TIM ROGERS - A PLANET WITHOUT SQUARE ENIX

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http://kotaku.com/5803573/a-planet-without-square+enix

Every so often Tim Rogers writes a good article that isn't just tl;dr fare - this is one of them.
author=iishenron
Every so often Tim Rogers writes a good article that isn't just about vegan burritos and life in Japan - this is one of them.

well okay no not really

i've only ever read a Tim Rogers thing in its entirety once and that was his FF13 review
A FF7 remake would be the greatest trainwreck of the decade and I am 100% behind it just to see the fallout.


They need to stick to their guns and NOT make a remake of FFVII. Let classics stay as classics.
author=GreatRedSpirit
A FF7 remake would be the greatest trainwreck of the decade and I am 100% behind it just to see the fallout.




It would be like kitties trying to climb up a slide.
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
I feel the same way about the Night of Living Dead/Dawn of the dead remakes, like hey, these new ones look nice and are all produced well, buuuut I still like the originals better.
author=Irili
They need to stick to their guns and NOT make a remake of FFVII. Let classics stay as classics.

Remaking every game before 7 is a-okay though right because they are obviously not classics.
FFVII has far too many implications that could no longer remain implied in glorious FULL HD. The game would be butchered to survive the transition. But let's be real; the only way they WOULDN'T earn a boat-load of money is if they spent way too much money on it (which is entirely possible). Even then, I'm doubtful they would lose out on the deal.

As bumming as Square's fall from grace is, I am pleased to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If Mistwalker and Level 5 both have an eye for Nintendo as implied, I think some great things are ahead. I'm not a raging Nintendo fanboy, but it's hard not to be excited about what is coming in a few weeks. TBH, Nintendo could just dump full HD and current-gen graphics power of competitors into a Wii and I'd be happy, as many developers would I imagine. But that's the stuff for another debate.
part of ff7's charm is the hilariously atrocious localization and totally-not-PC portrayal of a black man

imagine how much we would lose to modern standards
SE will not fall, no matter how much true RPG enthusiasts feel that the fall is well-deserved. That's business.

It's not about the games, it's about the money. Same thing happened to the comics' industry a few years ago. Eventually, people start spending on something not because it's good but because it has a certain name.

FF 13-2 looks shallow? Everything is shallow these days to reflect the people. Imagination and thinking have no place in today's society.
author=Kindredz
Everything is shallow these days to reflect the people. Imagination and thinking have no place in today's society.


And on the few occasions where they do, their existence is condensed so that the status quo remains "untainted" by their supposed "black magic" nature.
author=cho
part of ff7's charm is the hilariously atrocious localization and totally-not-PC portrayal of a black man

imagine how much we would lose to modern standards

How about the part where Cloud dresses in drag?


Another source of trainwrecking: FF7 Cloud and not-FF7 Cloud are practically two different people. The Internet/Fans got this idea of how Cloud is supposed to be a super soldier bad ass even though in the actual game he's nowhere close to that after the reveal that he wasn't in Soldier. He's the guy that goes "Let's mosey" and gets called out on saying such a weak line. Cloud's appearance in any game after FF7 is with Cloud's fake personality with the anime turned up a few notches. I'd bet a remake would just stick with not-FF7 Cloud throughout the whole game making him essentially a one dimensional character.

*edit*
As for FF13-2 it exists mostly to generate cheap revenue. FF13 spent ages in development making tools and assets. You can only sell a game so many times to the same audience but using the same developed tools and assets you can throw it together into a new game with significantly reduced expenses as a lot of it was sunken costs with FF13. I wouldn't be surprised if 13-2 follows the "grabbag of assets, take a handful and make a game out of it" mentioned in the Rogers article except with an even bigger disconnect in the game's presentation.

(why did I doublepost this?)
author=Kindredz
SE will not fall, no matter how much true RPG enthusiasts feel that the fall is well-deserved. That's business.

I don't know it seems to me (according to the article) that Square Enix had a fair amount of financial troubles at the moment. Basically productions that cost too much and don't make enough money. That is business.

