Square Enix to reveal a new console RPG in December that “Isn’t a Remake”

The following comes from SE president Yosuke Matsuda in an interview with Famitsu.

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"Actually, right now, we are readying a new role-playing game for home consoles that isn't a remake," Matsuda is quoted as saying. "In December, we'll start with making an announcement."

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Here's the full interview for those interested.

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Famitsu: Looking at your company's recent lineup, I get the impression that there's been a lot of Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy related remakes or smartphone version rereleases, but Square Enix still has a lot of other IPs doesn't it? I'm always wishing you'd revisit such IPs.


Matsuda: That's... Currently in the works.


F: What!? Really!? Would that be centered on smartphone apps, too?


M: No, I'm looking for players to be able to sit down and really get into playing.


F: So... Something for home/commercial consoles?


M: Yes.


F: Wow! So, what title is it!?


M: I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little bit for that (laughs).


F: Just a little hint.


M: ... It's an RPG.


F: Square Enix is famous for many of their past RPG classics. Including those that have been buried/not been revisited. So, you're looking at such a title not for smartphones or browsers?



M: Yes.



F: I don't want to be pesky but... This would be for home/commercial consoles?



M: That's right (laughs).



F: Not a remake?



M: All new.



F: Wow... That's wonderful. Sorry for the barrage of questions, I got a little overworked (laughs). When will you be announcing [this game]?



M: We'll be making consecutive announcements starting in December.



F: Starting in December!? Consecutive!? So, you're saying you have more than one title to announce?



M: Yes.



F: That's very exciting!



M: I'd like to avoid any confusion, but of the titles we're planning to announce, there will be ones for smartphones and PCs, not just home/commercial consoles that include stationary game consoles and portable game consoles. We'll also be announcing titles from our overseas studios as well.



F: I see. So, at least the title you're planning to announce in December is an RPG for home/commercial consoles, is that correct?



M: Yes. At present, I can't specify the hardware platform, if it's for stationary game consoles or for portable ones. We'll be able to announce many types of titles after we enter 2015 as well.



F: It looks like you've got a lot of ammo. Have you really been preparing that much?



M: The projects that started after I became president [of Square Enix] and the projects that were re-examined and restarted have finally begun to solidify, so we'll start making a bunch of announcements both domestically and abroad soon.

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Thoughts?

Kotaku

It's really weird to hear a regular console called "stationary". But I guess in a world living on the go who adore handheld, it's the lesser "stationary" consoles who get the moniker. I wonder if they even quantify handhelds with the term or if they just call those consoles lol

Anyway, this is good news. It's probably going to be one of those situations where I buy it, whatever it is, no matter its quality of production or inspiration or creativity, just to speak with my money that I approve of them taking these risks. I do this a lot with Atlus and XSEED releases as well. Really wish I could get more into NIS and stuff too. They deserve some of my money for the same reason, but I rarely enjoy their games x_x

Level 5 are also announcing a new RPG next month and Horii has said the new Dragon Quest will be a more heavy title than past games. I'm personally hoping the stars are aligning and we'll be getting DQXI on PS4. The talk of re-started projects also makes me think of the rumors surrounding Ito's next game.

I'm not getting my hopes too high though, as someone else said, Square has been like an evil genie as of late - you think they're granting your wish but it ends up being something completely unexpected and disappointing.

I'm just happy it's a console RPG and not a phone or rythm game (I guess it could be an RPG Rythm), so I'm looking forward to the announcement.

Yeah, it seems like nowadays SE puts more cleverness and effort into their announcement of announcements than their actual games.

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

Level 5 are also announcing a new RPG next month and Horii has said the new Dragon Quest will be a more heavy title than past games. I'm personally hoping the stars are aligning and we'll be getting DQXI on PS4.

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But I can't afford a PS4. Can we add it to the PC too?

Honestly, if it comes to the West at all, then I wouldn't be surprised to see it come to PC. Alot of Japanese developers seem to have a good foundation for that going forward, especially Square Enix.

Every time Valkyria Chronicles sells another copy on Steam my hopes rise a little more, yes. How many more JRPGs need to be released there to results that "surprise" the publisher before they realize that actually, Steam players love that stuff, too?

