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Square Enix considering mergers, acquisitions

President Yoichi Wada believes that the company needs to join with others to face the future and increased competition.

At the end of November last year, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said that he believed consolidation opportunities within the industry were drying up. Two days later, Vivendi merged with Activision in an $18.9 billion deal. Yet more consolidation appears to be on the cards, as Electronic Arts itself slowly moves toward a potentially hostile takeover of Rockstar parent Take-Two Interactive.

And while French publisher Ubisoft has made it known that it is "not interested in big acquisitions," Japanese developer Square Enix believes that some sort of consolidation is definitely in its future. Reuters reports that, while speaking at the news service's Global Technology, Media, and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo, company president Yoichi Wada said, "It may be a business alliance or it may be us taking a stake in others, but we need to go beyond traditional Square Enix. We face competition not only from the Japanese video game companies, but from game companies worldwide. We also see some new players from outside the video game industry coming in."

The executive added that he had no fixed budget set aside for investing in companies. He also pointed out that the company is allowed to issue some 290 million extra shares (worth approximately ¥960 billion or $9.24 billion) without shareholders' approval, and that this approach could be used in part for such a plan. Wada also reiterated that he wants to boost Square Enix's sales overseas. Currently half the firm's revenue comes from Japan, and he indicated he would like to see overseas sales accounting for up to 80 percent of his firm's revenue.

Square Enix was formed in 2003 as a result of a merger between two companies: SquareSoft, the creator of the popular role-playing series Final Fantasy, and Enix Corporation, developer of Dragon Quest and Star Ocean. SquareSoft previously had a joint venture with Electronic Arts called EA Square, which it used to bring games like Chrono Cross and Parasite Eve II to North America.

272 Comments

  • Shisus

    Posted May 27, 2008 2:54 am GMT

    i don't own any next-gen console yet (i have a very good pc) but when FFXIII comes out i will definitely buy a PS3 and i agree with majidok a merge with ATLUS would be awesome... could you imagine the possibilities? mmmm I'm drooling ^_^

    EDIT: i just realized majidok didn`t say anything like that (i have to stop daydreaming) sorry about that...

  • Logan1659

    Posted May 25, 2008 6:20 pm GMT

    Hey,this is just an idea but what if SE merge with Bungie^^!!!!!,you can't tell me that a cross between halo and FF wouldn't be nice,its would be the best story ever told,plus it could work if they do it right,what do you think??^^!

  • majidok

    Posted May 23, 2008 6:36 pm GMT

    TO "Dryker" :
    Dude , Atlus is a heavy-weight RPG developer , and I think most people remember them for the Shin Megami Tensei Series , which is crazy RPG stuff !

  • Dryker

    Posted May 23, 2008 12:37 pm GMT

    Atlus did Odin Sphere if I recall, right? That would be interesting, but potentially conflicting. Square Enix definitely needs to ally with someone in order to strengthen their waning position in the industry. It would be a shame for the Final Fantasy IP to fall any farther than it already has, well, perhaps not fallen, but certainly tottering on a precipice. Oh, yeah, and they need to find a way to get Final Fantasy XIII on the 360, regardless of how many shares Sony owns. They need to expand the franshise's awareness in this day and age of shooters or it's going to get buried.

  • majidok

    Posted May 23, 2008 7:50 am GMT

    I can't even begin to imagine what mind blowing games they can come up with if they joined forces with Atlus !

  • lew_0911

    Posted May 23, 2008 4:34 am GMT

    I wish we would come back to the times where nobody buys out another. The only thing I could hope right now is that if they make even better games now that they have more resources to work with (of course, the politics still exist but I could dream).

  • living_wmd_888

    Posted May 22, 2008 11:04 pm GMT

    It will probably happen at some point, but all these mergers are what's wrong with so many game companies in the first place. The Enix portion of Square Enix benefitted much more, creatively as well as financially, than Square did (technically, the merger was actually Enix buying out Squaresoft). Many of the Square employees got pissed off with Enix-style management and quit the company. I liked it better when they were separate. I would sure hate to see them swallowed up by the bloated monstrosities that are EA or Actiblizzard. The Justice Department needs to investigate both those companies under anti-trust laws.

