If we were asked to list the most prolific video game developers and publishers we could think of, Square Enix would be right up there somewhere near the top. Its catalogue of games is enormous, and over the last couple of years we've seen plenty of games - new and old - make their way to Switch.
With franchises like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts all being part of the Square Enix family, it's probably not all that surprising to hear that fans are hoping the company will find ways of preserving its titles for the years to come. Digital rereleases of games like Final Fantasy VII on Switch are one great way of doing this, but Square Enix appears to have more ideas up its sleeve.
Talking to Game Informer, company president and CEO Yosuke Matsuda spoke about the demand for a complete and accessible digital library of classic titles.
"We're working on that in a variety of ways. That is a request that we hear often. As far as our major titles go, most of those, we still have variations out that you can play now. The more classic titles that you might have played on NES, we are still working hard to make it so you can play those. We actually have launched a dedicated project internally to port those, so we are working to make them available on a variety of platforms. Certainly down the road, we would like to see that on a subscription or streaming service, so we're exploring the possibility of creating a dedicated channel for ourselves."
That last sentence seems to be popping up everywhere in the gaming world at the moment. With Google Stadia, Microsoft Game Pass, and now Ubisoft's Uplay+ all being spoken about at E3, it seems more and more publishers are exploring a subscription-based route.
Would you like to see a service like this be offered by Square Enix? Are you liking the idea of this potential direction for video game consumption in the future? Share your thoughts with us below.
[source gameinformer.com]
Comments 65
WOHOOO first comment!!! Also, ENOUGH WITH THE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES ALREADY. I'm not made of money. I just want to buy what I want and that's it!
I don't think a subscription service would work well with RPGs, considering how long they are compared to other games.
$9.99 for Apple TV+, $9.99 for Disney+, $10+ for Netflix, $24 (CDN) for CraveTV in Canada, $9.99 for Apple Music/Spotify/whatever music you want...and now all these $9.99 or higher gaming streaming services. It's ridiculous. People....it's cheaper to just buy the stuff you want outright. No wonder people are nearing bankruptcy and having to choose between having food or paying rent month to month...all their money is getting gobbled up by every freakin' thing having a subscription service. Hell, even grocery stores are getting in to subscription services with companies like Hello Fresh...$9.99/mo and have your groceries delivered. UGH, ENOUGH!
Good luck with that
Hope we won't get more subscription services as it will only cost more money.
The more subscription services there will be the less likely I am to buy any at all.
@DarthFoxMcCloud
Depends where you life. We got netflix but nothing else at the moment
I'm not subscribing to anything to rent games. In not even going to renew Nintendo online.
But Square needs to make FF6 and Chrono Trigger in the Octopath engine.
Excited for FF7 remake next year. Have it preordered already.
Not feeling it
@Arnold-Kage
And Netflix sucks hard. All the original content is braindead garbage
I'll pay for Netflix, NSO, Xbox Gold but that's really it for entertainment services for me
Tell them NO, NO, NO, and NO!!!
@DockEllisD yes, but it means you need to be online all the time. It means you can't even play offline when your internet is down or whatever. This is becoming a pure rental service. Pay them monthly you access the games and stream it. But offline no no
@Yorumi those people are most of the time in good position I guess. Not everyone has the best internet or paycheck. To them are like it's fine...while we have to worry to pay our bills each month and now a monthly forced game streaming otherwise you can't even game the newer games. Who wants that?
Who's going to subscribe to mediocre FF and DQ? Modern commerce is stupid.
Fine with me. I was waiting for VAMPyR ($39) and Mutant Year Zero ($39) on SWITCH.
PC Xbox Game Pass had them both - And only $1 this month and $5 next.
Got it - just keeping it to beat them. Seem to be a good way to clear out backlog.
good thing I have been collecting video games since the late 90's because this is where I draw the line. I really am not feeling this streaming stuff. I know I stream Netflix and other services but when it comes to my games I want to feel like I own something. Maybe I'm getting old and crusty but its the way I feel. I miss game manuals and Nintendo power.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Square Enix, just NO!
@Yorumi As long as there’s a PlayStation, Microsoft or Nintendo console, there will be no problem. The games will still appear on those systems as well.
