Final Fantasy Maker Square Enix Will Aggressively Pursue a Multiplatform Strategy After Profits Tumble
Final Fantasy Maker Square Enix Will Aggressively Pursue a Multiplatform Strategy After Profits Tumble
by Turbostrider27
34 Comments
mad-suker
selling on just 1 platform isn’t enough uh? how bizzarre..
Ttm-o
lol it’s a no brainer.
BabySealOfDoom
Like phone games – or cloud based kingdom hearts
fatfuckintitslover
Stop the timed epic exclusives too and release on steam day one
unagiboi
Maybe they are coming to switch 2. I think it’s a no brainier but it will depend on how powerful the switch’s successor is.
Dukemon102
So no more Dragon Quest/HD-2D games on Switch first or Final Fantasy games on Playstation first?
Lucky-Mia
Yeah, they expected Rebirth to out perform the previous instalment of FF7. The problem is, it’s a sequel which can lower absorption rate, and it’s console exclusive.
Those 2 factors usually hold a game back. They thought FF7 Rebirth would have more pull then a franchise could reasonably pull.
Hummer77x
It’s funny they waited til Xbox entered its death throes before deciding to port their games there.
wicktus
The switch 2 can really help, especially with Japanese sales
I sure hope games like DQXII for example will be able to run on the new switch (I’d be surprised if it’s not the case)
Given their financial report, I doubt the money Sony invested for the consoles exclusivities helped a lot
seeing multi-platform franchises getting exclusivity deals always irked me, I think what’s fine is Astral Chain or Bayonnetta where Nintendo invests in the development and the game wouldn’t exist without them
claud2113
Or just release the FF pixel remaster collection as a hard copy again without the fucking false scarcity 🤷♂️
crowe_1
My first console was NES, but I never played a Final Fantasy. I legitimately wanted to pick up a physical Switch copy of FF Pixel Remastered for myself and another for my brother, who was a big FF fan growing up but hasn’t played one since 13 or 15. Can’t find PR for less than around twice the price of a brand new game from 2024. Which I can’t justify, as awesome as I think it is that they put the effort into the remaster.
I also am really interested in the FF7 remake that was supposed to come to XBox, but never did. Heard great things from friends, and almost certainly would have picked up both Remake and Rebirth. My last Sony console was PS3, though, and I have no plans to buy a PS5 for one or two games.
Point being, I’d love to help you out, SQEnix. You won’t let me.
Tarmy_Javas
It’s a warning to every developer
Ignore the Switch’s huge install base at your own peril
BrockandOnix
I remember when Square Soft left Nintendo to join Sony for its Playstation, back during the waning years of the SNES. Man, was I upset when that happened. But I loved FF7. And FF8 and FF9. Then I upgraded to the PS2 for FFX and FFXII, which I never finished.
Given the huge install base of the Switch, and unconfirmed rumours of backwards compatibility of its successor – a large percentage of Switch owners especially in Japan – will upgrade to Nintendo’s console.
Square Enix will hopefully rededicate it’s focus with it’s relationship with Nintendo, since JRPG’s sell better on it’s console than on the other consoles ( see Unicorn Overlord Japan sales figures for example). So make a Chrono Trigger remaster already in 2D-HD!
Hangmanned
Will they actually release more modern FF on the next Switch though?
Of course. SE is leaving a lot of money on the table not doing day 1 multiplatform for all their games (and then doing stupid shit like EGS when they do release on PC). The moneyhats from Sony and Epic really hasn’t been worth it for them (long term). Whereas other Japanese publishers have been hitting new sales highs thanks to a day 1 multiplatform strategy, SE has been struggling.
For a lot of their games, porting to Switch hasn’t really been a viable course due to its now ancient tech profile. But Switch 2? I suspect all of SE’s future AAA output to have Switch 2 ports. Even though Switch 2 won’t be on par with PS5 it’s still gonna be capable enough for devs to consider porting to it. And SE is gonna profit immensely having another huge market to sell their AAA games to (especially in Japan where Nintendo / Switch 2 will dominate).
philthy069
Its almost as if by having exclusivity deals your games become less accessible …
dietcokeeee
Why is a PS5 still $500 dollars is the real question. Lowering the price would solve so many problems
OldBender
Hey square enix you deserve every bit of bad press you get . You been overcharging on your old games forever now and I find your business practices faulty at best
hayojayogames
All they need to do is make FF games like their Dragon Quest games: retaining classic gameplay while delivered awesome design and graphics—art that respects the original games design
Razbyte
It was a huge mistake to make Foamstars, a paid, online-only, live service game, being a PS exclusive and releasing before Helldivers 2 and their own FFVII Rebirth.
