I’ve got to hand it to Square-Enix. For all of their franchise humping, their shameless genre pandering, re-treads, and fan-baiting, they know their business. Two years ago, during the DS’ meteoric rise in Japan, moving the Dragon Quest series to the handheld was a shrewd, forward-thinking business decision. This summer, more than any other publisher in the world, Square-Enix has shown that they may not be the creative force they once were but their business acumen is as un-indictable as ever. This past weekend’s DKS3713 event, an invitation only preview smorgasbord spotlighting S-E’s upcoming Final Fantasy games (yes, the Kingdom Hearts titles are Final Fantasy games), was all about the PSP. Kingdom Hearts prequel Birth By Sleep and Final Fantasy fighter Dissidia were both playable at DKS3713, but the big announcements were that The 3rd Birthday (a sequel to the all-but forgotten Parasite Eve) and Final Fantasy XIII: Agito, formerly mobile phone games, would now be coming out for the PSP. It would be easy to accuse S-E of coming late to the PSP party now that it’s the best-selling system in Japan and enjoying an upswing in sales in both Europe and North America, but Birth by Sleep and Dissidia betray S-E’s foresight. They’ve put themselves in a position to sell millions of games to their devoted consumers. But when you couple DKS3713 with their E3 reveal that Final Fantasy XIII will be available on Xbox 360, Square-Enix is poised to repeat the crossover success they enjoyed with Final Fantasy VII eleven years ago.
Related links:
Square-Enix's Coup Brings Back Memories
Final Fantasy IV DS: Love, Hope and Betrayal For the Busy Commuter
E3 Day One: Microsoft, Sony, Final Fantasy, and For Whom the Bell Tolls