Square-Enix says multi-platform crucial, wants to make FPSs with western devs

Here's a recent interview from IGN with John Yamamoto, Square-Enix's head honcho in US and Europe, also cheif exec in Japan. This interview focuses on how Square-Enix will shift their focus to western markets from now on.

This is a very interesting read, and since it's two pages, I listed the important key parts below. This is basically the interview at a glance:

Key points:

• Says it's crucial for them to release games on multi-platforms, not just releasing exclusively on one console.
• Shows great interest in developing games with western studios on genres other than RPGs, like Action/Adventure and FPSs.
• Sees Halo 3 as a tremendous success in Japan and as a source of inspiration.
• Wants to expand the casual market, citing the new Puzzle game for the DS.
• Wants to expand the 360 market in Japan, citing games like Infinite Discovery and The Last Remnant.
• Says they're interested in making a fighting game or a racing game, like Tobal or Bushido Blade.
• Concludes by saying RPGs will still be their main focus.

For rest of the interview, here's the link:

http://ds.ign.com/articles/825/825405p1.html

....and there's still no plans for a Einhander sequel...how about a Chrono sequel, damn-it! :twisted:

I really want to get behind Square with these statements, but the time for talk is over. Show me the money. Less talk and more action.

Although, I don't even want to think about what a Square-produced FPS would be like.

Although, I don't even want to think about what a Square-produced FPS would be like.

Shame-usBlackley

Final Sci-Fi? Dragon Gunblaze? Final Quest?

I really want to get behind Square with these statements, but the time for talk is over. Show me the money. Less talk and more action.

Although, I don't even want to think about what a Square-produced FPS would be like.

Shame-usBlackley

Same here. The time for talk is indeed over and I highly doubt that Microsoft hasn't approached them yet for a version of Final Fantasy XIII so I have to wonder what the hold up is.

Was Dirge of Cerberus an FPS or was it a TPS? Either way the results were less then impressive. Perhaps they are vying for a chance to make Halo 4. ;)

I hope they don't make too many of their games go multiplat. That causes delays, especially for PS3, and you can't tap into the potential of one console if your trying to put a game on other platforms.

I hope they work w/ someone good to create games that would appeal more to us western gamers. I wish they would work with studios like Free Radical, Valve, Ubisoft, Rockstar (no, I'm not kidding lol), Remedy, Lion Head, ID or Criterion. I'm glad they want to do different genres like action/adventure, FPS and action RPGs and the studios I named would be great for SE to work with on those.

Also, I really hope SquareEnix makes another Tobal game. I loved the first one and they say Tobal No. 2 is the very best PS1 RPG and has an insane number of great characters. Tobal No. 3 is exactly the kind of fighter we need these days.

And this part of the interview is just WRONG!!!!

IGN: We have to ask: are we ever going to see another Einhander?

Yamamoto: (Laughs) Is this a famous game in America?

lol I want my Einhander 2 NOW!!! It was one of my absolute favorite PS1 games. Probably even moreso than Final Fantasy VIII.

I really hope this "Westernazation" of Japanese devs (as we've seen with Capcom and SEGA and others) doesn't go any futher. I always liked to have variety in my games in the industry and Eastern and Western devs are a key to that. I'm not saying that I don't want them to make Western games, because hell as long as they don't remake a game I'm happy, but I just don't want this starting to rubb off of more devs as well until it becomes standard to do this, well unless Western devs also make a fair share amount of Eastern games.

I hope they don't make too many of their games go multiplat. That causes delays, especially for PS3, and you can't tap into the potential of one console if your trying to put a game on other platforms.

gunswordfist

Exactly, this is the main reason why I hate multiplats, the console's potential is almost never shown, like last gen the most system pushing games were almost always exclusive. If I'm paying $600 for a machine, I at least want it to use it's advantages to it's fullest.

I hope they don't make too many of their games go multiplat. That causes delays, especially for PS3, and you can't tap into the potential of one console if your trying to put a game on other platforms.

gunswordfist

It's a nice thought, but I doubt it. 3rd party exclusives just don't make business sense anymore. With the rising cost in game developement, it simply isn't feasible.

