They had about 8%, which made them the third-largest stock owner. Really, its just part of Sony's current business shift to try and tidy up their books. They've been a financial mess for a while and have waited far too long to sell off or kill the parts of their company that were bloated or unproductive.
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Squeenix has been making multi-plat games for awhile, Sony must have been pissed that KH3 and FFXV went the same route, after all there was that rumor that Sony is/was helping develop FFXV.
This won't affect Squeenix as much some people think it would.
Edit: Got some information wrong. whoops
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FFXV was originally a PS exclusive, but SE made it multiplat, It wont be long before KH HD collections to head to xbox, Sony was not getting any benefits from the shares, unless the HD collections do stay exclusive.
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"FFXV was originally a PS exclusive"
Yes, I know that which is why I brought up FFXV and KH3 going multiplat
"It wont be long before KH HD collections to head to xbox"
I honestly doubt it, nothing was preventing them going multiplat in the first place.
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But that would be unwise, Why release the Third KH, when you havent played the first two?
Thats why exclusives are dumb, Mass Effect 1 is not available for PS3, but the 2nds and 3rd are...,
Dead Rising 1 and 3 not PS3 games but DR 2 is, idiotic moves in regards to exclusives.
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"But that would be unwise"
No it wouldn't, no "new" exclusive Kingdom Hearts game was ever released on the PS3.
"Why release the Third KH, when you havent played the first two?"
Huh? Why do you think people who own an Xbox 360 never played the first two? They're not PS3 exclusives they're HD remakes of a PS2 game.
You're forgetting how popular and successful the PS2 is/was, and how popular and successful the Kingdom Heart was on the PS2. Not everyone who owns a 360 only owned an Xbox.
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I'm referring to new audiences in regards to KH, of course those who played the first two will buy the third, but for those who have not, I own the HD Kingdom Hearts on my PS3 so I am not complaining, I am just saying, If Square want more money, KH HD on Xbox360 is a possible solution.
Note. Mass Effect 1 is on ps3, my mistake, did not know they eventually released it.
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Sony has been selling off various parts of their business (including buildings) for the past couple years t get themselves back into the black. They recently launched a new console (which is always a money-loser early on) at a time when they were already in the red, plus Square Enix hasn't been doing so hot lately, so this is no doubt just another part of Sony's plan to become profitable again.
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no knowledge about economy at all....please keep your statements for yourself
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I don't really know a lot about economics, nor do I claim to. I'm simply expressing an opinions based on information I've read on newsblogs, sites, and newspapers, and heard on podcasts for the past several years. There's no need to be rude to me.
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'I'm sorry. You're not allowed to comment about the issue unless you provide us with proof of your master's degree in economics.' - dohlicious PhD
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Square Enix are the best video games developers out there. :)
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I was speaking more about their previously released games... Just Cause 2, Sleeping Dogs, Tomb Raider, Hitman: Absolution, Deus Ex: Human Revolution... These are great games I'll never forget. :)
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Well… Square Enix is making recently lots of stupid mistakes... like for example Final Fantasy XV (it looks great! but sadly... it is yet another action RPG instead of jRPG) or Final Fantasy Lightning Returns (good... but again nothing to do with good old FF). Only Realm Reborn is very good title... but that's MMO (+ with very high monthly subscriptions cost).
Sadly the problems with Square started long long long ago. Since 2004 (the year when Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu left and created Mistwalker) they didn’t create single title as good as FF X. Maybe it was even a little earlier… I mean back in 2003 when Enix absorbed Square Soft. Both Enix and Square Soft created many great titles… but only in times when they were working separately.
Since that times Square Enix is acting irrational… in 2009 they made yet another incomprehensible decision of buying Eidos… I mean what for? Yeah I know that they wanted to publish games without 3rd parties in America and Europe… but Eidos was in huge financial troubles. Well they manages to finish Deus Ex that way… but what else? Tomb Raider? I might be wrong but it wasn’t financial success. Just Cause and Sleeping Dogs… were simply average games… not worth the day one price.
So yeah… I wouldn’t be so surprised to hear that condition of Square-Enix is bad.
Sadly without Hironobu Sakaguchi Square-Enix is having hard time creating good games… And Mistwalker is not creating games for PS3/4/PSP/Vita and after Lost Odyssey Xbox 360/One… I love Hironobu Sakaguchi games… but I’m not going to buy Nintendo just for his games…
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Bad games =/= Bad sales
Buying Eidos was a wise decision, imo. They got more games that are liked by Western markets, and have more popular properties (Tomb Raider, Thief, etc.)
