Square Enix Reports $33 Million Loss After New Studio Shifts Focus

I want to hear the exact sales for Octopath Traveler. I know why they haven't been revealed.

Octopath bored the heck out of me
They nailed the old graphical style without any of the charming storytelling that came from that era

I also got sick of Octopath Traveller.

And that's why World of Final Fantasy Maxima is digital download version only for Switch.
They don't have enough money to produce the carts in mass.
Geez.... what were they thinking to give a Physical release of World of Final Fantasy for XBOX1 that will NOT increase the sales ?

@TheGhostWhoWalks why?

Octopath Traveller short shipped in Japan and was out of stock for weeks. Maybe they lost sales. I mean, by all accounts it did well, but somne one somewhere messed up in Japan, either with the forecasting or the logistics.

Oof, that must be a real sobering blow. However, the fact a 2.5D sprite game becoming one of their best sellers as an exclusive for a platform that had only around 15 million players at the time should be a major wake up call for Square Enix. Nintendo fans want their games.

If they were smart, they’d make Nintendo development a priority and pull back on the mobile front. A Kingdom Hearts collection would absolutely kill it on the Switch

No wonder about poor performance in the mobile. Their games are very expensive and they don't properly support them after release. Its like they still follow offline business model of late 90's. There's a solution. Release next Final Fantasy in Switch.

@GrailUK I really don’t think Square Enix expected the game to sell as well as it did. It’s a $60 Sprite based RPG. They probably made a killing on that game.

These quarterly numbers would probably look far worse without Octopath Traveler

Octopath might not have been perfect but it was fantastic in so many ways. And if they're smart they'll create a new game like this every year with better writing until we all take the for granted again! How about a follow up to Chrono Trigger? FF6 2? Something new?

This article is poorly written. It makes it sound like Octopath is somehow responsible for the loss of money... That is NOT the case.

Going to get the game in december, in really looking forward too it.

Well obviously Octopath didn't do well enough.

Not only is there 50.9% drop in income in the gaming category. They didn't praise it at all in the report. And sales in the US/EU were actually up a bit... Japan was the market that bottomed out.

Kingdom Hearts 3 will surely set things right.

Secret of mana collection in the west would have helped.

@Rika_Yoshitake Yeah, I must admit I read it with that context and overlooked it. This is more pertinent to Sony fans I reckon.

@ItsOKToBeOK
As would Kingdom Hearts III.

@ThomasS Shadow of the Tomb Raider is fantastic and my game of the year but unfortunately it released quite close to Spider-Man and it got some bashing for Lara being a ‘white savior’ which kinda diminished some of its media coverage.

But the artcle does state that the losses are likely becuase of them investing in a new studio so I don’t think either Tomb Raider or Octopath are responsible.

Octopath shipped over 1 million copies in 3 weeks, though Nintendo publishing the game in the west (where 75%+ of the sales come from) means Square Enix won't get a significant amount of the games profit.

BTW FFXV's director Hajime Tabata just resigned due to Luminous Production's new strategic shift and the resulting financial downturn. It's a pretty huge loss IMO, as Tabata helped FFXV take off after years of development hell.

I guess FFXVI just got delayed from the PlayStation 6 to the PlayStation 7.

Blamed it all on that awful FF15 on Switch and Mobile.

Any Console/PC games released on Mobile will be doomed.

I love how people didn't actually read the article and title and assumed Octopath Traveler or FFXV Pocket's console release caused Square Enix's financial downturn...

Octopath was literally selling out in Japan. Why use a picture of it like it's the fault of Octopath?

I do understand why some people have bounced off Octopath Traveler, but I love it. The lack of cohesive storytelling is its weak point, and the individual stories means it lacks high stakes BUT the world-building is still pretty good, the battle mechanics and job system are superb and the overall polish is off the scale. The smallness of the narrative also has one benefit in that it supports players dropping in and out for bite size play sessions of an hour or two. Just don't try to marathon it, and it's a great time.

