Xbox Fans Want To Know What's Going On With Square Enix In 2023

The only logical conclusion is Sony. Square-Enid had no problem releasing scores of games, mainline final fantasy and their spin off’s on the Xbox digital store….. it was only until after the Activision-Blizzard buyout announcement that Sony and Square-Enid seemed to get a lot closer. I mean SE isn’t even releasing FF1~6 remasters on Xbox digital store which is extremely odd since they had no problem releasing 7-15

Xbox Fans Want To Know What's Going On With Square Enix In 2023

Answer

Sony

I got a few SquareEnix titles lately to show support including DioField Chronicles, Star Ocean: Divine Force, FF7:Crisis Core, & got Dragon Quest 11 & Octapath Traveler on sale. Was looking at the Nier titles also.

But if they want to release Final Fantasy 7 remake & 14 I'd gladly give them my money 👍

It is kinda weird , especially seeing more and more Japanese games on Xbox. Sega, Bandai Namco & Koei Tecmo are putting more and more games on Xbox and SE seems to go the other way after a slew of games on xbox/gamepass. I have all console so can play the games anyways, but i would love to see more multiplat 3rd party games so it gives me a choice where to play a game

Blame Sony. 😂😂😂
Maybe they want big sales an they know the best way to get that is with Playstation??? 😂😂😂

@Lavalera SquareEnix at the moment will put there games on whatever platform stumps up enough cash. I guess there waiting for Phil to put more cash on the table for the games already announced.

@Sebatrox ya played it???

Xbox fans have been asking the same about Microsoft in 2022 🤣

@jordan1992 they mentioned the other day they have no interest in sony and don't want a ps5, so not sure how they played it 🤔

@cragis0001 Yeah i think you right that for some games its all about the money. The weird thing is though, some games like Star Ocean the Divine Force, The Diofield Chronicles and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy reunion all came to Xbox recently. Octopath traveler was on switch and Xbox and part 2 will skip Xbox and go to PS5 while part 1 not being on there. It seems so totally random someimes

Square enix also release a lot of games on nintendo that playstation and xbox don't get, like Harvestella, bravely default and dragon quest treasures to name a few. Also nintendo got octopath traveler for over a year before anyone else and even then playstation still don't have it. It's obvious square are more interested in looking after their fellow Japanese guys.

And Square have insinuated and commented from what I've heard whispered around the internet is that they don't like the GamePass business model. But the go to for everyone is to blame Sony when it's (according to what I've heard) they have nothing to do with it according to Square themselves.
And if it was all Sony's doing then games wouldn't be coming out on Nintendo exclusively too and Nintendo don't pay for exclusives.
Pretty obvious they stick mostly to their Japanese friends. (And yes PlayStation is still primarily a Japanese subsidiary since Sony HQ still is based in Tokyo)

It's simple, they avoid Xbox with a lot of their releases. Minus the few releases that Phil paid a lot for supposedly. But let's all blame Sony because they live rent free around here.

Actually Xbox fans want to know what's going on with Microsoft in 2022 and beyond. Also why haven't they announced the 2nd batch of December games for game pass? That's weird

SE have always been the partner in crime for Sony since the Nintendo split, clearly tested the water with Microsoft but I suppose we never know what happens behind closed doors. Only recently have they started to work with Nintendo again. Situations are fickle and I suppose we will never know.

Maybe they'll release Babylon's Fall on Xbox then?

Oh boy.... The obligatory comments of "blame Sony" or "it's Sony's fault". Not every thing that negatively impacts Xbox is Sony's doing. The Xbox community needs to go to the developer themselves and ask questions. People thought Sony was holding Persona hostage despite not having a deal in place. Now it's finally on Nintendo and Xbox. Same with Kingdom Hearts AFTER Sony's exclusivity window was up. Square are the ones that has to answer these questions.

So, if Sony is the "problem" why is Nintendo getting releases?! I don't think that's it. It is odd.

I believe Forspoken is supposed to be a timed exclusive. Judging by people's reactions to the current demo (and my own), I don't see the game being a blockbuster. It's okay, I suppose. I really need to dive into it a little better, but I am not feeling it. I wouldn't be too fussed about it.

Final Fantasy XVI is also supposed to be a time exclusive. But that could end up being another FF7 Remake scenario.

But, yeah, why Octopath Traveler 2 and the older Final Fantasy games are not coming to Xbox is weird.

I don't see Final Fantasy VII Remake dropping on Xbox until the entire "series" is complete - especially if the Activision Blizzard acquisition goes through. Sony is going to milk that deal as long as possible.

yeah i could care less. i grew out of jrgps and anime long time ago. i am more concerned about MS games.

simple. its $$.

MS wont pay what SE want.

or SE dont make enough from porting to Xbox.

Least we got Crisis Core... I want the remakes and the other FF games to finally come to Xbox, I bought a PS5 just to play them, but the problem is, I hardly play my PS5, despite all the fun games, I'm not motivated enough to play my PS5 enough than I am my xbox series x. It's my main console I prefer.

But the thing is, for whatever reason, I have doubts the FF7 remake or even the up coming chapters will ever make it to Xbox... that's negative, but after the things I've seen that SONY has had under their library, it's hard to imagine it.

One of my favorite games, Terminator: Resistance released on all platforms, but for whatever Reason the DEVS never gave the DLC content to Xbox or even enhanced it for the series consoles which part of me suspects that may be why. ONLY PC and PS got them.

It's the few games like that that tells me SONY has been playing serious hard ball to keep Xbox as Phil Spencer says, small.

@Moonglow I don't disagree, I've played the demo and found the constant chatter with the thing on her harm to be very annoying and the combat buttons being on the triggers is also of putting especially the spells that are pretty much hack and slash, my finger was aching after an hour of that. But don't bash a game just for the sake of it and possibly lie about playing it.

They probably don't sell enough on xbox to justify a release square usually have ridiculous sales expectations for their games.

If you want Bethesda, Rare, or (soon) Activision Blizzard games, you get an Xbox.
If you want Square, Altus (at launch), and JRPGs you get a PlayStation.
If you want Nintendo’s premium first-party titles, you get a Switch.

I understand not everyone can afford multiple consoles but everyone has their strengths and no one console is going to have everything.

@Rangers420 I think this is a huge part of it. Porting games over aren’t always cheap or worth it if, historically, the audience isn’t there.

I feel sorry for the people who voted for extremely important. For at least 6 months now it has been clear that Sony is buying SE, they won't announce it until the Activision deal goes through for obvious reasons. The games listed in this article are just the start. Where is ffviir, tactics ogre, etc. Get used to SE being a Sony company that occasionally makes a nintendo port.