Yeah, I was ridiculously surprised Valkyria was on Steam. I own it on PS3, but I am super tempted to buy it on Steam just to drive the point that we appreicate that stuff

If it ever led to more Valkyria, I would double dip too.

Shining Blade :3

If it led to that as well, I would join you. Gimme an international release of Shining Blade HD on PC or some garbage. And I would pay so much

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Originally Posted by Spuuky

Every time Valkyria Chronicles sells another copy on Steam my hopes rise a little more, yes. How many more JRPGs need to be released there to results that "surprise" the publisher before they realize that actually, Steam players love that stuff, too?

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Oh gosh Valkyria chronicles was an amazing game! The sequel was great too! Unfortunately the third didn't get a Western release :( Anyway, the more great rpgs like VC's, the better!

There's a translation patch for VC3. Though its nearly impossible to get working, and even when you do, its not perfect, some of the text doesn't fit in the boxes provided, which is annoying, but it's at least playable. But the fact that it extremely difficult to use the patch at all doesn't help. Though some nice souls have put the patched version online, though I've never seen it on torrent sites. It is possible to dig it up with a little googling and malicious website awareness. I personally would avoid the nicob blog site

Back on topic...

It will be interesting to see what SE is brewing in secret but then again they are the master's of hyping mediocre announcements. Here's hoping it's something interesting.

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Originally Posted by Vyk

Shining Blade :3

If it led to that as well, I would join you. Gimme an international release of Shining Blade HD on PC or some garbage. And I would pay so much

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I had no idea this was a thing and now I wish I didn't, knowing I'll never play it. What does it say about the gaming tastes of the West that they won't even release stuff like this here?

As for the Square Enix game, we might not have to wait long to find out what it is - as in, we might know in the next couple days!

Asia PlayStation Awards - 12/3
The Game Awards - 12/5
PlayStation Experience - 12/6
PlayStation China conference - 12/11

I'm excited!

I like how the interviewer had to make it extra clear that this was a console and not a smartphone game. That's kind of sad really.

I felt the same way while reading it. But it's true, if they were hyping up a mobile game, I know their spokespeople would have just squirmed around questions like that and tried to be vague or imply the possibility of a console release rather than outright say it, and then try to act like a mobile game is what we wanted and they gave it to us. So kudos for the interviewer for dragging the question over and over the way it sadly needed to be

Surprise announcement; SE has decided to re-classify phones as 'consoles' to reduce the stigma associated with gaming on them.



... :cry:. My cynicism just made me sad.

I'm guessing it's the FFVII announcement actually.

I suppose it is technically not a remake.

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

I'm guessing it's the FFVII announcement actually.

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That would fit their M.O. Hoping it isn't though.

He said it's "All new" though. So here's hoping they don't consider a port of FFVII as new, just because it's new for that console, or new because they add some inane and unimportant thing when they port it

Watch, they lied. It's what Mevius is. hahaha oh you SE jokers. Saying it's not mobile

They said some of the announcements would be about other titles. Mevius is just one of the games they're going to announce.

(SPOILER)COME ON MIRAGE DONT GIVE UP HOPE KEEP STRONG AS I WALK THROUGH THE SHADOW OF THE VALLEY OF DEATH

Its getting pretty late in the month, do they have dates set for announcements, or are we just waiting in the dark, presuming the announcements are over and they've lied to us again?

I can hear it. The sighs of disappointment when it turns out it was Mevius after all.

Square planning an extra special Christmas announcement for its longtime fans!

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Originally Posted by Vyk

Its getting pretty late in the month, do they have dates set for announcements, or are we just waiting in the dark, presuming the announcements are over and they've lied to us again?

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SHUT UP

BLAH BLAH BLAH CANT HEAR YOU

MARRY CHRISTMAS! Have a brand new time traveling chrono game that totes isn't bad.

Final Fantasy VII for PS4. It's not a remake, it's a rerelease. They're not bothering to change or update anything! But it's new on the console!

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

Square planning an extra special Christmas announcement for its longtime fans!

