Well, we all saw this coming I think. It used to be that Squaresoft was synonymous with quality RPGs. These days? It's synonymous with ports, remakes, and spin offs. Where is the originality? Where is the creativity? Where is my GODDAMN CHRONO TRIGGER 3? These and other questions from North America have gone mostly unheard by the Japanese megacorp who have been, up to this point, just pleased as punch to re-remake Final Fantasy IV for the billionth time. Oh, and lots of Chocobo. Lots and lots of Chocobo.
However, finally a voice that Square Enix can hear - money - has sent a rather large message: With a 20% loss in profits (ouch) over the last fiscal year, the reason behind SE boss Yoichi Wada's little "we need to expand our North America market" comment finally makes a little more sense.
Whether or not this has anything to do with the recent plethora of new title announcements from Square Enix is unclear, but one thing is for sure: they had better sell.
It is my personal opinion that Square Enix has been largely out of touch with North American audiences lately. With no Xbox 360 support and limited 7th gen support at all, it is a wonder that their losses haven't been bigger. With no proper Final Fantasy offering since FFX (let's be honest, FFXII is no "proper" Final Fantasy) and the bastardization of many beloved IPs (Parasite Eve 3 for cell phones, anyone?), Square Enix has really made no bold strides to correct their mistakes. In fact, all of the ports and spin-offs have said one thing to me (and probably many of you): we need more money, so buy these games that you already bought. WRONG ANSWER.
My remedy? Try releasing some of the games you've announced. The Last Remnant would be a good start. Maybe considering a multiplatform release of Final Fantasy XIII (that is, assuming it doesn't suck balls). Here's an idea: use some of your established IPs for some new games! Chrono Trigger 3 multiplatform? Parasite Eve 3 (a real one) on 7th generation consoles? Any of these ideas making any sense to you?
Though many Japanese companies (Square Enix included) are focusing on the DS and PSP, the sad truth of the matter is that North Americans (in general, not everyone) prefer console games to handhelds. In fact, I think that Japan is currently the only market that buys handheld games with reckless abandon over console games. And for an international company to only work on what sells in one region is, in my opinion, not very smart, and certainly not the way to increase profits.
Dear Square Enix, no one cares about Chocobo. Make some real games, dammit.
End rant.
What do you think, dear reader? Unfair punishment or divine retribution?
1 comment:
I care about chocobo!
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