It keeps getting weird with SE, that's for sure. Blaming Sony? Don't think so but I do wonder. Square Enix Collective (Indie) had some good deals with MS IIRC.

@Thumper pretty clear from their comments about playstation on various articles and their reply to me above that they have no interest in playstation games and have not played the demo and are hating on it because its a playstation exclusive.

@Jenkinss so where's triangle strategy, octopath traveler 1, Harvestella, dragon quest treasures, bravely default 2 and live a live? They aren't on playstation but they are on nintendo.

@Sebatrox please show my comment defending it? Please refer to comment #26 😏

Yea the only things holding up a SE acquisition by Sony are:

• the Xbox ABK deal whereby Sony really need to be careful with timing here otherwise they shoot themselves in the foot.
• SE probably not wanting to lose the revenue Nintendo brings in since the Switch is a sales giant. There will probably be some negotiating there and yes the odd release multiplat to Switch at least if necessary. Once they are bought it doesn’t necessarily matter but I assume SE wants to keep that fanbase regardless.

@UltimateOtaku91 They will be after the purchase.

@Sebatrox yes babylons fall is crap well done, same as scorn and crossfire X, high on life and valkyrie elysium both platforms have crap games.

@Jenkinss sony won't buy square enix, doubt they could afford to plus I'm sure Nintendo would rival their bids as they are just as important to them

Sony can't buy companies like Activision/Blizzard because they spend all their money keeping titles off Xbox.

@UltimateOtaku91 it's a done deal, just waiting until the Activision theatre performance is over to announce.

@Sebatrox I understand, both of them get their share of crap games, I've had the ps5 and played some awful games like godfall and destruction all stars and on xbox games like crossfire X and Scorn had the same reception. One thing I will say though is that these bad games on both systems are not made by sony's and xbox's first party studios. It's always third party games that are bad, makes you think why Sony and Microsoft pay for timed exclusivity on them.

In terms of forspoken I think it's not as bad as babylons fall and valkyrie elysium, I've played both them games and they were bland as f**k, even though the demo had problems I had more fun with it than those other two playstation games. I reckon it will score between 75-80 on metacritic making it an average game but not crap.

@Lavalera that's why I wish SquareEnix would just be upfront & say what they expect in return for better Xbox support. As I'm sure 2023 will get the odd release as Diofield Chronicles, Star Ocean & Crisis Core show that they won't ignore the platform specially after announcing there more after international sales.

@UltimateOtaku91 well thats disappointing about Valkyrie Elysium; was tempted by that over the last few weeks. You know if Star Ocean is better? Wish SE had put more effort into these releases.

They released 18 games in 2022 like wtf. Need some quality control.

I have a strange feeling that square enix will be bought by Sony and that they already have a secret deal and if Microsoft can finalize the deal with Activision blizzard they will officially announce that square enix is part of Sony .

@K1LLEGAL Yes star ocean is much better than valkyrie elysium in my opinion, its strange how many games square enix has put out over the last 6 months on various consoles, it's like they wanted these games gone this year and rushed it. Some of them definitely needed more time in development, sometimes it feels like the only games they actually perfect are ones starting with Final, Dragon and Kingdom lol everything else is just a side project they don't care too much about.

@UltimateOtaku91 yea it’s a massive shame. I have picked up Diofield, but haven’t started yet. But these games have some really interesting ideas they just don’t seem to take the time to actually run with them. You’re right it was like they needed to dump all these before end of year. Valkyrie Profile Lenneth just dropped on PS5 too (I guess thats 19 now). Maybe thats a better one to try 🤔.

@K1LLEGAL

Its not like square to make mediocre scoring games in quick succession.

Valkyrie Elysium - 65
Star ocean Divine force - 69
The diofield chronicle - 71
Babylons fall - 41
Harvestella - 73
Dragon quest treasures - 74
Romancing saga remastered - 69
Various day life - 63
Chocobo GP - 63
Stranger of paradise - 72

@UltimateOtaku91 their output is insane. And people think Insomniac and Obsidian never sleep.

Sony pay them alot of money for exclusivity

@Sebatrox funny, all write ups say the demo massively impressed. Altho a demo is just that, an unfinished sample.

@UltimateOtaku91 seen them comment lots on things, 90% of their comments is slating Playstation!! The epitome of a fanboy!! 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Dragon Quest, Seiken Densetsu and some other games like Octopath Traveler and Tactics Ogre are important to me.

The rest is pure Tetsuya Nomura crap.

@Jenkinss

Get used to SE being a Sony company that occasionally makes a nintendo port

I'm sure people will have to get used to it, what else can they do besides buying a PS console?

Here, I have something for you and Sony fans to ponder on: can/will people get used to ABK being part of Microsoft, assuming they get the deal approved? none of this happens in a vacuum you know. Microsoft and Sony will likely gobble up everything that Tencent or Embracer don't, so we will all have to get used to different things.

What's going on is that Square Enix love Sony snd PlayStation, they have an affinity with them.

Let's keep our fingers crossed, but don't expect anything too extravagant from SE on Xbox next year

Aaand the understatement of the year, goes to Mr Gilbert 😁.

I just wish that if Sony is going to keep paying SE to keep their games out of XBox, just buy them and take responsibility for their wins and loses both.

@jordan1992

Maybe they want big sales an they know the best way to get that is with Playstation???

Because we all know the best way to get "big sales" is to not to sell at all to 30%-45% of the market.🙄

@GADG3Tx87

And if it was all Sony's doing then games wouldn't be coming out on Nintendo exclusively too and Nintendo don't pay for exclusives.

This could not be more wrong. It is known that Nintendo does pay for exclusives. Examples of the top of my head: Dragon Quest XI S was a year exclusive deal, and capcom leaks shown also that games like Monster Hunter Ryse are also paid for exclusives.

Honestly I think MS was going to buy Crystal Dynamics and Eidos and when that fell through because of ActiBlizz Square-Enix wants more assurances other projects won’t be abandoned read “money”.

@Tharsman

Because we all know the best way to get "big sales" is to not to sell at all to 30%-45% of the market.🙄

That's what I don't get, the fanboy mindsets of trying to fit square pegs into round holes, right? 😁. Soon they will say Squeenix took Microsoft's money for putting games on Gamepass out of spite..

@K1LLEGAL @UltimateOtaku91 to be fair most of those games aren’t actually made by Square but published. It’s entirely possible they weee “contracted” to have them out by a certain time.

And some of those scores aren’t fair it’s just people not getting certain humor well aka Koei Tecmos Strangers of Paradise.

Various Dailylife was an Apple Arcade game .

@mousieone you’re right - I usually do better to distinguish between published vs developed but for some reason with Square Enix I always get confused. And scores are subjective as usual. These are just as fair as High on Life etc; just comes down to the person reviewing it.

