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Square Enix Supports Sony, But Not Too Much 109

Posted by Zonk 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."
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Square Enix Supports Sony, But Not Too Much More

Square Enix Supports Sony, But Not Too Much

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  • Wii.... (Score:1, Insightful)

    by BlahMatt ( 931052 )
    A final fantasy on the wii would be great. I think that the wii is the one system that might break square enix out of their drought and come up with something truly innovative.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by ricree ( 969643 )
      Considering the amount of final fantasy games making their way to the DS, I'd say that a final fantasy game on the Wii isn't all that unlikely. That said, final fantasy is one of the best franchises that Sony has for their system, and they aren't going to let it slip away easily. I would be very surprised to see the main line of final fantasy games leave the PS3 unless Sony really screws up.
    • Final Fantasy is coming to the Wii [ign.com]. Though in the form of Crystal Chronicles, which suffered from GBA connectivity for the Gamecube. Hopefully this version doesn't require four Nintendo DS's and four link cables to play four player.
      • It won't require any link cables, because hey, guess what? The DS doesn't HAVE a link cable port. That gives the whole idea an immediate boost, along with the fact that using a wireless DS with the game is just flat out easier to do than a wired GBA. Add to this the smashing success and essential omnipresence of the DS, and you're looking at a game that might just be a hit, or at least won't suffer many of the downfalls Crystal Chronicles did.
        • Well, as far as CC goes... if Squenix nix's the horridly repetative music, repetative gameplay, and the shared magic system.

          It was almost impossible timing magic. You had three people saying "3.. 2.. 1.. NOW!" to cast complex spells. Now, I'm sure there are teams of people all over that can wipe the floor with their cooperation, but it was very frusterating for my friends and me.

          The music got on my nerves about 20 minutes into the game, and about 5 minutes later I just turned on the stereo. I'm not sure

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Phisbut ( 761268 )
            I don't think I'll ever finish the game.

            Don't. You'll be dissapointed. I finished it with two buddies, and it was pretty dissapointing. Lame story, and as you said, boring fight system (not counting how many times we said "Bring the bucket over here, there's a monster tearing me apart offscreen"). And those random "story telling" cutscreens at crossroads... long pointless conversation and in the end, they give you... ... ... a potato! Gawd we laughed on that one.

      • four link cables to play four player.

        Can't speak for the DS', but I can for that one: since the DS doesn't have link cables in the first place (it's all 'bout WiFi bro!) that will never happen.

      • We all know where Crystal Chronicles lead us... http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/08/25 [penny-arcade.com]

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by TLSPRWR ( 711680 )
        Final Fantasy is coming to the Wii. Though in the form of Crystal Chronicles, which suffered from GBA connectivity for the Gamecube. Hopefully this version doesn't require four Nintendo DS's and four link cables to play four player.

        Suffered? Using the Gameboy Advances helped the game out immensely. The screen could be used just for action and menus and item selection could be done on your personal screen. Granted, it's slightly expensive to play if everyone doesn't already have the cables and GBAs, but

    • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Final Fantasy on the Wii would be a big step backwards from FF13, graphics-wise. Not gonna happen for a franchise that always prided itself on pushing the limits of technology. Likelier possibilities are Dragon Quest on the Wii (not unlikely), FF spinoff franchises on the Wii or the 360 (possibly), and FF on the 360 (only if the PS3 is a complete and utter failure, and the 360 somehow manages to return from the dead in Japan).
      • Run that by me one more time?

        Final Fantasy on the DS would be a big step backwards from the PSP, graphics-wise. Not gonna happen for a franchise that always prided itself on pushing the limits of technology.

        Funny how that echo rings. Ironically, PSP is the one getting the "spinoff franchise," with a sequal to the sequal of the sequal of Final Fantasy VII [ign.com] coming out. I'm not at all looking forward to it. Final Fantasy III on the DS? YES PLEASE.

        You realize, of course, that there IS a confirmed Dragon Quest G [ign.com]

        • The sequel to the sequel to the sequel of FF7 is also a lot more well-known, on a worldwide level, than Final Fantasy 3 which didn't even make it out of Japan.
          • While this may be true for the original Final Fantasy III, I don't believe it for a moment when it comes to the remake. Really, it's unfair to compare a game that came out years and years ago with a current release, so comparing the original FFIII is really old, shrivled up apples (from Japan) to new, shiney oranges.

