# Square-Enix Admits They Made A Mistake



## Hyro-Sama (Mar 31, 2014)

After the recent and shocking success of Bravely Default in overseas markets, Square-Enix's current president Yosuke Matsuda shared in an interview (Translated by Siliconera) that the company would " go back to their roots" and focus on making their games pander more to their respective core audiences. Don't believe me? See below for an excerpt from the interview.



> “The development team for Hitman: Absolution really struggled in this regard. They implemented a vast amount of ‘elements for the mass’ instead of for the core fans, as a way to try getting as many new players possible. It was a strategy to gain mass appeal. However, what makes the Hitman series good is its appeal to core gamers, and many fans felt the lack of focus in that regard, which ended up making it struggle in sales.”
> 
> 
> “So, as for the AAA titles we’re currently developing for series, we basically want to go back to their roots and focus on the core audience, while working hard on content that can have fans say things like ‘this is the Hitman, we know’. I believe that is the best way for our development studios to display their strengths.”



So there you have it.  The fans voted with their wallets and Square-Enix listened. Huzzah! Generic JRPGs and rose-coloured glasses for everyone!

Siliconera


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## Jayro (Mar 31, 2014)

Final Fantasy 13 was everything I had hoped it would be, so fuck the haters. The game was bad-ass, and a great first entry for the Final Fantasy franchise on the PS3 system.


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## Foxi4 (Mar 31, 2014)

Wait, what? But _"Hitman: Absolution"_ was an excellent game. It took everything that was good about the original and added a nice flair of fast-paced action between the assassination missions, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it's one of the best games in the series. Square Enix often screws up, but _"Hitman: Absolution"_ was not one of their screw-ups.




JayRo said:


> Final Fantasy 13 was everything I had hoped it would be, so fuck the haters. The game was bad-ass, and a great first entry for the Final Fantasy franchise on the PS3 system.




That is all.


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## Black-Ice (Mar 31, 2014)

JayRo said:


> Final Fantasy 13 was everything I had hoped it would be, so fuck the haters. The game was bad-ass, and a great first entry for the Final Fantasy franchise on the PS3 system.


 
You, me and FF XIII against the world brother.
Lightning represent.


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## weavile001 (Mar 31, 2014)

Black-Ice said:


> You, me and FF XIII against the world brother.
> Lightning represent.


 
Count me in \o/!
I hope that Square decides to make more Traditional-Turn-Based RPGs , There´s almost none for Home Consoles...


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## Celice (Mar 31, 2014)

I just find it funny as fuck that they've both turned the Final Fantasy project from group-projects into pet projects for the director, and also that they've fist-fucked Lightning as their mascot in, like, almost every FF game since, not because people genuinely care about her, but because if they can market a recognizable figure, then that _must_ mean people will buy whatever she's in, _right?_


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## Nathan Drake (Mar 31, 2014)

Something Square Enix has completely ignored: the platform and timing of release.

The 3DS has an incredible lack of third party content, a common problem with Nintendo platforms in the past 15 years or so. The 3DS has also been going through a bit of a dry period, where new, quality releases have been sparse at best, with most of them being far too short to sustain a gamer until the next release. Put both of these factors together, and a time sink RPG is exactly what will sell well. Offer a starving person food, and it doesn't need to be gourmet for them to eat it up. That is to say that Bravely Default wasn't even necessarily a stellar release, or even what people truly wanted, but it was what was needed at the time.

Basically, changing your core business strategy based on a single release is silly.


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## Hyro-Sama (Mar 31, 2014)

Sheesh. Ya post one picture of Lightning and everyone loses their minds. Holy shit.


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## AngryGeek416 (Mar 31, 2014)

13 sucked so hard it's not even cool, i hope they truly go back to the basics. Bravery default style on a home console.


