Nomura: "It's become difficult to get new players into the Kingdom Hearts series"

Tetsuya Nomura recently revealed in an interview that he has been having trouble drawing new players into the Kingdom Hearts series. What plan does he have set in motion to correct this?

[Optical_Matrix]

Oh shush. You haven't made a proper KH title since 2005. Maybe if you did release a legit KH3 on home consoles, you could get new players into it.

[The_Devil_Hunter]

Birth By Sleep says hello.
I bought a PSP just to play it.

[Optical_Matrix]

Yes, I have the game and I've finished it. But I still see it as a spin off. It felt watered down compared to the console games. They need to stop releasing the games on so many platforms. Why must fans have Nintendo and Sony consoles to get full scope on the story. That's why it's difficult to get new players in. Too many spin offs, and the story is fragmented across competing platforms of which a lot of gamers only buy one over the other. Not a problem for me as I own everything but a lot of people don't.

[RedDead]

Played as Ventus, can't be bothered to start again in a new campaign, would prefer them to do a long single campaign honestly. Maybe play as Terra then Ven then Aqua.

All they have to do is make a deadly ad though and market the crap out of it. this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watc...
this is 2 separate trailers actually but still
S-E can fu**ing do trailers if they can do anything well it is that.

[ReservoirDog316]

Seriously. That was a complete KH game.

And the fighting system was perfect**** in it.

[Eamon]

Yeah in terms of gameplay, Birth by Sleep was the best in the series.

[HelghastKid]

Wah? water downed? the battle system was by far the best in the series....ok not by far, but it is better than kh2 by far and rivals KH1. I wish they would bring it to PS3 so i can play with a right analog stick.

[knifefight]

Birth by Sleep was a AAA title, but the point of the article is bringing in *new fans*. A spinoff title for a dying system (outside of Japan) does not usually bring in much new blood, no matter how awesome the game is.

Sad but true =/

[hatchimatchi]

PSP Go owners say hello...we aren't able to play it.

Square Enix is a joke.

[The_Devil_Hunter]

@ hatchimatchi  
Well the reason you bought a go is beyond me. Your missing out on a great game here.

[jmdesantis]

@Optical_Matrix

That's a bit of an overstatement. Sure Chain of Memories was garbage (we at Game-Flush.com thought so: http://game-flush.com/?p=98... and 358/2 Days was worse ( http://game-flush.com/?p=27... but Devil_Hunter is right, Birth by Sleep was excellent.

Just wish I had reviewed it this year for Game-Flush...I suppose I still could.

[lil Titan]

Forget new players, your loyal ones are waiting eagerly just for you to say a release date on KH3.

[beavis4play]

yea - nomura can't be too smart not to understand the kingdom hearts series became popular on consoles - then he abandons the format and wonders what the problem is........give us KH3 on consoles nomura, you idiot.

[WombBat]

@beavis

hahaha seriously, no one wants these spinoffs. we want the legitimate next iteration of the series with the proper characters and all.

[Marceles]

Nomura: "It's become difficult to get new players into the Kingdom Hearts series"

Make it for a real console for once and you just might. SE is so stuck on keeping the series portable and taking the easy way out.

[topgun33]

Though Birth by Sleep was awesome in its own right, and necessary in the whole Kingdom Hearts mythos, it was repetitive (especially in the Collisseum) and the story though understandable if people played through KH1 and KHII, for the newcomers it would be uneccessary and confusing.

KHI and KHII will be sufficient remastered for new people and fans alike to get their palates wet until KHIII is finally made

[WhiteLightning]

This is the problem with most developers today, they try and make amazing successful franchises more accessible to a "bigger" audience when really theres already enough loyal fans for the game. They should be put first.

How many games have been "dumb" down because the developers want to reach out to a new audience. It's very rare these days when you get developers that manage to make a sequel to a game which, not only, brings in new players, but also keeps the current loyal fans happy

I really hope Kingdom of Hearts 3 dosen't end up being dumbed down because we've been waiting for a main KH title for years now. Think of your current fanbase Nomura, look what happened to Dragon Age 2, do you really want that to happen with KH3

[tunaks1]

hes killing the franchise with all these in betweens, and prequels.