Octopath (presumably) sold quite well.

I personally loved the game, although the final act (after beating all the individual stories) was a bit disappointing. The final boss used annoying mechanics, and only allowing a secondary job to be used for one individual meant there was no way to build some characters the way I wanted. Still, the game provided hours of entertainment well into the double digits

@ItsOKToBeOK

Think we get that announcement next year when they release kh3.

I couldn't even finish Octopath, random battles sucked in 1988 and they still suck in 2018.

@Heavyarms55

Thought it was sold out in most countries. Or maybe it was just a problem for where I am

They overspend on their games and then need ridiculous sales figures to recoup. Result? AAA bestsellers still don't make them enough money.

And in other news, Square Enix is looking to sell Nintendo the rights to classic RPG character Geno for $33 million.

I'm glad they took a hit, that's what they get for charging AAA price for potentially a mobile game.....yes

@Agramonte taking in account the small number of copies square provided in Japan at launch it is clear that 1M is more than what they were expecting. In no way octopath underperformed.

Once we get final fantasy 7,9,10 and 12 I'm sure they will all sell very well and be back in profits.

Let's not forget kingdom hearts 3 too.

Loved Octopath and liked SotTR (not as much as Rise or TR2013.) Octopath had supply issues in Japan and they basically sent Tomb Raider out to die by releasing it a week after Spider-Man, 2 weeks before Assassin's Creed and a month before Red Dead 2.

All they need to do is make the next installment of the Rad Racer series.

primarily linked to the new studio - Luminous Productions - shifting focus. Ahem. The team that worked on Final Fantasy 15. It's that game that's cost them more than anything.

@sleepinglion I was afraid of that. Exactly why I held off from buying it. I wished so badly for it to be like the good old quality FF games we had in the past, but the whole idea of splitting everything up into several stories just felt wrong to me.

This may have something to do with Final Fantasy 15, given that Square Enix has just cancelled the planned dlc for the game. Sucks for anyone who bought a season pass.

@mauhlin12 I dont think so. I bought Tomb Raider and it was much better in the "tomb" department. Sadly everything else just felt like they were going in some cinematic approach and it ended up feeling like a poor mans shooter. The stealth elements were very underused as well.

I dunno, the direction of the new Tomb Raider just didn't feel right. But I am biased in the way that I don't like heavily cinematic games either.

@Heavyarms55
Because this is relevant to Switch players since it's the biggest SE release on Switch. It would be irrelevant to have an image of FFXV, and the mobile edition doesn't mean much.

Dragon Quest 11 didn't sell well in the west. 700.000 to 800.000 units were sold until now. Based on the PS4 version. Perhaps that's also a factor to the loss of Square Enix' money.

@Arnold-Kage I live in Japan, so that's the place I could actually speak from experience about it. Literally went to 4 stores to find it, and it was one of only 2 copies left on the shelf. And it hadn't even been out for day.

Octopath is fine ! But shadow of the tomb raider really deserves the spotlight, awesome game

KH3 is gonna get SE up again in no time !!!

@Anti-Matter They have plenty of money; no physical release is just some weird SE decision nobody will ever understand.

@Lando_
DQXI sales in the west are closer to 600K across PS4 and PC. It's western sales are well below that of Octopath Traveler.

People keep assuming sales slumps for one ir two games did this. I'm willing to bet they canned one or two big projects they had under wraps, and THAT is what thus big loss is mostly about.

@sleepinglion After playing both demos, that is exactly how I felt. I was so excited for it. It certainly looked the parted, but didn't feel it.

I’m not suprised. They have been poor for many years now. The good old days of Squaresoft were in my opinion Squares best days. FF13 was a truly horrendous game when compared to any FF game from FF9 backwards. I think they’ve lost their touch and aren’t truly connected or committed to what gamers actually want anymore. Octopath traveller was a great start, but the story and characters weren’t very good.

