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Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada Resigns
Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada resigns
man, it sure sucks when refusing to localise desired software in other regions (Dragon Quest X and Bravely Default for starters) and shameless cash grabs (All the Bravest) come to bite you in the ***.
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YES!!!! I hated Wada so much, here's to hoping for a better future for Square-Enix!
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I hope it helps turn the company around. I've become cynical in my old age, so I doubt it will change anything, but I still hope.
SE products no longer hold the luster for me that they did in the past. Ever since FFXII, it's been rapidly downhill. FFXI expansions have been the best of what they've offered since, in my opinion. And that's saying something. Not that I haven't enjoyed XI content -- clearly I'm still playing -- but when limited MMO stories is the best you've got to offer...as a company largely known for RPGs...
SE products no longer hold the luster for me that they did in the past. Ever since FFXII, it's been rapidly downhill. FFXI expansions have been the best of what they've offered since, in my opinion. And that's saying something. Not that I haven't enjoyed XI content -- clearly I'm still playing -- but when limited MMO stories is the best you've got to offer...as a company largely known for RPGs...
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lol I wonder why the articles always say resign when it's clear they were fired/removed
Sylph.Tigerwoods said: »
lol I wonder why the articles always say resign when it's clear they were fired/removed
Largely because - though to the casual observer it's an issue of semantics - he did resign. He may have been pressured or asked to do so. But when it comes to the official story, it can make a difference in millions of yen/dollars for both him and the company, and it preserves his future options.
It lets him save face, basically. It's the sort of option a lot of us regular median-salary folks don't get. ^^;
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I won't pin blame on any one person. From what I understand, changing 'heads' of companies is more to pacify shareholder's concerns & 'someone' has to take the fall/blame. However, change at the top and "plans to begin major restructuring" can signal the chance for positive changes. I don't have to be a negative nancy about some of the disappointment long-time SquareEnix customers have felt. A lot of us have been let down many ways for many years at different levels. Let's just cross our fingers and put hope in the fact that maybe this change can bring a return to the glory days of...
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As far as I'm aware he was responsible for many terrible decisions of these past few years.
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Can you guys care to explain more about "bad decisions" this guy made? I'm not a big follower to publishers/developers so I don't know, but I'm curious.
Valefor.Esdain said: »
I won't pin blame on any one person. From what I understand, changing 'heads' of companies is more to pacify shareholder's concerns & 'someone' has to take the fall/blame.
I guess it took them a while to remove their head since it was so firmly implanted in their ***.
Quote:
However, change at the top and "plans to begin major restructuring" can signal the chance for positive changes. I don't have to be a negative nancy about some of the disappointment long-time SquareEnix customers have felt. A lot of us have been let down many ways for many years at different levels. Let's just cross our fingers and put hope in the fact that maybe this change can bring a return to the glory days of...
I just hope they learn how to make actual games again, and not just attach a UI to someone's super-cool anime-style art project. Don't get me wrong, I like the style, but it's time to get the substance back.
I also hope they learn how to deal with customers in this not-really-new-anymore online/digital age. Things need to be seamless and intuitive. Support needs to be 24/7 and actually have the power to make decisions without phoning home to Japan. I could go on, but let's just start with the basics for now.
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This company is going to crash and burn. Poor policies, and poor decision making, and lately.... a lot of poor games. Good riddance to this guy and the rest of them. 14 is going to crash and burn just like 11 is doing now. They might as well just sell off their intellectual property to make a few lousy extra bucks, and then a better suited company can actually progress with the decent series instead of running them into the ground more.
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Considering most MMOs seem to fizzle out or go free to play within 1-2 years, I think FFXI is a far cry from crashing and burning.
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It's okay, ignorance is bliss.
On topic, yeah I hope this turns the company around as it and gets back to the Squaresoft type of games roots.
On topic, yeah I hope this turns the company around as it and gets back to the Squaresoft type of games roots.
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In case anyone forgot:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/24/the-most-profitable-final-fantasy-of-all-time-is
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/24/the-most-profitable-final-fantasy-of-all-time-is
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It won't. $ before progress, just like the feds, and every business.
I think people seem to forget that the JRPG formula that worked so well for SE back in the 90s is currently out of vogue largely by the hands of the very same people who grew up on the product and are now tired of it.
This has been part of the reason SE can't seem to find its way. They are competing in a post-JRPG market where customers want more than just a turn based ATB experience. In a world of Skyrims, Personas, Dragon Age, Fallout or Mass Effects where stories are being told while incorporating other genre gameplay mechanics where does Final Fantasy stand? Shall we stick to the tried and true regardless of the changing demand to placate us older gamers or should the series attempt to incorporate what has made other series so successful? Would us diehard SE fans accept an FF title that incorporated the much hated upon 3rd/1st person shooter elements?
The Final Fantasy brand is huge but brand can only take you so far.
I was joking to my friends that Final Fantasy needs to do what Nintendo does and expand their library to other genres like a "Mario Party" type board game or a next gen Dissdia fighting title. Failing that, put our favorite characters behind some chocobos and watch the money fall in. Final Fantasy fishing? Perhaps I've gone too far. lol
Personally, I'd like for SE to stop dicking their customers around and continue upon viable franchises that have been on ice for years. Tactics Ogre? Chrono? A *true* Final Fantasy Tactics sequel?
This has been part of the reason SE can't seem to find its way. They are competing in a post-JRPG market where customers want more than just a turn based ATB experience. In a world of Skyrims, Personas, Dragon Age, Fallout or Mass Effects where stories are being told while incorporating other genre gameplay mechanics where does Final Fantasy stand? Shall we stick to the tried and true regardless of the changing demand to placate us older gamers or should the series attempt to incorporate what has made other series so successful? Would us diehard SE fans accept an FF title that incorporated the much hated upon 3rd/1st person shooter elements?
