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Square Enix Supports Sony, But Not Too Much

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the big-heads dept.

Next-Gen reports that Square Enix is throwing just the right amount of support behind Sony. In some fairly non-humble statements, Square Enix senior VP Michihiro Sasaki talked about their positioning in the next generation market. "'We don't want the PlayStation 3 to be the overwhelming loser, so we want to support them,' he said. 'But we don't want them to be the overwhelming winner either, so we can't support them too much.' Sasaki's comments (which were pulled out of context and dropped into the WSJ article) don't exactly take the humble approach regarding Square Enix's heavy influence on the popularity of the PlayStation brand. The PS2-exclusive FFXII sold over 1.7 million units for a premium $80 equivalent price tag in the first four days after its Japan launch."

20 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. They don't have to take the humble approach... by jfclavette · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sony has pretty much been carried by SQUENIX since the PS1. I think they're the most underestimated presence in the console market after IBM. The battlefield would be wholly different without them.

    1. Re:They don't have to take the humble approach... by Azarael · · Score: 2

      Yeah, GTA, Tekken and Gran Turismo (probably lots momre) didn't really sell that many copies..
      I'm sure that FF games accounted for a big chunk of PS game sales, but there are a bunch of other good franchises out there.

    2. Re:They don't have to take the humble approach... by Ryan+Amos · · Score: 2, Insightful

      GTA, Tekken, and Gran Turismo sold a lot of copies.

      Final Fantasy sold a lot of PSXs and PS2s. Therein lies the difference.

    3. Re:They don't have to take the humble approach... by OmegaBlac · · Score: 2

      And you don't suppose that GTA 3, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas being exclusively released on the PS2 first (months to a year before the Xbox/Xbox360 version) didn't sell alot of PS2s also? I bet that GTA alone helped sell more PS2s then FFX or FSXI in the US.

    4. Re:They don't have to take the humble approach... by ArmyOfFun · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There are two franchises which move consoles in Japan: Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Were there other quality games out there for the PSX and PS2? Absolutely. Did they register any near as important as FF or DQ? Not even close, not in Japan. Without FF or DQ you basically lose the Japanese RPG genre on your console. That genre isn't nearly as important in the west, but in Japan, a console is dead without them.

    5. Re:They don't have to take the humble approach... by masklinn · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are two franchises which move consoles in Japan

      Mario, Link and Pikachu say hello

      --
      "The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
    6. Re:They don't have to take the humble approach... by justchris · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Yes, they sold a lot of copies, but were it not for FF7, all of those games except Gran Turismo would exist differently than they are today. It was Square dropping support for the n64 which A) Drove a lot of sales to the PS1 away from the n64, singlehandedly giving Sony a lead in marketshare for the first time that generation (before that, the n64 was still beating the PS1 in sales) and B) Encouraging other developers to move away from the Nintendo platform. Some of the smaller developers had already switched for money issues, but the large publishers and big names followed Square's lead, and that is what boosted Sony over Nintendo. Had Square backed Nintendo, many other developers would have followed suit, and a lot of the great PS2 games you enjoy today very likely would have been GC games instead.

      You don't have to sale the most games to have the most influence. Don't forget that the first 2 installments of GTA sold almost nothing, and it wasn't until GTA3 that Rockstar even became relevant as a developer. Just because their game sold more copies doesn't mean anyone gave two shits about them for most of their existence.

      --
      just some guy
    7. Re:They don't have to take the humble approach... by Leviance · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You forget how many PS2 owners have had to buy second and/or third consoles...

  2. What else is new? by Guppy06 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    This is the same Squaresoft prima donna we saw ten years ago. "Cater to us or your silly little console will go down the tubes." I think they're still in a state of shock over
    • the fact that Nintendo is still alive and well, and
    • the fact that all of their non-RPGs were more or less panned (and even many of their non-FF RPGs weren't all that great, either), and
    • the fact that Sprits Within bombed
    Of course, I don't think the way Sony bent over backwards to get Final Fantasy exclusively onto the PlayStation really helped Squaresoft come back down to earth.

    Squaresoft always saw themselves as being on par with Nintendo or Sega, able to produce top-rate titles in any genre they choose to grace. They still haven't learned they aren't.

    I still feel like Enix is the big loser with this merger. Enix was that good, Squaresoft just thought they were.
    1. Re:What else is new? by Astarica · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Enix was a non presence outside of Japan. While Enix might have been content to what amounts to printing money in Japan, the merger was necessary to get any kind of worldwide status.