            That said, if you were to ask around, I'm sure you'd find a lot more people who know about, and are excited about, the new FFIII release on the DS than you would people who know about Final Fant
          • Which is why it pretty much has guaranteed sales. Everyone knows there was a Final Fantasy 3, they just never got to play it. So they'll buy it out of curiosity if nothing else.
        • the 360 has not even the rumor of real Final Fantasy on it.

          Uh. The 360 has Final Fantasy XI, actually.
    • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has been announced for the Wii already, see here [ign.com]. 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.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by arodland ( 127775 )
        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.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jferris ( 908786 )
      I would love to see Kingdom Hearts on Wii. I own both of the ones on PS2 and the one for DS. I could see the Wiimote making this game even more fun. :-)

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by wheany ( 460585 )
      What do you mean "truly innovative?"

      Final Fantasy is the one RPG series where the combat and character development has never been the same twice.
  • 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.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Azarael ( 896715 )
      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.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Ryan Amos ( 16972 )
        GTA, Tekken, and Gran Turismo sold a lot of copies.

        Final Fantasy sold a lot of PSXs and PS2s. Therein lies the difference.
        • There are over 100 million PS2s sold in the world. If you take every Square game sold on the PS2 and count the number of unique fans that comprised them, I doubt that number is even more than 10 million (it's almost always the same people buying the same SQIX games). If every unique fan bought a PS2 solely because of a SQIX game, then what the heck are the other 90 million PS2 owners who did not buy a Square game doing? Did they buy the system for the privilege to own the system that SQIX develops for?
        • 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.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by ArmyOfFun ( 652320 )
        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.
        • A FF or DQ game sells around 3 millions. If you assume the buying population of these games are pretty similar then let's say a FF + DQ game combines for 5 million unique players. Again, if all 5 million players bought a PS2 for one of those games, that leaves 5 million PS2 down. I don't know what the PS2 numbers shipped are for individual regions, but I know worldwide number is 100+ million and Japan has to have at least 1/3rd, so that'd leave you with 28 million PS2s left, which would still be plenty f

        • There are two franchises which move consoles in Japan

          Mario, Link and Pikachu say hello

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by justchris ( 802302 )
        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 swit
        • Sony isn't as arrogant as people try to make them seem. People have attached a persona to a succesful entity, as always. Nintendo didn't have to bend over backwards to get FF back on thier system, it was SE that had to bow to thier whims (and make crystal chronicles) so the can bank on the Gameboys success.
          • Nintendo didn't have to bend over backwards, no. I don't think Yamauchi even had to apologize, but they did have to be willing to play fair with each other. Nintendo didn't bend over backwards for FF:CC, but they did give Square a very nice deal to get it, and in exchange, Square got access to a very lucrative GBA market. Which is especially good for them, since the GBA (and now the DS) appear to have higher attach rates than home consoles, likely for obvious reasons.
      • That's a valid point, but I (like many others I'm guessing) bought a PS1 (and PS2) specifically for the Square-Enix games. Without them, I may have never bought a Sony console (and would have missed out on Castlevania: SOTN, one of the few non Square-Enix games for the PSX that I loved and made getting the console worthwhile for me).

  • What else is new? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Guppy06 ( 410832 ) on Tuesday September 26, 2006 @04:46PM (#16205361)
    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.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Astarica ( 986098 )
      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

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by 7Prime ( 871679 )

        That's NOT a very good analogy. GTA and Maddan are basically dead in Japan (and never really lived), I don't even know whether Maddan is released over there. On the flip side, Final Fantasy does VERY WELL over here, in fact, moves quite a few more units than in Japan... even though the per-capita offering is much smaller. With the newly revived interest in Dragon Quest, due to the popularity of DQ8, you can bank on them caring a lot more about the US than ever. Japanese RPGs do pretty well over here, they t

        • You need not spend a lot of money on voice acting. Check out Baten Kaitos, for example.

