Which Square-Enix Betrayal Shocked You More?

From NextGen Player:

"As evident by the huge outcry on gaming websites, blogs and forums - Square-Enix's announcement yesterday that FFXIII will be released simultaneously on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 was a huge megaton surprise.

But let's not forget that this isn't the first time that Square-Enix has been branded a turncoat and a sell out. Back in the Super Nintendo days, Square-Enix announced development of FFVII, an exclusive title for the upcoming Nintendo 64DD.

The question I have for you is - which betrayal shocked you more?"

[PimpHandHappy]

but i got banned for calling africans bad ppl

anyway

They didnt betray anyone ppl! The ppl that feel this way are the same ppl that we all know as fanboys

fanboys=tools

Its not like they are NOT making a FF game for the PS3! Its not like they under cut Sonys footing in Japan! Its a timed exclusive

any game maker is free to spread the wealth and make games on what ever system they want. Its not like Sony is going to spend money just to keep it exclusive!

Sony IMO can care less! They have a nice list of games and features!

stop hating

and just enjoy the games you play

[Shadow Flare]

Yeah i know how you feel. I got banned from the gamer zone for changing an article title from "Why the Xbox 360 is still king" into "Why the Xbox 360 is still king of the landfill".

I wasn't into Final Fantasy until 7, and i was a Sega Megadrive gamer before that, so back then the Squaresoft 'betrayel' meant nothing to me. Hey, the only thing Square is loyal to is their games and trying to make it the best possible. Thats why they dumped cartridges for CD's and why they initially chose ps3 as the only platform for FFXIII. They only went to 360 cos they needed money, not cos its gonna make the game better.

I was actually thinking what news was bigger and more important:

Final Fantasy XIII going to Xbox 360
or
Bluray winning the Hi-Def war

I'll put it this way, the 360 demographic is not as rpg associated as PlayStation fans are. And GTAIV going multi-platform did nothing. By the time FFXIII releases for 360, 360 monthly worldwide sales will be so low, Square-Enix will have wondered why they bothered

[TheColbertinator]

Good points on FF13.PS3 lost exclusives like Devil May Cry 4,GTA4,and Ace Combat 6 but it continues to chugg along at a fine speed in the console race.Keeep in mind people today is Sony's turn.

[Thoas]

"Yeah i know how you feel. I got banned from the gamer zone for changing an article title from "Why the Xbox 360 is still king" into "Why the Xbox 360 is still king of the landfill"

I'm not banned from gamer zone, I just like open zone better.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

...just because of my Name!!! ;-D

They FEAR!!! 'Sir[The Killer of other Consoles]Ken Kutaragi' ;-D
HE WILL DESTROY the xBox 360!!! ;-P
(Hmm...wonder if i sounded like a T00L-FanBoy just then!!!) ;-D

p.s i'm not really banned from there;) I don't like the @ss-licking and people who think they know it all over there!!! ;-D
(Oooooooooops!!! Bye bye Bubbles!!!) ;-D Who cares...not me!;)

+Not all FanBoys are T00LS tho!!! ;-D
+Yeah it's coming to the PS3 anyway???

The only thing that Shocked me yesterday was Micro$luts;-D didn't really have any New 'WOW! OMG! i need that game' Games to show??? SONY WILL have later tho!!! ;-P

[Veryangryxbot]

For starters totally different situations.

I was there back in the days. SE was a second party developer of Nintendo much like Rare was back in the days. Square was one of the best...if you liked RPGs which only few people outside Japan did at that time. Thats why Nintendo never gave Square much freedom and always refused to port Square games to either US or EU market. FF and Chrono trigger for instance were never released in EU.

A small group of fans in US and EU who did liked RPGs were always fked.

Then came PSX. And SEs public dispute with Nintendo. When you read stories about it in this article and in old internet stories, it sounded like as if it was just a small despute. Because many werent there and never experienced it first hand.

It wasnt. I was there when it happened. I had a SNES and waited for N64. Every month or so, me and my friends would check out the different gaming mags. Internet wasnt norm back then. You would actually SEE and READ Square and Nintendo arguing PUBLICLY. And they were calling eachother names and throwing insults around. This dispute wasnt a small one people. And it wasnt limited to just HD space. It was just the way Nintendo always BULLIED Square and treated Square and Square games even though Square was arguably the top quality second party developer. And even before N64 arrived, many knew things werent going well with Nintendo and Square.

This public arguing lasted over NINE MONTHS. Thats right. It wasnt any small matter. And then Square announced they split with Nintendo and will produce FF7 for the PSX. They named all the advantages PSX had over N64 and that was it. That was BEFORE n64 even arrived on the market.

Many Square fans read their reasons (it wasnt for money) and agreed with Square and jumped ship with Square. When PSX and FF7 arrived, they all picked up a PSX console, as did I, and never regretted the decision ever since then.

