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Squeenix CEO: I'm not a fan of the PS3 OR the 360
cloudeagle
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
In short, Yoichi Wada thinks both systems are too complex and too technical for the average person, and require "a deep knowledge of gaming" (presumably, they cater to the hardcore). Here's what he said on Gamespot:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6172359.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;1
Sounds like Squeenix will be increasingly multisystem from now on, and may make some new types of games that will appeal to casual gamers. Interesting from a company known for complex RPGs.
Square Enix dropped the bombshell in December that the latest in its Dragon Quest role-playing game series, Dragon Quest IX: Guard of the Starry Night (working title), would be coming exclusively to the DS. As the last installments of the game--which is very, very big in Japan--were on Sony's PlayStation 2 and original PlayStation, the news was a head-scratcher for many.
Square Enix's president and CEO, Yoichi Wada, has now explained the decision, which he says was made so that the "widest array of people" could play the latest installment in the RPG series, reports the Financial Times. He believes bringing the series to the DS means the game could find fans outside of its current audience.
Wada appears not to be a fan of complex next-gen consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, which he calls "over-engineered." He told the newspaper, "There are too many specs--and you also need a high-definition TV, a broadband connection, and a deep knowledge of gaming--these consoles are mismatched to today's environment. In a year or two years, they will fare better."
The Square Enix executive believes that the ground has shifted in the gaming industry. "[Whereas] in the old days,we could just focus on the PlayStation or the Game Boy," he said, "the environment has changed completely." A new breed of gamer has also emerged on the back of the release of Nintendo's marketing push to embrace nontraditional gamers--including women and older people--and this means, Wada says, "we have to make games for all kinds of people."
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6172359.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;1
Sounds like Squeenix will be increasingly multisystem from now on, and may make some new types of games that will appeal to casual gamers. Interesting from a company known for complex RPGs.
I predict that, within six posts, the topic will change to You Know What XIII. Prove me wrong.
Switch: 3947-4890-9293
cloudeagle on
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They've got...what, 3 Wii games coming, a ton of DS stuff out and coming soon, a bunch of PSP stuff coming, and a few PS3 titles, with a few 360 games to boot.
I mean, they're developing games for every platform that's out already, I don't know how much more diverse they can get.
PC COME ON
FF7 & FF8 WON'T TIDE ME OVER FOREVER YOU KNOW
SE CEO: [Insert moonish sounds here]
Translation: I like money, and I do business in Japan. Suprisingly, this means I do not like the PS3 or 360. They have dissapointed me. All of you Americans who waste your time on gaming forums when you should be working are shocked. This is because you are stupid.
I wish I could get a copy of FF8 PC for a reasonable price
LAWL!
Damn you! :P
And Jihad's comment IS funny, but you'd better believe that Squeenix takes into account what's going on in the U.S. and European markets too.
I have a copy that I found used from EB games which I think is a russian bootleg. All the install screens are in cyrillic, but once you figure out how to get past them the game proper is in English.
I've built a PC specifically for playing these oldschool games, it runs windows 98 SE and everything.
I'm sorry. I can't tell if this is sarcasm. My detectors are in the shop.
meanwhile, wii has a few buttons, and DS games can generally get by with none. personally, im fine with more buttons since ive been gaming for like 20 years now. but the 'mass market' doesn't deal with that so well. at least, that's his argument i think.
No, he's not a hardcore gamer (nor is he very bright, but that's a different matter altogether). The point being, these systems aren't as basic as the Ataris and NES systems of the past. You don't just plug it in, insert your media, and press the power button.
So in that light, yeah, maybe today's systems ARE far more complex. It doesn't change the fact that they already sell in the millions, Square-Enix. So start making games or GTFO.
That is pretty ridiculous and condescending. I can't think of many people who aren't able to deal with effectively four major buttons and four triggers. Unlike the Wii they're even different colours too help people pick it up.
You might think so, but it's pretty much entirely true. I hear people complain all the time that there are just "too many buttons".
i have at least a dozen people like that in my own extended family. i'm not one of them, obviously, nor are most/any of the people who post here. but there is a very real, very large audience just like that. they're the ones buying all those wiis.
Ditto. Most of my friends are non-gamers, and that's a complaint I frequently get. Several of them get actively nervous if I describe a function for a third button when showing them a game.
edit: Not that I don't love them, but SE games are anything but simple, easy-to-grasp affairs.
I maintain a game collection here at my university library and we are constantly having PR events and trying to get people who are otherwise uninterested or simply don't have access to interactive media to sit down and experience different games and stuff. Hands down, the number one complaint is that the controls are far too complicated.
As for the Wii, yes, it has several buttons, but keep in mind that many of the "elderly" or casual gamers that have embraced the Wii have embraced it for some of its simplest and most accessible offerings - the Wii Sports and the Cooking Mamas - most of those people still won't touch Twilight Princess no matter how hard you try.
Also, I think Jihad's comment is genius, and I think cloudeagle is also correct but also rather naive. Square Enix is very Japan-centric. They care about succeeding, or at least making money, in America in Europe, but they don't really care any more than that. They aren't invested in gaming in any region outside of Japan. America and Europe are necessary, but I get a general sense of resentment from Square Enix, as if America and Europe are below them, as if they would really not even blink if we ceased to exist, of if their revenue didn't depend on us one iota. Look at how they release Final Mix and International versions. Or rather, look at how and where they don't. Of course there is a market for those games here. Of course people would buy them again. Granted, the profit would not be as large as the original release, but they WOULD make an overall profit. But they don't really care. It's not really of their concern, and the profit margin is probably too low for them to expend any effort.