[WhiteLightning]

It wouldn't of been so bad if he stuck to the PSP since the main titles are on a Sony console. I mean it was on the GBA, Mobile, the Nintendo DS, the PSP and now a 3DS title is being made which links into KH3. So I'll have to buy a 3DS to understand more of the story in KH3...which will be releasing for a Sony console. :|

[latinalover]

he will release KH3 for the PS3

[just_sayin]

I agree he needs to make KH3 and stop with all the the damn in between games/prequels. This is SE though games we want comes last on their list.

[manman6]

The best thing they could do to get new players into the Kingdom Hearts series is to release a HD remake of Kingdom Heart 1 & 2 and Chain of Memories, and if they can fit Birth by Sleep and 385/2 Days on the disk as well it wouldn't hurt.

[Theo1130]

The problem with these type of games is that it's turned into a niche audience. They'd make it just for them, but the impediment is that the only way they can make it profitable is to sell it digitally, which japan is kind of reluctant to do, also the console manufacturers are still taking a cut, making it even harder to break even or to make a profit.

[zerocrossing]

Who cares? I think enough people are fans of the KH franchise, but a genuine sequel mite help bring back some fans that are tired with the spin offs.

[Kamikaze135]

Because a lot of people waiting for a KH game after the 2nd one bought a PS3. The DS one was garbage, the PS2 remake of the card game was also bad just like the GBA one. The PSP one was good, but would have been better on a console.

[Super Taru]

KH 358/2 Days (DS) was not garbage in terms of story; it was decent and i actually enjoyed it. Same goes with KH RE: Chain of Memories (PS2); it had great soundtrack, gameplay, even the story was quite interesting. Finally, about KH Birth by Sleep (PSP) it was not good--it was awesome. that game had a complete Kingdom Hearts experience, cause whoever played and completed this particular KH game knows exactly what i'm talkin' about--end of story. I don't know why you are so negative to the above KH games, but certainly your judgement is too superficial... at best!

[consolez_FTW]

If they'd only release a HD collection of KH, more people can experience this awesome series! Nomura, gotta get that KH HD soon! I played all the KH games on PS2 and PSP and I would still buy an HD release.

[denero1]

this is a big problem i see with the world they love to do stuff that people dont ask for and then when things go wrong they ask why -_-

maybe if you stop making side games and put out a actual sequel you'd see new fans -_-

[Coolmanrico]

That wouldn't be the case if they hurry up with KH3 and stop these handheld prequels or what ever you want to call them. I'm sure half of the current fans are haveing a diffucult time keep up with all the diffrent systems they need just to play the newest release.

[Pozzle]

Exactly. Releasing each game on a separate console is ridiculous. Not everybody has every console on the market, and it's silly for Square to assume fans are going to buy a new handheld console just to be able to keep up with the series.

I played KH1, KH2 and Chain of Memories. I don't have a DS or a PSP anymore, so those KH games were out of the question. Now I'm worried that if KH3 comes out, I won't be able to follow the story, because I wasn't able to play all the games in the series. KH2 was hard enough to follow because I hadn't played Chain of Memories before that game.

I imagine that's how other fans feel too. They're intimidated by the fact that they might not be able to keep up with the story if they haven't played all of the previous KH games.

[WooHooAlex]

Well duh... When all you're doing is putting out side stories and spin-offs, its kind of hard to get new players.

Kingdom Hearts 3 would sell 5 million + copies.

[BitbyDeath]

It's become difficult to get a new Kingdom Hearts game since their aren't any on consoles.

[latinalover]

they should put all kingdom hearts games on the PS3

[Allowen]

I got a PSP-2000 but I preffer to buy games at the PSN store rather then in UMD since it steal a lot more power from the battery.

If SE ever launch a digital version of that KH game then I will buy it day 1.

[DA_SHREDDER]

Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 were amazing. I played the DS versions and despite me not caring about the graphical limitations of the DS, those games were complete crap compared to the console versions. It didn't even feel like KH's.