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"Well… Square Enix is making recently lots of stupid mistakes... "
Yoichi Wada is no longer the CEO which is great news because Wada god damned sucked. Their new CEO recognizes that the IPs they own "need to go back to their roots" also he recognizes that people do want international releases of their games. Hopefully we'll see Dragon Quest 7 and the Dragon Quest Monster 3DS games in the states sometime next year.
"Final Fantasy XV (it looks great! but sadly... it is yet another action RPG instead of jRPG)"
It's both. jRPG is a regional term for Japanese RPGs and nothing else.
"they didn’t create single title as good as FF X."
They have. Final Fantasy XII is an amazing game and it's exactly what the series needed. It's nice change, but it's also a traditional Final Fantasy title. Final Fantasy XII honestly is one of the best games I've played on my PS2. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King which is another great entry to one of the best RPG franchises around, I enjoyed both of them equally.
Final Fantasy X was a good title, but the game was extremely linear. Sphere grid was practically useless and only opened up very late end game.
"Since that times Square Enix is acting irrational… in 2009 they made yet another incomprehensible decision of buying Eidos… I mean what for?"
To expand their market and reach out to more consumers. And money. It was a great decision to expand out of the Japanese market. Eidos and Square have history, Squeenix saw potential in their IPs and grabbed them.
"Well they manages to finish Deus Ex that way… but what else? Tomb Raider? I might be wrong but it wasn’t financial success."
None of the Eidos games were. Yoichi Wada believed that if you pumped lots of money in games you'd get more in return, obviously that didn't work out. The Eidos games have sold about 2 million each and aren't considered a financial success which is a shame and tells you a lot about the current state of the video game industry.
"So yeah… I wouldn’t be so surprised to hear that condition of Square-Enix is bad."
They're not in any deep waters yet, I honestly doubt they ever will be in the next few years, They're just not as great as they used to be which has been known for quite some time.
"And Mistwalker is not creating games for PS3/4/PSP/Vita and after Lost Odyssey"
Don't expect them anytime soon. Mistwalker is just Sakaguchi and a few other people, they don't have enough people to make their own games which is why every game they ever worked on was co-developed.
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First of all: thank you very much for long reply! Probably you spent some time on it so I really appreciate it!
I agree Square under Wada wanted to create something “new”… something that will be liked by everyone be it casual gamers/hardcore gamers, fans of series/new players, western/eastern players… that’s simply something impossible.
Well I understand that some people like FF XII but many others consider it as a worst part of FF… I’m one of them :) I really loved FF X with great plot, music and battle system (I really liked even sphere grid!) and on the other hand… FF XII tried 4 times to beat the game… I’ve always gave up before final boss… for me it was boring and music was just disappointing.
Right now I’ve played FF X over 3k hours, really I’m not kidding :) 8 or 9 times (nearly every time 100% with max lv/dark aeons) I’ve beat the game. I’ve learnt it by heart. And I’m planning to beat it once again after I will get HD version.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King was developed by Level5 not by Square Enix. Btw. Level5 and Atlus are my favorite studios now that Square-Enix is trying very hard to please everyone with their games.
Well I know that they have some history… PC version of VII and VIII was released by them right? But that’s it… even without Eidos they would be popular worldwide. So I kinda don’t agree with you on that point.
You are right… well it’s not that they are “dying”… well I meant just that they are not doing so great.
I didn’t know that Deus Ex was also financial failure… kinda weird… how is it even possible with gem like this? Well that just proves how Wada wasted whole that time since he became CEO
Yes I know that’s only few man team… but it kinda hurts me that they are not using their whole potential… Lost Odyssey was masterpiece! (and I’m sadly person without Xbox) For me it is spiritual heir of Final Fantasy X. Amazing music created by Nobuo Uematsu and amazing plot… I know that Square began their games on Nintendo… and Mistwalker just returned to roots…. but Square’s worldwide fame started with PSX. I want to see their games on playstation! I know that’s childish :) Uh and it is kinda worrisome that they are focused now on making games for mobile devices…
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"Well I understand that some people like FF XII but many others consider it as a worst part of FF… I’m one of them :)"
ಠ_ಠ I respect your opinion
"And I’m planning to beat it once again after I will get HD version."
