CCC Says: "This month brought us two role-playing games from Square Enix, Bravely Default and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. The reception that the two games received could hardly be more different. While Bravely Default was heralded as a well-executed classic RPG with some excellent modern twists, Lightning Returns was largely ignored or panned, even by fans of the genre.
How did Square Enix manage to turn out a gem like Bravely Default and a flop like Lightning Returns at around the same time? I have several theories on the matter, all of which speak to the challenges facing this veteran Japanese RPG developer in the present and the future."
Jason Dietz: "We reveal the past year's best and worst video game publishers (based on their 2025 releases) in the 16th edition of our annual Game Publisher Rankings."
I was just going to say this, their biggest and top rated game here is TLOU2 for PC….it’s embarrassing.
Even Ubisoft and EA are ahead
Kind of surprised Nintendo is pretty low aswell, their biggest game is also a rerelease with the Switch 2 version of TotK.
That’s what happens when you start shutting down your own studios and forget what actually made you matter in the industry in the first place. Sony used to set the standard — now it feels like they’ve lost that identity. And if they decide to walk away from the PC market too, that’s going to be another huge mistake — that platform is only growing, and ignoring it now would just put them even further behind.
@christopher:” Take note, Sony, you're falling behind by a lot.”
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Why single out Sony? Microsoft didn’t do any better than the year before 5th same as Sony 9th and they have acquired activision and other mayor titles that have boosted their score massively from a 9th and Sony a 4th the year before the acquisitions.
Sony does need to do better without a doubt and I do hope they do take note but not the note of buying publishers is the way to succeed.
1. Microsoft didn't get worse.
2. Sony got way worse.
3. Because Sony needs the criticism the most considering their publishing output this generation has been propped up by last gen ports and third-party developers for the most part.
1Victor,
I don't wanna speak for Christopher, but like most of us we recognize that Sony's output this Gen has been way below their own standards.
Also Sony did buy a fair amount of Devs, I know you will say they were not publishers, and don't compare in size, but they had their fair share of Aquisitions, including the very well established Bungie.
The overall point is with their stellar first party track record of the past, they should not be going down, they are singled out because they are some of the best videogame devs/publisher on the planet...no matter what reasons we attribute to the situation, they are moving in the wrong direction... period.
Its widely accept that Sony this generation has been underwhelming. We've had more peripheral releases, controller variants, PS5 accessories than games it feels like. The exclusives were also PS4 and what little output they have put exclusively on PS5 is nowhere near as memorable as what came in every generation before that.
This isn't a Sony hate post but anyone who's older and has been around for a long time gaming will agree that PS5 is by far Sony's worst generation. As much as Xbox is in the gutter, I pray the do bounce back in the hope we get Sony to wake up again.
If you want to critique MS... you are doing so towards their management. The games output and their hardware have been much better than PS this gen. Sadly... people still hold a grudge against XB because of MS. Thankfully i am not that petty... I've been enjoying their games output in the drought of PS. And add in some NS1/2 games as well to balance things out. Things will change for me once Wolverine hits, and I start using my 5 more. That one I'm looking forward to. And the Marvel fighter... I'm not a GTA player so that has no bearing on my view of things.
Big part of that has been the live service push resulting in cancellation or flop after flop but when they put out the games their fans want we get amazing stuff like astro bot
Leadership really screwed the pooch trend chasing
https://www.metacritic.com/...
https://www.metacritic.com/...
Well I apologize I was wrong about not doing worse but my statement of Microsoft getting a boost still stand 🤷🏿
Well OBSCURED unlike you I’m honorable enough to recognize when I’m wrong and apologize.
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@ The software you know there’s no comparison between what Microsoft acquired and what Sony acquired that’s why you tried to get ahead of the conversation, yes we all know Sony can do better than what they have done this gen but they inhaled the poison GAS they thought would bring money for years but we make sure they got the message and quite a few games got cancelled you know as well a hit like that take years to be corrected and by now they hopefully will have taken steps away from the GAS and slowed their approach to them.
You will say anything when you are in denial that your hardware is dead and nobody wants your platform. Good luck with Helix because nobody will buy it.
But... but... the garbage-mongers always tell us that Square Enix is in trouble! 😂
Square doesn't help that it fear mongers itself with ridiculous 'goals' that they can't reach and then they proclaim failure if they don't reach it. They're quite freaking profitable and people act like they're dying.
Keep in mind that these "proclamations" are usually third-hand bad translations from somedude who was at the investor conference, posted on Twitter, and picked up by press and youtubers like they were gold, and then when the official translation comes out, they're much softer statements, but at that point, the damage is done.
to be very fair
being number one on these things does not indicate how "well" their games do selling wise.
Square Enix announced its financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year, related to the period between April and December 2025.
3D Investment Partners, a major shareholder of Square Enix, issued a 112-page presentation criticizing the company's 'sluggish' revenue and profit margins.
If your response to a 112 page presentation from a profit-maximizing investment fund about the need for corporate restructuring (i.e. layoffs), integrating non-gaming (i.e. sell merch or build a theme park) and other corporate initiatives, is that it's about "go woke, go broke", then it's because you've lost the ability to think in any terms. Awful way to live your life. Private equity is destroying the games industry while you obsess that Square made a cringe game everyone thinks is cringe in 2023. Time to move on.
Waaah waaah our profits aren't big enough! I mean, they're still growing and all, but we want it faster and NOW! Waaaah!
I'll probably buy Lightning Returns in like 2 year.