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## Langin (Mar 31, 2014)

13 FTW! <3 I seriously liked FF XIII...


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## DiscostewSM (Mar 31, 2014)

Nathan Drake said:


> Something Square Enix has completely ignored: the platform and timing of release.
> 
> The 3DS has an incredible lack of third party content, a common problem with Nintendo platforms in the past 15 years or so. The 3DS has also been going through a bit of a dry period, where new, quality releases have been sparse at best, with most of them being far too short to sustain a gamer until the next release. Put both of these factors together, and a time sink RPG is exactly what will sell well. Offer a starving person food, and it doesn't need to be gourmet for them to eat it up. That is to say that Bravely Default wasn't even necessarily a stellar release, or even what people truly wanted, but it was what was needed at the time.
> 
> Basically, changing your core business strategy based on a single release is silly.


 

Sounds like it's high time they support the Wii U.


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## AngryGeek416 (Mar 31, 2014)

Langin said:


> 13 FTW! <3 I seriously liked FF XIII...


 
 it makes me sad you're standards are so low...13 was utter crap. I refuse to even keep it in my collection which includes every other FF game besides 13 and it's thoughtless money grabbing sequels.


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## Kalker3 (Mar 31, 2014)

Hyro-Sama said:


> Sheesh. Ya post one picture of Lightning and everyone loses their minds. Holy shit.


 

It looks like...  ...people can't handle lightning.

Yeah, I know it's a shitty pun, but hey, I tried.


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## tbgtbg (Mar 31, 2014)

Wow, you guys must've played the PS3 version, because I played the 360 version and it was a terrible game.


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## CompassNorth (Mar 31, 2014)

I doubt they will change their ways. 
Seems like the typical PR "we care about our fans, we'll be great again" speech to me. 

Although feel free to prove me wrong SE and bring DQ7 overseas.


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## Hyro-Sama (Mar 31, 2014)

tbgtbg said:


> Wow, you guys must've played the PS3 version, because I played the 360 version and it was a terrible game.


 

I'm fairly sure both versions are equally shit.


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## Guild McCommunist (Mar 31, 2014)

FFXIII was not a shining piece of work but pandering to their old demographic with dated RPGs is far from a good solution.

If they could, y'know, create something that's actually new and not shit it would be cool.


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## Gahars (Mar 31, 2014)

"A" mistake?






I'm so glad you're feeling penitent, Squeenix, but you better get cozy because we've got a lot to go through.


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## Nah3DS (Mar 31, 2014)

Final Fantasy VI-2 confirmed


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## DeadPixelMan (Mar 31, 2014)

This reminds me of Capcom and how they need to go back to their roots regarding the Resident Evil series...... the arguments are very similar some like the old while other like the new.......to me everything up until RE4 was excellent but from RE4 on the series was complete shit. but then you get these new people who only played from 4 and absolutely love it...i don't get it re4,5,6 and so on where horse shit.


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## loco365 (Mar 31, 2014)

If they started making quality games (Like, remakes of their original games (IV DS was good in my regard), not the mobile BS (See: FFVI Mobile) we're getting now), I think people would start investing in them again.


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## GHANMI (Mar 31, 2014)

I guess... Lightning never strikes thrice.. actually, she did.. make that frice.
Honestly though, it was a hallway simulator followed by a fashion simulator (and Square considered making it a dating simulator as well.. April Fools but you never know).


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## CompassNorth (Apr 1, 2014)

NahuelDS said:


> Final Fantasy VI-2 confirmed


This would be terrible.


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## GHANMI (Apr 1, 2014)

CompassNorth said:


> This would be terrible.


 
Not more terrible than what an actual FF7 remake would be like actually, if VII Crisis Core, and IV The After Years are any indication.


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## the_randomizer (Apr 1, 2014)

Hyro-Sama said:


> Sheesh. Ya post one picture of Lightning and everyone loses their minds. Holy shit.


 

Was anyone honestly surprised?




NahuelDS said:


> Final Fantasy VI-2 confirmed


 
That would actually be a Final Fantasy sequel that didn't suck balls. 




Spoiler



haters gonna hate


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## Snailface (Apr 1, 2014)

Time for an 8-bit FF revolution.


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## CompassNorth (Apr 1, 2014)

GHANMI said:


> Not more terrible than what an actual FF7 remake would be like actually, if VII Crisis Core, and IV The After Years are any indication.