I'd love to see a sequel to Bushido Blade.

As far as a Square-Enix FPS though, I have my doubts. I know Dirge of Cerebus wasn't a FPS, but it was enough of a shooter to make me pray that they never try to develop a gun game again.

Hmm... I wonder if they are going to bring back some of the old IP as well, that would make me become more interested in what they are talking about.foxhound_fox

Chrono Trigger .........what I think it's funny. :(

I don't think the gaming world needs Square to be an FPS developer. But I suppose it doesn't matter as long as they still put out high quality story-driven RPG's.Vladek

First person shooters? Haven't you guys learned that you suck at anything that doesn't fall anywhere near RPG? I think you'd know that after pre-Final Fantasy and Dirge of Cerberus.Video_Game_King

I don't think there's any need for concern if Square-Enixmakes FPSs because it's not them that will develop the games but they're going to collaborate with western devs who know how to make one. Kind of like how Metroid Prime was made where Miyamoto did the supervision for the first one but Retro handled the chores.

So if Square-Enix ever made FPSs in the future, they'll probably either just publish them or work closely with western devs on making original Square-Enix owned IPs...that's what I get from the interview.

So I doubt there will ever be another Dirge of Cerberus, and even if there is, it won't be made by Square-Enix that's for sure, but probably by a western dev who knows how to make a FPS like Monolithfor example.

Hmm... I wonder if they are going to bring back some of the old IP as well, that would make me become more interested in what they are talking about.foxhound_fox

I think Sqaure is doing something good, as long as they keep making their good RPGs, and then some other games aswell, that just means we get more.

I noticed that Dragon Quest is completely for Nintendo now with number 9 being on the DS and a cool Wii title coming, and of course Sony gets to keep the main Final Fantasy and Nintendo gets Crystal Chronicles (hopefully better then the last one in terms of multiplayer). I think they need to do something for the 360, Sony and Nintendo get great attention from Square and its about time the 360 did too.

I suspect their FPS will have some amazing cut scenes, but I hope the core game engine is better then Dirge of Cerberus. More power to Square!

IGN: Why do you think the Xbox 360 has had such a hard time gaining acceptance in Japan?

Yamamoto: I see the title lineup for the 360 and there are lots of FPS games. And somehow, the FPS genre has never seen much popularity amongst Japanese users. But with the expansion of genres that are popular in Japan, such as RPGs, the 360 looks to be on a positive path. We recently announced Infinite Undiscovery that is exclusive to the 360, and also Last Remnant for the 360 and PS3. Though these two titles are still under development, I think they will expand the popularity of the 360 in Japan.

See, here's the problem.

"So why didn't your cousin make the 500 mile trip for your wedding?"

" I don't know. I gave him a bike ..."

S-E completely crippled the 360 by making their big pre-launch announcement be the, at the time, 2 year old FFXI non-enhanced PC port. The 360 doesn't gain acceptance in Japan because you won't put your BIG FANCY NEW FF GAME on it!!! Sure, they have ONE exclusive title coming (that MS actually passed over to them) and the unproven 360/PS3 game, but how are two unknown properties going to convince Japan to even take a look?????????

Japanese developers, as a whole, didn't play fair with the 360 and now sit back and say "not enough games to appeal to Japanese gamers". Well ifYOU would've support it fairly AT THE START, that outcome would've been very, very different.

See, here's the problem.

"So why didn't your cousin make the 500 mile trip for your wedding?"

" I don't know. I gave him a bike ..."

S-E completely crippled the 360 by making their big pre-launch announcement be the, at the time, 2 year old FFXI non-enhanced PC port. The 360 doesn't gain acceptance in Japan because you won't put your BIG FANCY NEW FF GAME on it!!! Sure, they have ONE exclusive title coming (that MS actually passed over to them) and the unproven 360/PS3 game, but how are two unknown properties going to convince Japan to even take a look?????????

Japanese developers, as a whole, didn't play fair with the 360 and now sit back and say "not enough games to appeal to Japanese gamers". Well ifYOU would've support it fairly AT THE START, that outcome would've been very, very different.

