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...Square-Enix has their Jump Fiests event later this month in Japan where they highlight up coming games and as usual, Versus XIII will be a no show.
This is starting to get into Duke Nukem Forever territory where it's kind of funny that it's trapped in Development Hell.
How is this news-worthy?
that's why it isn't on the frontsite ;)
I wish there would be an announcement on why. I don't care if they're saying "yeah we really don't know what we're doing" so long as this pretending that Versus is still fine stops.
lulz
SE: "Maybe if we don't speak or mention the very existence of Versus, noone else will remember!"
Glad to see that SE is still taking the See no Versus, Hear no Versus, Speak no Versus approach to it.
This is becoming something like Ultima 9.
I can only imagine that SE thinks that if they never mentioned Versus XIII ever again, everyone will forget about it.
There's also the possibility that this has to do with the development cycle for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Since the lackluster reception of Final Fantasy XIII and the absolutely dismal launch of Final Fantasy XIV, I wouldn't be surprised if Square Enix is running damage control in advance and trying to contain expectations for Final Fantasy Versus XIII. As ARR moves into beta in the next month, I imagine they're really going to start pushing their marketing efforts towards that as it has become an absolute make-it-or-break it release for the company. They can worry about Versus XIII after they get ARR out of the way. If development is ongoing for Versus XIII, by the time the litmus test of ARR is over, they would potentially be able to move directly into a campaign for Versus XIII (and I wouldn't be surprised to see it rebranded in some way to distance it from the FFXIII trilogy).
That's the overly-optimistic outside shot possibility, though. Vaporware is entirely more likely.
They're not being quiet about it though. They're just not being very loud about it.
That was less than two months ago. If the theory that it's vaporware and they were hoping people would forget about Versus was true, I doubt they'd go around insisting that the game is still in development and coming along great. Also, why would they come out and say Kotaku was full of crap when they conjured up the very same rumor a few months back? None of that makes sense. They certainly aren't getting anything out of lying about it still being alive and having to repeatedly waste time addressing it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
I honestly don't think there's some convoluted disastrous reasoning as to why the game hasn't come out yet; it just hasn't come out yet, more than likely due to several factors regarding SE's company as a whole.
Nomura is really the key man on the project, and he's got a lot more on his plate besides it, including an insatiable determination to release a Kingdom Hearts title every year. I think these things have far more to do with the prolonged development than fanboy butthurt or anything like that.
The issue here is that the interview you quoted says absolutely nothing about the games development and it wasn't even an official announcement just a reporter cornering a Squenix employee and asking about the game, of which the employee gave a very stock business answer that reveals nothing. SE only really talks about the game when other people bring it up, but for a game to be in development for this long with little to really show for it, this means one of three things: Either something has happened during the development process that has slowed the project down considerably, most likely the staff is trying to build an overly ambitious game engine from scratch which was what happened with FFXII; or Nomura is getting in the way cause he's literally making the team put in every ambitious idea he wants even mid-development and he's making the team redo whole sections of the game that don't meet his standards; or three it's what Ouch! said and it's the higher ups interfering to make sure other projects go smooth while possibly doing some executive meddling of the project themselves.
There is also the fourth reason, which is "all of the above" which I'm beginning to suspect might be the problem. Nomura had some ambitious ideas and the game most likely required some new technology that no one had done before to get it running so a lot of the development is probably this but once it did get running we had the sub-par reception of XIII and the disaster of XIV so SE both wants Versus XIII to stay dark so they can try to salvage XIV but also they are probably getting some heavy focus group going over every part of this game cause SE wants it to succeed. I also suspect that SE may have realized the game in it's current form couldn't work on the PS3 and they may be stalling for the next console cycle.
It just gets exasperating cause there was that one interview with Wada shortly after the Kotaku nonsense, where he mentioned watching a mind blowing video of the city models. That was it, no screenshots, no actual video. For a game that got accused of being vaporware, SE did very little to really calm down the rumor which is why it's still prevalent among news sites and forums. You would think they would have given people something, instead the company just sent a verbal statement saying "We're still working on it" which is the same thing that happened with Duke Nukem Forever.
I think Square Enix is trying to be cautious to avoid another FFXIV, which I understand.
However, by keeping so much information out of the public's hands is just making people get discouraged and lose interest. I'm really excited to see what they do with it, but I want info, dammit!
I understand about being cautious with spilling a release date and wanting to keep it in development to make sure the quality is good, but this doesn't mean they should be doing an info blackout on the fans. Revealing more details or showing a few more trailers is only going to improve anticipation and increase sales. I don't know what their marketing department is thinking. I mean at least show the trailers you have at the big expo's. Part of the reason people think its vaporware is because the game has been absent completely from major events like Jump Fiesta, TGS, and E3, at least pull an FFXII and XIII and just bore us with the trailer you made three years ago just to confirm to fans its still in the works.