          Or did you want good voice acting? :)
          • lol, the only game I actually STOPPED PLAYING due to terrible voice acting. And I've played Star Ocean 2, so that says A LOT! It also has the honor of being the only game I've ever sold back. What a game... what a fucking disaster! It didn't help that all the voices sounded like they were recorded inside a tin can. I know they were trying to get the effect that you were some spectoral being listening in from another plane... but couldn't they have figured out a better way of representing this than adding r
    • 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.
    • "the fact that Sprits Within bombed"

      Oh it didn't bomb... I mean costing 200 million dollars and making back a fraction.. that's just good business? And then Advent Children needed it. how can you say it bombed. :)

      Square is definatly a prima Donna, and you're right, Enix definatly was the big loser. Now we have crap like Dragon Quest Rocket Slime and Dragon Quest monsters? These could be great unique series, but I have to think Squaresoft has spoiled the drinking well.

      The most interesting things is they

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Rydia ( 556444 )
        Do you know anything about the merger, or Enix in general? Enix bought Square. Square contributed the President, but the Enix shareholders gained loads of money and the board is mostly Enix. Enix just never worked like Square... much more low-key.

        That said, Enix invented the spinoff. DQM has been around for a long time, in adition to a few other spinoffs. It also seems you haven't even read about these games, since they are actually quite well-regarded. Why is that? Because unlike most other companies, Enix

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by justchris ( 802302 )
          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

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

            I think you overestimate Mistwalker's chances. Earlier today Slashdot ran a story about Next-Gen's top 20 games at the Tokyo Game Show [slashdot.org]. If you read through their article, they list the two Mistwalker games as co-winners of the #1 slot. (I'll try linking to the last page [next-gen.biz] but I have a hunch it won't work without paging through the rest of the article first.)

            These are severely muscular names; any fan of Final Fantasy would do well to check these games out. In fact, most of them would spare no expense to

            • If you think Mistwalker is going to make a game and not announce the shit out of the game you're the one making the misestimate.

              Even if Mistwalker does a small amount, Microsoft will start showing the SHIT out of those games, demos, kiosks, and probably events for weeks just for those games. Hell there's probably going to be a parade. FFXII day? Try Mistwalker month.

              There is s tremendous amount of buzz about this game, but then again this is their real debut in japan, the japanese public is going to get t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kuukai ( 865890 )

      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."

      Last year Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix, announced that Kingdom Hearts II would be, "The best game to ever grace the PS2 [impress.co.jp]" (or tied for best, it's a little ambiguous, but WROONG nonetheless). It's amazing how conceited they are.

      I still feel like Enix is the big loser with this merger. Enix was that good, Squaresoft just thought they were.

      Umm, name a game Enix was develop

    • What's funny is that Squaresoft's non-FF games were way better on PSX than their FF games. Parasite Eve, Bushido Blade, Vagrant Story, and Threads of Fate were all better than the PSX Final Fantasies, particularly FF7 which is easily the worst game in the series since Famicom/NES.
  • Nintendo, whose (Pokemon/Zelda/Mario/whatever) sold (some large number of copies) in (some short number of days), will be heavily supporting the Wii so they have already won the battle, and if they do not support Wii too much, then the Wii is surely doomed. I am as big a Square fan as anyone else, but if every unique person who bought a Square game bought a PS2 solely because of some Square game and Square never existed, then PS2's worldwide numbers would decrease no more than the # of unique Square fans t
    • I would argue that one game alone helped move atleast 1/10th of PS2's total sales: Grand Theft Auto III. The game sold over 11 million copies, also leading to its two direct sequels which each sold 13 million copies. That's almost 40 million games sold from three titles. The game also spawned/expanded a whole new genre, creating a path for titles like the Getaway (over 3 million copies sold) and True Crime (just under 3 million copies sold).

      Who knows how many people bought a PS2 simply for the Grand Thef

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Shados ( 741919 )
        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.
        • A game can't be responsible for more system sales than the number of copies it sold. No one bought a Playstation 1 because of Final Fantasy 7, but did not buy Final Fantasy 7. At best every person who bought Final Fantasy 7 also bought a Playstation 1 for solely this game. There is no doubt that FF7 jump started the PSX considerably, but in the grand scheme of things, it'd be lucky to contribute to 1/10th of the eventual success.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Shados ( 741919 )
            Well, my point is that yes, it can be responsible for more PSX sales than it sold... Word to mouth.