  • pigilikepoe

    Posted May 22, 2008 9:50 pm GMT

    Please no. The merge with Enix killed Square. I can only imagine the damage another merge would do.

  • nanaki21

    Posted May 22, 2008 9:27 pm GMT

    Potemkin, I got to say you have lots of arrogance, I love the big words you throw in, maybe Xbox fans aren't that stupid. Haha, I didn't call anyone stupid you misunderstood what I meant. JRPG's are not for the Xbox because the typical fans are undeserving, it would be a waste to sell toilet paper to a doll, and it would be a waste to sell a good JRPG to someone like you, but I never called anyone stupid. Your right, Square would sell RPG's that would appeal to different audiences, I already said before that there is nothing wrong with them selling games for all platforms or making exsclusives. My concern is the quality of the games, I know if they merged with some American developer the quality would go downhill.

  • V-Nine

    Posted May 22, 2008 3:24 pm GMT

    ...too bad the EA Square thing failed to bring Racing Lagoon over to the states... SquareEnix needs to make nice with the employees that jumped ship. I remeber the days when A Link To The Past had a Square (Squaresoft) logo on it.

  • Potemkin2005

    Posted May 22, 2008 2:26 pm GMT

    Oh, nanaki, you're so funny.

    I'm exactly the type of person you're insulting is what you mean to say. In your first post you claim that the typical Xbox 360 owner can't understand the "dynamics" of JRPGs. That basically means that your typical 360 owner is too stupid to understand these "dynamics." Don't try to deny that's what you meant.

    What is so intricate in the first place about JRPGs that makes them so difficult to understand?

    It's not that we don't understand, it's that we don't like them. Nobody died and let me represent the majority of gamers. You see, I realize that I'm making a sweeping statement, but it's been my experience in talking to gamers with similar tastes that we have a problem with a lot of the general design elements of JRPGs. With that being said, I'd have to pause here and ask why it's ok for you to make the sweeping statement, "J - RPG's are not for the Xbox as the typical fans couldn't understand the unique dynamics of such a genre," but it's not ok for me to make the sweeping statement, "it's because of 'dynamics' like these that Western RPGs are so attractive to us?" I could be wrong, but that sounds an awful lot like hypocrisy to me.

    Yes, I'm making fun of JRPGs because I think they're a little fay, but that doesn't for a second mean that I don't respect them. I realize that there are a great many JRPGs that are widely considered to be some of the best games ever made (Final Fantasy VII comes to mind as an example). I'm not trying to take anything away from JRPGs or from the gamers that play them. If that wasn't clear I apologize. I'm simply trying to counter your assertion that the typical 360 gamer is too stupid to understand the intricacies of JRPGs. Once again, I make the claim that we're not too stupid; we simply don't like them.

    I'm also sorry you misinterpretted what I said and also think I'm implying that Square Enix has "low" overseas sales. I never said anything resembling that. In the article Yoichi Wada confirms that half of Square Enix's sales come from Japan. Wada goes on to confirm that he would like 80%, an increase from 50%, to come from overseas. What I said was, "they aren't going to increase their overseas revenue." My point here is that since the rest of the world clearly doesn't dig the "unique" design elements of JRPGs as much as the Japanese, then if Square Enix wants to get that 30% increase they need to start producing games that appeal more strongly to the rest of the world.

    Finally, you ask "who cares about Microsoft?" Well, clearly Yoichi Wada cares about Microsoft. If he didn't he wouldn't be making a push for his company to develop exclusive games for Microsoft's console. If you want to argue semantics, I'd grant you that maybe Wada doesn't actually care about Microsoft itself, but he cares about the people that own Microsoft Xbox 360s. Without those gamers, Wada won't be able to reach that coveted 80% revenue mark he wants to hit. So in this case, I think the more appropriate question would be, "Square Enix can sell well on both Sony and Nintendo platforms which are HUGE in Japan, but who cares?"