@Arnold-Kage All I was meaning was there's a trend of subscription fatigue now. Lots of tech YouTubers have been commenting on this. Companies need to know that not everything needs to be subscription model. Yeah it's attractive for them because on paper, they make more money that way. But consumers are going to reach, if they haven't already, subscription fatigue and they won't sign up or they'll start to cancel. It's the same thing that happened in North America to cable and satellite tv companies. Everyone "cut cable" to go to Netflix and other streaming services. But now there's so many streaming services with their own exclusives that it's actually more expensive than the traditional cable and satellite tv they ditched in the first place. The madness has to stop!
Until the internet had no buffering and internet providers had no data cap then maybe will game streaming be possible but until that time I don't think game streaming will ever work in this lifetime.
@AlternateButtons THANK YOU!!!! You definitely articulated my point so much better than I did. HAHA!
I'd consider going full Arrr Matey when games become streaming exclusively service. I want to own my games, not rent them. And for those that "technically you don't," ultimately you're right, but that disc... that cart, is your permanent license to play it. Like any book, movie or CD you have.
A social media group found a game too problematic? You can still play your game if you enjoy it, streaming it goes away. Good example happened in music with Fred Durst, no one really streams his music and standard retail dropped all of Limp Bizkit albums. Amazon did this with the digital To Kill a Mockingbird, you can buy the physical book from retailers through them still, but digitally you don't even have the access.
There is a reason books are actually having a small resurgence in physical sales, cause the practice seems too forgiving to the predatory practice.
What a horrid future we are heading for.
Never liked subscription services. It always irked me that people were so desperate to have virtual console on a subscription. I would rather much own something than constantly pay someone for the privilege of using there stuff. If it wasn't for Smash or Splatoon 2, I probably wouldn't even subscribe to Nintendo Online. My Xbox live gold is gifted to me by a friend, and I have never supported Playstation Plus.
All this gaming companies focusing on having there own streaming service on subscription basis is maddening, as it just adds to a consistently growing bill. Lets say £10 for every company with a service per month to play all the games, when realistically, you would only want to play a handful from each company. The only real people who may benefit are collectors who plan on getting and playing all games, and they will not support it for the simple reason that everything would be lost the second the service ends. It feels like streaming is anti-consumer, as any and all control over the experience is placed solely in the hands of the respective companies and there is no seeming benefit for any particular audience. This is without going into the technically feasible side of the issue with data caps, download speeds, or even the fact that lots more mediocre games will be made as budgets will be limited due to all the services undercutting each other for a better price, killing creativity.
Streaming as a choice is fine despite my misgivings with it, but when we heading into a time where another console releasing is no longer a definite, there is a possibility where streaming becomes the only option and that is terrible.
I realise I may be exaggerating at points, but I really do not like where we are going with games at the moment. It is strange for me that in my eyes, loot boxes are no longer looking like the worst thing in gaming anymore considering how much I despise them.
Argh... I hate this possibility, truly. I won't stand that idea of gaming as a service.
I like my games in their retail physical boxes. All complete. And not half in the media half downloadable.
Since last year, I started to get pretty picky about the games I play. If Square-Enix goes that way, I'll abandon their games entirely.
The subscription wars have begun, and some of these companies are going to realize really fast that we don't want to pay for all of them. Soon as I can no longer play my games locally without needing internet is when I stop playing new games.
Just because game streaming is becoming a thing doesn't mean physical games are going anywhere. I can still buy DVDs, Blurays, and CDs. It's just another option. Besides, the wireless infrastructure will have to come a long way, here in the United States, before it can even take off in a meaningful way.
"That is a request that we hear often"
yeah from share holders who only care about money but not from gamers
I start to hate the future now. 😒
Streaming games will give nothing but shattered dreams !
It's Square-Enix so it will cost $30 a month and have the worst version of each game.
@Yorumi There's a world of difference between streaming a movie and streaming a game. I just don't see demand for physical games going away anytime soon.
Just another attempt at having fans pay for a license to stream but never actually owning the product. Which is such a horrible idea it will likely come to pass
@DarthFoxMcCloud
I agree but so far it only bin an us problem. Know it unfair but I douht most will really take off in the end
@Sandro89
That a matter of opinion as I happen to enjoy a lot of their original content.
While I do appreciate Square wanting to make the library always available digitally (to me that is the good side of the virtual console, steam, eshop, etc.) I really wish they would drop this streaming talk. The bottom will fall out on all of the subscriptions and the industry will crash eventually.