            Person A is a FF fanboy, and shell out for a PSX just to play one game. 2-3 other games come along, they get it. Friend comes over, see those games (and would NEVER have seen a PSX in the first place if it hadn't been for the FF fanboy), and decides to buy one too, and so on.

            You said it. FF7 jump started the PSX. But without that jump start, it would have suffered the fate of the 3DO. So in a way, the ver
            • More importantly, without Square publicly announcing they were moving their franchies from Nintendo to the PSX, most Japanese developers would not have followed suit, and most of the games they released for the PSX would have headed to the n64, so the "incredible variety" of the Playstation brand would have been non-existant (as it was for a long period before FFVII came out), and Nintendo would still be on top. Square has, and has had, a lot of mindshare, among both gamers and publishers. If a company li

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
            It certainly can sell more consoles than games. Not directly but indirectly. People look at the list of great games, see how many there are for the PS2 and buy that console. Even if they never buy 90% of those games they still padded the list enough to make the PS2 look like the best deal.
        • "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" One game never makes an entire system. Grand turismo, resident evil, tomb raider, tony hawk, the tekken series and MGS just to name a few helped propel the original playstation to its success. If the FF series never came to the system then the Gran turismo series would have to hold the mantle...
    • Remember the PS2 shitty quality. I have had 3 PS2's break on me and My 4th is being held together by spit and duct tape.
      Side note. Walmart has a really good return policy....

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Reapman ( 740286 )
        Myeh... I honestly don't take into consideration anyone saying xyz product is crap these days. I have a PS2, XBox, and GC. Only had problems with the XBox. I've heard a lot of stories about the PS2, but mine's been running solid for years. I honestly think the quality of any product like a console is probably less then stellar, and you either get lucky or you don't. Now I'm hearing the 360 had issues. I imagine the PS3 will too. Wii? Nothing indicating yet but who knows.

        Same with phones... I had a t
        • My CD drive died within 5 months, and I know 3 friends whose drives died as well (two were early enough to be replaced free of charge). We all had PS2's from the original batch.
          • My old NES is still going strong, 18 years later :) Also have a SNES, 64, GC, DC, and Saturn.. they all work fine (even the Saturn which sat outside for 6 months exposed to the elements.)

  • Finally! (Score:2, Funny)

    by robyannetta ( 820243 ) *
    Finally, we'll have a decent processor to render EQII on.

  • KH3 (Score:2, Funny)

    by Pi_r_ed ( 1003627 )
    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.
    • I hope they do go to MS. I bought a 360 when my ps2 quit working. The only thing I miss from the PS2 is Dragon Warrior 8

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by masklinn ( 823351 )

      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)

  • Square for all the great games they have made in the past has always been a fickle company, when the hype was behind the PS1 they dropped Nintendo like a hot potato and joined the Sony bandwagon, when the Xbox started gaining ground they suddenly gushed over Microsoft, now that the Wii has the buzz they are trying hard to kiss up to everyone so they can pick sides after the war has officially started.

    The comments though sound like Sony's success depends on Square which if I was Sony would really piss me off

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Valdrax ( 32670 )
      ... when the hype was behind the PS1 they dropped Nintendo like a hot potato and joined the Sony bandwagon, when the Xbox started gaining ground they suddenly gushed over Microsoft ...

      Two problems with this narrative:

      1) Square dumped Nintendo because they felt constricted by Nintendo's licensing and high-handed treatment as well as the decision to stick with a cartridge-based format instead of a CD-based format. The split was very acrimonious and was rumored to involve personal grudges between upper level
      • There seemed to be alot of bad blood between Square and Nintendo for quite a while, wasnt there a span of a few years between handheld game releases from square that many attributed to the break up? Still had the n64 won the console war you can bet that square would have looked for a way to squeeze their stuff on a cartridge. My point was that Square has always been opportunistic for good or bad.

        Sorry I thought I had read that both FF11 and Front Mission online had both been announced for the 360. I do re

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Valdrax ( 32670 )
          There seemed to be alot of bad blood between Square and Nintendo for quite a while, wasnt there a span of a few years between handheld game releases from square that many attributed to the break up?