Now as you can see, the situation back then and now, are totally different. This is SE, not square, and they didnt drop PS3. They just took MSs check. And thats that. SE totally dropped the ball and biatchslapped the same fans behind them.

They fked up royally. Thats why FF versus will be my last FF game because its still made by Nomura. SE lost me as a fan.

[Alexander Roy]

Betrayal...
SE is a business, first and most of all. Besides, I invite everyone to look up the sales figures for Final Fantasy XII. Where did it sell the most copies?
In Japan. More than DOUBLE the amount of copies than in Europe. FF is a giant cult in Japan.
Who sells it exclusively in Japan? Sony.
Who got a nice boost to fund more games? SE.
Who has got a title that not only is time exclusive (as far as said yet) for the enemys console, but for the two territories that just sell a handful more than Japan alone? MSFT.
Whose console is known for a lively piracy base? MSFTs.

Doesn't look THAT bad to me.
In before: butthurt droid, sony fanboy, damage reduction.

[Bubble Buddy]

I repeat this again and again, Sony knows what they're doing.

EDIT: Sony owns a little part of SE so game sales on PS3 AND 360 go partly to them.

[Marcello]

SE went with FFVII on PS1 cos it wouldnt fit on a cartridge & Nintendo couldnt/wouldnt go with CD-Rom.

Yesturday i was shocked but now i have let it get round my head, its just business, most ppl will still get it on PS3 cos the FF fans will wanna machine that can play all there FF games, 360 can only play FFXIII so let the 360 owners enjoy it too. :)

[DaTruth]

This is why people buy Japanese, because it's not like the western world where everything is about money. That's why Japan makes robots and U.S. doesn't, because there is no money in it! You hope they aren't a business 1st and foremost and actually people who take pride in their work.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Ignorance is bliss. The ps1 was supposed to be a nintendo system. Sony was making a cd based console FOR nintendo and opted to start a game system themselves.

[Marcello]

Sony were supposed to be supplying the CD gubbins & thought the deal was struck when Nintendo backstabbed them & annouced they were working with Philips instead. Sony then made the decision to make the PS1. In the meantime SE were making FVII with CD-Rom tech in mind but then Nintendo totally dropped the CD-Rom and opted to stay with cartridge.

[Vip3r]

Personally, I couldn't care less about which console looses which exclusive.

It's not like the PS3 isn't getting the game or anything.

[vickers500]

PS3 isn't gaining anything either. No star ocean for us, but 360 gets FF. SE"No loyalties" my ass.

[jkoz]

Boo-freakin-hoo. I'm a PS3 owner and I don't give a flying feck, I still get to play the GD game, it's not like they took it away from the PS3. And yes to Alexander Roy... they're a BUSINESS not your best buddy from high school.

[wolfehound22]

I've been saying this sincw the annoncment. As long as I still get to play it on my PS3 I could give 2 sh!ts if the 360 gets it.

[DaTruth]

A lot of people are worried the game will get gimped, as almost all multi-platform games seem a little low in the quality side.

[rakgi]

that is what im afraid of...ill always think now was it supposed to be better than this?

[outlawlife]

did the N64DD even make it to market?

nvm, never made it to the US..looks like they made a good decision there

the fact remains SE is a company and they want to make money, i honestly doubt Microsoft had to try very hard to "buy" them

they want maximum exposure for their product...multiplatform is the only way that will happen

[Bonsai1214]

not really a betrayal, but the move to 360 was more shocking because at least they had a sound reason going from nintendo to sony. from square's standpoint, it can be considered a step backwards according to their past actions.

[BananaSlug]

cartridge to CD

vs

blu-ray to dvd

[Azailexx]

I am really upset on the fact that they wait 3 years to tell us its not exclusive.

[juuken]

I agree. That was the hardest blow, especially when the earlier trailers announced this as a PS3 exclusive. But as PS3 fans, we got to keep our head up and take pride in the Sony brand. I know this sounds cheesy but Sony's not going to let us down...at least I hope not.

[jkoz]

Thanks to all those that approved this story after it was reported - just what we need, more fanboy filth in our news. And it's a duplicate story.
http://www.n4g.com/gaming/N...

So... yeah. Sweet deal. As Altis1 put it: " Betrayal my ass. You fanboys need to have your wrist introduced to a razor if you think that Sq-Enix betrayed you."

[Shane Kim]

No sane game developer who is not ownd by Sony/MS/Nintendo would keep a game exclusive UNLESS one of the above shuv benjamins down the developers throaths. Sony apperantly didn't so why the hell would SE keep it exclusive? Probably the same way with Bioshock.

[PirateThom]

More by the Nintendo thing, I was a loyal Nintendo fan up until the PlayStation and partly because of Final Fantasy VII.

