I thought this was an interesting one.
Source: http://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/pdf/18q4outline.pdfSquare Enix said:
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Square Enix struggling to recruit console developers/partners in Japan, will recruit more overseas
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
So basically, they say there are more people, experienced at making good-quality/current-gen games, in the west than in Japan.
Yea, I can see that.
Yea, I can see that.
In another 10 to 15 years Japan's developers will be more well versed in mobile game like mechanics and scale, with new developers having grown up in a market where mobile games and gacha mechanics are moat popular :(
I think it's only a matter of time until Final Fantasy is developed by a western studio.
As much as some may not want that, I would like to see how a western studio would do one.
More like they will have even less devs over there than now be it mobile or console .
Once they have the talent it should not be problem with the right director .
By "console games", I assume they mean "AAA console games". Frankly, the only Japanese developer that's still competing in AAA is Square Enix themselves, so I'm not tremendously surprised by this statement. If you look outside of AAA, there's still plenty of Japanese developers working on console stuff.
SE Japan doesn't develop much in-house outside of mostly mainline FF and KH; most of their games are (co-)developed by other studios. Don't know how accurate this list still is, but anyway (added a bit about Tabata's new IP and his new company):
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I like Japanese games for their distinct approach so the idea of western made Final Fantasy sounds the opposite of what I want.
A future where Japanese devs only make clones of the same gatcha game is a terrifying one.
A future where Japanese devs only make clones of the same gatcha game is a terrifying one.
Not necessarily more experienced people. Turns out that yes, there are more people outside Japan than inside, and big games needs a lot of people.
What SE is trying to do now is what every big japanese dev should've in the start of 7th gen but were too conservative and arrogant to. This is mainly the motive Japan was so slow on the HD transition, since the big publishers clearly had a lot of $$$.
The average western indipendent studio is way more skilled than the japanese indie devs, so is perfectly understandable.
Square Enix already partnered with Dontnod and People Can Fly.
Square Enix already partnered with Dontnod and People Can Fly.
There was one in development but got cancelled http://gametyrant.com/news/square-e...ect-before-making-final-fantasy-xv?format=amp
Capcom, Namco, Sega and Sony not exist anymore in your world?
Then you have indies like Kojipro and Fromsoftware, Level-5 etc etc...
I'm not really sure what you mean by this.
They Will probably outsorce some stuff, most big AAA tittles are using that, If i remember texture and some stuff
There was a video from Bunnyhop on that cancelled Eidos Montreal-developed Final Fantasy codenamed Project W recently where he talked to sources who knew the project:
This actually was already rumored years ago. I posted about that in 2015 at the old place:
In 2012 there was a leak of a new Eidos Montreal game that probably is the same one that was cancelled a year later:
New Eidos Montreal Game Focuses On An Explorer Searching For A Way To Save His Love
In 2013 a FF director said in an interview that SE could imagine an Eidos-developed FF game:
Eidos-developed Final Fantasy possible, says Lighting Returns director
3 days later an unknown Eidos Montreal game was reported to have been cancelled:
Unannounced Eidos Montreal game cancelled - Cancelled game said to be connected to Square Enix Japan
In 2015 the GAF mods Kagari and Nirolak said this:
New Eidos Montreal Game Focuses On An Explorer Searching For A Way To Save His Love
In 2013 a FF director said in an interview that SE could imagine an Eidos-developed FF game:
Eidos-developed Final Fantasy possible, says Lighting Returns director
3 days later an unknown Eidos Montreal game was reported to have been cancelled:
Unannounced Eidos Montreal game cancelled - Cancelled game said to be connected to Square Enix Japan
In 2015 the GAF mods Kagari and Nirolak said this:
Kagari said:
Nirolak said:
OP
OP
We did just get Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire. It's a huge hit!
That said, for internally developed games, their CEO implied that Square Enix Montreal is making games with Japanese IPs.
It probably is a big part simply because a lot of easy money is there. But young talent also flows in slower due to the scary hours, Japanese youth in general is breaking away from the way that Japan works in.
Monster Hunter World looked a lot like a Japanese AAA game to me, and a critically acclaimed one too.
They have internal teams for important games like Kingdom Hearts and they collaborate with third party studios at different capacities, from just publishing games made entirely by third party studios, to holding some level of creative control and outsourcing the grunt of the development to development partners (Nier Automata, Dragon Quest franchise) and to outsourcing asset creation and such with big budget games that they don't have the capacity to do completely on their own. Not that different from any other big publisher on the planet.
Eh, you figure the concept art and story are done by Japanese creatives then the development is done by Western creators? Hmm.
Capcom, Kojipro, From Software and Namco's fighting game division, I'll give. Everyone else listed? Nah, not AAA (or, more specifically, not developing AAA games within Japan's borders).
None of those really make games with the same production values as FF, which is probably with what he means when he mentions AAA games. Death Stranding is pretty much the only game that I can see come close to Square Enix games.
Pretty sure both Nier and DQ are entirely external. Horii has his own production company that Square is partnered with.
Edit: oh wait, I read that wrong and that's what you said.
So the only thing developed in house, on the Japanese side, are FF and KH games?
I guess that mecha game with the MGS artist announced some time ago will be also in house. There's also Tabata's promised new IP which can be internal stuff.
Also the shrinking/aging Japanese population can't be helping matters.
Dragon Quest has switched to internal development for the first time with DQ10 and 11