@UltimateOtaku91

One thing I will say though is that these bad games on both systems are not made by sony's and xbox's first party studios.

PlayStation first party:
Killzone: Shadow Fall
Knack
The Order 1886
Knack 2
MediEvil 2019
Destruction AllStars

XBox frist party:
Crackdown 3
Battletoads 2019

Basically, the more games anyone publishes, the higher the chance they publish bad games.

MS bought enough studios. You don't need all of the games.

@Tharsman @Sol4ris it may be 40% of the market, but its how many of those would buy the game. id like to hope both SE and MS have good data on that.

obviously somewhere the numbers dont add up, else the games would be there

If Square Enix keep doing this, just sell themselves to Sony.
If not, they should treat Xbox Players with respect.

They don't announce anything for Xbox, even when there is no exclusivity deal involved (like FF pixel remaster), they just ignore Xbox completely, then complain about bad sales.

I'll not keep buying games from a company who don't support the platform I play.

People who Played Final Fantasy XV and will not be able to Play FF XVI at launch. How can Xbox Players support a company when even new entries in a series aren't guaranteed?!

@Sol4ris Just wondering when you say "you and Sony fans," I've been gaming since Colecovision and the only Sony console I've owned was Playstation 1 from the time FFVII came out and sold it after FFVIII came out. If you think I'm gloating about Sony buying SE you're misreading me entirely. I'm just stating the obvoius. Squeenix flirted with MS for a few years (entire FF catalog on game pass, promise of FFXIV on Xbox, etc) so Sony put a ring on it. It is what it is. If for some reason anyone thinks I don't game on Xbox, my gamertag is the same as my name here, look me up and we can chat any time. I'm not cheering the fact that Sony is buying Squeenix any more than the fact that they bought Bungie or Insomniac, it's just obvious, you accept it and move on. I'll buy the occasional game like Octopath 2 on Switch, I believe Sony will continue a more multiplatform strategy (that excludes xbox) going forward now that they've broken the seal with PC.

It used to bother me but I think the quality of their games has gone way down hill. I would like octo 2 and a few others, not gonna lie

We're talking about the publisher that liquidated 70% of their studios for the price of a medium business, and staggers their series across different consoles, while always expecting sales that nobody could ever expect are possible, yet are always surprised at the failure to meet expectations.

And we're trying to think logically about why this company does what it does?

@UltimateOtaku91" perfect are ones starting with Final, Dragon and Kingdom"

They released DQXI on PS and 3DS and not Switch even though they announced Switch first. And didn't bother including most of the Japanese audio, before "fixing" it by releasing the corrected game with a large visual downgrade, as a totally new game on PS, then added Xbox.

Kingdom Hearts.....is a mess of games with a mess of a story, staggered across a mess of consoles until recently, and the latest game is.....well.....

And Final.......I mean.....have you played them in the last 15 years? Or did I mean to say the last one released over 15 years?

Your idea of "perfect" is the same as Todd Howard's

@Jenkinss @mousieone @K1LLEGAL @UltimateOtaku91 I don't think Sony is buying Square. That's fanboy nonsense that doesn't make financial sense for either company. Sony's getting the milk, they don't need to buy the cow, the grazing lands, and the vet bills. They have a system worked out. They use their market dominance and a small tithe to secure the most important titles from Square. They get most of the financial and market benefit from Square's value, with very little expense and zero risk. There's no incentive to buy unless they buy for the mobile assets. And Sony's Western focus means that Square would have had more value with the western studios in tact. Buying the Japanese-only studios nets them very little of value to their overall direction and strategy that a few paid for exclusives to secure J-content console buyers continued business.

This weird push to rush out games, seems, to me, to tie into their sudden rush to sell more than half their studios at an extremely low price for unimaginable reasons (reasons that likely involve bundling immense debt into it and offloading it) and the intention to funnel all that money into NFTs ,which they then had to backpeddle. I think there's financial issues going on there in general, but I also don't think Sony gets any value out of buying it that they don't already get for less. If S-E ends up for sale, either it's a fire sale and Sony just buys the IP and axes most of the studios, or it sells to someone else, but I'm not convinced they're for sale at all. I just think they have a cozy setup of washing each other's backs, with an eye toward blackmailing MS for big payouts which isn't working well.

@Tharsman Are you dissing my Knack? Nobody disses my Knack!

@eduscxbox To be fair, Nintendo fans were livid when Square omitted Switch with the original mobile-only pixel remasters....Square really makes no sense and offends everyone. Kingdom hearts series was half Sony exclusive and half Nintendo exclusive until the bundle a few years back. They play games with their fans and their IPs and always have. They're frankly, a nastier publisher than EA.

pretty sure square will skip xbox next year. many games announced and none of them are on xbox

@NEStalgia Brother, why do you think they liquidated all those developers? It's crazy to me that people don't understand what's happening here. They're only getting the milk since they've agreed to being bought, everything for the past year has been in preparation. Do you not remember the amount of flirting with Squeenix and Xbox in 2019? Every FF on Gamepass? FFXIV coming to Xbox? Octopath Traveler launching on Xbox day 1 on game pass? FFVIIR exclusivity expiration date RIGHT ON THE BOX.

What has happened since then? Every final fantasy game uncermoniously delisted from game pass. No word of FFXIV. Ocotpath Traveler 2 not coming to Xbox. FFVIIR seemingly not coming to Xbox. Tactics Ogre not coming to Xbox. The list goes on. The very first sentence of your post, Squeenix sold off their entire western development divison. Why? It's an obvious move to slim down to sell to Sony.

You're acting like they were getting the milk for free forever. 2019 was a very short time ago. All it took was a little flirting with Phil. Now they're engaged, they just can't announce it for extremely obvious reasons. By the end of 2023 it will be official.

@Tharsman AAA Playstation exclusive sales, 20+ mill.
Xbox AAA exclusive sales, 4+ mill.

@Sebatrox yeah, maybe!! 😂😂😂😂

Crisis Core only got like 6% of sales on xbox for a bigger known title, i think Diofield and Star Oceans were in the 600s in top paid games. Probably just not much of a reason or financial profit to put on xbox without upfront revenue guarantees from xbox

Sony, the company that desperately worries about the availability of games on all platforms, is behind these games being published on all platforms (including Switch!) but Xbox.

Remember, guys, Xbox is a Windows console, change a few lines of code and you get the Xbox version. If there's a Windows version and there isn't an Xbox version, the culprit is Sony that is giving $$$ to Square Enix to boycott Xbox.

@jordan1992 Some first party exclusives do. A game does not sell 20+ mill on PS exclusively just because they are exclusive. Even square games end up selling a decent chunk of their units on PC and XBox.