It’s currently performing worse than Suicide Squad and Skull & Bones. I think neither you didn’t even know that this even existed.
MaJuV
So Square basically admitted that the money they get for temporarily having a console exclusive is not enough to counter the decreased sales they get as a direct result…
xiofar
I miss the SE that specialized in JRPGs. Catering to western tastes is just them making action games that with enormous budgets.
I hope they can get their groove back.
t-pat1991
By the time the game even releases on PC or another console I actually own I’ve seen so many playthroughs and clips of it that I’ve lost interest. Happens with pretty much every console timed exclusive.
Edit – I fully didn’t check which sub this was
Giggalo_Joe
Unfortunate they can’t see the problem. The issue is and always was, game design.
Osherono
They could have, you know, actually put decent pricing and sale pricing to many of their old IPs and sold them, or actually supported their games on some platforms (I didn’t buy games for Android due to them delisting games after selling them for 19.99 USD or more). If anything they need to rethink their pricing strategy.
Oh yeah, and not porting KH to the Switch was a big loss. I would have bought those games.
twovles31
They refuse to make sequels to the best game ever made Chrono Trigger.
tenqajapan
I think the delay of DQ12 is exactly tied to their upcoming strategy: Wait until Switch 2 before announcing a date.
Aside from Rebirth not meeting ideal expectations, I think flops like Forspoken and the Avengers really cut into them deep.
Efficient-Film9817
I just now realized that the cloud version means that it could only run on the cloud and not without wifi or internet access.. I thought it had something to do with the character cloud lol
Caradogg
Oh no they only made only made a billion instead of a squiglionbajillion, my heart weeps for them.
Maybe stop with the bad ideas that you don’t even need hindsight to know would be bad and no one is asking for. Like the KH always online ports or Evercrisis a remake that was missold in its hype and doesn’t really fit anywhere with how confused an identity it seems to have, its not a true port of the original (still no before crisis either) and it doesn’t fit into the new VII universe so what is it? aside from a fail cash grab that already looks like its running down.
Or hyping Kingdom heart: Go for years and it still not have a release date. Nintendo for their many errors knows thats a mistake and keeps things close til they are pretty sure on release schedules.
But no the lesson you learn instead is you need more of that BS that has driven away your original fans and isn’t appealing to new audiences with how unapproachable it all seems.
oldskoofoo
Exclusivity not making you the money you expected hey Squareenix, who would have saw this coming….all of us.
An0n_Cyph3r_
Still angry at them for releasing the KH games on the Switch as cloud ports instead of native ones.
jssanderson747
Good. The last thing I want is for people to miss out on FF16 or FF7 because dinosaurs on their board can’t think about the optics of 2 or 3 extra platforms getting to play those games at launch
34 Comments
selling on just 1 platform isn’t enough uh? how bizzarre..
lol it’s a no brainer.
Like phone games – or cloud based kingdom hearts
Stop the timed epic exclusives too and release on steam day one
Maybe they are coming to switch 2. I think it’s a no brainier but it will depend on how powerful the switch’s successor is.
So no more Dragon Quest/HD-2D games on Switch first or Final Fantasy games on Playstation first?
Yeah, they expected Rebirth to out perform the previous instalment of FF7. The problem is, it’s a sequel which can lower absorption rate, and it’s console exclusive.
Those 2 factors usually hold a game back. They thought FF7 Rebirth would have more pull then a franchise could reasonably pull.
It’s funny they waited til Xbox entered its death throes before deciding to port their games there.
The switch 2 can really help, especially with Japanese sales
I sure hope games like DQXII for example will be able to run on the new switch (I’d be surprised if it’s not the case)
Given their financial report, I doubt the money Sony invested for the consoles exclusivities helped a lot
seeing multi-platform franchises getting exclusivity deals always irked me, I think what’s fine is Astral Chain or Bayonnetta where Nintendo invests in the development and the game wouldn’t exist without them
Or just release the FF pixel remaster collection as a hard copy again without the fucking false scarcity 🤷♂️
My first console was NES, but I never played a Final Fantasy. I legitimately wanted to pick up a physical Switch copy of FF Pixel Remastered for myself and another for my brother, who was a big FF fan growing up but hasn’t played one since 13 or 15. Can’t find PR for less than around twice the price of a brand new game from 2024. Which I can’t justify, as awesome as I think it is that they put the effort into the remaster.
I also am really interested in the FF7 remake that was supposed to come to XBox, but never did. Heard great things from friends, and almost certainly would have picked up both Remake and Rebirth. My last Sony console was PS3, though, and I have no plans to buy a PS5 for one or two games.
Point being, I’d love to help you out, SQEnix. You won’t let me.