And if you don't think Square Enix can go away, I'll just list a couple of names: Acclaim, Infogrames, Interplay, Sierra, Vivendi, Midway and Atari. (not to forget the two now defunct companies Squaresoft and Enix)

Puddor
if squallbutts was a misao category i'd win every damn year
5702
The thing is that Squareenix makes a lot more than just games. From action figures to publishing anime, SquareEnix are usually behind the most popular and fan-driven fads. Kuroshitsuji (I do not acknowledge the dub- fuck you funimation)? Square Enix published. FullMetal Alchemist (the original, no idea about Brotherhood)? Square Enix published. Square Enix's has so many different feet in different pies its hard to imagine them going anywhere. So much of the Japanese-fandom industry is Square Enix backed that you wouldn't believe it.
Where can I find that planet? When can I book the next flight to it?
Don't companies usually try some alternate revenue streams when times are tough. Trying to find something that will keep them afloat? Square Enix also bought all Eidos properties so they're publishing games like Deus Ex and Tomb Raider so they have their paws in a lot of places.

I don't think Square Enix will go anywhere really soon but if that article is anything to go by the company is expending a lot of goodwill by making poor decisions lately. (I don't doubt that FF14 was a pretty huge money and timesink)

Now I don't follow Square Enix very closely but I wouldn't be surprised if, in order to get the company on track, there would be a bunch of layoffs and a couple of cancelled projects. (and if this has already happened. Good for them!)
author=GreatRedSpirit
As for FF13-2 it exists mostly to generate cheap revenue. FF13 spent ages in development making tools and assets. You can only sell a game so many times to the same audience but using the same developed tools and assets you can throw it together into a new game with significantly reduced expenses as a lot of it was sunken costs with FF13. I wouldn't be surprised if 13-2 follows the "grabbag of assets, take a handful and make a game out of it" mentioned in the Rogers article except with an even bigger disconnect in the game's presentation.


There's an air of negativity that comes with this, along the lines of, "those bastards are trying to profit off of us by using re-hashed tools and ideas to put a game out on the cheap." Possibly more so for those of us that were disappointed with FF13, since we knew these sequels were in development even before the game was released. I'm not at all interested in any of these spin-off games, and frequently forget about them to be honest, but I would NOT be surprised if these games were actually, y'know, kinda fun.

Perhaps Square Enix's m.o. is to produce a big-budget flop. Then, when the tools are made, the world is established, and there has been feedback from the community about why it sucks, they can actually focus on making a game fun instead of epic. Take FFX-2 for example, I know several people that thought it was far better than the original in terms of just being fun to play.

Square Enix has made some bad games and even worse decisions, but I'd never write them off. Worst comes to worst, they can keep making bad games and we can keep not buying them. The only really skeevy thing they've done is put FF14 on shelves when the game wasn't complete. It was a horrible decision, people were ripped off, but they seem to be doing all they can hope to in light of the situation. They just gotta find people with the right creative talent.

If they don't, there's always Mistwalker and Factor 5.
Sorry if I helped convey the negativity, I see where it is but it's unintentional with trying to show another angle to the sequel logic. I do agree that just because it is a sequel doesn't mean it has to be bad and I was going to use your example of FF10-2. Hell nobody cares about how reused the Gamebryo Engine has been used and it's been used in huge hits like Civ4 (and a personal favorite: Divinity 2- The Dragon Knight Saga). Reusing tools and assets has always been a common way to reduce costs because they're already sunken costs, why reincurr them?

(Quick play late-SNES Square games and see what sound effects are used in multiple games!)

There's always the hope the new game will be good and fun. FF13 left a really bad taste in my mouth though so my expectations aren't very high. If it's fun I'll be glad to go and buy it but this time I'm going to sit back and take a Wait&See approach.

*edit*
Bad wording, I'm hurfdurfing
Hasn't Square Enix invented the random fights??? D-:
I don't hope so... but I'm not sure...
@Deacon: Actually, that might of been Wizardry and Ultima, since both of them inspired both FF and DQ.
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