Square Enix on the verge of buying Eidos

[Tron Bonne]

It's not really exclusive if you can play it on PC

The world of consoles ignore the world of PC

 

[Capt Throbberson]

47's new redesign.

 

[The Hill]

If this means The third installment of Fear Effect gets put back on the table, I'm all for it.

 

[Fading]

This is a situation where it's went from, "I don't care", to "I really don't care" lol.

I like Deus Ex, but the rest of those titles have been irrelevant to me for a long time. Uncharted (IMO) owns Tomb Raider badly. A Legacy of Kane, and never played nor cared about Hitman, and never played Thief. So none of their IP's make me raise an eyebrow, and the only one I do care about hasn't seen a release in awhile. So that's why I don't care as much.

For why I really don't care? Square-Enix has let me down since FFX. In fact, Square-Enix, the reason I got into JRPG's, has caused me to be far less enthusiastic for JRPG's than I used to be due to a horrid string of games.

I can't see Square-Enix improving any Eidos titles as they are currently (again IMO) running their own into the ground. However atleast the thought of cross overs, or reinventing of some of the more stale titles might make me atleast look at an article about some of those games.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Thief was a cool game.
Third one sucked.

 

[Havok83]

well its pretty much close to being official now

It's been a long time coming, but MCV reports that Square Enix's acquisition of Eidos has finally been made official. The board has agreed to the takeover, and the transition will be made formal in a few weeks. Sources claim that Square will let Eidos continue to operate out of London and maintain its independence as a developer. The steps are going according to a joint plan from the companies released earlier this month, and the board's approval makes it that much closer to reality.

Eidos has been financially struggling for some time, and the downturn of the economy certainly hasn't helped. A hand from Square Enix has been welcome, and the Japanese publisher benefits from the deal as well. While Square is generally seen as an RPG house, acquiring the likes of Western franchises like Tomb Raider and Hitman will expand their catalog of titles.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3173478

 

[Fading]

When I noticed this got bumped I reread my statement, think I deleted half of a sentence there. So to clarify, "A Legacy of Kane," was actually supposed to be, "A Legacy of Kane game hasn't come out in awhile".

I loved the PS1 Legacy of Kane. Loved Soul Reaver. Rented the second but never finished it, rented the PS2 Legacy of Kane that came after and never beat it....The series just fell off my radar.


Even tho Eidos isn't my favorite developer, I hope Square does continue to produce their titles. I may not be a fan, but I know others are, and some of these series are classics. It may not matter to me, but do have to admit if Lara Croft's only future exploits were making guest appearances on Kingdom Hearts...well I guess I wouldn't be happy with that either.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Legacy of Kain had some really excellent voice acting.

 

[hippie_hunter]

When I noticed this got bumped I reread my statement, think I deleted half of a sentence there. So to clarify, "A Legacy of Kane," was actually supposed to be, "A Legacy of Kane game hasn't come out in awhile".

I loved the PS1 Legacy of Kane. Loved Soul Reaver. Rented the second but never finished it, rented the PS2 Legacy of Kane that came after and never beat it....The series just fell off my radar.


Even tho Eidos isn't my favorite developer, I hope Square does continue to produce their titles. I may not be a fan, but I know others are, and some of these series are classics. It may not matter to me, but do have to admit if Lara Croft's only future exploits were making guest appearances on Kingdom Hearts...well I guess I wouldn't be happy with that either.

Square-Enix will probably treat Eidos like how they treat Taito in that it will continue to be it's own separate identity and doing what it does. The fear of Lara Croft being like a female Final Fantasy character or Agent 47 being effeminete like the stereotypical Japanese male fictional character is absurd.

The reason why Square-Enix bought Eidos was because it wanted Tomb Raider, Hitman, Legacy of Kain, and Kane & Lynch. It wants to diversify its gaming portfolio. Relying solely on RPG franchises like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Star Ocean, Dragon Quest, Mana, and Front Mission along with very rarely doing a game outside of the RPG genre was biting them in the ass. It's why they bought Taito so they can do games like Space Invaders, the Legend of Kage, and Bubble Bobble. But that isn't enough, they need Western games and that's where Eidos comes in.

 

[taskmaster]

I just hope this leads to a new Legacy of Kain game.

 

[Tron Bonne]

If this means The third installment of Fear Effect gets put back on the table, I'm all for it.

I would be all up for that, but it probably won't happen. I always kind of wished that someone else would buy or purchase that licenses and take a shot at either making the third one or doing a remake/reboot, with some or all of the original team of course. Too bad that's never come to fruition

 

[Havok83]

Square-Enix will probably treat Eidos like how they treat Taito in that it will continue to be it's own separate identity and doing what it does. The fear of Lara Croft being like a female Final Fantasy character or Agent 47 being effeminete like the stereotypical Japanese male fictional character is absurd.