Not every (good) game needs a sequel. I haven't played it myself but Final Fantasy 6 is regarded as one of the best Final Fantasy titles and one of the best RPGs. That alone will set the bars high and.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is a great example of why this shouldn't happen. An awkward game in general
You also cited Crisis Core, but look at Dirge of Cerberus at how terrible it was.
And Final Fantasy X-2 where the only decent thing about it was it's battle system. Killed Yuna's character for the favor of fanservice.

Final Fantasy needs to stop doing sequels, it goes against what the series stood for.


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## The Catboy (Apr 1, 2014)

Good on them.


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## ov3rkill (Apr 1, 2014)

Can't wait for a Final Fantasy dating simulator complete with all the characters from first to the latest Final Fantasy.


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## the_randomizer (Apr 1, 2014)

Mistake? Oh, like the IOS remakes for FFIV, V and VI that look like they were ripped RPG Maker VX games? If so, then all is forgiven.


Yeah, if they can actually redo a Final Fantasy game on IOS that doesn't look like shit, I  might consider getting it. They need to go back to their roots.


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## Taleweaver (Apr 1, 2014)

Erm....how is this article in any way related to final fantasy? It's about bravely default. And you su...I mean Yosuke mentions the hitman series is going back to their roots.

You guys didn't like FF13 (well...some of you don't). I get it. But shouldn't you do things like NOT BUY THEM rather than banging on about it at every freakin' opportunity?


To me, the only problem square enix (or any game developer) has is that they don't build games anymore but franchises. The success of bravely default could very well be that it wasn't sequel elevenhundred to a franchise that was milked to death already.


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## the_randomizer (Apr 1, 2014)

Taleweaver said:


> Erm....how is this article in any way related to final fantasy? It's about bravely default. And you su...I mean Yosuke mentions the hitman series is going back to their roots.
> 
> You guys didn't like FF13 (well...some of you don't). I get it. But shouldn't you do things like NOT BUY THEM rather than banging on about it at every freakin' opportunity?
> 
> ...


 

And killing the remakes for mobile devices, they show how not to remake a game.


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## Langin (Apr 1, 2014)

AngryGeek416 said:


> it makes me sad you're standards are so low...13 was utter crap. I refuse to even keep it in my collection which includes every other FF game besides 13 and it's thoughtless money grabbing sequels.



I am bloody srs and my standards are different then most people's standards. I hate western games, I hate games which require a too long attention span. And FF XIII seems to fit me pretty well, it can be played in short bursts, looks pretty, has a nice and easy battle system so I don't have to make much effort.(Yet it remains somewhat challenging)


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## calmwaters (Apr 1, 2014)

By FF Six, you mean FF Three for the SNES. I much prefer the console version since the screen is much bigger than the GameBoy's will ever be. And, uh, who's Lightning? I've heard of her: but what was the first game she appeared in? And can we get some sort of date on when they'll start making Final Fantasy games again for Nintendo as retribution for their mistake?


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## VMM (Apr 1, 2014)

Taleweaver said:


> Erm....how is this article in any way related to final fantasy? It's about bravely default. And you su...I mean Yosuke mentions the hitman series is going back to their roots.
> 
> You guys didn't like FF13 (well...some of you don't). I get it. But shouldn't you do things like NOT BUY THEM rather than banging on about it at every freakin' opportunity?
> 
> ...


 

I haven't played Bravery Default but what I heard is that it's almost a sequel to Final Fantasy III,
It follows the same chibi style from FFIII DS, the gameplay is basically the same, characters have classes and you can change them,
even their stories are similar, like having to find the crystals.


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## TyBlood13 (Apr 1, 2014)

VMM said:


> I haven't played Bravery Default but what I heard is that it's almost a sequel to Final Fantasy III,
> It follows the same chibi style from FFIII DS, the gameplay is basically the same, characters have classes and you can change them,
> even their stories are similar, like having to find the crystals.


Thank you for giving me more reason not to buy BD, FFIII DS was shit.


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## Densetsu (Apr 1, 2014)

VMM said:


> I haven't played Bravery Default but what I heard is that it's almost a sequel to Final Fantasy III,
> It follows the same chibi style from FFIII DS, the gameplay is basically the same, characters have classes and you can change them,
> even their stories are similar, like having to find the crystals.





TyBlood13 said:


> Thank you for giving me more reason not to buy BD, FFIII DS was shit.