Soundtrack is terrible
Seymour Battle
Mi'ihen Highroad
Seymour's Ambition
"Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King was developed by Level5 not by Square Enix. Btw. Level5 and Atlus are my favorite studios now that Square-Enix is trying very hard to please everyone with their games."
Armor Project was involved just like in all Dragon Quest games.
Basically what Armor Project is...well they're like Enix's version of Mistwalker except they're still apart of Square Enix.
You know how Mistwalker was founded by Sakaguchi from Square and known for creating the famous Final Fantasy series?
Same thing except Armor Project was founded Yuji Hori from Enix who's known for creating the famous Dragon Quest series.
Armor Project struck a deal with Enix before the merger to help assist with the games so they actively help out.
Also Atlus is amazing, I love their Etrian Odyssey series. Used to be into Shin Megami Tensei a lot...then Shin Megami Tensei IV happened.
"Well I know that they have some history… PC version of VII and VIII was released by them right? But that’s it… even without Eidos they would be popular worldwide. So I kinda don’t agree with you on that point."
It's not that they weren't already popular, it's that they want to expand their markets. They wanted to branch out of the Japanese market, and in acquiring Eidos not only did they only found a way to do it, they also got amazing IPs that had a strong fanbase.
" didn’t know that Deus Ex was also financial failure…"
Oh, not Deus Ex, but every game after it.
"Lost Odyssey was masterpiece!"
Yes! It's my favorite home console RPG. Everything was handled with care and the memories. Holy poo the memories were god damn emotional.
" For me it is spiritual heir of Final Fantasy X."
I wouldn't say that. Lost Odyssey did it's own thing. Aside from being turn-based RPGs they were pretty different story and setting wise.
"Square’s worldwide fame started with PSX."
How? Final Fantasy 1 was a huge success and loved worldwide. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI,Secret of Mana, and Super Mario RPG were popular games back in the day too. Square was already popular before the Playstation came, tons of people were excited Secret of Evermore and Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest because of this. They just became popular and popular as time went on.
"Uh and it is kinda worrisome that they are focused now on making games for mobile devices…"
I wouldn't worry about it. Sakaguchi is well known worldwide. If he had an idea for an amazing console game people would back him up.
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That.... face.... I.... must.... change..... my.....opinion.... Huh what?! What am I saying?! What trickery is this?! I will stay with my opinion... it was boring, with characters plain and boring. Vaan was the worst character out of whole FF series. Even on metacritic it XII is part with the largest number of critical opinions.
HUH?! What did they do with it... well... it still sounds similar... but kinda different... too different. I liked the older version of those songs more... but maybe there is some piece that I will like more... dunno...
Correct me if I'm wrong... but Armor Project is methinks not part of Square Enix... they just have contract with Square that grants them sole right for publishing their games. I wouldn’t really count DQ as part of SE title collection... Wada was only responsible for publishing game not for production (nothing to destroy here :P)
I'm waiting now for Conception II... this game sounds soooo F*** Up and on the other hand so personaish... that I'm highly intrigued. And Etrian... once again... I have no 3DS here (sadly I'm representative of 1/10 world population who can’t even notice 3D effect… Nintendo doesn’t care about it… and the other thing is I don’t like idea of 2 screens…. Boring idea for me… all in all no point for me to buy it)
Oh so I misunderstood part about Deus Ex, sorry.
Well… NES/SNES wasn’t that popular in Europe… well it was popular but not that much as PSX. Even now people who are looking for old Nintendo games to buy are mainly looking for it in USA. Hmm… and in Eastern Europe Nintendo didn’t exist (and frankly speaking nothing changed even now)… we kinda knew only Amiga and Commodore back then (due to iron curtain we missed few things)
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"it was boring, with characters plain and boring. Vaan was the worst character out of whole FF series. Even on metacritic it XII is part with the largest number of critical opinions."
I'll agree with you that Vaan is one of the worst characters in the series a lot of people think the same, but I just can't agree with anything else.
