http://www.gamesonsmash.com/2010/05/20/square-enix-is-the-modern-definition-of-fools-gold/

(noun)
1. A mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold, mainly used for iron pyrite.
2. Square-Enix Holdings Co. Ltd.

“We’re examining it in-house right until the last minute before the formal announcement,” – Yoichi Wada

That was a quote taken by chief executive officer of Square Enix and Taito Corporation, Yoichi Wada when asked about the prospect of the upcoming action role playing game, Final Fantasy Versus XIII going multiplatform to the Xbox 360. This is my thoughts on the comment made by him during the year end fiscal meeting at Square Enix Holdings when asked by one of his investors. The basis of this article is to help clarify why Square Enix is becoming irrelevant through empty statements and false pretenses which affect the consumer and/or loyal base long term and the strength of their brand being hindered by an irrelevant platform install base and it’s mediocre technology.

Now before I get into it, you should know something by now. The director of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Tetsuya Nomura is also an artist and anyone with the least bit of common sense knows that an artist is as only as good as the canvas that he/she works on. For example, look at Itagaki’s works on the original Xbox i.e Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive 3, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball compared to the industry standard in graphics last generation (6th). Now cross reference that to his works this generation (7th) i.e Ninja Gaiden II  (Xbox 360 version), Dead or Alive 4, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 to today’s industry standard in graphics fidelity. In short, since he worked on the most powerful system last generation, his games were able to be among the best looking unlike this generation when games such as Ninja Gaiden II don’t stand on equal ground with SCE’s God of War III. Another point I like to make before I progress forward is that developers also attach themselves with platforms simply because of the success that it has brought to them individually. Kojima got the heat because of the PlayStation platform via Metal Gear Solid. The XBOX platform made Itagaki famous after the 2001 launch release of Dead or Alive 3 and 2004’s Ninja Gaiden as well as the director of Versus XIII, Nomura in which the PlayStation platform made him hot because of Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, Parasite Eve, Ehrgeiz, etc.

Now for a quick history lesson. The reason that Sony Computer Entertainment was able to ultimately dominate two generations as well as Square Enix is because of this game. That game is Final Fantasy VII. As you may know Final Fantasy VII and the IP went exclusively to the PlayStation platform because unlike today, Squaresoft actually cared about fidelity. Reason for the switch to PlayStation is that the platform allowed for the creators to put it very simply, create more. In other words, the PlayStation offered more than 10 times the storage space (650MB) compared to the Nintendo 64 (64MBs). Today however, Square thought it was a good idea to put Final Fantasy XIII on a platform in which its storage medium has 6 times less storage capacity than Blu-Ray. How times have changed. Back then Squaresoft demanded the best however today they’re more concerned with the rest. If you look at the cover art above, you will see that the game was on three discs. You know when that was? 13 years ago.

The rest in question is the Xbox 360. However did the rest actually welcome Square Enix with Final Fantasy XIII? Well according to the March 2010 NPD Sales data, no. Well that and the fact that there are more PS3 software showcased in that month’s Top 20 as well as this month basically smashed the tale that PS3 owners don’t buy games but that’s not the issue here. The fact that the majority greatly preferred twitch based gaming and/or Western RPGs i.e. Mass Effect 2 speaks wonders. The install base of the 360 lacks diversity compared to the other two platforms. Oh no? Feel this.

The National Product Data (NPD) Top 30 for the first quarter of this year (Q1 2010), in comparison of PlayStation 3 to the Xbox 360 in software sales, the 360 only showcased a mere three genres, First Person Shooter (FPS), Role Playing Game (RPG), and Action Adventure. The PlayStation 3 however showcased five genres, which are Sports, Role Playing Game, First Person Shooter, Action Adventure, and Miscellaneous (SCE/Quantum Dream’s Heavy Rain). Add to the fact that  for both PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively, the best selling games this year for each platform i.e Mass Effect 2 and God of War III are exclusive. Yet to people who don’t know any better, exclusives don’t matter right?

