Square Enix pledges to "aggressively pursue" software for "Nintendo platforms"
Square Enix <3 Nintendo
There was a number of years where Square Enix (Squaresoft at the time) wasn’t working with Nintendo. It happened during N64 days, and the situation would last until the company made their grand return to the Nintendo side of things with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on the GameCube. Ever since, Square Enix and Nintendo have been thick as thieves, and the two have even partnered on exclusives. We now know that Square Enix has every intention of continuing that relationship.
Square Enix is having a bit of a tough time right now, as multiple releases have missed their sales targets. In order to get back onto the path to success, Square Enix is rejiggering things behind the scenes. That includes focusing on quality over quantity, and sticking with their major franchises.
In their latest financial report, Square Enix has outlined a multi-step plan that they’re hoping brings them back to profitability, and at the very top is the company’s pledge to create multiplatform releases. This may seem a bit strange as Square Enix is already pretty platform agnostic, but it’s clear the company continues to see this approach as crucial in righting the ship.
The real interesting part of this announcement comes from Square Enix’s proclamation of supporting “Nintendo platforms.” Now we all know that Nintendo currently has the Switch on the market, and they’re going to talk more about the Switch’s successor this fiscal year. We haven’t heard any official projects from any company as far as Switch’s successor goes, but with Square Enix saying they’ll be “aggressively pursuing” Nintendo platforms (along with PlayStation, Xbox and PC), you’d have to think that means Switch’s successor.
There’s been a lot of rumors recently about Square Enix holding some of their recent and upcoming games from Switch in order to bring them to the Switch’s successor. At this point we don’t know if that’s true or not, but with Square Enix seemingly all-in on Switch’s successor, it definitely lends a bit of credence to those rumblings.
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enthropy
2M ago"and sticking with their major franchises."
This is bad. I get it. It's safer like this. They don't want another Forspoken fiasco (what they fuck were they thinking???) but with this in mind we wont get new IPs like Octopath was.
The AAA market is already very creatively poor, at times bankrupt as is and we don't need more IP milking, but I guess that's the only way? MS now shutting down their creatives with Tango who made one of my all time fav games with Ghostwire, Playstation closing Japan Studios years ago... It's not looking peachy!
Good thing Death Stranding was big enough to warrant a sequel and Stellar Blade is kicking ass and we'll see what Nintendo has planned for the Switch Swoosh but seems like i'll be playing less new games and at least get through my backlog.
gamefreak613
2M agoHopefully this means we'll get decent (non-cloud) Kingdom Hearts ports finally....
hawk
2M agoI sometimes think about what it would be like to have Squaresoft back, and in their prime (like the SNES and early PSX Squaresoft). It's a silly thought since the game industry isn't like that era anymore, but I guess I just miss the incredible games they were making back then, and the creativity they displayed.
They're not doing a terrible job now--I think Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler have been pretty good--but those games are a side-show while they crank out these HUGE big-budget games that lack the character and charm of their earlier Final Fantasy games.
I guess what I'd like is for them to make more stuff like Final Fantasy 6 and 9, and for the new Secret of Mana game to be really good.
I wouldn't put too much faith into this write up, as it's not very good. They said things like
"The Group (Square Enix) will pursue a shift from quantity to quality as its medium- to long-term philosophy regarding the DE segment’s portfolio. To that end, it will first work to establish the optimal portfolio, striking a balance between a “product-out” approach that reflects the imaginations of its employees to the utmost, and a “market-in” approach that leverages customers’ voices and data to inform development efforts. It will strive for a regular launch cadence, focusing its development efforts and investments on titles with substantial potential to be loved by customers for years."
"For HD titles, the Group will aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs. Especially, in regards to major franchises and AAA titles including catalog titles, it will build an environment where more customers can enjoy our titles. In addition, it will also devise a platform strategy for SD titles that includes not only iOS and Android, but also the possibility of PC launches. Furthermore, the Group will strive to maximize the acquisition of new users when launching a title and that of recurring users after starting management of game operation."
"Focus on development of titles delivering “Fun” that only the Group can create and build the development structure."
They absolutely said "First, mindful of the need to launch HD titles that help attract additional fans to the Group, the Group will regularly release AAA titles in its major franchises to maintain and build upon its fan base", but nowhere does that imply the focus will be purely on those games. If anything, it means they are cutting the fat and not investing in things like Babylon's Fall, Outriders, Foamstars, etc, things that historically aren't on brand, that they don't develop themselves, and are really just things no one is asking for, ie live service shooters.
bakfug
2M agoI feel like you e cherry picked a few lines to spin a narrative that is not particularly there. Sure, they literally said "...the Group will aggressively pursue...Nintendo platforms...", but taking a few words in a sentence without the context doesn't really tell the whole story.
The whole quote is "For HD titles, the Group will aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs. Especially, in regards to major franchises and AAA titles including catalog titles, it will build an environment where more customers can enjoy our titles."
It's very clear that this is less about Nintendo platforms, as they already put almost anything that can run on Switch on it, and more about how they have had so many high budget game deals with Sony that have been a disaster. It's not even just stuff like Babylon's Fall or Foamstars, but objectively good games like Final Fantasy XVI and VII Rebirth both failing to meet sales expectations due to Sony exclusivity.
Again, Switch gets basically every SE game that it can run alongside many exclusives, timed or not, so there is no need to sensationalize this as some sort of amazing Nintendo commitment.
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