is a thing in Japan like arcade gaming or MMOs , if it brings them money it is good for us (+50% this fiscale year ) since they can put more money in AAA games like FF XV .
They need to adapt to the market and not only do fan service .
As long as we get 1 AAA consol game per year and some remasters / smaller scale games i am ok .

Show all comments (36)
100°

Former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider pours scorn on EA's AI dreams.

"They want you to believe the devs under them are super stoked to work generative AI into their processes," continued Gaider, "but I assure you what they took as excitement was really a veiled wail of despair not unlike the time that team was informed of their new 'really cool' live service mandate.".

LordoftheCritics2d ago

Publishers see gaming as another stock market.

isarai2d ago

I think anyone with some common sense knew this, im glad i don't support their games anymore, what a sh!t company.

Psychonaut851d 17h ago

Friends don’t let friends buy EA or Ubisoft.

Chocoburger1d 16h ago

I said this yesterday. AI isn't what we want when it comes to crafting artistry. Alas, these soulless corporate morons don't care about their work, only about cutting corners as much as possible.

120°

Phil Spencer and the Battle for Xbox’s Soul

Has the rapid growth of Xbox made the ship too heavy? Following the closures of Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, and Roundhouse, we explore what the future of Xbox could look like.

LG_Fox_Brazil2d ago

This ship was never meant to sail, this ship was made from the get go to sink as fast as possible. It almost feels that they want to lower the standards of quality in the industry so that they can fit in

rlow11d 20h ago

I disagree, Xbox from the get go innovated and changed the industry. They did a lot of firsts and standardized a lot of others. It wasn’t till the beginning of the Xbox1 era that things started to go south.

Stevonidas1d 15h ago

Yep, although I’d argue it started going to shit when they tried to hock Kinect on their audience instead of continuing to invest in their studios and IPs. 2001-2010 Xbox was peak gaming, though.

rlow11d 14h ago

@Stevonidas
I agree they never should have focused on it after the 360 era. But you do have to remember they were faked out by the huge volumes of Kinects sold. To quote info on Wikipedia, “Project Natal, It was first released on November 4, 2010, and would go on to sell eight million units in its first 60 days of availability.” So if your Xbox and see these huge sales on a peripheral where are you going to put some money? Criticism in hindsight is worthless…..if only we could all see our future. In other wards they had no way of knowing. Plus they had engagement numbers and a lot of signs pointed to people wanting it.

Their biggest mistake wasn’t the Kinect, but unlike Sony after the PS3 debacle. They didn’t double on down on exclusive good games. The other huge mistake was letting Call of Duty go to Sony.

Hedstrom1d 23h ago

Phil wants Xbox to be as soulless as him!

Tacoboto1d 22h ago (Edited 1d 22h ago )

Xbox has no soul and Phil has no confidence, and it's impossible to say either do when they killed Tango and Arkane Austin.

Everything they've said since has only made them look worse to a point that they're actually less competent than Embracer.

Markdn1d 22h ago (Edited 1d 22h ago )

Whe you release something like the series S and expect it not to hurt your business model, and developers have to have parity with games. Then you know Microsoft don't care. Series s is the final nail that broke developers,

Show all comments (12)
360°

Sarah Bond dodges questions on Xbox studio closures

While on stage with Dina Bass at The Bloomberg Technology Summit the President of Xbox, Sarah Bond, was asked about the Xbox studio closures of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios

3d ago
ApocalypseShadow3d ago

Of course she did. She's part of the problem and will just tow the company line.

VenomUK3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Bloomberg’s Dina Bass could barely read her scripted question without looking at her notes, whilst Sarah Bond who WAS expecting the question spoke without saying anything of substance or answering the question in any meaningful way. Clearly she’s had the same expert PR training as Phil, but this avoidance was disrespectful. In time the short-sighted decision to shut down Tango Gameworks will be seen as of the most notorious examples why Phil Spencer messed up his tenure in charge of Xbox. That’s a fully built out talented team that could’ve been put to work on any project.

Additionally, Phil Spencer should not be using Sarah Bond as a patsy for his mistakes- he should be answering that question.

gleepot3d ago

I think you are all really overselling Tangos value. Hi-Fi rush was a lot of fun. Ghostwire was incredibly dull. Evil within 1 and 2 were just okay.

lucasnooker2d ago

Evil within 2 was incredibly under rated. I thought that game was surprisingly good

NotoriousWhiz2d ago

Someone else said it best. I don't think it was a Phil decision. It was most likely a Satya decision. I think Microsoft is done giving out free money to Xbox.

Cacabunga2d ago

people please boycott Activision Bethesda next release and support Hellblade.
these people mus understand that they cannot treat their fans and employees that way.
scumbags.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2d ago
XiNatsuDragnel3d ago

Yikes you don't help Sarah 😬 making a problem worse

Christopher3d ago

She's playing her role. There's absolutely nothing any of them can say other than the truth, this is about profit margins and not quality, so they just don't answer anything and wait for gamers to forget.

shinoff21832d ago

I think news is coming of more ps5 release but they gotta be careful cause Xbox is still sitting on store shelves. They can't get left holding all that stock

Lightning772d ago

Come next month they'll flash nice looking games in our faces and expecting us to forget.

The only thing that'll be going through my mind at their showcase is how many of those studios will get shut down after release.

I'm not joking around either. MS probably expects every game to be like COD and do COD numbers. What a way to destroy gaming for the entire industry because they're dumb af at being realistic in what success means for each game.

-Foxtrot2d ago

Always feels she was brought in / promoted for this. Happened just before things started to be out in motion.

Phil and co have someone to throw under the bus and share the blame with

zaanan2d ago

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

darthv722d ago

....won't get fooled again

Hofstaderman3d ago

Like a deer caught in the headlights.....

notachance3d ago

I always wondered why xbox had multiple leaders with similar titles like Phil Spencer, Matt Booty, and Sarah Bond, like, how many heads do you actually need?

Seems to me it would be more cost efficient to cut 2 of them instead of all those studios.

DarXyde3d ago

Frankly, I suspect she is the most competent of them. I don't mean that I like her more, I mean that she's the best at articulating herself and giving the talking points MS wants to give. The others are starting to sound more like her than her sounding like any of them.

Are any of these people "responsible" for what's happening? No. This reeks of Nadella. But that being said, I don't see any of the Xbox heads stepping down in protest.

"Don't shoot the messenger", sure, but at the same time, the messengers don't seem to take umbrage with the message. Not enough to remove themselves from it, anyway.

CS72d ago

I disagree. Nadella is looking for profit as a CEO should in my opinion.

The problem is Dr. Phil & Co. had 10 years to bring Xbox back on track and have been failing woefully.

Phil needs to sell to Nadella that if we are to make a profit, we need to make great games. And to do that we need employees here for the long haul and the freedom to work on creative projects.

But as Phil said himself he doesn’t believe great games sell consoles.

RpgSama2d ago

Dude, 100%, forgot Major Nelson and Aaron Greenberg, like what is the point for all these suits? They have more C-level executives than games released in a generation.

This is just so they can all pass along the hot potato one at a time and in between all of them can say a lot without actually saying anything, misinformation at its finest.

Show all comments (46)