Exclusives. Something Square Enix as well as many people mainly in this country unfortunately fail to understand. Exclusives mainly exist simply for two reasons. One is to demonstrate the best that a developer can create on that platform for either one or all of its encompassing attributes. Two, exclusives exist to sell systems, maintain the attach rate,  and/or the install base. Very simple concept to understand.

According to Square Enix’s 2009 fiscal year end report, in which you can download the PDF file in it’s entirety below, Final Fantasy XIII is the best selling game for their fiscal year sitting at a worldwide total of 5.55 million. Of that number here’s where things get interesting yet expected. In the Asia/Other territory, the number is 140,000. For the European Union/PAL territory, it’s 1.77 million. Here in the North American territory, that number is 1.79 million with the vast majority going over to the PS3 version. Finally in it’s origin of Japan, the grand total is 1.85 million. So what is this? Final Fantasy XIII sold the best in Japan in which it’s exclusively on the PlayStation 3? Yeah. Did Final Fantasy XIII sell more than two to one Overseas (outside Japan). Yeah. This is what is. Wada is trying to auction Versus XIII. Is this what the fuck gaming and Square Enix has come to. I wanna ask you readers something. Is Square Enix even a factor this generation? Seriously Overseas from Japan, Western RPG’s i.e. Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 (3rd person shooter) is more revered than Final Fantasy XIII. Mediocre titles one after another i.e. Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, etc. The interest of role playing games from Japan this generation in the North American and European Union territories has since diminished thanks to Square Enix because over here and in general, labels are the definition, not the games themselves. Unfortunately when hardcore gamers think of RPGs from Japan, the first thing that comes to mind is Final Fantasy yet overlook others i.e. Valkyria Chronicles, Resonance of Fate (End of Eternity), Disgaea, Dragon Quest or even the Pokemon IP which is by the way the best selling RPG of all time.

If you look closer at the above chart, you will see that with the exception of Dragon Quest, the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts IPs (intellectual property), expectantly performed better on PlayStation, the platform in which either it was born on or made relevant (Final Fantasy VII) to the mainstream. Just for fun, I’ll speak on Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest V is the most revered in the series which started on Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) so when it came back, it naturally resonated with Japanese gamers with the release of Dragon Quest IX and will more than likely be the case with Dragon Quest X.

If you don’t get it by now then here it is. Square Enix and other Japanese companies i.e. Capcom, Namco Bandai, etc are exerting this defiant mode against Sony Computer Entertainment and it’s not working for them. Biohazard 5/Resident Evil 5 sold better on the PS3 which resulted in an exclusive retail disc version ala Biohazard 5 Alternative Edition/Resident Evil 5 Gold. Super Street Fighter IV sold better on PS3. Tekken 6 is the lowest selling version in the IP’s history. Oh but wait, the installed base. Right. The point is that it’s costing their IPs their value in the long run or even short term. Meanwhile Western developers are making them look like fools developing and focusing primarily on Xbox 360 simply because, get this, the support is both geographically and technically Western. Common sense will tell you that, well PlayStation 3 is the most powerful system this generation, the development documentation and technical support is Japanese, and the PlayStation brand is arguably the most important in this industry only debatable to Nintendo as even cemented by it’s CEO Satoru Iwata. As recently reported by the Times Online, Iwata addressed his senior executives to regard to the battle with Sony Computer Entertainment as a victory already won and to treat Apple, in particular the iPhone and iPad platform as the enemy of the future. Well then where’s Microsoft in all this? Yeah with no disrespect to the platform’s developers, the company is basically an annoyance in this business. Just another American company with big money and small knowledge on it.

Since then Wada has responded to the reactions on Twitter.

ネットが盛り 上がっているそうで。ヴェルサスがXBox？ 決算発表会でお話したのは、発表時期を正式発表するまでは全てのタイトルの全てのポイントが未確定ですという事のみ。

“Looks like the internet is excited. Versus on Xbox? What I said at the fiscal presentation was until an official announcement is made at publication time all points of all titles have not been settled.”

