Square Enix had some interesting things to say this week related to picking up developers in a move to grow along with the other big publishers. I thought that was somewhat predictable but what’s more important is that Japan is finally starting to acknowledge that the world has overtaken them in most areas. Technology, innovation, and great ideas are now coming from western developers and it’s been going that way for a long time. That’s the only option.
Nintendo and Sony have yet to really come close to getting a real online structure in place. Not only did Xbox have a better service 5 years ago then Sony and Nintendo do now, but even Dreamcast did it better. It’s disappointing because for so long there really were a lot of good things coming from Japan. Home is the wrong way to do it, in my opinion. Just looking at Sony, all they really have to do is lay a basic set of rules for something like cross media bars. But instead they decide to put out this MMO style thing. I know it sounds great, and makes sense in a way, but it just isn’t good enough for consoles. Live is set up so well right now. With one click on the button I can see what my friends are doing and send messages or invites. That’s what people want. Live has enough subscribers that it really makes a case for that type of system. Home will, at some point, be pointless. It just doesn’t justify the amount of time and work to get it up. But in Japan that’s what they think consumers want. I know a lot of people are excited but those resources could be put elsewhere. Free online play is all you really need to get people in, you don’t need to make another MMO.
As far as Nintendo goes, we all know it will always be about their games. That’s the one thing I can see coming from Japan that truly is great. They keep releasing the same Zelda, but it’s always awesome. Outside of that, Wii is mostly shovelware. But in both cases it’s Japanese developers holding back gaming. At least that’s how I see it. It’s not just a bunch of remade games like Mario Kart, it’s these JRPG’s that are bad. For decades now that has been the main genre everyone moved towards. It wasn’t until recently that games like Knights of the Old Republic, Oblivion, World of Warcraft, and Mass Effect managed to surpass that way of telling a story through a role-playing game. They’re getting better at it to. Whereas Final Fantasy never changed its formula. They change the way you grind. But no matter what, it’s still grinding. They are always single player games that can’t get online right. We’ve moved on.
So when a company like Square Enix comes out and says they are trying to stay relevant it’s a good sign. It means they realize they have a problem worldwide. You can have the Japanese market for yourself, but you have to realize everyone else wants something more. And it’s encouraging to see that happen. There is way more potential out there but it’s up to each developer to create that.
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