Maybe if they start to release games faster ....

cough KINGDOM HEARTS 3 cough
cough DRAGON QUEST XI FOR THE SWITCH COUGH

... and stop to ruin Final Fantasy franchise ...

@Xaisu exactly. Final Fantasy 13 is forcing you to level up the way the gamestudio wants you to. You can't level up in first part above level 5 or 10 i believe. I was like... i'm playing a RPG so I can enjoy the game and leveling up, since it's part of it. They should've called hack/slash with rpg elements. What's the point? If I want a challenge I will make sure I won't level up that much, but at least it's my choice. Since then I haven't touched any new FF games after that

Spending too much time and money on making games.

The FF7 remake is going to take a hit on production, it's probably not going to sell as well as they hope and Square Enix will crumble.

@TheGhostWhoWalks Why? What difference will it actually make to your life? Are you in marketing?

@Xaisu Not sure that's entirely true. Dragon Quest XI, at least, is widely believed to be the best in the series. There is a wider issue with Final Fantasy as a franchise in that each new entry has consistently aimed itself at the teenage market, and so has failed to grow up with its audience. My jumping off point was Final Fantasy X, which I found OK but not anywhere near as enjoyable as the PS1 games. However, FFX is many other people's favourite.

That said, I might give FFXII a go when it hits the Switch.

Squenix will bounce back into the black with Kingdom Hearts and, presumably, the FFVII remake.

ouch thats a big loss.

@Rika_Yoshitake yeaaaaah.
Like when you're reading it actually sounds like the bigger problems was failed attempts from them to shift to areas that have nothing to do with gaming?

Like they even go to mention a big drop came from "licensing fees" which is basically codeword for "merchandise" le figurines, movies, comics... basically anything but the actual games these will borrow the IPs of.

Like it's not even that it's not even octopath that might be the issues... but it might be outta not even any games whatsoever.

@Krull if you read the article right, I get the feeling it's not even any games that's the issues.

The losses specifically seem to come from forays outside of the sphere of gaming or literal drops in "licensing fee".... which basically means "merch" stuff like miniatures and so on.

@SmaggTheSmug that’s exactly what the problem was. That last final fantasy cost an absolute bomb to produce and they were fighting a losing battle right from the off. The director has quit and they have canned all the planned DLC for it apart from one. They need to revise how they produce games.

They need to do what capcom did a few years back when it was in trouble. Get into their back catalog and release the classics. They cost hardly anything to port and it’s easy money until stable again.

That's what they get for not releasing the 3DS version of Dragon Quest XI here in NA. I hate to be the bearer of bad news Square Enix but your decision with DQXI release is stupid this gen. First you release DQXI for PC, a nice change of perspective but that platform is gears more towards players and western games like WarCraft, Diablo, Fallout, and Skyrim instead of JRPGs like DQXI. Secondly you release DQXI for PS4 at the time when the PS4 crowds are focusing on other major titles like Spider-Man, Fallout 76, and Red Dead Redemption 2 thus dwindling your sales of the game. Next you ignore one of the biggest audience you should had support and that is the 3DS crowd.

By not releasing the 3DS version of DQXI, you disappoint one of your largest fanbase of the franchise. These are the same people who bought DQIV-IX and DQ Monsters Joker 1 & 2 on DS and 3DS and are awaiting DQXI and to completely throw them under the bus is stupid. Also by having them wait for the Switch port is also stupid cause by the time that one came out the hype for this game would had already died down. You made a good game Square Enix but how you release it is questionable.

You still have time to release the 3DS version, release it now or else this would be another wasted opportunity. By the time the Switch port came out, no one will care about the 3DS version, so release the 3DS version now, get those holiday sales and rejoice but you have to act now or you won't see any dollars from me or the 3DS folks who are still waiting for that version of the game.

they will recover, with Christmas coming and the looming F.F. ports coming in 19, they will recover, now if they can just put out some great new content following March...

