New FFXIII and Versus trailers are new

[Bonaventura]

They were, but that was Pulse they were walking on... Cocoon seems to be the technological ''planet'' floating above it, while Pulse can be a tribal Triassic period or whatever...

... or was Force Stealer talking about technology being powered by magic?

 

[ForceStealer]

Sorta, I just mean the notion of Cocoon being like Star Trek high-technology or just, as you said, magic-powered machinery.

That could suggest whether its well in the future of the modern-looking Versus or if its in the past that fakes it with 'magitek', if you will.

 

[spirit_chaser]

Versus is really beautiful!
The graphics look amazing! So real. Even ingame scenes look very impressive!

And is it just me or Noct and Stella look like Cloud and Tifa in GC and like Zack and Aeris in ingame?...

 

[Cthulhu]

I haven't really followed the development of XIII, but these trailers do look neat-o. The designs of everything is very nice, if not the best I've seen in any FF game, and certainly more detailed and original than many other games I've played in the past few years. The music sounds a lot like that from XII, is that done by the same dude?

Also, lol stormtroopers.

All in all, both look pretty interesting. Versus looks more appealing to me though, although neither shows any actual gameplay footage.

 

[Tetsujin]

[quote author=Cthulhu link=topic=115.msg2719#msg2719 date=1229638085]
I haven't really followed the development of XIII, but these trailers do look neat-o. The designs of everything is very nice, if not the best I've seen in any FF game, and certainly more detailed and original than many other games I've played in the past few years. The music sounds a lot like that from XII, is that done by the same dude?


[/quote]

Nope, FFXII's score was done by Hitoshi Sakimoto. FFXIII's composer is Masashi Hamauzu (FFX, Dirge of Cerberus, other stuff ), FFVsXIII by Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts amongst others).

Verus is definitely more appealing. Part of which is due to the way they present the trailers, which seem more cinematic and feature more dramatic music imo.

 

[ForceStealer]

Versus does look awesome. But I am really looking forward to FFXIII, I'm very intrigued by what they'll do with the battle system. Also, it's been such a long time since I've REALLY enjoyed a Final Fantasy game, so I have some high hopes for 13.

But I'll most certainly be getting Versus, make no mistake. Which is coming out first? I feel like 13 is farther along, but who knows.

 

[OneWingedDemon]

I thought Versus was supposed to come later? Then again, I've pretty much kept myself in the dark in regards to these games. Mostly cause I can't shell out for a PS3 now.

Versus does seem more epic and the trailer looks like it has a fucking story. XIII just looks like a series of images strung together, imo, showcasing environment, character etc. But I'm not getting much outta the trailer. Of course, I know zilch about 13 :\

 

[spirit_chaser]

Download links -
http://ffdream.com/downld-videosff13.html

 

[Cat Rage Room]

While these are nice, I don't really care about any of these flashy FMVs. I want to see some gameplay. I'm not really too excited about this.

 

[Cthulhu]

There is that, too. You'd think both games are just CG movies.

...which wouldn't actually surprise me, I haven't seen any gameplay-related anything for Versus yet.

 

[ForceStealer]

I'm not sure why everyone's so miffed about that. This really isn't anything new for Square, you know. Their trailers almost never have gameplay, even back to FF7.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I guess back then I didn't realize how stupid it is for them to do that. FMV scenes certainly aren't going to convince me to buy a game, I need to see gameplay.

 

[Max Payne]

[quote author=ForceStealer link=topic=115.msg3773#msg3773 date=1230056102]
I'm not sure why everyone's so miffed about that. This really isn't anything new for Square, you know. Their trailers almost never have gameplay, even back to FF7.
[/quote]

Which is still a frackin problem.

It's pretty stupid imo.

 

[Sheepy]

^ Indeed. But it seems some people are programmed to whine about it even when they do show something. I mean, this guy will probably be playing FFXIII while complaining about them not showing gameplay at the same time.

Waiting sucks, but they'll show something... Someday... D:

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I mean, this guy will probably be playing FFXIII while complaining about them not showing gameplay at the same time.

Funny enough, the guy you quoted has a lot of good points.

 

[Sheepy]

He really does. But I couldn't help but feel like I had magically gone back in time after looking at the scans and then reading his comment.
...Or maybe he knows something we don't?

 

[Purple]

[quote author=spacesheep link=topic=115.msg3858#msg3858 date=1230076499]
^ Indeed. But it seems some people are programmed to whine about it even when they do show something. I mean, this guy will probably be playing FFXIII while complaining about them not showing gameplay at the same time.

Waiting sucks, but they'll show something... Someday... D:
[/quote]

It sucks indeed. At least we all know it's coming out in 2009 in Japan, that's a bit comforting.

 

[OneWingedDemon]

Is that the chara design for Vanille?
Why? Why would you give someone a bikini and then have them trail a rug behind them. It's not even aesthetically pleasing. Do they pick textures at random?

 

[spirit_chaser]

I like Vanille` outfit (save her shoes... :), it looks cool I think. Too much pink for my taste, but still cute.
Its actually Lightning`s choice of clothes Im not really fond of.