I mean, look at Street Fighter V, PS4 exclusivity almost killed the IP.

@Jenkinss

What has happened since then? Every final fantasy game uncermoniously delisted from game pass.

I do think there is some smoke in the air about SE wanting to sell (or maybe partially sell) but this one bit is not it. Games go to Game Pass for blocks of time, depending on the game it might be 6 months, 12 months, and the like. Final Fantasy games on Game Pass simply came to the end of their deal and the deals were not renewed. Occurs every single month.

On the topic of SqureEnix selling (not direct reply to anyone) I am thinking after the Eidos sale, there is a high chance that Square Enix does not sell itself as a whole, and instead sells individual studios. Like, they might sell the legacy Square side of business and continue to operate as Enix (retaining Dragon Quest, and anything else they want to retain.)

@Tharsman exclusives made by Sony devs sell that many because they’re on another level. The Last of Us 1 an 2, Uncharted 4, God of War, God of War Ragnarok, Spiderman, Miles, Ghost of Tsushima, etc. This is why exclusives don’t come to PS+ day 1 like Xbox games, it would cost Sony far too much. I do love some Xbox games, play Forza Horizon a lot but it’s a fact Sony devs are the masters at makin games.

@Tharsman Isolating that one point of data (or any one point of data) is not the way to see what is happening here. You can handwave any one of these points individually. I undestand how game pass operates. Go back and watch the fanfaire at X019. It was to be the start of something bigger. That relationship is dead, metaphorically overnight.

@jordan1992 I would say Forza 4 >>>>>>> GT7, a place where the comparioson is more oranges to oranges, but that's another topic.

It's also an entirely different topic talking about 1st party made games, since your reply implied that FF would simply somehow sell more copies by going exclusive to PS5, something that makes zero sense.

@Jenkinss The only reason that Game Pass deal happened was not because of some friendly relationship, but because money exchanged hands. SquareEnix isn't friendly to anyone, they just sell themselves out to the highest briber. Its how they operate. No one seemed to care about bribing FF7 Crisis Core exclusivity, so everyone gets it.

But the Game Pass thing was just that, a deal that expired. I would not be shocked if they sell off, at all, but the GP thing was not a hint at that.

@jordan1992 That's very subjective and, obviously, the perception of a Sony fan. I got a PS4 before an Xbox One and still I found Sony's exclusives linear and boring, except IPs that have been killed like Wipeout. Besides, the gameplay is usually mediocre, Uncharted comes to mind. Tomb Raider is better. Horizon Zero is worse than any Ubisoft game I've played. I could go on... On the other hand, Xbox games are fun: Halo, Gears of War, Forza Horizon, Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2 Juggernaut Edition, Sunset Overdrive, Grounded, Ori, Rare Replay... Just to make you see that not everybody shares your opinion about Sony > Microsoft, although the topic is Square Enix. In any case, most hits are third-party on PS and Xbox. PS exclusives are not what sold so many PS4s but rather how much Microsoft and Nintendo messed up in the beginning of the last generation (Xbox One with Kinect and Wii U).

@NEStalgia I don’t think Sony is buying Square. I do think before it was sold to Embracer MS was trying to get Eidos and Crystal D. Hence both of them working on MS projects. However due to AB happening they backed out and Square wants money to ensure they don’t back out for other deals kind of thing. I don’t think it had anything to do with Sony well minus FF exclusivity deals but that’s different.

One hilarious part about the discussion is fan waffling. In this thread it's all about how nothing sells on Xbox, it's so dead last it doesn't matter, all the business is on PS and there's no other viable platform for poor Square.

On any thread about the ABK buyout it's all about how MS is building a monopoly and poor PS just can't compete against MS's deep wallets.

@Jenkinss People keep saying that on the internet, but, the problem is, what does Sony GET if they buy Square Enix now? A bunch of Japanese studios they don't care much about that make games they don't care much about, and a bunch of IP they don't really care much about which is significant in a portion of the market....they don't really care much about. Located far from their other development groups making it as difficult as the now-closed Japan Studio to work with as a support studio, as well. They keep FF, DQ, maybe KH tied on a leash, it's worth the money to buy out that small portion of Xbox sales, for cheap without paying for the game development (and square's unending squandering of money) to do it. Square will never stop giving them that option as long as they're willing to pay for it. And MS is unlikely to overbid on those properties because it doesn't really net them a broad market. Sony gets next to nothing of value to their core strategy out of that deal except Square's fairly successful mobile business. Sony would have been MUCH MUCH more interested in spending 300m to buy the WESTERN studios of square, than buying the Japanese studios save for their exclusivity deals on key franchises. But they didn't even bid, it just went to Embracer, unceremoniously.

You make good points, and they've been brought up before, but I think there's just a lot of fanboy motivation to see the shape in the stars they want to see (or fear seeing). But in a BUSINESS sense, there's really next to nothing Sony gets from the deal of value to their actual strategy.

Square sold off their western division. The argument has been that it was to slim down the company, shed debt, and shape it for a buyout by Sony. Except Sony has the least interest in Japanese studios, their future is big western blockbusters, online services (which Square has repeatedly and demonstrably failed completely at), and western development. And other than a few key exclusives, Square isn't that significant to Sony's current business. For online forum stalking PS fanboys, PS is all about FF and back in the day JRPGs making PS great. But that's legacy PS, and the old fans aren't the market, and DEFINITELY aren't where the money is. FF is worth it is a cornerstone token to retain that group, but they're not going to invest heavily in what's relatively niche content buy buying Square, which doesn't move the volume in the market they need.

We'll put it this way: If Sony did actually buy Square, Jim Ryan is far less business savvy than I thought and is purely in a reactionary state. Companies that WOULD make sense for Sony's strategy that might be for sale could be EA, 2K, Ubisoft, etc. At the end of the day, after selling the western studios, Square is nothing but a Japan-based weeb publisher, and that's not a market that meshes with Sony's strategy and goals. Fans keep putting an image of the PS brand that was true decades ago in front of them and applying it today, and FF exclusivity deals keep reinforcing the image, even though it's really just FF exclusivity deals. They pay tithe to retain the market, but they're not going to start massive investment into a market that's ultimately a niche of their total customer base. If they need something to compete better against MS in that space, they need a different, western purchase. They don't intend to slip back into a Japanese niche as their primary business. It doesn't make financial sense, and Sony's ego wouldn't allow it even if it did.