          Yes. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles were the fruits of the two companies finally burying the hatchet. However, in the mean-time, Square was making many games for the Bandai Wonderswan, a handheld console only found in Japan. I actually have FF1, FF2, Wild Card (blech), and C

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Maul ( 83993 )
        It is often said a lot of the ill treatment Nintendo displayed towards 3rd. party developers was Yamauchi's doing. The huge 3rd. party "jump ship" that occured with the PS1 came out was a clear indication that a lot of 3rd. parties were tired of dealing with Nintendo during the NES and SNES days.

        Given that there seems to be stronger 3rd. party support for the Wii, I think Iwata has probably worked hard to restore the relationships with these developers. It has less to do with the technology behind the con

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

        FFXI's been available on the XBox360 for quite some time now. In fact, it was mentioned on Slashdot, although the article concentrated more on how PlayOnline clashed with XBox Live than on the game itself. (In short you have to sign onto the game three times: first through XBox Live, then through PlayOnline, and then finally you need to sign into FFXI itself. The same BS is done on the PS2 and PC minus the XBox Live part.)

        However, the XBox360 port was apparently essentially the PC port of the game, rec

  • We'll support the PS3 but if, or when, the Wii becomes the dominate console don't expect us to keep the FF series exclusive to Sony. We gotta make the bucks(or yen) and supporting one console won't do it this time.
    • Just because you don't pronounce the 'n' in "dominant" doesn't mean that you're allowed to leave it out in writing.
  • These comments are in line with former rumors that if their games do well on Nintendo platforms, Enix will bring DQIX to Wii.

    Considering SE considers Dragon Quest to be the "premier" title in their stable, mostly because they're Japan-centric and DQ owns pretty much the whole country, these statements would be consistent with supporting Sony (FF), but not too much (moving DQ).

    Personally, I'd love that. I don't have the cash nor the inclination for a PS3, and although I will get FFXII soon, it will have been
    • Actually, while the Dragon Quest series routinely breaks sales records in Japan, it's a weak performer pretty much everywhere else. The inverse is not true of Final Fantasy, which also sells gangbusters in Japan (though not as well as Dragon Quest), in addition to doing well internationally. While it's true that SE answers first and foremost to the Japanese market, the popularity of the DQ series in Japan is not sufficient to offset the international popularity of the FF series, and the latter undoubtedly r

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Rydia ( 556444 )
        Reliable numbers for the US are nearly impossible to get, but it's my feeling that DQVIII did quite well in the US. Perhaps not as well as FFXII will do, but not bad for a series that was dead for a decade and had a lackluster reentry 2 years before.
      • If the Wii really does supplant the PS3 as the dominant console (and I'm not yet convinced this is going to happen, mind you),

        The PS3 is not the dominant console, so it cannot be supplanted from that position. Both the Wii and the PS3 are currently tied for marketshare at zero. The Wii actually has a much better chance to take the lead from the beginning, since Nintendo will initially be producing far more Wiis than Sony will PS3s. The more units sold, the more enticing the platform becomes for third party
  • Honestly DQ8 was a great game, but this company has lost me. I played FFXII in Tokyo this past March and I could have sworn it was Xenosaga with a face lift. Story is great but when I drop $50 on a game I want to actually play!

    I'm looking forward to Dawn of Mana and Children of Mana... after that I don't see much coming from SE that makes me want to swipe my debit card.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kuukai ( 865890 )
      Honestly DQ8 was a great game, but this company has lost me. I played FFXII in Tokyo this past March and I could have sworn it was Xenosaga with a face lift. Story is great but when I drop $50 on a game I want to actually play!

      I got the opposite impression. I thought the gameplay was fun, but the story and setting were a bleh mix of older FFs, Star Wars, and cliches... They could have done a lot better with that. You're right that they have a lot of cutscenes, but unlike Xenosaga those cutscenes don'
  • Only reason Sqeenix is really bothering with Sony at this point is due to Square saying, "give us money now" after FF the movie nearly tanked Square and Sony pretty much saying, "how much do you want?" It didn't save Square from needing to partner with Enix, but it kept them from going bankrupt. Writing that check was bout the last smart thing Sony has done.

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