This is what Square Enix does:
- They first release a game in Japan.
- Then they make improvements to the game and release it in America. These can be minor fixes FF7 American release, or massive changes (Final Fantasy X was pretty different in America from its original Japanese release).
- Then they make more improvements and re-release the game again, but only in Japan. This is the "real" or the "elite" or, as I like to think of them, the "complete" version of the game.
Maybe I'm cynical and jaded at this point, but I think the International and Final Mix versions and all these other final Japanese re-releases are closer to the original intent of the product. I mean, look at the massive changes going into Final Fantasy XII for the "International" version that will be coming out in Japan only.
I believe that Square Enix uses the original Japanese release as a general marketability testing ground (which is superfluous, because Square Enix games sell in Japan no matter what they are). Then they use America as beta testers for the additions they wanted in the game in the first place, AND as a way of making money to fund the changes that go into the International/Final Mix version. Then they make the changes and release the final product in their own beloved country and bite their thumb at the rest of the gaming world.
TL;DR: Square Enix doesn't really give a fuck about us at all except to do the bare minimum here to keep their coffers full of USD.
I've had the same experience but by far the funniest thing to watch someone grasp is clicking the analog sticks.
"You mean they're sticks AND they're buttons?"
Oh, you could get them to touch them. The problem is getting them to wrap their heads around it.
Personally, I think Pokemon is one of the most well designed games ever made. Why? Because it's simple as hell to play, but can be extremely deep due to a Pokemon's attacks and effects.
I think more games need to approach the "simple to play, but deep in execution" form of design. I bet more people would get interested if they were able to do that.
But yeah, i mean.. the Wii is clearly doing something right, so they'd be foolish not to look at maybe trying to sell a game or two on it.
No, what would be ridiculous and condescending would be to say that the 'mass market' lacks the ability or aptitude to eventually grasp such controls with practice and time. That would be a stupid thing to say. However, I would hazard to say that most in the 'mass market' do not feel the need nor the desire to put in the time and practice in order to have fun with a new game, especially if they do not play video games regularly.
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
so i think they deserve a bit more credit than you're giving them.
i will freely admit that they don't give us nearly enough of the quirky/offbeat games they release there. for that they can fuck off.
True. But look at it this way:
How many people would buy a quirky offbeat game in America? Probably most of us here at the PA:F but that's about it. Most people I hear (in stores) won't touch a game without guns or big-breasted chicks on the cover.
Sad really.
see though, that's my thing. On the 360, i only really use the triggers, then nudge the 'bumpers' with the same fingers if necessary. There's rarely anything assigned to them (that i've found), that requires a lot of combination or prolonged pressing.
This is an unbelievably stupid comment. Hey Wada - just because a controller has 12 buttons on it doesn't mean you need to use them all.
Also, I seem to recall hooking my 360 up to an SDTV without it being online. Must have been hallucinating.
What Wada is really saying is, "Making a 360 or PS3 game that competes with all of the awesome shit out there costs a lot of money. Making a Wii game that competes with the profound dearth of content on there is a lot cheaper. We like cheaper."
"How do I swing my tennis racket?"
"You just... swing it. Pretend you're swinging a real racket. There you go. Now we can play."
However when it comes to relying on buttons the Wii doesn't fare as well. Twilight Princess' inventory/slingshot system still trips me up - half the time I pull out my lantern, and I still have to look down at the remote to remember which button does what exactly, or how to pull off my special finishing moves.
They make changes for America to (a) fund the massive changes they are making for the final version they plan to release in Japan, and (b) beta test some of the changes as well as gauge gamer reception to them. Another point is that by making changes for the interim version (i.e. the American release), they aren't losing anything. It's just code that they are going to reuse and/or tweak and/or include in the final Japanese-region version.
Again, I'm jaded and cynical, but I think that my theory is most likely correct. Other publishers have been releasing the Japanese and American versions nearly side by side. Localization doesn't take 10 months, not even to the degree that Square Enix takes it nowadays. It's just a convenient excuse for them to dawdle and tinker and use American gamers as guinea pigs. They think they are better than us and justify their even bothering with us by relegating us to beta testers - paying ones - that help them gauge the new features, or at least some of them.
Mass Market refers to the entire market which is not a part of the target audience. When you take a person from the mass market and get them to buy your product they are now one of your consumers, not part of the elusive mass market.
People are always talking about greater appeal to the mass market because the mass market (which is to say everyone on the planet who is not one your customers) is a hell of a lot bigger than your current audience. In this case, the statement is that people in the mass market, while some of them may be curious are not interested in putting in the time and practice to learning a complex control scheme when they just want to try and play some fucking games. If it's going to take loads of time and patience just to learn the input device, they might as well just go read or whatever they did for entertainment before.
yes.
I played mostly GC this generation, but when I got an xbox and ps2, I was shocked at how badly the analogue stick buttons were executed.
Yes indeed. TERRIBLE idea... I hate using it. I always forget its there (at times) as well.
Exactly. But why only think about the controls?
He brings up the idea of "too engineered" which seems to bring the whole console into it. One used to be able to buy a console and game, pop in and play. Now you get options on which version of the console you should buy and which services, once bought, you should subscribe to in order to get more content. And the largest draw to the 360 (as far as I can see) is the online play.
All these things intimidate me as a gamer, I can't imagine a person new to it jumping in at this moment without some trepidation.