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Nintendo and Squaresoft: The dream team is back!
Editorial by Trent Dickerson
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For the past eight years, Nintendo and Squaresoft have seen each other as mortal enemies because of a decision that Squaresoft made that arguably doomed Nintendo's 64-bit console. Now, gamers are rejoicing with the announcement last April that Squaresoft would be developing for Nintendo again.
Just why did Squaresoft and Nintendo's relationship diminish in the first place? Gamers who have been around for a whille know their history, and how Nintendo literally made Squaresoft the big name company they are today. Back in the days of the NES, Enix had just released a new game called "Dragon Quest" that was selling like hotcakes. Squaresoft, and up and coming company, was looking to make a name for themselves and looked to Nintendo for help. In the end, Nintendo and Squaresoft produced "Final Fantasy", an RPG with an internal battery, a much desired feature away from Dragon Quest's password saving system. For many years, Nintendo and Squaresoft had a wondering video game developing relationship, until in 1994, something horrible happened.
Nintendo announced that they would be developing a successor to the Super Nintendo and that they would be getting help from Sony. However, the morning of their official announcement of their partnership, Nintendo backed out and ended up announcing a system totally different than what Sony had planned with Nintendo. This disgruntled Sony so much that they decided that they would develop their own console to compete with Nintendo. To top it all off, Sony used the specs for the console they had planned with Nintendo. Not only that, but they even took the name both companies had decided on. Sony's "PlayStation" would eventually become Nintendo's greatest adversary.
It was at this point that things started to go wrong. Squaresoft wanted to develop for the PSX, but Nintendo forbade it. Eventually, Squaresoft did jump ship and develop for the PSX, their first game of course being Final Fantasy VII. Squaresoft explained that they didn't like the Nintendo 64's cartridge format, and that the PlayStation's CD format allowed for "more creativity". Because Squaresoft was a third-party developer, there was no rule that Squaresoft couldn't develop for both companies. However, Nintendo responded by saying that they no longer had any contract with Squaresoft, and that the matter was no open to discussion. A new contract between Squaresoft and Nintendo would not be open to discussion for another 8 years.
So just what did spark the discussion for a new contract between the two companies? To make a long and obvious answer short, both companies needed the money. Squaresoft needed the money because of the movie they helped develop, "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within". Their CGI movie was literally what is known as a "box office bomb". The movie cost $130 million to make, and they barely broke $32 million. Nintendo needs the money simply because they desperately need to increase the hardware sales of the GameCube.
Nintendo and Squaresoft will be developing together again via Fund Q, the fund that the recently retired Nintendo of Japan President Hiroshi Yamauchi established before he retired. Fund Q is a fund by Nintendo to help new video game developers. Fund Q pays for development of a game under one condition: the game must be released within one year. To clear up any confusion with Sony, Squaresoft created a new company, Game Developers Studio. GDS is simply a paper company, meaning it only exists on paper. GDS is 49% owned by Squaresoft, and 51% owned by Akitoshi Kawazu, the former Final Fantasy director for Squaresoft. Kawazu is responsible for such game series as Legend of Mana and SaGa. Because Kawazu owns 51% of GDS, he is the majority owner and has the final say so on ALL decisions.
The paper company consists of of course it's President, Akitoshi Kawazu, plus ten other developers from Squaresoft's Production 2 team. GDS is only portrayed as a seperate company because of its structure. Creating a whole new company was a smart decision on Squaresoft's part because it distinguishes where Fund Q's funds are going and it also sends out a message that their main focus is still on the PlayStation 2. So what did Sony have to say about all this? Sony, who invested $116 million into Squaresoft a couple years ago (causing them to own roughly 19% of the company), surprisingly put up little fuss. The only thing they said was that Squaresoft's contract with Nintendo must not affect their development for the PS2.
So what games does Squaresoft have planned for Nintendo? Squaresoft made their announcement that they would be developing for Nintendo again last April. For the longest time, they stayed quiet about what games would be developed because of Sony. But finally, Squaresoft broke the silence with the announcement of several games for Nintendo, including Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for GameCube, a port of Final Fantasy Tactics for GBA, and also a Chocobo racing game for GBA. From the few screenshots and movies shown for FF:CC, video game websites such as IGN are describing the game as having average graphics, good lighting, smooth animation, vivid particle effects, and dramatic camera angles. From what I've seen of the game, it looks like something out of a story book with its fantastical elements, lavish engraved swords, and inspiring dreamscapes. It is also been said that FF:CC and FFT will utilize the GCN/GBA Link somehow. Rumor has it that FF:CC MUST be controlled with the GBA so to make your plays secret or something.
Because of Squaresoft's new contract with Nintendo, rumors have already started to fly about possible games that could possibly be developed. One such game is Final Fantasy Unlimited, a game based on the anime cartoon series in Japan. Another is Final Fantasy X-2, the first true sequel to a Final Fantasy game. FFX-2, already confirmed for PS2, follows the adventures of the chaarcters from FFX who are looking for their lost friend Tidus. Because of Squaresoft's new stance with Nintendo, a port of the game would not be out of the question. Another game is the rumored Chrono Break, a sequel to Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger. One other highly rumored game is Super Mario RPG 2. The original on the Super Nintendo sold surprisinly well, combining RPG elements with everybody's favorite plumber. A sequel to such a game would make many gamers happy.
In conclusion, the new CEO of Squaresoft, Souichi Wada, has stated that reconciliation with Nintendo is Squaresoft's top priority in order to stabilize their income. When questioned about Squaresoft's rush back to Nintendo, Wada explained the contract with Nintendo was hurried in order to stop the flow of staff leakage. For those who don't know, Squaresoft has a history of programmers leaving to work for Nintendo. Sony and Nintendo, who were once bitter enemies, are no less bitter with the arrival of Microsoft and their Xbox. Though reconciliation between Nintendo and Sony is about as possible as getting snow in Hell, perhaps Squaresoft's new deal with Nintendo will drastically improve GameCube sales and make Xbox leave the console business.
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