Stranger things have happened. Maybe Jim's had a few too many drinks and reality slipped him and he thinks this makes sense, or maybe Sony Corp has an interest in buying it just for the IP primarily for the film and merchandising rights and mobile business, screw the games. But despite FF having some PS importance and exclusivity, and despite Sony's past control over Square, and despite the relative popularity of FF, at the end of the day, Sony has demonstrated Japanese studios aren't a priority to them, sales demonstrate it's not a major growth market for them, and tying up substantial liquid assets in a purchase that's essentially a side business focused on a niche of their existing market with low future growth expectations, while their competitor is buying up assets in their key growth areas, just doesn't make any business sense at all. Jim may suck for customers, but I think he's good at business....which is why he sucks for customers.

As for Square's angle, Square's more of an escort service than a wedding candidate. And they sold off the part Sony would benefit the most from for peanuts, very possibly to dispose of debt, to actually solidify their liquidity, making the Japanese assets actually less favorable to buy. The problem with the Western studios is that, those assets would be immensely valuable to Sony, and that price was a steal. But they lost money instead of making money because Square never knew how to manage them at all. To sell all that for $300m, they must have bundled some mega-debt into that deal. If they returned to a positive balance, a buyout is actually less favorable.

@mousieone That theory does hold a lot of weight IMO.

@NEStalgia man i love your detailed replies but could do with a small recap at the end. so much to take in!

@SplooshDmg Go back to Push, Pony! I see you created an account just now just to defend Knack! We can tell your kind!

Seriously....holy heck you're alive! You seriously have to stop making me look like I'm talking to myself by deleting your profile and vanishing I tagged you in something last month and noticed it didn't highlight it and I was thinking....he didn't..... and then checked....and you did...

@Tharsman Why did Phil say FFXIV was coming to Xbox? How much money changed hands for him to say that? Or was that, you know, based on the relationship they were clearly building at that time which has now completely evaporated?

@stvevan Haha, thanks, and, it's true....often I don't even realize how long what I typed is until I post it and it tells me it's too long

@NEStalgia This is a legitimate question and not a gotcha because I might not be understanding all the points you're trying to make fully. What did Sony get by buying Insomniac, that they aren't getting by buying Squeenix? A higher percentage of Insomniac's output was Playstation exclusive. Supposedly Sony wants to push into live service games. Would the developer of one of the most successful subscription MMORPGs in the world not fit that bill?

I also don't think people understand exactly how cheap Squeenix will be to purchase for Sony. It's a 5 billion dollar company. It's going to sell in the ballpark of Bethesda, not Activision. It's sort of a no brainer to be honest (and I'm beyond confident it's a done deal, we'll all know in a year).

@NEStalgia he’s back?

I believe sony will eventually buy a big portion of SE if not the whole thing so all of this will probably eventually be put to bed.

@Sol4ris People should have been used to it square has been making playstation exclusive games since the 90s, was this community born yesterday or something 😂

@Jenkinss Insomniac the developer whose output double Square in a good year. Insomniac who’s know for making games that appeal to a wider global market? Insomniac who is only one studio and not manga publisher/game publisher as well?

Listen yes they’ve made FF14 but that’s not the live service model people want and Square Enix has yet to produce that kind of game. And infact minus FF most of their other properties do better in Nintendo systems. Unless I imagined the recent Triangle news

While we are at this DQ is not wholly owned by Square Enix and neither is Kingdom hearts. Which really only leaves one big globally franchise that is popular on PlayStation. Square has already gone on record they’re rather allow people to buy into their IPs. So why would Sony just not purchase FF and leave everything they don’t want?

@NEStalgia

My man, your posts are so elaborate and well made that PureXbox should actually pay you for them. I greatly enjoyed reading them regardless of topic. Kudos to you 👏😁.

everybody knows Sony and Square Enix are going to bed with each other.

@Doublecell

Sure they did. And Bethesda has arguably more (established) history with Microsoft platforms than with Sony. That off course does not make Xbox exclusivity on (future) Bethesda games an easier pill to swallow, right?

Lest we forget that Sony does not even own Squeenix, yet their announced next year lineup completely skips Xbox. That is what grinds people's gears the most.

@Sol4ris

SE skipping Xbox isnt Sony's fault.(bar some exclusive)

its a business decision at MS ultimately.

(if it was Sony, Phil would be shouting it from the rooftop)

@SplooshDmg it is you o.o quick @NEStalgia get the cage, get the cage.

@Sol4ris Sony and square go as for back to 1994. Both companies are on record saying that if it had not been for their partnership neither might exist today. Another thing xbox fans need to understand is just because a company is 3rd party doesn't mean they can't do business exclusively with another company there is no law against it.

@SplooshDmg @NEStalgia you runaway if we don’t put you in the cage 😓

@Sol4ris Thanks!!

@Jenkinss With Insomniac, Sony got a large, multi-project capable studio within their geographical operating space that they had decades of experience working within the Sony pipeline as a 1st party content producer, of their existing 1st party products. They also probably had in mind a need for that capacity to produce their Marvel content and rather than shopping externally, already knew Insomniac would be a good fit for that (and they were, even if I personally hate that they got turned into the marvel factory.) A studio that made the content that sits solidly in their target growth market, located in their main production geography.

With Square, theyd get.....a producer of "popular but niche" Japanese games with troubled dev teams that can't manage budgets well, are used to doing things "their" way, not some outside company's, are a poor fit for producing the kind of content they want to target in their main growth areas, and are geographically in an area where they already closed studios due to not working as well with their overall pipeline, for a lot of money, when they already get the benefit of the most valuable part by paying a fee. With Insomniac's 1st party exclusive games, they were already paying for the development of Resistance, R&C etc. Buying the company made sense. With Square, they're not paying the excessive budget to make FF, Square is, Sony just works out payment/royalty terms to get the key benefit of it. Sony doesn't gain that much by owning the brand vs what they get with timed exclusives, even if it really is just timed.

As far as live service games go, Square has a massive track record of colossal failures in the online services arena, the latest, with their western Avengers game (sold to Embracer, but lead by Square's poor decisions.) That's not the company you buy if you want to improve your service game. Bungie was overpriced but a good buy for that goal. Yes, they have FFXIV, yes it's big, but MMO's and "live service games" tend to be very separate things, despite an MMO being a live service, and XIV was a colossal failure at launch and had to be remade entirely. They turned it around, but it's still not really a poster child of know-how....even if they did right the ship. Subscription MMORPG itself remains a tight niche compared to the live service model they're talking about (battle passes, currency, GTAV:O style.) It's a very different design structure, and Sony's looking to get a foothold into the latter, not the former. They have no real current content in that genre, lots of failure trying, and really offer nothing there.