The Final Fantasy brand is huge but brand can only take you so far.
I was joking to my friends that Final Fantasy needs to do what Nintendo does and expand their library to other genres like a "Mario Party" type board game or a next gen Dissdia fighting title. Failing that, put our favorite characters behind some chocobos and watch the money fall in. Final Fantasy fishing? Perhaps I've gone too far. lol
Personally, I'd like for SE to stop dicking their customers around and continue upon viable franchises that have been on ice for years. Tactics Ogre? Chrono? A *true* Final Fantasy Tactics sequel?
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Lakshmi.Sparthosx said: »
I think people seem to forget that the JRPG formula that worked so well for SE back in the 90s is currently out of vogue largely by the hands of the very same people who grew up on the product and are now tired of it.
On a similar note, Japanese and international gaming markets have diverged significantly which is a bit of a conundrum for Japanese developers: How do I develop a game for success in the the important international market without alienating the Japanese market?
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Bismarck.Ramyrez said: »
Sylph.Tigerwoods said: »
lol I wonder why the articles always say resign when it's clear they were fired/removed
Largely because - though to the casual observer it's an issue of semantics - he did resign. He may have been pressured or asked to do so. But when it comes to the official story, it can make a difference in millions of yen/dollars for both him and the company, and it preserves his future options.
It lets him save face, basically. It's the sort of option a lot of us regular median-salary folks don't get. ^^;
That and people in Japan pretty much never get fired.
Lakshmi.Sparthosx said: »
Would us diehard SE fans accept an FF title that incorporated the much hated upon 3rd/1st person shooter elements?
I honestly wouldn't be opposed to a FF with a kind of hack and slash element. I think XII was a step in a good direction while XIII was a step backwards in terms of game play... as far as story goes, they were both lackluster.
In all, regardless of gameplay, be it FPS/hack and slash/JRPG/whatever the stories seem to have lost their charm. Granted playing some of the older titles some of the story was a bit acid trip like and didn't make a lot of sense (hi2u Xenogears), so maybe it is just all nostalgia of childhood and now that the majority of the fan base are older, we just don't know what the hell we want anymore.
In all, regardless of gameplay, be it FPS/hack and slash/JRPG/whatever the stories seem to have lost their charm. Granted playing some of the older titles some of the story was a bit acid trip like and didn't make a lot of sense (hi2u Xenogears), so maybe it is just all nostalgia of childhood and now that the majority of the fan base are older, we just don't know what the hell we want anymore.
You guys forgot a important detail on all this stuff:
They're what used to be ENIX, not Square. They bought off Square Co. Ltd as it was about to go bankrupt. When that happened a lot of people from the former Square Co. were fired or quit. Including a lot of creative minds who later quit (Their main loss was Hironobu Sakaguchi) for disagreeing with the new corporate culture (ENIX corporate culture for what matters).
In the end, it's ENIX firing it's CEO for not being able to manage the company assets properly. SQUARESOFT is a trademark they sacked in favor of the new "SQUARE-ENIX" moniker.
I sure miss the old SQUARESOFT days. -_-;
If this matters anything ENIX was one of the Japanese companies which pioneered the "erotic videogames" genre in the early 80s... lol
They're what used to be ENIX, not Square. They bought off Square Co. Ltd as it was about to go bankrupt. When that happened a lot of people from the former Square Co. were fired or quit. Including a lot of creative minds who later quit (Their main loss was Hironobu Sakaguchi) for disagreeing with the new corporate culture (ENIX corporate culture for what matters).
In the end, it's ENIX firing it's CEO for not being able to manage the company assets properly. SQUARESOFT is a trademark they sacked in favor of the new "SQUARE-ENIX" moniker.
I sure miss the old SQUARESOFT days. -_-;
If this matters anything ENIX was one of the Japanese companies which pioneered the "erotic videogames" genre in the early 80s... lol
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Well obviously they weren't doing so hot before they got bought out, either.
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Fenrir.Mariane said: »
If this matters anything ENIX was one of the Japanese companies which pioneered the "erotic videogames" genre in the early 80s
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Fenrir.Sylow said: »
Well obviously they weren't doing so hot before they got bought out, either.
I think it has to do with too much ambition:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0173840/
That was their epic bankruptcy inducing money sink.
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Fenrir.Mariane said: »
Fenrir.Sylow said: »
Well obviously they weren't doing so hot before they got bought out, either.
I think it has to do with too much ambition:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0173840/
That was their epic bankruptcy inducing money sink.
Fenrir.Mariane said: »
Fenrir.Sylow said: »
Well obviously they weren't doing so hot before they got bought out, either.
I think it has to do with too much ambition:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0173840/
That was their epic bankruptcy inducing money sink.
D: Was I the only one who kinda liked that movie?
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Fenrir.Weakness said: »
D: Was I the only one who kinda liked that movie?
I liked it too, but I don't think it should bear the name "Final Fantasy" because the only Final Fantasy things in it were the lifestream flow idea and CID.
Edit: Also I do believe they spent way too much on the CG cast, they could do the same thing with human actors.
While the point was show off their amazing game development/engine programming technology, it was stupid to scale it so high without anything that existed at the time being unable to render such beautiful graphics in a practical manner.
Point was then automatically made moot.
They're doing it again with their new engine and tech for the PS4, but at least they're not trying to make a movie with it again. ;)
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