Square Enix new strategy: fewer but more quality titles, shift to multiplatform releases!

Wow, Sony causing more to lose their jobs from their greed.

Good... most Square Enix games suck balls these days anyways (not all). Use that money to bring over PC titles to give them a chance on consoles until the console pc merger is complete.

All we want is FF8, 9, 10 remake

The industry doesn't have enough remasters and remakes, need more, way more.

Sony's shift to 3rd party is a smart move.

Everybody blaming Sony like Square doesn't have mobile, Xbox, and Switch exclusives...

I don't think anyone is blaming Sony, they are just trying to secure exclusives for their platform.

Its bad for Square because its like they believed the same thing Sony did, and that is exclusive titles will sell well on Playstation alone..........enough to profit anyway.

The problem is that we live in a challenging world economically, so while this was good PR for Sony, it definitely hurt Square and I'm sure Sony didn't profit in the way that they hoped given that the titles didn't sell or push the platform as only a small portion of the install base bought the games. Sony has always been good and giving fans what they want, and I think they mistake they are making is following the social media/gaming media hype from fanboys that had no intention of buying the games, just want to use them as ammo. How many people on this board hyped those Square games? PS5 exclusives this gen like Returnal and Ratchet? Horizon (sold less than previous game)? Rebirth?

If this was last gen (and I think Sony and Square are/were still living in that world), most of those exclusive games would've sold well and been great PR and revenue for both companies.

The problem is that AAA games aren't selling like they used to and the industry is trying to figure out why. Is it the $70? Lack of innovation and creativity? Sequel exhaustion? Oversaturation? Lack of gameplay?

Anecdotal, but I have a lot of Square (and Sony) games I want to play but refuse to pay day one $70 prices. Yes, it hurts Square (and Sony), but I simply don't have the drive or excitement to play them day one anymore. I'm perfectly fine waiting for the PC releases and for them to go on sale.

What exclusive game Square has on the Xbox?🤔 And out of those exclusives on Switch and mobile, which of those had a budget of Rebirth or 16?

Of course, a cow would say this lol.

I don't want any of that, you should change that we to an I, please don't speak for me.

Obviously they haven't had many recently as they've been skipping Xbox a lot this gen. However, one game that comes to mind is Octopath Traveler. What's interesting about that one is that they launched exclusively on Xbox but then it got ported to switch and PC and skipped PS to this day, despite them releasing part two on everything.

Last gen they had games like Tomb Raider timed exclusive to Xbox when Xbox gave a care about securing third party content for Xbox.

Budgets for whatever other games are irrelevant to the topic of exclusivity.

HAHAHAHAHA

Octopath Traveler is on Switch,Android, and PC. The game was launched initially on Switch (2018) then it was ported to Xbox (2021) then PC.

Tomb raider was timed exclusive 9 years ago, which makes that point of reference for now irrelevant.

Budget is part of the conversation when speaking about exclusivity, after all it is the cause of the shift. You can choose to ignore it you will.🤷🏽‍♂️

ok

Well, actually, I welcome the fact that their franchises, including FF, are being played by more players. In fact, I remember making comments welcoming the expansion of FF14 to the Xbox community, for example. (but I doubt if Xbox will still be around when FF17 comes out, haha).

However, I disagree with some narratives that are quick to assume that this decision is the result of the exclusivity deal with Sony being a failure.

First of all, it was Sony's financial support that made a big project like the FF7 remake trilogy possible. Without it, it would not have been possible at all, at least not on such a large scale.

When FF7Remake came out in 2020 and sold like hotcakes, it helped Square Enix to have one of the most profitable years of their finances.

Also, according to their financial reports, the decrease in profits is also due to the large losses from game cancellations and other segments such as MMOs and mobile. If anything, FF16 and FF7Rebirth made up for that loss by contributing to sales and still turning a profit. So to call them a flop is factually incorrect.

That being said, it is quite conceivable that they will gain more profit and audience by going multi-platform (in fact, they have already done so with most of the major franchises, such as DQ, KH, Nier, LIS, etc.). Also, FF16 and FF7Rebirth are great games and it would be nice to see them enjoyed by a wider audience.

Can you share a link to Sony financial support being the sole reason for FF7 remake existing?

It should be a win-win situation for Square Enix and everyone. Just release their games on everything if they can. They have to make great games.

They should try a strategy where they don't release a 2 year old game at 79€ on PC if they want actual sales.

@Pedro:

Well, I wouldn't say it was the "sole reason", but it's obvious that Square Enix signed a console exclusivity deal with Sony when they greenlit the FF7remake project. Even if the amount isn't disclosed, it's self-evident that Sony's financial support was one of the major factors in getting Square Enix on board for such a huge undertaking and making it possible to the extent that it is. But if you say otherwise, feel free to share a "link" to it.

Oh come on, it's too much😒

If Sony had funded it, they would also be the publisher.

Sony has never funded a game that they didn't then go on to publish, which makes sense when you think about it. Why fund a game if you can't have publishing rights?

Sony has never had to fully fund games from Square to secure exclusivity because it was always mutually beneficial....until this gen

Well, to be clear, I am not saying that Sony took a publisher-like position and ”fully funded” the FF7 remake project.

What I am saying is that Sony helped Square Enix fund the project through a console exclusivity deal, and together they increased the budget so that the remake project, which would have been difficult, much smaller, or never come to light if it had been done by Square Enix alone, could be done on the scale that it is now. This is mutually beneficial, as long as Sony boosting console sales and Square Enix securing a large AAA budget.