    I'm not trying to start a blood feud here, brother. I've got nothing against you personally, and like I said, if JRPGs are your thing...more power to you. The only thing that really matters in gaming is having fun. I just take great offense at your implication that the typical 360 fan is too stupid to understand the so-called "unique dynamics" of JRPGs.

  • nanaki21

    Posted May 22, 2008 1:21 pm GMT

    "Potemkin" Your exactly the type of person I am talking about, you couldn't understand. To make fun of J - RPG's is to make fun of the japanese creativity, who died and let you represent the majority of gamers, let the sales speak for themselves, people like the characters. The characters rely more on unique style then some angry violent person with vengence. Square is one of the best developers there is, I could care less if you like them or not, no one can make everyone happy. Thats what makes Square great, they can sell good on both Sony and Nintendo which are HUGE in Japan so who cares about Microsoft and your so called implied "low" oversees sales anyway.

  • wateverboy

    Posted May 22, 2008 12:00 pm GMT

    @magusat999, I dont think the guy who make make those software give a **** about you. Dont act like you invented them.

  • Potemkin2005

    Posted May 22, 2008 11:13 am GMT

    nanaki21 said: "J - RPG's are not for the Xbox as the typical fans couldn't understand the unique dynamics of such a genre."

    For those of you who might not know what type of "dynamics" nanaki is talking about an example would be having a protaganist who looks like he's twelve years old and at the same time looks suspiciously like a girl.

    Say what you will about the thousands of full grown male gamers like me, but it's because of "dynamics" like these that Western RPGs are so attractive to us. Until Square Enix realizes the entire world isn't interested in playing games with sissies as lead characters they aren't going to increase their overseas revenue.

  • magusat999 posted May 22, 2008 10:21 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    magusat999

    Posted May 22, 2008 10:21 am GMT (hide)

    Since thy are so Japanese, and Japanese oriented, and since the rest of the world is so insignificant to them why don't they just stop selling their games outside of japan? As a matter of fact, since they are so racist and prejudiced against anyone who isn't Japanese that they won't even make good business decisions - cutting their own throats in the process - they should relinquish all claims to rights outside of Japan. See how far it get them to only sell their product to the 4 million people on that island... The only thing stopping other companies from making quality Final fantasy clones - or spinoffs is the property rights that Square enjoys - which reaches across the world NOT because of Japan's "power" (nobody is afraid of japan) - but the USA and the EU (you know, the SUPERPOWERS). Without the protections WE GIVE THEM they wouldn't be able to operate or control their "intellectual property" outside of Japan. But here we are, helping them get rich and fat, and they spit in our faces. It's very disrespectful and ingratuitous for how much we have done to forward the development of their country, and more specifically, Square-Enix business.

    The connotation, in some of your contributions to this discussion, is that "Square and Sony are Japanese companies, so of course they won't support MS, who is not. And of course they cater to Japanese people - because they are Japanese companies." That's a flimsy and racist excuse. Square knows who is buying their product - and they should know that even if every person in Japan buys two of each game they sell, that market is inly a pindrop in comparison to the worldwide base. They could easily put the Japanese customer in last place and become more profitable than having them in first place - as they are now. Race and culture are prehistoric considerations in business. Today's business survive by competing on a global scale, appealing to the mass market and crossing those lines. If the common person becomes aware that companies like Square are not treating them as "number one" - especially due to a pompous, racist, bigotous belief system, they can kiss their exports goodbye. They sure aren't doing much to hide it.

    [BTW, if it weren't for AMERICAN software - ever heard of Silicon Valley? - there would be no Square, no Enix, no Final Fantasy or video games AT ALL! So there's your "they owe it to the Japanese because they are a Japanese company" bull-funky! WE are extending licenses to them to even create this stuff in the first place - what if we took the same attitude and kept our programming languages, computers, development software, etcetera... only for Americans???]

    What if some panhandler walked up to you and said "Gimme a dollar, you stinking pud - I hate you and anyone like you..." Would you give him a dollar??? Well, that's what your doing when you say Square could care less about people outside of Japan, and then fork over the cash to help them pass gas in your face...