It's the spiritual successor to the _The 4 Heroes of Light_, not _Final Fantasy III_.

I wasn't totally impressed by _III_, but I've never played _4 Heroes_ so I can't speak for it personally. However, I have a lot of good things about _Bravely Default_. I wouldn't totally dismiss it, it seems something worth looking into.



Spoiler



_FFIII_ wasn't nearly as bad as _FFXIII_.



Spoiler



Obligatory jab


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## chavosaur (Apr 1, 2014)

Friends please. 
Can we not agree that all of Final Fantasy is equally as shit as every other Final Fantasy?


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## Black-Ice (Apr 1, 2014)

chavosaur said:


> Friends please.
> Can we not agree that all of Final Fantasy is equally as shit as every other Final Fantasy?


 
CHAVOSAUR
I FEEL INCLINED TO TELL YOU THAT


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## CompassNorth (Apr 2, 2014)

VMM said:


> I haven't played Bravery Default but what I heard is that it's almost a sequel to Final Fantasy III,
> It follows the same chibi style from FFIII DS, the gameplay is basically the same, characters have classes and you can change them,
> even their stories are similar, like having to find the crystals.


Gameplay is more like the superior FFV than crappy FFIII 



TyBlood13 said:


> Thank you for giving me more reason not to buy BD, FFIII DS was shit.


You don't like having the option to choose your own classes for characters? welp


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## Foxi4 (Apr 2, 2014)

chavosaur said:


> Friends please.
> Can we not agree that all of Final Fantasy is equally as shit as every other Final Fantasy?


Honestly, we should just agree that Square-Enix _(the core studio, not all the studios the giant has devoured over the years)_ just wants to make movies at this point and they don't understand why people dislike their approach.


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## Hells Malice (Apr 2, 2014)

I could easily get behind more games akin to Bravely Default. Never been huge on turn based games but BD did things very right.

As for seeing a good Final Fantasy title...good luck with that. Squeenix has struggled with action combat in their core series for a very long time now. KH is clinging to the awful menu-action system and now Final Fantasy has basically taken the same path. Though I admit the combat in FFXIII-3 was actually very appealing, I almost bought the game just because it looked actually fun. They're at a bit of an awkward crossroad where they're trying to appease their turn-based fanbase while attempting to appeal the new generation of gamers who are gradually switching over to action-based RPGs.
Oh and firing whoever the hell writes the stories would be a great idea. There really isn't much else to be said other than: FFXIII-3.
I could accept FFXIII. I genuinely don't understand the hate when basically every Final Fantasy game has an equally mediocre story filled with 'wtf is this' moments, I can even accept that FFXIII-2 made things worse when it tried to fix things. But I cannot even COMPREHEND what the hell they were thinking when they wrote FFXIII-3. They did literally everything wrong that could have been done wrong in a story (haven't played it myself but I watched it played/read up on the story for lulz). They literally took the game, drove it into the ground and then for their sequel they drove it so far it actually popped out of the other side of the earth and then kept going directly through space and into the _sun._
/rant

I hope they do actually turn things around and the next Final Fantasy game they make will actually be a good one, and that we'll see some GOOD titles from them in the future. Bravely Default was at least a positive sign that they can still do things right.


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## the_randomizer (Apr 2, 2014)

If they can pull the mobile "remakes" from the online stores, then yes.


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## VMM (Apr 2, 2014)

CompassNorth said:


> You don't like having the option to choose your own classes for characters? welp


 
Of course I like, I was just pointing out similarities.



Densetsu said:


> It's the spiritual successor to the _The 4 Heroes of Light_, not _Final Fantasy III_.
> 
> I wasn't totally impressed by _III_, but I've never played _4 Heroes_ so I can't speak for it personally. However, I have a lot of good things about _Bravely Default_. I wouldn't totally dismiss it, it seems something worth looking into.
> 
> ...


 

FF III and Bravery Default share their pack of similarities, and I was just pointing that.
My point was, this game isn't all this original as some tempers were talking about.


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## CompassNorth (Apr 2, 2014)

VMM said:


> Of course I like, I was just pointing out similarities.


That part of the post wasn't directed at you, silly.


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