Square may be $5b, but that's 5b tied up in a stagnant market they already lead. It doesn't help them grow where they want to grow. It's a doable acquisition but not a strategic one. Acquisitions are usually to secure footholds in the direction a company wants to go, not to simply control more of markets they already lead, which are minor markets. Like with ABK, the King part, most of Squares real revenue comes from mobile. Acquiring them to expand their foothold in moble is possible, and that's really the only realistic gain they would get from it. Sony has no interest or benefit from most of the content Square produces and they really woudn't see major gains. Were they to acquire it, they would certainly downsize and consolidate it into development support groups for other studios (a very inconvenient and remote one), plus the tentpole studios for cranking out FF/DQ/KH. But then they would be absorbing total development costs of those properties, for very little actual return they don't already get. A net increase in operating expense for only modest increase in return. They could easily lose money that way. Right now they get 30+ % off all FF 7 sales without paying a dime for it other than whatever the terms are for exclusivity, shared marketing, whatever. Would they buy the whole publisher just to own the IPs? Maybe. But does owning the FF/DQ names help their strategic goal of expanding into the live service arena and the global market? Not really. Arguably the player base for those games mostly moved to PC anyway. That's money they could spend on something horizontal rather than vertical. MS is in a different position where verticality is beneficial, largely due to their subscription push and focus on wholesale pricing.

@mousieone What do we use for bait? He wont get in the cage without the right bait.

@SplooshDmg LOL, I did NOT think I'd see you both outside the cage, AND owning a PS5 (again)

@NEStalgia I disagree with nearly every word you just said (from the popularity of squeenix games to FFXIV not being the poster child for the genre and everything in between), I'm not going to get into the weeds too much (your ability to posts walls of text is commendable) but we'll know who is right in just a year. Good day!

@mousieone "that’s not the live service model people want"

They'd much rather every single player spend $15 a month than just the ones they can sell battle passes to. EVERYONE wishes they had FFXIV's live service model, they just can't have it.

@Jenkinss um no because more games would still be sub based. Clearly Battles passes and cosmetics are way more money. Fall Guys, Genshin, and Fortnite charge monthly fees they don’t because they make more on their current system.

@SplooshDmg I getcha Nes has a whole conversation with your ghost

@Tharsman more people own PS5 than Series X/S so makes sense.

@Banjo- @Banjo- i honestly can’t believe anyone who says wat you say about the games you mentioned. State of Decay is good, a similar PS game is The Last of Us. Not even close!!! Tomb Raider games are good, i prefer Unchartered but i won’t argue if someone prefers Tomb Raider. Assasin’s creed an Far Cry are good, nowhere near Horizon. Gears is good but each one simply improves the graphics, the story doesn’t really advance, if it was a series it’d be pretty boring, just full of killing an gore. Then there’s God of War an GoWR, Ghost of Tsushima. Ya can say it’s subjective of coarse but millions and millions agree with me. Forza Horizon an GT i really can’t split them, love them both. They are so different tho. Forza H 4 an 5 are more like Dirt 5. Another great game but it’s very much a smash em up. Forza Motorsport seems to be Xbox competition to GT an i do prefer GT in that instance. I’m hoping the new one can match or beat GT7.

@SplooshDmg pfft one Nes post is as long as a 150 regular comments

@SplooshDmg yup he’s going for a doctorate Now.

@SplooshDmg I wish I could heart something multiple times.

@mousieone @SplooshDmg LOL!

@Jenkinss I didn't say FF isn't the western poster child of the genre. Rather the genre is itself a niche that represents Playstation's past, not their very very Western, mtx driven future. It was their past when Japan itself was the #2 video game market to the US. It no longer is. It's popular for what it is. But what it isn't is as popular as the big western online games. And not a strategic asset in any way for Sony. Unless, again it's just about getting the mobile foothold at any cost.

Re saying companies would rather charge a $15/MO subscription than sell battle passes? Have you seen the financials on mtx driven games? The entire mobile market for that matter? The $20 cat ears for Halo?? The casino that is FUT? No-no, mmorpgs are peanuts. The real money is the mtx driven model. That's why Sony is shifting so hard into it. It's why Rockstar shut down every project to focus only on GTA. It's why Activision funnels every brand into nothing but supporting CoD. It's why the most profitable games in the industry are "free". Its designed like casinos to exploit human weaknesses to encourage continuous spending.

NOBODY wants XIVs model, they want Fortnite , FIFA, and CoD's.

@SplooshDmg You haven't played Gravity Rush 2 the single best Sony game ever made yet? Why do you hate happiness?

All the ppl saying it's cause of the relationship with sony . Ha no it's not it's money plain and simple, Sony pay square to have games excluded from Xbox platform

@jordan1992 Basic math:
PS5: 28.26m
X|S: 20.26m
Together: 48.52m
PS5 < (PS5 + X|S)

If somehow for you [PS5 > (PS5 + X|S)] then there is no sensible conversation to be held among us.

@Doublecell

Another thing xbox fans need to understand is just because a company is 3rd party doesn't mean they can't do business exclusively with another company there is no law against it

Oh, Xbox fans understand well enough that third-party companies have a right to do business exclusively with Sony for a s**t loads of money. Hence why is not them that they are terribly upset that Microsoft went on a buying spree. Yes, Sony chose to money-hat Squeenix and Microsoft decided to just buy up entire publishers. In the end gamers that are not multi-console will have to loose out... that's my point.

@NEStalgia @SplooshDmg and it begins

@Sol4ris I could careless about Activision or call of duty and I have no problem with xbox buying them as far as I care about those games. I also have no problem with sony trying to stop the acquisition begin that cod has been a big source of revenue for them for years.

The problem I have with Microsoft is they're are trying to take short cuts by monopolizing gaming. Instead they should be helping their studios actually released games that way.

I used to like square enix until recently. I really liked their ff games. Really like final fantasy 7 remake. The only game I care about from square enix is final fantasy 7 remake. I'd also play 8, 9, 12 if they remake those. And 10 too, I didn't get to finish it on my Vita. It broke . I never played 8, 9 and 12 tho.

@Doublecell okay if I’m following you, Sony buying exclusivity is fine, but MS buying a studio is bad. How would you feel if MS instead bought exclusivity for COD only on Xbox with the 70 billion and not the publisher. Would that be better? You wouldn’t be angry then? Or is because it’s MS and you don’t like them? I’m kinda thinking it’s the latter here.

Even though @Sol4ris and I don’t always agree they always remind consistent in their arguments. Yours are bias and don’t make sense.

Why is Crisis Core on Xbox but nothing else is? FFVIIR is prolly never coming so why even bother with crisis core port? Does Crisis core have any chance at selling higher than other titles by SE?