    I think Square needs a time-out. It will nevver happen, but that's what they need. They need the whole world to NOT buy their products for at least one business cycle. Let them depend on Japan money only and see how they like to live how they believe (and what has been spewing out of their mouths). Put THEM on the back burner for a while and let them taste of how it feels to be treated as insignificant. If they go bankrupt in the process, so what - maybe Capcom will start up a new Breath of Fire....

  • somberfox

    Posted May 21, 2008 11:43 pm GMT

    I think Sony is the most logical option for SE to pursue.

    First of all, Nintendo doesn't do merging.
    Second, Xbox is a joke in Japan so SE has no reason to go for MS unless they wanted to make primarily American targeted games, which is quite unlikely given that they love making Japanese style games like Chocobo's Dungeon.
    Third, there is no other major developer that will have much impact on SE financially.
    Fourth, SE has always had a great relationship with Sony, plus Sony owned a great percentage of Squaresoft at one point.

  • WhiteSnake5000

    Posted May 21, 2008 11:34 pm GMT

    So nanaki21, are you trying to say that a good J-RPG isn't possible on Xbox 360 as well? I don't own one, but I'm pretty open minded about things like this. It is after all a console... It doesn't determine how good the game is. The developer does, regardless of what platform it is on.

  • Dj_DeathCool

    Posted May 21, 2008 10:17 pm GMT

    You guys can say what you want against JRPGs, (I did point out the fact that JRPGs are less RPGish than non-linear American RPGs earlier, but I still like JRPGs to an extent) but Tales of Vesperia for the 360 looks bad ass.

  • nanaki21

    Posted May 21, 2008 9:33 pm GMT

    I am a long time fan of Square, I been with them for many many years and I have to say that I loved Squaresoft, then they merged with Enix and at first I was a little skeptical but I love SquareEnix too. Now I think people need to stop jumping ahead. So what if Square releases a few multi platform titles or for Xbox like Infinite Undiscovery, Square wants to release games for all systems while keeping games exclusive at the same time. I have to say that I am NOT a fan of Xbox at all and to be with Square for so long it does tick me off hearing about the 360 and Im sure other long term fans would agree. Anyways, I would really hate to see the king of RPG, get turned into garbage because of money hungry executives. J - RPG's have a wonderful home and relationship with Sony and Nintendo and I hope they intend to keep it that way. J - RPG's are not for the Xbox as the typical fans couldn't understand the unique dynamics of such a genre. Xbox fanatics need to stop thinking about Americanizing the japanese game market and focus on all their shoot em ups.

  • puceking

    Posted May 21, 2008 8:45 pm GMT

    Square + Enix = Squeenix

    Square + Atlus + Enix = Squatlix

    'Nuff said.

  • imortiferus

    Posted May 21, 2008 8:29 pm GMT

    Microsoft should buy Square Enix, it makes the most sense. They can crack the Japan Market and sink Sony further in one fell swoop.

  • jknight5422

    Posted May 21, 2008 6:54 pm GMT

    "Square Enix woun't release anything major on the 360, because the 360 isn't selling at all in Japan where there biggest fan base is, that is why they release all there games on Playstation and Nintendo Consoles...Final Fantasy's and Kingdom Hearts are two series that should stay exclusive and not be destoryed by been turned into Muli-platforms like so many other series have been." --spike6958

    Once again, Spike is wrong. Today they have a news comment that shows how SE is developing games for the Xbox 360. The quality games are being built on the 360. Let us...face the facts.

  • Glade_Gnarr

    Posted May 21, 2008 6:08 pm GMT

    Great now Square will go the same way as Activision and turn into an EA clone, now there will be less room for small companies with fresh ideas, damned capitalism, comunisnm ftw.

  • Ted_Zanarukando

    Posted May 21, 2008 3:55 pm GMT

    What about this? I would suggest that Square Enix become a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. For one reason, Square Enix previous had a joint venture with Electronic Arts.

