This is the face that sunk a thousand fanboys proverbial shipsSo, it's been a while, I'm home for the summer, and don't want to work on my senior thesis. With that in mind, let's talk E3. Or perhaps, maybe we shouldn't. By now, everybody should have the basics down. But, if not...well...I won't bother asking why my blog of all places would be the first place one would get such information. The bottom line is this: Nintendo once again pulled the "we're really concerned about the hardcore gamer" line...and then proceeded to hand them Wii Sports Resort, and a new Animal Crossing. Throwing out word of a third installment in the Pikmin series was a start...but really just that. It's like when you see an amazingly good supporting actor suddenly thrust into a leading role slot...it might just work out over time, but odds are that it certainly won't start that way. I still give Nintendo "props" for actually having the balls to come up with this relatively new (and "new" in Nintendo terms is a little under seven years) IP, but it lacks the clout to send the masses into a frenzy.
Sony hoisted out a bunch of things we'd already heard about, but hadn't seen much/any footage. God of War has a third installment on the way, Killzone and Resistance are getting sequels. Since I try to avoid being as impartial as possible, let me say that I am not a Sony fan. And while it's not worth getting into much, allow it to at least be said that as for the few exclusive IPs (that's intellectual property, for those not versed in the industry) they have, few interest me.
Now, this isn't to say that Microsoft cleaned the respective clocks of our two Japanese giants. Unlike many, I'm not excited about Gears of War 2, (a lengthy justification deserving its own post) and neither the Rock Band or Guitar Hero series set my heart all aflutter. In perhaps one of the most disappointing twists of E3, Portal: Still Alive turns out to be more of an add-on of levels, than a legitimate continuation of the first game. And I'm not asking for much here, just a narration of the levels by GladOs. Fallout 3 looks great though, and provided that it lives up to the hype, Fable 2 could be excellent as well.
This game adds billowy sleeves, guns, and a dog to the Fable franchise.
Sony hoisted out a bunch of things we'd already heard about, but hadn't seen much/any footage. God of War has a third installment on the way, Killzone and Resistance are getting sequels. Since I try to avoid being as impartial as possible, let me say that I am not a Sony fan. And while it's not worth getting into much, allow it to at least be said that as for the few exclusive IPs (that's intellectual property, for those not versed in the industry) they have, few interest me.
Now, this isn't to say that Microsoft cleaned the respective clocks of our two Japanese giants. Unlike many, I'm not excited about Gears of War 2, (a lengthy justification deserving its own post) and neither the Rock Band or Guitar Hero series set my heart all aflutter. In perhaps one of the most disappointing twists of E3, Portal: Still Alive turns out to be more of an add-on of levels, than a legitimate continuation of the first game. And I'm not asking for much here, just a narration of the levels by GladOs. Fallout 3 looks great though, and provided that it lives up to the hype, Fable 2 could be excellent as well.
This game adds billowy sleeves, guns, and a dog to the Fable franchise.But I know what you're thinking. You want me to make a big deal out of the whole issue that the thirteenth installment of the Final Fantasy series is going to appear on the Xbox 360. To be honest, it's not that surprising. Anybody that heard Microsoft discuss the fact that you'd be able to download parts of a game to the hard drive to speed up load times shouldn't be surprised. Anybody that heard about Microsoft's price cuts to remove the 20 GB hard drive models off the shelves shouldn't be surprised. Hell, anyone that heard anything about how Microsoft had finally acknowledged that Bluray was now the victor of the latest disc medium showdown shouldn't be surprised.
Perhaps I should take into consideration that some people didn't see the big picture, or get all this info. However, connect the dots, and you've got Microsoft attempting to fix the glaring gap in its otherwise semi-impenetrable suit of armor: storage issues. Now, granted, there hasn't been any word of moving over to the Blu-Ray, though I'm not sure if such is possible, but this is a step in the right direction. In addition, this opens up the door to larger, data-heavy titles.
Like, FFXIII.
Now, some might feel that such a move is a "betrayal" on the part of Square Enix. I say it's business. I don't have the figures on hand, but the basic principle is understandable. Say you're working on a game. A very, very expensive game. In the past you could afford such, because you knew that the user base was at a level which would make such an effort worthwhile from a financial standpoint. Assume that this game is more expensive than the past ones, and being developed with the intention of being exclusive to a certain console (the PS3) which is owned by very few people (at least within the American market). Suppose that if even every single owner of this console bought said title it might not still be a profitable venture.
