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Square Enix's company culture.
- Thread starter kuroshiki
- Start date
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Squaresoft died a long time ago. The Handheld titles are mere ghosts of the past revisiting us.
Daisuke is probably a worse writer but Toriyama and Daisuke are gay for each other, so it makes little difference.
Are there any Japanese companies that have a flat organizational structure or a non-traditional hierarchy? It seems like if anything needs to change in that industry it's the adoption of new management and organizational structures. Obviously, not all companies can operate the way Valve or Bungie but it seems detrimental to a lot of companies to not adjust due to focuses, goals, project size and number of employees among other things.
SE is in a bad spot.
i'm sure SE would love to release crap sub-hd 6 hour long games every year and get $500 million dollars in 24 hours but that's just not how rpgs work.
But rpgs require 40+ hours of gameplay with a compelling story and great graphics that has to be consistently good throughout the whole playthrough or you get mediocre sales.
i'm sure SE would love to release crap sub-hd 6 hour long games every year and get $500 million dollars in 24 hours but that's just not how rpgs work.
But rpgs require 40+ hours of gameplay with a compelling story and great graphics that has to be consistently good throughout the whole playthrough or you get mediocre sales.
Just make the Spin-offs into their own IPs, the way Four Heroes of Light became Bravely Default.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
SatelliteOfLove
Member
With the exception of Horii, I feel anything that makes it out of there that makes sense, plays great, and makes some money is a lucky mistake given the methodology there.
JonnyBigBoss
Banned
This explains why every game they've made in the past 6+ years has been par or worse.
Seriously, how pitiful. 3 of my top 5 favorite games of all time are Final Fantasy titles. However, it's been absolute garbage lately.
Seriously, how pitiful. 3 of my top 5 favorite games of all time are Final Fantasy titles. However, it's been absolute garbage lately.
I'm really hoping that Squeenix goes down the pooper at this point. Maybe it'll open up some opportunities for RPG devs who are really trying new things and succeeding. Mistwalker, Monolith Soft, and Level-5 come to mind.
I had hope that maybe Bioware would become the next Square, but after the EA buy out... Ugh...
I had hope that maybe Bioware would become the next Square, but after the EA buy out... Ugh...
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Wada is holding back any possible creativity by limiting the games made to only mainstream products.
Ergo, IP's have great difficulty going through if one is to believe it won't be guaranteed to sell.
----------------
As for me, I'll look at Mistwalker but more importantly Monolith Soft for RPG's.
Nah. No way. Mistwalker is worse than Square at this point. They are like paper company. =P
I don't really agree with this. I REALLY loved Dragon Quest IX and Final Fantasy: The 4 Warriors of Light. Two of my favorite RPGs this gen.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
I liked the 2 RPG's they made. I'm more of a neutral mindset with them.
cosmicblizzard
Banned
I hope you haven't been ignoring handhelds, because they've made some good stuff.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Well 6 years ago they made the dumbass mistake of announcing games that weren't even remotely developed.
They gave you a pretty movie and couldn't make a game out of it. And now they are struggling to create the vision that the movie illustrated.
They gave you a pretty movie and couldn't make a game out of it. And now they are struggling to create the vision that the movie illustrated.
I don't think it's any of the people, necessarily, that are holding the company back. It's their IPs that are holding them back at this point. When you have employees who do nothing but model bricks for roads in the game, you're going to have employees who hate their soulless job.
What they need to do is restructure and put together small teams, probably of no more than twenty people, and see what each of those teams can create, and give them full creative control. Release four or five smaller games (no more than 20-25 hours to complete, and really, if a tight, eight hour experience can be released, more power to em) over a year or two years, and stop asking artists to create the next big empty/full city with no one you can talk to (hi Assassin's Creed III!). They need to get back to their fundamental design aesthetics (sprites, animation, painterly worlds and usage of pastels - see Bastion/Machinarium) and stop trying to create the next graphics boner.
BUT... they won't do that. Sad that many talented artists will be wasted on creating the MOST REALISTIC MOSS. It's funny, but the 3D era of games has not been kind to development studios in terms of quality play and interesting interactions, despite a clear evolution of the medium as a heavily visual one, it still seems that the big companies refuse to build on the strength of their roots (which, for most of them, doesn't involve 3D).
What they need to do is restructure and put together small teams, probably of no more than twenty people, and see what each of those teams can create, and give them full creative control. Release four or five smaller games (no more than 20-25 hours to complete, and really, if a tight, eight hour experience can be released, more power to em) over a year or two years, and stop asking artists to create the next big empty/full city with no one you can talk to (hi Assassin's Creed III!). They need to get back to their fundamental design aesthetics (sprites, animation, painterly worlds and usage of pastels - see Bastion/Machinarium) and stop trying to create the next graphics boner.
BUT... they won't do that. Sad that many talented artists will be wasted on creating the MOST REALISTIC MOSS. It's funny, but the 3D era of games has not been kind to development studios in terms of quality play and interesting interactions, despite a clear evolution of the medium as a heavily visual one, it still seems that the big companies refuse to build on the strength of their roots (which, for most of them, doesn't involve 3D).
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
It will be titled Final Fantasy.
Double edged blade. High risk. And SE doesn't like risk. And this risk of flopping within a divisive fanbase will crush them.