I'm not sure if I agree in this case. It's been--what, seven years now? And people are STILL bitching about this game? People want it. That says something.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno
Maybe this time aroudn Square has learned, "Oh wow. We make the worst games. No, really. Maybe if we don't hype the trout out of it, people won't expect the greatest game ever, and will have low expectations."
:monster:
Or more likely they've run into development problems Sam. xD
Raistlin actually posted this over in a thread in the FFXIV forum, but it seems particularly relevant here and may provide insight that could confirm some suspicions here in this thread.
In a recent financial report the Chief Financial Officer Yosuke Matsuda discusses the negative effects from Final Fantasy XIV's disastrous launch and the financial consequences throughout the company. Last year the operating budget was halved as a consequence of how much money Square Enix has been bleeding, and Matsuda identified this as a cause of the delay in the release of many HD titles. The success of Final Fantasy XIV has become so immensely important that it really does seem that almost all of Square Enix's available in-house development resources are being fueled into A Realm Reborn.
Obviously this does not explain the entirety of Versus XIII's delays, but it certainly accounts for the near radio silence over the past two years.
Ouch! probably has a good point, however with the good things we've been hearing about ARR, I'm not too worried! :jess:
I agree with Ouch that SE's financial woes of the past couple of years have, at the very least, not helped the development of Versus XIII. I'm not convinced that that's the major reason, though, as SE recently has been much more upfront about how FFXIV's failure impacted other projects, and yet nothing about this game. And this is while other FF projects have been successfully in the works.
Lack of funding may have contributed, but there's something else going on, such as a stall in development due to disagreements, which is the reason SE has been so hush hush.
>>> They can take all the time of the world for all i care..:luca:
How is it news that this won't be at jump festa? They said a few months back that there won't be any new info on Versus until their own event in early 2013. So obviously they aren't gonna show anything at an event hosted by a 3rd party.
It isn't news which is why it did not make our frontsite :p
So, why is this news?
The real question is why does this game still have it's own forum.
Idk if its true or not but I read the versus was being released as ffxvas part of anneiversary I saw footage of ppl watching the trailer of versus and at the end Xv was on the screen they were watching
^ Squenix confirmed that video was a hoax I'm afraid.
That's sounds about right
I wonder if, at this point, they would even announce its cancellation if it comes.
I think they would have to. Fans are surprisingly vocal about this game despite having almost no information on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
Oh without a doubt. I don't think they would cancel if only because of the vast wave of hate mail they no doubt get, but if they did, they couldn't let it die under the floorboards.
They could cancel, but I don't think they could be quiet about it. Or at least, not any more quiet than they have been. But fans have been harassing them about this, and I don't think that'd stop.Quote:
Originally Posted by Formalhaut
I wonder why their development times are so long? The longer that a game takes to release, the more anticipation and disappointment that build up around it. A long turnaround time for a title will only hurt the company, ultimately, as fans will lose interest in a title as they turn to other games that are released on time and have updates about them, right?
I was under the impression that the long development times was due to the technology they had (e.g. Crystal Tools) and how their development pipeline was integrated (extremely inefficiently). Also, most probably lately, the failure of FFXIV would have set their budgets for other projects back quite a bit, especially when dragging senior talent from other projects to FFXIV in order to rebuild the game from the ground up.
With their new engine, it's not just about the visual capabilities, it's also about the development pipeline which by the sounds and looks of it is incredibly efficient (e.g. direct Maya implementation) especially compared to the horror that is Crystal Tools. This will have a major impact on the time it takes during production stage.
I'm going to assume that once FFXIV: ARR's initial development cycle wraps up, they'll be able to dedicate their resources to other projects under the company. At least, that's what I hope.
Can we please temporarily lock this forum until we actually get something new about this game?
It's really annoying to see an update which amounts to "nope, still nothing going on".
I'm not even sure this game should have a forum at this point.
Well we're trying to build excitement for it, it's not our fault SE refuses to throw fans a bone in the last six years. I guess we could take the only trailer that has gameplay footage and just start pondering what the finished product is going to look like.
Good or bad, hope or no hope, empty promise or promise kept, I think EoFF has a duty to cover Versus. At the very least, it shows that we still care about the game to SE, not just abandon all hope and forget like it never happened. Once the fans lose interest, who can blame the company for letting it die? No. Let's continue covering Versus, at least so SE knows there's still a fanbase for the game.
If the fanbase has to cover something, let's keep working on getting Type-0 released over here. At least it's a game that bloody exists.Quote:
Originally Posted by Formalhaut
Why people seem to be more interested in a game that hasn't had anything interesting come out in years compared to a game that's seen a full release and looks frelling brilliant is beyond me.
What do we really know about this game? Why is everyone so desperate for it?
