Weekly roundups

Square Enix look to Kickstarter model

by Flintlock May 27, 2013 0 comments

In this week’s roundup: Square Enix want to make profit even before games are released; the President of their American division moves on; a new and obscure sidequest in Final Fantasy IX is discovered; plus lots from our forum.

Square Enix Feel They Have Something To Learn From Kickstarter (via Siliconera)

Square Enix recently revealed that, despite being major hits, Tomb Raider, Hitman Absolution and Sleeping Dogs failed to meet their sales forecasts. In a financial results briefing, Soon-to-be Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda explained the problem in more detail.

While the plan was to sell these games across a long-term period, competition from other titles on the market tightened up sales opportunities and this caused “a critical increase in advertisement spend to lift initial shipments”.

This isn’t one-time problem, Matsuda feels. It’s a structural issue with how major, big-budget games are developed. You spend several years working on a game, and don’t see a penny of the profits until it’s been released to consumers. Once it’s out there, it competes with other major hits for the spotlight, and in an age where consumers are becoming increasingly selective, this makes it difficult to guarantee sufficient returns on investment.

So, what would Matsuda like to change about the way Square Enix handle their console games? Matsuda says he’s interested in a form of business popularized by Kickstarter — where profits are made both during development and after release, and where developers continually remain in touch with their audience, frequently providing them with information on how things are coming along.

More information: read the full Square Enix results briefing as a PDF (hat-tip: Pixel)

President of Square Enix of America leaves company (via Polygon)

Mike Fischer, former president and CEO of Square Enix of America, quit the company this month. Fischer, who took over leadership of Square Enix of America in July 2010, is now the vice president of digital Music and Video for Amazon in Japan.

Square Enix officials confirmed Fischer’s departure and said Phil Rogers, current CEO of Square Enix in Europe, is taking over the job as President and CEO of Square Enix America. Rogers will now now oversee the business in the Americas and Europe.

Prior to his role at Square, Fischer worked at Namco, Sega and Microsoft. Speaking at E3 last year, Fischer said that his plans for Square Enix’s North American efforts was to shift away from big title development to smaller, more experimental titles. Those efforts did not include Eidos Montreal, which reports to Square Enix Europe.

Have your say: what impact will this have on Square Enix? (hat-tip: ForceStealer)

Newly Discovered Side Quest: The Lost Nero Family (via GarlandTheGreat on YouTube)

This is a side quest on disc 4 that was unknown to most FFIX players until yesterday when a topic popped up on the FFIX message board at GameFAQs. It was discovered by The_Kusabi_ (through the Ultimania guide) and confirmed by MysterPixel. Naturally, I had to check it out and I decided to record a video.

If you go to the Tantalus hideout at the beginning of disc 4, you will find Zenero and Benero wondering where Marcus and Cinna are. You’ve likely seen this before, but this is actually the beginning of a side quest. Now, head to Memoria and proceed until you watch a cut-scene or fight a boss. Then head back to the hideout to find Genero wondering where Benero and Zenero are. Then repeat this process seven more times and every time you go back to the hideout, you will find a new member of the family. The last five are girls and the final one seems to be a child, as she is really small. Once you talk to her, Zidane will comment on the huge family and you will now find a new chest containing a Protect Ring inside the hideout.

Have your say: are you surprised that it has taken so long to discover this side-quest? (hat-tip: Shademp)

More from the forum

• Is President Shinra’s first name actually just… President?
• You’ve heard of Mary Sues, but which Final Fantasy antagonists could be described as Villain Sues?
• The official synopsis for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII has been released.

Community news

• Our latest fan art challenge: draw the offspring of two Final Fantasy characters.
• Happy birthday to Lifestream members X-SOLDIER and Gym Leader Devil!
• A warm welcome to our newest forum members, Kero and ElectricWarrior!