Raen on 15/5/2011 at 04:11
(
http://www.square-enix.com/eng/news/pdf/11q4earnings.pdf)
(
http://www.square-enix.com/eng/news/pdf/110512.pdf)
Ah, the wonders of being a publicly traded company. Square-Enix has posted their financial statements for the fiscal year, and it looks like they've lost the budget of Titanic. They're down 12,043 million yen, or roughly $149 million U.S. dollars. Final Fantasy is dying and their Japanese titles are simply not taking off in the West. Their acquisition of Eidos has yet to bear fruit as Tomb Raider and Kane and Lynch continue to under-perform.
The interesting thing for TTLG will be to see how this affects DX and Thief. What does this mean for Thief 4? Nothing good since DX 3 is late and over budget, and Thief has never risen to a substantial profit margin.
DX 3 looks like a phenomenal game, but it will not be a 10 million seller. I'm not sure what other big games Square-Enix plan to release in late 2011 / early 2012, but they better have some magic ready.
gunsmoke on 15/5/2011 at 04:25
I knew it. Nobody cares about FF games or any Jrpg for that matter anymore and Eidos titles have been average of late. Shame and all, but honestly I hate Squeenix. If they didn't own Eidos I would be cheering on their demise right now.
Renault on 15/5/2011 at 05:19
Maybe some of these massive corporations need to minimize their bloated staffs and maybe make games that aren't necessary super polished but then also don't need to sell 5-10 million copies just to break even. And hopefully that would lead to games that aren't appealing only to the lowest common denominator.
Yeah, right.
It really would seem to make more sense to me to put out 2-3 games with several medium sized teams, than one big fat game with a staff the size of a small country (which, if it fails, you're screwed). But hey, what do I know? What's the size of the Deus Ex/T4 teams, over 100 probably? I remember reading once how the AC2 team was over 400 people, that's just crazy.
Aerothorn on 15/5/2011 at 05:37
It depends on how you define team - there are plenty of contractors - but it was my understanding that the DX3 team was actually rather small, one of the main reasons for its extended development process. I'm sure it's a real financial investment, but it ain't AC2 or even an FF.
Of course, they're spending a LOT of money on inter-mission cutscenes - the kind the original Deus Ex omitted altogether. Sigh.
june gloom on 15/5/2011 at 05:50
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
Nobody cares about FF games or any Jrpg
you'd be surprised
Koki on 15/5/2011 at 06:43
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
I knew it. Nobody cares about FF games or any Jrpg for that matter anymore
Except for the hordes of rabid, foaming at the mouth weeaboo faggots you mean?
Thing is, after FF7 Square had quite a western streak which meant their games didn't appeal to both japs/animutards(since they weren't kawaiisu enough) and normal people(since they were still way too gay).
They also invested in some failed western projects, like Supreme Commander 2 for example. Then the FFXIV fiasco...
I don't know why they try so hard to force their way into the west, but I know I sure as hell won't miss them.
demagogue on 15/5/2011 at 07:03
It didn't help they had an amusement park obliterated in the Touhoku tsunami.
nicked on 15/5/2011 at 07:17
History does tell us that making sequels to Deus Ex and Thief is quite bad for your business...
T-Smith on 15/5/2011 at 07:20
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
I knew it. Nobody cares about FF games or any Jrpg for that matter anymore
The only reason I don't care about FF anymore is because Square started fucking it up after FF9. Seriously, every title since then has been a huge fuckup right up to and including the latest catastrophe - FF13 (a contender for the worst game I've ever bought).
Koki on 15/5/2011 at 07:43
Quote Posted by "T-smith"
FF13 (a contender for the worst game I've ever bought).
You still bought it, sucker. When next FF turns out to be garbage I hope you will punch yourself in the face since it's your own fault.