There is a place for free to play online games, Warframe showed me that. But as someone who had to recently move to a rural place with no internet going down the road, streaming is the worst thing that could happen to me.
Consumers made a deal with the devil and now it is coming home to roost.
It started with the music industry, then film, then cable, and coming soon...video games. Shunning ownership for convenience, convenience, convenience, consumers gave these companies a mandate to start these models that only benefit them in the long run.
I hear it all of the time. "Why doesn't my town have a good record shop, or cinema, or bookshop?" And then you ask how many of these things they purchase and the answer is usually none or few (or everything is bought via Amazon), as they favor Spotify, Netflix, etc. When the majority refuses to buy physical media and prefer streaming to their devices (also locking them into endless replacement and upgrades), can consumers really cry when companies stop putting resources towards those avenues?
I feel dirty saying this, as I HATE HATE HATE the idea of an all-streaming future, but... I’d roll with this at least temporarily for a chance to play Famicom Final Fantasy II & III and Super Famicom FF V.
Now, ‘scuse me while I wash my fingers for typing this.
@Yorumi I hear you. These same companies are driven by consumer demand. There may eventually be games that fit your hypothetical scenario, but I doubt that would happen for decades. Much of the world doesn't have the internet speeds to support streaming games. I've used GeForce Now on a high speed connection, and it worked great for slower paced games. It struggled with faster paced games, like fighting games. Wireless internet speeds will have to improve greatly for game streaming to be anything more than a niche. Even in Japan, where they have the speed, it's not available everywhere. People like to game in lots of places where wireless internet isn't available. I could see physical media going away. I just can't see how gaming could become streaming only.
I love SE's games, grew up with them, but there's no way I'd subscribe to their, or any, gaming-dedicated streaming service. I just want to buy a game, own it, and be able to play it when I want.
@EvilRegal
If the future is all about streaming, I'm tuning out.
Anyway, I guess I have a big enough backlog to take care of my game playing needs for quite some time....
Welcome to the new cable service, except now you buy all your streaming services for video & games doubling what you need to get.
I assumed they already had their own service. If anybody has the quantity of games for it it's Squenix.
Really not a fan of streaming though, it would need to be like Xbox Gamepass where you download the games to your console or PC for me to be interested.
And in case ya'all forgot, Squenix has FFXIV online, so gamers are already paying Squenix for a monthly subscription, and that's for only 1 game. Imagine what people would be willing to pay for their entire catalogue?
Do people still pay for WoW as well? Paying a monthly fee for gaming is NOT a new thing.
It is only inevitable if we, the players, support them. A subscription service only benefits them. I prefer to own the games that I purchase. If all games turn into subscriptions and streaming, I'll find a new hobby.
@Realnoize Yeah, for me, a streaming-only future is likely one where I become an exclusively retro gamer. Along with my own considerable backlog, there are a great many games I've never gotten over the years, since I'm not rich!
@Yorumi I know it's different - though w/ all of the free-to-start games these days I'm kinda surprised people do still pay those monthly subscription costs - but people have paid monthly fees for games before. And in the US people pay $15 per month to Gamefly to - you guessed it - rent video games. So apparently people are willing to pay a monthly fee to rent - not own, rent - games.
https://www.gamefly.com/chattyreg/plan
I still have a problem with streaming, and Stadia looks insane - BUY a game AND pay to stream it, uh just no - but a Squenix Pass similar to Xbox Gamepass but on my PS4 works for me. There are still games I want to own and buy in a box, but I traded in my copy of Xenogears and Vagrant Story so a rental of those would be something I'd consider.
The other problem w/ streaming and these services, besides streaming and the monthly fee, is when games all go digital we're kinda screwed. No ownership, just licenses and we only get to play when they say we can play. It is a scary future, and makes my frequent trips to the library to borrow games useless, but for now I'll pay a monthly fee to download and play old games. I also get games from Redbox, and PS+, and borrow them from relatives. However I can I play. Picking just 1 method is too limiting these days.
Square and short sighted trend chasing, name a more iconic duo.
@Yorumi Never did use GoG. I see it all the time on twitter, good sales, but when my kid wants something we just get it on a steam sale. Which should be starting any day now.
