After years in the wilderness, pandering to western audiences and making JRPGs that their fans don't really like - are there signs that Square-Enix are about to go back to their roots?
Square Enix announced its financial results for the first half of the fiscal year, related to the period between April 2023 and September 2023.
i mean listen, all their gaas bs is not necessary.
ever crisis could have been a 30 quid game, a turn based experience instead of a mobile game.
the new kh could also have been a 30 quid game, especially with their controller support.
but im pretty sure the biggest failure and loss was definitely with forespoken.
"but im pretty sure the biggest failure and loss was definitely with forespoken."
Their biggest failure was going exclusive with Playstation. Doesn´t matter how hard you try and deny it, but to left both Xbox and Nintendo out was a big mistake.
To make things worse, Sony didn´t made an acquisition offer so now SE will be on their own dealing with the losses of massive investments on both production/development and marketing that simply didn´t pay out.
Fortunately the new CEO is a multiplatform supporter and SE might see better results in profit margin in middle term with both Xbox and Nintendo on board again.
"with higher sales year on year due to the launch of Final Fantasy XVI and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters,"
Read the article please. FFXVI was a success. And JRPGs sell horribly on Xbox. Why do you think their latest release, Star Ocean The Second Story R, is on everything but Xbox?
Lol @ "Losses."
It's absolutely hilarious to see how many console warriors don't understand that declining profit still means that a company made a profit (and not a small one), and behave like they're in the red and need to be acquired to be saved from bankruptcy.
Square Enix made a *profit,* and a substantial one, as it did for the past several years.
These "losses" you're talking about are entirely fictional. 😂
Lol as if xbox gamers you know the ones that don't buy games would've been squares saving grace. Forspoken and ff16 probably wouldn't even run on the switch
LMAO making up stories to fit your own narrative again?
Way to ignore the FACT that FF16 literally saved them. That makes you sad doesnt it? Knowing your wrong? Trying super hard to deny it? You will always be the biggest failure of N4G lol
"Read the article please. FFXVI was a success."
I read:
"with higher sales year on year due to the launch of Final Fantasy XVI and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, while profit dropped year-on-year due *higher development cost amortization and advertising costs.*"
Which games do you believe to have "higher development cost amortization and advertising costs"?
"And JRPGs sell horribly on Xbox. Why do you think their latest release, Star Ocean The Second Story R, is on everything but Xbox?"
Because the previous CEO was a blind and certified Blockchain and Playstation supporter who, among others equally poor decisions, sold SE´s western division for cheap! The new CEO Takashi Kiryu, has a more pragmatic view on gaming and SE will be bringing more games to Xbox! FFXIV is just the beginning!
Obscure your still ignoring the fact that xbox gamers don't buy games let alone jrpgs. Also the whole ps comment doesn't even make sense as switch has games from square not on Playstation. It's just an xbox thing
Mate, it's pretty obvious FFXVI missed out on Xbox because Square literally couldn't be arsed with Microsofts shitty parity rule for the Series S and X.
you say Nintendo and Xbox, but their games are so high end, that they wouldnt even run on the switch. and they'd have to make compromises due to the Series S.
and we know that they dont have a good relationship with xbox.
so your logic only makes half sense.
i agree that a multiplatform approach would make them more money, if it werent for the fact that their games dont sell on xbox. they never have.
final fantasy for example, is considered to be a playstation franchise, they sell the most on that platform.
also, exclusivity isnt just given free of charge. im pretty sure Sony paid them handsomely for it. and even had help from sony for 16 to run great on ps5.
Xbox, no. That 5% of sales was doing nothing. Switch could be argued but what 2012 looking game would we have gotten then? It'd have ruined it. And it was nothing to do with XVI in the first place
"SE will be bringing more games to Xbox, FFXIV is just the beginning". Sorry but how does porting a decade old game prove that. Where is Rebirth. And more to the point. Where is Remake part 1?
Last time I checked retailers are cutting down Xbox game sections, which indicates that Xbox players not only don't buy JRPGs, but they don't buy games in general.
New FF release going straight to GP for $5 mill I not happening.
If Xbox gamers don't buy games then why Square released Final Fantasy Crisis Core reunion?
Why did Sony need to pay for FFXVI exclusivity?
Actually, why does any 3rd party company like WB, EA, Ubisoft, etc put their games on Xbox if Xbox gamers don't buy games?
@Obsecure
xbox fans don't even buy their flagship games like Halo and Forza, why do you think they would be buying Final Fantasy?
"Sony didn´t made an acquisition offer..."
and seriously GTFO with your industry consolidation idea! not every dev and publisher should be bought by the big console makers! you're what's wrong with this industry!
Yes, the extra 100 sales from having the games on Xbox would have made a huge difference, probably.
Personally I think Square-Enix has gone from an amazing company to an overall meh company, they're still making bank anyway, even when games "fail to meet their expectations" (e.g. TWEWY NEO).
@petebloodyonion using Crisis Core wasn't a great example as that only sold 5 or 6% on Xbox. And SE went directly to both Sony and Microsoft about FFXVI. It was only on Sony because MS didn't want it enough
Kingdom Hearts is just a massive head scratcher to me
They finally have the chance to softboot the story and have it easier to understand but they are like "NAH...lets do an MMO game not many will play"
yea its .. a choice.
especially now that Nomura has such a .. not bad per se, but definitely A reputation due to his convoluted contribution that is KH.
I personally think they screwed up big time with KH3, not to mention how fragmented the game's story was over multiple hardware until recently, a soft reboot to begin a new saga would have been a good idea.
Good for FFXVI. Hopefully it keeps selling. As for the Pixel Remasters, they could probably have sold even more if they hadn't limited the amount of physical copies as much as they did. Not sure why they don't just do a reprint...
I haven't bought the Pixel Remasters because I want a physical copy. Too bad they only made like 14 copies of them. Man, they are dumb, would of sold like hot cakes.
I hope so - Westernising their content has really damaged both Square, and Capcom in particular. Kinda hard to see Square ever getting back to the golden age though...
Not to mention what happened to Final Fantasy. Really interested to see what 15 is like though - hopefully we'll see more at E3.
Capcom and Square need to realize that trying to combine fighting games with RPGs is a mistake. Bring back the true JRPGs that so many people enjoy. Playing an RPG that only lasts for 2 or 3 days not only ruins the game itself, it's ruining the genre. This is the one genre that is built on depth, story telling, variety, immersion, and length. These days gaming companies are trying too hard to cater to casual gamers who usually have short attention spans. If a particular game doesn't have online multi-player or spectacular graphics, casual gamers usually pass on it. RPGs have never been designed to be time wasters or something to do when you have idle time on your hands. RPGs are epics and sagas that draw the player into the role of a main character. Casual gamers don't buy games like Final Fantasy 14 or Bound By Flame, casual gamers by games like Thief, COD, or Amazing Spiderman 2. Wake up Capcom and Square! Casual gamers don't represent the majority of console gamers, THEY ARE THE MINORITY. Let them have the sports, online multiplayer shooters, beat em up action, and the hack and slash games. Give real gamers the hardcore RPGs! Rpgs like Suikoden, Chrono Trigger, Star Ocean, and Phantasy Star, games that help to define a genre and not the weak, watered down versions of rpgs being offered today.
eh we'll see with FFXV. Granted I was pretty ok with the XIII series they weren't rlly amazing or mind blowing. However I'm very hyped for FFXV that looks better so far in most aspects.