@Heavyarms55

Sorry meant that the game was not only hard to get in just Japan

Square Enix should release the KH collection for Switch, Xbox1 and PC before KH3 for starters, then start reviving/making some of those "mid-range" games for Switch, like they said they would.

Completed Octopath Traveler just over 100 hours. Great gorgeous old school RPG. Hope they make a sequel..

@Arnold-Kage Makes sense. It was a really solid game. And psuedo unique in an era of gaming where tons of games look pretty much the same.

Doesn't matter how much you make if you're spending millions over budget. FF15 and KH3 took far too long in development and can't make it up with DLC and microtransactions like a multiplayer game can.

If I were SE I'd move to more lower budget games like Octopath and re-release a bunch of classics... oh wait, they're already doing that.

@locky-mavo I'd kill to have a collection of KH1+2 and a few of the side games ported to the Switch. I have little doubt the Switch could handle it. But at this point, I don't expect it. KH3 on the other hand, from what they have said, is being tailor made to push PS4 Pro and XboneX to their limits. So I seriously doubt they'd be able to bring it to the Switch. Even though I'd love that too.

Octopath Traveler is filled with flaws, but damned it still a good game, it does not deserve this

@electrolite77 yeah kinda funny how players can be stupid

LOL, that's the world of business for you. All I care about is how that translates to Nintendo support.

With its development time, having to release the game twice as well as additional content to get the full picture and a chibified retelling, I wouldn’t be surprised if FFXV played a big part. Yes it sold well but if you take 10 years to make such a game and but an incomprehensible amount of money into it you’d have to reach sales figures equivalent to some of the best selling games of all time just to turn a profit.

Square Enix seem to be the Kings of this. 5 Million copies of the Tomb Raider reboot sold and still considered a “disappointment”.

A bad week of press for Square. This news plus the release of The Quiet Man being called one of the worst games ever made.

@retro_player_22
To summarize what I think about your points:

You underestimate how well jrpgs sell on PC, there is a reason why pretty much all jrpg are getting a PC release at this point.

You very much underestimate how well jrpgs sell on PlayStation. It has huge amounts of jrpg for a reason as well and Final Fantasy even grew significantly on PS. The recent success of Persona 5 also shows that.

You overestimate the importance of the old 3ds system in the west. It is still big, but I am pretty sure that a big multiplat game would not sell more on 3DS than on PS of PC at this point.

You overestimate the total relevance of DQ in the west. It has never been big here and will have a hard time selling a lot no matter which console. They need to somehow hook new players, which would be harder on an old console like 3DS. With the numbers this franchise has in the west it is highly unlikely to change much about this huge loss of money.

The only console that could potentially change something for DQ right now is Switch. Do to it's youth it has not yet established as many big games yet than the others, so players are still more likely to get curious and try out new kinds of games, especially ones they have at least heard about. This could at least make the series more well known.

It's funny, as gamers we often joke that Square-Enix makes no sense and has no idea what they're doing, but this report makes it pretty clear that we weren't wrong, S-E is managed about as well as Sears Holdings. They really don't know what they're doing! The disastrous release of FFXIII with the announcement of FFXIII-Versus, that then became XIV that then became XV, that then slowly released over 2 years, which was then scheduled to continue releasing over another year through 4 more DLCs, only to then yesterday have 3 of those 4 cancelled, the producer quit, and his game team turned multimedia game/film studio, then converted back into a AAA game factory, plus the mess of FFVII-R "it's coming, it's not coming, it's episodic, we don't know!" and the mess of KH3 taking a decade....... S-E needs to ditch their endless FF spending and focus on smaller, traditional JRPGs that seem to sell but not bankrupt them, and maybe their western successful franchises like Deus Ex, and reign in this Kojima-like extravagant FF spending. It's destroying them.