      On the subject of being arrogant, Enix did not support Nintendo either in the N64 era. While SQIX might be a significant presence in Japan, they might be surprised to find that the rest of world do not care about them as much as they think, just as Japan does not care about Madden 0X or GTA. However the rest of the world is a bigger market than Japan, so it'd be a good idea for them to start catering to the rest of the world.

    2. Re:What else is new? by justchris · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I think you underestimate the Japanese people and Mistwalker both.

      First of all, if the games are good, the Japanese will take notice.

      Second of all, Lost Odyssey looks pretty damn interesting. If I don't already have a 360 by then, it will likely be the game I purchase a 360 for (although I'm American, so I can't really speak for the Japanese).

      Lastly, Blue Dragon will be out by the end of this year. Sony isn't going to have anything available to counter it that quickly out of the gate. And Nintendo only has a Dragon Quest spinoff series to counter it. Both DQ Swords & Blue Dragon are fairly untested, so it seems to be a fairly level playing field between the two of them.

      --
      just some guy
  3. Re:Wii.... by SyncNine · · Score: 2

    Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has been announced for the Wii already, see here. It has also been announced for the NintendoDS, along with all of the Final Fantasy remakes that they have previously announced. It seems that Square-Enix is well aware of the potential that the new consoles hold.

    --
    To the darkened skies once more, and ever onward.
  4. Finally! by robyannetta · · Score: 2, Funny

    Finally, we'll have a decent processor to render EQII on.

    --
    - Just my $0.02, take with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary.
  5. Re:Wii.... by arodland · · Score: 2, Funny

    A Crystal Chronicles game is not "A Final Fantasy". Just as Tactics isn't, Dirge of Cerberus isn't, and if we try hard enough we should be able to get X-2 disowned as well.

  6. Square isn't a prima donna by rsilvergun · · Score: 2, Informative

    They're scared shitless of any one console manufacturer having has much power as Nintendo back in the Famicom days. Back then, Namco threatened a law suite and had to back down because they couldn't survive long enough as a company without a license to release Famicom titles.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  7. Re:That is like saying... by Shados · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The main thing I beleive, is that Square put the FIRST Playstation on the map with FFVII. I hate the game with a passion, so I'm not saying this as a fanboy, but I remember that until FFVII, the PS was just one of 102974071240912 CD-based consoles that would have flopped, like all the others who tried...then poof it came, all the FF fanboys shelled out regardless of if any other good games were out for it...and then the rest followed... And the PS2 kind of inherited and enhanced that popularity, and so on.

  8. Re:Wii.... by mrchaotica · · Score: 2, Funny
    ...unless Sony really screws up.

    You say that as if it hasn't already happened.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  9. KH3 by Pi_r_ed · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can see it happening already...

    Nintendo has always been known for "kiddie" games. It don't get more kiddie than Disney. And if Square-Enix leaves Sony, well... where else are they gonna go? Microsoft?

    Dual-Wielding Keyblades with two wiimotes? Hell, I'd be fine with the one.

    --
    My name would be Pi_r_[]ed, but this stupid thing wouldn't allow it. Well, at least now you know.
    1. Re:KH3 by masklinn · · Score: 2, Insightful

      if Square-Enix leaves Sony, well... where else are they gonna go?

      I suggest you check the handheld market and you'll see where Squenix went when they stopped scheduling good games for the PSP (which was about 2 hours after the release of FF3/DS in Japan, when they realized that they could've put twice as many copies on the market and woud've been sold out all the same)

      --
      "The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
  10. Re:That is why I cannot support Nintendo here by justchris · · Score: 2, Informative

    That's a very uninformed statement your began with. Nintendo censored games because, at the time, there was no ratings system. They believed, as a company, that as many children played video games regularly, it was up to them to provide some measure of protection for said children. They took a lot of flak for censoring Mortal Kombat, and shortly afterwards were instrumental in the creation of the ESRB, ESA and other software ratings boards across the globe. Since the creation of the ESRB there has never been a single game censored on a Nintendo console. Hell, BMX XXX was more censored on the PS2 & Xbox than it was on the GC. As long as ratings exist, Nintendo has plausible deniability, so they place no limits on software they don't personally develop.

    --
    just some guy