You don't necessarily have to be a publisher when funding through a console exclusivity deal. For example, MS paid Square Enix a huge amount of money back in 2014 to give Rise of Tomb Raider a timed exclusive on the Xbox One. It helped fund and develop the game, but MS is not its publisher. Something similar apparently happened on a larger scale with the FF7 remake project between Sony and Square Enix is my point.

@SecretPolice said:

Poo cows. lol :P

Bruh, I can't with that crying picture. LMFAO!

Keep following me and one day you will be amking fun of Sony too, especially NDs and SSMs.

I am not the one making the claim you are and you are adding to your pre-existing claim. You are the one who needs to demonstrate that "Without it (Sony's funding), it would not have been possible at all, at least not on such a large scale."

What I find more baffling is that you believe SquareEnix doesn't have the funding to make games like FFVII Remake and 16 without Sony or external investment.

This is why i am in charge of the Japanese Ubisoft and not you. No sane person would shit talk ND and their incredible talent.

Well, remember back in 2015 when FF7Remake was announced? People said "they finally hit the panic button".

They had been struggling to make FF15 for years. Likewise, DQ11 and KH3 were still in development hell. FF14 and other mobile games were not yet generating the steady revenue they are now. Their stock price was even more critical than it is now.

They even had to set a financial safety net by signing a timed exclusivity deal with MS for Rise of the Tomb Raider. Why? Because they could not take big risks under those circumstances.

If you think about it, it is quite reasonable to assume that one of the main reasons they were able to take big risks on the FF7R trilogy project back then was because of their exclusive deal with Sony, that is their financial backing. I don't think there's anything baffling about it. (FF16 might be a different situation, though.)

I like hard evidence from reliable sources. If you are speculating that is fine but speculations aren't facts.

Confirmed

FFXVI and FFVII Rebirth failed to meet expectations.

All I know is, FF16 and FF7 Rebirth especially, were great games. Looking forward to the last game in the installment!

Consumers have spoken. There's simply not that many out there dumb enough to pay $70 for SE over milked franchise that is nothing but big and bloated and doesn't really provide a unique experience.

Even the cows aren't dumb enough and there's plenty of dumb cows out there. Sony is running out of money hatting funds, and SE tucking tail and going back to multiplat. Real laughable joke. Jokes on SE because I didn't give 2 shits about their games when they were exclusive on Playstation and won't care when they're multiplat either.

It is. But imagine it happened in our lifetime!

Do you think Tetsuya Nomura part of the problem? Games like KH3 and FF7 remakes have been disappointing at times, especially the storyline, it can be bloody confusing.

You do have a point. Wish Square-Enix were in the Squaresoft days

99% of us want FF8, 9, 10 remake :D

@omegamaster: You should create a thread with a poll asking that very question. The results might surprise you.

About time. Still waiting for FF16 and FF7 Rebirth to arrive on Steam.

They should've gone multi-platform a generation ago. They should be following Capcom's lead:

Capcom Is Making More Money Than Ever Before

FFVII Rebirth's problems are lack of interest, not that it isn't multiplatform. Same with FFXVI.

@texasgoldrush: Yet FFXVI had the biggest PS5 exclusive launch. This would mean the real problem is that PS5 exclusives just don't sell. This is why Sony are now launching first-party games on PC at the same time.

It's both.

Nope, Fans and Critics agree, it’s a great game!

TLOU2 MP says hi.

DOn't worry, young padawan, you will join the dark side soon.

Sales disagree.🤭

Who cares about its multiplayer, it would've been a GaaS game ruining the studio because they'd be making skin and dumbshit battle passes instead of highest production SINGLEPLAYER games the gaming industry has ever seen.

There's nothing to join. Unless this studio dies like Bioware and Bungie, i will always play their bangers.

No, it was a thing they spent almost 7-8 years working on and it was so sh*t that they didn't even release it. I wish it was released so I can laugh at the meme made by them. On going support is just an excuse they used to hide behind instead of saying we are clueless.

As I predicted, it would have made 343 and DICE look competent.

Maybe they should stop producing games that are so expensive that even 5 million copies sold is considered a failure…🙄🙄

It would probably be smart for them to be making Switch versions and mobile versions like they did with FF15.

Maybe they also eed to get closer to the roots of Final Fantasy.

you need to calm yo tits, they were most certainly creating a standard pvp game mode, jimbo ryan told them to transform the game into a live service, they failed at doing so because they're singleplayer focused group, and that's that.

Pretty sure that's not what happened. Less than a year from cancellation Neil Druckmann was hyping it saying how close it's to the finish line and how special it is. He would have kept his mouth shut if it going through development hell or changed directions. They had an internal focus test and the results told them how sh*t it was so they canned it.

They failed at it because they can't do gameplay and in MP you can't hide behind production values.

That's just the typical pr horseshit everyone does. He hyped the game he was producing, obviously. And saying that TLOU2 has shit gameplay is more ridiculous than saying that gow2018 has a shit story. You need to wake up, hermit. You were right on Starfield, but i have played TLOU2 for over 70h, i know very well how its gameplay is, and compared to other third person survival/stealth games, its unmatched. In fact, even compared to any other third person shooter, nobody is close, and that includes RE4R which is pretty good gameplay wise.