It’s a warning to every developer
Ignore the Switch’s huge install base at your own peril
I remember when Square Soft left Nintendo to join Sony for its Playstation, back during the waning years of the SNES. Man, was I upset when that happened. But I loved FF7. And FF8 and FF9. Then I upgraded to the PS2 for FFX and FFXII, which I never finished.
Given the huge install base of the Switch, and unconfirmed rumours of backwards compatibility of its successor – a large percentage of Switch owners especially in Japan – will upgrade to Nintendo’s console.
Square Enix will hopefully rededicate it’s focus with it’s relationship with Nintendo, since JRPG’s sell better on it’s console than on the other consoles ( see Unicorn Overlord Japan sales figures for example). So make a Chrono Trigger remaster already in 2D-HD!
Will they actually release more modern FF on the next Switch though?
Super Mario RPG 2 confirmed for Switch 2.
Chrono Trigger HD-2D multi-platform release, boom.
Of course. SE is leaving a lot of money on the table not doing day 1 multiplatform for all their games (and then doing stupid shit like EGS when they do release on PC). The moneyhats from Sony and Epic really hasn’t been worth it for them (long term). Whereas other Japanese publishers have been hitting new sales highs thanks to a day 1 multiplatform strategy, SE has been struggling.
For a lot of their games, porting to Switch hasn’t really been a viable course due to its now ancient tech profile. But Switch 2? I suspect all of SE’s future AAA output to have Switch 2 ports. Even though Switch 2 won’t be on par with PS5 it’s still gonna be capable enough for devs to consider porting to it. And SE is gonna profit immensely having another huge market to sell their AAA games to (especially in Japan where Nintendo / Switch 2 will dominate).
Its almost as if by having exclusivity deals your games become less accessible …
Why is a PS5 still $500 dollars is the real question. Lowering the price would solve so many problems
Hey square enix you deserve every bit of bad press you get . You been overcharging on your old games forever now and I find your business practices faulty at best
All they need to do is make FF games like their Dragon Quest games: retaining classic gameplay while delivered awesome design and graphics—art that respects the original games design
It was a huge mistake to make Foamstars, a paid, online-only, live service game, being a PS exclusive and releasing before Helldivers 2 and their own FFVII Rebirth.
It’s currently performing worse than Suicide Squad and Skull & Bones. I think neither you didn’t even know that this even existed.
So Square basically admitted that the money they get for temporarily having a console exclusive is not enough to counter the decreased sales they get as a direct result…
I miss the SE that specialized in JRPGs. Catering to western tastes is just them making action games that with enormous budgets.
I hope they can get their groove back.
By the time the game even releases on PC or another console I actually own I’ve seen so many playthroughs and clips of it that I’ve lost interest. Happens with pretty much every console timed exclusive.
Edit – I fully didn’t check which sub this was
Unfortunate they can’t see the problem. The issue is and always was, game design.
They could have, you know, actually put decent pricing and sale pricing to many of their old IPs and sold them, or actually supported their games on some platforms (I didn’t buy games for Android due to them delisting games after selling them for 19.99 USD or more). If anything they need to rethink their pricing strategy.
Oh yeah, and not porting KH to the Switch was a big loss. I would have bought those games.
They refuse to make sequels to the best game ever made Chrono Trigger.
I think the delay of DQ12 is exactly tied to their upcoming strategy: Wait until Switch 2 before announcing a date.
Aside from Rebirth not meeting ideal expectations, I think flops like Forspoken and the Avengers really cut into them deep.
I just now realized that the cloud version means that it could only run on the cloud and not without wifi or internet access.. I thought it had something to do with the character cloud lol
Oh no they only made only made a billion instead of a squiglionbajillion, my heart weeps for them.
Maybe stop with the bad ideas that you don’t even need hindsight to know would be bad and no one is asking for. Like the KH always online ports or Evercrisis a remake that was missold in its hype and doesn’t really fit anywhere with how confused an identity it seems to have, its not a true port of the original (still no before crisis either) and it doesn’t fit into the new VII universe so what is it? aside from a fail cash grab that already looks like its running down.
Or hyping Kingdom heart: Go for years and it still not have a release date. Nintendo for their many errors knows thats a mistake and keeps things close til they are pretty sure on release schedules.
But no the lesson you learn instead is you need more of that BS that has driven away your original fans and isn’t appealing to new audiences with how unapproachable it all seems.
Exclusivity not making you the money you expected hey Squareenix, who would have saw this coming….all of us.
Still angry at them for releasing the KH games on the Switch as cloud ports instead of native ones.
Good. The last thing I want is for people to miss out on FF16 or FF7 because dinosaurs on their board can’t think about the optics of 2 or 3 extra platforms getting to play those games at launch