Square Enix has been very supportive of the Nintendo Switch, though there has been a catch. The company has been releasing a lot of games but some of them, especially the Kingdom Hearts games, have been released as Cloud versions. Nevertheless, with the Switch on its way out and a new console on the horizon, there has been some questions on what Square Enix will be doing going forward.
Well, that isn’t the case any longer. Square Enix has released a new medium-term business plan for the company’s future plans for the next 3 years. The plan has 4 pillars to it. One of those pillars is called “strengthening customer contact points”, where the company plans to “aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox and PCs”.
According to Square Enix, the reason they are doing this is because they want to “build an environment where more customers can enjoy our titles in regards to major franchises and AAA titles, including catalogue titles”. They also want to “shift from quantity to quality” so more players will enjoy their games.
I hope “more players being able to enjoy their AAA games” means they are also bringing their new AAA titles to the Switch 2 in some capacity, preferably through optimization vs. streaming. I love getting their smaller stuff and remakes, but Nintendo missing the bigguns is pretty lame.
They better will starting with the Switch 2 if they want a semblance of relevance in the Japanese market since Nintendo is far and away the market leader there.
I was very against cloud streaming, but I recently moved and although I still have Comcast, I get way faster speeds were im at now. So on a whim, I bought that Kingdom Hearts 1.5 & 2.5 bundle, and I have to say, the lag is very minimal. It’s almost not there. I still do see it, but it’s not enough to make me quit playing the game. So I wholeheartedly agree with you.
The issue is, you’re going to lose complete access to that game when they shut the servers down, which would most likely give the cloud version a 10 year shelf life. It’s why I won’t support stuff like Gamepass.
Oh I’m well aware of that. It’s something ove gotten used to when buying digital. That’s why I’ll only buy digital if I really support the developer or if it’s on sale for less than $15. I justify that price as some sort of a rental. Most games I’ve bought digital have cost me no more than $10. With a few exceptions like Ori, Cup head, Limbo and a few others that I’ve bought full price.
But I do understand why anyone would be against it.
Everything Square Enix says should be taken with a grain of salt, especially when it comes to Nintendo’s platform.
Their physical releases of older games are good only if you live in Asia, but if you live in the states you are literally half of a product which becomes pointless to buy or own once switch online services go down, look at the 3ds and wiiu eshop for instance.
They release terrible physical releases in the west.
Tbh, at this point I honestly expect terrible service on Nintendo’s platform from Square Enix here in the west, which is why I stopped buying all of their western releases.
The best way to get the best out of Square Enix is to wait and see if Japan or Asian releases of SE games come with a complete version with the entire game on the disc/cartridge along with all of the dlc and final patch (not some cloud based crap or half digital/half physical nonsense they normally release in the west).
Other than that, I honestly suggest for everyone to look to other companies, like FromSoftware for example, or just ho play older games because how these companies are treating customers today don’t deserve you money or time.
Square Enix plans to “aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms”
Oh good, it only took them almost 25 years to do so.
More trash from a trash company that was once a great company.
With the Switch 2 rumors pointing to a more expensive, but more powerful model, and with the Switch brand being massively popular, it is easy to see why Square Enix would jump at the development opportunity.
Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 definitive version collection for Switch 2 please?