@ItsOKToBeOK People always chide Octopath as a sprite based game, but it's not. It's a full-on UE4 3D game with dynamic lighting, shadows, etc, that has intentionally pixelated design textures, with, yes, sprites, as characters. But that's kind of like calling GTAV, Borderlands and Wind Waker "2D animated games" because the art style is meant to appear that way.

I'm sure the game was cheap to make, compared to FFXV and Just Cause 4, but it cost a pretty penny more than an indie actual sprite based game.

@Lando_ @westman98 I heard this is one of the best successes in the west though even with those numbers surprisingly because DQ just generally doesn't sell well in the west. Personally I'm waiting for the switch version to pick it up myself. I think it will sell even better on the switch.

@sleepinglion God, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one. I played it to the first boss in the Scholars campaign and then I couldn’t pick it up again. I almost felt guilty for returning it, but it’s not my fault that it’s a boring, yet pretty, game.

@NEStalgia I agree with everything you just said, and am especially emphasizing their lazy effort on PC!

@Mr_Pepperami You’re right, and they have re-released a lot of their classics already. The problem is that their ports were not well-received at all. Simply releasing older games isn’t enough; it needs to be done well!

@proof21 I really like the idea of random battles, so that didn’t bother me, but Octopath was just boring. It was very, very pretty to look at, but I ended up returning mine after only an hour or so.

@goggles789 yeah i agree. Using capcom again as an example they have done it right. Square often try to do it almost too cheaply by taking mobile versions or not taking into account different control methods etc. Hopefully their new releases of the classic final fantasies will be better put together. I like others also think they are missing a trick not having the older kingdom hearts games on the switch. Think they would do very very well.

Maybe they should make games that are actually good again? I dunno...

Well if they're doing poorly in the mobile space, maybe it has to do with them being probably being in a battle with Namco for having the most expensive download games on mobile devices. They treat it much like the PSN shop how they value enough of the things, and up against F2P or just smartly priced stuff in the $1-10 range they look ridiculous. That can't help if they sell let's say 10 copies at $20 instead of 30 copies at $10. Sometimes less gets more.

Octopath traveller. The music and graphics were stunning, the stories were sometimes interesting. But i had 2 major complaints with it.

Even if you were multiple levels above enemies the battles just dragged on an on sometimes with no end in sight. Even with the double classes and the gear it was wouldn't stop. The other is the level gap between story chapters. I could beat the bosses at chapter 4 around the right level but then the final chapter was miles above my level and even the small enemies on the path to the new area could destroy me in a split second. The level gap was just way off. The game forced you to grind just to do the story. I know its JRP culture but it can be done in a fun way. But long drawn battles you can easily win just because the enemies HP is insanely high but hit low made the battles feel like chores.

I just can't get myself to finish Octopath. It became such a trudge. I definitely wouldn't be a sequel. Though if they made a game with similar art style, similar gameplay, and a coherent story is definitely look into it. Although hesitantly.

You know what would take them out of trouble? Teaming up with Nintendo on the long overdue sequel to Super Mario RPG The Legend of the Seven Stars.

It's interesting that Tomb Raider is cited as a big seller for them as with the reboot they were disappointed with sales and the future of the series was unsure.

@Damo Man, that's like if you were to write an article about a Nintendo employee being fired for being a convicted serial killer, and putting it in the top spot on the front page with a big picture of Reggie.

@sleepinglion You should have reviewed this game. That was spot on.

@Moon At least they're consistent in grossly overestimating sales potential and popularity..... That explains their budgeting problems....

@Syrek24 Octopath feels less like a Square RPG (which is what a lot expected) and more like a SaGa game. The world, gameplay, and art design all make me think SaGa. Of course that kind of dry experience isn't going to suit all tastes. But IMO Octopath solves a lot of the problems I had with the very empty feeling Bravely Default while not actually different too far from its formula.