Gouty
Bloodborne is shit
As a long time FF fan, XIII being lackluster wasn't nearly as big a deal as rushing XIV out the door to meet some sort of idiotic quarterly sales goal. To say the move was shortsighted really doesn't cover it. It showed a total lack of respect for their own work. That one decision may have single handedly killed their golden goose. The Final Fantasy name doesn't have the weight it did just a few years ago.
That's not a remake, that's a port with some new stuff added in. I'm talking a whole new engine, graphics, the whole shebang.
At this point, I don't think they have much to lose.
I don't honestly think it would sell as well as most think. The game doesn't really hold up all that well, plus you know there would be all sorts of whining at anything that was "wrong" with any changes they made graphically anyway. It's Square's sacred cow, after all.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Riposte
Member
Going small would probably only contribute to them becoming irrelevant. They just need to do a better job at balancing things and become for efficient (with their corporate structure being an obstruction to this). They could in theory release a big, glorious Final Fantasy while also making a bunch of portable games and smaller console games.
What they certainly don't need to do is pay too much attention to the echo chamber which is the Final Fantasy fanbase, especially its jaded, aging elements.
I'm not saying it does, but I hear about people wanting it all the time. They might as well cash in while they can.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
They should just become a company for handhelds. They seem to be the only way they make games I enjoy nowadays.
I hope you like Genesis.
I hope you like Genesis.
I dunno, most of their most successful and well-loved games were made with relatively small teams compared to the average Final Fantasy now, which has hundreds of hands all working towards something unattainable (Final Fantasy VII-level success). Smaller teams and smaller games was what made them successful (any given Final Fantasy before VII could be realistically finished over a few days of play, games post-VII could take on the order of months if a person couldn't spend entire days playing), and Final Fantasy VII, in hindsight, seems like a game that sold as well as it did because of the time in which it was released, not necessarily because it had some magical quality that made it better than any other RPG.
Even RPGs that are largely considered fantastic by their communities today (Dark/Demon's Souls) still didn't see the level of success that FFVII did. I think that says something about how competitive game markets are today, and that expecting that level of success with anything other than Call of Duty or World of Warcraft (which have entrenched fanbases - not to say that Final Fantasy doesn't, but as most here agree, it's not what it once was) is unrealistic and unhealthy when developing a game.
Well, I figured Square-Enix's management was holding it back, but I hadn't imagined it was this bad. It's like there's a perfect storm of bad luck and poor decisions hanging over this company. I hope it passes soon so that we can get back to good games that are released regularly, often, and when they're good and ready. I can dream, can't I?
Could it maybe have the character models updated somehow, then? Just a tiny little bit?
Chuck Norris
Banned
They need to get rid of Wada. He has choked the creativity out of them.
It's sad to think we will never see a game as good as FFXII from Square Enix again. Consider that their swan song
It's sad to think we will never see a game as good as FFXII from Square Enix again. Consider that their swan song
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
We have PC modifications for that.
Napalm_Frank
Member
But how else can I have Cissnei and Genesis retconned into the story and resurrect Aeris?
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
I can have VII remade for you if GILGAMESH takes everyone's weapons at the end of the game in turn retconning ACC and DoC when GIL murders the antagonists for looking like girly men and pedo scientists.
Femmeworth
Banned
It needs a new localization. :\
aliencowz7
Member
Remaking FFVII is probably the worst thing they can do at this point. One of the last things a lot of fans hold on to these days is the mythical FFVII remake, once they crap the bed on that what is left.
They need to regain there focus on what actually made people fall in love with the games they put out before they even think of tackling something like that. Once you sour peoples fond memories of when you put out more good then bad you have some real big issues beyond the current troubles they face.
They need to regain there focus on what actually made people fall in love with the games they put out before they even think of tackling something like that. Once you sour peoples fond memories of when you put out more good then bad you have some real big issues beyond the current troubles they face.
RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
1) Rehire Sakaguchi
2) Fire Wada
3) ???
4) Profit
2) Fire Wada
3) ???
4) Profit
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Sakaguchi acts like he's all comfy around Nintendo.
And besides he's said before he's tired of Final Fantasy or being asked about it, The Last Story was a Farewell card to the series if you will.
funkystudent
Member
Since SE Japan cant do anything right at the moment and cant make a new original Final Fantasy that people care about any more maybe remaking FFVII is there only option left to get any positive fan interest.
Buying Edios was the best thing they could have done as a company though. Now they have some decent studios making somewhat successful games that while dont set the world on fire they do keep the money rolling in and shine some positive light on the Square Enix name. They dont need to rely on the Japanese studios to do much now so they are free to continue endless spinning there wheels.
Buying Edios was the best thing they could have done as a company though. Now they have some decent studios making somewhat successful games that while dont set the world on fire they do keep the money rolling in and shine some positive light on the Square Enix name. They dont need to rely on the Japanese studios to do much now so they are free to continue endless spinning there wheels.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
It's not that it's authoritarian, it's that those in authority continue to make bad decisions or insert knee-jerk changes in direction after dedicating development.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
We just need Ito. That's who Sakaguchi believed was best suited. But in the end will it make any difference?
Sickboy007
Member
Apparently they just don't like money, so we shouldn't worry too much about that.
aliencowz7
Member
Changing one person at the very top isn't very likely to turn stuff around alone, the entire company needs a change in attitude and a change in business philosophy at this point to get to where people want them to be.
At least Tanaka can't do what he did to FFXI and FFXIV anymore I guess, but if FFXIV 2.0 shows anything its that they are in desperate need of new project leads instead of using the same ones over and over.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
I blame Wada and the Fortune Teller.