Sqeenix, have they finally gone too far?

[Apocalypse]

So, I held off on posting this for a while to make sure I was really as pissed off as I was on the day of the PlayStation Experience. I've been a lifelong fan of Square Enix, dating back to FF II (FF IV) on SNES and I wanted to cool off for a bit. Unfortunatly, I keep thinking about this and the short answer is, yes, yes I am that mad.

Is it just me or does Sqeenix (Square Enix) seem to be going out of their way to piss off the loyal fans on PlayStation? I was tweeting with Chandler Wood during the show and I seriously thought Sqeenix was about to destroy the internet. They still kinda did, but for a different reason it turned out.

Let's back up first. PlayStation has been the unofficial home for Sqeenix for a loooooong time, dating back to the PSOne when they broke from Nintendo. The Final Fantasy Anthologies, FF7 all the way through to 12, Tomb Raider, all of these exclusive to PlayStation and all good sellers. It wasn't till FFXIII that others got to see what we as the Playstation Nation were loving (even though I thought FFXIII was one of the weaker entries, but that's another post entirely).

The reboot of Tomb Raider sells best on PlayStation, original release and definitive edition. PlayStation has way more consoles sold than Microsoft in the new generation. So why does it seem like Sqeenix is turning openly hostile to us here?

It started with the announcement of Rise of the Tomb Raider. When it was originally announced, it was multi-platform. Fast forward a couple months, it's now an exclusive for Xbox One. Both Sqeenix and Microsoft readily admit it's a TIMED exclusive, but no one will say how long the timed exclusivity is. Then to rub salt in the wound, they announce Temple of Osiris as a "big reveal" for those of us on PlayStation, like that's going to make up for the fact that we are missing (for a while at least presumably) the big Tomb Raider game.

Now don't get me wrong, on this one I am almost as mad at Micro$oft for pulling this yet again. They know they can't match up with PlayStation first party studios so they buy their way into the game. These timed exclusives just tend to piss people off, on both sides.

The thing that makes me a bit angrier at Sqeenix though is their complaining about sales of the Tomb Raider reboot, Sleeping Dogs, and Hitman: Absolution. Hitman sold more on PlayStation (2.06 mil PS3 to 1.65 mil XB360), so did Sleeping Dogs (1.12 mil PS3/PS4 to 880k XB360/XBO) and Tomb Raider reboot (3.07 mil PS3/PS4 to 2.02 mil XB360/XBO) and that one was a significant margin. So you have a company who is complaining about sales on three cornerstone franchises, all of which sold better on PlayStation and your decision is to not release the best performing game of the lot's sequel on said console. Wow, that's a great business decision.

Then as almost a consolation prize, they announce Lara Croft in the Temple of Osiris. Gee thanks guys, that TOTALLY makes up for it. Needless to say, that fell flat pretty hard. The internet did what the internet does and a major flame war erupted. Both sides yelling at both sides. Even after it was revealed that it was a timed exclusive, the anger was still there. All could have been avoided (or at least lessened) by saying how long the exclusivity was going to be. At least give us an idea of how long we have to wait.

Just as the rumbling was starting to die out, Sqeenix did the ultimate dick move. How long have the Final Fantasy faithful been asking for a Final Fantasy VII HD remake? Personally I would rather have FFVI HD but that's me personally and I would still play the hell out of VII. They make a big deal of coming on stage and showing a big Final Fantasy VII logo, and the crowd goes ballistic. I seriously think it was the biggest pop of the night. Until it became painfully clear that it was the PSOne version. Oh, wait. It's the PC version. How many of us felt punched in the guts? I don't think I have ever heard a crowd go from so loud to dead silent like the crowd did at the PlayStation Experience.

I think this sums it up best:

No, I won't buy Rise of the Tomb Raider if it ever comes to PS4. No, I don't want your old version of FF VII. Nope, not buying the Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition. Definitely will not be buying the Temple of Osiris. If they eventually come to PlayStation Plus I may try them then, but I am done giving this company my money.

Piss off Sqeenix, you lost a long time fan.

 

[stolenxnametag]

It's sad, but there are many fans of the Squaresoft "glory days" who feel the same way. Why would they do this to us? Why would they merge with Enix? Why would they buy the company who owns Tomb Raider and make it a multiplatform franchise before giving the competition timed exclusivity? Why would they localize and HD remaster a PSP game and put it on PS4 instead of Vita? I've been debating my own loyalty to the company throughout the last generation, and it seems to me that they keep showing that they are a strong Japanese company who fails to acknowledge the desires of their audience.

