Very Concerned for the Future of FFXIV and SE

[StriderShinryu]

Well it could be worse than Sony, though I'm not particularly happy with recent anti-Japanese game push.

Sony is even more notorious than Square in that they refuse to even acknowledge PCs as a gaming platform.

Eh, they did recently release God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone on PC with, from what I've heard, very solid ports. They aren't exactly jumping all over the PC but they are at least dipping their toes into the water.

[Picker]

Try anything as blm you can't even get a ley lines

What? I main blm and have cleared the tier and there is nothing that interferes with ley lines.

[RitsukoSonoda]

The current climate of Sony moving away from eastern games and all out Restructuring of Sony Japan would be a detriment to Square Enix overall.

Honestly it'd be more of a Microsoft move to try to buy Square Enix since they are trying to get into the eastern gaming sphere more.

I'm kinda hoping that Nintendo tries and buy the full rights to Super Mario RPG from Square Enix. I'd love to see Geno and Mallow in a game again.

Sidenote: FF14 has nothing on Squenix's Mobile department when it comes to Net Profits.

SE isn't likely to sell to Sony or Microsoft. The recent sale of its western studios was primarily due to a shift in direction and feelings of instability caused by trying to branch out too much as the titles associated with those studios were not RPGs. They acquired those studios in an attempt to establish a stronger foothold with western audiences however the titles produced after doing so failed to generate the sales numbers they hoped for and because of that they basically lost attention to more profitable franchises and attempts at creating new franchise titles which have had both failures and successes. The sale also gave them funds to essentially play with as SE has always had an interest in new electronic and digital technologies and NFTs and blockchain tech appears to have piqued someone's interest. The question however is whether or not they'll find a way to get beneficial use out of it or if they will meet failure like other companies have already experienced experimenting with it as they could end up just repeating the same cycle that passed with those western studios.

As for other things they could have done with the funds obtained in that sale. I have a number of friends that are still wishing for a NA or worldwide Dragon Quest X release as they've seen me play it and read about it online but see learning Japanese as too daunting a task to play a video game.

[Thaciscokidd]

SE isn't likely to sell to Sony or Microsoft..

Totally agree. I was just saying that it would be a move that Microsoft would try to do. Also, Japan doesn't like Foreign Ownership. But now I do wonder with Sony moving more into California would this block Sony from even attempting to buy Squenix.

[MiaShino]

Sony; "Now announcing PS5 exclusive features for the award winning FFXIV - HD character models and textures | true 4K for 9.99 USD! Made available by our industry leading SSD technology!"

But.. but I thought this was coming to the PC too?!

Sony; "What is PC?"

*Stealth pushes update to restrict the availability of third party anything on PC to achieve closer parity between console and pc versions*

Later --

Sony; "Announcing FFXIV's new expansion - now a timed PS5 exclusive!"

No no no no no. By the twelve no. Do not need Microsoft and Sony owning everything gaming that would be terrible.

[elioaiko]

I personally think that SE releasing their western studios is for the better as they kind of sat on them and didn't allow them to prosper.

It seems like they're focused on the eastern studios since that's their bread and butter. Considering how poorly received Deus Ex and TR: Shadows has been, I personally think it's for the better.

Perhaps now the company will focus on refining FF franchise and work on new IPs or revive dead ones. (I just want a proper Parasite Eve 3 even if they have to change the entire story).

If Sony does eat them up which seems to be the trend of publishers these days. I suppose Sony wants to compete with Microsoft's desire to absorb as many studios as possible.

[Shurrikhan]

I stopped playing WoW at the end of WotLK, so please forgive my ignorance as to the full state of the game now, but from understanding it's a microtransaction mess with kill purchasing and an extensive p2w system in place for purchasing gold.

Just for context:

Not really, no... You can only slot one piece of crafted gear competitive with what's achievable through raiding or very high level PvP rewards, so unless you're spending tons on paid carries, the advertising of which is a bannable offense, this can't really happen.

I also wouldn't be terribly surprised if WoW Tokens were on their way out (at least if not for the number of people who depend on them to get around regional laws preventing subscriptions).

[Aniya_Estlihn]

Another year and another rumor of this happening—despite the fact Square Enix shot this rumor down FIVE times last year, people still think it holds any merit.

No. Square Enix is not in the process of being bought by Sony, nor will they be. The "Big one" could be pretty much anything, I and I highly doubt it's Square Enix as the company has always been very proud—for better or worse, I'm not gonna judge. Pride can be a good thing.

[angienessyo]

I own a PS5 but I don't want Sony to buy Square. My biggest concern isn't over 14, it's over Square's Switch support if Sony were to buy them. Square actually does a lot of really cool retro/experimental JRPG stuff on there and I don't see them continuing that if Sony were to buy them. But I don't think Square is actually looking to be bought and the sale of their western IPs isn't a cause for concern. They never knew what to do with those IPs and they've had multiple back to back failures with them, so it's not at all shocking they'd want to get rid of them.

[Big_Bap]

Imagine deluding yourself into believing a publicly listed corporation is better than the next one.