The story won't really click with most people, I've yet to play VI, but XII is the most mature when it comes to story. There's no spiky hair teenage hero trying to save the world, there's no love story between characters which in my opinion is a positive, and there's no angsty teenager moments. The characters except for Vaan and Panelo are all amazing, Balthier being a favorite for many. Final Fantasy Tactics is said to have a similar story concept , can't wait till I finish the FF games so I can try it out since it's regarded as one of the best/
Gameplay wise? It's also pretty damn great. One of my biggest complaints about FFX is the sphere grid which as I said before was really useless until late in game, and FFXII fixed this giving you the freedom to be whatever you wanted to be. If I wanted to a hybrid of a Dragoon, a white mage, and a thief I could have been, and early on in the game too. Nothing was preventing me from doing so. Battle system is just your typical ATB, no complaints there except they added a tactical RPG-esque perspective which is amazing and I love.
Music is also god damn amazing. I don't usually like pure orchestral soundtracks (of course I still love some of them)
"HUH?! What did they do with it... well... it still sounds similar... but kinda different..."
Apparently they're saying they were "unable" to transfer over the music from the PS2 which is complete BS. They could of simply copied and pasted the songs from the FFX OST discs, but of course it's all a lie they just wanted to create a new soundtrack and it was met with mostly negative criticism.
"Correct me if I'm wrong... but Armor Project is methinks not part of Square Enix."
I'm very positive they are, but I can't be too sure. I'll ask my DQ fanatic friend.
" they just have contract with Square that grants them sole right for publishing their games. I wouldn’t really count DQ as part of SE title collection."
Nope, (Square) Enix has always been the owner of the Dragon Quest license.
"Wada was only responsible for publishing game not for production (nothing to destroy here :P)"
Actually publishers do have a say in what they want in the games, even more so if they own the franchise.
**"I'm waiting now for Conception II... this game sounds soooo F*** Up and on the other hand so personaish."
Eh...Honestly it's not really as great as Persona 3. Conception 2 differs from Persona 3 and I was not expecting a 1:1 Persona copycat, but battles and dungeons felt really boring and repetitive, however some of the characters were great such as Ellie. Well I only played the demo, but I think I'll hold off until it's about $15 it's nothing that special. Also don't get the 3DS version, it's suffers from frame drops at times. Vita version is better without a doubt, also I'm interested in Mind=0 another game that gets compared to Persona.
"and in Eastern Europe Nintendo didn’t exist"
How terrible D:
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We just have diffrent opinions on FF XII... well it is normal thing after all
Conception 2 DEMO?! No way... you guys have already demo?! urgh.... how I hate things like this... I really hate when developers and Sony treats Europe/Austalia like 3rd world... demos, games published way faster, and more content in psn shop... that's totally unfair. And I love dumb arguments like "we sell more in USA that's why America is our priority!”… of course they will sell more games/console in USA if they are going to publish there things: A:way faster B:way cheaper (due to 1 euro=/= 1dollar).
It’s really hard to support European market… in Eastern Europe 60% comes from USA import and 20% from UK… when I buy things via internet I can’t really tell if product was imported or not :/ so yeah… when I see Pegi ratings on box I am relieved…
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You should import a North American 3DS if you plan on getting one so you can have access to more games. Sites like VGP.CA do worldwide shipping so that's a plus.
Also Sony consoles are region-free which is nice, they know that region-locking is incredibly stupid, however it's not up to them if a third-party publisher doesn't feel like publishing highly anticipated game.
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Wha...wha...wha...WHAT THE HELL IS IT?! Frankly speaking I've never knew vgp.ca... but their prices are... simply astounding. For example Demon Gaze for Vita cost there only 40 CDN and in my country it costs about 64 CDN (but that's preorder price... after release it will cost 74 CAD)... plus this
Yeah... but than again... buying outside of EU is kinda too big hassle. Every product that enters EU will be taxed + customs.... and let's not forget about shippment fee... simlpy not worth it.
If thrid party publisher doesn't feel like publishing game in EU than I don't care about his game. I'm not a peasant to be pleased with dog's-meat...
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Sony losing possession after possession (in this case, stock)? Perfectly fine, the PlayStation line is doing fine and Microsoft is clearly making a profit from the Xbox line when they are being told by investors to axe it!
Nintendo makes a profit? DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED
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Square announces they no longer want to focus on broad market development, but instead want to focus on making good games again instead.
Sony sells its stock...
Coincidence?
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When a studio closes, what happen to all the 3D designers, animators, people who work in there?
I carry this question for a long time, do someone know guys?
Regards.
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Does this mean FFXV and Kingdom Hearts gets pushed back and fewer games in general?
clicky
japanese announcement?
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