I'm going to buy the PC port of FFVII on PS4. I'm going to buy Kingdom Hearts III, Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, and Final Fantasy XV. I never liked any Tomb Raider games until I played Definitive Edition on PS4 anyway, so I can skip the next one of those. After these games, I might be too old to give a shit if they ever make a good game again anyway because life happens. I'm with you, though - I am a little bit disappointed in them, and it does not seem to be getting any better.

I'm not saying they should rehash the same tried and true method for every Final Fantasy game (like @Chandler Wood and @Dan Oravasaari mentioned in a recent Bad Gamers podcast), but I think they should stop Westernizing a traditional Japanese franchise in an effort to try to sell more shit. You can be innovative while sticking to your roots. I think Ni No Kuni was a phenomenal example of how a turn-based RPG can still be family-friendly and epic at the same time. Maybe Square-Enix could learn from a game like that, and then they could make the graphics more realistic with sparkles and particle effects and Smaug-like dragons, pay some respectable voice actors, and create a story worth telling.

In short: I still love Square Enix, but they are breaking my heart regularly. I don't think it's fair to say that I'm just being old and set in my ways yet...

 

[Jacky]

The only thing i like from square enix is their magazine 'G - fantasy'.
Which has sla few manga series that i like to read, such as 'Black Butler'

 

[Apocalypse]

It's sad, but there are many fans of the Squaresoft "glory days" who feel the same way. Why would they do this to us? Why would they merge with Enix? Why would they buy the company who owns Tomb Raider and make it a multiplatform franchise before giving the competition timed exclusivity? Why would they localize and HD remaster a PSP game and put it on PS4 instead of Vita? I've been debating my own loyalty to the company throughout the last generation, and it seems to me that they keep showing that they are a strong Japanese company who fails to acknowledge the desires of their audience.

I'm going to buy the PC port of FFVII on PS4. I'm going to buy Kingdom Hearts III, Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, and Final Fantasy XV. I never liked any Tomb Raider games until I played Definitive Edition on PS4 anyway, so I can skip the next one of those. After these games, I might be too old to give a shit if they ever make a good game again anyway because life happens. I'm with you, though - I am a little bit disappointed in them, and it does not seem to be getting any better.

I'm not saying they should rehash the same tried and true method for every Final Fantasy game (like @Chandler Wood and @Dan Oravasaari mentioned in a recent Bad Gamers podcast), but I think they should stop Westernizing a traditional Japanese franchise in an effort to try to sell more shit. You can be innovative while sticking to your roots. I think Ni No Kuni was a phenomenal example of how a turn-based RPG can still be family-friendly and epic at the same time. Maybe Square-Enix could learn from a game like that, and then they could make the graphics more realistic with sparkles and particle effects and Smaug-like dragons, pay some respectable voice actors, and create a story worth telling.

In short: I still love Square Enix, but they are breaking my heart regularly. I don't think it's fair to say that I'm just being old and set in my ways yet...

Very well said, and I couldn't agree more about them breaking my heart regularly. If these companies, which rely on the fan's to purchase their games and you know, keep them in business, would actually listen to those fans from time to time, it might be better. Instead of giving us FF XIII 3 friggin times. Square in particular just seems to have lost touch with what the people want. And sometimes it seems like they are outright spitting in our faces.

 

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

I agree with OP, but the only reason why they are bring IPs to MS is money. There is no loyalty in business. Companies go where the money is and the know that the games sell well on the sony systems so they will go to MS get a quick payday and then release it on to the PS4 a year later... padding not only one years financial sheet but two years... which stock holders will be happy about...

I personally have been disappointed with SE and I will not be buying any of there games because of these dick moves as op has mentioned. Which it was... treat your consumer like sh&t and they will walk away at least I know I am...

 

[Jacky]

I agree with OP, but the only reason why they are bring IPs to MS is money. There is no loyalty in business. Companies go where the money is and the know that the games sell well on the sony systems so they will go to MS get a quick payday and then release it on to the PS4 a year later... padding not only one years financial sheet but two years... which stock holders will be happy about...

I personally have been disappointed with SE and I will not be buying any of there games because of these dick moves as op has mentioned. Which it was... treat your consumer like sh&t and they will walk away at least I know I am...

Waking away..... That sure as hell is what i'm gonna do to crapcom from now on.

 

[MakaiOokami]

They never said they were making Final Fantasy 7. They've said "It would take 3-4 times as long as it took to make 13 (which was about 3.5-4 years) which means that you're looking at 10-15 years for them to remake Final Fantasy VII.