Darth_Tigris

Now why would they support a system that is a sequel to a failure console with it's first party showing little interest in a region instead of supporting a system that is a sequel to a succesful hardware and it's first party is showing strong interest in the region?

It isn't Japanese developers fault nor Square-Enix, it's Microsofts fault from not having them jump on ship earlier and not grabbing enough quality exclusives or making enough big budget appealing IP's for the country. They seem to do it for the West, but not Japan. Possibly if they took the region more seriously by making more then one big budget appealing game a year and making deals with big Japanese devs to make games for it then the 360 probably would've been more succesful.

As for Final Fantasy defining a systems sales, I think you should take alook at a system called "The Wonderswan".

If you're going to get mad at someone, get mad at Microsoft, because they gave Square-Enix zero reason to make games for their system.

It's the same reason why Western developers, actually almost all developers only made and announced broken games and shovelware for the Wii until recently. It's called business and supporting the 360 in Japan would be sucide considering how the previous system performed, how seriously Microsoft takes the region, and the performence of the 360.

Also Japanese devs did put games on the 360 as multiplatform and they all sold horribly both in Japan and the West. And to wrap it up Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Star Ocean, actually pretty much any big next-gen third party game for Japan isn't announced for any system at all. This is because Japanese developers like to sit and wait, then make their decision to what game goes to what platform judging by market perfromance. With an exception of Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid 4 (who's previous games were always exclusive to the Playstation platform anyway) there were absolutely zero big hitter Japanese games announced. And it wasn't until they waited and saw the performance of all 3 systems did they decide to put Star Ocean 4 on the PS3 and Tales of Symphonia 2 on the Wii. There's nothing to blame here, since the Japanese developers didn't put their big franchises on any next-gen system.

Here's a recent interview from IGN with John Yamamoto, Square-Enix's head honcho in US and Europe, also cheif exec in Japan. This interview focuses on how Square-Enix will shift their focus to western markets from now on.

This is a very interesting read, and since it's two pages, I listed the important key parts below. This is basically the interview at a glance:

Key points:

• Says it's crucial for them to release games on multi-platforms, not just releasing exclusively on one console.
• Shows great interest in developing games with western studios on genres other than RPGs, like Action/Adventure and FPSs.
• Sees Halo 3 as a tremendous success in Japan and as a source of inspiration.
• Wants to expand the casual market, citing the new Puzzle game for the DS.
• Wants to expand the 360 market in Japan, citing games like Infinite Discovery and The Last Remnant.
• Says they're interested in making a fighting game or a racing game, like Tobal or Bushido Blade.
• Concludes by saying RPGs will still be their main focus.

For rest of the interview, here's the link:

http://ds.ign.com/articles/825/825405p1.html

....and there's still no plans for a Einhander sequel...how about a Chrono sequel, damn-it! :twisted:

ASK_Story

Look at Square, they made Tobal, Bushido Blade, Einhander. Enix has made Act Raiser, Soul Blazer/Illusion of Gaia/Terrenigma saga, Ogre Battle.... and now all we see are Final Fantasies and Dragon Quests. I mean, in that statement they're making it sound as if they never made anything other then RPGs before. But I'm kinda doubting their ability to make an FPS. They haven't pulled off a good Third Person Shooter with that on FF7 Vincent game for PS2, but we'll see...

IGN: You have announced plans to increase your focus on the Western market.

Yamamoto: Yes, now the Western market is huge. It is much bigger than Japan. So far our revenue coming from Western and PAL territories is only 50 percent [of Square Enix's sales of games for console and handheld devices]. But within three to five years we want to raise that to 75 percent. To enable us to do that I think the North American and European side of Square Enix have to work very, very hard (of course),and we have to release titles across multiple formats. We used to release a title exclusively for one format. I feel it's crucial we release titles for multiple platforms as most of the Western publishers are doing.
==============================================================

^ That's Interesting I think.