  • nate1222

    Posted May 21, 2008 3:18 pm GMT

    I don't care much for all these mergers. They come too close to being monopolies. Mergers limit the number of developers and result in more dev teams having less publishers to work with. This can easily result in some franchises being 'phased out' to make room for bigger (low-risk) franchises. Which often narrows the range of future projects. Sqare-Enix should focus on moderate development budgets on cheaper platforms (DS, PSP, Wii, PS2) and stick with their niche audience.

  • alberto2045

    Posted May 21, 2008 2:50 pm GMT

    get Final Fantasy VII the reamek out please!

  • demoralizer

    Posted May 21, 2008 2:41 pm GMT

    The ps3 user base isn't the same as the ps2, things are different now it's useless to bring up ps2 software sales numbers. Also Square Enix is the RPG king of course their games would sell on 360.

  • Ranteal

    Posted May 21, 2008 12:55 pm GMT

    , Media, and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo, company president As if we are all to really think that the lies you spew are wrong? What, do not make this about all the love and time-fed machines that run on the head power in the way! I am too proud to let such a good time run back with her and that dam PINEAPPLE TORNADO. YOU WILL NOT SEE ME ENJOYING THE GARBAGE IN THE SUN, OH NO, WELL ENOUGH IS FAR FROM THE NEST EGG IN THE VILLAGE?

  • l337fool

    Posted May 21, 2008 12:11 pm GMT

    Wow now I know why I barely visit this site anymore. Ok people it's real simple. Video game budgets have blown the hell up. We as gamers expect a high level of quality. Developement time especially for RPG's is longer. These merger's are occurring for security and expansion of resources. SE wants more money and better penetration of the american market. Basically they are looking to buddie up with someone along the lines of EA. Anyone who expects companies to keep games exclusive to the PS3 with the way games sell on the 360 probably isn't grown. In a matter of fact the sales on some properties are so high that they dwarf the japanese market completely. This should be really interesting to see unfold.

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted May 21, 2008 12:06 pm GMT

    While SE might be the king of the RPG house, Atlus/NIS is the Prince. Odin Sphere is probably the only non-SE game that I can give a perfect score to.

  • Ahiru-San

    Posted May 21, 2008 12:03 pm GMT

    Kanji_Masamune:

    True about game selling, but then again, what competition?!?!? In my opinion, the FF series started to smell after Sakaguchi / Uematsu left SE... Anyways, we all know MW is not a threat to SE, but still, what can we say in the no-so-near future?

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted May 21, 2008 11:47 am GMT

    Let's see, the last Final Fantasy game sold over 6 million copies. LO just broke 500k and probably won't break a million in it's lifetime. BD sold horribly worse. In order for Mistwalker to compete against SE, SE would need to close down so MW could win by default.

  • Ahiru-San

    Posted May 21, 2008 11:40 am GMT

    What competition?? They are like the main RPG games producers around... Namco's RPGs suck and can't think of any other important-name company...

    Could Mistwalker be a threat to SquareEnix after all???

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted May 21, 2008 10:23 am GMT

    wait, so because ME and a small handful of other 'RPGs' sold decently, that means that the 360 a viable platform for RPGs?

  • khoofia_pika

    Posted May 21, 2008 9:32 am GMT

    it would be great if sony and square merge... imagine God of War and Final Fantasy merging...God of Fantasy... or Fantasy of War... Final War! And then, we will get more than a hundred spin offs to GoW and thriteen other games!!!!!

    on a sidenote, imagine if square buys out Ea

  • mrkame16

    Posted May 21, 2008 9:12 am GMT

    @Hvac0120 "Can you imagine if SquareEnix and Take-two joined?
    that would be a Good merger!!! now would be the time for me to bash EA, so here it is F@#$K EA!!!!! they suck!

  • skayne

    Posted May 21, 2008 8:06 am GMT

    @HomerJ

    Well, yeah, thanks you helped to further pro\/e my point. Square gra\/itates towards the consoles that ha\/e the greatest appeal in Japan. Nintendo and Sony are both Japanese, Microsoft is not. I dont ha\/e any proof or numbers, but other ha\/e brought up the fact that the majority of 360 players may like RPGs, but not necessarily JRPGs. Well Square makes JRPGs, if they know it wont appeal to 360 players, why would they join with Microsoft? It should make perfect sense, Nintendo/Sony are Japanese, their consoles are more popular with the Japanese, and those who buy their consoles, e\/en in America are more likely to enjoy JRPGs because these games were on these companies' consoles in the past.