What makes zero sense at all is the pixel remaster skipping Xbox digital store all together when it’s coming to EVERYTHING else. PC, Mobile, Sony, Nintendo. Why are other games like tactics ogre battle being outright skipped but coming to everything else? The relationship with SE seems to have changed over the past year and it’s only with Xbox, nothing else. At the same time SE has gotten a lot lot closer to Sony. If anything Sony prolly asked SE to keep most of their games off Xbox platforms and ride on them 100%

@Ashadelo It's bizarre for sure. What publisher just skips a major platform? Whether Sony pays them or they have a tiff with Microsoft not paying them, it's a weird behavior for any publisher. Xbox put more games on playstation this year than square put on Xbox. Square isn't a likable company for sure. Very clandestine, using customers as leverage for deals. More like A Japanese Black Company than a legit one. I'm sure that's a big reason Microsoft worked out persona with Sega. A giant middle finger to squares antics proving they can work around them.

@SplooshDmg Really? I thought the best Sony game was Call of Duty... Jim keeps saying so... . I'll take that breakfast cereal though. It has mushrooms, right?

@SplooshDmg That was a misunderstanding from the original reveal. It doesn't actually make milk taste like scotch. Jim clarified it later, the milk is for the cats, the cereal he just pours over a bowl of scotch every morning.

@mousieone what's the difference between single games and a publisher ?

@SplooshDmg But don't subscribe to the cereal of the month. He says it's not good, the Halo Gearza Scrolls cereal of the month subscription is so much better and the God of Tsushima of Us subscription can't compete with it. And he says the cereal also isn't any good either. In fact the other cereal really is the only one that matters and shouldn't be allowed to add marshmallows making it impossible to sell (the only cereal with) marshmallows if they do. Oh but they have exclusive access to chocolate pieces, but that's different.

@mousieone I've already said I could careless about call of duty I even said I have no problem with Ms buy studios.

What I have a problem with is them trying to monopolize gaming because Activision is not just a studio they're a billion dollar publisher.

That's worst then sony locking down a franchise That's been synonymous with playstation since the 90s.

Plus I think you forgot at one point xbox did lock up call of duty 2 exclusively the whole damn game. Sony has never done that to my knowledge they've only ever had exclusive skins, earl6 beta access etc.

@Doublecell you didn’t really answer my question so if MS used the 70 billion to instead lock down semi exclusive content would that make you happy?

@SplooshDmg @NEStalgia I blink and there’s mores comments.

@CutchuSlow 8&9 are fantastic! I'd definitely recommend going back if you can! Specially 9, such a classic underrated game.

A company who's games I've rarely bought.

@Tharsman that’s not really a fair comparison tho. PS5 was nigh on impossible to buy for over 18 month. Series S have been in stores widely for well over a year, Series X have been readily available for months. PS5 ya still even now have to look around an drop on. That gap will increase over the next 12-36 months. Look at PS4/Xbox One sales.
I wasn’t being serious with my original comment, i’m a bit of a wind up merchant!! I do the same thing on Push Square sometimes but i always get funnier responses an more abuse on here. 😂😂
You’ve gave totally reasonable responses mind so fair play.

Sony own a large percentage of Square Enix so will always get preferential treatment. Xbox still massively lags in Japan and that also remains a core market for SE.

The last time Japanese devs went all-in on Xbox with JRPGs (Blue Dragon, Vesperia etc on 360) they got burned.

Got a PS5 as well as Xbox. Voted don't care.

Most enthusiast gamers will have both so it's just the visible vocal minority fan boys who'll make a thing of it.

@UltimateOtaku91 if SquareEnix follow the same release strategy as they did with Dragon Quest 11, Octapath Traveler & a few older Final Fantasy games. They all released two years after they were originally released so we may see Bravely Default 2 & wishful thinking Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade.

@Rmg0731 does that include digital sales though? I got Crisis Core to show support but I understood exactly why many Xbox fans didn't. As many didn't see the point if they weren't going to get the rest of the FF7 remakes. So I'd expect a boost in sales years later if we get the trilogy. As for Diofield & Star Ocean again I purchased but it's not what Xbox fans have been asking for & I'm sure sales reflect that. But it's a catch 22.

@mousieone It would be fine because they've already done it in the past i.e call of duty 2, mass effect, tomb raider.

@Sebatrox wow that’s huge. Completely expected of course, but huge.

***** that even if Xbox fans did vote with their wallet and go out and buy SE games on Xbox; it would have no impact because Uncle Sony decided we shouldn’t have access to those games.

@Doublecell didn’t Call of Duty 2 come out as a launch Xbox 360 title… so before the PS3 came out. That’s not really Microsoft’s fault (or even Activisions) if the console isn’t even out to release on. Same with Dead Rising and Elder Scrolls IV and other big late 2005/2006 releases.

@GADG3Tx87 SquareEnix may not like Games Pass. But like other Japanese firms Namco Bandai, Sega & Capcom have bet that putting games that may not sell great on Games Pass might get more on the screen of gamers who may then buy them or later additions growing adoption on Xbox.

@jordan1992 In the US, the Series X is far from readily available. I understand the UK is in a different situation, UK and Europe have always been PS turf.

@RadioHedgeFund

Sony own a large percentage of Square Enix so will always get preferential treatment.

They don't, they sold that stake in 2014 when they were struggling to stay afloat (Sony as a whole, not PlayStation itself), SE was not doing great either, PS4 was new and still were recovering from the terrible PS3 generation.

@GunValkyrian @Sebatrox I wonder whether it's just Xbox or Nintendo as well. A more powerful Switch existing would be an eye opener for Sony's exclusivity plans in general. With Square Enix, nowadays the only games that don't come to Switch are the ones that wouldn't be able to run natively on the Switch anyway.

Sony only locks down the AAA stuff from S-E (FFXVI, FFVII Rebirth, and Forspoken currently). As for the smaller stuff (Octopath 2, Front Mission 2 + 3 remakes, FF Pixel Remasters, etc.), I'm willing to bet S-E doesn't bother with Xbox ports unless they can secure Game Pass distribution deals from Microsoft.

It was weird not seeing Octopath 2 be announced for release on Series S/X when the last one was ported to GP and Xbox, for sure. If I had to guess, engagement numbers for it probably weren't great when it went to GP. and Microsoft likely didn't bother offering a similar deal for the sequel. Would also explain why Triangle Strategy was a no-show for the platform.

Microsoft can push for having more JRPGs on the platform, but if people aren't playing them on GP, there's no incentive for them to pay out for future entries or similar games from the same publishers. You see this in reverse when engagement is high with the Yakuza games, for example, where Microsoft is clearly intent on keeping the series available on the service long-term.

who cares, Squares a dead duck. I love me some FF but the market for those games keeps shrinking and locking it to PS5 isn't doing FF or Square any favors long term.

they released upwards of over 20+ games this year and they barely made a blip on most peoples radar. And with Square begging for money a few months ago (GP money!), too bad MS isn't going to overpay. Square just sold there most talented studios for peanuts because they're broke!