===============================================================
Yamamoto: I see the title lineup for the 360 and there are lots of FPS games. And somehow, the FPS genre has never seen much popularity amongst Japanese users. But with the expansion of genres that are popular in Japan, such as RPGs, the 360 looks to be on a positive path.We recently announced Infinite Undiscovery that is exclusive to the 360, and also Last Remnant for the 360 and PS3. Though these two titles are still under development, I think they will expand the popularity of the 360 in Japan.
= = =====================================================================

^ I'm looking forward to "Infinite Undiscovery" and "The Last Remnant," both look quite promising!
However, there are many other upcoming RPGs on the Xbox 360, that I am more excited about. It's not like S-E is the king of RPGs or something, they used to be once I guess...

[QUOTE="Darth_Tigris"]

See, here's the problem.

"So why didn't your cousin make the 500 mile trip for your wedding?"

" I don't know. I gave him a bike ..."

S-E completely crippled the 360 by making their big pre-launch announcement be the, at the time, 2 year old FFXI non-enhanced PC port. The 360 doesn't gain acceptance in Japan because you won't put your BIG FANCY NEW FF GAME on it!!! Sure, they have ONE exclusive title coming (that MS actually passed over to them) and the unproven 360/PS3 game, but how are two unknown properties going to convince Japan to even take a look?????????

Japanese developers, as a whole, didn't play fair with the 360 and now sit back and say "not enough games to appeal to Japanese gamers". Well ifYOU would've support it fairly AT THE START, that outcome would've been very, very different.

Gunraidan

Now why would they support a system that is a sequel to a failure console with it's first party showing little interest in a region instead of supporting a system that is a sequel to a succesful hardware and it's first party is showing strong interest in the region?

It isn't Japanese developers fault nor Square-Enix, it's Microsofts fault from not having them jump on ship earlier and not grabbing enough quality exclusives or making enough big budget appealing IP's for the country. They seem to do it for the West, but not Japan. Possibly if they took the region more seriously by making more then one big budget appealing game a year and making deals with big Japanese devs to make games for it then the 360 probably would've been more succesful.

As for Final Fantasy defining a systems sales, I think you should take alook at a system called "The Wonderswan".

If you're going to get mad at someone, get mad at Microsoft, because they gave Square-Enix zero reason to make games for their system.

It's the same reason why Western developers, actually almost all developers only made and announced broken games and shovelware for the Wii until recently. It's called business and supporting the 360 in Japan would be sucide considering how the previous system performed, how seriously Microsoft takes the region, and the performence of the 360.

Also Japanese devs did put games on the 360 as multiplatform and they all sold horribly both in Japan and the West. And to wrap it up Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Star Ocean, actually pretty much any big next-gen third party game for Japan isn't announced for any system at all. This is because Japanese developers like to sit and wait, then make their decision to what game goes to what platform judging by market perfromance. With an exception of Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid 4 (who's previous games were always exclusive to the Playstation platform anyway) there were absolutely zero big hitter Japanese games announced. And it wasn't until they waited and saw the performance of all 3 systems did they decide to put Star Ocean 4 on the PS3 and Tales of Symphonia 2 on the Wii. There's nothing to blame here, since the Japanese developers didn't put their big franchises on any next-gen system.

Sony had ZERO console experience with the PS1, but that didn't stop Japanese developers from mainly supporting it OVER the proven Sega and Nintendo.

Oh, and I was never declaring that they should've done anything exclusively for the 360. The specs were close enough on the two systems that they could've done multiplatform. Why? Because, with the likely cost of next gen game development, they should've projected that they'd need as many sales as possible. But instead, they put ALL of their eggs in the PS3 basket.

Microsoft TRIED to court all of these publishers, developers and franchises. They're not idiots. They've repeatedly stated in interviews that there were attempts and they'd still love to have them on the 360. But they were spurned. I'm not saying MS hasn't made mistakes, but please stop blaming them for not convincing Japanese 3rd party devs that agreed to make games for the 360 but not the big franchises.

[QUOTE="gunswordfist"]

I hope they don't make too many of their games go multiplat. That causes delays, especially for PS3, and you can't tap into the potential of one console if your trying to put a game on other platforms.

Gunraidan

Exactly, this is the main reason why I hate multiplats, the console's potential is almost never shown, like last gen the most system pushing games were almost always exclusive. If I'm paying $600 for a machine, I at least want it to use it's advantages to it's fullest.