While I've grown out of FF games a bit, the fact it's still on PS3 makes the impact minimal.

[hunter21]

well SE announcement was really a shocking to me but what the heck thats how the business goes if people offer you big money then go for it. now a days the loyalty and stuff are just noting to the gaming industry unless... money is included ... "for me" i dont believe the hardware situation sh#t that SE pointing about... but kinda exciting though that FF13 is making a progress... anyways is up to the players/people on which console they going to play it with. and they already know which one is it and which one will be the best and not. just enjoy being a gamer

* we are the verdicts and they arent *

[CAPT IRISH]

What is a Nintendo 64DD?

[TABSF]

the nintendo 64dd was a expansion that fit on the bottom of the n64. it could play games with more content. it was only released in japan and it failed with less than 20 games being released on it.

[TABSF]

well square enix told sony many months ago that if there install base was not over 30 million the game would go multi platform and yesterday was no suprise. when the guy come back on and the camera zoomed out i knew it was ffXiii and i knew it was going to happen months ago

if i was sony i would of release some great demo of there games like the killzone tech demo on ps day and also got home out, its not like could not of patched it every so ofter as we played it, sony should of got games out quicker and not over ran its studios and may be if that happen the install base could of been larger.

well done microsoft and hope others get to enjoy this series, i think all games should go multi platform beside the first party studios that is.

[RecSpec]

Um no Dragon Quest to DS? That one is more shocking than FF13. At least you can still play FF13 if you have a PS3. Want to play DQIX? Get a DS.

[KeiulZen]

Agreed. Y'know whats messed up about that? Square merged with Enix to keep its biggest competitor at bay. And the worst part about it? SE is now treating the Enix-born franchises like bite-size snacks in between the next main FF game. Thats really jacked up.

[Gitaroo]

the turn on nintendo because the game just cant be done on those silly card/disc whatever they are, to make a better game. This time do did it for money.

[dachiefsman]

betrayal are you serious? Like other people said the FF franchise has never been exclusive to Sony. If you feel betrayed you need to grow up, this is a business not a social club.

[BubblesDAVERAGE]

Simple and plain because for a while now its been a ps3 game as a ps3 owner and a 360 owner i know how it feels...does not make you a fanboy just make it seems like the game might be crap like most multiplatform rpgs

[TABSF]

square enix only said ffxiii not ff vs xiii or any other tittle plus like dachiefsman said it a company they only care about the money whether the games good or bad e.g. EA have released the same for over five FIFA 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, (i know it goes back many more years like 1996 or some ting) only the tittle, game engine (when next gen is out) tittle screen and transfer market changes everything else is the same.

[SL1M DADDY]

Come on folks, it's a game and they are a company. This seems to be taking things a bit too far to call it a betrayal.

It's almost like somebody cut the nads off of every true to heart Fanboy and to be honest, I could care less. Maybe this is the generation that shows us all that 3rd party exclusives are just going away and will soon be a thing of the past.

[solar]

what FFVII did for ps1 wasnt going to be duplicated by FFXIII for ps3. times and alternatives are a lot different now.

[JoelR]

"As evident by the huge outcry on gaming websites, blogs and forums - Square-Enix's announcement yesterday that FFXIII will be released simultaneously on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 "

that can't be the case because:
http://multiplayerblog.mtv....

"What’s the development process for the game? "
Hashimoto: “As we announced at the Microsoft presentation, as of today we are ready to start developing the title for Xbox 360. First, we will complete the PS3 in Japan. Then after that we will start localization of ‘FFXIII’ for PS3 for US and Europe. Then at the same time, we will start Xbox 360 the version development. That’s our entire process of development.”

they are starting work on the X360 version after it is released for the PS3 ... so day and date release of FFXIII is impossible.

[ceedubya9]

There is the possibility that they may hold the PS3 version until the 360 version is done.

Depending on what site you read, there are a few that mention that the game will release simultaneously in the US and Europe sometime after the PS3 japan release. Some sites mention this, and some don't. Could be a major oversite on some people's part, or it could be a bad translation. We'll have to wait for some more concrete info.

If Microsoft money is truly involved, I doubt that they would want this game to be a timed-exclusive in Sony's favor in their homeland.

[JoelR]

* What is the timing of the releases?

Kitase: “As for the timing between US and Europe, we will try to make it as close as possible. Also, localization for US and Europe we will try to expedite as much as possible than the previous case.”

is he referring to both platforms or just the x360s release schedule as the questions were related to the x360 at the time he said that.

(this is as good of translation as I can give - I would have asked for clarification but the interviewer did not)

[waldopepper]

Since when is it a betrayal for a company to increase their customer base in an attempt to make more profit?

Do you really think that successful companies put emotional loyalties before profit?

[jackdoe]

Only the Nintendo one was truly a betrayal. The FFXIII announcement is more of a kick in the balls.