See the thing is that I keep hearing this bullshit that going multiplatform is the way to go but it’s not vice versa. As a matter of fact, Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope International is the first title to come from Square Enix in the North American and European Union territories in the PS3’s lifespan and that was just three months ago!  The December ‘09 release of Final Fantasy XIII was Japan’s first. To put it in a crystal clear perspective, it took Square Enix three years to release a PS3 title meanwhile 360 was getting exclusives in that span.

So where does this leave Tetsuya Nomura. Well, there’s always Level 5 because according to Square Enix and many other publishers, the name is the game, not the developer. Leave a comment.

I agree with him that exclusives sell better, and that Wada was basically auctioning off Versus when he made those comments. Basically, "hey MS, cut us a check and we'll go multiplat."

I'm sorry but could you clarify in a nutshell what this all means. are you saying that Square are the fools or that we are the fools for buying their games or are you saying that their fools because they've decided to opt for multiplatform development with their core Final Fantasy titles.

if your saying what i think your saying, then i think your being a bit harsh on Yochi Wada. hes a business man, of course they''ll develop games primarily for their core market on the Sony home console, but they have explained that because the market for the core gamer is skewed between Xbox and PS3 it would make more financial sense to release on both consoles.

I dont like M$ personally, but the FF series is struggling, the JP sales have been the lowest since FF6 (i think). and the reviews have been less than stellar. Yochi Wada is doing what he feels is best for the future of the company and the employees. in my opinion its people like Tetsuya Nomura who are the problem. i mean look at Advent Children, yes it was cool, but the plot was a load of horse manure. and FF13 was badly reviewed because Kitase and Toriyama had to cut content, not because of M$ or Wada. and you just need to look at Metal Gear series to see that Kojima has no idea where the series was going after the 3 (Metal Gear Solid) installment. i think at times artists are the problem.

lastly i think its better that they do whatever they can to bring in a newer, younger auidence, the old fans like me keep buying their games because of nostalga, if multiplatform development is the way to do that, then i agree with it.

i haven't liked a single game ever since the merger between square and enix. ff10 was the last ff that i actually liked, and it was made by squaresoft. SE changed direction and quality way too much imo. i dont have high hopes for vs13 at all.

That's what annoys me, trying to toy with us poor fans :(

If you want to go multiplatform just announce it, I mean, really now, saying "we will wait until the release date is announced before we make the decision to go multi"?

So if it's one day beforehand, will you just say "oh cool yay moar money :D", scrap the release date, and only than start working on porting the game, and making neccesary adjustments?

also, if they decide multiplatform, RELEASE THE DAMN PS3 VERSION WHEN IT'S DONE! i dont understand shelfing it until the other version is done. who cares if x360 owners ahve to wait, they still get a game they were never going to have in the first place

Don't you? Do you think Microsoft would've supported the game so much with commercials and bundles if it would've been released after the PS3 version? :P

alot to read. i got lost in there some where, but if were talking about quality then i see your point. and if your saying square is arrogant then you may have a point there to. and it does seem as if support for PS3 has shifted from square and other JP developers. i would say it's out of fear of lossing money on a console with lower market share. atlease in the beginning?

well squares RPG'S are starting to suck anyway so. i guse they've lost some sence of loayalty. (please don't quote that)

Timed Exclusive.  We have seen it work one way, why not the other?

I like it how the article mentions Itagaki and Xbox,FFVII and PS but not FFX,FFX-2,FFXII and PS2(aka the weakest console last gen)...

Exclusive or not it will still be a great game.Enjoy it when it get released and stop bitching about exclusivity or not.After all it's Sony's fault for not being able to keep it's exclusives.Blame Sony if you need to blame someone not the developers-publishers.

And I am one of those who would prefer the game to be exclusive.It's just that I won't cry if it gets a 360 release eventually.