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Old 2006-12-31, 08:40   Link #283
Radd
Just Married, Oct. 28th!
 
Join Date: May 2003
Age: 45
Not really try, Square and Nintendo were, as far as companies go, quite at odds with each other for a while. For the entire life of the N64, and much of the Gamecube/GBA generation. Crystal Chronicles was Square's first "big" return to the Nintendo camp, and it was more of a grudging token, as Nintendo would not let Square develope for the lucrative GBA market unless they also supported the home console. Since then, Square-Enix's support for Nintendo has almost exclusively rested with the GBA, and the much more profitable DS market. The DS is really the big machine right now, outselling home consoles, and still selling out a few years after its original launch over the course of this holiday season.

On that note, saying that the PSP/PS3 are not the right machines for the games Square-Enix wants to make? Well, that's only true so much as that S-E wants to make games for the consoles they stand to make the most profit off of. This is why the DS is seeing so much more love from them than the PSP or the home consoles.

However, at this time I'd say their support for the Wii is still tentative. Early support in the form of a new Crystal Chronicles game, and DQ:Swords show that they want their foot in the door. We can expect to see much more support for the Wii should it prove that it's popularity is not simply a short lived spurt due to new-console hype.

The shift in Square-Enix support, despite not being absolute, is certainly a sign of the times. Developers realize that the PS3 is a risky investment, as it costs a lot to develope for, and the promise of returns isn't nearly as great as the PS2 showed, and will not likely sell as well as the PS2 due mainly to its price. Nintendo and Microsoft both are bending over backwards to make a friendly working environment for developers, while Sony is acting much as Nintendo did when the Big N thought they could do whatever they pleased.

The 360 is already in homes, and largely successful outside of Japan. The Wii is incredibly popular and is currently leading the PS3 in market saturation, not to mention it is incredibly inexpensive to develope for since Nintendo is in no way asking developers to push MGS4 level graphics. The DS trumps both and is outselling the PS2 as well. Developers see where the money is going here, and that is the primary factor which will shape the generation.

Currently we're seeing developers spread out more in expectation of a market shift. If any single console shows a strong lead over the others in the next 12-18 months, expect the gap to widen from there.
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