That "Teaser" which was ACTUALLY just a Tech Demo that fans went bat shit crazy over and assumed (making an ass out of u and me) that they were making it, took 6 months all hands on deck for that single thing.

Final Fantasy 14 makes them AT LEAST 6 million dollars a month in income. Which is far more than they could POSSIBLY hope for from a remake of 7. That's a VERY conservative estimate. They're not going to cancel all their projects just to speed a long Final Fantasy 7 remake.

They did the Timed Exclusive because Square Enix considered the first one as not meeting their expectations. They expected the game across PS3, Xbox 360, and PC to hit like 10 mil. They spent a lot of money on the development and advertising, so when Microsoft wrote a big check which will help them have less risk on the second game, they were like "Sure why not?"

Square Enix gave away the first Tomb Raider on PS Plus to up to 7 million people, they gave us an exclusive game that Microsoft isn't going to get, they don't talk about how long the timed exclusive will be because they probably signed a contract that says THEY CAN'T, but it's probably a 6 months MAYBE 12 month exclusivity agreement.

I'm more angry at the alleged fans who get upset over every little thing, and Microsoft for buying temporary fixes instead of ACTUALLY MAKING GAMES PEOPLE WANT TO PLAY they just throw out some money to boost Xbone sales from idiots who have to get the game NOW!

It's very likely the PS4 edition will be a better edition because of the exclusivity. It's just that the people who own both will buy it on Xbone, so they have a game to play on it, impatient people who have way too much money will buy a new one or bought a new one while it's cheap right now, and everyone else will just play the dozens of other games in their backlog and games like:

Bloodborne
Let It Die
Until Dawn
Deep Down
Allegedly a Ratchet and Clank Reboot
The Order 1886
Tear Away Unfolded
Volume
No Man's Sky
Everbody's Gone to the Rapture (Maybe not for this one I know youtubers like to do commentary on this one)
The Tomorrow Children
Persona 5
Disgaea 5
Hellblade
Rime
Uncharted 4

and a whole lot more not listed.

PS4 may have more games that aren't on Xbox One by the end of the year than Xbox One will even have games.

So why get so upset at Square Enix over a timed exclusive? Just play Final Fantasy XIV, it's great.

 

[Lifewish]

Square Enix can ignore the best selling console because of the money that Microsoft put into their pocket.. that's why the deal with Tomb Raider won't hurt them as bad as some might expect.

As for the FF 7 move on the PS4, I have these gifs to explain my distaste..

 

[stolenxnametag]

In other news, maybe Sony accidentally outed a 2015 release for Final Fantasy XV?

A cache of the original Japanese press release mentions titles that it plans to sell "this year," including: Street Fighter V, Final Fantasy XV, Persona V, Bloodborne, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Mighty No. 9.

Sources:
Anime News Network [link]
PlayStation JP News Release [link]

 

[MakaiOokami]

Square Enix can ignore the best selling console because of the money that Microsoft put into their pocket.. that's why the deal with Tomb Raider won't hurt them as bad as some might expect.

As for the FF 7 move on the PS4, I have these gifs to explain my distaste..

What does Green Arrow's Sidekick have to do with anything?

They aren't ignoring the PS4. Microsoft is desperate enough to pay a company money NOT to MAKE an exclusive game, but just hold off on releasing it for 6-12 months. PROBABLY 6 months. They did the same with Star Ocean 4 Last Hope, and we got the best version, they did the same with like a dozen games last gen. They do it because making a great game is too hard for them. They can only milk popular franchises.

Sometimes we'd get a delayed release on the game, and we'd get the DLC at no additional cost. Sometimes the game came out at full price and we had to pay full price for all the DLC. That was BS but you just wait until the price comes down.

 

[darkforcegod]

I have been saying the same thing for some years. SquareEnix is suicidal or berserker but its 100% acurate to say that they give a turd about fans.

 

[MakaiOokami]

I have been saying the same thing for some years. SquareEnix is suicidal or berserker but its 100% acurate to say that they give a turd about fans.

Even with FFXIV? It's kinda a game that takes aspects of Final Fantasies in general and assimilated them into the world.

 

[darkforcegod]

FFXI will be great but again we are talking about SE so anything can happen. Type 0 is cool but look what they did. And on top of that they added a 20$$ demo with it ( the game should be 40 bucks IMHO).

 

[Jollyjumper]

I don't think so.

On the first hand they try to make new games & project, on the other one they try to go back to their roots with the FF7 remake... They go on two ways and try to make every fan happy. Let's see what will be released, and judge after.

 

[sergann]

I have been saying the same thing for some years.










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