They are desperate because FFXIII and FFXIV have been disappointments to many and this is the hope they cling to of finding something of the past FF glory in the newer games.
Did I say they? Meant we. :D
I personally feel that the fanboys in denial of FF's decline see it as the second coming of the PSX era, which is why they throw so much love onto it. Not to mention the fact that handheld gaming, while making great strides in its last two generations into being seen as mainstream gaming, is still seen as something of a niche casual gaming experience, cause you know "HARDCORE Gamers play only HD console games on big screen TV or you GTFO!".
I am honestly more interested in Type-0 as well. I liked the demo, even if the combat and lack of customization left a bit to be desired but its a demo so that kind of thing happens. I'm more apprehensive about Versus XIII, not because of the long development time (its not helping) but because the team working on it doesn't always have the best track record with my tastes, and Nojima is writing the plot, and anyone who has been on the forum long enough knows how I feel about Nojima as a writer... For me, my interest is more akin to watching a trainwreck, I don't see this gaming arriving like either SE or the fans hope, and while this is not an issue about whether its good or not, I pretty much feel the game will do well commercially but will most likely disappoint fans cause it wasn't as super special awesome as they had hyped themselves into believing it to be. The fans who gave up on it or kept more realistic expectations will most likely appreciate it more, though everyone will bitch about its development time forever. I'm still banking on it getting a name change, either FFXV, FFVersus, or some tongue twister Latin phrase that fans will quickly ignore.
It's hard to believe that the current generation is nearing its end, the PS4 is almost appearing on the horizon and we still barely know anything about this game. I seem to remember one of the reasons of me buying a PS3 was for this game, six years ago. Thanks a ton Square Enix. I felt this generation of consoles was very poor for Square Enix and RPGs in general. XIII wasn't all that and there were no real huge RPG titles that got mass attention. (I'm talking about real, full-blood RPGs here, not hybrids like Mass Effect or the like. Sure, we've had Skyrim, but that's a PC game, not a console one.) In that way, the reason I think so many people long for this game is because they're hoping it will be that big 'blockbuster' RPG of this generation. The one FF XIII failed to be.
Well there was also Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story. I feel both games are probably the best JRPGs of this generation. Lost Odyssey gets a lot of love as well. ;)
JRPGs struggled pretty badly this generation on the home consoles,with WRPGs often overtaking them in popularity, I pretty much feel the mainstream love affair with the genre is probably over. Handhelds got a bit more love and even cell phones are starting to build up a collection, but it seems like most of the major developers feel its too risky or not viable to make a game on the consoles as often.
I fear JRPGs will end up like Shmups, they don't even call 2D/3D Shooters anymore, same thing happening now with "J"RPGs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno
It may happen, though I don't necessarily feel this is a bad or good thing either way. I still remember the days when JRPGs were a niche genre so it's not like this will be new for me.
We have. Our memberbase however did not respond to these threads. Put your money were your mouth is :colbert:Quote:
Originally Posted by SkybladeIf the fanbase has to cover something, let's keep working on getting Type-0 released over here. At least it's a game that bloody exists.Quote:
Originally Posted by Formalhaut
If anyone is interested, the Versus Dev recently asked fans what game they are looking forward to this year. If that means we might get versus this year? who knows but it's an interesting tid bit of news.
The problem there is that you gave us nothing to discuss. I participated in the petition, but there's no topic to talk about there.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenbokoWe have. Our memberbase however did not respond to these threads. Put your money were your mouth is :colbert:Quote:
Originally Posted by SkybladeIf the fanbase has to cover something, let's keep working on getting Type-0 released over here. At least it's a game that bloody exists.Quote:
Originally Posted by Formalhaut
Odd that we seem to have more to talk about with this game than one that actually exists. There's characters, plot, pretty pictures, gameplay! So much to talk about. Yet we don't. It's sad. :(
You know, instead of complaining you could easily start your own threads in the Type-0 forum to discuss such topics and not bother with the Versus forum. There's nothing wrong with people wanting to talk about a highly anticipated game, even if it has been in development hell for a number of years; simply don't come to this section if it bothers you so much.
If your referring to Zero, it's because unless your Japanese, there's literally nothing to say about it. I've done research on it, and I love "We have Arrived" as a music piece. The characters seem diverse as well, but then I've not played it, so what do I know?Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
Well, actually, my big complaint is coming to this section expecting to get something new, only to get more "nope, not coming out yet" info.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rostum
There are at least eleven threads in this forum which are just about the fact that this game isn't out yet. It's ridiculous.
When I see a new thread in here, I expect some new information, or some new discussion point. Instead I just keep getting the exact same thing. Not out yet, no follow up info.
Well considering Jump Fiesta is a pretty major event for Square Enix - Versus XIII not being mentioned at it is a pretty significant case of news of there being no news.