Square Enix - The Next Generation? 31
Thanks to GameSpot for its feature regarding a Square Enix analyst's attempts to grow the company into the online and mobile arenas. This new strategy "...has two main themes - one that recognizes the limitations of the current-console platforms and one that acknowledges the fascination consumers have with online gameplay." The analyst, Ichiro Otobe, discusses the importance of community above all: "You need to have something like a Final Fantasy XI that can attract a certain community of people. In a way, our content is more a kind of bait to attract strong community, and the actual content is offered through the communication with these communities [of players]", and also has interesting theories on the perceived decline of the Japanese games market, suggesting it's "...actually a shift of users' interests. Most of the people spend time and money for mobile content, but most of the money is actually going to packet fees, which, in turn, go to network carriers."
It's not Square Enix (Score:4, Funny)
Erdrick's masamune? Meteomore? Ahh, the possibilities are endless!!!
So in other words... (Score:4, Interesting)
So in otherwords, the acknowledgement that running a MMORPG game without a hard drive built in is very hard and the fact that people are amazed at the fact that PC gamers have been playing RPGs with OTHER PEOPLE for years now. Basicly meaning that console MMORPGs will eventually mimic and merge with PC MMORPGs, as console RPGs have generally focused on strict linear storylines for one player.
Re:So in other words... (Score:5, Informative)
Final Fantasy XI already did that. When I am logged on my PC playing that game, not only do I play with Americans playing it on their PC, I play with Ameraicans playing on thier PS2 and Japanese people playing it on their PCs and PS2s.
Re:So in other words... (Score:4, Informative)
Rob
Re:So in other words... (Score:2)
Re:So in other words... (Score:1)
Hear that Nintendo? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:OMGWTF (Score:3, Insightful)
Now imagine that in a larger scale, maybe, or just simply in a way where players can set up lesser side quests (find my goat, kill that group of bandits, etc). Wouldn't that be great? The more experience you got, the more complex could your quests be. Maybe it would even be possible to create a map on your PC, and then link it to the server.
Now that would be fun.
FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:5, Interesting)
For the record, I thought The Spirits Within was a good movie, and a fantastic technical achievement. However I can see why it failed miserably in the box office. The themes were very much in line with those of the rest of the FF series, unfortunately those themes are not that accessible to American audiences. Gaia spirits are a little too deep for Joe Popcorn I think.
BTW, why is it that we can render near photo-realistic faces on characters, but their hands look like rubber? I guess hands are REALLY hard to get right. I know that was one of the traits that really popped at me watching Spirits.
Re:FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:2, Interesting)
Or maybe the movie just wasn't that good at all?
If you enjoyed it, more power to you. But you'd be the only person I've ever heard say it was anything less than 'bad'.
Most people have much more strong terms to use for its quality level. And none of them ever mention Gaia as a shortcoming. It has everything to do with the lame characters, the insipid dialogue, the predictable story path, and the overall feeling of 'whatever' that occurs when a s
Re:FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:1)
I think it would have done better if they hadn't put the "Final Fantasy" name on it, but that's all in the past.
Re:FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure, it shares a grand theme with the rest of the Final Fantasy series with Gaia. But the rest of the movie doesn't fit with the series at all. The games are all fantasy worlds with a bit of sci-fi thrown in. Some have more sci-fi than others, sure, the first part of FF7 was very modern, for example. But on the wh
Re:FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:1)
I have the "Making of..." book and I am quite sure it said something about Sakaguchi basing the whole Gaia idea on his own ideas on the afterlife.
However, I am looking forward to seeing Advent Children. Hopefully, people who
Re:FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:1)
Although, one time watching it with a friend, we pondered muting it and watching the animation. After it was finished we discussed why we thought it wasn't successful while realizing it did have potential. The points, however, I do not recall.
Cheers
Re:FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:2)
Re:FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:FInal Fantasy movie: Take 2 (Score:1)
Wonder what Pixar has in the pipes after their contract with Disney is up? (2 more films I believe)
The problem is more to do with public expectation. When people see an animated movie, they expect it to be aimed at a younger audience. Comic books and video games are experiencing the same probl
Mobile technology (Score:3, Informative)
In Japan, people were more accepting of downloading things to their phone, but I think a lot of people are wary of the current payment scheme for much of these things, which is a large minute-by-minute charge for the download. It goes against a lot of what Americans seem to enjoy paying for (i.e. a set price for each one instead of an unknown amount of time).
If mobile entertainment catches on in America, I see it as catching on on a much smaller scale... of course, brands like Square Enix, EA, and Sega getting into the mobile field might help draw people into it, but they need something better than the N-Gage to let people know that cell phones are ready for video games.
(Apologies if I ranted a bit, been a while since my last
ignores critical point (Score:3, Interesting)
Forget the Online stuff! (Score:2)
Develop games for the Xbox!
Dolemite
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Re:Forget the Online stuff! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Forget the Online stuff! (Score:2)
Re:Forget the Online stuff! (Score:2)
It's true that Companies like Square Enix base their game development on Japanese based Consoles. However, there would be a larger demand for their games if games were developed for multiple platforms.
Dolemite
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Re:Forget the Online stuff! (Score:1)
Wait, everyone wants online? (Score:4, Insightful)
I find it really stupid how many people and companies think that online gaming is something that's being embraced and desired by everyone, despite the fact that games which heavily use online features, such as MMORPGs, usually peak at about 500,000 units in sales.
Of course, the sole exception to this is FFXI, which people buy just because of the FF name. The sad thing is, I actually know about five guys who bought the game, and now can't play it because they didn't know it's an MMORPG.
I'd like to see developers pay more attention to the online ACTIVITY of their games, monitoring that ratherthan the sales of their games which have online features. I'm sure they'll get a better idea of the popularity of online, then.
Re:Wait, everyone wants online? (Score:3, Insightful)
Agreed. I often see the opinion on Slashdot that online play is the be-all-end-all of games, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because PC games are more popular here. FPSes and RTSes are more suited to online play than, say, Japanese style RPGs or platform games.
Online play often seems more like a marketing gimmick than a neccessary gameplay ingredient. Yes, it has its place, but not every game needs to be online.