Are you going to not open up the title to other consoles?
A few critics have made the argument that the exclusivity of the title would sell consoles in its own right, or that simply having access to a high quality title, exclusive or not, would sell consoles. While it might still be too soon to evaluate the sales impact of Metal Gear Solid 4, the data is out on Grand Theft Auto 4, and, relatively speaking, that thing hardly got any PS3 units "moved."
So, from a modern standpoint, it makes sense. A company's main goal, after all, is to ensure that it remains a company. Most common sensical individuals can grasp that. As pissed as I was when Resident Evil 4 and Viewtiful Joe went multi-platform (as they were part of the contract Nintendo had with Capcom) I was still glad that I got the game in some form, and that other people got to play it.
Anybody thinking that this came out of left field, however, is sorely mistaken. While the Final Fantasy series might be understood to be the proverbial "poster boy" for Sony since FFVII's release, I would venture to say that they've made some decisions that have led them to a decidedly multi-platform present.
Perhaps I should take into consideration that some people didn't see the big picture, or get all this info. However, connect the dots, and you've got Microsoft attempting to fix the glaring gap in its otherwise semi-impenetrable suit of armor: storage issues. Now, granted, there hasn't been any word of moving over to the Blu-Ray, though I'm not sure if such is possible, but this is a step in the right direction. In addition, this opens up the door to larger, data-heavy titles.
Like, FFXIII.
Now, some might feel that such a move is a "betrayal" on the part of Square Enix. I say it's business. I don't have the figures on hand, but the basic principle is understandable. Say you're working on a game. A very, very expensive game. In the past you could afford such, because you knew that the user base was at a level which would make such an effort worthwhile from a financial standpoint. Assume that this game is more expensive than the past ones, and being developed with the intention of being exclusive to a certain console (the PS3) which is owned by very few people (at least within the American market). Suppose that if even every single owner of this console bought said title it might not still be a profitable venture.
Are you going to not open up the title to other consoles?
A few critics have made the argument that the exclusivity of the title would sell consoles in its own right, or that simply having access to a high quality title, exclusive or not, would sell consoles. While it might still be too soon to evaluate the sales impact of Metal Gear Solid 4, the data is out on Grand Theft Auto 4, and, relatively speaking, that thing hardly got any PS3 units "moved."
So, from a modern standpoint, it makes sense. A company's main goal, after all, is to ensure that it remains a company. Most common sensical individuals can grasp that. As pissed as I was when Resident Evil 4 and Viewtiful Joe went multi-platform (as they were part of the contract Nintendo had with Capcom) I was still glad that I got the game in some form, and that other people got to play it.
Anybody thinking that this came out of left field, however, is sorely mistaken. While the Final Fantasy series might be understood to be the proverbial "poster boy" for Sony since FFVII's release, I would venture to say that they've made some decisions that have led them to a decidedly multi-platform present.
This was the "honeymoon" equivalent of Sony and Squaresoft
Let's talk specifics. For starters, many will claim that the seventh and eighth entries in the Final Fantasy series were exclusive to the PlayStation 1. And...from a console standpoint, as in, they weren't on the Nintendo 64 or, at the tail end of its cycle, the Dreamcast, this is true. However, as I can personally attest, both were available on PC, with the British publisher Eidos funding the porting. Did it tend to have some more glitches, and didn't simultaneously release with the console version? Yes, but the point here remains that the games weren't exclusive.
Nine was exclusive, but, as for as much of the gaming community is concerned, the exclusivity of "IX" was more akin to a quarantine measure than anything else. I could honestly go on and on about how much I hate IX, but, let's stay on topic.
Ten was exclusive, and this also cemented the deveastating fact for many fans that the franchise was not going to return, in any capacity, to the PC. It was arguably the "flagship" title on the PlayStation 2, pushing many consoles in addition to copies of the game itself.
Eleven, however, took a different direction, opting to go the route of the MMORPG. Putting aside the notion that, even though I hate WoW, I understand that attempting to steal a piece of the MMORPG market from Blizzard has about the same success rate as taking on an F-14 Tomcat with the Wright Brother's biplane, so I'm not sure why this decision was made either. Granted, "XI" showed up before WoW, but anbody that had even simply heard that Blizzard was entering the scene, probably should have seen the writing on the wall. The bottom line here: Eleven would appear on the PC, PS2, Xbox 360, and there are still talks about expanding the game to other system. So, after a two game break, the main entries in the Final Fantasy series were once again on PC.