@Yorumi I doin't think I'd take any bets on how long it takes anyone at Square-Enix to do anything. I wouldn't be surprised if Octopath cost $200M. I imagine the cost of FFXV would make Lockheed weep.

@earthinheritor I agree with boss battles being damage sponges. You could zip through the whole dungeon in minutes, and spend 40 minutes whittling down a boss. I kind of dread thos boss battles, though it's satisfying when you actually get them.

@Heavyarms55

Think it was mostly underestimating hoe many rpg fans own a switch. It not usually the biggest group who are rpg lovers who own a console

@NEStalgia I don't think Octopath cost $200 million to make. Keep in mind that that budget would be in line with GTA V.

@NEStalgia Agreed some just lasted far too long. I understand the challenge but some of them are challenging regardless of the length of the fight it was just rinse and repeat.
The other issue with bosses i found was that you might be dealing ok with enemies, you are just about right for the dungeon just challenging enough..but then the boss seemed like it was designed for a dungeon way off in the late game content. There was sometimes this odd jump of level.

I also wasn't a fan of the magic system, that someone can cast fire but not fire on all enemies, but someone who could do light or dark was one or all. Same with Ice as well.

I was hoping for a bit more depth of skills as well. It seemed like a really shallow system.

Octopath: Ove half the button presses in that game are you trying to get through the ENDLESS dialogue.

@earthinheritor Yeah, I think Octopath is a (refined) version of the Bravely Default design where it's not like old FFs that the randoms were the main dungeon and then a boss just caps it off. Instead the bosses are the dungeon and the regular enemies are trash mobs there just to whittle you down or give you something to grind. I also think equipment prices were a bit exaggerated making it kind of hard to keep 8 characters equipped at max which probably made boss battles longer than they needed to be as well.

I can say I do dislike that design of "short tiny dungeon of a few hallways, and then a big boss", but that's the style of this dev team (same team as BD), so much as I dislike that aspect of their style, I know it's kind of their calling card now.

@20wonders "That budget would be in line with GTAV"

This is Square-Enix. That's my point, exactly.

Release KH3 and your other games on Switch Square Enix and see all the money going into your bank account.

And stop wasting so much effort on mobile lol

@NEStalgia My issue with the gear was price, same as you, but also no one vendor sold what you need. You had to remember what cities and axes, or swords or bows and what cities has body or leg or arm gear.
I sometimes got to a city got all the good stuff, had no money left, then the next city for the same level, but a different character arc, and the gear was better and i had no idea.

@earthinheritor Yeah, that definitely is annoying. It wasn't the end of the world since in a way the goal was to steal everything you can But I'm never the right level of thief/scholar to inspect/steal what I want which is another issue: Remembering where all this stuff is and who has it and what percentage chance you have of stealing.

In fairness, I haven't actually bought any armor and gear so far, just whatever I can steal when I can steal it, and whatever I find in chests, so maybe the game kind of assumes you're going to find ways around stores (in a way stores are pointless in most RPGs as you're always going to find better loot than stores have. Heck, who has ever used a vendor in Diablo for anything but potions and TP scrolls? ) But it would be nice if I could buy some gear, all the same.

I'd imagine their stinginess in the mobile department to be there downfall...

@Syrek24 Good for you.

@NEStalgia
I think Octopath reminds me of F.F. 2 (F.F. 4), SaGa games are more like evolved versions of that game, not that aesthetics really matter, I love that they did the game with this look and gameplay mechanics, but I would still like to see the F.F. moti'f in a Skyrim style game, Square does need to evolve

I'm think Square Enix transfer to Focus Studio. Compare Nintendo can help Ubisoft I guess.

@TheGhostWhoWalks Why is that? Last I heard it was over a million.

