Square Enix new strategy: fewer but more quality titles, shift to multiplatform releases!

Wow, Sony causing more to lose their jobs from their greed.

Good... most Square Enix games suck balls these days anyways (not all). Use that money to bring over PC titles to give them a chance on consoles until the console pc merger is complete.

All we want is FF8, 9, 10 remake

The industry doesn't have enough remasters and remakes, need more, way more.

Sony's shift to 3rd party is a smart move.

Everybody blaming Sony like Square doesn't have mobile, Xbox, and Switch exclusives...

I don't think anyone is blaming Sony, they are just trying to secure exclusives for their platform.

Its bad for Square because its like they believed the same thing Sony did, and that is exclusive titles will sell well on Playstation alone..........enough to profit anyway.

The problem is that we live in a challenging world economically, so while this was good PR for Sony, it definitely hurt Square and I'm sure Sony didn't profit in the way that they hoped given that the titles didn't sell or push the platform as only a small portion of the install base bought the games. Sony has always been good and giving fans what they want, and I think they mistake they are making is following the social media/gaming media hype from fanboys that had no intention of buying the games, just want to use them as ammo. How many people on this board hyped those Square games? PS5 exclusives this gen like Returnal and Ratchet? Horizon (sold less than previous game)? Rebirth?

If this was last gen (and I think Sony and Square are/were still living in that world), most of those exclusive games would've sold well and been great PR and revenue for both companies.

The problem is that AAA games aren't selling like they used to and the industry is trying to figure out why. Is it the $70? Lack of innovation and creativity? Sequel exhaustion? Oversaturation? Lack of gameplay?

Anecdotal, but I have a lot of Square (and Sony) games I want to play but refuse to pay day one $70 prices. Yes, it hurts Square (and Sony), but I simply don't have the drive or excitement to play them day one anymore. I'm perfectly fine waiting for the PC releases and for them to go on sale.

What exclusive game Square has on the Xbox?🤔 And out of those exclusives on Switch and mobile, which of those had a budget of Rebirth or 16?

Of course, a cow would say this lol.

I don't want any of that, you should change that we to an I, please don't speak for me.

Obviously they haven't had many recently as they've been skipping Xbox a lot this gen. However, one game that comes to mind is Octopath Traveler. What's interesting about that one is that they launched exclusively on Xbox but then it got ported to switch and PC and skipped PS to this day, despite them releasing part two on everything.

Last gen they had games like Tomb Raider timed exclusive to Xbox when Xbox gave a care about securing third party content for Xbox.

Budgets for whatever other games are irrelevant to the topic of exclusivity.

HAHAHAHAHA

Octopath Traveler is on Switch,Android, and PC. The game was launched initially on Switch (2018) then it was ported to Xbox (2021) then PC.

Tomb raider was timed exclusive 9 years ago, which makes that point of reference for now irrelevant.

Budget is part of the conversation when speaking about exclusivity, after all it is the cause of the shift. You can choose to ignore it you will.🤷🏽‍♂️

ok

Well, actually, I welcome the fact that their franchises, including FF, are being played by more players. In fact, I remember making comments welcoming the expansion of FF14 to the Xbox community, for example. (but I doubt if Xbox will still be around when FF17 comes out, haha).

However, I disagree with some narratives that are quick to assume that this decision is the result of the exclusivity deal with Sony being a failure.

First of all, it was Sony's financial support that made a big project like the FF7 remake trilogy possible. Without it, it would not have been possible at all, at least not on such a large scale.

When FF7Remake came out in 2020 and sold like hotcakes, it helped Square Enix to have one of the most profitable years of their finances.

Also, according to their financial reports, the decrease in profits is also due to the large losses from game cancellations and other segments such as MMOs and mobile. If anything, FF16 and FF7Rebirth made up for that loss by contributing to sales and still turning a profit. So to call them a flop is factually incorrect.

That being said, it is quite conceivable that they will gain more profit and audience by going multi-platform (in fact, they have already done so with most of the major franchises, such as DQ, KH, Nier, LIS, etc.). Also, FF16 and FF7Rebirth are great games and it would be nice to see them enjoyed by a wider audience.

Can you share a link to Sony financial support being the sole reason for FF7 remake existing?

It should be a win-win situation for Square Enix and everyone. Just release their games on everything if they can. They have to make great games.

They should try a strategy where they don't release a 2 year old game at 79€ on PC if they want actual sales.