Twelve was an exclusive to the PS2, though much of its new universe and characters were inspired by the reimagined Final Fantasy: Tactics series on the Nintendo DS. In addition, the "follow-up" to the storyline of Final Fantasy XIII, titled Revenant Wings, also came out exclusively on the Nintendo DS.
I know, Nintendo...weird, huh? The DS part makes it even odder. But if you flash back to several years before, when the PSP was attempting to stay alive on a platformer starring Jax's sidekick and those awful UMD movies, Square Enix attempted revamping/rereleasing some of their older NES/ Super Nintendo games on the DS. And, boy did the nostalgia gamers and handheld RPG addicts alike eat that up! Throw in the fact that none of the few Final Fantasy games released on the PSP have sold much, if at all, and suddenly Nintendo is Square Enix's primary handheld in terms of sales.
In addition to multiplatforming many of their main entry titles and finding a foothold in the handheld market with the assistance of Nintendo, they've also published dozens of games on last-gen and current generation consoles, while not always handling the primary development responsibilities. You've got Project Sylpheed on the 360, and Crystal Chronicles on the Gamecube, as well as Infinite Undiscovery coming out on the 360 soon.
Nine was exclusive, but, as for as much of the gaming community is concerned, the exclusivity of "IX" was more akin to a quarantine measure than anything else. I could honestly go on and on about how much I hate IX, but, let's stay on topic.
Ten was exclusive, and this also cemented the deveastating fact for many fans that the franchise was not going to return, in any capacity, to the PC. It was arguably the "flagship" title on the PlayStation 2, pushing many consoles in addition to copies of the game itself.
Eleven, however, took a different direction, opting to go the route of the MMORPG. Putting aside the notion that, even though I hate WoW, I understand that attempting to steal a piece of the MMORPG market from Blizzard has about the same success rate as taking on an F-14 Tomcat with the Wright Brother's biplane, so I'm not sure why this decision was made either. Granted, "XI" showed up before WoW, but anbody that had even simply heard that Blizzard was entering the scene, probably should have seen the writing on the wall. The bottom line here: Eleven would appear on the PC, PS2, Xbox 360, and there are still talks about expanding the game to other system. So, after a two game break, the main entries in the Final Fantasy series were once again on PC.
Twelve was an exclusive to the PS2, though much of its new universe and characters were inspired by the reimagined Final Fantasy: Tactics series on the Nintendo DS. In addition, the "follow-up" to the storyline of Final Fantasy XIII, titled Revenant Wings, also came out exclusively on the Nintendo DS.
I know, Nintendo...weird, huh? The DS part makes it even odder. But if you flash back to several years before, when the PSP was attempting to stay alive on a platformer starring Jax's sidekick and those awful UMD movies, Square Enix attempted revamping/rereleasing some of their older NES/ Super Nintendo games on the DS. And, boy did the nostalgia gamers and handheld RPG addicts alike eat that up! Throw in the fact that none of the few Final Fantasy games released on the PSP have sold much, if at all, and suddenly Nintendo is Square Enix's primary handheld in terms of sales.
In addition to multiplatforming many of their main entry titles and finding a foothold in the handheld market with the assistance of Nintendo, they've also published dozens of games on last-gen and current generation consoles, while not always handling the primary development responsibilities. You've got Project Sylpheed on the 360, and Crystal Chronicles on the Gamecube, as well as Infinite Undiscovery coming out on the 360 soon.
Stupid title. Weird logo. But...a 360 exclusive by Square Enix nonetheless.
So, in closing, Squaresoft/Square Enix has certainly had a few fleeting periods of exclusivity, but they've often been surrounded by periods of PC ports, multi-platform releases, and even exclusive releases outside of the Sony universe. Granted, Sony has often recieved the "main" titles in the series that others have missed out on, and certainly anyone raised around volumes IX-XII, and not well-versed with the handheld market during the same time, would be inclined to think that Sony has been the "belle of the ball." However, as this cursory glance has shown, by looking at the big picture, one can see that things have been heading this way for quite some time.