@Mr_Pepperami They kind of are, that's why FF7,9,10, and 12 are coming to the Switch and Xbox One

@Robzilla I'm in the 'just because it's popular doesn't mean it's actually good' camp on most things. Having grown up with the likes of Chrono Trigger, this title was a big, dull, pretty dud

@goggles789 You nailed it. Boring, but pretty

@janpampoen I was in the same camp. It looked worthy of excitement but was a pure bore to play

@Lozzen The separation you mentioned helped kill it for me. The dialogue was also dry and devoid of character, making the proceedings hollow

I got really upset when they decided to NOT release Dragon Quest XI on 3ds in the west and I pledged to not buy anything from them, including DQXI on PS4. Not listening to the customers will make you loose them, so it’s not entirely supprising they go under. And the mobile ports of classics... just insulting money grab while with little more efford could be nostalgia based purchase.

maybe they wouldn't be hemorrhaging money if their project lead for FF7 wasn't so lousy, and if they had actually tried to develop kingdom hearts 3 to release sooner. I will admit though, I am on the record as believing they want to save KH3 for a playstation 5 exclusive launch title, and that there is likely a lot of money for them in that.

Honestly though, the reason they lost money is just bad management. They have 2 huge titles in the works, and that costs a butt load of money, so it makes sense that they would see losses or marginal profits. You can't expect a new "AA" level IP from their B team in octopath to really carry them despite how well it was received.

I had fun playing Octopath. I like to grind through RPGs. The final boss, Galdera was hard but very fullfilling once beaten.

Too bad - I enjoyed Dragon Quest XI a lot. Perhaps it will get a new life on Switch - it deserves more players I think!!

Eh, I don't feel thaaaat bad for Square Enix these days, but remember: Switch is getting a cartful of Final Fantasy ports/remasters in 2019. If the mobile arena isn't treating Square Enix well, maybe Final Fantasy 7 will?

They are literally falling apart.

time to release final fantasy 7 remake. poof~instant 1 billion profit easy.

Octopath was an amazing game, the only thing it lacked was a clear coherent story line. Although if the story was followed carefully, then there was an overarching story to it. It did need a way to carry the story after doing the 8 stories.

FF 15 was absolute garbage.

@sleepinglion Right? It's a shame that a game as good looking as Octopath doesn't have good gameplay to back it up.

I can't help but wonder how much money they blew on the hair physics for Final Fantasy 15...

Players: "this game is dull as dishwater!"
Square Enix: "yes but look at the hair!!!!"

Square Enix failed to realize consoles is where their money is at. Let us also not forget that money keeps being put into Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy VII Remake. Sometimes you wonder if Square Enix lacks good direction with some of their games and half of the time is spent restarting step 1 in development.

As long as switch DQXI comes out I don't care. They botch that and I'm done with squeenix. (unless a new octopath style game comes out.)

In all seriousness, Square Enix should really consider developing more games like Octopath Traveler or even DQXI rather than 6-10 year projects like Kingdom Hearts 3, FFXV, or FFVII Part 1/2/3/...

Like, FFXV sold 8+ million copies, but Luminous Productions just lost $33 million, 3 out of 4 FFXV DLCs were canned, and their studio and game director just left. That's insane for a studio who made a very successful game, at least in terms of unit sales.

Maybe they should stop making games that take 5-10 years each to make. When they were at their most successful they were releasing new main entires in Final Fantasy in consecutive years. It's beyond a joke when they're taking longer to make 1/3 of the Final Fantasy VII remake than the original took.

Nowadays it just seems like they bog themselves down with massive projects that don't succeed even if they sell millions, revealed several years before they should with no benefit other than bigging up the console they reveal it for.

I'm sure Octopath made money to cover development costs and then turn a profit. It's not a game that has been in development for many years that it has to sell 5M+ to be profitable. Without being able to check out Squeenix's books, though, we wouldn't know which other items have dragged down SE's revenues. Could be that their company simply employs too many people that they'd have to be releasing more often to cover for the salaries of people beyond the dev teams. We can only speculate at this point.