All Square Enix Games are Going Online

[Depression Moon]

http://blogs.forbes.com/v...-games-will-go-online/

For the most part, the famous "Final Fantasy" series of video games has been a single-player experience. You level up your characters to fight bigger and badder bad guys, as you progress through the storyline. It's like reading a book; you do it on your own.

That could change soon. Square Enix's chief executive Yoichi Wada sat down with Forbes at the E3 videogame conference in Los Angeles last week to talk about the big changes he has in store for the company.

"In all of the games we will be releasing going forward, some kind of multiplayer element will be incorporated one way or another," says Wada.

While the company's line-up of games goes beyond "Final Fantasy," this still represents a radical shift for Square Enix. Clarifying his point, Wada says this doesn't mean that all games will be fully online experiences.

"It is not as if all the [all of our] game creators will become capable of creating MMORPG-type games," he says. "What we will encourage them to do is to incorporate some kind of multiplayer element even in single player games."

As if that won't shake things up enough, Wada intends to bring in "fresh blood" and "change the culture" of Square Enix. See the full story in the article published on Forbes.com Wednesday to find out how.

[VeloZer0]

In some ways this could be good, in some it could be very bad. Adding something like multiplayer battles to FFT was an easy addition. For something that focuses more on narrative I don't see it working without diluting this.

I personally liked SE games because I get to play by myself.

[Rostum]

Interesting...

I'm of the belief that it'd be insane from a business standpoint to not embrace the online experience, since that is where technology and the industry is heading in general.

Also, I'm pretty sure he says an online experience in some capacity, not that it'll be required or it'd be to the extent of an MMOG.

[Levian]

While online experiences are fun, I think FF is a series I'd prefer offline. Offline multiplayer action sounds great though, I do tend to use the multiplayer function in FFIX.

[Depression Moon]

FFIX doesn't have multiplayer, it has co-op.

It sounds like Square's really heading down a path I don't like. For all games sounds ridiculous, because all games don't need them and probably a good few of those games won't be popular, so they wasted a feature that hardly anyone would use. I probably won't be with Square much longer to see the next real one, but if someone wants to play an FF with multiplayer then they can play XI, XIV, or Dissidia.

[Rostum]

I probably won't be with Square much longer to see the next real one.

Since when are you "with" Square? I sure do love the gamers that get on their high horse and have their own expectations for what their favourite company must do in order to please them.

[Depression Moon]

high horse don't come at me with that. First of all if it wasn't for them there's a good chance I might not be alive to type this.

[Mirage]

FFIX doesn't have multiplayer, it has co-op.

Multiplayer is short for multiple players

More than one player simultaneously in a game is by definition "multiplayer". There's cooperative multiplayer, and there's competitive multiplayer. Why the crap would it bother you if there was optional multiplayer in upcoming SE games anyway? No one is forcing you to use it.


There is nothing I want more than online co-op in FFvs13. It would enable me to have a lot of fun with friends I know all around the globe, that I would never have been able to play with if there only existed "offline co-op".

[Jibril]

FFIX doesn't have multiplayer, it has co-op.

This quote hasn't been jumped all over yet? You guys are slow.

Edit: damn it stale.

[Mirage]

Oh yeah Jib. I bet you know who I'm talking about when I say "friends all around the globe".

[Clo]

I'm not a huge fan of online gaming, so this prospect doesn't thrill me.

There are other RPG series.

[VeloZer0]

You can say that it doesn't affect you if you only play single player, but it does. All the resources they put into multiplayer content are resources that could have gone to enhancing the single player experience. Adding something like a simple duel mode isn't a huge undertaking, but to include a comprehensive multiplayer experience consumes a large amount of resources meaning the game will either be longer to develop, or have the single player experience compromised due to lack of development time/manpower/budget.

I don't have anything against people enjoying games online. After playing White Knight Chronicles I can certainly see that it isn't for me, and how it seriously compromises the single player experience. Thats fine, that is how the game was developed. Different target audience.

I think it is a different story if ALL games have to include an online component though. With FF13 taking three years and a whole ton of money I can't help but feel that adding these features would have anything other than a detrimental effect on my gaming experience.

[Mo-Nercy]

"Fresh blood" and "change of culture" sounds fine to me. I'm happy to see the company mix it up a little bit. Bring on the multiplayer, I say. If they did it with only the mini-games or side quests, I think it'd be a nice change of pace.

[Mirage]

You can say that it doesn't affect you if you only play single player, but it does. All the resources they put into multiplayer content are resources that could have gone to enhancing the single player experience. Adding something like a simple duel mode isn't a huge undertaking, but to include a comprehensive multiplayer experience consumes a large amount of resources meaning the game will either be longer to develop, or have the single player experience compromised due to lack of development time/manpower/budget.

I don't have anything against people enjoying games online. After playing White Knight Chronicles I can certainly see that it isn't for me, and how it seriously compromises the single player experience. Thats fine, that is how the game was developed. Different target audience.

I think it is a different story if ALL games have to include an online component though. With FF13 taking three years and a whole ton of money I can't help but feel that adding these features would have anything other than a detrimental effect on my gaming experience.

With the huge budgets S-E games have these days, the only way it'd significantly decrease the quality of the single player part would because of stupid design choices and resource management, not because there wasn't enough resources all in all.

Not to mention, multiplayer helps push more copies (and even more than that if it wasn't for uninformed people hating on it for no real reason), meaning they could have a larger budget and still make money on it.

And I love your new sig and avatar, Mo.

[VeloZer0]

With the huge budgets S-E games have these days, the only way it'd significantly decrease the quality of the single player part would because of stupid design choices and resource management, not because there wasn't enough resources all in all.

I was considering time as a resource as well.

(and even more than that if it wasn't for uninformed people hating on it for no real reason)

I don't know if this was aimed at me specifically but I would like to point out all I was expressing is the fact that for a gamer of my tastes this has a lot larger potential drawback than benefit. No doubt for some it is a great boon. As always I will buy games individually based on if I think I will enjoy it or not.