Production on Final Fantasy Versus XIII is currently being worked on by key members of the project’s staff, but the full-swing of the game’s production is currently being prepared in which more staff (most likely for making art assets) will be brought in to assist with the project.
From the second article:
Moving on to a general development update, Nomura siad that because they're trying out a lot of new challenges, the development staff is still focused on the core members. However, they're making preparations to enter full production.
Oh my god, this is our new DNF.
-- Yoblazer: http://i44.tinypic.com/5nw45i.jpg Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!
Back in the mid-to-late 90s, this company was arguably the most esteemed in the entire industry. They remained one of the top game publishers and makers well into 2006, IIRC. I wish someone could explain these past few years to me. I mean, it seems like they've been doing quite well on the handheld front, but FFXIII and IV just absolutely ruined them.
-- Yoblazer: http://oi52.tinypic.com/ad21i1.jpg Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!
Their only real flop in recent years was FF14. Even FF13 sold about the same as any other 3D FF, at about 6 million
Square is fine financially as long as they don't do any more mistakes like FF14 Have you not been paying attention to recent news?
Square is in some deep ****.
Well I do admit I don't keep up with gaming news as much now since I don't really game anymore, but I still haven't heard anything in the last year that sounded really bad, outside of FF14. What did I miss?
Back in the mid-to-late 90s, this company was arguably the most esteemed in the entire industry. They remained one of the top game publishers and makers well into 2006, IIRC. I wish someone could explain these past few years to me. I mean, it seems like they've been doing quite well on the handheld front, but FFXIII and XIV just absolutely ruined them.
nah, FF11's insane success ruined them. Same with blizzard.
Back in the mid/late 90s both square and blizzard were releasing a huge hit each year
square gave us FF7, FF8, FFT, FF9, and FF10 in a span of 5 years. The release an MMO, make bank off of it, and then give their single player fans second fiddle treatment. MMOs do that for major companies it seems. I dont blame em though, they make bank on the 10 to 15 a month.
-- Currently playing: SC2, Civ 5 Next up: eh ; Awaiting: meh
Well I do admit I don't keep up with gaming news as much now since I don't really game anymore, but I still haven't heard anything in the last year that sounded really bad, outside of FF14. What did I miss?
I don't think you realize how much of a **** up XIV was.
I am glad. I don't have a PS3 and this is really the only thing I'd really like to play on the system, so they can take their sweet time. And if it doesn't come out even better, won't even have to bother.
Kingdom Hearts is one of my favorite series, yet I absolutely hate Square Enix. My main issue with them is how they create Final Mix versions of every KH game, and then don't release them outside of Japan. Pisses me off to no end.
-- ~Halo Give into the Night. http://a.imageshack.us/img443/8466/shadowhalo.png
square put a lot of stock into ff11's success. It worked for a while. Then wow came out and hit its full stride (becoming the pop culture icon that it practically is now with the leroy jenkins and crap) around mid 2006. FF11 remained popular in japan, but lost tons of their USA players.
This generation has been almost entirely aimed towards the western audience. Because square lost a lot of its western fans with FF11, and gave us only a few new non port/remake single player titles that were average/slightly above average at best (ff12 and KH 2 mainly), square lost the more important than ever western audience, since they werent making 15/month on usa ff11 players much anymore.
Blizzard is losing wow subscribers now a little bit. Not much, but i think blizzard is understanding that an end might be coming. They now got sc2 out with an online community thats insanely strong (teamliquid.net, day9, gsl tournaments, nasl, etc). Project Titan could also be their next big MMO type game.
-- Currently playing: SC2, Civ 5 Next up: eh ; Awaiting: meh
Eh, disagree, but overall blizzard has done more right than wrong. Frozen Throne was an average expansion game at best (horrible storyline, only a few great additions to each race). WotlK and Cata were average expansions as well. Id also argue that SC2's storyline is an absolute joke, which is a shame because SC1 and BW had 5 amazing campaigns and one above average campaign.
-- Currently playing: SC2, Civ 5 Next up: eh ; Awaiting: meh
I'd say Sakaguchi leaving after FFX did more harm than FFXI did
sakaguchi leaving was definitely a major reason why square became ****. Not sure if id say more than FFXI's success, but maybe. Also why did sakaguchi leave?
-- Currently playing: SC2, Civ 5 Next up: eh ; Awaiting: meh
yeah they need more games like FFX and I'll have a hard time thinking of something bad to say about them, even if they're getting crazy with the "quick, let's 3D a random game and release it for the DS" crap that seems to be the DS's only purpose these days
KimPilgrim posted... And ****, Matsuno just quit SE and joined Level-5, right?
They lost their best damn guy, it's almost depressing.
Not true. Matsuno quit Square Enix when he left FF12. So he's been gone from Square Enix for some time. He was working freelance for a while and just recently joined Level 5.
As for all these reports about Square Enix's profits being down are doomsaying without taking in the situation. Of course they are. Square released FF13 last year, and DQIX in Japan the year before that. Two major releases. They've had minor releases, but nothing major. Of course profits would be down, and I'm sure Square even took that into account
--
"Don't freeze up girl, you're looking quite a sight." - Adam Ant. "Baby, can you dig your man? He's a righteous man." - Larry Underwood
I've had a hard time believing Square's current staff could write things as well as they did with game from FFVI onward -- Chrono Trigger, FFVII, FFT, Xenogears, FFVIII, Vagrant Story, FFIX, Chrono Cross, FFX. Even if you dislike any of these (I have really mixed feelings toward a couple!) it's hard to deny the general quality of writing from this era was leaps and bounds ahead of what has come out since.
The funniest part is that several people who helped write these games are still with the company. Kitase? Yep. Nomura? Yep. Watanabe? Yep. But it's seemed more and more apparent to me over the years that without Sakaguchi's guidance and Matsuno's and Takahashi's and Kato's straight-up guts, there isn't much going on.
Don't get me started on Toriyama's "writing" and "directing".
-- Sir Chris Police ~Ace Detective in Homicide~ http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png "Thanks Punny!"
metaIslugg posted... From: Jeff Zero | #041 Kim, Matsuno left Square Enix in 2005 or so. He walked out on FFXII. He's been freelance ever since. Actually he joined Level-5 recently. Or so I hear.
Yes. He was freelance for several years. I assure you, I'm one of his biggest fans, I know this. XD *sounds like a nerd and is aware of this*
-- Sir Chris Police ~Ace Detective in Homicide~ http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png "Thanks Punny!"
Well, it's true. It's also really obvious Square Enix pushed a lot of things on him that he didn't like. There are interviews you can dig up on the ol' interwebs left and right about how he was forced to revise all kinds of things because they didn't meet the company's idea of "what is accessible for a main-series FF going forward", like how he originally intended for Basch to lead. He ended up working 80+-hour weeks because he had to 'fix' everything.
Matsuno's detractors will often say that the man's uncompromising vision made him too difficult to work with and so he was a mad idealist. I don't know, take from it what you will -- me, I look at his works like Tactics Ogre, FFT and Vagrant Story and see a man that had no problem making amazing games before the merger.
-- Sir Chris Police ~Ace Detective in Homicide~ http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png "Thanks Punny!"