Recent Square Enix games have misfired due to the approach of each game being “a single producer’s fiefdom”.
That’s according to a new report from Bloomberg, detailing a recent drop in stock value of the company compared to its closest rival Capcom, though stock over the past couple of years has fluctuated but appears relatively stable. It’s claimed this recent drop is due to underwhelming sales of Final Fantasy 16, though it also follows the disappointing Forspoken and a number of smaller games released at the tail-end of last year that failed to make much of an impression.
Bloomberg sources include current and former Square Enix employees who remain anonymous, but stated the company’s approach is to give each project a single producer.
Everything will be damaged as “Line Go Up” becomes every industry’s mantra. Nothing will get better, expect worse and worse product quality on average.
One exception is new product categories. They need to overcome the barriers to entry.
Once any product has an established user base, that’s when it will inevitably become shit.