[R_aVe_N]

Even though it might be true Nomura has no say so in what games get made and for what platform. His personal project has dumped to the side for awhile (FF Vs XIII). What it all comes down to is when SE lets him make what games he wants and that will never happen it seems. I just wish they would let him for one finish his current game so he can get cracking on KH3.

[tiffac]

I think the barrier for new players is the number of Giaden KH has on the handhelds.

If its a spin-off with no connection I think it will be easier to avoid but if it has a connection in any shape or form one may feel the need to play it and for a beginner it may be too daunting.

[C L O U D]

Do a HD Remake and you will get new players

[Neko608]

By saying "new players" I'd imagine he's not referring to the fans from the PS2 releases....

Once thing that Squeenix does not understand is that the portable audience in the US/EU is not the same as the portable audience in Japan. Sure the DS has sold a ton, but that's due to casual games and Pokemon... I love KH 1 and 2 but don't have a DS or PSP and don't have no intentions of getting either. My iOS games completely satisfy my portable needs.

[CrescentFang]

There hasn't been a real installment since II (I'm sorry I haven't played bbs, but if the main team is working on vsXIII, than who worked on KH BBS?). and that all the KH games released since then were handhelds (Re:COM doesn't count that was a remake and the PS2 is basically dead in America). I don't remember the PSP being a huge seller either...
Also, could they stop making Final Mix versions? Or at least make it dlc nowadays... it should be possible if they release it on a system that can allow their game to have dlc... (well at least they don't make more than 2 or more final mixes for the same game...)

[T3MPL3TON]

having an issue getting new players? here is an idea.. make a NEW game.. stop with these pointless side stories and remakes, that nobody is buying.

[whitezagetsu71]

exactly

[Peaceful_Jelly]

I'm a fan of the original 2 tittles but with these many spin-off I don't even know what's going on anymore and that's why I don't care if a new game ever comes out or not. I still remember when I started playing KH2 and I was like "what the fawk is going on here" just because I never played the spin-off "Chain of Memories" that was released for the the GBA.

Now I can't even start to imagine how Nomura is gonna make KH3 because seeing how things work you'll need to buy a PsP, DS and gazillion of spin-offs to really understand the story.

[Super Taru]

I wish Nomura would make gamers' lives easier by just sticking to one home console and, even maybe, one mobile console (for those who love mobile gaming).

You can't expect new gamers to approach the franchise when it is sooo difficult to play every single KH game. Even if they're a lot of 'em, spin-offs or not they contain several worthy pieces of story to enrich your knowledge over the Kingdom Hearts universe. So if Square-Enix could manage a deal to access every single Kingdom Hearts game in one package (and at a reasonable price--even though we all know that'll be priced as a full game title), then newcomers will happily proceed on "joining the KH club".

[Louis_Guzman]

I wish Nomura would make a tiny Taru Taru game where I could be a fat Galka and eat tarus all day.

[Super Taru]

hahaha! xD

what is this? FFXI... trolling?? either way you as a Galka would have to deal with Shantotto first and then consider "eating" the rest of the Tarus that are left... all that, granted that Nomura would actually make such a "violent" game and of course, having Square-Enix to approve of it afterwards!

[noxeven]

i say finish off your series, stop doing spin offs. birth by sleep was great but thats a prequel so im fine with that but honestly he needs to just realize he needs just make kh3 and be done with it

[latinalover]

they will make more games after kingdom hearts 3

[coolasj]

Tch. Just release one. The new generation of angst ridden teens AND long time fans will pick it up regardless.

[Inception]

too many spin-off on many platform -_-
GBA, NDS, PSP, 3DS, mobile
and the story more confusing with a lot of plot holes waiting for another milking by SE

btw, nomura, where's versus?????????

[Pyscho_Mantis]

HD collection please. That is all.

[tarbis]

Indeed! I want it too since I haven't played them.

[Spenok]

Agreed, but not only that, KH3 plz, as well as some info on VS-XIII.

[DARKrage34]

This is my favorite game series by far!!

But, please let's bring it to a conclusion on the PS3... We don't need more spin-offs, we need a fully fledged graphically beauty on a current gen system.

Truly, I overlooked KH1 as being (oh just a disney game) and wow was I surprised. The game needs to be marketed well and please just bring it to a console that is not a handheld!!