GamesJRPGFinal FantasySquare Enix admits it might be cannibalizing its own games as multiple RPGs, including Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, get hit with its classic ‘below expectations’ lineWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesJRPGFinal FantasySquare Enix admits it might be cannibalizing its own games as multiple RPGs, including Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, get hit with its classic ‘below expectations’ lineWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Square Enix)
Square Enixhas admitted it could have done a better job at managing its games to make sure they weren’t cannibalizing each other and sneaking money out of their corporate sibling’s pockets.
Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu said as much in the company’sfinancial results briefingin May, which was just recently released to the public. The briefing delves into the company’s failed “medium-term business plan” that covered 2022 to its most recent fiscal year ending this March 31 and made the publisher around 150 billion yen less than it was expecting.
“We recognize that issues remain in the Digital Entertainment segment,” Kiryu explained in the briefing. “The HD Games sub-segment failed to better its profitability, posting operating losses in every year of our previous medium-term plan.”
Square’s president says the missed goals were partly down to how it “did not manage our title portfolio across the company as well as we could have, which I believe resulted in opportunity losses due to cannibalization between our own titles.” Kiryu doesn’t point to any specific examples, but the publisher is somewhat notorious for releasing niche, sometimes great games haphazardly. In September 2022, for example, it pushed out Yoko Taro’s deckbuilding RPG, turn-based RPG Various Daylife, strategy RPG The Diofield Chronicle, and action RPG Valkyrie Elysium without much space to breathe or promotion - talk about self-sabotage.
Elsewhere, the company pulled its most recognizable catchphrase out of the locker to proclaim that some of its games - multiplayer shooter Foamstars, Final Fantasy 16, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth to shame and name a few - came in under “expectations.” But, again, Square Enix has been banging that drum at least since itcomplained of Tomb Raider 2013’s missed sales expectations- and that reboot kickstarted a trilogy that went on to sell over 38 copies in the long run.
Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts' Tetsuya Nomura says he started making “hot” characters after a friend said he didn’t want to be ugly in games, and then he just never stopped.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”