@EvilRegal
I have myself some sort of a legendary backlog accross many platforms. Mostly on PC (like near 700 games on Steam, accumulated over quite some time...). I was also an avid old games and consoles collector, although I sold most of what I had some time ago, I could see myself getting into it again in the future and rebuying stuff...
I'm pretty sure an all-streaming future would kind of create a huge market demand for retro systems. Companies making "compatible" retro consoles like Retron would benefit greatly, I think, although indirectly, from an all-streaming future, as many people will want to get back to old school systems and play those games, especially if they were around back in those days, so they'd want to play the games they missed.
In fact, let these streaming alternatives arrive. I already have the feeling that many games made today aren't made for me anymore so really, it would only push me quicker towards the inevitable return to retro gaming.
I would see this as a benefit to the whole consumer base if this were an option alongside purchasing games. I think a shift to streaming would change financial incentives for publishers though. If one needs to constantly pay to play, I expect developers would prioritize MMO-style grind fests and online multi-player games over other kinds.
I still look at the prospect of an all streaming games service as the the starry-eyed dream of executives to finally realize their own private money bin to swim in.
Going to be very interesting to see how any of this will actually work with North American potato internet and data caps, unless they're going to emphasize glorious 480i quality, and after all the push to 4k ultra HD, the marketing should prove to be quite novel for the inevitable streaming only games.
@hendie001 You are getting old, listen to the young'uns, they may not care about consumer rights but they recommend that you go digital since it's more convenient than changing a disc, card or cartridge. Also, storing physical games is hard (unless you seek karma on reddit by making a Lego case to hold Switch games).
How many things do they think people are actually gonna subscribe to in this amazing future? Microsoft thinks I'm going to sub for ms Office... Yeah get lost.
Subscription please, and not streaming. Streaming games sucks.
Unless they are going to dump ALL of Square, Enix and Squeenix's library I'm out.
Good thing I have a massive backlog of games across several game systems! Because if the future is streaming games, I am done with new games!
@DarthFoxMcCloud I completely agree here. If I wanted to rent a game I'd subscribe to game fly.
@Heavyarms55 agreed. The whole digital thing will be a huge downfall for gaming period.
@Crono1973 digital is not the way to go. You will never own what you play and will always have to buy another and another and another as they think they can just keep rehashing games. Buying is called investing in something. Younguns need to learn about that.
Also digital is not easier. If you call being to lazy to get your butt off of the couch to grab a game lazy then you have no business gaming and need to be outside getting exercise.
@Yorumi yea until they shut the servers down, then you own nothing for something that you could still play of you would have bought physical. Or if you don't play it you could have sold it or traded it in for some money back.
It amazes me how people think that it is just so easy for people to just buy a game. Tens of millions of people depend on buying used games and trading he's in.
@Dirty0814 Well, the young'uns won't listen to us. Oh you can list the benefits of physical media all day long but what good is owning a copy of a video game if you have to get up to put in the media? I am sure that they are awaiting digital potato chips and soda too.
@Yorumi just digital period. PC is different than console completely. Steam even allows the dl of games they no longer sell. Buying a digital copy on PC gog is the way to go though definitely. But I'm not sure about re-dling with them but I doing ten years from now you will have the same hard drive and or may uninstall the game anyway. At that point you wouldn't be able to re-dl it if you decide to play it again. But then again physical copies of games are very few now. It's one reason I no longer play on PC. I'd rather own all my media.
I already have a Square Enix subscription. :-/
I guess it would be OK if they added Final Fantasy I through XIII to it.
@Yorumi Physical isn't dead yet on the Switch at least. I like those little cartridges, which you can easily loan/borrow/resell, and 1TB memory cards are still too expensive!
On the other hand, having stuff installed on internal media is pretty convenient.
On PC you used to have the option of running directly from a game disc (to save space) or installing on your hard drive (for faster load times) but typing in long serial numbers was a pain.
@Dirty0814 I don't mind digital downloads. I prefer physical, but I don't mind downloading games sometimes. Streaming however is basically just renting everything. You own nothing and need a constant internet connection to play. Further if the service ends the game is gone.
Furthermore streaming eats through data and requires a top of the line connection speed and still just barely works even in that case. Yeah, no thanks.
@Yorumi Thanks. I'll consider them next time I see an offer on twitter.
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