So as an xbox fan I could care less. Karma is a bitch for Square! lets see how far Sony will go to the line for Square!

@Ralizah octopath is the only really weird one. Classic square to split a game and sequel as each appearing on once console and not the other, so Xbox players can't play the sequel, and PS players can't play the original. That's so square!

FWIW, I think a lot of these older games are released on PS, mainly for PS4, not for PS5. There's a large install base on that platform that aligns more with Switch type retro play, and I suspect the PS5 base for that is no better than Xbox's. It's just that Xbox has no large prior gen market, and PS does. It'll be interesting to see 10 years from now when there's a billion XSS's out there for budget gamers vs the pricy PS5s if that reverses and retro remaster stuff is more prone to target XB.

Though I still think MS going after Atlus games with such gusto was in part due to Square's antics. Still wonder if they'll try to bring Falcom aboard. Falcom seems willing to branch out and get their games out there wherever they can these days, and stepping in to help with porting is an area MS can engage. Wouldn't sell that well, but it would resonate with the niche. And maybe I could finally have all the games on one platform without them gimping something on the platform, lol.

@Grumblevolcano A powerful Switch 2 would definitely upend a lot of that synergy. Although, again, Sony holds onto what Japanese market it has with it's token FF purchases and the like, but I don't see them making any major investments into that market to grow or retain it. Mostly we've seen them back away from almost everything Japan. And what games they are behind (16, Forespoken) seem to be....remarkably westernized to the point it's barely even a Japanese game anymore.

@gogolpoe I'm not sure the japanese games market is shrinking, it just remains consistently small compared to big western blockbusters and social games. Square has continuously harmed FF though with poor releases, poor planning, and this bent whether their own or at Sony's insistence on taking FF and trying to turn it into a western blockbuster that's not quite that. FF should be FF, and appeal to the niche of FF. Turning it into some weird Platinum game and then trying to chase CoD numbers with it is the same mistake Square and Capcom made during the PS360 brown shooter era....ALSO trying to chase CoD money, and almost bankrupting themselves in the process.

Other Japanese developers are just more self-aware of their market size and budget accordingly. Square just writes a check for whatever the latest western blockbuster is and assumes they'll make the same return. And when they did have western blockbusters of their own, they released and marketed them poorly....

@jordan1992 ....so, excluding an entire platform equals MORE sales? Does that sound right to you?

@theGoodChap " But so does Xbox for poaching two of the four major AAA western publishers (obviously one is still in limbo, but possible if not probable it will be approved)."

I don't agree on that, MS is essentially keeping a ton of ABK/Bethesda alive for content alone. otherwise a lot of those content creators would be out the door looking for work. MS isn't doing anything special, they're just adapting.

If there's any 'blame' to go around its the gamers! If people didn't spend so much on mtx and gambling... i doubt we would be here discussing the ABK deal or Square Enix getting more and more irrelevant.

Also, @NEStalgia I do think the market for FF games has shrunk (guesstimate) despite the success of FFXIV... I do think alot of Squares issues are just bad timing, cause when i think of the games they released alot of them seemed aligned with current trends or trying to predict where the market would go, but always seemed dated. And Squares issues can be said even with Ubisoft which I think has had extremely high quality for over a decade. though the issue being more super expensive games dont sell enough anymore, which can also be said for Sony exclusives now too!

@jordan1992 the PS5 is now available in stock and is being restocked before out of stock. Here in the UK, at least. If you go to Amazon or playstation direct, you'll see that it's available for purchase. Amazon has it bundled with god of war tho.

@theGoodChap yeah I agree there should still be a strong 3rd party presence in the market, and there will be! I'm an old dude who has seen some great publishers i loved die and get bought out and dissapear... some like Microprose and Origin were standards of the PC gaming industry, but it just couldnt keep up. Theres very viable AA publishers/studios right now that are doing well, but it does hang alot on just a few companies funding them... ie Sony/MS.

Ultimately I dont think MS wants Sony to leave the space, they are too good at what they do to not be of value (I still think Sony has a ton of expertise in managing multi studio development)... but MS is now willing to foot the bill for alot of devs to keep the subscription model working.. Gamepass as good as it is... its still not a done deal... that it can reach netflix heights is still a bit of a risk to sell it to the whole world. which is why i think this deal is far from anti-trust territory.

Since Square Enix doesn't won't my money for future titles, they won't get my money for previous titles released as well.

@CutchuSlow i already said this. Depends where ya live like ya say. It’s still harder to get than the Series console on the whole an Series S has been readily available over 18 month.

@CutchuSlow and in Amazon it is only available from 3rd party sellers an won’t be available until January 5th.

@armondo36 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😂😂😂😂😂😂

SquareEnix has a habit of releasing games on Xbox 2 years after originally releasing. So games hitting the mark are:
Bravely Default 2.
NEO: The World Ends With You.
SaGa Frontier.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade.

@Tharsman That I did not know. Still, the companies do have a good working relationship.

70B is no pocket change but PS only fans are downplaying Sony's dealings with 3rd party exclusives too much. I think they pushed MS in purchasing publishers. Before Zenimax happened we know Sony was already scooping up 3 Bethesda titles.
Nintendo & Sony are here to stay and MS is trying to get closer since they said they were all in. They already invested big but they are still not close to Sony/Nintendo overall. MS probably believes in those investements but at the end "that plan" can fail, still. + They all invest in making TV shows & Movies (related to games)
You can purchase a big publisher but to make it work in making new or existing IP's is still going to be a challenge (and long term) + future wise, the mobile division from ABK is the biggest asset for MS, I think.
Let's not forget, there's also the likes of (big tech = only getting bigger) Tencent, Embracer Group, Amazon, Meta (VR space), ... + even Apple (estimated App revenue from gaming in 2020 was $13.5B) & Netflix are investing in games!
A lot of gamers benefit of GP, not having the budget for buying heaps of games.

• maybe SE needs Sony too much too since they had some failed releases (Avengers, Balan Wonderworld, Babylon's Fall, NFT business, ...)

@stvevan i honestly dont think its a money thing. Honestly microsoft is happy to throw $69 billion too aquire publishers, games and such so i can't in all honestly believe microsoft wouldnt be willing to throw a few hundred million at square enix. There could be a relationship issue as playstation is the number 1 console and square probably tends to lean towards playstation as a priority platform nowadays. Its not like they havnt released on xbox though or even gamepass. Outriders, octopath traveller, ff7 crisis core, star ocean for example. It could be just down too a poor relationship between a asian company and an american one.

square enix abandoned xbox in 2023... confirmed now...