  • Hvac0120

    Posted May 21, 2008 7:56 am GMT

    :
    Bring back Parasite Eve!


    It would be a good idea for SquareEnix to join up with some American developers. Can you imagine if SquareEnix and Take-two joined?

    Imagine this game~~ GTA: Vana'diel

    I know one thing for sure; FFXIII better be the best darn game they ever put out because all of these spin-offs they have been doing lately have not been received well.

  • Homerj

    Posted May 21, 2008 7:43 am GMT

    Just comment a little on skayne's post:
    "OH and as an aside. If it isnt obious, Square and Sony are Japanese companies."

    Nintendo is also a Japanese company...and right now, its Nintendo that's paying Square's bills. Square may just play it safe for a while and stick to the DS and Wii to make inroads into the western market while steering clear of directly ticking off the rabid fanboys. If any console is in dire need of jrpgs, its the Wii, not the 360 (unless you have a launch PS3 with hardware BC, there's a whole lot fewer options on that console for jrpgs....and it wont change until late 09/early 10 when FF13 finally releases). Tales of Symphonia is the only big jrpg title announced for the Wii this year...thats the console that is begging for some rpg love.

  • Homerj

    Posted May 21, 2008 7:34 am GMT

    Square is just taking a long hard look at Capcom, and how they are growing while the traditional Japanese arcade market is dwindling. Capcom has hit on a formula that seems so completely mystical to other Japanese devs like Square: building titles that appeal to American and EU tastes while still delivering the traditional fare that their hardcore fans and Japanese market want. I dont see Square merging with big bad EA or getting bought out by the evil empire in Redmond....but I do see them dropping the isolationist pretenses and diversifying both their products and the consoles they support. They are already taking safe little baby steps with all their ports and remakes on the DS and their Wiiware offerings. Buyouts and mergers are unlikely at this stage (Square seems to hardly be in financial jeapordy or anything like that)....but multiplatform publishing agreements with western-centered companies like EA or MS are not a question of if, but of when and who specifically with.

  • skayne

    Posted May 21, 2008 7:21 am GMT

    Why is it that so many people think that Microsoft is going to run around buying up all these companies? Square said nothing about being bought... they want to acquire smaller studios... Or a joint project. They said they hae 9.2 billion to shop around with, not saying they will, but they certainly arent so poor that they need to be bought.

    Are Sony fanboys the same way? People talk about EA monopolizing the game market, well if one of the consoles bought up a ton of studios and obtained a large amount of exclusives, the other consoles would eventually die out and you would only hae one console to choose from. No one seems to be as worried about this kind of monopolization as they are with EA.

    OH and as an aside. If it isnt obious, Square and Sony are Japanese companies. It is easy to understand why they hae more of an alliance then Microsoft has with Square. The 360 sells like absolute **** in Japan, whereas the PS3 sells in both, though you may argue the 360 has sold more. They ARE Japanese, they will make games that appeal to their country. Yes they want to expand to other audiences but they aren't going to abandon what they lo\/e and what their country will buy.

  • ihsanqueen

    Posted May 21, 2008 6:58 am GMT

    If Square merge with Sony that'll be very helpful for Sony

  • magusat999

    Posted May 21, 2008 6:24 am GMT

    When I heard about Mistwalker Studios going to Xbox, I thought they were going to be making a competitive product to Final Fantasy - only available for all fo the console users Square has been locking out for years. Sad thing has been - the Xbox had a superior graphic engine to the PS2 - and it has recently came out that the Xbox360 also has a similarly more powerful engine than the PS3. The Xbox platform is really more suited for FF games - but they just never treated the platform with any love - I thought they fell out with Nintendo, not MS? Don't they use MS software during game production???