[Carnage]

Ive always been a fan of the Final Fantasy series and knowing that it was coming to the 360 made me giddy and knowing that I do not have to wait extra time for it made me one happy camper. Thank You Square!!!! And I'm still buying a Ps2 for the other square games. It is a good time to be a gamer not a silly fanboy lol!!!!

[Hueco Muendo Leader]

he said that the final decision could change with more research, and of course companies will drop games from development if development of the game gets to far and the other platform cant keep up, it happened with WARDEVIL and HAZE.

what would trouce this is if one of sonys exclusive revealings today is a FF7 remake, 8, and 9 remakes along with twisted metal or god of war, i would care nothing about ff13

[tk]

They are a third party dev. They go for max sales. Don't expect loyalty from them. If I were a dev in their position, then I would have done the same. Just calculate how much sales they will generate for both consoles vs only one console, and then think about how much they will ask for exclusives.

[n00bzRtehgey]

Like everyone else and all gamers, devs also hate Sony. Brand loyalty is a hard thing to keep when the company is....Sony.

[Kleptic]

what 3rd party exclusives are loyal to the 360?...thats what you half-wits keep missing...

this is what, the 4th 3rd party title to do this?...did the other 3 stop the PS3?...nope...they just kept the 360 around...

if you think clearly...you will quickly see how this is a move of desperation...the only good year the 360 had was the year before the competition arrived...all they have done is been given a chance to share a few big games, of which were initially thought to only be on a Sony platform...4th time a charm?...definitely not...if the damage wasn't significant from GTAIV, and didn't label the 360 as the go to system for ALL your gaming needs...a JRPG (that people like you made fun of in the past) won't either...

not to mention, MS isn't even getting it where they really need it...the thing is still a bloated horse in Japan...

[uckitsayitchbay]

Is it just me or does anybody else think this is just a small part in a bigger plan by sony i think they have something up there sleeves on this one.. call me crazy but when this all pans out ill be the one saying i told you so....

[Carnage]

@ PimpHandHappy what is with the prejudice man of course they are going to ban you for saying that Africans are bad people, people should be judged individually not as a whole. Africans just have darker skin than most races and a few different psychical features.

[AngryTypingGuy]

Unless Square Enix pledged their allegiance to either company and said "we'll only develop for you", then it's not a betrayal, just smart business.

[PS360PCROCKS]

ok i'm sorry here is my mini rant but if i see another "Square screwed us story" i am going to scream. First off their a business, not your friend. Secondly, look at the prices of games these days, they're not being developed for chump change. Profits need to be made, It's not a betrayal! Your STILL getting the game. Instead of looking like a whiny fanboy, just realize that their trying to make their money back. The 360 is a very capable system outside of Japan in terms of sales, they have obviously realized this.

[captainjy]

Fact are facts- it's no longer a Phony world and everyone knows it. Clearly MS won E3 and have a very impressive arsenal hitting this holiday season. Their new direction with the new dashboard, the avatars, and the more family oriented games will bring a lot a new 360 owners.

Nothing that Phony showed was impressive and at every turn remain 2 steps behind Microsoft. GTA 4 was exclusive to POS3, MS steals it. FF13 was exclusive to POS3, Microsoft steals it. POSN finally gets a movie rental service, MS adds Netflix to their already large movie collection. And what's really going to be hilarious is that MS will have the new Live Experience finished before Dome, I mean Home. Mark my words, cry then go watch a BD movie.

[rockleex]

"Sony were supposed to be supplying the CD gubbins & thought the deal was struck when Nintendo backstabbed them & annouced they were working with Philips instead. Sony then made the decision to make the PS1. In the meantime SE were making FVII with CD-Rom tech in mind but then Nintendo totally dropped the CD-Rom and opted to stay with cartridge."

Square didn't betray Nintendo. Nintendo betrayed Sony AND Square. Thus, Square had no choice but to develop for Playstation... which had CD playability.

But this time, Square betrayed Sony purely for money. Which is why its inexcusable.

What I don't get is why Sony let FFXIII go multiplatform when Sony had huge shares in Square's stocks. -_-"

Either way, the only trustworthy person left in the third party business is Hideo Kojima. Konami can't even be trusted. Hideo was the only person keeping MGS4 from going multiplatform because he wanted MGS4 to have non-compressed audio and visuals.

[SlaughterMeister]

who cares?

it's just more nes-style turn-based combat dressed up in fancy new clothes.

[rockleex]

Multiplatform games only prolongs the console war. It blurs the line between the 360 and PS3. The decision to buy a certain console is made even harder because of multiplatform games.

And no, most people don't want to waste hundreds of dollars just to get both systems when in the end most of the blockbuster games are multiplatform anyways.

There are even more important reasons why blockbuster multiplatform games aren't good for the industry. But I'm sure you guys get the idea by now.