 

[Makoeyes987]

It's really just people bitching and moaning because they did the same thing with FFXII and every single other FF game in terms of showcasing and previewing the actual world, characters and scenario of the story, before they got to show any of the gameplay. FXII was in production for almost 2 years and gameplay was a mystery for a majority of it.

Considering the game isn't coming out for another year, there's more than enough time to actually show the gameplay, especially since there's a damn demo being bundled with ACC. Be patient and wait, the game is still in progress. It's not like they're not going to show us gameplay at all or this is something new. It's not stupid, it's just them showing what they actually have finished and keeping interest high among the fans who for some inexplicable, bizarre, and unfathomable reason are actually excited and anxious about this game's story and are happy to see FMVs of what the story and characters are like

 

[Cat Rage Room]

No no no, it's dumb, and it's always been dumb. Yes, they did the same thing with almost every other Final Fantasy and it was dumb back then. The only reason why it was okay in FF7 and FF8's case was because it was a relatively new style of presentation. Now it's getting old.

I'm not denying that the game isn't being made or that we'll NEVER see gameplay, or that I'm not interested in the games story, but stuff like this is why American gamers are slowly moving away from JRPGs (keyword; slowly, before someone shoves some sales figures in my face) and more towards Western games like Fallout 3 (which was probably better than a majority of FF games) because when games like that are advertised, the gameplay, you know, what the player is actually going to be doing is showcased above all else.

FMVs are nice, but all they are is eye candy, and I've been a JRPG fan for ages, and people are starting to take notice of this stuff that Square pulls with every FF. Like I said before, if Western companies keep managing to make gems like Fallout 3 where the gameplay is emphasized and showcased above everything else, Square might not have too much of an audience here.

Final Fantasy will probably always have a large fanbase, but on the internet and off, I'm seeing more and more people losing interest from the series for the exact same stuff I'm talking about.

Here are some figures for how SE is/was doing in the Western market to back me up

http://kotaku.com/393195/square-enix-lose-money-need-more-greenbacks

 

[ForceStealer]

I'm not sure how much of that has to do with trailers though. It's just...their latest games haven't been especially great. Combined with other factors, great RPGs can now be found regularly coming from somewhere else from Japan. Also, all of their games this year were exclusive to 360. Almost every Japanophile and JRPG-nerd I know doesn't have a 360 (it's not Japanese, after all), and I feel like that's a significant % of their market.

 

[Max Payne]

Actually, 360s have been selling out quite a lot in Japan recently, which has been helping SE's sell their products a lot more.

I don't really think there's an issue of "OMG JAPAN NO BUY 360" like the media has made it out to be anymore.

 

[Makoeyes987]

The figures of Square losing sales in the United States does not represent a change in attitude regarding S-E games in the US. All it shows is that the sales of games in the United States...dropped during the year 2007. That hardly demonstrates any causality regarding the reason you've stated and the loss of sales. Square-Enix wasn't alone either.

There are numerous reasons based on concrete fact that contribute to Square's game sales taking a %20 drop including economic factors that are beyond S-E's control. Furthermore, S-E isn't the only Japanese company that's suffered a sale drop in the US, it's not new news. Sony's posted a huge quarterly loss this year as well as Electronic Arts. Does that mean that now US consumers are suddenly finding Sony electronics and Electronic Arts stupid too?

http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/207680/ps3-helps-sony-reduce-quarterly-loss/

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4B816720081209?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=611

http://news.bigdownload.com/2008/10/30/ea-suffers-loss-for-last-financial-quarter-will-cut-6-percent-o/

More than likely they'll drop further due to the deepening global economic crisis and they'll probably fall in Japan since demand is tightening there as well. Non-essential goods are all dropping in their respective categories, especially in the electronics sector.

http://svconline.com/residentialav/features/consumer_electronics_industry_expecting_big_drop_in_christmas_sales1117/

Linking the reason to the drop of sales due to a loss of interest based on your own subjective and anecdotal evidence is hardly "proof" of their way at publicizing their games being stupid or no longer successful. That's your own biased viewpoint due to the fact that its your own personal opinion.

And since you bring up Fallout 3, Zenimax Media had to secure outside funding for 2007 (the same year as S-E's loss in the Kotaku article ironically) due to the fact that they too, were ailing from the recession. Thankfully they secured funding to continue.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/49639

So guess that means US gamers are slowly moving away FPS. Or....maybe that games are all taking a hit thanks to the deepening economic woes today.

But it just goes to show that it isn't just Japanese gaming companies. It's the same story here in the US and beyond. S-E haven't taken a hit so bad that they've needed outside cash to stay afloat. They took the hit and moved on. Zeroing in on one company's loss is hardly indicative of their performance or current trends. Despite the hit Zenimax took, they also got 300 million from Fallout 3. Things change and business is fickle, especially today.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Fair enough, and good point and argument there.

However, my statements still stand on how Square markets their games and the lack of gameplay compared to FMVs we see in FF adverts. And I STILL hold that the attitudes to FF games and Square Enix, in my perspective and what I'm seeing, is changing. Like I said, FF will always be a money maker, but many people are moving away from it for the complaints above I listed.