    Having most or all of "the Dream Team" - I was hoping for some Chrono Trigger-esque goodness. Being a Square refugee, I though Kenji would build something says - "look Square, THIS is how you treat your customers - you give them what they expect...". what I have seen so far comes a ways beyond others on the Xbox platform - but still there is no "Final Fantasy Killer" - which is sad because the last few Final Fantasies sucked compared to FFVII. Unfortunately, that expectation has not been realized.

    I don't mind the JRPG styled RPGs as much as some of you do. I do mind "kidified" games. Even kids grow out of them very quickly - I know 8 year olds who will chew your limb off to play GTA, and don't want anything to do with the more child oriented games... It's the mechanics of the game, the pacing and story - not what shore they come from. Evidently, something about BD and LO just doesn't add up to fun - but don't say it because they are JRPGs - especially when one can write whole book on the great JRPG games that have been created.

  • Guts5

    Posted May 21, 2008 5:48 am GMT

    "Kenji_Masamune RPGs on 360 = PHAIL. Just look at the sales of blue dragon and lost odyssey. LO will be lucky to break 1 million in it's lifetime. Sad, sad thing. "

    Uhhh obviously a large group of FF players live some place other than earth... Mass Effect has far exceeded that, but again it's a more mature type game with innovative ideas and you control what you do and the outcome. So, it's a truer RPG. LO is a good game and I like the immortal vs human type people in the group. The rings are a nice touch and the story is nice until it takes that innevitable... "asian" twist. Kaim is completly cool and there is some good humor in the game, but...

    The problem with it is that it is completly linear and again... you have KIDS in the group. It's ridiculous to most 360 type gamers. Sakaguchi made a critical errors. He tried to make an rpg that both Japan and the USA would like. Error #1 was giving Japan too much credit in thinking they would buy an American product (the 360). Error #2 was putting content in the game directed at that audience, examples are having the kids in the game whooping huge monsters butts... IN MELEE combat. It's insanely stupid by American standards.

    So, LO is stuck in limbo. If he had gotten rid of the little kids in the group it would have been more acceptable I believe in the USA. I think they should have stayed in the story though and tagged along, their part in the overall story is great. Anyways, RPGs do well on the 360 and on the XBOX with Mass Effect, Oblivion, KOTOR, KOTOR 2, and Fable.

    Further proof? Mass Effect has sold more than any exclusive title on the PS3 in the last 12 months.

    Oh the reason those same old rpgs are on the DS is because it's turn based and the hardware can handle it. Putting one of those on a 360 or PS3 is like, buying a 360 or PS3 to play pacman on it. Waste and that's why more graphically intense game migrate to the power house consoles.

  • TheoleDominion1

    Posted May 21, 2008 4:02 am GMT

    I understand what you're saying Kenji and to a point you're right. But I live in the U.S. and I love rpg's. I love FF(especially VII) and will always be a huge fan of the series. But I do expect the genre to grow and evolve. I'm glad games like Oblivion,Mass Effect, and upcoming titles Fallout 3 and Too human are displaying different types of gameplay of rpg's other than just the traditional form of playing.

  • kavadias1981

    Posted May 21, 2008 3:20 am GMT

    Since Square merged with Enix the quality of their RPG's has gone downhill (I'm talking as gamer who had the pleasure of enjoying Final Fantasy 7, 8 and 9, Xenogears and Parasite Eve 1 and 2). This merger spells the end...(starts sobbing like a little girl).

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted May 21, 2008 3:17 am GMT

    I guess you could say I mean JRPGs because if you say ME is a RPG then so is Ninja Gaiden. Kotor and fable were pretty good sellers, but my point is if you try to find a RPG on xbox or the 360 you might be able to find a handful, whereas you can find FPS for days. The opposite is true of sony and the nintendo DS (but not the GC nor the wii) (RPGs for days, very few FPSs). XBOX/360 is the wrong system to put RPGS on because of the demographic.

  • hannify

    Posted May 21, 2008 3:08 am GMT

    Good plan for microsoft to get more 360 sales if they did buy square enix but i think they would rather merge with sony due to not wanting to loose japanese sales.

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