Square Enix focusing on Next Gen

[Vergil'sBitch]

Square Enix opens new studio for Xbox 720, PlayStation 4 and Wii 2

Final Fantasy maker Square Enix has set up a new studio in Canada. Nothing very remarkable sounding about that, except it's going to be dedicated to making next generation games.

The new studio - to be located in either Montreal, Quebec or Toronto - will open next year and employ at least 100 staff, according to Canadian paper La Presse, as translated by website GamesIndustry.biz.

'The new consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will require more attention and more staff,' said Eidos Montreal director Stéphane D'Astous. 'We want to prepare ourselves.'

Of course as far as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are concerned there are no plans for any new consoles. Although a successor to the Wii is widely expected to be announced this year or next, Nintendo has never officially confirmed it.

And Microsoft and Sony are adamant that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are only halfway through their 10 year lifespans.

Of course Square Enix are likely to be one of the few companies in on the secret of when the new consoles will be released. So does this announcement give a hint that they might be arriving sooner rather than later?

Not necessarily, as much of the studio's early work is likely to be simply messing around with the new hardware and creating new engines and tools. Plus any new game would take at least a year to make.

Still… it seems reasonable to expect we'll start hearing about the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 (or whatever they end up being called) by at least 2013.​

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CT: Yay, another gen of over-priced consoles and games....and even more DLC.
Sorry, please don't flame me for that... i'm just feeling a little off.

ANYWAY... I Found this and i thought some of you might like to see it, because i know there are a few Squeenix fans around.

 

[Meg]

Well I for one am not excited. Not only are my feelings toward SE less than enthused to begin with, the idea of a PS4 already is just....e_e.
I'm poor. I'm in college and I got loans. I don't have money for a new system. I hope Sony and Microsoft realize that we're in a worldwide recession and people just can't afford to throw down money on the newest best thing. Especially since I'm considering getting a 3DS or PSP2. Eventually.

Oh well, I never buy new game systems the year they come out anyway. I always wait for the library of games to increase and for the initial bugs to get worked out.

 

[aka958]

NextGen?

Why? Why another generation of consoles? I'm going to be honest and tell you that when a new generation of consoles arrives that COSTS. And there aren't many games on those consoles until a year after release at least...

Square seems to be wasting alot here. Maybe they are just prepping, so they can rule the market whenever it arrives?

 

[Dark Drakan]

Id imagine it will be a while until we see the new generation of consoles as Kinect and Move have only just been released and cost both companies a lot to develop and took a lot of time. So they will want a couple of years of sales for those and time for Developers to get used to creating content for them.

 

[Vergil'sBitch]

I don't want a PS4... I've only just had my PS3 for a few months.
As For Square Enix... instead of focusing on next gen how about the sequel to the Legacy of Kain?

 

[Meg]

Id imagine it will be a while until we see the new generation of consoles as Kinect and Move have only just been released and cost both companies a lot to develop and took a lot of time. So they will want a couple of years of sales for those and time for Developers to get used to creating content for them.

Good point, Mr. Drakan! Not to mention Sony pushing 3D for the PS3.

 

[aka958]

I don't want a PS4... I've only just had my PS3 for a few months.
As For Square Enix... instead of focusing on next gen how about the sequel to the Legacy of Kain?

I'll bet they are more than just a few peeps to fill only one or two studios.

 

[Vergil'sBitch]

I'm not a fan of Square Anway, and with what aka said about ruling the market, i think they're being very sly.

If this gen isn't finished with yet, why is there already talk of the next. And where is this WiiHD everyone is the industry was talking about a few years ago.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Starting development for the next gen already by assuming specs and such is a dangerous move. They wont be able to optimise their games for new hardware until they know what it can do. They may create a game that they think will utilise the tech used in the next gen of consoles only to find the console can actually do much more than they assumed. Then when other companies get their hands on the SDK's for the new consoles they will have a better idea of what they are capable of and the tools needed to optimise and fine tune their products.

I know they wouldnt be that far into development and have plenty of time for fine tuning but best to have a stable base engine from the get go that totally utilities as much of the tech as it can to be fine tuned afterwards.

 

[Vergil'sBitch]

^that's why some early PS2 two games were still looking as if they'd just been ported from the PS1