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It's going to be FFXIII-4: Lightning Saves Christmas, where Lightning is going to help Santa Toriyama give copies of the XIII Trilogy to the children of the world. There won't be combat, instead it will be nothing but a collection of mini-games, mostly the ones you hated from VII, IX, X, and X-2 but you'll be happy to know Lightning will have a dress mode that will allow you to dress her up in over 200* sexy dresses and outfits of your choice. Toriyama was excited to tell fans that he learned the importance of game balance from mobile gaming and despite being a console game, the game will make use of the Energy in the form of Candy Cane Moogles which must be used to play the games and recharges one CCM for every hour you don't play. If you want to get cracking at those games without waiting you can purchase CCM for the low low price of $4.99. Merry Christmas from Squenix and out new motto "Just give us all your money now you stupid fanboys!"

*Only 10 dresses will be available at launch with 7 of them being Pre-Ordered DLC which is distributed between the different distributors and will never be made available again. The other 200 or so dresses will be pure DLC at the cost of $13.99 per dress and the dresses will be made available in "Surprise Boxes" which will randomly generate the new dress for the player to find. No refunds or bonuses if the Surprise Box generates a dress the player already owns.

*Two background music tracks included. Users may purchase music from the trilogy as DLC.

This is a couple days old, but
http://kotaku.com/square-enix-announ...vit-1670940354

So was it the Saga game? Or was there something else?

Wait, it can't be SaGa. I mean, everyone knows that would be infringing upon the Candy Crush Saga trademark. ;)

Oh man. PLEASE tell me King.com goes after Square Enix for pulling out an old and beloved niche RPG. And the tide of the entire internet erupts upon them. Please please please. It didn't really happen last time. And even then, they regretted sticking their nose where it didn't belong. But they basically won their argument. It'd be great PR for Square, and terrible PR for King. Which are BOTH good things! lol Ah, I still hold a grudge I guess

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Originally Posted by Polnareff

This is a couple days old, but
http://kotaku.com/square-enix-announ...vit-1670940354

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That can't be it though, seeing as they said it was for a home console, not a handheld. Then again, there's only a few days of December left.

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Originally Posted by Vyk

Oh man. PLEASE tell me King.com goes after Square Enix for pulling out an old and beloved niche RPG. And the tide of the entire internet erupts upon them. Please please please. It didn't really happen last time. And even then, they regretted sticking their nose where it didn't belong. But they basically won their argument. It'd be great PR for Square, and terrible PR for King. Which are BOTH good things! lol Ah, I still hold a grudge I guess

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Yeah, back when they actually already tried that against The Banner Saga some months ago I said "Woah, Square Enix should totally turn around and sue them just for laughs. They were making Saga titles long before King was even a company".

>>> Is chrono game? I want a chrono game..:luca:

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Originally Posted by black orb

>>> Is chrono game? I want a chrono game..:luca:

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I'd settle for a Star Ocean or Valkyrie game.

Are they having a random New Year's Eve announcement, or are we just accepting they've lied in some regard. Either it's not for a console, or they're not revealing it this year, or it just doesn't really exist (at least not the way we want it)

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Originally Posted by Vyk

Are they having a random New Year's Eve announcement, or are we just accepting they've lied in some regard. Either it's not for a console, or they're not revealing it this year, or it just doesn't really exist (at least not the way we want it)

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My guess is shoddy translating (which happens in a lot of these interviews). He was probably referring to the aforementioned Saga game for Vita.

That or he was intentionally being disingenuous and thinking "Well, the Vita is also the Vita TV! It's technically a home console!"

Actually I just went back and skimmed the interview again, and the announcements start in December and go through 2015 so you're right. We just misinterpreted it. And he said there will be announcements for both stationary and mobile consoles. Only that it will not be a remake or only browser/phone based. So yeah. SaGa fits those criteria and they'll still be announcing things into the new year. Rage and hate evaded

I wonder if this new SaGa game is coming just to compete with Legend of Legacy for 3DS? Ah well, I doubt either of those games will come out outside of Japan anyway.

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Originally Posted by Polnareff

Legend of Legacy for 3DS

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Had to look that one up. Looks interesting

Christ almighty, what did the gaming public do to deserve another SaGa game? :(

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Originally Posted by Mister Adequate

Christ almighty, what did the gaming public do to deserve another SaGa game? :(

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Well there was that time you were welcomed into our fold. :(