The reason why Square-Enix bought Eidos was because it wanted Tomb Raider, Hitman, Legacy of Kain, and Kane & Lynch. It wants to diversify its gaming portfolio. Relying solely on RPG franchises like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Star Ocean, Dragon Quest, Mana, and Front Mission along with very rarely doing a game outside of the RPG genre was biting them in the ass. It's why they bought Taito so they can do games like Space Invaders, the Legend of Kage, and Bubble Bobble. But that isn't enough, they need Western games and that's where Eidos comes in.

you are right. A great RPG takes too much time and money to create now especially in this current console generation. Look at how much development time and resources have been spent on developing FF XIII and vs XIII and Square Enix have yet to make a profit from this investment bc its taking so long. In the mean time, there are other genres out there which dont cost nearly as much which they could be releasing for and keep a steady cash flow coming in until their big RPGs come out. I think this is why they for Eidos bc focusing primarily on just RPGs now just isnt cutting it.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Not only that but Square-Enix really doesn't have the culture to go outside of the RPG genre. If you take a look at the few times they have made a game that wasn't an RPG like Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and Ehrgeiz they kinda suck at it.

However, I do think that Square-Enix needs to do more than just Eidos in order to get into the Western games market.

 

[Addendum]

But does the Western market want Square Enix games

 

[hippie_hunter]

But does the Western market want Square Enix games

Of course the Western market wants the major Square-Enix games. Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Mana, and a few other franchises will always sell decently in the Western market.

Square-Enix's problem was that it was nothing but an RPG developer. And the only ones that are going to sell well outside of Japan are the major franchises.

And they're not closing Eidos down. They're most likely going to be treated like Taito and how they offered to treat Tecmo in that it will continue to be its own brand. Tomb Raider and Hitman won't be Square-Enix games, they will still be Eidos games. Just like how Space Invaders is still a Taito game. And we'll probably see better Eidos games as well as a result of the merger.

 

[Addendum]

There's a segment of the market that likes the games of Square Enix and the rest are indifferent about them.

 

[hippie_hunter]

There's a segment of the market that likes the games of Square Enix and the rest are indifferent about them.

As I said, the only Square-Enix games that will sell are the major franchises. The Western market is completely indifferent to whatever else they do.

And that is why they bought Eidos. And because of that reason they aren't going to get rid of the Eidos name and transform their franchises in to Tifa Lockheart: Tomb Raider or Kingdom Soul Reaver.

 

[Addendum]

So what will make the people who don't buy Square Enix games now buy them? A purchase of a company? Slapping the Square Enix name on the box for the next releases by Eidos?

 

[Havok83]

So what will make the people who don't buy Square Enix games now buy them? A purchase of a company? Slapping the Square Enix name on the box for the next releases by Eidos?

I dont think you are quite getting it. This isnt supposed to make people automically run out and buy SE games. The people that buy Eidos games will still buy Eidos games and bc SE owns them, they are now buying SE games. If they werent buying the other non-FF games SE put out before, then that wont change. The name on the box has little to do with sales with here. This purchase was about diversifying its library and releasing games of different genres. Its much easier to have someone else create the games for them and all SE does is publish, rather than SE doing all the work themselves, create new IPs, hire new staff with experience with non-RPG games, etc...

 

[hippie_hunter]

So what will make the people who don't buy Square Enix games now buy them? A purchase of a company? Slapping the Square Enix name on the box for the next releases by Eidos?

You're not getting it.

Square-Enix isn't going to slap their name on future Eidos releases. Just like they don't on Taito releases.

And people who buy games don't buy them because of the company that publishes them. They buy them because they are either noticeable, a major franchise, or both. People pay attention to Tomb Raider, the Legacy of Kain, Hitman, Kane and Lynch, etc. Just like how people don't pay attention to a record label on a CD or a movie production company on a video, they pay attention to the title.

If the next entries in Eidos franchises are appealing, interesting, and good. People will buy them regardless if Square-Enix bought them or not. People don't really care on who technically owns an IP.

However, in my personal opinion, Square-Enix is going to have to do more than just buy Eidos in order to get back into the game. Eidos was a floundering company because their more recent entries really weren't that good and didn't have a future in being an independent company regardless. It's a start, but they need to probably pick up a few more companies to get a grip on the Western market. Perhaps Atari, get some of Midway's IPs, etc.

 

[Addendum]

The game market will decide what happens with Square Enix. If nothing changes no matter what they do, then the company should close up shop.

 

[hippie_hunter]

If Square-Enix were smart they'd have a massive online presence on Nintendo and Sonys' online services and release their catalog titles on the Virtual Console and PSN.